Talking Animals' Andrew Grantham, the mastermind behind Clark ("the maple kind, yeah!") just released his latest Christmas video. He solicited videos from the public and I sent in 2 of mine. See who appears at 2:04. :)
Showing posts with label Oscar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oscar. Show all posts
Friday, 23 December 2011
Wednesday, 8 June 2011
My little man is home again
 |
| Oscar's ashes |
 |
| Oscar's resting place, right next to Duncan's (until I can put another idea into action) |
Thursday, 2 June 2011
Today would have been Oscar's 13th birthday
Missing him today.
 |
| Me and Oscar in the hours before his passing on Tuesday, May 24, 2011 |
Wednesday, 25 May 2011
June 2, 1998 - May 24, 2011
Photo by Sabrina Thurlow Photography - May 1, 2011
I sit here with tears in my eyes to announce Oscar's death last night at approximately 6:50 pm Atlantic time.
This past weekend was the Victoria Day long weekend - unlike last year when it was hot and sunny, this one was cold and wet.
Saturday night, as was the pattern this past month, Oscar stopped eating. Unfortunately, there was no enticing him to try something else no matter what I prepared or opened for him. He'd take a little sniff, maybe a little lick/nibble, and walk away. About the only thing he WAS enjoying were his Marrow Bone and Milk Bone cookies, so I let him have them.
But Monday night, I sensed things were changed for the worse.
When Tuesday morning dawned, he was not on the bed next to me, giving me his usual good morning kisses when I wake. This time, he was on the floor, about to have a bowel movement. I was able to get him outside on time - his bowels were a strong indicator that he was failing.
This time, I knew. His body language told me that he was done and ready. I made the decision and appointment to say good bye to him that evening.
The air warmed up, and the sun came out. Oscar spent a good portion of the morning outside with his face in the sun and the breeze blowing his fur. We went for a final walk up our street and said goodbye to our friend Monica and her Bichon-Shih, Casey, who we have known for years.
I tried to entice Oscar with some more of his favourite foods, which he rejected, but he did eat some ice cream, but only after Delta and Brosa showed so much interest in it. :)
The afternoon turned cooler and it started to rain. We cuddled on the couch while he napped. My mum stopped in for a visit and to say goodbye to him, offering to come with me, but I needed to do this alone.
About 1.5 hours before the appointment, we left home and went for a drive, which he had always loved. He was too tired to stand up on the door's arm rest to look out the window as he'd always done. I pulled into the McDonald's drive through to get a hamburger for him and he ate a couple of pieces of that.
Upon arriving at the appointment (early), we were put into the room and I sat on the floor, with Oscar in my arms on his back, while I told him over and over I loved him while giving him kisses and rubbing his belly for a good 10 or 15 minutes. Then it was time. With his final breath, I held his head, gave him kisses, and he gave me kisses right back. There was a little flinch when the needle poked his arm. Then he was gone. I stayed another 15 minutes with him; I picked up his body and held and kissed him.
He would have been 13 next week, on June 2nd.
Oscar had been a little bit of a challenge the past (almost) 7 years since I adopted him on August 14, 2004. He was adopted to be a best friend to Delta at the time (I'm convinced he saved her, or brought her back *into* life in our new home). He was dangerous around cats and was cranky at times around other dogs. He was a supreme diva about getting groomed and having his nails cut. All that aside, he was always entertaining and well loved. I miss him tremendously and always will. I hope that if there is life on the other side, he and Duncan will be there ready to be reunited with me.
Click here for the Dogkisser tribute for Oscar
Saturday, 7 May 2011
Oscar's still hanging on!
Honestly, I thought by today I would have had to say goodbye to Oscar. He had begun to stop eating about 1.5 weeks ago. Thankfully, a friend suggested that I try Medi-cal Recovery canned food for him and he LOVED it - it got him eating again. I was prepared to live with the results of eating this food (diarrhea/soft stools) but so far, it hasn't been an issue at all except for the pungent aroma going in, AND coming out, lol!
Last weekend, I decided to make a simple ground beef recipe for him at the suggestion of our friend Lee Anne. It's just ground beef, diced sweet potatoes, chopped green beans, and a large can of Aylmer Accents Petite Cut Tomatoes in Garlic and Olive Oil. Well, he absolutely loves this too (as do Delta and Brosa). The first time I fed him last Sunday morning, he threw it up about 5 hours later - I thought he was having trouble digesting it, but it was more likely the fact that I bathed him and took him for a drive that day.
Why did I torment him with a bath? Because we went to Sabrina Thurlow Photography to get his portrait taken! His breakfast ended up on her floor (and not her backdrop as I moved him off there just in time thank goodness!). We spent about 1/2 an hour there and got some very cute pictures. When I went to view them on Thursday, I couldn't just pick one, and so I purchased the Pet package to get all of the photos on a dvd with the purchase of a certain value of prints/collages. Here is one photo I can share (I added a "soft glow" effect to it as the photos on the dvd are unretouched - my prints I choose will be touched up in places by Sabrina).
I'm very happy that Oscar hasn't left us yet. That day will inevitably come, but for now, he's still eating, he's still having good elimination habits (meaning his organs still work), and he's still my rat bastard. :)
Last weekend, I decided to make a simple ground beef recipe for him at the suggestion of our friend Lee Anne. It's just ground beef, diced sweet potatoes, chopped green beans, and a large can of Aylmer Accents Petite Cut Tomatoes in Garlic and Olive Oil. Well, he absolutely loves this too (as do Delta and Brosa). The first time I fed him last Sunday morning, he threw it up about 5 hours later - I thought he was having trouble digesting it, but it was more likely the fact that I bathed him and took him for a drive that day.
Why did I torment him with a bath? Because we went to Sabrina Thurlow Photography to get his portrait taken! His breakfast ended up on her floor (and not her backdrop as I moved him off there just in time thank goodness!). We spent about 1/2 an hour there and got some very cute pictures. When I went to view them on Thursday, I couldn't just pick one, and so I purchased the Pet package to get all of the photos on a dvd with the purchase of a certain value of prints/collages. Here is one photo I can share (I added a "soft glow" effect to it as the photos on the dvd are unretouched - my prints I choose will be touched up in places by Sabrina).
I'm very happy that Oscar hasn't left us yet. That day will inevitably come, but for now, he's still eating, he's still having good elimination habits (meaning his organs still work), and he's still my rat bastard. :)
Tuesday, 26 April 2011
Saturday, 16 April 2011
Oscar is a sick little boy UPDATED
Been a while since I've posted!
On April 1st, I took Oscar to the vet as I had concerns with his sudden excessive thirst and some peeing in the house that week.
His urinalysis was "poorly concentrated, no infection, significant protein". We decided to do a comprehensive diagnostic profile, and I got the results the next day. All of his readings were for the most part within the high end of normal, with the exception of his ALP (1094 - normal is 20 to 150) and his ALT (423 - normal is 10 to 118). Those readings, Dr. H said, were strong indicators that he could have Cushing's Disease (either pituitary or adrenal tumor) or some other type of tumor. She recommended the Cortisol test (ACTH Stimulation) the next Monday. It required that he spend the day at the hospital.
Oscar wasn't permitted to have breakfast on Monday, April 4th - I dropped him off and had some other appts while waiting for him. I was able to pick him up mid-afternoon, and the results would be available later in the week.
Oscar had a few accidents in the home, so I really had no choice but to confine him to our powder room (adjacent to the living room) with a baby gate in the door. This offered him more freedom than being crated. He has a pillow, his bowl of water, and a pee pad if he needs it. (flash forward to today - he has only peed in there once - he has been able to hold it until I get home from work, then outside to have a LONG pee!).
I returned the the hospital Saturday, April 9th to get the results of the ACTH - Cushing's Disease is confirmed. I needed to take a couple of weeks to think and research on what would be best for Oscar given his age, his Grade 4 heart murmur and now this. What would be his quality of life if given the very expensive (and risky) Cushing's treatment?
In the meantime, Oscar still behaved like Oscar except for the drinking and peeing.
Until this past week. He has started to go "off" his food and is not the mooch that he used to be. Breakfast is practically a non-event for him - a couple of nibbles and he's done. Overall, he is not himself. Really tired, seems depressed.
I booked another appt last night to discuss treating him, but to also raise these new concerns. A physical exam revealed he sounded wheezy, and she was very concerned that he's not wanting to eat. He has lost half a pound since April 1st (weighing exactly 19 lbs now). Dr. H wanted a chest xray to see what was going on with him. Below is the text from my invoice.
And so, we wait for an appt date to take Oscar to Westwood for an ultrasound - hoping for next week, but given that it's a 4 day week due to Good Friday, it may be the week after. In the meantime, Cushing's is low on the list until we know what we're dealing with.
My poor little buddy.
Below is his xray (I've circled the area Dr. H is concerned about).
On April 1st, I took Oscar to the vet as I had concerns with his sudden excessive thirst and some peeing in the house that week.
His urinalysis was "poorly concentrated, no infection, significant protein". We decided to do a comprehensive diagnostic profile, and I got the results the next day. All of his readings were for the most part within the high end of normal, with the exception of his ALP (1094 - normal is 20 to 150) and his ALT (423 - normal is 10 to 118). Those readings, Dr. H said, were strong indicators that he could have Cushing's Disease (either pituitary or adrenal tumor) or some other type of tumor. She recommended the Cortisol test (ACTH Stimulation) the next Monday. It required that he spend the day at the hospital.
Oscar wasn't permitted to have breakfast on Monday, April 4th - I dropped him off and had some other appts while waiting for him. I was able to pick him up mid-afternoon, and the results would be available later in the week.
Oscar had a few accidents in the home, so I really had no choice but to confine him to our powder room (adjacent to the living room) with a baby gate in the door. This offered him more freedom than being crated. He has a pillow, his bowl of water, and a pee pad if he needs it. (flash forward to today - he has only peed in there once - he has been able to hold it until I get home from work, then outside to have a LONG pee!).
I returned the the hospital Saturday, April 9th to get the results of the ACTH - Cushing's Disease is confirmed. I needed to take a couple of weeks to think and research on what would be best for Oscar given his age, his Grade 4 heart murmur and now this. What would be his quality of life if given the very expensive (and risky) Cushing's treatment?
In the meantime, Oscar still behaved like Oscar except for the drinking and peeing.
Until this past week. He has started to go "off" his food and is not the mooch that he used to be. Breakfast is practically a non-event for him - a couple of nibbles and he's done. Overall, he is not himself. Really tired, seems depressed.
I booked another appt last night to discuss treating him, but to also raise these new concerns. A physical exam revealed he sounded wheezy, and she was very concerned that he's not wanting to eat. He has lost half a pound since April 1st (weighing exactly 19 lbs now). Dr. H wanted a chest xray to see what was going on with him. Below is the text from my invoice.
Office Exam/Consultation - Brief/repeat.
Not eating so well.
Some weight loss and change of body shape.
Things not consistent with Cushings Disease.
Radiology - Initial Study - 2 exposures (large)
Xrays - reveal a very large heart with increased airway densities (damage or fluid in airways).
Abnormal density in anterior end of abdomen in area of liver, spleen may be a bit enlarged and displaced backward.
We could have an enlarged liver or some kind of mass in the area.
Recommend Abdominal ultrasound.
This whole picture not looking like just a Cushing's case.
And so, we wait for an appt date to take Oscar to Westwood for an ultrasound - hoping for next week, but given that it's a 4 day week due to Good Friday, it may be the week after. In the meantime, Cushing's is low on the list until we know what we're dealing with.
My poor little buddy.
Below is his xray (I've circled the area Dr. H is concerned about).
For now, we will say goodbye to the Ewok this morning as he's going to Mud Puddle Paws in Mt. Uniacke for his Spring groom! (and he ate his breakfast this morning! I mixed in some yogurt for him - for all 3 dogs actually - they love yogurt)
UPDATED: We are back from the groomers - he never enjoys it but I think he did well since I got to be there with him to help keep him calm. :)
Friday, 13 August 2010
Bad News/Good News
The bad news is that Delta's corneal-ulcer has flared up again and we're back up to treating it with drops 3 times a day. She is also exhibiting some discomfort and is rubbing her eye, so we may have to add some numbing drops as well (and perhaps make her wear an e-collar to prevent the rubbing). My poor little girl. :(
The good news is Oscar's staples have been removed and Dr. C says the repair to his cruciate appears to be successful. I'm to call back in 2 weeks to give him an update on Oscar's mobility, since it's still not great, but I suspect he's tremendously weakened and needs time to build up his strength again.
To be continued.....
The good news is Oscar's staples have been removed and Dr. C says the repair to his cruciate appears to be successful. I'm to call back in 2 weeks to give him an update on Oscar's mobility, since it's still not great, but I suspect he's tremendously weakened and needs time to build up his strength again.
To be continued.....
Sunday, 1 August 2010
Oscar update - Sunday August 1, 2010
As you can probably guess, Oscar was a pretty sad little boy last night (he actually hasn't been himself since Thursday night when Brosa bounced on him). We had a very quiet day today, as I was quite exhausted by it all as well, and Oscar slept most of the afternoon away.
He woke up feeling pretty perky by supper time, which is fabulous news.
Tonight's supper (for me) is bbq'd chicken kabobs with a side of garden salad.
Never think that this ordeal has put Oscar off food - the Mooch is alive and well, and begging for chicken at my feet.
He brought the others running as well.
He woke up feeling pretty perky by supper time, which is fabulous news.
Tonight's supper (for me) is bbq'd chicken kabobs with a side of garden salad.
Never think that this ordeal has put Oscar off food - the Mooch is alive and well, and begging for chicken at my feet.
He brought the others running as well.
Saturday, 31 July 2010
Oscar update again, again....
Sadly, we've had a little bit of a setback...
Those of you who read this blog and my FB updates know that Brosa is a bit bouncy (and should have been named Tigger):
But I digress....
Last night, after arriving home from work and taking all 3 pups outside for their nature-calls, Brosa, as usual, bounced up on me, and unfortunately came down on Oscar's back. Oscar, who had been doing phenomenally well all week, let out a yelp and from there on, I could see a regression in the good progress he'd made.
This morning was his scheduled appointment to remove his stitches with Dr. Carnegy, who unfortunately was quite busy and running far behind and therefore wasn't able to see us. It was decided to let one of the technicians remove his stitches, and because of what happened last night, he was given another two rounds of therapeutic laser. He was a very good boy, and even wanted to play with a sweet little Dobie puppy who came in.
After our return home, I got him settled into his crate while I went out for a few hours. I came home to discover he had been licking at his incision so much that it opened up a bit.
You can't really tell in this photo as I didn't want to fool with it too much.
Minutes later, off we go to the Metro Animal Emergency Clinic.
Sure enough, the very nice (and good looking!) Dr. Alex Hare, the doctor on call, confirmed that I was not over-reacting and that he required 6 staples to close this back up.
Poor FrankenOscar!
And if that was not bad enough, I've noticed in the past few trips in the car that Oscar is beginning to suffer some anxiety. Just as we left MAEC, he started open-mouth panting, then crying, then outright squealing, which he has never done before except for when he was high on a drug he was given once upon a time in order to cut his nails. I did an illegal U-turn at Wright Avenue and sped back to the clinic. Dr. Hare also believes it's his anxiety as the sedative they gave him is not strong enough to cause any adverse reactions.
Poor buddy - we can't stop going for therapeutic laser treatment when he needs it (and eventual staple removal), but I will have to start clicker-training drives to be a positive thing again for him. He used to always love drives. This little guy (no bad nick-names for the time being) is breaking my heart!
Those of you who read this blog and my FB updates know that Brosa is a bit bouncy (and should have been named Tigger):
Tigger: [singing] The wonderful thing about tiggers / Is tiggers are wonderful things / Their tops are made out of rubber / Their bottoms are made out of springs / They're bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy fun, fun, fun, fun, fun / But the most wonderful thing about tiggers is I'm the only one / IIIII'm the only one!
[growls]
But I digress....
Last night, after arriving home from work and taking all 3 pups outside for their nature-calls, Brosa, as usual, bounced up on me, and unfortunately came down on Oscar's back. Oscar, who had been doing phenomenally well all week, let out a yelp and from there on, I could see a regression in the good progress he'd made.
This morning was his scheduled appointment to remove his stitches with Dr. Carnegy, who unfortunately was quite busy and running far behind and therefore wasn't able to see us. It was decided to let one of the technicians remove his stitches, and because of what happened last night, he was given another two rounds of therapeutic laser. He was a very good boy, and even wanted to play with a sweet little Dobie puppy who came in.
After our return home, I got him settled into his crate while I went out for a few hours. I came home to discover he had been licking at his incision so much that it opened up a bit.
You can't really tell in this photo as I didn't want to fool with it too much.
Minutes later, off we go to the Metro Animal Emergency Clinic.
Sure enough, the very nice (and good looking!) Dr. Alex Hare, the doctor on call, confirmed that I was not over-reacting and that he required 6 staples to close this back up.
Poor FrankenOscar!
And if that was not bad enough, I've noticed in the past few trips in the car that Oscar is beginning to suffer some anxiety. Just as we left MAEC, he started open-mouth panting, then crying, then outright squealing, which he has never done before except for when he was high on a drug he was given once upon a time in order to cut his nails. I did an illegal U-turn at Wright Avenue and sped back to the clinic. Dr. Hare also believes it's his anxiety as the sedative they gave him is not strong enough to cause any adverse reactions.
Poor buddy - we can't stop going for therapeutic laser treatment when he needs it (and eventual staple removal), but I will have to start clicker-training drives to be a positive thing again for him. He used to always love drives. This little guy (no bad nick-names for the time being) is breaking my heart!
Friday, 30 July 2010
Oscar update again
One more day and Oscar's sutures come out! It's amazing how fast animals recover from this sort of thing - last night he took me by surprise when he jumped up on the couch & loveseat, not once, but twice!
The attached video is from 26 July 2010, walking and bouncing as if nothing was ever wrong with him.
And here he is getting his therapeutic laser treatment to help speed healing of the tissue, etc.
The attached video is from 26 July 2010, walking and bouncing as if nothing was ever wrong with him.
And here he is getting his therapeutic laser treatment to help speed healing of the tissue, etc.
Friday, 23 July 2010
Oscar update
Well, it's done! On Wednesday, July 21, 2010, Oscar underwent a cruciate repair surgery on his rear left leg, along with dentistry.
He came out of it with flying colours! It was a very routine surgical repair, and the dental resulted in no extractions - everything was very healthy.
I picked Oscar up after supper around 7 p.m. and after paying the bill (aka the bathroom that won't get done this year), Oscar led the way out of the back area, sporting a very spiffy lime-green bandage.
He was very glad to get back home again!
Last night (Thursday, July 22), his lower leg/foot was quite swollen; about 2 times the size in fact. I was very concern because obviously the bandage is now too tight. I made a couple of snips in the bandage around the foot to help give some relief and a while later there seemed to be SOME improvement. Not quite enough to alleviate my worry.
This morning, his foot was about the same, so a return visit to the vet was made first thing. They agreed that the bandage needed to be removed and in fact, should come off today anyway. As well, he was treated with 3 sessions of therapeutic laser, with the next session booked for Tuesday.
And here is a photo of his leg, with 11 stitches. It doesn't appear to be bothering him too much, although there was a point where he was licking it a fair bit. If that continues, he'll be wearing an e-collar!
He came out of it with flying colours! It was a very routine surgical repair, and the dental resulted in no extractions - everything was very healthy.
I picked Oscar up after supper around 7 p.m. and after paying the bill (aka the bathroom that won't get done this year), Oscar led the way out of the back area, sporting a very spiffy lime-green bandage.
He was very glad to get back home again!
Last night (Thursday, July 22), his lower leg/foot was quite swollen; about 2 times the size in fact. I was very concern because obviously the bandage is now too tight. I made a couple of snips in the bandage around the foot to help give some relief and a while later there seemed to be SOME improvement. Not quite enough to alleviate my worry.
This morning, his foot was about the same, so a return visit to the vet was made first thing. They agreed that the bandage needed to be removed and in fact, should come off today anyway. As well, he was treated with 3 sessions of therapeutic laser, with the next session booked for Tuesday.
And here is a photo of his leg, with 11 stitches. It doesn't appear to be bothering him too much, although there was a point where he was licking it a fair bit. If that continues, he'll be wearing an e-collar!
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
Oscar, Thundershirts, Cold Stone Creamery and Ursa
Last week, Oscar and I went to see Dr. Carnegy for a 2nd opinion (3rd really, as I don't discount Shelly Beazley's opinion!) on the condition of Oscar's legs and the recommended course of treatment.
Dr. Carnegy has confirmed that Oscar did indeed have a complete separation of his Anterior Cruciate Ligament in his left leg. In addition, the patella in his right leg was also causing mobility issues.
A health exam left Dr. Carnegy with the opinion that despite Oscar's age (12 years) and his Grade 4 heart murmur, Oscar is actually quite stable and should withstand surgery/anesthesia without any complications. The alternative, non-invasive treatment would be to buy a brace, but in all likelihood, Oscar would require one for each leg; it would be an expensive purchase, long-term use, and there would be no guarantee that this ACL injury would heal like the January 2009 injury did. Dr. Carnegy indicated that "if it were MY dog", he'd choose the surgery. Hearing that he believed Oscar's heart was stable enough to go through with it was all I really needed to hear.
On July 21, 2010, Oscar will undergo surgery to repair the ACL injury, and will also have his teeth cleaned at the same time. Will be nice to know that he doesn't have gum disease, although I wouldn't be 100% surprised if a tooth or two is extracted as some of the ones out front are looking quite dark (dead?). He will be treated with therapeutic laser following surgery to help speed the healing time, and if necessary, I'll continue to take him for therapy with Shelly. Time will tell if Oscar needs surgery on his right leg as well, but hoping not!
Adina MacRae, of Sublime Canine, placed a bulk order of Thundershirts a couple of weeks ago, and I was quite fortunate to be among those who placed an order for two shirts (a medium for Oscar and and XL for Delta).
Delta and Oscar are both fearful of thunder & lightning, and fireworks. It's my hope that when either events happen, the shirt will help reduce, if not eliminate, their behaviour (shivering/shaking, panting, leaning).
Delta wearing her thundershirt. She was pacing a bit, and trying to rub the shirt off when I put it on her for the first time. She soon calmed down.
Oscar wearing his Thundershirt. He was very calm wearing this.
The next night, there was a forecast for thundershowers. While I didn't hear them, he could certainly sense or hear them. As soon as he started shaking/shivering, I put the shirt on him and within 2 minutes, he was calm and able to fall asleep. This is great! The true test will be to see if we get the same result with actual loud thunder, and fireworks.
Brosa did not receive a Thundershirt of his own as he appears not to have any of those phobias. Such a relief!
Brosa came with me on the ride to pick up the Thundershirts, and on the way home, I stopped at Cold Stone Creamery in Bedford, NS, to pick up a small cup of ice cream with my birthday coupon. I couldn't help but share some with him!
I bit the bullet last week and bought a portable Air Conditioning unit. 6 years I've spent in this house, which has direct sun all day long, and 5 summers of saying "I'll wait until the end of summer sales are on". Well, as we all know, life usually has other financial plans for us! This year, the humidity has come on like gangbusters and it's only the first 2 weeks of July! Therefore, I made the decision last Thursday night to go purchase a unit (after much debate on portable vs window installation) and bring it home. Thanks to Kent for having a Danby unit on sale!
It's currently installed in my powder room but I plan to buy a piece of Plexiglass cut to size for my casement window in the living room.
It makes a HUGE difference in how my house feels. Now I no longer have to worry about the comfort level of the fur-kids while I'm at work, and also know that Oscar will be comfortable during his recovery from surgery.
I did receive a bit of sad news this week. Our friend Janet had made the decision to give her ailing Rottweiler the kind gift of peace Thursday morning. Ursa is a lovely ambassador for the Rottweiler breed (she is a certified St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog and was a regular visitor at the I.W.K. Children's Hospital when she was younger) and a fun-loving resident at the Canine Casbah. She will be missed by many. Godspeed sweet girl. (photo by Joan Sinden)
Dr. Carnegy has confirmed that Oscar did indeed have a complete separation of his Anterior Cruciate Ligament in his left leg. In addition, the patella in his right leg was also causing mobility issues.
A health exam left Dr. Carnegy with the opinion that despite Oscar's age (12 years) and his Grade 4 heart murmur, Oscar is actually quite stable and should withstand surgery/anesthesia without any complications. The alternative, non-invasive treatment would be to buy a brace, but in all likelihood, Oscar would require one for each leg; it would be an expensive purchase, long-term use, and there would be no guarantee that this ACL injury would heal like the January 2009 injury did. Dr. Carnegy indicated that "if it were MY dog", he'd choose the surgery. Hearing that he believed Oscar's heart was stable enough to go through with it was all I really needed to hear.
On July 21, 2010, Oscar will undergo surgery to repair the ACL injury, and will also have his teeth cleaned at the same time. Will be nice to know that he doesn't have gum disease, although I wouldn't be 100% surprised if a tooth or two is extracted as some of the ones out front are looking quite dark (dead?). He will be treated with therapeutic laser following surgery to help speed the healing time, and if necessary, I'll continue to take him for therapy with Shelly. Time will tell if Oscar needs surgery on his right leg as well, but hoping not!
Adina MacRae, of Sublime Canine, placed a bulk order of Thundershirts a couple of weeks ago, and I was quite fortunate to be among those who placed an order for two shirts (a medium for Oscar and and XL for Delta).
With its patent-pending design, Thundershirt’s gentle, constant pressure has a dramatic calming effect for most dogs if they are anxious, fearful or over-excited. It is this pressure that has a dramatic calming effect for most dogs if they are anxious, fearful or over-excited. From real world experience, we know with certainty that Thundershirt DOES WORK.
Delta and Oscar are both fearful of thunder & lightning, and fireworks. It's my hope that when either events happen, the shirt will help reduce, if not eliminate, their behaviour (shivering/shaking, panting, leaning).
Delta wearing her thundershirt. She was pacing a bit, and trying to rub the shirt off when I put it on her for the first time. She soon calmed down.
Oscar wearing his Thundershirt. He was very calm wearing this.
The next night, there was a forecast for thundershowers. While I didn't hear them, he could certainly sense or hear them. As soon as he started shaking/shivering, I put the shirt on him and within 2 minutes, he was calm and able to fall asleep. This is great! The true test will be to see if we get the same result with actual loud thunder, and fireworks.
Brosa did not receive a Thundershirt of his own as he appears not to have any of those phobias. Such a relief!
Brosa came with me on the ride to pick up the Thundershirts, and on the way home, I stopped at Cold Stone Creamery in Bedford, NS, to pick up a small cup of ice cream with my birthday coupon. I couldn't help but share some with him!
I bit the bullet last week and bought a portable Air Conditioning unit. 6 years I've spent in this house, which has direct sun all day long, and 5 summers of saying "I'll wait until the end of summer sales are on". Well, as we all know, life usually has other financial plans for us! This year, the humidity has come on like gangbusters and it's only the first 2 weeks of July! Therefore, I made the decision last Thursday night to go purchase a unit (after much debate on portable vs window installation) and bring it home. Thanks to Kent for having a Danby unit on sale!
It's currently installed in my powder room but I plan to buy a piece of Plexiglass cut to size for my casement window in the living room.
It makes a HUGE difference in how my house feels. Now I no longer have to worry about the comfort level of the fur-kids while I'm at work, and also know that Oscar will be comfortable during his recovery from surgery.
I did receive a bit of sad news this week. Our friend Janet had made the decision to give her ailing Rottweiler the kind gift of peace Thursday morning. Ursa is a lovely ambassador for the Rottweiler breed (she is a certified St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog and was a regular visitor at the I.W.K. Children's Hospital when she was younger) and a fun-loving resident at the Canine Casbah. She will be missed by many. Godspeed sweet girl. (photo by Joan Sinden)
Sunday, 4 July 2010
Happy Belated Canada Day 2010
It's been a busy couple of weeks (including a birthday)! First off, Oscar's leg definitely has an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, and to make matters worse, his patella is involved too (but not sure it's a luxating patella condition or not?). His physio-therapist, Shelly was quite concerned when she saw him last week, as it was obvious that the leg is worse than originally thought and it was also exacerbating the condition of his other leg, which had an ACL injury in January 2009 and not 100% strong.
We have an appointment to see the very lovely (and extremely busy!) Dr. Eric Carnegy on Tuesday, to get his opinion on the leg, and whether he thinks Oscar can tolerate surgery at his age and heart-health (my other vet at another practice is 100% for surgery, which I'm not totally comfortable with). Knowing Oscar's leg is worse than originally thought, the risk of surgery MIGHT be worth it, but I need to weigh all the options first.
Poor little bugger. On the plus side, his mobility was actually quite good this morning - perhaps with all the carrying him around I've been doing, his injury has had some time to mend a bit. We'll see!
This holiday weekend's fireworks have reinforced that Brosa is not afraid of them, so that's great news! Delta and Oscar are still scared of those (and thunder/lightning) and therefore, their new Thundershirts cannot come soon enough! Thunderstorm season is still ahead of us and I'm sure the shirts will be well used! Thanks to Adina for ordering them for us.
We enjoyed a Canada Day playdate at my house with some friends.
Karma, digging a hole to China behind my shed. Little stinker!
Obi, fully recovered from a serious operation to correct bloat.
Sade the Ninja, stalking her prey
Scully, taking a break from wrasslin' with the Ninja.
Fudge the Dalmatian, and Mick the PRT visit my house for the first time.
Delta and Brosa having fun with their friends
Oscar needed to stay on leash the entire time (as he has been since his injury) to prevent him from running and making his ACL injury worse. He's still quite mobile though and wants to smell all the pee spots along with Karma and Delta.
And last, but not least, introducing Tara's newest addition, an adopted 8 year old female Chinese Crested who is still to be permanently named (it changes every day until she decides she has found the one she likes, lol!).
ETA: Blondie, AKA Debbie Hairless (Hairless/Harry - get it? *snickers*)
Brosa and I went to the Lietash farm last Saturday for the first time in a month (due to the busy times with the Relay for Life, no lessons, etc.). As it was raining, the lesson was in the barn and I think Mr. O was pleasantly surprised to see the progress Brosa has made! He no longer uses his paws to assist with catching (not at distance throws, but at close-up tosses he does) - can catch the frisbee mid-flight most of the time, and also did tricks (jumped over my leg, weaved between them) really well (although we hadn't practiced much!).
I mentioned to Mr. O that my friend L.A. joked that I should combine Brosa's love of jumping and water and get him to a dock-dog lesson; he agreed, and suggested I should take Brosa down to the lake and let him walk around/play in the water. So we did, although instead he wanted to walk on the dock with all the beaver poop to smell (he didn't eat any nor did he roll in it, thank goodness!). We walked to the end of the dock; Brosa looked over the edge at the water, and WALKED RIGHT OFF THE DOCK. He sank like a rock!!
Thank goodness I had his long-line on him - at the same time I dropped to my knees to grab the line, he surfaced, doggy-paddling wildly to get out. I was able to grab him and get him out on the dock. He was a little water-logged, but not faring too badly.
It was about 5-10 minutes later, while walking him around to dry him off, that I discovered his leg was bleeding badly. He squealed and hollered at me when I attempted to press a napkin to it as a compression. It appeared he'd scraped his dew claw pad quite raw. I took him up to Mr. O's house for assistance, but after 10 minutes it was decided it was much too tender to fool around with (Brosa was quite upset!) and the bleeding was already stopping - therefore, just keep it clean/disinfected and let Brosa lick it.
He was NOT a happy dog on the way home or for the rest of the day. He didn't want to come near me much at all, thinking I would hurt him some more. :( It wasn't until the next day, Sunday, that he relaxed enough to accept snuggles from me again.
Little did I know when looking at this injury, what was to come a few days later!
A few days later, he was holding his paw up outside; when I went to investigate, I discovered his dew claw had fell off!
No wonder he was so tender!
Looking back at the previous photo now, I can see that the injury site was where the dew claw had been ripped off. OUCH!
He's on the mend now - it doesn't seem to be bothering him anymore. It remains to be seen if the nail grows back. I hope not! I despise dew claws.
We have an appointment to see the very lovely (and extremely busy!) Dr. Eric Carnegy on Tuesday, to get his opinion on the leg, and whether he thinks Oscar can tolerate surgery at his age and heart-health (my other vet at another practice is 100% for surgery, which I'm not totally comfortable with). Knowing Oscar's leg is worse than originally thought, the risk of surgery MIGHT be worth it, but I need to weigh all the options first.
Poor little bugger. On the plus side, his mobility was actually quite good this morning - perhaps with all the carrying him around I've been doing, his injury has had some time to mend a bit. We'll see!
This holiday weekend's fireworks have reinforced that Brosa is not afraid of them, so that's great news! Delta and Oscar are still scared of those (and thunder/lightning) and therefore, their new Thundershirts cannot come soon enough! Thunderstorm season is still ahead of us and I'm sure the shirts will be well used! Thanks to Adina for ordering them for us.
We enjoyed a Canada Day playdate at my house with some friends.
Karma, digging a hole to China behind my shed. Little stinker!
Obi, fully recovered from a serious operation to correct bloat.
Sade the Ninja, stalking her prey
Scully, taking a break from wrasslin' with the Ninja.
Fudge the Dalmatian, and Mick the PRT visit my house for the first time.
Delta and Brosa having fun with their friends
Oscar needed to stay on leash the entire time (as he has been since his injury) to prevent him from running and making his ACL injury worse. He's still quite mobile though and wants to smell all the pee spots along with Karma and Delta.
And last, but not least, introducing Tara's newest addition, an adopted 8 year old female Chinese Crested who is still to be permanently named (it changes every day until she decides she has found the one she likes, lol!).
ETA: Blondie, AKA Debbie Hairless (Hairless/Harry - get it? *snickers*)
Brosa and I went to the Lietash farm last Saturday for the first time in a month (due to the busy times with the Relay for Life, no lessons, etc.). As it was raining, the lesson was in the barn and I think Mr. O was pleasantly surprised to see the progress Brosa has made! He no longer uses his paws to assist with catching (not at distance throws, but at close-up tosses he does) - can catch the frisbee mid-flight most of the time, and also did tricks (jumped over my leg, weaved between them) really well (although we hadn't practiced much!).
I mentioned to Mr. O that my friend L.A. joked that I should combine Brosa's love of jumping and water and get him to a dock-dog lesson; he agreed, and suggested I should take Brosa down to the lake and let him walk around/play in the water. So we did, although instead he wanted to walk on the dock with all the beaver poop to smell (he didn't eat any nor did he roll in it, thank goodness!). We walked to the end of the dock; Brosa looked over the edge at the water, and WALKED RIGHT OFF THE DOCK. He sank like a rock!!
Thank goodness I had his long-line on him - at the same time I dropped to my knees to grab the line, he surfaced, doggy-paddling wildly to get out. I was able to grab him and get him out on the dock. He was a little water-logged, but not faring too badly.
It was about 5-10 minutes later, while walking him around to dry him off, that I discovered his leg was bleeding badly. He squealed and hollered at me when I attempted to press a napkin to it as a compression. It appeared he'd scraped his dew claw pad quite raw. I took him up to Mr. O's house for assistance, but after 10 minutes it was decided it was much too tender to fool around with (Brosa was quite upset!) and the bleeding was already stopping - therefore, just keep it clean/disinfected and let Brosa lick it.
He was NOT a happy dog on the way home or for the rest of the day. He didn't want to come near me much at all, thinking I would hurt him some more. :( It wasn't until the next day, Sunday, that he relaxed enough to accept snuggles from me again.
Little did I know when looking at this injury, what was to come a few days later!
A few days later, he was holding his paw up outside; when I went to investigate, I discovered his dew claw had fell off!
No wonder he was so tender!
Looking back at the previous photo now, I can see that the injury site was where the dew claw had been ripped off. OUCH!
He's on the mend now - it doesn't seem to be bothering him anymore. It remains to be seen if the nail grows back. I hope not! I despise dew claws.
Thursday, 17 June 2010
Updates: Relay for Life and Oscar
I neglected to update on the results of the Relay for Life because I've spent much of the week recuperating from the sleep deprivation! I sure can't bounce back from an all-nighter the way I used to, ha ha!
My team, Goddesses for a Cure, raised over $32,000 this year, and the Sackville Relay for Life event took in over $221,000 - how amazing is that?!
After arriving home the next morning, I managed to get a nap for 45 minutes until it was time to put all thecrap treasures on the driveway for the the community yard sale. How I managed to do that for the next several hours is beyond me! I did raise $60, which also went to the Relay for Life:
Poor Oscar. He wasn't feeling too well that night and the next day, but he recovered from it.
Now, to make things worse, he injured his left rear leg last night. As he was no better today, off to the vet we went and the diagnosis is a torn anterior cruciate ligament. ARGH! Not again! Poor little buddy. It's the opposite leg of the one that had the same injury in January 2009. Rest and Metacam for the week and then will reassess to see if there is any improvement - if not, surgery will have to be discussed, although I don't expect it's likely given his age (12) and his heart health (Grade 4 murmur). Hoping Shelly Beazley at Pawsitive Action will find time in her very busy new-mommy schedule to help him out as I credit her with his speedy healing the first time around!
My friend Joan posted the link to a downloadable application to make your photos look like paintings. I did this one of Oscar while waiting to leave for the vet appt (photo from September 2009):
My team, Goddesses for a Cure, raised over $32,000 this year, and the Sackville Relay for Life event took in over $221,000 - how amazing is that?!
After arriving home the next morning, I managed to get a nap for 45 minutes until it was time to put all the
Poor Oscar. He wasn't feeling too well that night and the next day, but he recovered from it.
Now, to make things worse, he injured his left rear leg last night. As he was no better today, off to the vet we went and the diagnosis is a torn anterior cruciate ligament. ARGH! Not again! Poor little buddy. It's the opposite leg of the one that had the same injury in January 2009. Rest and Metacam for the week and then will reassess to see if there is any improvement - if not, surgery will have to be discussed, although I don't expect it's likely given his age (12) and his heart health (Grade 4 murmur). Hoping Shelly Beazley at Pawsitive Action will find time in her very busy new-mommy schedule to help him out as I credit her with his speedy healing the first time around!
My friend Joan posted the link to a downloadable application to make your photos look like paintings. I did this one of Oscar while waiting to leave for the vet appt (photo from September 2009):
Saturday, 5 June 2010
The Pedigree Adoption Drive
Today, the Pedigree Adoption Drive was in Halifax, NS, and Brosa came with me to go check it out!
Sadly, I left my camera at home.
It was a great info session with friendly volunteers. Brosa, the glutton, went straight for the bowl of food that was out, and also ate 2 Denta-stix.
CTV news was on site to do an interview, and asked to film Brosa as well, so turn on the local news tonight and we may just see Brosa being his handsome self! I'll see if I can upload a video later and edit this post.
Don't forget to click on the link above to view the videos - every view means a local shelter will get $1, up to $50,000 max - so share, share, share!
ETA: YAY! He was shown on t.v.! This was his second appearance:
This is the clip from last year's rain-soaked Dog Jog on June 21, 2009 where Brosa makes his first appearance on t.v. playing with a couple of adorable adoptable pitties!:
And while we're at it, it reminded me that Oscar also made a t.v. appearance at the SPCA Dog Wash on August 22, 2004, which was just one week after I adopted him! - here's that clip:
Sadly, I left my camera at home.
It was a great info session with friendly volunteers. Brosa, the glutton, went straight for the bowl of food that was out, and also ate 2 Denta-stix.
CTV news was on site to do an interview, and asked to film Brosa as well, so turn on the local news tonight and we may just see Brosa being his handsome self! I'll see if I can upload a video later and edit this post.
Don't forget to click on the link above to view the videos - every view means a local shelter will get $1, up to $50,000 max - so share, share, share!
ETA: YAY! He was shown on t.v.! This was his second appearance:
This is the clip from last year's rain-soaked Dog Jog on June 21, 2009 where Brosa makes his first appearance on t.v. playing with a couple of adorable adoptable pitties!:
And while we're at it, it reminded me that Oscar also made a t.v. appearance at the SPCA Dog Wash on August 22, 2004, which was just one week after I adopted him! - here's that clip:
Wednesday, 2 June 2010
Oscar is 12 years old today!
Despite being a "rescue" dog (August 14, 2004), I was fortunate enough to have the original vet records for Oscar and know that today, June 2nd, is his birthday.
I still remember his adoption day clearly. You see, Delta and I, and the 2 cats, had just moved into our home on May 31st that year due to a breakup. My ex had kept Duncan at the time. Delta, being the highly sensitive and nervous little girl she was, did not fare too well in our new environment without her brother and papa around too. It was so sad to see her this way, nervous and losing weight, in the place that was to give us our new start in life. Luckily, my ex and I had remained friends and Duncan spent frequent weekends (and weeks) with us until he was returned to me permanently.
Knowing Delta was missing her companion, I decided there was no time to waste in adding a second dog back in our home. A co-worker had come across Oscar, but passed his info on to me when her landlord renenged on his agreement to let her adopt.
Joan M was the foster home for Oscar (who was owner surrendered and therefore not "officially" an SPCA dog) and she drove him to my house for a home visit and meeting with Delta. Well, it was *like* at first sight! They raced and tore around the yard, having a ball. Joan was quite happy with what she saw and made arrangements to come back a day later for the formal adoption.
On August 14, 2004, I signed the adoption papers for Oscar and gave Joan a cheque for his adoption fee; in the meantime, we heard a big howl and discovered that Oscar was chasing poor Judah down the stairs. Oops? Not cat-tested? Dilemma!! If not for the fact that Delta NEEDED Oscar's companionship, I would have given Oscar back right then. However, I decided to work with him because surely to God he would become acclimated to the cats' presence within a few months, right?
WRONG! Sadly, Oscar is a frustrated killer (frustrated, because he hasn't succeeded yet, although he did send poor little Zee to the emergency a year later - he got through the barrier and got her by the tail which resulted in several stitches). 6 years later he still wants to attack the cats if given the opportunity, but he is much less reactive to them on the other side of the baby gates now.
In addition, Delta was the only dog for a very long time that he took to instantly! He seems to favour:
Subsequently, he has been diagnosed with a Grade 4 heart murmur and also has a weak leg from an ACL injury; he really would not be a popular choice now, if I were to attempt to find him another home - which I'm not. He's here to stay until the end of his life and I do my best to spend my time with the cats even though they don't get to "live" with us in the rest of the house.
Between his cat aggression and dislike of most dogs, it's no wonder he earned the monikers "Rat Bastard" and "Lhasa Asshole"...
Happy 12th Birthday, you little bugger!
I still remember his adoption day clearly. You see, Delta and I, and the 2 cats, had just moved into our home on May 31st that year due to a breakup. My ex had kept Duncan at the time. Delta, being the highly sensitive and nervous little girl she was, did not fare too well in our new environment without her brother and papa around too. It was so sad to see her this way, nervous and losing weight, in the place that was to give us our new start in life. Luckily, my ex and I had remained friends and Duncan spent frequent weekends (and weeks) with us until he was returned to me permanently.
Knowing Delta was missing her companion, I decided there was no time to waste in adding a second dog back in our home. A co-worker had come across Oscar, but passed his info on to me when her landlord renenged on his agreement to let her adopt.
WRONG! Sadly, Oscar is a frustrated killer (frustrated, because he hasn't succeeded yet, although he did send poor little Zee to the emergency a year later - he got through the barrier and got her by the tail which resulted in several stitches). 6 years later he still wants to attack the cats if given the opportunity, but he is much less reactive to them on the other side of the baby gates now.
In addition, Delta was the only dog for a very long time that he took to instantly! He seems to favour:
- males (which Delta is not);
- dogs his size (which Delta is not), and
- older dogs (which Delta was not, at the time - she was 2.5 years old when he was adopted).
Subsequently, he has been diagnosed with a Grade 4 heart murmur and also has a weak leg from an ACL injury; he really would not be a popular choice now, if I were to attempt to find him another home - which I'm not. He's here to stay until the end of his life and I do my best to spend my time with the cats even though they don't get to "live" with us in the rest of the house.
Between his cat aggression and dislike of most dogs, it's no wonder he earned the monikers "Rat Bastard" and "Lhasa Asshole"...
Happy 12th Birthday, you little bugger!Saturday, 22 May 2010
It gets a little frisky around here at times...
... and Oscar is almost always the instigator!
August 2005 - With foster dog Sunni (now owned by Carrie and Shawn)
February 2006
February 2006
Wrasslin with Duncan
May 2006
Delta & Jack - December 2008
Oscar & Jack - December 2008
Delta and Foster dog Dexter (RIP) - November 2008
Oscar & Harley - June 2009
Brosa & Bora - September 2009
Oscar, Harley and Scully - September 2009
Oscar & Kano - March 2010.
Oscar
looooves
Kano!
Bobby Brown lyrics:
Get up off me back
Save your heart attack
Ain't nobody is humpin' around
No matter what they say
No it ain't that way
Ain't nobody humpin' around
Bobby didn't know WHAT the hell was going on in MY house then...
February 2006
Wrasslin with Duncan
May 2006
Delta & Jack - December 2008
Oscar & Jack - December 2008
Delta and Foster dog Dexter (RIP) - November 2008
Oscar & Harley - June 2009
Brosa & Bora - September 2009
Oscar, Harley and Scully - September 2009
Oscar & Kano - March 2010.
Oscar
looooves
Kano!
Bobby Brown lyrics:
Get up off me back
Save your heart attack
Ain't nobody is humpin' around
No matter what they say
No it ain't that way
Ain't nobody humpin' around
Bobby didn't know WHAT the hell was going on in MY house then...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)