A Christmas Tree Adventure

Hi Furiends!

I got to go on an adventure to the mountains yesterday.  We went to find a Christmas tree to put in our living room.  We do this every year.  It seems a little bit strange to bring a big giant tree into the house, but is sure is pretty.  We found our tree at a tree farm in the mountains.  The weather was very nice, so we had a little picnic, too.  There were so many things to smell there that I hardly noticed that my parents were eating hummus and bread.

The adventure started out very fun.  Hey, let's go over there!  I think I smell a good tree down the hill!  There was also a lot of yummy grass to eat.  Mmmm...mountain grass...

However, there was a problem.  I walked through the scrubby brushy grass and I got a tick.  A TICK!!!  It was stuck in my armpit and it was very hurty and I didn't know what to do.  I held my arm out to the side so Mommy and Daddy would notice that something was wrong.  Luckily they are very smart and attentive, so the looked and found two ticks on my sweater, one more crawling on my chest, and one stuck in my armpit! Eeeewww!  Ouch!  Yuck!  Owwie!!!

We went to the vet right away and they got it out for me.  Phew!  Sierra, the vet tech, looked all over me for more ticks, including in my ears and my "lady parts."  When we got home, Mommy and Daddy gave me some pain medicine, which made me feel a little loopy...especially in the ear region.  See how one of my ears is all twisted around backwards?  I don't know why it was doing that.  Silly medicine.

Whenever something happens to me around Christmas time, Mommy and Daddy feel very sad and anxious, because that is when I had my first back injury in 2007.  Last year when we went to get our tree they freaked out because I hurt my paw while we were tromping around.  And this year the tick!  The moral of the story is that I do not think we are going to go cut our own tree next year.  We will just go to one of those lots with the lightbulbs strung all over.  They have some very nice trees there.  And no ticks.

Bye for now,

Poppy the LBC

One Year Ago

One year ago today, my big sister Clover died. We still miss her and think about her a lot. She was really the best kitty ever. This is Mommy's absolute favorite picture of Clover:
She used to love to lie in front of the big window and soak up all the heat and sunshine that she could. Mommy and Daddy even put special UV-blocking film on the windows so she wouldn't get sunburned.

This is Mommy's favorite picture of me and Clover together:
We are both soaking up the sunshine. I learned from her!

In other news, I want to tell you about a recent adventure I had at a cabin in Lake Tahoe two weekends ago. It was very cold there because there was lots of snow. Mommy and I went for a walk in the neighborhood, but I was not happy with having my feet touch the ground. I only walked less than a block before Mommy decided to take pity on me and tuck me snugly into my orange backpack to be carried the rest of the way. It was much more fun then!

After we got back from our walk, I discovered the wonder of the fireplace! Mommy put my bed right in front of it so I could get warm. It was soooooo nice! I snuggled up in front of that fireplace every chance I got from then on:

Bye for now,
Poppy the Little Blonde Chihuahua

Oh Noes!

On Tuesday morning I woke up in a lot of pain. It was my back! And my back legs felt all funny again. Mommy and Daddy took me to see my vet, who said we should wait 24 to 48 hours and use anti-inflammatories and pain meds to try to avoid another surgery.
On Tuesday and Wednesday I was pretty tired and a little bit out of it, as you can see.

Well, the plan worked for the first day, but last night I started to get worse. So this morning we went to the specialist, who sent me for an MRI. When I woke up from the MRI, I was all sleepy and a little bit upset. I really wanted to go home, but the MRI revealed that I do need to have another surgery! :(

I'll be back in a couple days... Wish me luck!
Poppy the LBC

Pee Ess from Poppy's Mom: We just dropped her off at VSA for her surgery. We get to visit her tomorrow and then pick her up on Saturday morning. In our family we have now had two knee surgeries (Dad), two toe surgeries (Mom), and two back surgeries (Poppy). I think that's enough!

UPDATE: Poppy is out of surgery and doing well so far. We'll get to visit her tomorrow and maybe even bring her home tomorrow(if not, then Saturday).

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!

My Big Sister Clover

Hi everybody. Thank you for all your very nice comments about Clover. We are still feeling sad around here. We miss Clover. I have been trying to do a good job of cheering up my parents by bringing them a bunch of toys to play with each evening. Usually I just pick two to play with, but for the last few days I have been bringing them at least five. I really want them to feel better.

This is the last picture we have of Clover. It was taken on Friday, the day before she died. I think it is nice that the last picture is of my big sister and me together.



Mommy keeps thinking she sees Clover behind the curtains and curled up on the bed. But she's not there. It was all so sudden. Clover had a heart condition: early stages of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and also an irregular heart rhythm. Mommy got up on Saturday morning and said hello to Clover and petted her and carried her around a little bit, and then put her down and went in the other room. A few minutes later, Mommy heard Clover scratching on her post, and then there was a thud. Mommy ran out to see if Clover was okay, thinking that she had fallen off the couch again--she does that sometimes with our new couches. But she was just lying there on the floor next to her post, breathing funny. Daddy got his stethoscope and tried to help, but it was too late. She died in Daddy's arms. It all happened so quickly.

Mommy and Daddy rushed her to the vet, but it was too late. We think she threw a clot to her brain or had sudden cardiac arrest. Either one could have been caused by her heart condition.

We all miss her a lot. Here is Mommy's favorite picture of Clover:


This is another great one of what we call(ed) "Double Happiness." That was when both Clover and I were on Mommy or Daddy's lap at the same time! Mommy and Daddy already miss this.


Bye for now,
Poppy the Little Blonde Chihiahua

A sad, sad day

Clover
Our Fuzzy Orange Baby
2002 to January 24, 2009