why TGIF means "thank God it's february"...

I did not intend to disappear for the entire month of January. But sometimes life gets hard and it takes everything you've got to trudge through one more day.

That's how it was for me. And I'm so glad that the month is OVER!!

In addition to my health issues continuing to beat me down, I also found out - just a few days after Christmas - that Claire had a malignant tumor on her paw. She had surgery during the first week of January to remove it, and I was supposed to hear the pathology results a few days later, but the lab was closed for the holidays. During her recovery, she managed to rip her stitches out, despite wearing the Cone of Shame while I was at work. I came home and found little bits of her cast all over the house before realizing the bigger issue: ripping the stitches out had allowed the wound to gape open, exposing her bone. I rushed her to the hospital immediately and she underwent a second surgery to debride, flush, and pack the wound before stitching it up again. I didn't let her out of my sight for the next 12 days to give it time to heal. Of course, on Day 13, when I went into the office, I came home to find that she had managed to rip out the stitches again despite wearing TWO Cones of Shame at the same time. We rushed back to the vet, but thankfully the surgical site had healed enough where she didn't need to undergo a third surgery. By that point, the only open part was the top layer of skin, so that healed after a week of hydrotherapy and some good bandaging by yours truly.

Tough recovery, I'm telling you!

Additionally, I didn't get the pathology results back until just a week ago - exactly one month after the tumor was removed. Thankfully, they managed to get all of it and she does not need to undergo radiation or chemotherapy. I don't think I realized just how much the What Ifs were worrying me; when I heard the results, I literally felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders.

After all that, however, Princess Claire has a paw that is as good as new! The beginning of this week was a bit stressful for her as we got back into our normal routine. After being with her almost 24/7 for a month, she had a little separation anxiety for the first few days that she was left alone. She seems to be feeling a bit more confident now, but realistically, it may take a little longer for her to feel 100% while I'm at work.

My intent over the next few months is to get back to blogging on a regular basis. Of course, this all depends on how I'm feeling physically, but I'm finally feeling well enough to start doing other things rather than just work and sleep! Good thing that Claire is a snugglebug. I swear, even as I was taking care of her over the past month, she still managed to take care of me.

What a good dog :)

pearly whites.

I have learned to schedule Claire's dental appointments for Saturdays. That way, as soon as they call me to come pick her up, I can head right over and rescue her from the uncomfortable confines of the kennel and get her snuggled up in her own bed. I like to think that she appreciates this greatly.

It always makes me nervous knowing that they have to fully anesthetize dogs in order to clean their teeth. Though I still experience a great deal of anxiety over this, I've come a long way from the days when I would sit in the waiting room for eight hours waiting until the vet was done. Now I at least have the strength to drop her off in the morning and pick her up in the afternoon. I still anxiously await the vet's call, but at least I can leave their office!

Sleeping off the anesthesia.

Little One has a hard time with the anesthesia. It doesn't make her sick, but it takes an awfully long time to wear off. They finished her teeth cleaning at noon, let me pick her up at 3pm, and now, at 8pm, she is still fast asleep. Occasionally she looks over at me, eyes still red and at half-mast, and then, assured that I am close by, she falls back asleep. Poor thing. I hate that she's so uncomfortable. It makes my heart hurt.

The report from the vet was good, though - lab work was fine, and her teeth are pearly white. Claire is starting to get a little gingivitis along the gums of her back teeth, but the vet said that's normal for dogs who are Claire's age. She told me to keep giving her raw marrow bones at least once a week but no more than twice a week, as they are excellent for Claire's teeth and breath. I can do that, and Claire will be happy about this news!

   

on our way to getting some answers.

Where have we been for the past four days? I've been busy making homemade food for the princess, while she has been lying around and being sick. Well, that's not completely true; on the days that she felt better, she went to daycare and had some fun with her pals. But we both stayed home today because she had an appointment with a veterinary specialist in the hopes that we could get some answers about this GERD issue.

It was a frustrating appointment. First of all, I specifically asked over the phone if I should bring a copy of her vet records, and I was told not to. Then, when I got there and explained what the past three years of GERD have been like for Claire, they asked if I brought a copy of her vet records. Yeah. I was pissed. I called up my girls at Banfield and asked them to quickly fax over her records, but they misunderstood and faxed over her vaccination records. I offered to call them back and have them send everything, but the specialist said, "Well, I have to get to my next appointment, but on your way out, make another appointment and then have them fax it before you come in next."

...And then I burst into tears. I told her that it's breaking my heart to hear Claire wake up crying in the middle of the night. I told her that I haven't been sleeping because I'm so worried about her. I told her how she won't eat anything but homemade food or else she throws up all over the place. I told her that I need her to do something today, because I'm not a vet and I can't fix this, but she can.

So she ordered a complete food allergy panel which will be sent out to a lab in Texas. We won't have results for the next two weeks, so in the meantime, she gave me prescription hypoallergenic food for Claire and prescription probiotics. $600 later and we're finally getting somewhere.

Keep praying those prayers and thinking happy thoughts for us. Lord knows the next two weeks are going to go by very slowly as we wait for results. And thank you so very much for all of your emails, texts, FB messages, and tweets - I read them all to Claire, and I'm positive that if she could speak, she'd say thank you too! Knowing that you all love her so much is the best kind of support I could ask for!

   

a worrisome weekend.

It's been an interesting weekend at la casa de Claire. It's been somewhat sad and worrisome but also kind of hopeful at the same time. Off and on for the past week, Claire's stomach has been bothering her with the classic symptoms of GERD. It's the first significant bout since I switched her food to Pinnacle back in December, but this time it's pretty clear that her stomach is torn up from... well... something.

I went back to Dizzy's Dog Wash and Corner Store yesterday to talk to Mrs. Dizzy about the next step [and no, I still don't know her real name]. Mrs. Dizzy said that she doesn't think it's a food issue anymore, seeing that the Pinnacle obviously didn't help in the long run. She gave me the name of a new veterinarian who uses both western and eastern medicine and knows a lot about digestive issues such as this. And then Mrs. Dizzy handed me a piece of paper and said, "I think it's time that you start cooking for her."

Umm, keep in mind that I hardly cook for myself. Thankfully, the paper she handed me was a list of recipes for dogs who are Claire's size. And I mean, I can follow directions at least. So we're good there. To be honest, at first I had a minor freak-out moment where I was thinking, "WHENDOIHAVETIMETODOTHIS?!?!?!" But I quickly came to my senses. This is Claire, we're talking about here. She's my girl. So if I have to carve out some time in my day to prepare good quality food for her to feel better, I will absolutely do it.

So, I spent the afternoon yesterday cooking for Claire with what I had in my freezer and cupboards: tilapia filets, frozen peas, and oatmeal [1.5 cups of tilapia, 1.5 cups of oatmeal, and 1/4 cup of peas, if you want to make it for your dog too - it is Claire-approved]. Appetizing, right? Well... she liked it, and that's all that matters. So far, she's had four homemade meals and she hasn't thrown up yet! Her stomach still hurts, as evidenced by the fact that she ate some grass this morning on our walk, but the food stayed down. And I do realize that it will take some time for her stomach to heal. As much as I'd like it to be an overnight fix, it won't be. That's just reality.

I'm really really worried about Claire, and I'm looking forward to taking her to this new vet. As much as I love my girls at Banfield, I need a second opinion. This GERD-issue has been going on for a couple years now, and I don't want to keep treating Claire with the same medications, which are proving to be band-aids for what is a major problem. Say some prayers for us, and I'll keep you all posted...

the cure for any sickness.

My sis and I had a great time hanging out this weekend during her quick weekend trip to Nashville. And you know, I wish I could show you a montage of pics of the two of us with Claire at a variety of places doing lots of fun things. But I can't, for two reasons:

1. Andie and I spent the majority of the weekend touring the Nashville restaurant scene. Don't even judge. We're Italian. Eating is like... a hobby for us.
2. Claire was sick. Again. With a stomach bug. Or pancreatitis. Or a stomach bug that triggered pancreatitis. Either way, she ended up at Banfield on lots of medicine and special food.

Claire spent most of the weekend resting. And while I absolutely loved spending quality time with Andie, I was also very worried about Claire and how she was feeling. We took her for a short walk on Saturday morning and she did just fine, but when we got back to the house, she laid back down in bed and just looked pitiful. We took her to the park for an hour yesterday, but instead of playing with her friends, she stayed close by and got lots of loving from my friends.

We took her with us when we ran errands [I'm starting to think that she likes going for rides in the car since our roadtrip at Christmastime] and while I ran in and out of a couple stores to get what we needed, Andie opted to stay in the car with Claire to keep her company. I tried to make it quick because I wanted to get Claire home to rest [and because it was time for me and Andie to eat our 20348324th 3rd meal of the day], but from the looks of it, I didn't need to rush.

I found this picture posted to Facebook on Andie's profile when I got home. If I didn't know how sick Claire actually was over the weekend, I would think that she was faking it so she could spend some quality time with Andie. Regardless, I am positive that this little snuggle-fest made her feel better.

Maybe it's a coincidence, but since then, Claire has been more energetic and has started to eat her regular food again. Naturally, I've decided to attribute Claire's progress to Andrea's visit - an obvious conclusion to come to, don't you think?! Someone's trip to Nashville should be extended. I mean, if not for me, Andie, do it for Claire!!

   

  

on the mend.

Sick puppy...

I had quite the scare last Thursday while I was getting ready to go to work. I got out of the shower and Claire was laying on the couch looking forlorn, and she had gotten sick all over the living room. The poor girl has had so many tummy issues with GERD that I know enough about it to know that it wasn't GERD this time. As I continued to get ready for work, Claire continued to get sick... And I began to worry. I went to work and sent my roommate a text for when she woke up, asking her to call me if Claire kept getting sick. I worried my way through the morning and finally had a chance to call Lyndsey to ask for an update on Claire. She said that Claire had curled into a ball on the couch and hadn't moved all morning. She also was dry-heaving and whining. Heartbreaking, right? I get sad just thinking about it. But that did it for me. I called the vet and made an appointment to take Claire in later that afternoon.

Not feeling well and not happy to be at the veterinarian's office.

Our very favorite nurse, Josie, was working that day and she commented that Claire was the sickest she'd ever seen in our 2.5 years of knowing her. I don't know who felt worse - Claire with her stomach ache or Josie for having to take her blood! When all was said and done, Claire was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis (for more info on pancreatitis, check out this post on my friend Jana's blog). We were sent home with an antibiotic, anti-emetic, anti-inflammatory, and a 4-day supply of prescription food.

She's always happy to see Josie, though!

Claire was down and out into Saturday, but by Saturday afternoon, she started wagging her tail again - such a good sign! We went to the park for just a half an hour yesterday and then I made her get back into bed. This morning, however, she was up early and excited to go back to daycare! No, really! She bounded out of bed when I mentioned it and then waited by the door until I was ready to go! And when I picked her up this afternoon, they said that she played all day and was back to her old self. Now that is news that I like to hear!

Feeling much better!

Just relaxing after a full day of fun at daycare!

  

Thank you to everyone who called, texted, emailed, commented, tweeted (etc etc etc) over the weekend to ask how she was/is doing! It means so much to us both!

  

  

a day of rest.

I needed a day like today. In fact, I think I need another day like it soon. Really soon. Life has been tumultuous lately, and I'm very much the kind of person who needs quiet and peace and stability. My Saturday was really busy - I had places to go, people to see, things to do! - and so I decided that today was going to be full of rest. God knew what He was doing when He created the Sabbath, and I think I need to honor that more.

Claire and I started the day by sleeping in. It was glorious. I could have just kept on sleeping, but around 9am, I woke up to a wet nose touching mine and a tail thumping against the bed. Waking up like that is a million times better than an alarm clock, by the way. I got up, got ready, and we headed off to spend a few hours at the dog park with friends, since the weather was so nice. Claire ran around and wrestled with Asya, dug a big hole with Simba, and got some loving from Kingsley. I knew it was time to go when she laid down in the middle of the park, so we came back home and curled up for naptime. [Naps on Sunday afternoons are the best, aren't they?]

Later on, I took her to see her vet at Banfield because she's had itchy red eyes all week, and it turns out that her allergies were acting up and then caused a secondary sinus infection. AHH. Once we got her on some antibiotics and anti-inflammatories, we headed home. I gave her dinner, a bath, a bone, and put some Vaseline on her poor little chapped nose, and now she is sound asleep and snuggled up with her Blue Elephant on top of my electric blanket. My sweet girl.

...You know, I think Claire needed a day of rest as much as I did.
 

all because of a bee sting.

I think every blogger has those times when they struggle with writers block. I also think every blogger also has times when they think, "Ihavesomuchtowriteandnotime!" Right now, I'm dealing with the latter, which really works out well for you all. So... on with tonight's post!


Claire and I had to take a dreaded trip to the vet this evening so that they could check out a swollen spot on her paw that I noticed yesterday. She used to love going to see the vet - free treats and lots of lovin'? Absolutely! But at some point within the past year, she has grown to HATE it. Rather than bounding out of the car for the treats and the hugs as she did when she was a little pup, she now reluctantly gets out of the car and sits there shaking through the whole thing. Let me reiterate: she shakes through the entire visit.


Tonight's little adventure started with the weigh-in. Sweet little Mary, one of the vet techs, tried to lure Claire over to the scale with a treat, but Claire stubbornly sat down six feet away and ignored her. After a solid five minutes of cooing and cajoling, Mary decided that it would be much more time-efficient to pick her up and put her on the scale, blocking her from the exit so that we could get an accurate weight. Next, our friend Josie came in with the stethoscope to check Claire's heart rate and her lungs. Not only did Claire tuck her tail, but she cowered. It was heart-wrenching to watch! I was petting her and praising her the whole time, but it was sad to see how terrified she was through the exam. They had to get a tape impression of the raw spot on her paw and also take some samples of the fur around it to make sure it wasn't ringworm or some other kind of fungal infection. Claire doesn't mind people touching her paws (or at least she didn't before this!) so she sat there leaning against me and let them do what they needed to do in order to get their skin/fur samples. But when they came back in later on to give us the diagnosis and put on some topical medication, she jumped up on the bench that I was sitting on, wedged herself behind me, and pressed her forehead into my back. She was done. She'd had it. She was ready to go home. And I got the message quite clearly!


After all of that emotional trauma for Claire Baby, it turns out that the spot on her paw was a bee sting that she had an allergic reaction to, which caused the swelling. She kept licking the place where she was stung, which caused the fur to fall out in that area. The vet gave me a week's worth of topical cream to put on Claire's paw to keep the swelling down and the infections away, so she will be feeling better soon. After two hours at the vet's office, Claire has been extra snuggly and has been staying very close to me. We came home and she put herself right to bed; she's so tired from all of the stress of seeing the vet. Come to think of it, I'm tired from all of the stress of seeing the vet!


Claire's vet and all the vet techs are so wonderful and patient, and they genuinely love the animals that they take care of - and you can tell! It's tough to be a "parent" and watch your dog/cat/bird/hamster have such a hard time at an appointment. But having a good relationship with the people on staff really makes such a big difference - they definitely helped me to help Claire through everything from the weigh-in to the actual testing.


However... I still hope (for Claire's sake!) that she doesn't have to go back again anytime soon!

italian cheese hounds.

Earlier this evening, I was fixing a lovely dinner of prosciutto-stuffed pasta, and giving Claire a piece or two before I dressed it up with spices. I laughed while thinking that my sweet puppy apparently likes Italian food as much as I do.


It got me thinking back to when I first adopted her from the shelter. Her tag simply said that her name is Claire and she is a lab mix. Post-adoption, while we went shopping in Petsmart for everything she needed, I had called my uncle to tell him about her; he used to breed dogs years ago, so he's my primary go-to for information. He was so happy to hear that I had just adopted a puppy, and was more than happy to venture some guesses as to what exactly her mix might be. I informed him that she is black with little white paws and a white chest, and her fur seemed like it would stay pretty short. Honestly, I could have been describing ANY kind of puppy - I mean, you certainly can't tell what a dog will look like until they get older. But my uncle said immediately, "Oh! Well, it sounds like she has some Italian cheese hound in her. Yes, I wouldn't be surprised if that is what she is mixed with." Sounded good to me!


I went to Banfield Pet Hospital to register Claire with the veterinarian and proudly informed the tech that Claire is a labrador retriever and Italian cheese hound mix. The tech looked at me with a blank stare and said, "Hmm. I've never heard of that kind of dog before. Who told you that?" I told her that my uncle, a former dog breeder, was pretty sure that was her mix, based on my description of her. The tech was quiet for a minute and left the room. When she came back, she said, "So, your uncle... Does he like to joke around a lot?" Well, yes, I thought. "Because," she began, "I just asked the vet, and she said that there isn't an Italian cheese hound breed registered with the AKC."


The pieces all fell into place. Of course he was kidding. And in my excitement about Claire, I completely disregarded all of the indications that he was not serious. So there I was, prancing around town, announcing to the world that my new puppy is a lab/cheese hound mix. And looking like a complete fool! When I told my uncle that I finally caught on, he thought it was hilarious that I took him at his word. And to this day, he asks how the Italian cheese hound is doing...


A few months after I got Claire, I managed to contact the people who brought her litter to the shelter. I wanted to tell them how fantastic she is, and wanted to find out about any potential health problems that her parents may have had. They said that Claire's mother was a lab and her father was a border collie. And now, having spent the past year and a half with her, it's plain to see that she has a good mix of both with her looks and her personality. Although, after letting her try some of my pasta tonight, I'm thinking that maybe she really does have a bit of Italian cheese hound in her...