Know Your Limitations 

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Last Saturday – while I was in the shower – hubby was outside, getting ready to bring our riding lawnmower for service. He tripped on the side of the concrete driveway, fell, and landed hard on his left knee and shoulder.  He was coming back inside as I was going outside to help him load the mower on to the trailer…

Needless to say, we didn’t go anywhere the rest of the day.  I cleaned up the abrasions but he refused an ice pack. At 6 pm, he tried to get out of the chair and couldn’t. I had to call EMS. We got to the ER about 6:30. And we were there for 3+ hours.

Poor Ducky was totally confused, and stressed. When the EMTs arrived the first time. I had to put her in the room downstairs to keep her from acting out against them. That just added to her confusion and stress. When Sam was settled into the ambulance, I brought Ducky back upstairs and put her in her crate in the bedroom. I gave them both kisses and a treat, and locked up the house.  And followed the ambulance to the hospital. I didn’t see the girls again until about quarter to ten. By the time I got home, the poor dogs needed to relieve themselves and were hungry. Sam was being brought home in an ambulance in another half hour or so. Then the confusion and stress rose again for Ducky when once more she had to wait downstairs while the EMTs got her dog-daddy settled in the bed.

Sunday was stressful, too. But fast forward to bedtime. Ducky snarked at Shadow for trying to get in the bedroom.  Something she hasn’t done in a long time. And Monday morning they had another “altercation” over a damn ball. Luckily, no blood was drawn; but Shadow cried out before I could get Ducky under control and downstairs to cool off. And give myself a chance to cool off. Ducky may not understand the concept of timeout; but she knows when Mommy is pissed off. I gave Shadow a Tramadol to relieve the pain where Ducky clamped down on her leg, and reassured her that she did nothing wrong. After about 20 or 30 minutes, I let Ducky come back upstairs. They “made up” but pretty much kept their distance from each other the rest of the day. 

That’s when I decided I had more than enough stress having to play nursemaid to an immobile spouse. I needed help with Ducky. So I called the owner of Ducky’s daycare and asked her to put together a quote for me to resume a 5-days-a-week schedule for Ducky until hubby regains the majority of his mobility. 

It’s not the ideal situation. I’d rather have Ducky home  – and she would prefer to be home – and learning to deal with her daddy’s situation with my help. But I know myself. I know that when I’m stressed and tired, my patience suffers.  And that’s not good for Ducky. Or for Shadow. Ducky needs an outlet for her turbocharged energy – and her stress – that I can’t provide all day long right now. Especially with Shadow on leash restriction. And Shadow needs focused love and attention. So, for now at least, Ducky will be spending at least half a day at daycare every weekday.  She was worn out yesterday afternoon when I picked her up; and there was peace between my girls all evening, even at bedtime.

So, my advice is this: when you’re in a stressful situation, acknowledge your limitations and gather the courage to ask for whatever help you need. You’ll be doing yourself and everyone you love and live with a big favor. Don’t try to do it all yourself.

Friday Fun

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This heat and humidity is horrible today! So bad that even Shadow – who loves being outside – couldn’t wait to come back inside after relieving herself.

Ducky’s at daycare today, so we had some “just me and my Shadow” time. So glad Shadow loves this game. It’s perfect for when she’s on leash restriction like she is now. I do all the work and she doesn’t have to move.


As long as Shadow’s happy, I’m happy. Right now she’s napping. In about 20 minutes I have to leave to pick Ducky up at daycare. 

What kind of games do you play with your dog(s) when they have to remain relatively quiet?  

Have a great weekend everyone! 

Sharing What I’ve Learned

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As some of you know, I am enrolled in the Animal Behavior College’s Veterinary Assistant course. I won’t go into the details of the course here; but if you’re interested, you can check out their website by following the link.

Anyway, I’m currently working on/studying for the test in Surgical Preparation and Assisting. This morning I was working on the post-operative recovery period and got an idea for a blog post. So here goes…

Many of us pride ourselves on knowing our pets well enough to know when they are ill or injured. For the most part, we are; however, nothing can burst our bubble like a devastating diagnosis of illness or injury.  I found that out for myself last August when our vet told us that Callie had lymphoma. Callie was a very stoic girl. She hid her pain from us quite  well. And, because she had also had her second CCL repair surgery the previous October, I convinced myself that her occasional lethargic behavior was due to the excess stress on her hips.

Callie’s illness and subsequent departure from Earth has made me even more observant of her sisters, especially Shadow.  Yet, even now, I sometimes misinterpret – or completely miss – a sign that one of them is in pain. Like I did with Shadow on Tuesday afternoon. So, when I came across the warning signs that an animal is suffering some post-operative pain, I decided to share them with y’all because they’re also signs of pain in general.

  • Restlessness
  • Reluctance to move
  • Whining/crying
  • Chewing or obsessive licking of themselves
  • Thrashing
  • Anorexia, or refusal to eat or drink
  • Behavioral change, such as depression
  • Increased respiration and/or heart rate

(That last one may not be something that you would necessarily be aware of.)

Please keep in mind that I am not a veterinarian. If you observe any of these signs in your pet, please do not hesitate to at least call your vet and discuss them with her/him.


As for Shadow, she is okay. She was running the fence line with our neighbor’s dog on Tuesday afternoon when suddenly she either slipped or stepped down wrong and ended up in a heap on the grass. She stood right up again but she was holding her left hind leg up as she walked toward me. I thought “oh no! Please tell me you didn’t tear your ACL!” Rather than panic, I gave her a mini-massage, let her walk around the yard a little bit to stretch it out, and a few minutes later she seemed to be good as new. We played for a minute or two and went back inside. Just before hubby and I left to go get dinner, I brought Shadow and Ducky outside to relieve themselves and Shadow appeared to be walking normally. When we arrived back home, though, she was limping horribly. I gave her a Tramadol tablet, and it seemed to help a little bit. She wasn’t limping as badly by bedtime but she was still restless. So I called the vet in the morning and got an appointment for Thursday morning. Meanwhile, I kept her on the leash when we were outside and gave her more Tramadol to ease the pain. The vet watched her walk around the exam room and elatedly said it was her CCL but not a tear. Relief! And a quick thank you to AngelCallie for watching over her sister. Shadow is on leash restriction and Carprofen for these next three weeks. I’m looking into getting a ramp for her, soon. I’m going to give her a Tramadol now and walk her around the back yard a little while.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Delayed Reaction?

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#ChewyInfluencer

Time for another review! Can you believe another month is nearly over already? It seems like this year just started and it’s nearly half over!

Today Ducky and I are reviewing the Earthborn Holistic Cheese Flavor EarthBites treats that our friend at Chewy.com sent us.


At first these treats didn’t seem to bother Shadow’s reflux so I figured they’d be a good alternative to the “people” cheddar cheese that the dog-daddy had been spoiling them with on a daily basis (among other people treats I didn’t know about).  Well, last week, when I was getting ready to do our little photo shoot for this review, Shadow got sick.  Turns out she had a bout of IBS thanks to all the people food. I believe that most things are fine in moderation; but my definition of “moderation” and the dog-daddy’s definition are oceans apart, apparently.  So, once again, we’re back to the NO PEOPLE FOOD diet for both girls.

Anyway, because of Shadow’s delayed reaction to everything, I put the review aside and now cannot get a picture of Ducky enjoying one of these treats without Shadow trying to horn in on us.  

What I can tell you is that both Shadow and Ducky were enjoying these treats before Shadow got sick.  But the vet said to limit Shadow’s treats to one specific treat that she likes, and make sure it’s not this new one.  Poor girl. (She is feeling better now, so no need to worry.)

 

Disclaimer: As a Chewy Influencer, I received one bag of Earthborn Holistics EarthBites Cheddar-Cheese flavor dog treats from Chewy.com in exchange for an honest review. I received no other compensation for this post.


Ducky, Shadow, and I would like to thank Sugar the Golden Retriever and Oz the Terrier for hosting this Chewy blog hop.

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Why I Trust Our Vet

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Early yesterday I noticed a response to a comment I made on a blog post about the differences between IBD and IBS. This response, while well-intentioned I’m sure, irked me a bit. So I was glad that my friend had already responded to it by the time I noticed it. And she did so in such a way that I didn’t have to add my own thoughts.

Still, that response from a stranger bothered me all afternoon. So I’ve decided to get it off my chest, per sé.

Why do some people feel the need to suggest to strangers that they should change a pet’s diet?  This person doesn’t know me, my hubby, or our dogs, from a hole in the wall.  She has no way of knowing what kind of relationship we have with our dogs’ veterinarian; nor his knowledge of pet nutrition. And this person is not even a veterinarian herself. So, whatever happened to the “I’m not a vet” disclaimer? 

First of all, our vet has been our vet for 16 years. He has treated all of our dogs – from Kissy, my poodle who was five years old when I first moved us down here from Long Island almost 23 years ago, to Ducky, who joined our family nearly four years ago.  Our vet has been there for us through Kissy’s final days and through our beloved Callie’s battle with cancer and everything before, during, and since those “events.”

Our vet is a good man. He’s honest, forthright, compassionate, and he truly cares about his patients. He sells the prescription diets at his hospital as a convenience for his clients whose pets need them, not as a way to make extra money. The profit he might make off the sale of a case – or bag – of these foods probably wouldn’t buy coffee and a pastry at Starbucks.

When Ducky was first suffering through her IBS issues, our vet gave me his personal mobile phone number in case something came up for which I needed advice. (I tried not to abuse the privilege since we do have an emergency animal clinic nearby staffed by wonderful, caring folks.)

And when Callie was so sick at the end from the lymphoma, our vet and his wife took time out of their busy Saturday to meet me at his hospital and hook her up to IV meds that got her feeling better for most of the rest of the weekend. 

I’m aware that not all vet schools have provided much pet nutrition education in the past. Aside from a very basic course in dog and cat nutrition, I don’t have any formal education in that area either. I mostly rely on my common sense and some research. And our vet. I have not always agreed with our vet’s suggestions about our dogs’ diets; however, I have always known that his suggestions are made in the dogs’ best interests. Over this past year, I have fully transitioned Shadow and Ducky to one of the diets our vet suggested. And both dogs have done well on them. Much better than on the premium foods that I’ve tried for them in the past. And raw diets are totally out of the question. I won’t even discuss them any more. The raw diets may be good for some dogs – and I don’t judge anyone who swears by them – but they aren’t for us or for our dogs. And our vet agrees with us. 

So, I’ll close by saying that even when our vet and I “agree to disagree” on certain things related to our dogs, in the long and short run I will follow his advice.

Okay, rant over.  #LettingItGo

#LoveOurVet

What I Love About Shadow

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Two of my favorite bloggers – Jan Keefe at Wag-n-Woof Pets and Jodi Stone at Heart Like A Dog – recently published posts about things they love most about their dogs, Sheba and Delilah respectively. I enjoyed both posts so much that I decided to do one too.

My post is about Shadow. I chose Shadow for two reasons. The first is that before Ducky came along, the majority of my blog posts were about Callie and Shadow. As though they were both just part of a pair and not individuals. Like Tom and Dick Smothers. Or Sonny and Cher. Or Snoopy and Woodstock. That’s not the way I thought of them; but for the most part, that was the way I wrote about them. The second is that since Ducky came along – nearly four years ago – the majority of my posts have been about her. So without further ado….


I Love Shadow’s Sweetness – What else can I say? She has such a sweet, loving nature. Sure, she sees smaller animals as prey; but when it comes to other dogs and humans, she’s as sweet as can be. (There’s only one human I can think of that she just does not like. And with good reason. I’ll leave it at that.)  If you offer her a treat, and say “gently” or “gentle”, and rub her chin or chest, she will be your friend for life.

I Love Shadow’s Respectful Behavior – Shadow has always been respectful of another dog’s space – as well as ours. From Day One, she never approached Callie’s food bowl while Callie was anywhere near it. And unless she was super hungry, she always waited for Callie to at least start eating if not finish before starting to eat her own food. (Callie didn’t always return the favor though so I learned quickly to steer Callie out of the kitchen when she was done.) And when Ducky came along, Shadow accorded her younger sister the same respect.  And to this day, Shadow will only give me full-on eye contact if I ask her for it. And then only for a moment. She does not particularly like human hugs, but she lets ME hug her briefly.

I Love Shadow’s Blossoming Individuality – When Callie was still with us, Shadow almost always deferred to her older sister in any situation. Callie was, among other things, Shadow’s mentor, her teacher. Anything Callie did, Shadow was sure to do as well. Well, almost anything. Now that Callie’s in Heaven, Shadow does things on her own terms.

I Love Shadow’s Tolerance of/Patience with Ducky – When Callie was still here and Ducky competed with Shadow on every level for Callie’s attention and love, Shadow was at times low on tolerance and lacking in patience where Ducky was concerned. Who could blame her?  Callie was Shadow’s bestest friend – furry or human – and she got her snout out of joint when Ducky would try to push her aside. That’s part of the reason Ducky spent so much time at daycare during her first three years with us. So Callie and Shadow could have time together and with me the way they used to before Ducky. It was during Callie’s last several months with us that she started teaching Shadow how to “deal with” Ducky. And Shadow being the excellent student (blessed with the very best teacher) she was/is, took the lessons to heart and started applying them to different situations. Now when Ducky gets bratty with her, Shadow just gets up and walks away from her.

I Love Shadow’s Attentiveness – Shadow had always paid attention to Callie’s lessons – and had a great teacher – but she also pays attention to me when I’m asking her to do something. She may not always do what I ask, but she does listen to my words.

I Love Shadow’s Devotion – One thing that always struck me about Shadow was how utterly devoted she was to Callie (and vice versa). After each of Callie’s CCL surgeries, I had to walk her around the yard in gradually increasing amounts of time and speed. And every time Shadow was out there with us, making sure Callie knew she was trying to help her. And Shadow is equally devoted to her “dog-daddy” and me. She is always “right there” when we need her.  While she may not be all that sure of Ducky’s intentions all the time, I do believe she would protect her little sister if she felt the need to do so.

There are so many things I love about my “Baby Golden Girl”, but it would take forever to write them all down. I think this post sums them all up pretty well though.

This and That

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Yesterday we had a new roof put on the house. Remember that hail storm we had in early March? Well, the insurance company agreed to pay for the bulk of it, so might as well. I just hope we don’t have to deal with another one for a LONG time! The roofer called us on Tuesday night to tell us the guys would be here at 8 o’clock Wednesday. Early, but doable. They showed up at 7:15, before I was even finished getting dressed! Ducky started freaking out, Shadow started attaching herself to my leg, and the dog-daddy woke up pi**ed off. I had to get Ducky’s breakfast prepared and back in the can and ready to take to daycare with us. I had to put her on her leash just for her first potty break. I was not happy. Anyway, after finishing my bathroom routine, I took Ducky and her breakfast down to daycare.  She, at least had a good day.

When I got home, I sent the dog-daddy to Chick-Fil-A for some take-out breakfast and tried to feed Shadow. She wouldn’t touch even one morsel, poor old girl. Can’t say as I blame her. All the pounding overhead was giving me a headache. When hubby got home with our breakfast, we all sat down in the living room and tried to eat. After that, I decided the only way Shadow was going to relax was to play out in the yard. So, we spent the rest of the morning enjoying “Mom and Me” time. Playing ball, keep-away, and chase; and taking selfies and other pix. Here are some of them….


So, had it not been for the time Shadow and I spent together yesterday, I’d be saying “totally glad yesterday is over”. Instead, I’m just saying “glad the roof job is done!” 😊

So that’s the “that” part of the title. The “this” part is that things are back to normal around here. Ducky and Shadow are napping after an hour plus of play time out back; the tv news is on (and on and on); and…

I just received my grade for my third test: 99%! This is “cool” stuff! It’s not as gut-wrenching as I half-expected. It’s actually pretty interesting. And, while it may not be everyone’s proverbial cup of tea, I’m finding it helpful in my quest to not be quite so paranoid about every little thing that befalls my pups – especially Shadow. And, it’s helping me realize that hubby and I really did do everything we possibly could for Callie, and Kissy, at the end of their time here on earth. It has also given me a new appreciation for the folks who work for our vet. Their job is not an easy one – I was never under the illusion that it was – but the veterinary assistant’s job is multifaceted and stressful, just as are the vet tech’s and vet’s jobs.

Finally Some Sun!!

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Thursday night we had a huge, long, drawn-out downpour. It was so heavy, fast, and furious that the porch floor flooded and some of the mess came in the house under the inside door. UGH! I’ve had the ceiling fan running non-stop trying to dry out the carpet by the door. It is drying, but it’s taking a while. And it stinks. Like stale, dirty water. I’m going to open the windows a little later to get some fresh air in the room.

Yesterday we had more rain, but thankfully not enough to re-flood the porch quite as bad. Just enough so the girls and I couldn’t get in more than five minutes of playtime outside.

Thankfully the rain stopped overnight and the muddy water on the porch was able to drain out through the holes we made a few years ago.

About ten minutes ago, the sun broke through the clouds and the sky has actually turned a pretty blue again.


Not willing to miss the opportunity to work off some more of Ducky’s pent-up energy – and because Shadow told me she needed to answer a nature call – I quick-like-a-bunny ushered the girls downstairs, out the back door, and into the yard. I threw Ducky’s Kong Bounzer across the yard for her to pounce on and then did a sidearm fastball pitch of Shadow’s ball that Peter Moylan would be proud of. (Peter was, until not long ago, an Atlanta Braves relief pitcher who I really like. Pee on the Braves for trading him AGAIN!)

Well, I have a few errands to run so I need to cut this short. (You’re Welcome! BOL). Have a great Saturday everyone!!

Wags and Waves for Forrest

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forrestdaybadge-350x262

We hadn’t known Forrest and his mom, Bev, for very long when we learned that he was going to have one last week with his family before they let him go on his way to the Rainbow Bridge. But, having had to let our sweet Callie go to the bridge only eight months sooner, our hearts went out to them.

When two other kind and thoughtful Blogville friends decided to make a special day for Forrest, my girls and I wanted to join in sending special “Wags and Waves” to Forrest at the Bridge.

Not the greatest pictures for sure, but trying to get either Ducky or Shadow to wag their tails for the camera is like expecting them to not chase a squirrel in the yard. 🙂

Thank you to Sammy and his Mom Pam of One Spoiled Cat, and Miss Sharon from Gentle Stitches for putting this together, and inviting everyone to join that wanted to and could. You may click on the badge below to be taken to Bev’s blog, All Fur One and One Fur All, where you can see some wonderful photos of the handsome Forrest and leave a wish for his family if you’d like.

Forrest Day Badge

Taking A Break

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The girls and I are taking a fresh-air break…


We’ve been inside most of the morning – eating breakfast, having to listen to the news and the dog-daddy cussing at the TV, and me working on my test answers for Stage 2 of my Vet Assistant course.

Oh! I didn’t tell you yet! I got a 95% on my Stage 1 exam. Proud of myself? Hell Yes!!

Anyway, I have more work to do this afternoon on my upcoming test, so decided to get some fresh air first. And Ducky’s been in brat mode this morning. Hopefully the fresh air will settle her down a bit.

It’s chilly out here, like Spring should be! Temps are in the high 50s/low 60s, there’s a strong breeze (more like a “wind”), and the sun is playing peek-a-boo with the puffy, white clouds and gorgeous blue sky.


To think that this time last week I was wearing shorts and short-sleeve t-shirts and spending late afternoons in the air-conditioned house. Crazy weather!

Tomorrow is Shadow’s re-check appointment with Dr. Steve. Hopefully he’ll say the toe sprain has healed enough to be able to lift her playtime restrictions. We both miss our favorite game. And Ducky will be at daycare for a few hours.

We hope y’all will have a great day!!