Wordless Wednesday!

Aire-hugs,
Patches the Princess

I have picked up some new (bad) habits since I am the only doggie around here, now!

Hi, everybuddy! It's me, Patches. My mom says I am starting some bad habits since I am the only doggie around here, now! As soon as my mom goes out the door, I howl like a coyote howling at the moon. I can see her out in the front yard, but I can't get to her, so I howl. I never did that when there were three of us or even two of us! Maybe I'm just lonely!

I know these pictures are screwed up again, but I will tell you what they are! The first one is Poppy, Penny and Dad's final resting place (ok it isn't really FINAL, because eventually, we will all to go a vault in Ohio. We are hoping that will be a loooooong time from now.

The second picture is a gorgeous candle holder with a candle that my mom got from the Airedale Rescue Group in honor of Penny. The Airedale Rescue Group is where I came from...well, sort of! My mom and Aunt Wendy were volunteering for them on that wonderful day that I was set free and then came here to Airedale Heaven! We send a big "Thank You"! to all our friends in the Airedale Rescue Group!

This last picture is ME! I'm getting very close to needing my furs cut, but Mom wants to wait as long as possible because I don't get fur cuts in the winter time. Yeah, I know this is Georgia, but we do get some really cold weather in the wintertime!

Until next time,
Aire-hugs,
Patches!

Okay, here's what happened with Penny...

Hey, everybody, it's me, Lana. I know a lot of you are wondering exactly what happpened with Penny, so I am going to tell you.

You all know from previous posts that she was having trouble getting up and down the steps. Well, I had her convinced, finally, that we should go out through the garage. I had it down to a fine science...I asked Patches if she wanted to go outside through the back door and then as soon as she went through the door, I shut it and told Penny to come with me. It took a while, but she finally got used to the routine. After several times of going out front, she became afraid of my security light. It doesn't come on immediately when you go out in the driveway...it has to detect body heat first. When it came on after we were already out there, she bolted for the house with me in tow.

She was having a very hard time getting up from a sitting position, even on the carpet. Her sight and hearing got really bad and she was doing poopies in the house during the night. Up until last Wednesday morning, the biggest problem was her breathing. She was panting constantly and by last Tuesday, I could tell that she was wheezing with every breath and it was a struggle for her.

On Wednesday morning, she insisted on going down the back steps, so I held onto her harness and helped her all the way down. I went back up the stairs so I could see her better. She always took a tour of the perimeter of the fence and I watched her go most of the way around and then she disappeared. It wasn't quite light outside yet, so I couldn't see her once she went into the woods, but I should have been able to hear her walking in the leaves. I couldn't hear the leaves nor could I hear her breathing. I ran in the house and got a flashlight so I could find her in the woods. I located her and when she saw the flashlight, she headed for me, but I could tell something was wrong. Her back legs, one at a time, would fly out behind her and then she would drag each foot through the dirt. I watched her do that all the way to the house and I could tell it was involuntary. When I finally got her to the steps, I put my hands under her and lifted her up each step. Fortunately, she was still in control of her front legs and she helped me the best she could.

Once she was on the wood floor in the kitchen, her legs just didn't work at all. She would try to get up and then just do the splits with her back legs and she kept looking at me like she was saying, "HELP ME, Mom!" The first thing I did was call Wendy and she said it didn't sound good and I needed to get to the vet right away. Well, there was no way I could get her into my Tahoe alone, so I called my neighbor and he came over and put her in there for me.

When we got to the vet's office, one of the girls at the desk carried her into a room for me. Once the vet came in, he took one look at her and said, "I'm soooooo sorry". He said she was in heart failure and probably wouldn't last anymore than a day or two. At that time, I made that dreaded decision that none of us want to make. I just couldn't let her suffer anymore. I also decided that I was going to stay with her to the end. I had never done that before...I had always said my "goodbyes" and left before he did what he had to do. He gave her a sedative first and I was kind of wishing he'd give ME one! Without going into the sad details, my Penny just went to sleep while I petted her head and the vet talked to her constantly. It was a very sad and yet peaceful experience. Even as hard as it was, I'm very glad I stayed with her.

Now, it's very strange only having one dog in the house. Patches just isn't herself yet, either. She's sleeping a lot and not playing with her toys at all. She sleeps part of the night in Penny's bed and part of the night in the living room. She's free-feeding for the first time since she came to live with us. I put her food in her bowl and it might take her several hours before she eats all of it. I'm used to seeing it devoured in less than 30 seconds. I guess she is grieving too!

Thank you to all of you who have sent your condolences to us! I want to get around to each one of you and thank you personally, but I'm just not sure I can do that at this time. Between my profile and all the groups I belong to on Facebook and my blog, I think there have been about 200 peeps and pups that have commented and I really appreciate every single one of you! Somehow, it helps to know that others care! That's why I am so glad I belong to Dogs with Blogs and about 99% of my Facebook "friends" are "dog people". Thanks to all of you for your support! And a huge thank you to Wendy! I don't know what I would do without you and I hope I never have to find out!

Aire-hugs,
Lana (and Patches too)

RIP, my sweet Penny girl!

Hi, everybody. It's Lana. I am very sad to tell you that Penny went to the Rainbow Bridge at about 10:00 this morning. I will have to tell you about it later. I just can't do it right now!

Pupdate on Penny. Sorry we are a couple days late!

Hi, every buddy! It's me, Penny! My mom promised you a pupdate a few days ago, but she has been spending most of her time taking care of me. It seems that I have an enlarged heart which causes me to pant constantly. I also have a thyroid problem so I will be on medicine for the rest of my life. My kidneys are doing something weird...my BUN is off the charts, but my Creatinine is at high normal. My liver enzymes are elevated and so is my Potassium. Oh, yeah, and with my right eye, I can still see a little bit of light, but not much else. My left eye is a little better, but not much. It is getting harder and harder for me to get up and down the steps even with my mom's help. I will GO out the front door, now, but I won't do my bidness on a leash. Sorry, that's just the way it is! Sometimes, when I sit down on the kitchen floor (which is wood), I can't get back up without my mom's help. I think I already told you that I have skin cancer. Right now, all I have is one lump on my back and it doesn't bother me at all. Mom leaves my hairs a little longer so no one gets grossed out.

A week ago today, my mom took me to see a new v-e-t. It seemed to take us a looooong time to get there. Lately, it seems like our regular v-e-t is trying to pay off his new building by charging us way too much. Aunt Wendy told us about a v-e-t who is just getting started in our area, so off we went. He was very nice and even though he stole my blood, he seemed to really care about me. We were planning to have my toothers cleaned, but he said it would be an extremely high risk to put me out. He gave me 3 different medicines and we went back home. I am still interested in my foodables and once I get down the steps, I can move pretty darn fast. I'm not having any accidents in the house. Mom talked to the dogtor about accupuncture for my leggies, but he said that with all my other problems, he is not sure he would recommend it right now. We will be going back to see him again in 40 days from last Saturday. He will re-evaluate my situation then. In the mean time, I am just doing what I normally do...eat, sleep, pee and poop. Oh yeah, I beg for foodables whenever Mom eats something!

And now, Princess Patches wants to tell you how she was humiliated yesterday. Hi, it's me, Patches. We already told you that our vet charges an arm and a leg, so Aunt Wendy told us about a place that gives affordable pet vaccinations. I was due for mine at the end of June, but my mom didn't have an extra three or four hundred dollars laying around! Yesterday, my mom loaded me in the Aire-mobile and we drove about 15 miles to a pet store. Nope, NOT a vet's office...it was a pet store where they sell stuffs for pets! The dogtor and vet techs only do the vaccines from 4 to 5 p.m. We got there at 3:30 so we were only about 4th or 5th in line. Thank doGness, my mom is ALWAYS early. There were about 50 peeps there and about 30 doggies and kitties. We met a cute little Italian Greyhound named Dash. Boy, could he jump! He jumped almost as high as his mom's head! I was pretty sure he had springs in his leggies!

The peeps started giving the vaccines right at 4 p.m., so we were out of there by 5:05 p.m. Woohoo! I gots all my shots and even a heartworm test! Mom bought a 6-pack of my anti-heartworm pills and our whole bill came to about a third or fourth of what it usually is. Woohoo!

Well, everydoggie, that's about it for today. Sorry it isn't happier news, but somehow, we will get through it! We hope everydoggie has a great August!

Aire-hugs,
Penny & Patches

We interrupt this bloggy for a public service announcement (aka advertisement)!

Hi, everydoggie! It's me, Patches! I get to do the posting today because I am a toy HOG! We have been asked by the nice peeps at the Kong Company to test out one of their new doggie toys. It is called Kong Squiggles and boy, is it FUN!

They each have a stuffie head with a squeaker inside and and a teeny tiny bit of stuffing (so we make less of a mess once we do surgery on them. The butt (or bottom end) has a squeaker inside, too for twice as much fun! The middle has some kind of twisted squiggly thing and when you shake it, it's kind of like playing tug-of-war with YOURSELF! It's a good thing too, 'cause Penny thinks she is too dignified to play tug with me!

Aunt Wendy happened to be at my house when the Kong Squiggles arrived. She grabbed one and made me chase her to get it. She let me jump on the big peepol bed! (Normally, I am not supposed to be up there. Shhhhhhhh...don't tell my mom!)

I have been having loads of fun with our new Kong Squiggles! And our mom is looking forward to a much smaller mess when I go all "ninja" on it. I haven't done it YET, but believe me, the time WILL come!

Penny (who is usually the squeaker queen)has even played with hers a few times! That's when I LET her! She might be the squeaker queen, but I am the keeper of ALL the TOYS in this house. We give the Kong Squiggles 8 paws UP!

We know a lot of you are wondering about Penny. We will be back in a couple of days with a PUPdate! (She's doing okay, for now)!

Aire-hugs,
Patches (and Penny too)

Please send us the power of the paw, Aire-zen, Wiry-zen or whatever you have!

Hi, every buddy! It's me, Penny! Mom let me do the post today to ask all of you for a BIG favor. Lately, I am having trouble getting up and down the steps and I HAVE to get down there to do my bidness. When I am coming back up, I do pretty well until the top step. Mom has been helping me! She goes down the steps with me every time I go and she's right behind me when I come back up...just in case I need some help. Most of the time, I need at least a LITTLE help! Mom has been trying to get me to go out the FRONT door because there are only 2 steps there. It's not likely that I will go out that way any time soon! For the more than 11 years that I have lived here, I have always known that I wasn't allowed out the front door. And NOW she WANTS me to go out there! What is WRONG with that woman?

I would really appreciate it if you could all send me some Aire-zen, Wirey-zen or whatever kind of zen you have! I know that the Power of the Paw works and I could sure use some right now!

Yes, I am almost 12 1/2 years old, so this is no big surprise, but it would sure be nice if I could have some more time to go up and down the stairs by myself. Two days ago, I made it to the top step, but then I couldn't stand all the way up to walk into the house. My mom REALLY freaked out then! Once she got me settled and I was stretched out on the carpet, she jumped into the Aire-mobile and went to the health food store. She got me some soft chewy peanut better thingys that are glucosomine and condroiten. They are suppose to help strengthen my back leggies...at least that's what the man at the store said.

Mom went to the v-e-t and got me some pills for pain. I only have one week's worth because they want to SEE me! (Of course they do, they can't charge my mom for an office visit if they don't actually see my beautimous face!) Other than the issue with steps, I'm doing pretty well! I am still snarfing my food down really fast and Aire-snapping at Mom and Patches. Yesterday, I even had a bath and toenail trim. My mom took me in the shower and we BOTH got clean! That wasn't exactly how it was supposed to go, but that's how it worked out! I laid down and let my mom cut my toenails! All 20 of them! Mom thought it was a miracle! Too bad she can't do that to Patches! Not even with a muzzle! I don't need no stinking muzzle, because I'm a gooooood girl!

Well, every buddy, my pain pill is making me kind of sleepy zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Aire-hugs and big thank yous to everyone who sends me healing thoughts!

Penny (and of course, Patches)