Start the Day Without Caffeine?

Here's another clever email message I'd like to share ...

"If you can start the day without caffeine,

If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains, 

If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,

 
If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it,

If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,

If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,

If you can conquer tension without medical help,

 
If you can relax without alcohol,

If you can sleep without the aid of drugs, 

...Then You Are Probably .........The Family Dog."

Finding Franki

I've been away from the blogosphere for too long!  Been busy getting my house and yard ready for market ... the "for sale" sign just went up last Saturday.  Right now, I'm just trying to find Franki ... 

I think I may have spotted her ...

Whatcha doin' back there, Franki Blue? ...

Seems there is nothing like an overgrown Viburnum shrub when it comes to shade.  :-)

"He wa'n't no common dog, he wa'n't no mongrel; he was a composite. A composite dog is a dog that is made up of all the valuable qualities that's in the dog breed—kind of a syndicate; and a mongrel is made up of all riffraff that's left over."

~Mark Twain

Franki Blue Eyes Comes Home

Well, Franki (formerly Crystal) has found a forever home ... with me! (For her back story, please read my post A Sweet Dog with Blue Eyes Needs a Loving Home.)

I had been thinking about adopting her since before she gave birth to her pups, but when I first met her, I thought she might be too wild for my more mature pack.  But I couldn't get her out of my head.  So I brought her over for a visit one sunny Sunday afternoon ... and never took her back to her foster home.  

It was a bit uncanny.  She went from being an unruly, unfocused creature, to a well-behaved (but still very active) and focused dog.  It was almost like she had just been waiting for someone to show her what was expected.  And I know that the other dogs helped her, too.  Anyone who has been around a group of dogs knows how much they can learn from each other.  

Franki sits, waiting patiently for a treat.

It took her all of 10 seconds to figure out the doggie door on her first day.  By the end of the second or third day, she stopped jumping on me.  She sits for treats and before she begins eating her meals, and doesn't try to steal the other dogs' food.  Instead, she waits patiently, watching the two slow pokes, Sammi and Ripley, as they finish their kibble.

Aside from a couple of naughty moments ... she chewed the lid off the large tub where I keep the dog food and stole some food off the kitchen counter ... she's been an angel.  And the joy and laughter she has brought into our already happy home ... well, I can deal with some spunk.  She's barely out of her puppyhood after all.  And I know I can count on the other dogs to help show Franki the ropes.  

Franki and Ripley ... just chillin'.

"I know that I have had friends who would never have vexed or betrayed me, if they had walked on all fours."

~Horace Walpole

 

Does My Dog Have a Tumor?

Happy Sammi

When my boy Sammi started to lick an old scar excessively, one of the first things to pop into my head was, does my dog have a tumor?

Sammi just turned 9-years-old this month, but is in very good health.  But even though it was just a small bump, I didn't take things lightly.  He originally got the scar from an old "war wound" ... a fight between Sam and his former nemesis, Teddy.  The scar formed a bump on his front right leg and didn't seem to be any problem for over 3 years.  But about 3 weeks ago, Sammi started to lick the bump.  Then the bump became irritated and inflamed.  And then it seemed to be growing under the skin. 

So off to the vet we went on Friday, March 9th.  Our veterinarian, "Dr. Ben," was concerned enough that he recommended removal of the bump and surrounding tissue, and to also have it examined at a laboratory.  Even though Dr. Ben is extremely busy (he's very popular), he didn't want to wait long to remove Sam's bump.  So the surgery was scheduled for 5 pm the following Wednesday.  Because it would be easy to remove, Dr. Ben planned on a quick out-patient procedure so Sammi could go home afterwards.

Sammi was looking a bit apprehensive on the way to the vet clinic, perhaps simply a reflection of how I was feeling at the time.


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Even though Sammi was nervous, we made a new friend while we waited our turn at the clinic.  Meet Ama, the 1-week-old baby goat.

She was the sweetest thing!  She was sitting on her human's lap and kept nibbling at her human's clothing.  Then she'd reach her head up and nibble on the woman's chin.  When the woman put her down on the floor so I could take her photo, Ama bleated very quietly.  As you can see, she didn't mind posing for a picture.  Sammi couldn't figure out why this odd-looking dog was making such weird, non-dog noises.  ;-)

We didn't have to wait very long after meeting Ama.  The vet tech took Sammi's blood, then she and Dr. Ben came into the examination room to sedate Sammi.  I waited while the drug took full effect and helped the vet tech place him on a cart so she could take him in for his surgery. 

The surgery itself only took a few minutes.  Within 15 minutes, Dr. Ben administered a sedation-reversal drug and brought Sam back to the exam room.  After about 10 more minutes, Sammi was almost ready to go home, sporting a new black bandage.  

Since it was late in the day, the tissue Dr. Ben removed couldn't be sent to the lab until the next day.  But he expected to have the results back before the end of the day the following Monday.  I asked him what he thought.  He's been taking care of my dogs for about 11 years, so I trust him to be honest and not sugar-coat things just to make me feel better.  He said that the tumor came out easily and although he couldn't be sure, he was fairly confident it would just be an infection.

Being the dog-mom that I am, I was still a bit anxious all weekend.  After taking the bandage off on Friday, Sammi's incision didn't seem to be healing very well.  Dr. Ben hadn't prescribed any antibiotics yet since he didn't know what the results would reveal ... instead, he said to just keep Sam quiet and the incision clean but uncovered unless Sammi started chewing on it. 

So, of course, Sammi started to lick and chew on his wound!  I ended up re-bandaging it for several hours here and there, so he couldn't bother it as much and so I could treat it with antibiotic ointment.

Sam was such a good boy and put up with my "nursing" and constant attempts to distract him from his preoccupation.  And of course, we had to take a couple of walks in the woods ... although Sammi couldn't figure out why the heck he had to be on a leash most of the time ...

And then, Shasta and the other dogs had to check out his wound now and again ...

.... So, yesterday (Monday), the waiting was finally over!  Dr. Ben called with Sammi's diagnosis:  "Deep dermatitis and cellulitis, pyogranulomatous, severe, chronic, regionally extensive with intralesional free hair shafts, intralesional cocci, acanthosis and dermal fibrosis."  Huh?

In other words, Sammi has a deep tissue infection.  Whew!  Better that than the dreaded "Big C."  So now, I just have to get him through 3 weeks of antibiotic treatment (two kinds of antibiotics), which make his tummy upset, so I have to make sure he eats before taking the meds.  But the drugs still make his tummy a bit upset, so he doesn't want to eat as much ... and on and on ....

But my boy Sammi is worth all the trouble! 



Is It Really Spring Already?

Sammi

By Sammi, it sure feels like Spring outside! I know the dogs really like the temperate weather, but all I can think about is how fast the grass is growing ... and that if things don't cool off REAL soon, I'll have to mow my lawn!  And I'd much rather spend my free time with the Pack:  Ripley, Shasta, Sammi (pictured above), Cookie and Andie.  We live in a very rural area and are fortunate to have hundreds of acres of woods in our "backyard."  So almost any time we want, we can go hiking ... just open the back gate and off we go! .....

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The video was recorded last Fall, but you get the idea. Ripley, Shasta and Sammi were the three dogs you saw at the beginning of the video ... Shasta has to stay on a leash because she tends to wander off and gets into trouble (like wandering out onto the busy highway that's nearby ... she's fearless).  Ripley is the spotted dog ... I'm pretty sure she's a Blue Heeler (Australian Cattledog) mixed with Australian Shepherd.  And Sammi is the Beagle/mix.  He's the only male of the Pack.

Then toward the top of the mountain, you met Andie and Cookie.  Andie is mostly black and is a herding mix of some kind.  Sweet Cookie is the German Shepherd/mix.

So what is this blog all about?  Well, if you love dogs, I think you'll like it.  I'll be sharing stories, photos and videos of my dogs, but will also be sharing information about dog treats and other "doggie stuff."  If you're like me, you only want the best for your dog.  I'm always on the lookout for good quality treats at reasonable prices. 

So in addition, I'll soon be adding pages that offer high quality treats at fair prices.  I will only sell treats I'd give to my own dogs.  Which means I won't sell treats with questionable ingredients or those treated with irradiation.

Ripley

And please feel free to leave comments, feedback, and to ask questions.  I have so much to share with you!  I hope you'll visit often.  And so do Ripley (smiling at you from above), Shasta, Sammi, Cookie and Andie!