Odie & Stampy - Kool Kollars in use

Garden update - one month

There's one little tomato. The squash and zucchini are like the plant from Little Shop of Horrors.

"new" couch

Peony loves it.

Dead Squirrel - Popped Out Eye

I was looking for something else, and I found in my journal a haiku about Odin. I think this is from 1999 or 2000.

Odin lithe and supple

slinking, sliding, prancing now

he moves like liquid.

What's funny though, is the next page mentions "dead squirrel popped out eye" which was the first haiku, only I have no idea how the rest of it went. It was genius.

Photos are of boys in their new Kool Kollars (ice melts on the inside to keep them cool - only downside is they only work for a few hours).

new dog bed

When I placed my order for the third pair of poopy pants (3 seems to be just about right for me to only have to wash twice a week), a dog bed was on sale, so I got it for Odin. He loves it. He only sleeps in the bed with me for a couple hours now (in early morning, when it's coolest, so he can get under the covers) because he is sleeping on his new dog bed so much.

He was really happy to see Kevin (and Colin) last night. (He would get up for Kevin, but not for Colin, which is amazing to me that he can tell the difference.) But today he doesn't seem to be feeling very well, and I can feel his heart going all crazy.

Odie's follow-up vet visit - good news!

We went in this morning for a check up on his heart. It is good news. He is responding really well to the digitalis. The vet said his heart is more regular, though it still has times it jumps around. He is also a good weight - apparently dogs with heart conditions frequently lose a lot of weight.
He is likely to suffer a stroke (just like anyone with a heart problem) because the blood pools in his heart instead of getting pumped out, and makes a clot. But it's hard to diagnose strokes in dogs - he most likely will have trouble breathing; he might have a dilated pupil; or he might tilt his head or show some muscle stuff.
He has been making a puffing noise at night, and Dr. W said that's probably not the breathing difficulty from his heart failing, but because his heart is so enlarged that when he's laying (lieing?) down, it presses on his trachea - I think that's what she said.
He is not likely to die any day now. Dr. W had a dog showing failure who came in, got on digitalis, and lived another year, and Odin is not officially showing failure yet. She said that she's likely to see us enough and I'll be alert enough that we'll catch it failing (congestive heart failure) and treat it. She said, again though, that if I'm lucky, he'll be playing in the yard and drop dead. About 70% of dogs respond to the digitalis, and he appears to be in that group.
I will not be able to predict the day he's going to die. It'll just happen. I didn't ask her if he'd be scared, since I've already subjected Mom and Judith to that.
They work with a pet mauseloum (sp) in Tacoma, and he can be sent there to be cremated and he'll come back in a nice cedar box with his name engraved on it. I don't have to arrange it ahead of time.
If it comes to it, which she doesn't think it will, and he has to be put to sleep, I can be feeding him a bacon cheeseburger while they inject him, so he dies happy as can be. That's how Dr. W did one of her dogs.
Interestingly, when we were talking about bacon cheeseburgers, Dr. W said "You're kind of a hippie aren't you?" and I just nodded, even though I don't think of myself as a hippie at all. I guess I could be seen that way. Then, oddly, at a red light on the way home, some lady in the car next to me started talking to me and said I looked just like her best friend. I asked her if her best friend had a big dog in the back of her car too, and she said no, but she would if she could. It was kind of weird. The lady did NOT look like my best friend (Kristen).
I am very relieved about this vet visit. Also, they accidentally charged me too much last time, so the next "few" vet visits are free. Dr. W said we might as well make a standing weekly appointment (jokingly).

Odin's heart: to do and not to do

I just did more research on atrial fibrillation, and found out that:
- Odin should not binge drink
- Odin should get a pacemaker
- Odin will probably have a stroke because of this
- and there are a lot of other drugs (other than digitalis) that I can ask the vet about.
I couldn't find anything on life expectancy, though last time, the web pages I read acted like he was going to die very, very soon.

Dose, 2nd photo set

Camping at Dosewallips

We camped in the worst tent site in Dosewallips State Park this weekend. However, we got to see the river, sit in the sun, and got a good night's sleep.

The digitalis seems to be working

Odin already seems like he feels better. He got up on the futon, he's been walking around a lot more, he's holding his head up more (which in Odin-speak, is being more alert), and he seems to be breathing more regularly. I watched him really carefully after his pill last night and this morning to see if I could see any signs of toxicity. It's going to be a big adjustment because I don't really want to go out to the barn and leave him alone when I already have to leave him alone most of the day while I'm at work. I don't think the horses actually miss it, though, when I'm not there 5 days a week.
Yesterday, at the vet office, I could hear the vet and her staff making a joke about his farts. They have been pretty stinky. And he finally pooped a solid poop instead of the runny diarrhea he's been pooping. His poop has been really yellowy-orange (instead of brown) and I just now realized that's actually not normal.
Also, I'll do a photo later, but his second pair of poopy pants came in the mail yesterday, and they fit him lots better than the first pair, but sadly, they look even more like diapers than the first ones (which were denim, and thus sort of like hot pants).

Honoring Odin

I think this might be a nice idea when the time, which is coming too quickly, is upon us:
http://www.metrokc.gov/parks/petgarden/

Atrial Fibrillation - from web page

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common electrical disturbance or arrhythmia of the heart, marked by rapid randomized contractions of the atrial heart muscle causing a totally irregular, often rapid , ventricular rate. In this arrhythmia the normally coordinated electrical activity in the upper heart chambers, the right atrium and left atrium, is lost. The muscle of these chambers begins to wiggle like a "bag full of worms." Atrial flutter is similar to AF, but the atrial contractions are rapid but regular. Both rhythms are very abnormal and reduce heart function. AF can occur as a single problem (lone AF) or more often as a complication of heart muscle disease (cardiomyopathy) or chronic heart valve disease. It occurs in both dogs and cats but is much more common in dogs. Many dogs with AF are also in congestive heart failure (CHF). Giant breed dogs, such as the Saint Bernard and the Irish wolfhound are predisposed to this rhythm disturbance.

Digitalis Toxicity - going to be hard to recognize

Digitalis Toxicity Symptoms & Signs
Visual changes (unusual)
Halos or rings of light around objects
Seeing lights or bright spots
Changes in color perception
Blind spots in vision
Blurred vision
Confusion
Loss of appetite
Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea
Palpitations
Irregular pulse Additional symptoms that may be associated with digitalis toxicity include the following:
Decreased urine output
Excessive nighttime urination
Overall swelling
Decreased consciousness
Difficulty breathing when lying down

Atrial Fibrillation

Odin has a new, second condition, called atrial fibrillation. We're going to treat it with digitalis. Basically, his atrium (upper heart) isn't beating properly (it's all fluttery) and so he's not getting enough oxygen, and that's why he's been especially lethargic.
In addition, the reason his butt has been leaking poo is because he's got too much medication in his blood (for the other heart condition) that his body can't properly circulate or pump out. That's why he doesn't want to eat either. So we have to cut back on the one (which is keeping his heart from detiriorating) to keep him alive with the other one.
The vet called it "good" news, but I think she just meant good because he wasn't about to keel over dead right then and it's possible to treat it.
I should have brought him in when it first happened in May though. It's probably been going on that long, and she said he probably would have died soon if I hadn't brought him in.
He got a $1 bacon cheeseburger on the way home (after his $500 vet visit).

Pooty-Pants

Less than 1 1/2 hours later, the pooty-pants have been christened. I ordered two other brands to see if one fits best.

Odie says "It Depends"

Hmmm. They seem to be more for pee. The hole where his tail sticks out will also let poo leak out.

Odin's not feeling so great today either

He has pretty terrible diarrhea and just looks like he has the blahs. I'm calling the vet tomorrow. Now I'm afraid it might be worms, but only because I can't think of what else would make him vomit and have diarrhea. Plus, his butt is no longer creating Mr. Hankey's, but sort of just - leaking (sorry) - for like two or three weeks now. I got him diapers today.

The really terrible bad thing just happened a second time

We tried, for the first time since Odin's last incident, going on a walk again today. This time, it was cool and drizzly, and we did the "medium" loop.
A little more than half way home, Odin plopped down in the grass. He wasn't panting all crazy, but he was breathing hard.
We sat with him in the grass for a long time (maybe 15 minutes), then he got up, made it a couple woozy steps, and plopped down in the grass again.
We sat again for a long time, he got up, made it half way across a yard, and plopped down in the grass again. Then, oddly, he started wagging his tail and rolling around, got up, and he made it a couple of houses before he plopped down again.
This last time, he was across the street from neighbors who were doing stuff in their yard (the backyard, but at least there were humans), and he was close enough to a telephone pole that I tied him to the pole, ran home (3 blocks), got the car, and came screeching back.
I don't think the wagon is going to work, and so now I'm at a loss. Maybe he is woozy from his medicine and I need to wait and walk him in the middle of the day?
And it couldn't have been the heat, but I don't notice this happening when we're just at home, so it seems like it must be the exertion from walking.
It makes me want to cry.