What We Do for Our Pets

What do we do? Torture them, of course. Or at least they think that is what we are doing. Why?

Dog +Hole = Broken Dog

The elusive pupper blep

What did he do? Let's start out by saying that he loves to dig holes to stay cool during the summer like a little bed. I haven't filled in the main hole in the middle of my parents' yard, which was a problem. The dog charged out the back door to catch a bird invading his domain and faceplanted directly into the hole. From then on he was lame, not wanting to put any pressure on his front leg. After a while of him not getting better, I took him to the vet. 

Link is none too fond of going to the vet, but I think that is because of all the wrong smells since he is a perfect angel for the vets and techs, even when he is scared and in pain. He's a good boy. There he had an x-ray and found the problem: spondylosis deformans, or bone spurs connecting vertebra where no bone should be. It happens in most dogs as they age, and Link is now 10 so he counts (and has two more fusions already). Well, when he dove into his hole he broke one of those connections loose between his shoulders, hence the lameness in his leg. He simply didn't want to put pressure on a painful spot on his spine rather than a leg or shoulder problem. 

With that knowledge we were able to come up with a plan: hit it with anti-inflammatories until it calms down and hope that the other two spots of spur connections behave themselves. It also meant that all things hoppable, like couches, recliners (well, laps), or non-ramp car exits are all out. Which makes Link sad. Especially the no-lap rule since his favorite spot in the world is on Dad's lap on the recliner. He spent a week and a half challenging Dad to a game of you-can't-stop-me where he would leap onto the lap when Dad was least expecting of the incoming dog and didn't have time to stop said pooch.

The rest and recouperation over two weeks didn't completely solve the problem since he is still really tender and has trouble getting up in the morning. Since the pain meds wore out on Wednesday, I called the vet and they prescribed me more meds with an order to call in two weeks to see how he's doing. We are hoping that the joint calms down and he heals up well, but if if not he can stay on meds for as long as he needs to stay comfortable. I do believe that his many-hour hikes are out of the question, especially for the next couple months. (Not that I really want to be out in the cold or really exercising outside at all, but I can tell myself that he is my excuse.) It also means that I am going to restrict his access to stairs during the day since he likes making several trips up and down for no good reason at my parents' house. At night he stays by either Dad or myself, so it isn't really an issue then. I just need to make sure he can peep at me (like a bird) if he needs to go out in the middle of the night.

New regimen: vitamin E and fish oil long-term and pain meds for a while to keep him comfortable. But perhaps not so comfortable as to have him reinjure himself!

I love my pooch. Link is very much a Good Boy. My Good Boy.

The Day We Turned in the Tumor Fryer

I bring you: The tumor fryer. 

What was this gadget? Well, now it's called Optune, but was very much in clinical trials when Jason was frying. A set of four electromagnetic pads stuck to the head that wiggled and jiggled the electromagnetic fields where appropriate to try to keep the tumor from growing. This was the day we returned the device.

Today ten years ago we decided that it was time to stop. To stop not only the hail-Mary tumor fryer, but also all other active treatments. We were admitting defeat. We were acknowledging that treatment needed to shift from living as long as possible to living as comfortably as possible. 

At that point, three days from Christmas, we gave back the fryer and decided to see all the family we possible could over the holidays. And see we did! It was a bittersweet holiday, but we did get to see most of our family while Jason was still 'him' instead of what steroids did later. 

And it's been ten years. Huh. I can't believe it's been that long. I've healed a lot since then. Though there are raw days. Today has been... Difficult. I was mostly useless at work, though I didn't tell my boss why. He is probably assuming it is because I'm still a little sick still from over the weekend. Given that the chest cold knocked me out from last Wednesday up until Tuesday, that's probably partly true. Still fighting that cough. (And I may have gotten Dad sick too. Dangit. Let's see if I managed to share with Mom as well.)

But today I'm going to giggle about explaining that piece of tech to everyone from people with medical degrees on down to tiny kids curious why my man had that not-quite-tin-foil hat on. And explaining why I was schlepping fifty pounds of batteries through TSA.

The "Meh" Phenomenon

It's been a month since last on here. Welcome back!

I've been watching lots of YouTube videos on many different topics. I realized that some days left me down and just sort of, as my late husband would say, "Meh." Others had me happy and (sort of) full of energy. All because of what I was watching. Or what the weather is doing. Like now, when its cloudy, grey, and chilly, I want to wrap up in a blanket and drink tea/nap. Not both at the same time, please. So now I am trying to mix up my watching, especially at night when I have massive trouble not eating my way through till bedtime. We'll see how it works.

Not My Mix. Not My Egg. Not My Pic.

I made a cake. From a mix. And messed it up. Duncan Hines Keto mix. I halved the mix, the eggs, and (part of) the water. But not the butter--I could only pour out some of the extra water when I realized my mistake. It was a mess. A tasty mess, but not worth it foodwise. All told, Meh. The frosting, also Duncan Hines and impossible to screw up since it was canned, was tasty but had a very shortening feel to it. I can use it for something else assuming I don't eat it with a spoon because that's what frosting is for, even when described as Meh.

I keep losing weight, slowly and steadily. Slower than I would like, but that is probably a good thing since that would mean that I'm causing more problems than I solve over the long run. So close to 70 pounds down! Two pounds to be exact. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. Which I do. Though there is one problem: I'm not exercising. Only I can fix that. And I do. Rarely. So it goes. My opinion tonight about actually getting off the couch? Meh.

The dog could use some exercise as well to get muscle tone...and rein in his behavior. That little son of a ***** decided that it would be a good idea to growl at Mom. She took away the item being growled over then made him wait to get it back. Well done, but I don't want to have that happen again. So I've been requiring him to work through small things before he gets anything. Not a lap. Not treat food. He doesn't care about his regular food at all, so I don't make him sit from another room. I am hoping that little bits take down his ego. That and repeatedly taking away and giving back high-value treats. "Come" is starting to work better as well, even in a just few days. Whistles are still doing nothing, unlike a month ago when he knew what they meant (show me where you are, get over here eventually). Meh, he will get it again with repetition.