My new game

Hey everyone!

Nothing very exciting has happened over the last couple of weeks, except that I discovered that I love soft, furry toys. Mom and her sister keep talking about Christmas and what I might want, and I think I would like a soft, fluffy toy to sleep in my crate with me, especially if mom makes it smell like her!

Speaking of my crate and mom, I have started a new game. She goes to this thing called "work" at night now, and gets home pretty late. While she is gone, I take her orange shoes and hide them in my crate. She wears them when she is home, walking around in the house. I like to keep them in there because they smell like mom and also because it means she has to climb inside of my crate to get them when she gets home, and I always make sure to give her a big sloppy kiss when she does!

The weather lately has been really wet and so I have been really sore. I still play even though it hurts a little bit. Mom even told me some bad news - she has been making sure my pills get into me in that wet dog food. I saw her smashing something up the other day and she told me that the reason I am starting to feel better is because she has been making sure my pills get in my food one way or the other. Oh well, at least I get the yummy dog food that it comes with!

Mom finally got the pictures from my bath onto her computer so she wants me to share. She says my coat has gotten shinier and smells a lot better since I had my bath, and it might also be the good food I am finally getting. She wants me to remind everyone how well behaved I was in the bath tub, she was very proud! After the bath, she wrapped me up in some soft cloth and I got to sit on the couch!




"Mom - why do you do this to me? I thought you loved me!"



"Does this robe make my nose look big?"



Mom says: "Babushka! You came to visit us from the old country!"


Licks and tail wags!
Callie

PS: Mom says to keep a watch out for a "cute" video of my eyebrows in a couple of days!

It's been a while...

Well, my mom went away for three days and just got back. Her sister and the old lady also went with her and took Zoey and Stinky. I wish they would have taken me but at the same time, I don't think it would have been very nice because I don't really like travelling and Stinky told me it was a very long ride and they stayed in their crates a lot - I would not have minded that part so much.

Anyways, it was just me and Morrie, Gypsy, Bella, Sasha and the old man. The old man put a fence around the front yard so we wouldn't run away. This means that I got a lot more playtime than I usually do, and I spent a lot of time running around and playing with the other dogs. I really do like playing and I feel better and better everyday. It must be because mom stopped making me swallow those icky pills in peanut butter. She did leave some of that wet food with the old man for me, in specially labelled containers in the big dog food box that is cold and he put some on my food every day like a good servant.

I really did miss mom when she was gone, though, and I have not left her side since she got back. I don't want her to go away again! She told me she has another day off work before she has to go back again so I can be with her some more.

Now I need to go lay on mom's lap for a while and do normal stuff like watch Oprah and Dr Phil.

Love and kisses,
Callie

I love kids!

So last night, mom had some kids over to visit. I had to stay in the house most of the time because they were in the barn and I love to go eat giant dog poop... mom gets worried because sometimes I get too close to the big dogs in the barn and she tells me if I get any more lame, I won't be able to walk at all!

Anyways, after they were finished with the really big dogs, mom came and got me and Sasha, Morrie and Stinky. She let us outside and the two little kids were standing there. I was so excited to see little people that wanted to meet me that I ran right up to them, wiggling my bum like crazy. The littlest one was a girl and I heard her mom telling my mom that she doesn't like german shepherds, but she seemed to LOVE me! She leaned right down and patted me and kissed me, and so did the other one.

I loved visiting with them and I hope mom brings kids to visit more often. They are the perfect size for patting me!

Also, I've been pretty happy because mom stopped trying to sneak giant pills into weeners or a wad of sticky peanut butter (she stopped trying because I can pick the pills out of both the weeners and the peanut butter and spit them out in my bed). Now she gives me a soft food on top of my regular food, just a little bit. It has little white flecks in it and smells really fishy, but I know mom is not hiding anything in there! She can't be, because I can't feel the pills! (But I did hear her complaining to the old man that the "pill crusher" (whatever that is, it sounds good because it destroys icky pills!) hurts her hand.

I'm so smart, figuring out how to get her to stop giving me pills!

Hahaha,
Callie

What's that smell?

Well, I can tell you that smell is not me anymore!

A couple of days ago, the old lady (with no pants on sometimes) took me into a small room that had a lot of white in it. My mom was looking for me and looking for me - inside and out. The old lady helped me into a big bowl and then turned on some water. She put the water all over me and scrubbed me before mom finally found us in there! Mom said I was being a really good girl in the bathtub and she even took some pictures, but her interwebz is working funny again so she can't put them on the computer yet. I didn't mind the bath so much but I hated it after mom and the old lady used some cloth to lift me out and then I was just wet and waiting to dry.

It took a long time for me to dry and it was kind of cold out so I was doing my pee and poo really quickly so I could come back into the warm house! I think I like this bath thing because I smell good and mom pats me more. She says my breath still smells but it's not so bad now that my fur smells good and is all shiny. Now the big problem is that a lot of my hair is coming out - mom calls it "shedding" - and my hair is all over the place. Actually, this isn't so much a problem for me but mom has trouble finding hair-free hands to eat food with and do other things!

I have been feeling better these days - mom keeps telling me it's the big white pills that she is giving me but I don't believe that anything that icky to swallow can be good for me! Anyways, the other day, I made mom laugh and almost cry because I peed and then ran back to her and slapped my paws on the ground, trying to get her to play. She was really excited that I was "instigating play" and she told everyone a million times and she looked really proud. Everytime I run around like a puppy, it makes her laugh and smile.

Speaking of pills, mom got me some new ones today. They are big and clear and the fluid inside smells fishy to me. She tried to trick me by crushing up the glucosamine and then squeezing out the fishy ones and mixing it all in peanut butter... but I was not fooled. It was gross, but she pushed it in my mouth and made me eat it. I am not tricked when she tries to put the pills in weeners, either. I am just way too smart for her!

Tonight, I went out for my pee with mom and ran around and played all silly like and then we came back inside. Zoey and Morrie were bad dogs and went to visit the neighbor so the old man went to get them and when they came back, someone (and I am not pointing paws, but he is brown and his name starts with an "M" and ends with an "orrie") smelled terrible. Mom and her sister made awful faces and hid their noses and mouths and screaming "SKUNK! SKUNK!". I don't know what a skunk is but if that's what it smells like, I never want to meet one! Right now, Morrie is in the bathtub, taking a bath. He doesn't like them as much as I do (well, I don't like them, but I don't hate them). He whines and claws and tries to get out. Mom says he deserves it for being too friendly with the skunk... I'm just glad I'm not the stinky one anymore!!

Holding my nose,
Callie

Happy Howl-oween, everyone!

Happy Howl-oween, everyone!

Guess what I am this year?

A lapdog!!!

This is a picture of me sitting on the old lady's lap - I got up all by myself, without any help. She was surprised and I was happy!

Mom uploaded a video of my sore leg. We are not sure how many x-rays it will take to find out what is wrong up there, but hopefully not too many. She just wanted to show everyone how much of a 'hitch' in my 'getalong' I have. She also says to ignore the junk in the background, that was right around fall cleanup time!

I don't have to go outside on a leash anymore - when it is mom I am with, I usually stay quite handy and I have learned really well that when my mom says "Callie!" in a high voice, I am supposed to come back to her.

It took mom six pieces of weener to get me to eat my medicine this morning. She said she might try and change me over to a new food that has some of that good stuff already in it so I don't have to keep eating all those pills.

Back from the vet!

So today, mom took me to the vet and it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. I didn't really like travelling in the car, but I didn't get sick - I just drooled a lot. Mom sure must have been glad that she brought something to cover the seat!

The lady at the desk was very nice and talked sweet to me. She told me that I was beautiful and she told me I had very nice toenails - mom was extra proud of that because we trimmed my toenails a few days ago and I never put up a single ounce of fuss! She put me on the scales and I weighed 76lbs - that is only four pounds less than Bella, mom tells me, and Bella is about four inches taller than me!

Then the lady at the desk took us in a room and we waited. I sat on the floor, even though it was pretty hard and cold. Mom said she should have brought me a blanket, but I made myself comfortable eventually. I have a lot of extra padding and extra fur, so it worked out alright.

The vet lady was very nice and she crouched down and made friends with me, talking nicely and stroking my face. She tried to feed me some treats but I was way too jazzed up to even take weeners from mom.

She looked in my ears and in my mouth, she stuck something cold in my bum (Mom was really proud that I never even looked sideways when this happened), felt my hips and my shoulders, listened to my heart, then she got down and patted me again. We went outside and mom walked me back and forth so she could look at how I walk. I really liked her, and eventually, I even took a treat from her... I spit it right out and mom picked it up and I ate it from her hand.

The vet lady and mom talked a lot about the different things that mom can do to make it hurt less when I move around. She thought it was a "terrible shame" that the man who kept me let me get this way, and mom agreed. I think that this means more icky pills, but I'm not sure. Mom also said she might change my food to something that has stuff in it so I might not have to eat as many yucky pills... but mom knows all about that stuff. I'll let her have the keyboard now!

Love yous!
Callie

Hi readers;

To be clear, my main goals in vetting Callie were to address the issues of her worn down teeth, her loose hips, and her stiffness in her front right shoulder. I also sought the advice of the vet on spaying and other procedures I felt Callie may require.

To start, and make Callie more comfortable, Dr MacArthur prescribed 2000mg of Omega 3 fatty acids daily, 2000mg glucosamine daily (I had already started her on this), and 1600mg chondroitin sulfate daily, as well as a prescription of Meloxicam for the pain. I knew about the Meloxicam prior to this visit as I spoke directly to the pharmacist where I had acquired the glucosamine and he mentioned that he mixed it for another canine patient and it ended up being substantially less expensive than Medicam, which is the animal grade option. I mentioned this to Dr MacArthur as we were talking about markup on meds and she wrote out a prescription - I'm not sure she would have thought of it had I not mentioned it, glad I remembered!

She recommended select blood tests to check for heartworm and lyme disease, which could be affecting her mobility, as well as the state of her kidneys in relation to the proposed long term use of painkillers. The hips, she more or less said there was little that could be done for them (aside from a full hip replacement!) and thus prescribed the meds. She would like to have an x-ray of the front shoulder done to see exactly what we're dealing with and what sort of physical rehabilitation could be done as she has completely wasted away the muscle on that front shoulder (the other is fairly scarce of muscle as well). I have also noticed Callie tucking that paw under from the first joint when she lays down or stands, as though she has no feeling in it at all.

I was pleased that Dr MacArthur was realistic about this treatment, the expense, and the options that truly exist for a dog of her age that aren't invasive enough to affect quality of life. She also recommended not spaying her at this age. I tend to agree.

Overall, the estimation for the work that Callie presently needs is between $305 and $429 and include:

Prep panel & PCV - $55
4dx snap test (HW/lyme/ehr/anaplasma) - $43
Pre-Anesthetic Medication - $15
Anesthesia (IV) - $47
Radiograph 14 x 17 (2) - $110

Tax - $35.10

Total - $305.10 - which can go up, depending on how many radiographs they need to truly see what is in there.

They require the anesthetic for the x-rays because the position in which they have to place her to acquire the correct photos are unnatural and probably painful. I plan to have the blood tests done on a visit prior to x-rays so we can be certain that anesthetic will not be harmful to her.

Dr MacArthur was not concerned about Callie's teeth or infection. A veterinary dentist would likely order them removed immediately, but she has no trouble eating and is at no risk for infection, so we believe that she will be fine. Should they trouble her, they will be something we will address.

I have been in contact with the local GSD rescue and they are on "backup" should Callie's medical bills become too much of a burden for me financially - I am a waitress - I have to be realistic about what my options are. Should the GSD rescue take Callie, they would foster her and raise the money for her to have the treatments required, and then adopt her out to a new home. Callie has been shy (if it were not apparant from her blog) and has slowly but surely, every day, come out of her shell little by little. I feel it would set her back to be moved not once, but twice, and to different vets. I very much want to keep her, but I hope that I am not being selfish - this is my biggest concern over everything. I have fallen completely head over heels in love with this dog, but I want the best for her in all cases. I do not believe that "the best" for her necessarily means invasive orthopedic surgeries, but even just the most comfort possible until she is ready to cross rainbow bridge.

There is something about old dogs - how gracious and appreciative they are, that really makes me stop and think. We could all learn a lesson from the capacity for love and forgiveness that Callie has shown coming into our home and, in her typical, quiet, noble way, settling in and just enjoying loving and being loved.

I thank you all for your well wishes and good thoughts!

Amanda

I hate glycasa.. gluconti... glucoglomee!

Well, lots of things have been happening over the last few days. Yesterday was a pretty big day for me.

First, in the morning, I was sitting in my crate and mom was sitting on the couch near my crate. Morrie got up on her lap and he was wiggling all over and giving her a lot of kisses and I got pretty excited - he is awfully big to be a lap dog, maybe I wasn't too big afterall! And she didn't seem to be getting mad... so I went over and before mom noticed me, I got my paws up on the couch and I was pushing against her with my chest, trying to get up. My back legs aren't as strong as they used to be so she had to give me a little lift, but I gave her kisses all over her face and settled in. I spent about an hour just sitting on her lap and laying on her while she watched Dr. Phil and Ellen. She kept patting me and patting me... she's soft and comfortable, and I love her so much!

Then, she and her sister went away for a little while. When they came back, mom called me into the kitchen... she had my FAVOURITE treat... she calls them 'weeners' and they are delicious! Anyways, she gave me the weener and it felt a little funny in the middle, but I swallowed it up and two more pieces. Mom looked all pleased with herself, like a dog that ate a cat for dinner, and then she told her sister that I didn't even notice the glucica... glucosa... 'glucosamine'! Today when she tried to give me those pills again, I ate two pieces and left about half of the third. She was kind of disappointed with me and she told me that I need to take these pills to make my shoulder feel better and my back legs stronger. She says I will move a lot easier if I just take the pills like a good dog.

She told me she has a doctor's appointment for me on Thursday. It has been a long time since I have seen a doctor, so I don't remember when the last time was or even if I really like a doctor or not! Mom said if I am really good, she'll give me lots of weeners and she told her sister she hopes that I don't bite the doctor. I don't like biting, but I have discovered I like licking quite a lot!

Lately, mom has been calling me out of my crate and then closing the door behind me so I have to stay out. I am even coming out of my crate when Bella is sniffing around. Mom always makes sure she stays away from it while I'm not right there to protect it - she says "Bella, that's rude! You would never tolerate her doing the same thing to you!" I really don't want to make mom mad so I am trying not to get so worried everytime Bella comes near my crate.

Mom also changed things a little bit so I have a bowl of water in my crate with me at night. She is really happy that I haven't made any messes in the house and it helps me to eat my kibble more easily to have some water to swallow it down with. I have one tooth that is a little broken off and a few more on the bottom that are kind of short so it helps me to have something to wash down the good food mom gives me with. I was having a hard time eating everything she gave me before, but now that she gave me the water, I eat it all up like a good girl!

I miss mom a lot when she goes away to what she calls 'work' (I don't know where it is but she leaves the house sometimes for a few hours at a time), so today, I got her orange plastic shoe that she wears around the house and kept it in my crate with me so I would have something to help me think of her while she was gone. When she got home, she crawled right inside my crate (did I tell you already that my crate is big enough that mom can get in it with me?!) and took it out, but I think when she leaves tomorrow, I will take it again.

Mom told me one of her friends (Hi, Sarah!) told her that I need to have a Christmas wish list. Right now, I like weeners and squishy squeaky balls. Mom says that by Christmas time, she is sure I will know some other things that I like (she tells me there is a whole world of toys out there that I haven't met yet!), and if I need some more help from the doctor that mom can't afford, we can maybe add some of that stuff to my Christmas list. Mom doesn't want to ask people for help if she can help it though... so I will have to start thinking about my Christmas list, then. Thanks a lot, Sarah, I didn't even know that dogs can get gifts for Christmas!

Lick, lick, lick, AND LOVE!

Callie