Piggie Snacks as Survival Food

One of my best friends, fyrlocc, loves nibbling on baby toes and mentions them as "must-have" items on the appetizer list whenever our dinner group meets. Isn't that sweet?

I admit that I think Bruce has the most adorable (and tastey) baby toes ever, but it's nice to know that I'm not alone.

At our house we play a game where I scoop Bruce up into an embrace and declare that it is time for "Piggy Snacks!" Of course he erupts into instant giggles and squeals of glee as I take his delicious, little toes and pretend to eat them all up. I swear, his laughter adds years back onto my life.

Some days these little, joyous moments are all that get me through the emotional rollercoaster day after day. Yes, death is a natural part of life. But that doesn't make it any easier to watch Julie slip slowly into increasing periods of exhaustion.

Bruce, God bless him, is doing his level best to distract me with happy moments! Today he crawled through the doggie door. So cute! Darnit, I didn't get a picture. He'll have to do it again so I can record it in his "First Year" baby book and post a photo here.





Less than 30 minutes after conquering the doggie door, Bruce discovered the Tupperware® cupboard in the kitchen. Playing with Tupperware® is a rite of passage! The best part? It kept him enthralled for 45 minutes. I was able to tidy up around the kitchen and prepare for dinner while I watched him pull plastic bowls, lids, canisters and containers out all over the floor.

Tragic Death - R.I.P. Heath Ledger

I was in UTTER SHOCK last evening when I heard of Heath Ledger's death on the 11:00 p.m. news. It's so sad. I thought he was a talented actor and how awful is it that he left a baby daughter behind?

Julie Update & Joop Forever

Julie's latest blood test results showed a rise in red blood cell count from 13 to 14. That's good news, right?

Well yes, but the doctor was quite discouraged. You see, her PCV (packed cell volume) count should have been significantly higher by now. One point isn't enough to hang your hopes on.

There could be a sneaky cancer lurking somewhere unseen that is affecting her bone marrow's ability to generate new red blood cells, or a red blood cell parasite could be the culprit or something that didn't present itself in previous tests.

The doctor recommended we send Julie to a specialist for bone marrow testing and a sonogram. Quite frankly, we can't afford these tests. Even if they found the cause, we've spent all our available funds getting her this far. Julie must either rally on her own using the meds she has or die. It chokes me up.

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UPDATE: I guess it is not God's will for Julie to rebound from this life-threatening crisis.

Julie's full blood panel & CBC (complete blood count) results have come back from the lab: PCV is 12.5 (remember that this number should be between 35-55 for normal dogs). There appears to be no bone marrow stimulus; i.e. no evidence of reticulocytes (or "retics" - precursors to red blood cells) being generated.
This is grave, grave news for Julie.

Her liver and kidneys do not appear to be damaged, which is a blessing. The doctors are not prescribing her any more medications and are not recommending a second transfusion. When her current meds run out her stability should deteriorate.
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I stumbled across this page as I was processing the above information: All Pets Go to Heaven
[Warning: If you tend to tear up easily, grab the Kleenex box now.]

It reminded me of a riveting photoblog from a few years ago about a Dutch dog named Joop whose owner lovingly chronicled his life in a daily dog log. Joop had a huge following. I sat at my desk and sobbed the day he died. I'm sure I was not alone.

Check out Joops's incredible photos on Flikr, then catch up with his owner Henk's latest pet projects. It's good stuff.

Tribute to Jerry Dupuis

Todd's stepfather (the man in the blue jacket, front right in the photo) passed away unexpectedly of a heart attack on November 17, 2007. He was a sweet, sweet man and a great, great dad. I only had the privilege of knowing him for a few, short years, but I know how much he loved my husband and family. He always took time out for us. He was 100% genuine and such a generous man. I am thankful for him and his influence in Todd's life.

Jerry's death is all the more sad because he never got the chance to meet Bruce. I'm sure it would have been love at first sight for both of them. I like to think that Jerry watches over Bruce now from his eternal rest. Farewell Jerry, you are greatly missed.