I’m dogsitting Houston. He has been here since Thursday night, or more precisely, 1am Friday morning. You might remember that Houston belongs to Samuel, whom I had a falling out with? Yes, that Houston.
Since the beginning of this year, Samuel has been planning on a 2-week vacation in Dominica, not to be confused with Dominican Republic, to visit his father. Last week, he was talking about his vacation and mentioned his sister was also coming. Because I had assumed his sister had been taking care of Houston when he went away for business trips – the exact business trips I can’t go because he refused to take care of my dogs and hence he has to go in my stead, I asked, and who’s taking care of Houston? He answered, oh, yeah. Can you take care of him? If you were me, wouldn’t YOU drop your jaws?
The first time Samuel made the business trip instead of me was last year a few weeks after one of the biggest arguments between Samuel and me. Because he had been taking care of my dogs every time I had been on a trip, and also I thought, most stupidly of course, that Samuel and I had some unwritten contract that we would take care of each other’s pets, I had assumed he would be pet-sitting for me without even talking about it when I was scheduled to go. A week or so before the business trip, when we were talking, he mentioned he had to do something for his father on precisely those days during my trip. I didn’t like the way he said it, and upon probing further, a very unpleasant exchange ensued, to put it mildly. Basically, he had been planning this to screw me over at the last minute if you ask me. Me, having to go and nobody to take care of my kids. Well, his plan backfired of course, because I went straight to my boss and told him that I couldn’t go to any more business trips because Samuel would not take care of my dogs and owing to my dogs’ special needs, I couldn’t hire or trust anybody to take care of them either. My boss who already knew all the special needs my dogs have, simply said, OK, I understand, and told Samuel he had to go from now on.
So you see, I don’t think anybody would expect me to agree to dog-sit Houston after that, and my answer to him was a loud and clear no accompanied by I can’t believe you are even asking and You can’t possibly be expecting me to say yes, and etc ad nauseam. Samuel meekly said OK and that was the end of it.
Come Wednesday, I found out Samuel was planning to leave Houston with a family of his father’s friend. Now I was shocked. I would never EVER leave my pets with somebody who I don’t really know, especially a dog like Houston, who, if ever got loose, you would never be able to get him back unless you are Samuel. And if caught by, say, an animal control officer, Houston would be sentenced to death so fast because he would fight strangers tooth and nail, who try to handle him without Samuel standing by. Alarmed, I started talking about all the bad things that could happen to Houston. For TWO DAYS. So at the end of Thursday, I made Samuel worried enough for him to consider canceling his trip forfeiting his plane ticket for a 6am flight on Friday. My job was done.
I was pure evil in views of some. I was most righteous in view of others. But it turned out that the family who were supposed to take care of Houston told him they couldn’t dog-sit Houston. At the last minute! Serves him right, eh?
So at the end of Thursday, I agreed to take care of Houston. As much as I don’t like to help out Samuel in this regard, I really did feel bad he would have to forfeit his plane ticket and cancel the vacation he’d been planning the entire fucking year. Yeah, I can be nice sometimes even though it totally goes against my principle.
Three days ago, Brandy was coughing a bit more than usual, the usual being water or yogurt not going down well owing to her megaesophagus. The next day, I noticed Brandy’s breathing was making a strange noise as if her lungs were congested. Her coughs possessed the quality of coughs of people with a flu trying to cough up phlegm. Alarmed, I dug out the nebulizer and saline solution, purchased last year when Brandy had her first bout of aspiration pneumonia, and treated her. Her temperature was 102.5F, the absolute high end of the normal for a dog.
Yesterday, I made an appointment with Dr. L for today even though Brandy’s cough and breathing sounded better in the morning. Good thing that I did because when I came home from work, I really didn’t like the sound of her breathing and the cough, not to mention that her temperature was 103.2F. Most definitely NOT normal. I could even feel something gurgling in her lungs when I put my hand on her side. I treated her with nebulizer a little longer than the day before.
When the vet was examining Brandy, her breathing wasn’t making any sound and she didn’t cough even once of course. Isn’t it strange it’s always like that? I tell you, my dogs try their best to embarrass me and make me look like a fool. Brandy even lowered her temperature down to 102.4F!!!
But Brandy’s ploy did not work this time. She does have pneumonia. But because it was caught early and she was treated with nebulizer at once, it has not advanced much. I was given Genticin, an antibiotic, and Albuterol, a bronchodilator which helps to increase air movement by relaxing the muscles in airways. Both medications are added to the saline solution in the nebulizer to be used twice a day for at least 10 minutes each.
Last year, I found oxygen masks made for dogs, through megaesophagus Yahoo group, to be used with nebulizer. But the connector of the mask is made to be inserted in a tube, not the opening of the nebulizer cup. So instead of using the mask, I used the mouthpiece that came with the nebulizer, holding it an inch or so way from Brandy’s nose, which obviously is not very effective.
Dr. L told me an easier and more effective way to use nebulizer: put Brandy in a crate, tape the nebulizer cup on the door and cover the crate with a blanket. She assured me that this is much more effective than the oxygen mask because masks usually scare the dogs since they prevent the dogs’ use of the mouth, which in turn prevents dogs from breathing in with ease (but she gave me a T-connector for the nebulizer anyway to be used with the mask).
So I would appreciate it if you can cross your fingers again for Brandy. We have to go back in 2 weeks for a recheck. I’d also appreciate it if you can cross your fingers for me as well so that I don’t forget to treat her with nebulizer in the morning. Mornings are so very tough for me…
The diet is officially off. Oh well, that didn’t last long. I haven’t been vigilant for the last couple of weeks, but then the stock market plummeting and the economy heading to Lala land while the Bush administration pulled a number out of their greedy asses to bail out their friends really did it for me. My 401K retirement fund skydived and I was physically shaking all day Monday with splitting headache for a few days.
So I turned to food. I’ve been feasting on some fried foods, pastries, cookies, pie, cake, whipped cream, ice cream, sorbet, etc. I know, I’m not supposed to, but that’s the handiest resource I can get right now unless anybody wants to get me a sugar daddy real soon. At least my mouth is happy and my tummy full.
Serious Stuff. Seriously
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