Picture Day

A cat you say?

Yes, Reyna has informed me that she feels left out and absolutely enraged that she doesn't have a blog. Instead of making another (already have two) I decided just to plop her in here as she didn't really fit into the other one very well. The boys don't mind, Drifter is far to afraid of her to object and Boone... well he says she's all for it as long as he's allowed to play with her and chase her up and down the stairs. So here she is, Queen Reyna aka Stumpy.

No Crate

Me and Boone are on a "mini vacation". I decided to go away for a week, not much computer time as I obviously can't bring my massive desktop with me so I'm borrowing the use of someone else's. Seeing as I have lost my car as of last weekend I had to bum a ride of someone and Boone's crate wouldn't fit, so I had to do without. I feared the first night what I would wake up to, had nightmares, woke up every few airs and sniffed the air like a hound. Nothing. He gets leashed to the side of the bed at night and hasn't made a single mess or been a pest. I'm amazed, no accidents at all anywhere even when I went out for several hours and left him loose in the house! He's growing up and finally getting the message!

I also found a leash and collar I had bought before I had adopted him. It had been too big at the time so I had stuffed it away in my travel bag and forgot all about it. I was going through the bag yesterday looking for nail clippers and found it. It fits him wonderfully now as his other one was starting to get a bit small and was looking a little to thin and weak for my taste. His old leash is also chewed to hell and back. So I use his old leash to tie him to the bed at night to avoid chewing on the new one. The only thing I don't like is that the leash is alot shorter on the new one but I an leave with that for a bit I guess. It really stands out against him, bright neon green, bam!

Not only has he gotten new apparel but he's been doing extremely well with strangers lately, and those that aren't really strangers but aren't really people in his everyday life either. He's still nervous but he'll sniff, and bump them with his nose now instead of running away first. I think he's really missing Drifter, I am too. But Drifter does better when he remains with my dad and vice versa. When the time comes that Drifter is longer around be it passing on or by me moving out I'm definitely going to have to get a second dog, Boone just seems so lost without the old crank and a second dog for him to play with would be great when I'm tired out or can't.

His surgery site has healed beautifully now if only the hair would hurry up and grow back. Ick. Anywho I should head off, maybe get some pictures of the stud and his new neckware.

No More Cone

Boone is healing great! The cone really helped out and last night I never even bothered to put it on him. I had been keeping it off during the day the past two days and only using it at night. He's got some scabbies from where he had been picking at it before but everything looks a whole lot better and he's alot happier now that I let him run around and act like a fool.

Drifter had a fairly off couple of days. Just wasn't himself, I know the one day there were alot of fireworks as it was the Victory Day weekend. He hates loud sounds and so that really freaked him out but the other day there wasn't really any excuse. It had me worried and again showed me he was getting older every day.

It's 25 out today, figure now that Boone is pretty much healed and its so nice out that I'd take them down to the valley for some fun time.

Just stick a light bulb in his mouth

Boone has acquired a cone as he continued to pick at his stitches during the night. After the first night of wearing the cone it looks SO much better. He isn't too bad with the cone, he bumps into things and does sometimes get caught up on the basement stairs but he just backs up and lifts his head higher or makes wider turns. Since he's started wearing it he hasn't gotten into any trouble... over anything! No chewing on things he's not supposed to, no running around like a nut, knocking things over, abusing Drifter...

The cone seems to keep him calm, mostly he just lays around on the floor and tries to eat/drink without hitting the cone off the floor. I had to hand feed him his kibble the first time but now he almost has the hand of it or I take the cone off while he's eating. I'll just be happy when this is all over with and we can go back to doing our normal things. I almost miss his crazy, OCD ways, almost. With the cone comes all the usual "funny" comments. Luckily Boone can't snark back at them and I can bite my tongue. Honestly it gets old people, yes he's wearing a cone, oh harhar. I am not sticking a light bulb in his mouth, I am not putting his leash on so it can be the switch to turn the "lamp" on, and I am not going to tilt his head up when it rains so I can make a birdbath.

Brain Surgery

So Booney got neutered yesterday. I'm told he was very well behaved there, no barking, biting or growling at anyone. Said he was clearly very nervous and uncomfortable. So everything went well and he was home by 5:00pm the same day. He was a still a little sleepy and ouchy yesterday and did a great job at making me feel like a horrible mommy. But today he is far more himself. He just won't jump up onto his chair. He'll put his front legs up and then turn to me and whimper until I gave his rear end a boost. Guess that still hurts a bit. He was up for a walk today so we went down to Red Hill and did a short walk around the waterfall, he had to stay on leash the whole time which he was not impressed about as Drifter trotted on ahead and constantly stayed just out of his reach.

Yesterday he looked like this...


Today he looks like this...


I did bring him up to the vet this morning for them to look at him as I was worried about the area. They said everything still looked OK but that the brusing was more then usual. They suggested that he just bruised easily. It doesn't seem to bother him at all today unless he tries to get in his chair and he is a drama queen so if it was painful he'd show it loud and clear.

That first step you take is the longest stride

OK, time to face facts. I can't bring Drifter along on every walk. As much as he loves it and tries so hard to keep up like he's a 2 year old he can't. It hurts him I don't want to see him hobbling around not useing his one front leg and sliding across the floor with the other one. I just about cry every time I see him after a walk. But even then he tries so hard to show he's not in pain. If I go on a second walk with Boone he scoots across the floor as fast as his old body can. His eyes as bright as a child's on christmas morning. His mind his ready to go but his body isn't. I hate the look that crosses his face when I tell him to stay and be a good boy. Its like someone killed his best friend, betrayed him... I almost give in, sometimes I do and let him come along. If that happens he's completely useless for th rest of the night and into the next day. It kills me to see my playful, puppy Riffer-Roo turn into this old man before my eyes... before his own eyes. To know that one day he's not going to be riding shotgun with me in the car, when I jingle my keys there won't be a 92lb black tank come running towards me and hop around me the whole way to the car like we're going on same grand adventure when in reality we're only going to Tim Hortons or to the bank. When that time comes... I don't know how I'll cope, I'm sure I will somehow but he's been with me for 8 out of his 9 years. It's going to be hard.

I'll keep taking him on walks, just not the longer ones, hopefully this will be less painful for both of us. One short walk a day just doesn't do it for Boone. A nice walk around the block then later take Boone out alone to the trails for 2 hours or so. I'm sure it'll be good for me too, with what I eat I can't sit around all day or I'll turn into some blob. Big steps need to be made, I'm coming to see this now, with everyone/thing. Time to step up and take control before they get out of control.

A thunderstorm is God's way of saying you spend too much time in front of the computer

Severe thunderstorm watch today, its been raining on and off pretty heavily but when its not raining and the sun does make a rare poke out its a lovely 17 degrees. I'd take the dogs out for a walk but I don't want to get caught in a downpour or the storm when it does come. I love thunderstorms but like to watch them from the cover of the house or covered deck. I do however hate that when one rolls around both my computer and the upstairs computer decide they don't want to connect to the internet. So far so good though.

Drifter in the past used to go into hiding whena storm was coming. He'd run down to the basement and hide under the pool table. But with the pool table gone and the PITA it is to go up and down those stairs for him he simply chills out now and stays close to whoever he can upstairs. Though he's taken to hiding in his room today.

Boone has so far only witnessed one storm, and he went batty. This time around he's just being a big mush. Constantly wants to be either on me or touching me but other then that is taking it well. He is passed out on the floor by the couch at the moment I can almost count down to when he'll get up and demand more cuddling.

A lot of people are afraid of heights. Not me, I'm afraid of widths.

Boone had an exam at a new vet I'm trying out. The vet was wonderful with him! Nobody gave much care to his muzzle, they all just said how cute he was and tried to be his buddy which Boone really wanted nothing to do with. He was a frozen rock. I put him up on the table for the vet and the whole time he kept talking to him and petting him, telling him what a good boy he was that he didn't need to be afraid anymore as I wouldn't let anyone hurt him. Since he wanted to do blood before his neuter they asked if I wanted to just do it today and I said sure. To cause Booney less stress the techs came into the exam room and did it instead of taking him to the back. He did VERY well, he's usually a drama queen about needles (takes after his mama heh) but he didn't udder a sound.

Vet came back and asked if I wanted to take him to the back room so they could get a weight on him to avoid Boone getting upset. He did wonderful, stood on it like a champ instead of trying to bounce off. 34kgs! The clinic cat was not impressed by him though. Got the results back and they said everything looked fairly good with his blood test, some level was high I can't remember which exactly... his serum levels? But they said its really nothing to worry about and the vet advised they redo his blood the day of he neuter to make sure everything is OK. After finding out all the health problems Drifter had because the vet neither advised and we never asked for things like blood tests which might have warned us about these things sooner I was more then OK with them doing another test for Boone. So he goes in for the big snip snip this Tuesday at 8am. The vet said he usually liked them to stay overnight to make sure they came around OK but with Boone and his anxiety that I could come collect him later in the day so he didn't get too worked up.

Drifter's been great lately in the past two weeks he hasn't had a seizure. I can't help but wonder if it has anything to do with the amount of exercise he's getting now. I take him and Boone for 1 1/2 - 2 hour walks every day or every other day and when I don't Drifter tends to have a seizure. He's also loosing weight and has a bit of a waistline again! Though his stomach worries me, the vet said he might have fluid in his abdomen since he didn't have the cough of congestive heart failure there is a good chance he has no fluid around his heart but apparently there is another form where they get fluid in their abdomens. He's loosing weight but still has they jello like stomach pouch that sways and sags. I hate that I don't have the money for his medical bills and my parents won't spend large amounts on a dog his age. The vet still wants to do an ultrasound to look at his heart, liver and this fluid but to do that they have to knock him out and Drifter tends to stop breathing when he gets knocked out. But the main thing is he's still happy and still himself so thus far his nasty heart murmur, liver problems, seizures and arthritis aren't bothering him. Which makes me feel a tad better.