June 15

.

On the 15th I took Buzz's leftover food, meds, supplement back to the vet. I hope someone else can use them.

People at the University of Missouri are doing research on degenerative myelopathy, which would have killed him if his kidneys hadn't given out first (or if the leukemia hadn't come back for him). I meant to get blood drawn and send it there so he could participate in the research, but I never did. They can also use postmortem tissue samples. I took all of his paperwork for the University of Missouri (which I'd filled out months ago) along, and if the vets could still help him be in the study, so be it.


Lots of people at the vet loved him. They were sad, too. I had thought that when I had to take him in for that last visit, it would be once last chance to see his friends, but it had been so long since we were in emergency that the Sunday-morning-five-AM-staff were strangers.

He was so uncomfortable and unhappy it probably wouldn't have made any difference to him, but it would have made some difference to me, to be amongst friends.....

(Our regular vet practice also does emergency, so going to emergency is the same building, if not the same staff..... This is very nice -- not only is it one mile from home, but they have my dogs' files on hand. And if I have to leave a dog overnight, he is already at his regular vet when the day shift comes in.)



When I got home, I noticed this bush. I haven't paid a lot of attention to it, but I think it has pale leaves. Blown out almost entirely by full sun in this otherwise-dark shot.

I never saw the squirrel until I got the pic up on "the big screen."



.

Buzz

.





You can see in the pic that his muzzle was pretty pink. He'd been salivating more than usual for several days, which can be a sign of kidney failure. Friday and yesterday morning I had to feed him his kibble out of my hand. He ate it readily from my hand, but wouldn't eat from his dish. Nausea and lack of appetite are signs of kidney failure.

Last night he was panting, and it was a cool night.

This morning he got up at 5:00, and was panting and trembling. I've read that trembling is a sign of pain......

We went in to emergency.

I was determined that we would not go through any "extreme treatment." The vet could not tell me that it was likely that even this immediate problem was something we could fix.

Let them keep him there, on pain meds, until his regular doc could see him tomorrow? I don't think so.

He got more and more agitated while we were there, and began to cry on top of the panting and trembling. His abdomen was painful. He cried, and licked my face, a sure sign that he wanted me to do something for him.

I only knew of one thing I could do.

I decided he'd been through enough.

Good bye, sweetie. You were a good, good boy.

.

June 10, strawberry shortcake and Buzzupdate

.

It is traditional in our family to make a meal of strawberry shortcake at least once during strawberry season. Our version is biscuits (made with a little sugar), partly crushed berries (again with a bit of sugar), and vanilla ice cream.

Yum.





There is nothing wrong with his nose, or with his appetite for strawberry shortcake.

He begs by licking my toes. Even though I keep reminding him to not pester.



His left rear leg is now not working for him, most of the time. His right rear is not strong enough to pick up the difference. So it helps propel him, but he's sitting on the left rear leg as he moves around.

Sometimes he can get up on all four for a short time, but not for long.

Today he is having kidney issues, too, I think. I had to feed him his breakfast from my hand (the first time that's happened in a long time).

We'll see what happens with that.

Sigh.

.

lazy weekend morning, with Buzzupdate

.

On the cowshe (as they call it on CuteOverload).

Note tucked toes ...



and tongue out.





He is doing ok. He feels pretty good, and his brain is clearly ticking along, same as always.

That left rear leg is just not up to snuff. It still bears his weight when it's in position, which is getting more rare. It tends to slide to the middle, and then he tips over onto his left hip. When that left rear foot is out where it belongs (or farther out, even), he does better. Sometimes he has trouble getting back up on his pins after tipping over. [unhappy sigh]

He definitely does better when he goes faster than he does when he's just strolling.

I continue to believe he's better if he fetches up a toy on the slippery kitchen floor for 4 or 5 minutes every day. Why that combination seems to work for him, I don't know, but I believe it does.

As for the leukemia and the kidney disease, no sign of leukemia (though he hasn't had a blood test since I discontinued his leukeran), and his kidney disease is better (my sense of things; no blood test) on kidney food (Hills K/D) and kidney-support nutriceuticals.

.

April 9, with Buzzupdate

.

On the 9th I had a dentist appointment.

I have switched dentists, and the new one is whipping my mouth into shape. So far I've had a crown replacement, a replaced filling, and a root planing.

The 9th was "just for cleaning," and they also assessed how I'm doing since the root planing. They were very happy that some of my "pockets" have tightened up. Nearly all of the ones that were fives are now threes. I was complimented on my flossing.

Unfortunately they identified the sensitive tooth I mentioned to them as needing a filling.

Well. "Unfortunately" -- I had thought it was probably cracked, so having a cavity is better than that, at least..........

In addition to getting that fixed, I also need a partial crown on at least one tooth.

Sigh.


Here we are, driving to the dentist.

The heart of Ann Arbor is the intersection of Main and Huron. One North Main is the northwest corner of that intersection. It is ziggurat shaped, with offices in the lower floors, and what must be some spectacular condos (with big balconies) on the upper floors.

I like the shadows behind the raised letters.





Home from the dentist. The across-the-street neighbors rolled the snow into some pretty large cylinders.

Isn't it cool how we can see the spiral layers?





Buzz has been feeling much better for the last several days. His bad leg has been behaving itself a bit better, and he has been feisty, bossy, and loud.

I don't know whether this is a result of his kidney food (and nutriceutical) or what, but I'm glad he's feeling good again.

Here he is, on the couch, half Ameliorated. (We used to fold Molly's ears over her head, and tell her she was Amelia Earhart........)





Wilbur, suffering -- yet again -- the ennui of having his nap interrupted by a monkey pointing a black chirpy box thing at him.



.

vet visits and Buzzupdate

.

After taking Buzz to see the vet two weeks out of four for about 18 months, it's been odd to not go there at all for the last six months or so.

Last Friday the boyz both had their annual checkups. Wilbur's was at 2:00 and Buzz's at 3:30, so I had time to take them one at a time and come home to swap them in the middle. I just can't pay attention when I am there alone with multiple dogs.

Burt and I got home in plenty of time, so I took him around the block. Now that Buzz can't walk well enough to go for walks, Wilbur is walk-deprived.



Both boys had blood counts and blood chems done.

You know that when they start with the bad news, all is well.

Burt -- "His white count is a bit elevated, but it's the same as last year. We think it's because of his allergy issues, and we are not worried. Everything else in his blood work is fine. He has one wiggly tooth and needs it removed, so please bring him in to have his teeth cleaned and that one removed."

Buzz -- "Everything is fine, except for his kidney values, which are quite a bit higher than last time. Is he beginning to skip meals? His values are high enough that most dogs will start feeling sick if the values get just a bit higher. We can put him on prescription food to support his kidneys, but........................... Anesthetizing him to clean his teeth could seriously compromise his kidneys, so it's probably best to not do that."

Sigh. I am going to back off (and probably stop) the chemo meds he's getting. If he's going to be so sick there's nothing that can be done, soon, no matter what, it might as well be before he can't walk at all..................

Sigh.

.