Please vote Rob McKenna for Attorney General and Doug Sutherland for Commissioner of Public Lands. I've had personal experience through work with both of them, and I already voted for both of them. Leave a comment if you've got questions about my personal opinion.
http://www.robmckenna.org/
http://www.dougsutherland.org/
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
My life is so unbelievably fascinating
Today I will do 8 loads of laundry. This will not clean everything that may have a poo smear on it in the house, but it is a decent effort.
Stampy affirmative action
Stampy's behavior has been getting worse while I'm gone (he is jumping on my bed - I can see his muddy footprints), and yesterday, out of an odd bit of insightful jealousy, he chewed on my stick horse, which required deft maneuvering to get out of its location. Because the stick horse was next to my nice leather briefcase, I decided I've had it with him and his torture of Odin as well as all things inanimate (oh yeah, and the cats - Kappa doesn't want to be inside anymore).
So R gave me her friend's phone number who does the boarding, and Stampy now has his first weekday boarding next Monday and Tuesday.
If it works, I'm going to board him two or three days every week except Thanksgiving (when he's being boarded at Fido's) and Christmas (when mom & dad are here) through the rest of this year.
I sort of feel like Odin's going to be lucky to be alive by the end of the year, and I'll probably put him to sleep while Mom & Dad are here, so that should take care of the Stampy problem.
I already feel better for making a decision to do something about it.
Plus, she only charges $14.50/day, so it's cheaper than Fido's Farm by $10/day! $203 total, which is well worth my peace of mind.
Also, fyi, dogs who get prescriptions filled at Costco with their adult human who has a Costco membership can get a special pharmacy card that gives them a discount on their pills, since they probably don't have insurance. We just learned that today.
So R gave me her friend's phone number who does the boarding, and Stampy now has his first weekday boarding next Monday and Tuesday.
If it works, I'm going to board him two or three days every week except Thanksgiving (when he's being boarded at Fido's) and Christmas (when mom & dad are here) through the rest of this year.
I sort of feel like Odin's going to be lucky to be alive by the end of the year, and I'll probably put him to sleep while Mom & Dad are here, so that should take care of the Stampy problem.
I already feel better for making a decision to do something about it.
Plus, she only charges $14.50/day, so it's cheaper than Fido's Farm by $10/day! $203 total, which is well worth my peace of mind.
Also, fyi, dogs who get prescriptions filled at Costco with their adult human who has a Costco membership can get a special pharmacy card that gives them a discount on their pills, since they probably don't have insurance. We just learned that today.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
I am tired of Stampy the problem child
It took me a while to notice, but while I was gone today, he pulled a knife off the counter and chewed on it (leaving it on the futon) AND his bottle of xanax. He has been getting on the counter and chewing stuff up a lot lately, but for some reason, I didn't really notice until tonight, when I was trying to find his pills (which were on top of the microwave on top of the counter this morning when I fed them).
I don't know what the hell to do with him.
I don't know what the hell to do with him.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
My very thoughtful nephew & Odie glamour shot
People keep telling me that "Odin will tell me" when it's time to put him to sleep. I don't know what that means. What if I can't tell?
Thursday, October 23, 2008
I'm glad I went to the vet
Odin's liver is a little bit swollen. The blood work should be back tomorrow, but some of this diarrhea could be because his liver is backed up. His kidneys and bladder felt fine.
Like usual, his heart is in afib when the vet listens to it.
She thinks we should do the Holter monitor again because depending on what his heart is doing when it is having the crazy attacks, there could be changes to the medication - like maybe the ventricles are acting up more now, and we could try to control that.
The worst part, however, is that she asked if I'm going to be ok with Odin dying at home (hopefully in his sleep) or if we need to euthanize him. What I took the underlying meaning to be is I am such a freak about this, that if I was with him when he died, unexpectedly, will I be able to handle it? Or do we need to put him to sleep so that I don't go nutso when I'm alone with him?
She said that it's very likely one of these giant afibs (like he had Sunday night and Tuesday night) is going to be too much, and it'll turn into a heart attack, and he'll die. She said it won't be so bad for him, especially if I can sit there with him. He'll have the afib/heart attack, then take a couple really big breaths, then he'll be dead. She said I shouldn't try to do CPR on him, because even when she does it, in the office, it's less than 5% successful - that it will be better for me to just sit next to him and be with him.
And then she started to cry a little.
She said there's no way to know it's coming, and it's a better way for him to die than from the congestive heart failure (which is the one I have all the symptoms for - which, thankfully, so far he isn't in the final stages of). She said with CHF, he's basically going to drown from fluid build up.
So right now, it's a quality of life issue. How uncomfortable is he, is he still having perky moments, and can we control the leaky butt, which is terrible for both of us.
So we'll get the blood work back about his liver for leaky butt, do the Holter again for quality of life, and other than that, just keep watching him.
Like I said in the earlier post, I thought I would be ok with him dying in the night and me being next to him. But after Sunday and Tuesday, I felt really, really panicked.
I think maybe the anticipation, the not knowing when it's going to happen and how, is probably worse. I don't want Odin to die (ever, basically), but this is draining me a little bit.
And just to rub it in, he was all prancy at the vet office.
Also, she said until we get the blood work back, to take him off the dog food and just have him eat mild stuff like cottage cheese, rice, and scrambled eggs, because that might help with the diarrhea.
Then she told me a funny story that made me laugh really hard, that out of respect for her dignity, I won't repeat. It was about horses. While the vet techs did the blood and cleaned his butt for me, I was in there laughing. They love Odin. He's so good.
Stampy had a peanut butter kong out in the car with him (which he also had last night, when Odin went to 4-H with me, in the car) and both times he refused to eat it until Odin and then I got in the car.
Like usual, his heart is in afib when the vet listens to it.
She thinks we should do the Holter monitor again because depending on what his heart is doing when it is having the crazy attacks, there could be changes to the medication - like maybe the ventricles are acting up more now, and we could try to control that.
The worst part, however, is that she asked if I'm going to be ok with Odin dying at home (hopefully in his sleep) or if we need to euthanize him. What I took the underlying meaning to be is I am such a freak about this, that if I was with him when he died, unexpectedly, will I be able to handle it? Or do we need to put him to sleep so that I don't go nutso when I'm alone with him?
She said that it's very likely one of these giant afibs (like he had Sunday night and Tuesday night) is going to be too much, and it'll turn into a heart attack, and he'll die. She said it won't be so bad for him, especially if I can sit there with him. He'll have the afib/heart attack, then take a couple really big breaths, then he'll be dead. She said I shouldn't try to do CPR on him, because even when she does it, in the office, it's less than 5% successful - that it will be better for me to just sit next to him and be with him.
And then she started to cry a little.
She said there's no way to know it's coming, and it's a better way for him to die than from the congestive heart failure (which is the one I have all the symptoms for - which, thankfully, so far he isn't in the final stages of). She said with CHF, he's basically going to drown from fluid build up.
So right now, it's a quality of life issue. How uncomfortable is he, is he still having perky moments, and can we control the leaky butt, which is terrible for both of us.
So we'll get the blood work back about his liver for leaky butt, do the Holter again for quality of life, and other than that, just keep watching him.
Like I said in the earlier post, I thought I would be ok with him dying in the night and me being next to him. But after Sunday and Tuesday, I felt really, really panicked.
I think maybe the anticipation, the not knowing when it's going to happen and how, is probably worse. I don't want Odin to die (ever, basically), but this is draining me a little bit.
And just to rub it in, he was all prancy at the vet office.
Also, she said until we get the blood work back, to take him off the dog food and just have him eat mild stuff like cottage cheese, rice, and scrambled eggs, because that might help with the diarrhea.
Then she told me a funny story that made me laugh really hard, that out of respect for her dignity, I won't repeat. It was about horses. While the vet techs did the blood and cleaned his butt for me, I was in there laughing. They love Odin. He's so good.
Stampy had a peanut butter kong out in the car with him (which he also had last night, when Odin went to 4-H with me, in the car) and both times he refused to eat it until Odin and then I got in the car.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Off/on/off/on
Odie had a really rough night Sunday night. He was breathing really loud (loud enough to wake me up) and then, half-asleep, I thought his heart stopped and he stopped breathing. I stayed home with him a few hours Monday morning, but he seemed ok.
Most of Tuesday he seemed totally fine.
Then last night, earlier in the night, the loud breathing started again. This time, because I wasn't half-asleep, but was just sitting there reading, I could see better what was going on. His heart was going super, super crazy and thrashing around in his chest. Not surprisingly, he also pooped all over himself in the night. But while it was thrashing around, his breathing would be loud and, I guess, struggling, then he'd all of a sudden stop making the loud breathing sound and his heart would be really faint. So I'd sit with my hand on him, crying, and then he'd start breathing loud and his heart going crazy again. I don't know what's going on. Are these heart attacks?
I hate the not knowing. Do I need to be worried about this? Should I sit next to him because one might kill him? Or can I go do other stuff in the house because these aren't the symptoms of total heart failure, and thus, I can relax until he starts exhibiting those symptoms.
Thank goodness today is a telecommute day so I can be near him and see if he's still doing ok. I'm feeling kind of overstretched though. I wish I wasn't doing so much so I could just sit next to him until he dies and then go back to the rest of my life.
Oh yeah, and I had been telling myself that Odin was hanging in there for me, and that his life isn't so great now (though he still has some really good days, well, relatively), and so when it's time for him to die, it's going to be ok. But then, in the middle of the night, when I thought he was about to die with me sitting next to him, I am totally, totally not ready for him to die. As much as I want him to die peacefully, with me next to him, I don't want him to die at all.
Most of Tuesday he seemed totally fine.
Then last night, earlier in the night, the loud breathing started again. This time, because I wasn't half-asleep, but was just sitting there reading, I could see better what was going on. His heart was going super, super crazy and thrashing around in his chest. Not surprisingly, he also pooped all over himself in the night. But while it was thrashing around, his breathing would be loud and, I guess, struggling, then he'd all of a sudden stop making the loud breathing sound and his heart would be really faint. So I'd sit with my hand on him, crying, and then he'd start breathing loud and his heart going crazy again. I don't know what's going on. Are these heart attacks?
I hate the not knowing. Do I need to be worried about this? Should I sit next to him because one might kill him? Or can I go do other stuff in the house because these aren't the symptoms of total heart failure, and thus, I can relax until he starts exhibiting those symptoms.
Thank goodness today is a telecommute day so I can be near him and see if he's still doing ok. I'm feeling kind of overstretched though. I wish I wasn't doing so much so I could just sit next to him until he dies and then go back to the rest of my life.
Oh yeah, and I had been telling myself that Odin was hanging in there for me, and that his life isn't so great now (though he still has some really good days, well, relatively), and so when it's time for him to die, it's going to be ok. But then, in the middle of the night, when I thought he was about to die with me sitting next to him, I am totally, totally not ready for him to die. As much as I want him to die peacefully, with me next to him, I don't want him to die at all.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Day one - no progress
Stampy has had three xanax and seems to be exactly the same doofus.
I forgot to say in the earlier post that when the vet tech asked why he was there, I said "because he's an asshole" and she said "is that what you want me to write in the chart?" and I said "that's fine with me". So Stampy's chart now says he went in for a vet visit because "owner says he's an asshole."
I forgot to say in the earlier post that when the vet tech asked why he was there, I said "because he's an asshole" and she said "is that what you want me to write in the chart?" and I said "that's fine with me". So Stampy's chart now says he went in for a vet visit because "owner says he's an asshole."
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Stampy is now on anti-anxiety meds
We'll try these for a week or two, and then try Prozac if it doesn't work. After that is some form of doggie daycare ($$ ka-ching!) and then Great Dane Rescue.
He weighed 130.
He weighed 130.
The Week in Review
Odin had a pretty good week overall. He had a few days where he was prancy, though he was a little bit clingier than normal (wanting to sit in the same room with me). Two nights in a row he had leaky butt in his diaper in his sleep. I thought the first night was bad until the second night happened, which was terrible. Starting with those nights, he's needed to get up and use the bathroom each night in the middle of the night, and that's new.
Stampy goes to the vet today to get a prescription for xanax to try to get him to settle down and leave Odin alone. This week seems a little better than last week, but he was getting really pushy and Odin was hiding from him and wouldn't eat unless I stood next to him (and mostly, won't eat anyway - yesterday even with an egg on his food he wouldn't eat). He has, though, been doing a good job with his pills. I'm still using meat for half of them (rotating between a pack of hot dogs and a pack of turkey slices with pb spread on them), but then the other half are those Greenie pill pockets which Judith must have bought stock in and then sent to me. I use 7 a day now. They're much, much cheaper online (I think I did KV Vet) than at the store - like $5 vs. $13.
Stampy goes to the vet today to get a prescription for xanax to try to get him to settle down and leave Odin alone. This week seems a little better than last week, but he was getting really pushy and Odin was hiding from him and wouldn't eat unless I stood next to him (and mostly, won't eat anyway - yesterday even with an egg on his food he wouldn't eat). He has, though, been doing a good job with his pills. I'm still using meat for half of them (rotating between a pack of hot dogs and a pack of turkey slices with pb spread on them), but then the other half are those Greenie pill pockets which Judith must have bought stock in and then sent to me. I use 7 a day now. They're much, much cheaper online (I think I did KV Vet) than at the store - like $5 vs. $13.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Odin Report & Nobody knows the trouble Stampy causes
Odin felt a little frisky yesterday. He pranced around a few steps in the front yard, then sat in a spot of sun and flopped his tail on the ground.
Apparently, all that exertion leads to leaky butt, because he had some in his diaper last night in his sleep. Then today he had diarrhea (outside).
I was working from home today, and although I hate it, I do need to keep leaving the door open because especially after he's had his pill, he does go outside and pee a few times.
I also emailed the vet about Stampy and how Stampy is now bullying Odin again. I am going to try, in the following order:
1. Bach Flower Rescue Remedy (a homeopathic/herbal tincture)
2. Benadryl - which could make him more hyper
3. Xanax - we'll go in so Dr. W can play doggie shrink
4. Locking in the garage
5. Talking to Great Dane Rescue about a temporary foster home
6. ??
Apparently, all that exertion leads to leaky butt, because he had some in his diaper last night in his sleep. Then today he had diarrhea (outside).
I was working from home today, and although I hate it, I do need to keep leaving the door open because especially after he's had his pill, he does go outside and pee a few times.
I also emailed the vet about Stampy and how Stampy is now bullying Odin again. I am going to try, in the following order:
1. Bach Flower Rescue Remedy (a homeopathic/herbal tincture)
2. Benadryl - which could make him more hyper
3. Xanax - we'll go in so Dr. W can play doggie shrink
4. Locking in the garage
5. Talking to Great Dane Rescue about a temporary foster home
6. ??
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Beware - really gross paragraph
Odin did seem to feel better on the furosemide for a couple of days. But now he seems to be feeling bad again, and as far as I can tell, the afib seems to be almost constant.
This is the gross paragraph: **Last night he had the worst poop in the bed ever. It was a leaky butt poop, but like the volume of a normal poop, and so it got all over me and all the sheets and it caked onto me and was repulsive and I had to use my scrub brush (to clean the bathtub) to get it off.** I think I ruined my sheet and my comforter cover trying to get them clean because I soaked them in bleach water in the bathtub, and then ran them through two wash cycles (vigorous, "heavy duty" wash cycles).
We had a visit with the vet on Tuesday (I think) that got me really upset. She said that Odin is basically like in hospice now, and we are waiting for him to die or for him to tell us when he's ready to die. She said we can't stop the afib, and we've got him on everything we can put him on to make him as comfortable as possible. She said it really nicely, but it was the first time the news has been so blunt that I haven't been able to convince myself that it's all going to revert and go back to the way he was for a couple more years.
I think the not eating is a bad sign. But since he's still eating hot dogs (or whatever) and the McD's cheeseburgers, it's not totally grim yet.
I've just never been through this before - I don't know what to expect. And I feel terrible for him for feeling bad, but he still feels good sometimes.
I cried so hard on my way home from that vet visit that I gave myself a migraine and felt sick to my stomach.
She said she'd like me to check in once a week: either bring him in, call, or email, and just let her know how he's doing. He was feeling the best he has in like six months while we were there. He gave the vet tech a sneak attack kiss and was just prancing all around begging for treats from Dr. W.
Today he's huddled on the couch, shivering even with a blanket on.
This is the gross paragraph: **Last night he had the worst poop in the bed ever. It was a leaky butt poop, but like the volume of a normal poop, and so it got all over me and all the sheets and it caked onto me and was repulsive and I had to use my scrub brush (to clean the bathtub) to get it off.** I think I ruined my sheet and my comforter cover trying to get them clean because I soaked them in bleach water in the bathtub, and then ran them through two wash cycles (vigorous, "heavy duty" wash cycles).
We had a visit with the vet on Tuesday (I think) that got me really upset. She said that Odin is basically like in hospice now, and we are waiting for him to die or for him to tell us when he's ready to die. She said we can't stop the afib, and we've got him on everything we can put him on to make him as comfortable as possible. She said it really nicely, but it was the first time the news has been so blunt that I haven't been able to convince myself that it's all going to revert and go back to the way he was for a couple more years.
I think the not eating is a bad sign. But since he's still eating hot dogs (or whatever) and the McD's cheeseburgers, it's not totally grim yet.
I've just never been through this before - I don't know what to expect. And I feel terrible for him for feeling bad, but he still feels good sometimes.
I cried so hard on my way home from that vet visit that I gave myself a migraine and felt sick to my stomach.
She said she'd like me to check in once a week: either bring him in, call, or email, and just let her know how he's doing. He was feeling the best he has in like six months while we were there. He gave the vet tech a sneak attack kiss and was just prancing all around begging for treats from Dr. W.
Today he's huddled on the couch, shivering even with a blanket on.
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