Dogs, dogs, dogs!

My old man has had a rough month, and this week was the worst... He couldn't walk on Monday, and I thought it was the end (Taylor has gotten a few of these calls at work in the past month--me in tears, thinking Tubbie is dying...and he would talk me out of it and bring a smile back to my face), but he has once again rallied and is back to being his sweet old self! His kidney/liver numbers are out of the normal range due to an infection we are now treating--which has caused him to become severely anemic--and THAT'S why he couldn't walk--because he was really weak, not because his legs had given out. I LOVE big dogs--but when they can't walk--getting them from the house to the vet is a BIT of a challenge. Looking back, it is actually kind of funny (NOT at the time though!)-- I had him on a blanket, sliding him to the door, while he did everything he could to make this impossible (i.e. gripping his nails into the floor as I dragged him)... Then I tied a sweatshirt around his tummy to help him walk-- which would have worked, but my brave boy decided he didn't want go out the front door that day. He turned his head away from the door and immediately became 90 lbs of dead weight. But somehow, in the end, I heaved him into the back of my car with superhuman strength ;) and have scratches and bruises to prove it! (Next time, I'll ask my neighbors for help...) Anyway, my big guy is doing ok now. We are treating the kidney issues and the anemia, and he is already doing better and eating everything in site again. I don't like to talk about him aging...it's a little bit easier to do in writing...but honestly, I haven't really come to terms with it. I have only had him for 3 years, and I love him too much for that to be enough time. Last month, I cried a lot about this, and one night, after watching TV, I just lay on the carpet holding him and crying...Then Taylor came in and said "Court, you can't do this. You can't mourn him before he's gone. That's not fair to him. We have to enjoy every day we have with him and leave the mourning until he's no longer with us." This simple idea has made each day bearable for me, and I have completely changed my perspective. I truly believe my dogs can sense when I am worried, scared, sad, etc... and I only want my Tubbie to sense happy thoughts from me! I'm so happy to have him lying at my feet right now, and I am just taking this one day at a time. :) And as of now, it looks like we have more time with him! Nothing in his bloodwork is un-treatable, and there is no limit to what we would do for this guy. So we'll get him back to feeling 100%! I feel so lucky to still be able to find yellow and white hair on every piece of clothing I own or to slip on the water trail he has left from his bowl! I still have my Tubbie bear, and I am so HAPPY!

What happens when you have a senior lab and an overly anxious Mom?

A very full doggy medicine cabinet!

Here are our daily meds and vitamins for Tubbs and Gamer. So far, Mags and Pumpkin are ok with just food and water ;). Our new vet is very into holistic meds, in addition to classic medication, and even though it's ridiculous how many there are, all these vitamins seriously work miracles!

I sent Maggie and Pumpkin to the spa this week for a haircut.... living in Florida is just too hot for long coats! I took them to the doggy daycare that helps me with my rescue dogs, so they treated my girls like princesses! They got to stay in a "Luxury Apartment" with a view of the horse pastures while they waited, and the girls let me walk to the back and hang out for a while -- it was a very low stress grooming experience :) They are now naked and loving it! To be honest, Maggie kind of looks the same....but Pumpkin is so tiny!!!

While these girls were getting a spa treatment, poor Gamer had to have her teeth cleaned for the 4th time in her short life! She was born with less-than-perfect teeth... :) As much as she hated me leaving her at the vet (she yelped and cried as a walked away- it was awful), she did just fine! This is the first of all of her dental cleanings that didn't result in a follow up trip to the vet or emergency clinic, so we feel really lucky! :)

Here she is when I picked her up, looking a bit worn out, but all on one piece (and smiling)!

I can hardly stand how precious this girl is---sooo cute! Right? (On another note, a man at the vet said she was a "very cute little man"...so I corrected the nice man, who THEN said, wow, she's an old one though, huh? To which I replied, NO..she is only 5 years old...And he then went on to say how she LOOKS old and so much like a boy!!! Whatever...Taylor and I think she is the most beatiful creature in the world-- we just stare at her sometimes, discussing what it is that makes her just so gorgeous...that man didn't know what he was talking about. haha)
Soooo, we are looking forward to a much calmer week ahead...and I get to go to Houston for a wedding (and a girls weekend!) on Friday. The weather if gorgeous here, the dogs and I got to sleep in (Taylor had a game this morning)...and we are enjoying a nice, quiet day for the first time in a while! At least until I look at my list of errands to run and start painting! haha. No complaints....life is good :)