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!

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

Snuggly Sunday

Hi everyone! I hope you are all enjoying the weekend. I am having a good time relaxing and snuggling.

On Friday night I had a void-fest in the middle of the night. I woke up suddenly and projectile vomited all over Mommy and Daddy's comforter. Oops. I was very sorry about that. They weren't mad because they knew I didn't do it on purpose. It was a lot of throw-up. Daddy had to change the sheets and the blankets in the middle of the night. While he did that, Mommy took me out to the kitchen where I immediately ran to my box and peed for a long time. After I was done with that, I got out of my box and left a huge poop on the floor. So I voided all of my bodily fluids/solids in the space of two minutes. Wow, what a night. After that, I felt better. The rest of the weekend has been filled with snuggling!

Yesterday Mommy and Daddy wanted to take me out in the car to get lunch. When we went outside, I tricked them into taking me for a walk first! I just pulled Daddy right past the car and onto the sidewalk. Then Mommy felt sad about just putting me right in the car, so she said we could go for a little walk before we went for lunch. Ha ha, I tricked them!

Here is what I have been doing the rest of the weekend--snuggling:


When Clover is on Mommy's lap I get this sudden uncontrollable desire to be on her lap too. Mommy says it's jealousy, but I don't know about that. I just know that I want to be on her lap tooooooo!

I was being so cute and snuggly that Daddy wouldn't stop taking pictures of me. Here I am saying, "Daddy, enough with the flashy thing! It's hurting my eyes!"


Clover really loves our new couches. She sleeps on them like this all day and all night practically. So it has been a snuggly weekend for her too.


Bye for now,
Poppy the LBC

Safety First!

My Mommy and I think it is very important to be safe, so we made our first PSA (public service announcement)!



Buckle-up your pup! I always ride in a carseat! :)

Bye for now,
Poppy the Little Blonde Safety Chihuahua

New Year's Day Was Great!

Last night was very low key, but today was awesome! This afternoon we went to Fort Funston, which is one of my most favoritest places ever! It was very cold today, so I had to wear two jackets, and Mommy did too.


And yes, if you look carefully, you will notice that I am not wearing a leash so much as a pair of earphones with a long cord. That is because my parents are silly and they completely forgot all of my stuff when we left the house. No leash, no harness, and no poo bags! Luckily I always have a harness with me because of my seatbelt car harness. And we had some napkins to pick up my poo, but they reeeeally had to improvise about the leash. The ended up tying the connector end to my harness and Daddy made a hand loop out of the earphones.


They were a little nervous about it pulling apart, so they were extra careful with me near other dogs and cliffs and stuff. They have decided, on my advice, that from now on they will keep a backup leash and some extra poo bags in both cars. That way I will not have to wear earphones ever again.

When we got home Mommy started packing my overnight bag (more on that later), and she put two of my freeze-dried chicken treats in a little container. Then she threw the package in the trash and the paper insert that was in the package into the recycling bag. That was a mistake. For her. Not for me.



The end of the video is a little cut off, but what she said is, "Okay, maybe you can have it." And then she gave it to me! It was just a little piece of paper, but it smelled and tasted so great! I licked it and then shredded it into tiny, wet pieces.


Now more about my overnight bag: Mommy and Daddy are leaving me with Grandma and Grandpa OVERNIGHT because...well, mostly because Mommy needs to practice leaving me. It is very hard for her. It used to be easier, and they left me with Grandma and Grandpa for weekends several times before my injury. But this is the first time they have left me overnight since my injury. It is very difficult, but they need to do it. You always read about dog separation anxiety, except with us it's different. I don't have it, but my Mommy does!

Bye for now,
Poppy the Little Blonde Chihuahua