Sunday afternoon, I happened to notice Foster suddenly lifting his right hind leg trying to lick his paw while he was walking around in the backyard. I started towards him to take a look, but then seeing me coming, he ran right up to me and gave ma a paw with a big smile on his face. So I concluded that he might have stepped on a rock or something and didn’t think much about it.
But by Monday evening, I decided something was definitely wrong with his rear right paw and possibly also the left paw because he kept lifting his paws off the ground, mostly the right one but sometimes the left one as well. I tried to take a look, but he almost ripped my face off when I touched his paw. So without a second set of hands to hold him, all I could see was a little bit of his paw getting a little raw from him licking. I decided to take him to the vet on Wednesday if he didn’t get better.
Yesterday I dropped Foster off at the vet in the morning, and let me not digress and talk about the receptionist again this time cause it will just frustrate the shit out of me even more. Foster’s paws had been getting worse, not being able to play with Georgia and having trouble pooping since he has a hard time getting into the position to push since he keeps trying to lift his rear right paw off the ground. But I wasn’t worried too much because I thought it was some superficial wound like a little cut on his paw pad made worse by him licking.
The vet found out not only his rear paws, but all four of his paws have skin legions or ulcers that look as if he scraped them on a rough concrete surface. The rear left paw was in the worst condition. The vet thinks Foster has Lupus because not only there was no such occasion for Foster to have hurt his paws like that but it’s very uncommon for a dog to hurt ALL of his paws like that. He’s pretty sure it is lupus since he has seen enough cases like this even though the only way to make sure is to do a biopsy.
I am angry. I am tired. I am frustrated. I am afraid I’m about to crack.
For now, I came home with antibiotics and anti-inflammatory for the wounds. If his paws don’t get better after this round of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory, then we’ll go from there and treat it with steroids. In the mean time, I’m looking into natural remedies that would help with canine lupus, but it looks even the most holistically minded people seem to say the steroid is the way to go (from what I’ve found out in a very short period of time). If you have dealt with canine lupus or know anybody who has, please let me know. I would like to hear about the experience.
I’m too sexy for my itch Too sexy for my itch
Too sexy for a bitch
…again. Something is not quite right with Brandy these days. She’s been drinking a whole lot and hence peeing a lot. Her skin around the eyes are raw from too much tears being produced and making her constantly rub her eyes. Yesterday morning, I woke up to a foul smell of her vomit and her urine ALL OVER the kitchen and the den area where she stays. I had to take a day off from work to clean it up and take her to a vet. And of course there is nothing wrong with her medically.
The seat of the chair that she usually sleeps in and I use to hold her upright after her meals is completely soaked with her vomit. So I need to get the foam to replace it, and looking at it online, it’s more than $200 for one stinking foam for the seat! I feel like I’m in a twilight zone or something.
I’m tired. There is a road block everywhere I turn. I still haven’t filed application for passport yet since I can’t confirm the information I have on my parents’ birth place. I left a message for my vet to discuss boarding my dogs there twice. I haven’t heard back. Getting Bailey chair was another circus yesterday. Apparently people who I contacted to have it made are going on a vacation on the 16th of this month for ten days. They were once burned by somebody who had a Bailey chair made and didn’t want it when it was finished, so they do not start making it until they get the payment. So they wanted the check overnighted if I wanted it shipped before they leave for their vacation. But I rarely use checkbook any more, I do my banking online 99.999999% of the time, so I couldn’t find my checkbook. And the story goes on and on and on…
I’m tired. Giving up sounds so sweet right about now.
Maybe, just maybe those squirrels would come down here if I stand on two legs and wish it long enough and stare at them hard enough…
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. ~Mahatma Ghandi
I’ve tried to write a blog post about Pit Bulls and dog fighting ever since Eagles signed Michael Vick. But the problem is that the emotions overcome me and I feel unequal to the task of putting down in words how I feel about it and why I feel that way. My eyes start shedding tears the instant I think about doing a post. Like now. I’m bawling. I guess I’ve seen too many pictures and read too many sad heartrending stories of dogs who had to fight to survive and who just didn’t want to fight and who were just bad at it and who were just scared to death and who were just thrown into pits to be ripped apart.
Sometimes I wish I had never joined the whole animal rescue community and learn the plight of these dogs. Sometimes I wish I was oblivious to the facts and details and misconceptions about Pit Bulls and dog fighting. Sometimes I wish I could just say “what a pity” and move on.
But I don’t think I could ever feel differently about dog fighting and the pain the fighting dogs have to endure. The so-called “life” they have to live. The endless days of torture and blood and pain. Have you ever been bitten by a dog? Just one bite, not like getting things ripped off you like those dogs in the pits, but just a little bite that had to be treated at an ER? Do you know how excruciatingly painful it is? I don’t know if you are familiar with a story of any ex-fighting dog rescued from that tortuous life in the pits. Do you know how few of them actually “WANT” to fight other dogs?
I know most people really don’t think much about and don’t want to bother about Pit Bulls and dog fighting, and what are you really going to do if and when you learn the truth? It’s so remote from your life, you’ve never seen a dog fight, never even met anybody who’s seen a dog fight. And you’ll never own a dog anywhere close to a Pit Bull. Yeah, that’s the sad case for the Pit Bulls. Misunderstood and cursed for life, and so many people turning their backs on them cause they are just dogs, and even dubbed vicious dogs at that.
A dog fighting ring is always tied in with other crimes like drugs, money laundering, illegal weapons and other gang activities. Majority of those who find pleasure watching animals cry out in agony, covered in blood, limbs broken, flesh hanging loose turn out to be the most violent towards people. It’s not that far removed from our lives as you might think.
I’m not trying to make you a dog lover or an advocate for Pit Bulls. I’m not trying to convince you to read and learn about Pit Bulls, the most misunderstood dogs in this country right now, and their sad history. Of course if you do want to, lucky for you, there are excellent resources at Bad Rap or Pit Bull Rescue Central.
I started this post hours ago and I’ve spent too much time crying and blowing my nose. I keep closing this up since I can’t stand to be thinking about it so intensely, and I’m not making any sense. Oh well, the good news is that you can never accuse me of making much sense in anyway, so it’s nothing unusual. So what I’m trying to say is that I cannot write this post. Ha! You didn’t know that was coming after all the babbling! But yeah, I haven’t expressed even a fraction of what I feel and what I learned about Pit Bulls and dog fighting. I just can’t. I have a hard time articulating myself about things and people that I feel very strongly about and close to my heart. One reason you rarely read about my mom, dad, my sisters and their trials. But I digress.
I’m just asking you to be compassionate by being outraged when you read a news article about a dog fighter. By being indignant when the said dog fighter becomes the hero among all the other dog fighters. By being livid when he’s rewarded by a contract worth millions of dollars and allowed to be your kids’ role model. By being furious at his statement that it wasn’t his fault and his lack of remorse. By being absolutely incensed at remarks like “he made a mistake” because laughing at dogs crying out in agony or throwing his own family pet to see him get ripped apart for amusement cannot be categorized as “a mistake.”
If you can’t help but indifferent about the agony and misery for the poor dogs’ sake, I beg you not to be indifferent about the fact that more people including your kids are learning that not only it’s OK to torture and inflict such pain to another living being, but also it is an entertainment that they might try once or twice or until they get caught, which isn’t gonna be a big deal anyway.
“Philly’s always been a Mecca of dogfighting, but after Vick it exploded,” said Bengal. “He’s an idol.” ~From the article Pit Bulls in Pain, The Philadelphia Weekly
Please have some compassion. Even the most vicious criminals don’t deserve what those dogs have to go through. And their only crime? They were born Pit Bulls.
how my babies are doing, and also equally dying to see some pictures of them NOT peeing or pooping. There is nothing much to report, but here you are.
Georgia is doing OK. I had a big scare when I took her to the vet for checkup in May when the vet diagnosed her as having level 2 heart murmur. Since she did not have it last fall, we were alarmed when 2 months later even I could hear the swishing noise by just putting my ear on her side. After echocardiogram and EKG, it was determined that the murmur is at the beginning stage brought on by old age, and even though by sound it has become level 3 murmur, the sound is loud because the dent on her heart valve was small compared to the high velocity of the blood circulation. The cardiologist’s suggestion is to do nothing.
Summer in New York doesn’t agree with Brooklyn very well because of the moisture on the ground even when it hasn’t rained. She’s been pooping only once every 3 or 4 days out of absolute necessity. She was absolutely miserable during June when we had maybe 3 or 4 days without rain. She was also diagnosed with heart murmur during her checkup, but the vet could only hear very slight noises. I had not known old age can bring on heart murmur until then.
Brandy’s been doing fine, considering… I hate to acknowledge the fact but I have to admit the side effect of megaesophagus is getting worse slowly over the years. And there is nothing I can do about it. Other than that, she was given a clean bill of health during her checkup.
Foster has not bitten himself and punctured himself this summer! Yet. *knocks on wood* Not only that, I haven’t had to rush him to an emergency vet. *knocks on wood harder* He was also given a clean bill of health.
Now please leave some love for my babies!
I’m not really a crazy dog lady… yet. I don’t carry on conversations with my dogs… on a daily basis. But there are somethings I say to them on a daily basis other than Sit or Down kinda simple commands – complete sentences and questions I expect them to understand and sometimes expect answers. I get a little tired of being ignored and not getting answers, but I’m waiting for one of them to finally blurt out one of these days, “Oh shut up!”
The following is a list of thirteen of those things I say to my dogs:
- Be careful! I blurt it out quite often because, you know, I don’t want them to get hurt, quite naturally.
- What’s your problem? When somebody doesn’t stop barking after my “Enough” or “Quiet”, I have to resort to reasoning.
- See, I told you! You never listen! Usually Brooklyn gets this mocking remark from me when she has to pee and poop under heavy rain after refusing to pee or poop because of wet grass or light rain in spite of my repeated warning of possible heavier rain in the near future.
- What are you doing? Because you know, I sometimes get curious and don’t want to move to see what they are doing. I do expect an answer.
- Get a room, will ya? Cause sometimes I think they should do certain activities in private.
- What happened? I do like to know what happened when somebody suddenly cries out and whines. Wouldn’t you?
- Where do you think you’re going? Come on, it’s funny when they bolt past you and then can’t go anywhere but wait for you walk slowly taking your sweet time to open the door or the baby gate for them.
- Did you pee/poop? Sometimes I get distracted and don’t notice if one peed/pooped or not. I gotta know.
- Where did you poop? When someone pulls of sneak-a-poo routine while I’m not looking. Again, I gotta know.
- Did you just fart? I usually know who farted when, but you know there are silent but deadly kinds.
- I’m coming, I’m coming. They get anxious and whine when I deliver their food one at a time to each location. I do have to assure them that they will not starve to death.
- Where does it itch? Here? Here? It’s hard to see and do nothing when they try to scratch or nibble where they can’t reach.
- I love you too but not THAT way. Foster tends to get too happy and excited to see me and be pat, and his red rocket gets launched sometimes. It’s my way of gently letting him down.
1. First list item starts here…
Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others’ comments. It’s easy, and fun!
Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
As some of you know, Brandy’s megaesophagus makes her regurgitate food from now and then, even after being held upright for an hour after a meal. It’s the way it is and there is nothing anybody can do about it but for me to clean up the mess.
And Brandy’s stool never recovered its roll-on-the-floor-rock-hard consistency after that scary episode almost 2 years ago when every morsel of food she ate came back up for more than a month. I guess her digestive system got a shock when it finally got to see some food. So she gets about a cup of yogurt everyday with her meal, but still her stool is frequently loose enough for me to make bald spots on the lawn to pick off all blades of grass (and weeds… well, OK, mostly weeds) with fecal matter on it.
So when the name Poop Freeze caught my eye while I was going through hundreds of “As Seen On TV” products trying to remember the names of the various products for Sucker I Am post yesterday, I was like, could it be? Could this really be??? The description confirmed that it is in fact what I hoped it would be – You spray it on poop, hair balls, or vomit, etc, and it freezes it down to -62°F so you can clean it up with ease. What a brilliant idea! What an excellent way to improve my everyday life! My life WILL be happier! What an exceptional find!
Supposedly, there was or has been or still is an infomercial on TV for Poop Freeze. And let me tell you, if I had seen the infomercial you can bet your bottom dollar that I would have ordered it before the infomercial was over. Then why haven’t I ordered it yet, you might wonder. Well, it lacked the magic of infomercial. I need to see it work on screen. I need to hear people’s testimonies, you understand.
Then why haven’t I clicked on the infomercial link and watch it online? Frankly, I’m afraid to watch it. Cause I KNOW I’m going to HAVE to order it once I did – there is no if’s, and’s or but’s about it, and writing that Sucker I Am post kinda sobered me up to the fact that I’m an infomercialaholic.
What I’m trying to get at, actually, is this – Anybody willing to try it and let me know if it works? Anyone? Anyone?
Serious Stuff. Seriously
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.NaNoWriMo
Yeah, I'm gonna try this time. I must be crazy... not surprisingly.
| Blog: |
| yoonamania |
Topics: |
| Pets, Dog, Cat |