Bailey is too smart for his own good. And mine at times! Last night, I took him out to the yard to walk around 9:00. He went into the yard, pottied, and was ready to go back inside. His mommy had other plans. I put his leash back on him and tugged him to the left to start our walk. The first lap he walked right beside me. He started the second lap very reluctantly and, after only 20 feet or so, stopped and refused to go any farther, regardless of my tugging. I took his leash off and started walking without him. He only let me get a few steps ahead of him before he ran to catch up with me and walked the next few laps right next to me, just as he would if he were still on the leash. Silly boy.
He has been doing that lately, refusing to walk on the leash after a couple of laps, preferring to walk on his own, but right beside me. Usually, as we finish a lap and turn the corner of the L-shaped fence and head toward the gate, he goes to the gate to see if I will let him go inside. When I keep walking, he runs to catch up with me and walk the next lap. Last night, though, rather than walking to the gate, he stopped at the corner (about 30 feet from the gate), watched me walk about half a lap, and then as soon as I got to the storage building, ran at full speed across the yard and fell into step beside me as we headed up the hill in the far corner. He did this for 6 or 7 laps, and it was so cute! Of course he had to listen to taunts of, "Cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater!" but at least he caught up in time to go up the hill with me because it is quite steep and really works the muscles in his legs... and mine! And besides, he is a cheater, and he does love to eat some pumpkin!
He walked for about 35 minutes last night, so if you subtract the time he was watching from the fence corner as mommy walked, he probably got in 20 - 25 minutes.
The funny thing is, as much as he wants to be independent outside, he still continues to be needy and demanding while inside. His indignant bark whenever dinnertime is not coming quickly enough after meds, or when he wants attention, or when he wants cold water, or when he wants treats continues. He is the worst when I get home from work. I immediately give him his DM meds, wait 15-30 minutes and give him his bromelain and curcumin, and then wait 30 minutes before feeding him because the meds should be given on an empty stomach. Bailey does not agree. Or he at least thinks that the meds should be quickly chased by some treats. He is obsessed with his treats right now. He eats half his dinner and then yells for treats. Last night, after my telling him 15 times that he had to finish his dinner before he got any treats, he finally listened. And yes, he got 2 treats as soon as he finished eating.
I think the boy is trying to make me old before my time.
Here's a nice little link I found when trying to decide between lie vs. lay and farther vs. further!
Friday, September 21, 2007
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Every Day Is Different
Bailey was doing much better last week, walking pretty well and holding his rear end up and standing tall. Over the weekend, his left leg was really weak and he had a lot of trouble walking. Thankfully, he was (and is) still in a good mood and played and spent some time outside exploring and enjoying the sunshine, even though it was incredibly hot. He seems to be doing a little better yesterday and today. He walked six laps around the yard last night and two laps this morning, sometimes going so fast that I had to jog to keep up with him.
I have ordered a second pair of booties for him, hoping that this kind will work better than the first ones I bought for him. They will be here today, just in time for him to wear them to the vet tomorrow. He goes in for a checkup and I hope the booties will keep him from sliding all over the slick floors at the clinic. He was not able to walk in the first pair because they were too heavy or too stiff (though they were absolutely adorable on him), but maybe the new ones will work for him.
He has definitely become more needy/demanding. Last night around 11:00, he decided I needed to be in the same room as him. If I left the room, he barked indignantly, just once, every few minutes until I came back. I spent a lot of time petting him and loving on him, but he was fine with me loading the dishwasher, as I long as I stayed in his sight. He also barks from wherever he is resting when he needs to go outside or thinks it's dinner time. I always tell him how regal he looks and call him my little prince. I guess it has finally gone to his head . . . :o)
(I have added some links on the right side - one to Tiger's story and another to the AKC videos on DM.)
I have ordered a second pair of booties for him, hoping that this kind will work better than the first ones I bought for him. They will be here today, just in time for him to wear them to the vet tomorrow. He goes in for a checkup and I hope the booties will keep him from sliding all over the slick floors at the clinic. He was not able to walk in the first pair because they were too heavy or too stiff (though they were absolutely adorable on him), but maybe the new ones will work for him.
He has definitely become more needy/demanding. Last night around 11:00, he decided I needed to be in the same room as him. If I left the room, he barked indignantly, just once, every few minutes until I came back. I spent a lot of time petting him and loving on him, but he was fine with me loading the dishwasher, as I long as I stayed in his sight. He also barks from wherever he is resting when he needs to go outside or thinks it's dinner time. I always tell him how regal he looks and call him my little prince. I guess it has finally gone to his head . . . :o)
(I have added some links on the right side - one to Tiger's story and another to the AKC videos on DM.)
Monday, August 27, 2007
It's Been a Rough Few Weeks
From a cancer scare to 6 pounds of muscle mass lost within a matter of days, Bailey's had a rough few weeks. Praise God the cancer scare turned out to be "insect hypersensitivity" and the welts on his face and in his ears have gone down considerably, just leaving bald spots, following 2 steroid shots and we're in the middle of a round of oral prednisone. His walking is significantly worse right now, and it was at its worse the week before last. He could barely hold his rear end off the ground and his legs flailed about when he tried to walk. He also just wasn't himself. I think the steroids had a lot to do with that and now that we've started the every other day schedule for the prednisone, he's perking back up, walking a little better and his rear end is not drooping as much. He has also been playing with his toys more over the last week, which always does my heart good.
His grandmama bought runners to put all over the house so that everywhere he normally walks is covered now. That has helped keep him from sliding around as much. I've also taken my box spring and frame out of my room and put my mattress on the floor because he has had trouble jumping on my bed. We haven't been to the park since 8/12. On Saturday 8/11, he walked 45 minutes. On Sunday, 8/12, he walks 35 minutes. Now he refuses to walk more than one lap at a time around the backyard, though sometimes he will run around and play a little. I try to get him to walk a lap most times that I take him out. I had planned to take him to the park early Sunday morning before it got hot, but he just didn't seem to be up to it.
So that's where we are for now. I'm still praying for healing and hoping that I'm doing the right things to help him. I love that little boy so much!
His grandmama bought runners to put all over the house so that everywhere he normally walks is covered now. That has helped keep him from sliding around as much. I've also taken my box spring and frame out of my room and put my mattress on the floor because he has had trouble jumping on my bed. We haven't been to the park since 8/12. On Saturday 8/11, he walked 45 minutes. On Sunday, 8/12, he walks 35 minutes. Now he refuses to walk more than one lap at a time around the backyard, though sometimes he will run around and play a little. I try to get him to walk a lap most times that I take him out. I had planned to take him to the park early Sunday morning before it got hot, but he just didn't seem to be up to it.
So that's where we are for now. I'm still praying for healing and hoping that I'm doing the right things to help him. I love that little boy so much!
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
All Dressed Up . . . with Somewhere to Go!
The little girl has a home! Granted, this one is the second attempt to find her forever family, but I really think this one will work out. She now belongs to a couple in their late twenties who do not have any kids yet, and she is their first dog as a couple. The wife called after 10:00 Friday night and left a voicemail, wanting me to call her back that night as they were very interested in the puppy. I called her back and the first thing she asked was, "Is the puppy still available?" She sounded like a really sweet person and someone who would take really good care of the little girl. We decide to meet halfway between our towns Sunday afternoon. As soon as I got the little girl out of the car, as they were getting out of their truck, she made a mad dash to them and it was love at first sight, all around. The husband was on the ground with her rubbing her chest within minutes. When the wife called her, the little girl ran right over to her and really seemed to like her. After finding out what their schedules are like (home by 3:00 most days) and making sure that they would have her spayed and get her vaccinations, regular checkups and heartworm prevention, I asked what they thought about her and they said they would love to have her. So we loaded up her stuff and sent her off to her new home. The only thing I can say is, if they call and say that they cannot keep her like the first lady did, this little girl is MINE! I don't know how I would work it out with Bailey, but I can only give away such an adorable dog so many times, and two is definitely my limit.
All dolled up and ready to meet her new family
A girl's gotta have some pink in her wardrobe! 
Just chillin' on the way . . .(I kept checking to make sure she was back there. Bailey would need drugs to sleep like this in the car!)
Goodbye kisses!
Friday, July 20, 2007
The Sister Bailey Doesn't Want
and apparently no one else wants her either!
So here's the story... Last Thursday, Bailey and I were walking at the park. We were almost back to my car when I saw two guys and two dogs (NOT on leashes) walking from the parking lot toward the trail across the parking lot from where we were. One of the dogs saw us and made a beeline to say hello. Well, Bailey doesn't take kindly to anyone running towards his mommy, so I knew this could be trouble. I told her to stop and made that "UHHHNNN" sound that has stopped other dogs in their tracks, but not this one. She ran right up to us with Bailey growling, so I frantically struggled to get Bailey to the car while keeping her far enough away from him that a fight would not ensue and yelling at her owners that THIS is why she should be on a leash. Once I got Bailey in the car and buckled in, I turned around to pet the dog because I felt bad for yelling at her. She wasn't there, so I assumed she had run back across the parking lot to her less than wonderful owners.
I got in the car and started to back up and thought, "Great! Now I have a flat tire too!" Only it wasn't a flat tire. It was me running over that sweet little girl. I got out of the car expecting to find the flat but instead found the puppy with her leg pinned under my tire. I was hysterical! Her owners, who were still standing across the parking lot watching it all, never responded when I yelled to ask if she was their dog. They just stood there and stared at me like I was speaking Greek! And somehow, after listening to her scream in pain, they got in their car and drove away.
Finally, I decided I was going to have to back the car up a little to get her leg unpinned. Then I had to back up AGAIN because she was still pinned after the first time. I think this was the most traumatic part of the whole ordeal for me, knowing that it was going to hurt her like crazy when I moved the car. After the second time, I got back out and she had run over into the grass and was licking a gash on back left leg.
To make this long story a little shorter, my mom met us at the park, I called our regular vet who said she would meet us at the clinic, mom took the little girl there, and I took Bailey home. I met them at the vet and found out she actually wasn't doing too badly. She had two gashes on her back left leg which the vet had stapled, and some "road rash" here and there. She did not have any internal injuries or broken bones, thank goodness. In all of this, she was a complete angel. She never once tried to bite any of us, despite the tremendous pain she had to be in. And Mom said when they got her inside the clinic and the vet put her down to see how she was walking, she came over to Mom and put her head under Mom's knee. Stole her heart, she did!
The vet thinks she is about 8 months old, black lab mix, 46 lbs., negative for heart worms and intestinal parasites. Oh so sweet and friendly and submissive, though admittedly hyper, because after all, she is a puppy. And a lab. And a LAB PUPPY!
So now, a week later, she is still boarding at the vet while I search to find her a home. If I could keep her, I absolutely would. And her name would be Bella Sera (beautiful night in Italian, though really it should be Sera Bella, but that sounds like cerebellum to me and who wants to call their dog that?) and she would be a great dog. And I would have my "Bailey and Bella" which just sounds cute. But I can't keep her. One of the things we have to avoid with Bailey's DM is stress, and my precious 11 1/2 year old, very happy only child would absolutely be stressed if I brought this little girl home. And if he lost the use of his back legs because of something I did, I would never forgive myself.
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But who can resist this face?
So here's the story... Last Thursday, Bailey and I were walking at the park. We were almost back to my car when I saw two guys and two dogs (NOT on leashes) walking from the parking lot toward the trail across the parking lot from where we were. One of the dogs saw us and made a beeline to say hello. Well, Bailey doesn't take kindly to anyone running towards his mommy, so I knew this could be trouble. I told her to stop and made that "UHHHNNN" sound that has stopped other dogs in their tracks, but not this one. She ran right up to us with Bailey growling, so I frantically struggled to get Bailey to the car while keeping her far enough away from him that a fight would not ensue and yelling at her owners that THIS is why she should be on a leash. Once I got Bailey in the car and buckled in, I turned around to pet the dog because I felt bad for yelling at her. She wasn't there, so I assumed she had run back across the parking lot to her less than wonderful owners.
I got in the car and started to back up and thought, "Great! Now I have a flat tire too!" Only it wasn't a flat tire. It was me running over that sweet little girl. I got out of the car expecting to find the flat but instead found the puppy with her leg pinned under my tire. I was hysterical! Her owners, who were still standing across the parking lot watching it all, never responded when I yelled to ask if she was their dog. They just stood there and stared at me like I was speaking Greek! And somehow, after listening to her scream in pain, they got in their car and drove away.
Finally, I decided I was going to have to back the car up a little to get her leg unpinned. Then I had to back up AGAIN because she was still pinned after the first time. I think this was the most traumatic part of the whole ordeal for me, knowing that it was going to hurt her like crazy when I moved the car. After the second time, I got back out and she had run over into the grass and was licking a gash on back left leg.
To make this long story a little shorter, my mom met us at the park, I called our regular vet who said she would meet us at the clinic, mom took the little girl there, and I took Bailey home. I met them at the vet and found out she actually wasn't doing too badly. She had two gashes on her back left leg which the vet had stapled, and some "road rash" here and there. She did not have any internal injuries or broken bones, thank goodness. In all of this, she was a complete angel. She never once tried to bite any of us, despite the tremendous pain she had to be in. And Mom said when they got her inside the clinic and the vet put her down to see how she was walking, she came over to Mom and put her head under Mom's knee. Stole her heart, she did!
The vet thinks she is about 8 months old, black lab mix, 46 lbs., negative for heart worms and intestinal parasites. Oh so sweet and friendly and submissive, though admittedly hyper, because after all, she is a puppy. And a lab. And a LAB PUPPY!
So now, a week later, she is still boarding at the vet while I search to find her a home. If I could keep her, I absolutely would. And her name would be Bella Sera (beautiful night in Italian, though really it should be Sera Bella, but that sounds like cerebellum to me and who wants to call their dog that?) and she would be a great dog. And I would have my "Bailey and Bella" which just sounds cute. But I can't keep her. One of the things we have to avoid with Bailey's DM is stress, and my precious 11 1/2 year old, very happy only child would absolutely be stressed if I brought this little girl home. And if he lost the use of his back legs because of something I did, I would never forgive myself.
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Monday, July 9, 2007
Bailey's Healthy Liver :o)
Praise God!!! Something's going our way! I just spoke with the vet who had bloodwork results from Bailey's vet visit last Monday. His alanine aminotransferase level, which was high last month for the first time ever, dropped from 327 to 40! That's the one that really had us worried about his liver function. Also, his alkaline phosphatase was down from 738 to 156!!! This one has been high for almost TWO YEARS, as high as almost 1,000 and hovering around 400 lately. And now it's 156! This is such wonderful news and shows that his liver is much happier now than it was a month ago.
She is also sending off blood for tests for several things that could be causing his DM symptoms instead of DM. She included a thyroid panel in his blood panel and that was normal, so it's not his thyroid. He was tested for tick borne diseases (ehrlichia, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and lyme). Those tests were all negative. The two we're waiting on now are toxoplasmosis and anaplasma. She may also want to test for neospora if those two are both negative. All three of these would be more likely to respond to treatment than DM is, from what I've read anyway. So it would be nice to find out he has something that could be cured with medicine, but we'll have to wait and see. I may get the results Thursday, or it may be next week sometime.
Also, the area for the pool is supposed to get leveled sometime this week - and not by me! So hopefully Mr. Bailey will be swimming again by this weekend...
She is also sending off blood for tests for several things that could be causing his DM symptoms instead of DM. She included a thyroid panel in his blood panel and that was normal, so it's not his thyroid. He was tested for tick borne diseases (ehrlichia, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and lyme). Those tests were all negative. The two we're waiting on now are toxoplasmosis and anaplasma. She may also want to test for neospora if those two are both negative. All three of these would be more likely to respond to treatment than DM is, from what I've read anyway. So it would be nice to find out he has something that could be cured with medicine, but we'll have to wait and see. I may get the results Thursday, or it may be next week sometime.
Also, the area for the pool is supposed to get leveled sometime this week - and not by me! So hopefully Mr. Bailey will be swimming again by this weekend...
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Because this is just how my life is going lately . . . .
Sadly, this is not the "before" picture, but the "after."
Wouldn't you know, that after not getting an appreciable amount of rain for MONTHS, a monsoon would come through the DAY AFTER I had the pool up and Bailey swimming.
Yes, this is the sight I woke to Tuesday morning, and I almost cried! In fact, I did, but just a little, and there were hormones involved! I'm afraid the fact that the pool was not quite level, which I thought had turned out to be a blessing, ended up being a curse. And you can imagine the mud pit that is now our back yard after approximately 3,896 gallons of water flooded through it. I wonder how much 3,896 gallons of water cost, 'cause I just flushed that money down the drain! And I am at a loss as to how to make ground that looks level LEVEL!
I'm pulling a Scarlett and telling myself I'll deal with it tomorrow. I said that yesterday too...
Needless to say, I AM NOT HAPPY!
Bailey, however, is very happy. The little saboteur!
Monday, June 25, 2007
I Am One Proud Mommy!
Bailey swam last night!!!!! He did such an excellent job and I am so, so proud of him.
I spent most of the day Saturday finishing up getting the yard ready for the pool, laying out the pool, blowing up the top ring, and filling it with water. It was a comedy of errors or mishaps at least, but the thing is finally up! Sunday I added a little more air to the top ring (after replacing the manual pump with an electric one), finished filling the pool with water, and last night, I put Bailey in! I thought the ground where I placed the pool was level, but it turns out that it actually isn't. But that worked to our advantage. I was able to put him in in the "shallow end" and then walk him around to the ladder, where I quickly climbed in with him to reassure him. He had on his life jacket that our vet gave us, and he had those legs kicking! I used the handle on the life jacket to guide him around in circles. Anytime he got near the ladder or the spot where I had put him into the pool (where he could actually touch the bottom with his back legs down and front legs up), he splashed like mad trying to get out but only ended up splashing water all in his face. He did not love that. He only seemed to panic slightly two times. Otherwise, he did fine.
I kept him in for several minutes (I had heard that the hydrotherapy places only let them swim for 4 minutes their first time in, so I kept it short.) and then realized I had no good way to get him out. Getting him in required lifting him over the side of the pool and I barely got him in, but at least he floated. I knew I couldn't just drop him out to the ground. So my wonderful mom brought the picnic table benches over and I set him out onto those and then he jumped down from there. Unfortunately, Mom suffered the brunt of his shaking off the water. Next came the spastic, "I'm wet! I'm wet! I AM WET" running all over the yard, but it was more good exercise for him. :o) When I was setting him out of the pool, I noticed his left leg was really weak but they say this tends to happen when they first start hydrotherapy.
So, I am one relieved mommy to have that first dip behind us and to know that it really went much better than I expected. I had no real problems getting him in or out, and no big fuss from him when I was putting him in. Whew! What a relief!
Of course, the next time I try to put him in the pool, he will know what's coming. We'll see how that goes over...
(By the way, I have NO pictures of any of it, because I was more concerned with surviving what I thought would be a major ordeal. Maybe next time I'll be able to get some pics!)
I spent most of the day Saturday finishing up getting the yard ready for the pool, laying out the pool, blowing up the top ring, and filling it with water. It was a comedy of errors or mishaps at least, but the thing is finally up! Sunday I added a little more air to the top ring (after replacing the manual pump with an electric one), finished filling the pool with water, and last night, I put Bailey in! I thought the ground where I placed the pool was level, but it turns out that it actually isn't. But that worked to our advantage. I was able to put him in in the "shallow end" and then walk him around to the ladder, where I quickly climbed in with him to reassure him. He had on his life jacket that our vet gave us, and he had those legs kicking! I used the handle on the life jacket to guide him around in circles. Anytime he got near the ladder or the spot where I had put him into the pool (where he could actually touch the bottom with his back legs down and front legs up), he splashed like mad trying to get out but only ended up splashing water all in his face. He did not love that. He only seemed to panic slightly two times. Otherwise, he did fine.
I kept him in for several minutes (I had heard that the hydrotherapy places only let them swim for 4 minutes their first time in, so I kept it short.) and then realized I had no good way to get him out. Getting him in required lifting him over the side of the pool and I barely got him in, but at least he floated. I knew I couldn't just drop him out to the ground. So my wonderful mom brought the picnic table benches over and I set him out onto those and then he jumped down from there. Unfortunately, Mom suffered the brunt of his shaking off the water. Next came the spastic, "I'm wet! I'm wet! I AM WET" running all over the yard, but it was more good exercise for him. :o) When I was setting him out of the pool, I noticed his left leg was really weak but they say this tends to happen when they first start hydrotherapy.
So, I am one relieved mommy to have that first dip behind us and to know that it really went much better than I expected. I had no real problems getting him in or out, and no big fuss from him when I was putting him in. Whew! What a relief!
Of course, the next time I try to put him in the pool, he will know what's coming. We'll see how that goes over...
(By the way, I have NO pictures of any of it, because I was more concerned with surviving what I thought would be a major ordeal. Maybe next time I'll be able to get some pics!)
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Prayer for Healing
Oh Abba,
Thank You for my Bailey. He has been such a blessing in my life for 11 1/2 years. I love him so much, and I want to have him around for a long time to come. Please heal my baby. I hate to see him stumbling around, tripping over his own feet, to see his legs sliding out from under him and his back end drooping. God, You created him and You know every cell in his body. You understand exactly the effects of degenerative myelopathy and I ask that you erase each of those effects from his body right now! Help the messages from his brain to get to his muscles again. Bring back his proprioception. Heal his spinal cord and repair the myelin and axons. Help him to build muscle mass in his back legs. And God, please heal his liver. Only You know why his enzyme numbers are high and only You can correct the problem. He is Your creation. Help him to have many more years of happiness, health and mobility.
Help me to make the right decisions in caring for him. Give me wisdom. Give me strength. Give me peace.
I love him so much . . .
Thank You for my Bailey. He has been such a blessing in my life for 11 1/2 years. I love him so much, and I want to have him around for a long time to come. Please heal my baby. I hate to see him stumbling around, tripping over his own feet, to see his legs sliding out from under him and his back end drooping. God, You created him and You know every cell in his body. You understand exactly the effects of degenerative myelopathy and I ask that you erase each of those effects from his body right now! Help the messages from his brain to get to his muscles again. Bring back his proprioception. Heal his spinal cord and repair the myelin and axons. Help him to build muscle mass in his back legs. And God, please heal his liver. Only You know why his enzyme numbers are high and only You can correct the problem. He is Your creation. Help him to have many more years of happiness, health and mobility.
Help me to make the right decisions in caring for him. Give me wisdom. Give me strength. Give me peace.
I love him so much . . .
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