Daily Distraction: Puppycam!

I'm sure I'm a Jenny-Come-Lately to this insanely popular internet sensation, but so what if I am? Who can resist a puppy cam? Have you seen the six adorable Shiba Inu pups? So cute...

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/shiba-inu-puppy-cam

Death Does Not Become Her

This post was nearly titled: Morbid Much?

Why? After receiving the news of my beagle-mix Julie's latest trip to the vet, I have been breathing a huge sigh of relief!

I took Julie to the vet's office to have her lethargy, pale gums and tongue, and diarrhea checked out.

My previous post clearly shows how dismal I was feeling -- certain I saw portends of the end. Thankfully, the vet reported that she could find nothing amiss. Nothing except an increasingly taut, barrel-chested body cavity. (Julie has gained a lot of weight over the past four weeks.) Steroids will play havoc on a girlish figure.

A physical exam found no overt joint swelling due to arthritis, and confirmed the unfortunate return of diarrhea. (Poor Julie. Think of that scene from The Truth About Cats and Dogs where Uma Thurman administers first aid to a sick turtle. 'Nuff said!)

A sonogram of Julie's chest cavity showed no masses or lumps, just a whole lot of water weight. Her bloodwork was stable. No change in red blood cell count from last time.

I brought Julie home and hugged her close, thanking her for putting up with my hypochondratic episode. I beg the same indulgence from all of you!

Now, I'm off to bed before parades of pink elephants, twirling badgers in tutus or other freaky hallucinations creep out of the night.

Please do continue to send your caring thoughts and wishes for Julie's medically baffling and complete recovery. Your efforts so far have done wonders!

Julie Update

This is the most recent photo we have taken of Julie. She is scarfing down her dogfood as fast as she can before Little Sprout "steals" it out of her bowl and strews it all over the floor. It is a daily ritual they've developed and play out together.

I had intended to blog today about Little Sprout and all the new things he's learning and discovering (TRUCKS!), like scooping food onto his spoon all by himself and maneuvering the spoon (TRUCKS!) to his mouth without all the food falling off. Some even makes it into his mouth.

Instead I must share some painful and disheartening news. Julie's gums and tongue get a bit more pale each day. She is weakening.

What makes this seemingly sudden relapse more painful is that her last blood test showed her red blood cell count at 33 (35 is the beginning point for "normal" RBC count).

The vet took her off the last of the Immuno-type drugs last Friday and reduced her Predisone down a quarter tablet more. She had shown stability for several weeks and it was the next step in her weaning process. It is such a tragic turn of events.

I want to celebrate Julie and celebrate the place she has held in our lives. Each of us has shared a special relationship with her and she has left an idelible mark of love on our hearts. But all I feel right now is a swelling, desperate grief.

I try to take heart in the following three things. One, that A's Mom assembled an awesome 12x12 scrapbook for Julie that we all will be able to go through to remember her. Two, that we did everything we could do to help her recover. The drugs were stabilizing her but she wasn't really getting better. And finally, that when her time comes she won't be in any pain (just feel fatigued, go to sleep and not wake up).

Even so, our house is going to feel lonely and empty without our little Julie Bumpus.

Watching her slowly weaken casts a bleak and pallid pall over my heart and our house. Nobody but God knows how long we have left with her, so please, send your thoughts and prayers for Julie (for hers to be an easy, restful passing). Or even better, a miraculous and medically baffling recovery.

I Live in a Barking Madhouse!

The baying of my two beagle-mixes, Julie and Ginger, is really blowing my hair back these days. The din is driving me completely barking mad! It doesn't take much to set off a canine clamor, be it birds in the backyard, someone at the front door or suspiciously catlike bits of debris wafting by in the Autumn breeze. Notice how even Ginger is wincing at the sound in the above photo?

And the outbursts nearly always wake the baby. (Bruce used to sleep right through the barking, no matter how noisy. But he's been a much more restless sleeper for the past couple of months.)

Now don't get me wrong. They're such wrass-elly, wascally wabbits and I 'wuv' 'em to death! But sometimes I think they'll be the death of me or at least my sanity. Especially after the umpteenth time their rowdiness disturbs Bruce's slumber. First-time moms definitely need their down time.