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).

My Vacation!

Hi friends! I'm back from my vacation to the Grand Canyon! It was fun, but kind of windy and cold. Luckily we were prepared for the cold weather with lots of sweaters and sleeping bags.

Before we went to the Grand Canyon, we stopped in southern California to visit my great-grandmother. She's 92, I think. I liked her very much, as she smelled slightly of food and sat very still. She was a vision in blue (my harness was totally color-coordinated with her outfit!), and I tried in vain to jump up onto her lap in order to lick her face. Daddy wouldn't allow it, but he did let me lick her hand and she kind of grabbed my head and scratched it a little bit. She liked watching me walk around the lawn, too.


On our way to Arizona, we saw this van. Mommy and Daddy practically started screaming! Mommy shouted, "We love you!" And then she leaned out the window to take a picture.


Our campsite was very pretty and very quiet. Mommy was afraid that there would be scorpions because it is the desert, but Daddy was right--no scorpions because the rim of the canyon is at 7,000 feet!


That night I got cozy with Mommy in her new GIANT zero degree sleeping bag. That thing is so big that there is plenty of room for both of us! That means no more complaints from Mommy about a 9 pound dog squeezing her into a weird position all night long. Yay!


The first time we walked along the rim, Mommy and Daddy were a little afraid I would get too close to the edge, so I had to ride in my orange backpack. It wasn't so bad. I had a really good view! And later they let me walk on the ground all by myself (while they held a death-grip on my leash).


The canyon was really pretty! Here are a couple of pictures without me. (Although I'm sure they're not as interesting as the ones with me in them.)





To tell you the truth, we had to leave a little early because one night I had a throwing up episode and I started breathing funny and Mommy and Daddy were worried (or freaked out, I should say) that I had aspirated some of my vomit again like I did in February. I didn't really stop wheezing until we dropped some altitude. When we got home and saw Dr. D, she said I was fine, but that she probably would have done the same thing. Next time we'll know that I don't aspirate every time I vomit--hopefully it was only that once--and my parents won't have to freak out.

Bye for now!
Poppy the Little Blonde 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

Look, I Made a Stain!

Well, I'm certainly no Joe Stains, but I have been known to leave my mark around the house in my own special way. This is my favorite type of stain to make. Can you guess how I made it?

I made it with my tongue! Yes, I am a couch-licker. I am also a bed-sheet-licker. I feel so proud of my stain, even though I know that it will dry in a few minutes and is therefore not really a stain, per se. But still, I am proud of my handiwork.

In other important news, my friend Dannan gave me a special award. It is an award that says I am a Cool Blog!!! Thanks so much, Dannan!
I would like to pass this award on to ChaChi Lu. I am a little bit worried about her because she has been gone for so long...I hope she is okay.

Bye for now,
Poppy the Little Blonde Couch-Licker

Pee Ess:
For those of you who were interested, here is the whole sordid tale of The Unpleasantness. I was with Mommy at Sivan's house. We were there to take her out for a mid-day walk because her parents couldn't come home that day from work. However, when we got there, Uncle Ben was there anyway. Surprise! So we just hung out and played for a while.

Sivan and I were in the backyard with Mommy. Uncle Ben was inside. Mommy gave Sivan a treat, but she didn't like it, so she just dropped it on the ground. When Sivan dropped it, I went over to investigate and maybe eat it myself. Well, that made Sivan VERY mad and she growled and snapped and bit me! I screamed and ran away, but she chased me. Mommy screamed, "Heeeeelp!!!!" and grabbed Sivan by the collar. And Uncle Ben came running outside and found me waiting at the sliding door. Mommy said, "Pick her up!!!!"

Then the three of us went inside and Sivan stayed outside for a while. I was so scared that my bottom leaked a little bit. It smelled bad. It was the smell of terror! Mommy was also scared, but the only thing that leaked on her was her eyes, thank goodness! There was a little hole on my leg where Sivan had bitten me, so Mommy took me to the vet to get it cleaned and bandaged.

And that was that. Sivan and I don't really get to see each other all that much anymore. Which is sad because I used to love her so much that I would howl when we were separated. :(