Stampy with Bone

He spent Monday and Tuesday at the new boarding place.
It only cost $14.50 (!) (they charge by the night stayed, not the day), and it is just as nice a facility as Fido's Farm, and about the same amount of time in the car. Plus, my dog training friend highly recommended it.
It is Country Inn Pet Resort & Spa, 100 Foreman Road, McCleary, WA 98557 (360) 495-4800.
They don't have a website (that I could find).

Today, I am doing what looks like 100 loads of laundry, the boys got groomed and a bath this morning, and now a fire is warming the house. Nice.

Back on the Downslope Side

After what feels like about a week of really good Odie-time (he ate, no leaky butt, he was prancy, alert), he's going back down again. Last night the crazy heart and loud breathing was 2 hours. I cried only about the first half hour and then just sat next to him and tried to figure out if he was suffering. And the leaky butt is starting up again.
Stampy got boarded Sat/Sun and Mon/Tues, so tonight when I pick him up, I'll have feedback on the new place, which my friend R (who trains dogs) recommended. Odie seemed like he maybe missed Stampy a little, which is totally unexpected. Kappa is in 7th heaven while Stampy is gone.

2008 Washington State-wide Elections

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/

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.

More flower photos

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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. ??

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.

bpm

Odin is, at rest, taking 23 breaths per minute.

Inside outside cats

Peony, Poppy, and Kappa are now inside/outside cats. In unfortunate timing, the neighbors dogs (which I think are boxers but dad disagrees) were in my yard again today. Odin's new medicine is giving him some issues, and since I can't come home once an hour to let him out, we have to revert to two years ago and leave the back door cracked open while I'm at work.

Cardiologist Specialist

Odin weighed 56.3 kg (123 pounds), had "panting" as his respiratory rate; "irregular and of various amplitudes" as his pulse; and "grade 2/6 systolic, plateau-shaped murmur heard over the left cardiac apex" as his auscultation.

His echocardiogram diagnostic was "the left ventricular diastolic chamber dimension was much greater than expected (82 mm); measurements of wall thicknesses were within normal limits. Left ventricular systolic performance was diminished; the left ventricular end-systolic volume (indexed to body surface area) was increased at 170 ml (normal is <30 ml). The left atrium was severly enlarged (59 mm). The pulmonary veins were enlarged. ... mild mitral valve regurgitation."

Diagnosis is dilated cardiomyopathy; atrial fibrillation; impending heart failure

He got a new medication, furosemide, because his pulmonary veins are enlarged. Congestive heart failure is pending. He'll need a renal in a few days becuase the furosemide is a diuretic.

That's from initial evaluation. The in person report, I wrote:
pulmonary veins getting enlarged
soon edema - that's why he's not feeling up to snuff
His new drug should get rid of the fluid in his lungs and he should perk up
But it's tough on the kidneys
She'll call again after she talks to the vet who examined his Holter results
His heartbeat is fast and stressed, 140-160 bpm, and she wants to see if it was because he was there or always like that
Digoxin can be replaced (some dogs do ok on it), she'll talk to the Holter vet - it could make him weak (the new one)
Once he's in heart failure, which could be now (she's not sure), he may have 6 months
I should monitor his breathing at home, <40 bpm is normal. If it gets faster, we should increase the furozamide
It's important to call if his breathing gets fast or if he gets lethargic and weak.
It's best to let him be a couch potato, but if he wants to do something, do it very slow and short.
The least activity is best.
He should start his new medication tonight and keep him at what he's getting now (the reduced pills) so long as he's feeling well.
I can call her and leave questions.

Here's info on the new drug:
http://www.drugs.com/MTM/furosemide.html

I should probably feel happy about this, but I feel pretty sad. We looked at the Marymoor Pet Garden with Stampy today while Odin was getting his exam.

Maybe it was the digoxin making O feel so bad

We took Odin off the digoxin completely (he was on a half dose) and the diarrhea and butt leaking has stopped, and he actually seems quite frisky compared to how he's been. That could also be because I made an appointment with the cardiologist specialist in Seattle for a not-insignificant chunk of change, so of course he'll go in feeling great that day. The price is worth it though, for a week of him feeling good.
I'm working from home today, so he's sitting near me a lot, and I can still see his heart thumping all wildly. Poor O. I love him so much.
Attached are pictures of the "fam" on this dreary, rainy, chilly fall day.

Judith better hope I'm with her and the Velociraptor

I could survive for 60 seconds chained to a bunk bed with a velociraptor

Is Daisy ok?

I forgot to mention that when I called the person who sets up the specialist appointments, she said "oh, Odin, he's the one that's got all the problems, right?" and I said "I guess." I guess having afib, ventricles that don't beat right, and an enlarged heart could count as "all the problems". I mean, I don't think there's actually anything else about his heart that could fail now other than total failure?
Though we ARE still missing some of the classic "couple months to go" symptoms, like the coughing at night, and the horror of the eventual gurgling when the fluid is in his lungs. Oh, right, and the passing out. Though I think he's got a leg up (ha ha) on that one with his maybe-a-stroke. His back legs seem to be doing lots better now, though.

Diarrhea : Odin :: Canary : Coal Mine

We had another diarrhea incident this week. Mere hours after I called the vet back to let her know that never mind, the horror of the weekend had passed and he was back to normal. Then again, diarrhea every 3 days or so has become the new normal. (Like 40 is the new 30?)
I don't want to be a crazy lady, but I can't tell anymore what is significant and what isn't, so I just leave messages for the vet if anything "new" happens (like multiple days of barfing and diarrhea). Dr. W called the cardiologist specialist who said to take Odin off the digoxin and that he should come up for a consultation. That's going to happen on the 29th, while my mom is here. He'll get an echocardiogram and a few other things, though he's got a pretty ample history already, with two echos, x-rays, and the holter monitor results.
Dr. W also said that we are approaching the time where we need to think about Odin's quality of life. We can continue to try to mess with his meds to get the right balance (which, by the way, he gets about 20 pills a day now), but if he can't keep them down and we can't get them right, or if his system can't handle them at the point where they're doing any good, and if he continues to have diarrhea episodes and afib episodes and generally feeling icky - well - then it'll be time for me to think about if I'm keeping him alive just for me.
Right now he has so many moments where he's himself and maybe once a week he's prancy. And I don't want to be the type of person who puts a dog to sleep because he keeps spraying poop all over the house. So where's the line? How will I know when Odin feels so bad, and the good times are so in between (or non-existent) that he doesn't want to stick around just so I can squeeze him?
I want him to make it easy on me by being fine, and then just dying in his sleep.
At this point, I think we'll see what the specialist has to say, mess with his meds a little more, and then just keep an eye on him for how he's actually feeling. We've had two poo free days in a row! I just steam cleaned (again) which almost guarantees there will be a poop explosion tonight.
Poor O. He hates wearing the diaper.
Oh yeah, and I switched to all hot dogs for his pills. I slice one up and shove the pill in, and do like Daisy's owner and alternate non-pill hot dogs. I'm also trying to make him eat his dog food before the pills, so I alternate a slice of meat, chicken broth, an egg, or stirred in cottage cheese. Dr. W also suggested cooking him some chicken, cooked eggs, or tofu.

Tropic Thunder - Worth Dog Diarrhea? Read on for Review

I went out to dinner and to see Tropic Thunder with my friend Melissa tonight. We talked through the first and second showings, so we went to see the incredibly late 9:30 movie. I had left Odin in a doggie diaper because of the leakage in the car today, and there was a - well - thunderous accident.
He had diarrhea in the diaper, and then ran all over the house, so there are drops of slimy poo everywhere, a diaper full of diarrhea, a huge pile of diarrhea, two piles of barf, Stampy chewed up my rubber barn boots (and hopefully not anything else), and I am guessing, but am trying to muster up the courage to let Odin back in - that diarrhea is all over the back end of him.
I know this isn't his fault - he's been barfing up his meds, so his heart isn't pumping enough oxygen to his lower intestines, but it is still really, really, really gross and disheartening.
Was Tropic Thunder worth it? I'll decide after I finish cleaning shit up at midnight. I laughed out loud - really loud - kind of a lot. And I totally didn't recognize Tom Cruise for the longest time.
But my house reeks of poo ....

Vet Open House

We stopped at the vet's open house today on the way home from Costco. Stampy and Odin got to walk around and we got a tour of the vet office (like we haven't already seen it) and a free visit with Dr. Westcott, and a bunch of free stuff and a whole lot of people petted Odin & Stampy and Stampy only slobbered on two people (who told me). Dr. W is my favorite vet because she made a zen rock garden out of dog kidney stones.
And she had gorilla glue in the shape of a dog's stomach from where the dog ate a tube of it and she had to do surgery.
She also had those worms dad told me about that pop out of skin like barnacles and she said you can either catch them with "forceps" (I think she said something different) and pull them out, or you put a coke bottle over them and pop it for the pressure and they fly up into the bottle.

Running errands, Odin's butt leaked all over the car, which was pretty gross. I did like a meat shopping spree to try to mix things up so he'll eat his pills. I got pepperoni, peanut butter, hot dogs, tuna fish, and broth. So I think if I do three different ways of feeding pills a day, maybe we'll have more success.

Barf-o-rama

Odin has barfed three times in the last 24 hours. He barfed yesterday morning after I finally got him to swallow his pills. He barfed in the middle of the night (well, 5 am). And he barfed this morning almost immediately after I got him to swallow his pills. I guess it's time to call the vet.
Also, I have been trying to find this dog eulogy that I read in a dog training book. I rechecked all the dog training books from the library looking for it, and I've searched all the variations of "dog poem" and "dog eulogy" (however you spell it), and I can't find it. I'm really frustrated.

How to make a dog swallow pills?

Odin doesn't want to eat his pills anymore. This is especially troublesome now that he gets them three times a day, and this morning, after an agonizing (and slimy) fight, he immediately went outside and barfed them all up. I have a few ideas - cheese, spam, and hot dog slices - but that's not much, especially considering the meat roll-ups have been wildly successful.
I did, however, figure out the 3x/day schedule without completely abandoning the horses. I'm actually pretty pleased with it - there's good balance between the dogs, the horses, and work, and even some exercise for me. What there's not is any social life at all. I figure I can do that p.o. - if and when I move on.

What do baby wipes and cottage cheese have in common? Odin!

I bought baby wipes to wipe Ode's leaky butt, inspired by my diaper changing prowess when I visited my adorable nephew. Odin still hates it, but it is better than the other ways I was doing it (warm washcloth, paper towels and toilet paper).
Also, to try to motivate Odin to eat before his pills, I am stirring in cottage cheese. Usually something "fun" inspires him for a few days, then it gets routine and I have to switch. I guess I could rotate between cottage cheese, an egg, and chicken or beef broth.
I still haven't figured out how to do the 3x/day pill schedule.

Holter monitor results

Odin is still having afib episodes, and his ventricles are prematurely beating. He is getting another drug: mexiletine, which is supposed to help with the arrythmia. It may cause an upset tummy, and he should get it after food, which is going to be difficult since he doesn't like to eat, and to add to the complications, he gets it three times a day. The more evenly distributed the better, but Dr. W said I could do am, home, at bedtime, but I don't think she realizes that my "home" and "at bedtime" are only an hour apart. I've got to think about how I can rearrange my schedule without spending too much time in the car.
WSU is going to do a second holter in a couple weeks for free since it only got 18 hours the first time.
We are stopping Ode's digoxin for 48 hours, and then giving him a 1/2 dose, so just once a day instead of twice starting Monday.
Dr. W is also sending the Holter results to the other specialist to see if she has any feedback too.
The digoxin may be the cause of the pooping in the house. We'll see.
And Stampy's lumps are coming back.

4 stops in 2 blocks

We just went on a walk and Odin had to stop and rest 4 times in the 2 blocks we walked around.

Poop - a second time

Sadly, this evening there was another pile of poop on Odin's side of the house. This is not the leaky butt poo, but an actual (huge) pile of crap. The first time was Monday, and now this, and the last time Odin pooped in the house was approximately 7 years ago when he got sick and I wasn't home and he went on the rug right next to the door.
I don't know what's going on.

Stampenstein got his lumps drained today

Dr. W let me watch. Stampy got all woozy and fell down. He was really funny. It was viscous blood that came out, not saliva like I thought. Dr. W says that if they clog up again, she'll have to put him to sleep, then try to unclog them. She used a more technical term.
She said that Odin could have had a stroke, and that's why he's being odd with his back end. The gurgling she had no idea about because if it was fluid in his lungs, it should be all the time, not just at night, and he should be coughing, softly. She said that he might be growling and snapping at me because he feels like he's on pins and needles (like when our leg falls asleep) and so she suggested acupuncture.
Hopefully tomorrow his Holter results will be back.
I am sooo a regular at the vet now.

Stampy's lumps & new plants

I realized with all the Odin photos, I haven't even tried to take a picture of Stampy's lumpy impacted salivary glands. Here it is.

And here's my new plants, thanks to Ted and Carmel. They are the really vibrant orange ones at the base of the Katsura tree. Next year I bet those will look amazing.

18 Hours in the Life of Odin

6:00 pm - Holter monitor on
6:40 pm - eat cheeseburger from McDonald's
6:50 - eat 1/2 dinner
7:30 - watch TV on couch
10:00 - watch TV from floor
10:45 - watch TV from couch again; breathing harder
11:25 - forced night bathroom (refused to go, stood on "deck" until I let him in again)
11:35 - goes to bed on floor
6:45 am - gets on bed to sleep
7:00 - starts breathing loud
8:45 - gets morning pills (mortifyingly, I realized I forgot to give him pills last night, this is the third time in the entire time he's been getting pills I forgot to do it)
9:05 - gets out of bed; goes outside for bathroom
9:45 - eats breakfast
10;25 - goes on a walk (this is unusual for us now)
11:00 - hangs out in yard
11:15 - sits in house
12:15 pm - goes on errands in car

Three gratuitous Holter shots

Well, the Holter Monitor is done because the plug fell out at some point during our errands (I'm guessing when we got in the car), and I couldn't get it to start recording again. It made it at least 18 hours, but we'll see if that was enough - the instructions said to go 25-26 hours.
Odin was NOT happy about all the tape being torn off. He "bit" me twice and yelped. The biting was putting his mouth and teeth on my hands, but he didn't break the skin.
Then he went and sat outside and sulked in the sun. You can see in the photo with Stampy that he is glaring at me.

Steps 4-6 of Holter Monitor Removal

Look closely for a rare glimpse of what ridgeback skin looks like when the ridge has been shaved off.

Stages of Removal of the Holter Monitor - Steps 1-3

And the garden

I ate this year's most tasty tomato out of the garden. There's one zucchini and another one on the way, but no squash. It's been so cold that I'm worried I won't get any more tomatoes. But we've been getting plenty of rain.
I'm trying not to be annoyed, but I'm starting to feel really tethered to the house. I only got out one weekday this week to see the horses. This huge rider is giving a clinic in Yelm (just 1/2 hour away) and not only am I not riding in it, I'm not even going to get to audit it like I wanted because tomorrow I'll be staring at Odin all day, and Sunday I have to work.

Odin modeling the Holter monitor

Odin had a leaky butt again today. I cleaned it before we left, but he was still a little stinky, and the vet tech had to use about four rounds of paper towels and a round of gauze (and waterless shampoo) to actually get him clean.
Tomorrow I take the Holter monitor off at 6 p.m., then return it Monday morning (if they're open). The little sticky pads (which I'll take pictures of when I take it off) are going to hurt, so Dr. W said to put rubbing alcohol or witch hazel under them. I can hear the little tape whirring while it records.
We got McD's cheeseburgers on the way home, and I'm going to keep the (very boring) journal of Odin's 24 hours. Tomorrow we'll go on a walk to see if we can trigger an "episode" and catch it on the tape.
Stampy's lumps are his salivary glands blocked up, like from "gunky" saliva. He has an appointment for Wednesday afternoon to get the stuff sucked out. Dr. W says it's weird for them to both plug up at once. I forgot to ask her if this is something that will happen the rest of his life. She said if they don't stop filling up that we'll have to put in those little tubes. And that the first time he came in, they had probably drained all the way to his other lymph nodes. Yuck.

this is where I gave up

... but not quite

we've almost got it!

not there yet, by now I'm yelling at her

still trying for something simple

something simple

I had to take my "before" photos for this work wellness thing, and these are the pictures I had to take, thanks to Poppy, before I got one that worked.

Info on Odin's new pills

Vetmedin
Vetmedin has been shown to increase both the quality and length of life in dogs suffering from congestive heart disease. Vetmedin opens up the blood vessels that take blood away from the heart effectively reducing the work the heart does to pump blood. At the same time, Vetmedin opens up the blood vessels returning blood to the heart, reducing pressure on the heart. Vetmedin differs from other commonly used heart drugs by helping the heart to pump more efficiently.
http://www.1800petmeds.com/Vetmedin-prod10980.html

http://www.vetmedin.co.uk/vetmedin.php?view=11

My garden

Here are the first two veggies out of my garden. I swear, last weekend they weren't there at all.

Odin's not doing so hot

He got some new medicine - some state-of-the-art, top-of-the-line stuff that is pricey, even with the discount Dr. W gave me. It is not supposed to really do anything for his heart, but make him feel better. He is eating better and seems a little bit friskier, but I can still feel his heart going all crazy in his ribcage after he's been frisky.
On Sunday morning, Kevin and I took him for a walk with the wagon, to see if it would work and how he would do. He seemed fine until about a block from home (it was only like a 15 minute walk, and we were going really slow for sniffing purposes), he wobbled a little and flopped down in the grass. We got him on the wagon, but he wouldn't ride on it.
So my last idea is to maybe make him a little tag that says "I have a heart problem. My mom left me here to get the car. She'll be right back." I don't know what else to do. Kevin pointed out that he probably is enjoying the scenery (or smell-ery) and I should just do the really short block and not keep him cooped up at home.
But after the walk, he pooped all over the bed while we were at the barn, then wore his diaper and pooped all in it, then today pooped all over the bed again. It's that smeary poop.
We see the vet Wednesday, for the Holter monitor and to get Stampy's lumps checked, so I'll ask her about it then. I'm nervous. I hate that all this medicine isn't making him back to himself. I just want him to be like he used to be.
He's also getting new, special, also mega-expensive dog food - some Science Diet (now, apparently, called Hill's) heart healthy, low sodium stuff. He seems to like it.

Also, an embarrassing p.s.

I have the vet's phone number memorized.

Dog breeds

Janis suggested maybe a Vizla, yellow lab ("bench"? not field breeding and there are things you can do to avoid them becoming ball crazy), or maybe a standard poodle. She's also been researching what their next dog might be.
And I forgot about greyhounds ...

Kappa and Pee - Don't read if you're easily grossed out

Tonight I was minding my own business in the bathroom, when Kappa walked in and jumped into the bathtub (behind the shower curtain). Then I heard something that sounded suspiciously like pee. I pulled open the shower curtain and peeked behind it, and sure enough, Kappa was crouched peeing into the drain in the bathtub.
I have noticed, on more than one occasion, a greenish tint to the water around the drain, but I thought that was sitting water corroding or something.
I can't remember the first time I noticed, but I think the whole thing is very bizarre. I have three litter boxes. Does he pee in other drains too? Do the girls pee in drains?
I'm kind of icked out.

Odie's heart

Today Stampy and I went to the vet for his swollen neck. He's on more antibiotics, but his other lymph nodes aren't swollen and he seems to feel fine, so it's not a big deal.
The vet called this afternoon because she called WSU about Odin's heart. (I mentioned, in passing, that Odin has little episodes where he looks like he has dog Parkinson's, and she said those are "afib attacks" & were pretty significant.) They are going to put Odin on yet another heart medication, this one is one that is usually the big guns for when dogs are on their death bed. She said he shouldn't be feeling so bad all the time. Also, they're going to put on a Halter (Holter?) monitor to see exactly what his heart is doing. WSU is going to mail one over, they'll have to strap him into it for 24 hours, then we'll mail it back, and 24 hours later they should know exactly what is going on with the "episodes" and whether Odin is a candidate for a pacemaker.

Stampy's swollen glands are back

It thundered and lightning around 4 am, and was spotty rain and cooler today. So no beach. We probably lost our last chance for this year.
Stampy is acting fine, but today I looked at him and his throat has those swollen knots. He's only got two days (one day?) of pills left, so I guess I need to call the vet.

The yard

Kevin did yard work in the backyard while he was petsitting, and it looked so good that while I was mowing the dandelions, I got inspired, and did about an hour of weeding. It made an amazing difference. Here is a photo of Stampy admiring it.
It is hot today (90?) but with a nice breeze, and I'm sorry I didn't plan the weekend better to take the boys to the beach. Tomorrow we might try to go to a park that has water but doesn't require any walking to get there.

Symptoms of Congestive Heart Failure

My understanding is that the next phase of Odie's heart is Congestive Heart Failure.
Here's what the web page I found says the symptoms are:
- bloated, pear-shaped tummy (because fluid backs up into the liver and leaks out into the abdomen)
- much less active and tire easily
- appetite usually falls off
- difficult respiration, panting and coughing while at rest
- membranes of the mouth are grayish rather than healthy pink and vessels on the surface are abnormally congested with blood
- jugular pulse in which the beating of the heart can be seen in the large jugular veins of the neck

It says CHF can develop over many months or years, but then ...
As heart function declines, the body is able to compensate for several weeks or months. However, at some point, the body's ability to compensate is no longer effective. At this point, dogs can go into severe heart failure in what appears to be a matter of hours. Rapid, heavy breathing, blue tongue (cyanosis), excessive drooling, or collapse may be the first signs that anything is wrong.

By the time the dogs develop the problems, they rarely live beyond a year or two. Many die sooner despite the use of many medications.

Here's where I got the info:
http://www.2ndchance.info/conghtfaildog.htm

A shorter list of symptoms is:
Coughing

Shortness of breath

Difficult breathing (dyspnea)

Weight loss

Fatigue

http://www.petplace.com/dogs/a-matter-of-the-heart-congestive-heart-failure/page1.aspx

This one says the same as the first one, that his body will compensate for a few months, then:
For several months, these compensatory responses help the situation. Increased fluid retention eventually becomes harmful. More and more fluid leaks out of capillaries, causing increased gagging and coughing, and reduced stamina. Fluid may collect in the abdominal cavity and body tissues. Fluid in the lungs is called pulmonary edema, fluid below the skin is called peripheral or limb edema, and fluid in the abdomen is called ascites. Congestive heart failure is a common cause of these signs.

And then it sounds like it's really quick:
Dilated cardiomyopathy develops over many months or even years. Its effects on blood flow also develops slowly. As heart function declines, the body is able to compensate for several weeks or months. At some point in time, the body’s ability to compensate is no longer effective. At that point, dogs go into severe heart failure in what appears to be a matter of hours. Rapid, heavy breathing, a blue tongue, excessive drooling, or collapse may be the first signs.

And his life expectation:
Most dogs that stabilize quickly will live for a period of a few months to many months, but the long-term prognosis is not good. It can be difficult to generate an accurate estimate for life-expectancy when a dog has heart disease because many variables impact on survival.

http://www.sniksnak.com/doghealth/heartfailure.html

I can't bear to read anymore. There were lots of google hits for "congestive heart failure dog".

Sadly, the final set of Stephen being adorable.

Have I mentioned Stephen is cute? - set 3

Mom is imagining having an event in the bamboo forest.
I am doing my best to be a "good" aunt and introduce Stephen early in life (at the imprintable stage) on the nectar of the gods.

Stephen is adorable - set 2

That is Stephen's going to the zoo outfit, which he did not wear to the zoo because the pant's needed suspenders.

Pictures of Stephen - set 1

I took 93 pictures of Stephen in the <6>

These are the highlights only. You have to look at Judith's blog and flickr site for more and better pictures.