It’s day by day for Brandy
The end of the road is nearing for Brandy. I find myself conflicted on deciding when is her time to go – if it should be my decision at all. She could die naturally, but seeing her decline is so hard for me I wonder if it is not kinder to put her down.
I bought Brandy from Animal Kingdom on Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago in September 1994 when she was 6 weeks old. She was always a fairly high energy dog who loved to run and jump like most dogs but I will always remember how she seemed to love the wind. On windy days she would stop in her tracks to face the wind, sniffing, blowing her floppy Snoopy years backward. After a short time, she would bolt from that position and run around crazy – sometimes just I circles – as if to celebrate. This is a vivid but now distant memory. She is old now, arthritic, and increasingly losing the muscle needed to remain standing on all fours. Her legs will frequently slide out from under her in all directions just while she is standing or leaning over to drink some water. I’m sure she wishes we had carpeting to assist rather than our wood and tile floors.
Puppies on the mend
Ruffy and Anialduln
The pups were strangly quiet Saturday night. I got home from work at 6pm and didn’t hear a peep all night! I began to worry. I finally went in around 9:30pm and woke them all up from what looked like a deep sleep. They sat up slowly, blinked their eyes and just looked at me for a long moment. I said, “Hi puppies?” And then they sprang to life, jumping out of the plastic swimming pool filled with blankets and toys and running to jump on my legs. Whew. But there is something not quite right with them. They are too sleepy, their bellies too bulgey, overall they’re just too quiet. And they have diarahea. I have to remind myself that ALL the puppies I’ve ever fostered have had some sort of intestinal illness. And that it isn’t my fault! So, tomorrow, Monday, it’s back to the vet wtih a fecal and a plea for antibiotics. My diagnosis? Coccidea. The ever present illness. I’m fairly certain that’s what it is.
Fluffy and Ruffy at play
Anyway, they are alert and playful when they’re awake and very interested in me. I hold them and they look deeply into my eyes as if to say, “So, who ARE you anyway?”
“Fluffy” is black with thick, fluffy fir. “Ruffy” is black and a little leaner. “Anealduln” is the cream colored puppy.
New puppies coming!
Guesssss whaaaat?!
PUPPIES ARE COMING!
Stay tuned.
Pictures of Lily
Here is a note with cute photos of Lily (from Chloe‘s group):
She finally had hair long enough that when she got her nails clipped they gave her little bows..
- Lily with bows
Koda update and story
A note on Koda (another of Chole‘s group)…
Koda likes the snow
Hi Everyone!
Thanks for the update RJ! We are so glad she’s doing well! It is nice to hear from you!
Koda is doing fine. He absolutely loves the snow!! The first little bit of snow we had, it took him 5 minutes to leave the deck he was so busy trying to lick it all up. He is amazed by it (endless ice cubes!). He loves to run after and catch snowballs. He just really enjoys the cold weather!
We are still having a problem with him playing a little too rough at times. I had an issue I had to deal with at my son’s school. Koda jumped up for a toy and his tooth caught Matt’s elbow. Innocently, Matt went to the school nurse to get a band-aid and proceeded to get interrogated about “the dog bite”. The school nurse apologized but by state law she had to report this to Will Co. Needless to say…I was very upset! I had to bring Koda in to his vet to be examined for rabies, even though he had his shots. Thankfully, he did not have to be quarantined! I am afraid though that he now has “a record” and we have to be very careful that he doesnt even play bite anyone.
So, advice to everyone……..do not tell your school nurse you were bit by your dog!Other than that…he is just having fun being a big puppy!! We are still working on perfecting some manners and listening skills but for the most part he is doing great! I hope to be able to get him to play with his siblings again sometime soon.
Update on Jubilee
Here is a note from RJ on Jubilee (from Chloe‘s litter):
Hi everyone!!
Well it’s been a little while so I figured I would give an update. Jubilee is doing great!! She is down to half a steroid pill a day and if she continues to do well she should be done sometime in March. Jubilee has rejoined playtime (Yeah!!) and still continues to play nice with everyone. I wouldn’t have figured that a short haired dog would love the snow as much as she does. She will just run, jump, and dig as much as she can till her feet get cold. Then will run up to door to be let in and as soon as her feet are warm she will ask to go right back out. It’s just great to have her back to her old(young) self again and being the puppy she should be.
I look forward to seeing you guys at the Water-bowl when you can make it 🙂 and would love to read some updates on Jubilee’s family.
Take Care
RJ
