Checkup at the Vet

Samson Stats: 5 years old, 128 lbs.
Abby Stats: 1.5 years old

Samson's birthday was August 31st! Happy birthday, Sam! <3

I took Samson to the veterinarian today for a mini checkup so that we could get more refills for his prednisone (used to treat his allergies during the summer months). I came home on an early lunch break to load him up in the car and take him to the vet. I didn't make a big deal out of it, but Abby knew we were going somewhere and she got pretty excited. Unfortunately, she wasn't coming along. When I walked out with Samson and without Abby, she started barked kind of frantically as though she didn't want to be left alone. I felt so bad for leaving her, because after thinking about it for a minute, she's never been alone in the house --Samson has always been there with her -- so I think she didn't want to be left behind. I imagine she was also a little jealous that he was getting to go out and she wasn't. lol I don't know how long she barked after we left, but I don't believe she did it for very long; it's just not really in her personality to do that. By the time I got back from the vet, she was quiet and excited to see Samson. After a little while of greeting and loving on Sam, she noticed that I had come home, too.

As for the vet visit, Sam did ok. The vet is not his favorite place. Though he liked going when he was little, I think that all changed on a particular visit during which they clipped his nails and hit the quick a few times. He never enjoyed going there after that. And really, who could blame him?

Other than the anxiety he was experiencing, he behaved relatively well all things considered. He didn't try to bolt out the door or anything while we were in the waiting room, but he wasn't waiting calmly either -- lots of panting and restlessness instead. The vet finally came to weigh him and give him a good once-over. He weighed 128 lbs, and she said he looked good. So yay! New Rx of prednisone! :D

In other news, Abby likes to climb up on the couch a lot these days. She'll crawl up there usually when Travis is there on his laptop and she scoots close enough to him so that she's sure to be touching hm. It's pretty cute. And yesterday, she decided to just sit up there by herself for a little while. It was pretty funny:

Abby Likes TV

Abby Stats: 1 year and 7 months
Samson Stats: 4 (almost 5) years

Abby is becoming more affectionate, and slowly but surely she is calming down. She likes to get up on the couch with us sometimes, but she usually only sits still for a few moments then tries to play or just won't sit still.

We've been getting a couple of weeks of free the National Geographic channel, and it turns out that Abby's favorite show is the Dog Whisperer. lol She'll sit right in front of the tv and watch it for the longest time. It's pretty funny.

Abby and Samson have both been shedding a lot. We gave them both good baths last week and the week before. It's really helped, especially with Abby, but Samson is still shedding a fair bit.

Speaking of Sam, we need to get him some more allergy pills. He's been itching a lot due to the dry weather, pollen, and loose hair. I wish the vet wouldn't make it so hard for us to get the pills. I mean, at this point it's just something that we have to deal with when it comes to Samson; I don't see why the vet thinks he has to examine Sam every time we ask for a refill on his Rx, especially considering how long it takes us to go through the a single batch. Oh well...

We took Abby and Samson to visit the nieces while they were in town staying with the nephews who now live here. Abby did really well with all of the other dogs and all of the kiddos. Samson, as usual, mostly just hangs out. Abby on the other hand, likes to try to play with the dogs and kids. She did really well, and was especially gentle with Millie, the new Boston Terrier puppy that my nephews now have. I wish we hadn't forgotten the video camera when we went to visit.

About to Molt...

Abby Stats: 14 months old, 105 lbs.

• Abby vomited tonight. But seems otherwise fine.
• She’s very fluffy; will probably molt soon.
• Still digging a lot. Not destructive inside.

Four-Month Update

Abby Stats: 1 year old

Abby has turned into a very confident and happy dog. She’s not afraid of anything. She is a regular barker and guards the house well. In fact, just yesterday my mom came to the house while we were at the neighbors’ and rang the doorbell. Both dogs barked of course, but Abby also stuck her head through the cat door to see who was outside. Mom put her face to the window, and Abby, head still stuck through the cat door, growled menacingly at her. I had to laugh when I saw her do it; she looks a little ridiculous with her head sticking through the cat door. It makes me feel good to know that Abby will do a good job intimidating would-be burglars.

Abby walks really well on the leash, though she tends to try to lead. When we take her and Samson out to the square, she will sometimes bark at other dogs when we try to pull her away from them. I think she is just doing this because she is confused or is unsure of how to behave around other dogs that are leashed. It’s definitely something to do with the leashes, because she is always very friendly when she meets dogs when she is free in the back yard.

Other than that, she eats really well, has gotten into a regular schedule about going out, and plays with Oscar regularly. She loves digging in the yard (to our chagrin) and playing with Samson. She gets jealous when he is outside on his own and will bark and whine wanting to go out where he is. She doesn’t seem to mind as much when the situation is reversed and she is outside on her own.

She likes to cuddle and play with us in the floor. Her personality is so much like Ellie's sometimes, but minus all of Ellie's fearfulness. Abby really has been a Godsend for us.

She is very fond of chewing on her toys; we bought her a Kong Extreme about a month ago, and she’s already chewed off a few pieces of it. She also really likes the bones that she has, and has done a very good job of not chewing up much that she is not supposed to. The Christmas tree, however, had its trial by fire not long after we put it up. Somebody (probably Oscar, but possibly also Samson since he likes to get into tight spaces…) knocked the tree over, and we came home to find a bunch of chewed-up ornaments. Luckily none of our good ones were destroyed (it was only the inexpensive decorative ones), but we scolded her really well and she hasn’t paid any attention to the tree since then. She seems to learn very quickly when she does something wrong, and rarely does it more than once.

Also, we discovered today what appears to be a third dew claw on one of her hind legs. It looks so weird and is not like the others. It's sort of soft and looks as though it could just be pulled out or something. Gives me the heeby-jeebies just wrting about it. We might have to have it removed just for being so... creepy. lol

Is that really comfortable?

Abby stats: 9 months old, 80 lbs.

Abby sleeps in variations of this position all the time. Ellie used to do it a lot, too. lol

Settling In

Abby Stats: 8 months old

Abby is much more confident and comfortable in her new home. She loves going out in the back yard and playing with Samson (though he gets tired of her). She tries to play a lot with Lilly and Lola (a pair of boxer mixes) next door through the fence. She’s very good about going to the door when she wants out. Problem is, she’s not learned when it’s ok for her to go out, when it’s a bad time; she likes to wake us up in the middle of the night… that’s getting a little old.

Abby is left; Samson is right.

Abby Meets the Fam

Abby Stats: 8 months old, 65 lbs.

Abby is already starting to act very comfortable in the house. Travis’ mom came over, but we did a poor job of introducing Abby to her, so Abby didn’t really want much to do with her. We did a better job when my mom and dad came over; we met them outside in the garage before they came inside and let them both give her a treat. She took to them very well. We’ll have to retry it with Travis’ mom the next time she and Jimmy come over.

A New Addition

Abby Stats: 8 months old, 65 lbs.

We adopted Abby, an 8 month old great pyrenees, today from a shelter in Alabama. She is pretty timid, but that is expected considering all the change she’s been through recently. She’s also very dirty, stinky, and her fur is matted. The vet says not to bathe her for 10 days because of her spay… She got a bath as soon as we got home. lol

Ellie's Gone

Ellie Stats: Deceased, not yet 1 year and 6 months old

• The vet called Travis and told him that Ellie passed away last night at around 8 o’clock. He said that after surgery she continued to vomit, and nothing they gave her would stop it. We are devastated not only because we've lost Ellie, but also because there is still no apparent cause for her illness and eventual death. It is very frustrating and difficult to deal with.
• We both left work for the day to mourn the death of our beloved Ellie.
• We decide to let the vet perform an autopsy in the hopes of finding something on the cellular level that could be the cause of all of this. I’m not sure when we’ll hear back about it.
• We decided to bury Ellie at my parents’ house.

Surgery

Ellie Stats: 1 year and 5 months old

• 7:48 am ~ We took Ellie back to the vet this morning. No improvement over the night and she continued to have nausea and vomiting. I just hope they find whatever is making her sick when they cut her open, and she can start getting back to her usual plucky self! :(
• 9:51 am ~ The vet called and said Ellie's bloodwork work was good and that her kidneys have completely recovered since last week. They're going to move ahead with surgery, and the vet said he'd call to update us as soon as he "popped his gloves off".
• 11:18 am ~ So the vet just popped off his gloves and called Travis. He. Found. Nothing. Ellie has a healthy gut, and yet she's vomiting "digestive blood" - whatever that is. So he sewed her up and is going to keep her there for 7 days or so while she recovers and they try to get her stomach chemistry back to normal. He'll keep her hydrated and on pain meds as well. Freaking 18" incision for naught...
• Vet said she made it through surgery without missing a beat, though – strong and regular heart rate, good oxygen levels the whole time. That’s good at least.

Back at Home

Ellie Stats: 1 year and 5 months old

We brought Ellie home today at noon, but she's been nauseous ever since. I was hoping she would get her appetite back after she got home to a familiar setting, but no luck. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that it was just the movement of the ride home that has upset her stomach. I'm happy to have her home, but worried that we're headed right back to where we started. If she's no better in the morning, then back she goes to the vet....

Coming Home Soon

Ellie Stats: 1 year and 5 months old

• Ellie seemed even better today. Nothing turned up on the barium test so that's great. She still won't really eat though (other than a little kibble yesterday) so she's probably going to be there at least until Monday. I wish she would just get her appetite back so she could come home!
• Vet called and said that Ellie ate today and would've finished all of it if she hadn't found the pills that the vet tried to hide in there. lol I think she's coming home tomorrow! :D

Hopeful

Ellie Stats: 1 year and 5 months old

Yesterday's Ellie update was a bit scary, but God heard our prayers and today held better news. Ellie was in much better spirits today and started eating some food. She didn't really know what to think of the soft canned food, so she would kinda gum it then spit it out. Was kind of funny actually. When Travis visited this afternoon, he thought it'd be a good idea to give her something more familiar to eat and requested some kibble that she could try. She ate it. Go figure. Lol

Though she's still very weak, Ellie was able to walk around on her own today and was very happy to see all her visitors today. My dad went to visit her, and he said she tried to leave with him instead of following the vet. Sweet, but a little sad too. I know she's ready to come home and be away from all those other strange dogs that are back there in the other kennels.

Anyways, the vet was pleased with her progress and started her on a barium test earlier today. As of later this afternoon nothing was really showing up, so he said they would do another check on the progress of the test in the morning and a little more blood work. If they don't see anything, and if she will poop, then she's good to go! If they do see something with the test, then they'll go ahead with the surgery (but at least they'll kinda know where it is and it won't just be "exploratory").

The vet was much more hopeful today (though to temper expectations, he reminded us that nothing is for sure and that things could turn around at any time - especially if it's a blockage), and was pleased with her progress.

Keeping our fingers crossed!

A Little Better Today

Ellie Stats: 1 year and 5 months old

Ellie is doing much better today so no surgery yet (yay!). They're doing a barium test instead, but she's started taking food and water, so the surgery may not even be necessary now. (double yay!) We'll see what is the barium test turns up, and the vet will be in touch with us tomorrow. Those prayers ...are workin'! :D

Not Much Improvement

Ellie Stats: 1 year and 5 months old

So...unfortunately the news for today isn't good. Ellie's kidneys are better, but we can't say the same for the rest of her. She has still refused any food given to her, and as of later this afternoon, she has started throwing up again...this time with blood in it.

The vet seems convinced that it must be some kind of blockage in her digestive system that is causing all of this; the kidney issue was just a byproduct of the dehydration. Long story short, and after much talking, we've decided that the best thing to do for Ellie is to put her under the knife and do exploratory surgery.

If she's no better tomorrow, they'll do the surgery. Hopefully they'll find what's causing the problem, and she can get on the road to recovery. If they don't find anything...well then we're just s.o.l. and out of ideas. But we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

Visited Ellie at the Vet

Ellie Stats: 1 year and 5 months old

• Travis went to see Ellie before work and said she wagged her tail a little, but that was about it. The vet wasn't there yet. He called the vet later at 10AM, but they were still running some tests to see if it's some kind of kidney disease. So still no word.........
• So we heard from the vet at around noon, and all they could say is it's not Addison's Disease. Which is good, but they still don't know what's causing the acute renal failure and they've run out of tests. Vet said Ellie will probably be there a few days. Her kidneys are improving but not as quickly as they should. Still a waiting game…
• The vet keeps asking if she has ingested anything poisonous (like antifreeze) that could be causing this. I just can't think of how she could've gotten ahold of anything that would do this!!! So frustrating.
• Lauren went to see Ellie after work. She's definitely better than yesterday but still very sluggish and weak. She was laying down when I came in but her head was up. She didn't react to me much so I was a little disappointed, but at least she's improving. She'll probably be there until Friday as they continue to pump fluids into her.... Vet seems to think it might have been severe dehydration that caused the kidney problems.

Ellie is Very Sick

Ellie Stats: 1 year and 5 months old

• Ellie continues to have upset stomach.
• After work today, Travis came home to find Ellie listless and unmoving. She had had diarrhea but hadn’t moved at all. We took her to the vet ASAP.
• Vet tells us that Ellie was on the verge of death. It was kidney failure and her potassium levels were fatal. But they pumped her full of fluids and she somehow pulled through.
• I posted on facebook, “The vet called earlier this evening and told us that she was severely dehydrated and had nearly complete kidney failure. Still don't know what caused it (though a blockage has been ruled out), but we'll know by tomorrow morning whether her kidneys will be able to recover. They have her on IVs and said that she was acting better than when we first brought her in. Not out of the woods yet though, and only time will tell how things turn out...”

Ellie's Sick

Ellie Stats: 1 year and 5 months old

• Ellie is vomiting up yellow bile for most of the night. She doesn’t feel well at all.

Still Stressed

Ellie Stats: 1 year and 5 months old

• Ellie has had diarrhea off and on all month. We think it's still stress from people randomly shooting fireworks.

Ellie Hates the Fireworks

Ellie Stats: 1 year and 5 months old

• Ellie is having some diarrhea. We think it’s due to stress caused by the fireworks. She is apparently still very scared of them.