K is for Kale!

I don't usually care for leafy green vegetables, but last night I went bananas over some kale that Daddy dropped on the floor while he was chopping it for dinner. When I was finally able to grab a piece, I ran with it into the living room and started chowing down. At first Mommy thought I was just going to shred it and leave little wet pieces all over the rug, which is what I usually do. But this time I actually ate it!

Mommy took a video of me eating my second leaf:



I'm going to Lake Tahoe this weekend, so...

Bye for now!
Poppy the LBC

Scrabble!

I like Scrabble. I like to help by licking the box and trying to walk on the board. I think my parents like that.

Bye for now!
Poppy the LBC

I'm Feeling Fine

Other than the fact that Mommy just brushed my teeth, which I don't really like very much, I'm feeling pretty good! My big esophagus has gotten a little smaller, and I hope it will get even smaller still. I'll have some more x-rays soon and Dr. D will tell me if I'm all better.

In the meantime, I get to eat wet food all the time! Woo hoo! Hence the aggressive tooth-brushing, which is the only downside as far as I can tell. Oh wait...there is one other downside. Farts! I never used to fart at all. Now I do these SBDs (Silent But Deadly) and sometimes I have to smell my own butt afterwords to make sure it actually came out of me. It did.

I have gone on a couple of good walks this week in between rain storms. The other day I found a big branch at the park and I climbed inside it. Somebody must have peed on it, because it smelled really interesting.


This is an action shot of me on my weekend walk:


And now, Movie Monday! I know it's not really Monday, but today is the first day of the week for Mommy, who had Monday and Tuesday off. So it's kind of like Monday, but even better! This is a video of me plaing Bitey Face with Daddy. And then at the end I do some of my tricks: sit, down, spin, shake, gimme five, and prairie dog.



Bye for now,
Poppy the LBC

Pee Ess: IVDD stands for InterVertebral Disc Disease.

UPDATE-2/19/09: I do not have megaesophagus! It was only temporary!!! Woo hoooooo!

The Poo End of the Stick

Well friends, I certainly got the short end of the stick when it comes to health issues. I got the short, s**t-covered end of the stick! Let me explain.

Yesterday morning I woke up very early and threw up in bed a little bit. It wasn't a lot of vomit, but I felt very bad afterwords because it was hard to breathe and I was shaking a lot. I eventually was able to fall back asleep, but later that morning I threw up an awful lot of bile and phlegm. We went to the emergency vet and they took some x-rays and did some blood work.

It turns out that I have megaesophagus!!! And because of my loose esophagus, I also have a little bit of aspiration pneumonia. The pneumonia should go away with some antibiotics, but my big esophagus is a big problem. I have to eat standing up like a person to help the food go down into my stomach instead of into my lungs. Uh-oh. This means that I get to eat wet food now instead of dry food, which is good, I guess. But I don't feel so good right now.

I'm on five kinds of medication: cisapride and sucralfate for my megaesophagus, clindamycin and baytril for my pneumonia, and prilosec to help keep the acid in my tummy (just like Daddy!).

So for those of you keeping track, I now have in my medical history file: a broken pelvis, IVDD, and megaesophagus. WTF!?!?!?

Bye for now,
Poppy the Little Blonde Chihuahua

UPDATE, 2/9/09:
Mommy just talked to my regular vet (we went to the emergency clinic this weekend) and she says that it's quite possible that my big esophagus is temporary! Keep your paws crossed for me!