He's a clown too. Check out the video.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Friday, July 06, 2007
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Amber - It's really bad, but getting a little better
I've been through a lot with Amber these past few months. Her arthritis and other skeletal problems have been getting really bad. She has had non-stop diarrhea for nearly 6 months and no medicine would take care of it. She had dropped from a very healthy 65lbs down to 51lbs and was nothing more than a bag of bones.
Over the past two weeks I have been taking her to a different vet as Lake Norman was doing nothing to help and costing a fortune.
In 3 days time (doing the same tests that LKN did repeatedly) they found that she has very bad liver cirrhosis and told me that she had a week or two, but now wouldn't be too soon to put her down.
I had a long heart-to-heart sit with her, trying to figure out what she was feeling. After sitting with her and watching her behavior for a day, I came to this conclusion : She's sick, she's in pain, but she's not ready to go.
I'll be the first to admit that I have a really hard time with the idea of letting her go. I was so shaken-up when the vet said "now would not be too soon to send her to heaven" that I couldn't even speak. I spent the rest of the day swinging between sobbing uncontrollably and feeling absolutely nothing. Even given my feelings, I can say this: If I thought it was really her time, I wouldn't hesitate.
Knowing that she's not ready to go... still seeing life in her eyes, I'm determined to do all I can.
I've taken her off all traditional medicines (including flea, heartworm, and vaccinations). I've started making batches of home-made food (mainly ground turkey, brown rice, oatmeal, and vegetables as described in "Sunny's Miracle Diet". To that I have added Teeter's Creek Liver Tone (10 drops twice a day), Super Milk Thistle (this is one of the most researched natural treatments), and 1/2 of a human multivitamin once a day.
I have also bought the book "Hope for Healing Liver Disease in Your Dog" and am slowly adding a multitude of other vitamins and supplements to her diet.
There is no cure for liver disease once it reaches this stage, but the change has been nearly a miracle. There are no more "accidents" two or three times a day. No more getting up in the middle of the night at every little sound to rush her outside... the diarrhea is nearly gone. Her appetite is back - sometimes she can't seem to get enough food. She has probably already put on 3-5 lbs in one week on the diet.
Cutting out all of the sodium has cut down her abdominal fluid retention (ascitis) to about 10% of what it used to be. Feeding her smaller meals 3-4 times a day instead of 2 large ones has helped to keep from overloading her liver.
She is still a sick doggy, but she is feeling so much better. She's back to rubbing against the bed, wanting attention, being curious and interested in walks (even if some days her arthritis keeps her from going) and otherwise just being a dog again.
I realize that she doesn't have much time left. God has granted me a gift by letting me find things that help her. He has given us time to bond again. We have petting time in the morning and afternoon, and sometimes play time in the evenings. The time she has left won't be put to waste (thank you, God).
Over the past two weeks I have been taking her to a different vet as Lake Norman was doing nothing to help and costing a fortune.
In 3 days time (doing the same tests that LKN did repeatedly) they found that she has very bad liver cirrhosis and told me that she had a week or two, but now wouldn't be too soon to put her down.
I had a long heart-to-heart sit with her, trying to figure out what she was feeling. After sitting with her and watching her behavior for a day, I came to this conclusion : She's sick, she's in pain, but she's not ready to go.
I'll be the first to admit that I have a really hard time with the idea of letting her go. I was so shaken-up when the vet said "now would not be too soon to send her to heaven" that I couldn't even speak. I spent the rest of the day swinging between sobbing uncontrollably and feeling absolutely nothing. Even given my feelings, I can say this: If I thought it was really her time, I wouldn't hesitate.
Knowing that she's not ready to go... still seeing life in her eyes, I'm determined to do all I can.
I've taken her off all traditional medicines (including flea, heartworm, and vaccinations). I've started making batches of home-made food (mainly ground turkey, brown rice, oatmeal, and vegetables as described in "Sunny's Miracle Diet". To that I have added Teeter's Creek Liver Tone (10 drops twice a day), Super Milk Thistle (this is one of the most researched natural treatments), and 1/2 of a human multivitamin once a day.
I have also bought the book "Hope for Healing Liver Disease in Your Dog" and am slowly adding a multitude of other vitamins and supplements to her diet.
There is no cure for liver disease once it reaches this stage, but the change has been nearly a miracle. There are no more "accidents" two or three times a day. No more getting up in the middle of the night at every little sound to rush her outside... the diarrhea is nearly gone. Her appetite is back - sometimes she can't seem to get enough food. She has probably already put on 3-5 lbs in one week on the diet.
Cutting out all of the sodium has cut down her abdominal fluid retention (ascitis) to about 10% of what it used to be. Feeding her smaller meals 3-4 times a day instead of 2 large ones has helped to keep from overloading her liver.
She is still a sick doggy, but she is feeling so much better. She's back to rubbing against the bed, wanting attention, being curious and interested in walks (even if some days her arthritis keeps her from going) and otherwise just being a dog again.
I realize that she doesn't have much time left. God has granted me a gift by letting me find things that help her. He has given us time to bond again. We have petting time in the morning and afternoon, and sometimes play time in the evenings. The time she has left won't be put to waste (thank you, God).
Monday, March 12, 2007
Time
Man, time really flies. We are almost halfway through March already. Amber (and the other kids) got a LOT of stuff for christmas. She's doing pretty bad. Her back is all screwed up.. lumpy, curved, etc and most days she doesn't want to eat. She's down to 53lbs. Dunno how much longer my favorite doggie is going to hang in there.
Not a whole lot of news here. Just the same-ole same-ole. Felt like I should write something... so that was it... doggie news.
Not a whole lot of news here. Just the same-ole same-ole. Felt like I should write something... so that was it... doggie news.
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