I was sitting on the floor in the lobby of the veterinarian’s office, blowing soap bubbles for my five-year-old Border Collie, Scout, while we waited for our medications after our consultation with a holistic veterinarian.
A woman sitting near us was watching as Scout happily pounced on the bubbles and then stared intently into my eyes as he waited for the next wave of the bubble wand. Chasing soap bubbles is one of Scout’s favorite things to do in life. (In fact, I just typed the word and he must have read it, because he popped up from his nap and he’s staring at me, waiting to see if we’re headed outside.) Continue reading “Life lessons from a Border Collie”
Bandit took some time today to explain Valentine’s Day – and boy, is it a scary holiday! Here’s the beginning of his column:
“It is time for Valentines Day, the day when people go around telling other people how much they love them or they try to get people to fall in love with them. It’s all hearts and hugs and kisses and love.
“But it is all a big lie. Really, those people are trying to kill you.
“First, a naked baby named Cupid flies around with a bow and arrow trying to shoot people in the heart. Where I live, babies are not allowed to fly around without their mommies (or their diapers), and they are definitely not allowed to play with bows and arrows. Plus, just in case you didn’t know, if you shoot someone through the heart with an arrow they will die. And they probably won’t love you for it, either.”
For those of you who don’t read my Heavenly Creatures blog over at Patheos.com, you may have missed the hot topic last week about a commercial dog breeding facility proposed for Gorham, NY. The town board originally approved a special use permit for Curtis and Jolene Martin, who currently operate a facility in Varick, NY (near Seneca Falls in Seneca County). The plan is to build a facility to house 200-500 dogs to breed and sell wholesale to pet stores across the country.
The approval for the special use permit was unanimous, but once word got out about the planned breeding facility, it was clear the board didn’t have any idea what they’d just OK’d. The Martins run what is nicely called a wholesale dog breeding facility – but is also referred to as a puppy mill (or puppy “farm”, if you listen to Channel 10 news). Hundreds of dogs bred over and over and over to produce puppies for sale to commercial pet stores. They’ve been cited for violations in the care of the dogs. And even without violations, breeding 500 dogs factory-style just isn’t right any way you look at it.
Well, that’s how I feel about it, anyway.
It’s a hot story that culminated Wednesday with an open meeting in Gorham that saw 400 people show up to share their views. The meeting opened with a statement from the town supervisor that the permit had been nullified and plans would have to be approved by the Ontario County Planning Board. If you missed anything, you can catch up on the Heavenly Creatures blog:
One of the things people who were riled up did to try and make a difference was to start petitions. One girl in Buffalo collected 9,000 signatures. And I found out today that someone had started a petition opposing the puppy mill, with the target as my blog … to “STOP HEAVENLY CREATURES APPROVAL TO BUILD AND BREED.”
Which is ridiculous, because I’m a writer, not a breeder or a builder.
And even worse, they used a photo of my Scout as the logo for their petition.
So if you are asked to sign a petition about a puppy mill that includes “Heavenly Creatures” and this photo of Scout – don’t sign it. I have no clue what this person is trying to do – he appears to be an animal welfare advocate – and I don’t want my readers to be taken in because you see darling Scout’s photo and assume I’m involved.
All of the hubbub did do one positive thing: I’ve become fascinated by the fervor that some animal welfare advocates have approached this topic; it reminds me of the polarizing, self absorbed, single issue mindset I’ve seen in religious communities. People driving hours to protest puppies while ignorning animal cruelty to other animals. Also surprising: the diverse attitudes within the Christian community; there were people of faith whose response to the puppy mill issue is “it’s their business.” So I’ve launched a little project to research and write more on animal advocacy and religion.
Well, that’s all the writing news from The Funny Farm for now. In dog news?
My crying bouts over Scout have become controllable; his remains are in a lovely wooden box from the vet, which is inside a pretty box that says, “Love and Inspire”. It also holds his collar and paw print in plaster (OMG that was such a lovely thing to get from the vet). It sits near my bed. I still can’t go into my office, where he spent most of his time. He preferred to hide under my desk and wedged behind the chair. Even though he chose that spot, it pains me to think of him there, hiding out by himself. I’m plagued by guilt over what I could have done, should have done, the stress his had in the last six months of his life with Bandit and Bailey. Sigh. I need to go find the tissues.
Bailey is doing a lovely job with her puppy school practice, what little we manage to do. She’s quite fond of doing circus dog tricks – through the hoop, over the yardstick; I think she’s channeling Scout. Bandit occasionally seems a bit lonely without his brother but he’s one super snuggle monster. We’ve been hitting the park for romps and runs, and Bandit made a new friend at Beyond Hardware. You can read more on his blog. These two are still separated 24/7 but they’ve calmed down a lot. I still don’t leave them home alone together, even separated. Bailey is an escape artist and if she broke out of her crate … well, we’re not ready for that yet. But she’s doing great working on spending time in a crate. And when I go somewhere, I just take a dog with me!
Well, that’s all for now. Stay tuned and keep in touch!
On Thursday, January 5th, I posted an update about things here with the dogs, writing, etc. At the time, Scout was still here, although he’d been having some tough times.
I’m sorry to report that yesterday he went to live on God’s Farm in the Sky. It’s still emotional so I’ll let you read Bandit’s account of the last 48 hours. I can’t even look at Scout’s picture without breaking down. And I have enormous guilt over his passing – I should have spent more time with him, I shouldn’t have gone to sleep that last night so I could have spent all of the time with him …. I can’t even go there right now.
But there are things I’d like to tell you about – I just can’t do it now.
My blogging efforts in the last part of 2011 were lame, I know. I was overwhelmed with sick dogs, barking dogs, fighting dogs, slow computers, and the need to focus writing energies where the money was.
Which means I’m once again chasing page views. From covering “The X Factor” on m Beliefnet blog to my new adventure covering animals & faith at Patheos, I’ve been trying to fit in required writing and researching while managing the dog situation. Which, quite honestly, has consumed almost every waking moment. (And even the non-waking ones; I had a dream recently in which actor Dylan McDermott came over to adopt Bailey. I’m still waiting for him to show up.)
Bandit, not to be outdone, proves he can still unstuff a dog bed and chew a shoe faster than a speeding bullet
So here we are at the start of 2012 and you’re probably wondering how we all are. Well, I’m sitting here trying to type a slow laptop, with no mouse because Bailey has dumped yet another cup of tea on the table where I’m working. I also have very sticky “y”, “n”, “e” and “t” keys, thanks to spilled tea and Murphy stretching his claws out on the keyboard. Yes, you can remove a laptop key but they don’t always go back on so easily.
Bandit is barking, Bailey is at my feet ready to spring into action should Bandit bark at something interesting. Scout is lying in the kitchen, saving his energy for a round of b-u-b-b-l-e-s, should the opportunity arise. He’s still here, winding down a bit. In fact, we had a rough night.
In fact, I’ve had a year of rough nights. I estimate that from January 22, 2011, when Bailey came home with me, to December 31, 2011, I had maybe 5 full nights of sleep. And that’s a generous estimate. My nights allow for 1 – 3 hours of sleep in a row (that’s the max; since Scout got sick we average about 2 hours at a time). First it was a new puppy who was a wild animal in her crate and needed to go out every few hours until she was potty trained. Now, it’s a sick dog nearing the end of his life.
We still, thankfully, have our daily “Sleepy Nap Time” but I can’t lie on the couch for more than a half hour because it kills my back, hip and knee. I think that’s from that very graceful tumble I took down the stairs a few months ago. My feet slipped out from under me, I went airborne, and WHAM! Landed on my tailbone. I think I whammed my hip, too, so that when I was out with Bandit a few weeks later and he bolted after a cat – he rarely does that, so it was clearly a very special cat – I twisted my ankle. Ta da! Pain in the back, hip and knee.
But I had a really, really grand bruise on my butt for a long time. I mean, Guiness Records worthy in size. Which of course proves that having a grandly padded ass can really be a benefit. Because had I actually been in shape, I most definitely would have broken something.
So you can see how it might be difficult to be creative with all of the barking and fatigue and constant distractions. But on the bright side, Scout – who was given 30 days to live last May – has had 7+ great, normal months, outside of the need to pee every 2 or 3 hours every night. So it’s been a worthwhile trade off.
There you have it: things are pretty much the same as the last time we met. We’re still looking for a home for Bailey – you can read more here. We’re hoping Scout stays as healthy for as long as possible, and when his time comes he goes peacefully in his sleep. (God willing) And I need to go now, because Bandit has stolen my shoes – again.
It is with a very, very heavy heart that I report that we’ve made the decision to find a new home for Bailey. It’s not because she’s a bad dog. It’s because she and Bandit are like oil and water, and it’s become very clear that they can’t live together in the same house peacefully or safely.
I’ve sat down a few times to tell the whole story of Bailey, but it’s too difficult to think about losing a member of our family, and to think about how confusing this must be for her. For now, I’ll just tell you about Bailey and what a great dog she is in the hopes that someone out there may need the loving canine companionship she can give. Continue reading “Rehoming Bailey – knowing when it’s time to let go (with UPDATES)”
Every publication that I write for wants a photo of me to run with my bio. Unfortunately, I take terrible photos. I’ve tried to get darling husband to take a candid picture, but he likes to kneel down and shoot up at his subjects. Which, as you know, makes the object appear larger. Great if you’re a white tail buck. Not great if you’re an overweight, middle aged woman.
I planned to have get a professional shot done, but I used the money I’d set aside for the photo to get highlights in my hair so I’d look pretty for my photo. I’m not a great financial planner. So sue me.
So today I made another attempt to take a photo of myself using the timer option on my handy dandy camera. I hoped to get one of the animals in there as well. I did my hair, put on make up with care (foundation, blush, lipstick, the whole nine yards). I found a pretty scarf to hide my ugly neck. And I tried to create a semi-acceptable background.
Well, this picture kind of sums up how it went.
Photo shoot, Funny Farm style
I hauled a stool around to set the camera on; I tried to hang a sheet for a neutral background. I ended up with sweat running down my face, my hair frizzing, the cat pulling the sheet down as I put it up. I hauled the kit and kaboodle outside and used the sports mode to take 100 frames in a few seconds, hoping to get one decent frame out of … well, about 400. I cropped this one to show my sister my new highlights; you can’t see Bailey licking my feet.
Pretty highlights that I got instead of paying for a professional photo. By the time I save up enough for the photo, my gray roots will have grown back in.
I was able to salvage a couple of fair snapshots – certainly not professional by any stretch of the imagination. But hopefully one is usable enough for the blogs that needs a picture of me. Personally, I’d like to use the one with Bandit’s big yawn. It’s the best representation of life here at the Funny Farm. But what do you think?
Sheet managed to stay up, Murphy trying to escape. This might be the only photo I can actually use.
Sometimes you know the minute you roll out of bed that it’s going to be “one of those days.” This morning, I should have stayed in bed.
Not that anything tragic or horrible happened. It was just one of those dreary, frustrating days when you’re reminded that sometimes you’re the dog and sometimes you’re the hydrant.
We’ve had a bloody mystery on our hands the last week or so. We’ve found a small pool of blood drips in the bathroom and then blood in the dog’s water bowl. After giving the dogs all a once over and eliminating them one by one based on who had access to what rooms at the time, I narrowed it down to Murphy the cat or Scout.
Murphy didn’t appear to have any problems,but he was sitting over the water bowl when I found the blood in it. But given Scout’s current medical status (and the fact that he seemed to have some dried blood in one nostril) I assumed it was him.
Obviously the fact that Scout has cancer makes it a little scary. So I took him to see our reliable vet, Dr. Hawkins. She checked his lymph nodes (not noticably larger than before; yay for the Prednisone!) and did some blood work. One concern was that maybe his platelets were low. But ta da! Scout’s in great health! Except for something in his liver numbers, which is completely due to the Prednisone, and even then she said it wasn’t that bad, his blood work was perfect. For a dog who was given 30 days to live back in May, he’s doing great.
She told me to keep an eye on the other dogs, because it was possible one of them was bleeding. So the mystery was unsolved. Until today.
Scout was out in the backyard having a wild barking romp at the neighbor mowing the lawn. When I went out to lure him inside, I could see that his mouth was covered in bright red blood. While the blood seemed to be mostly in his mouth, I suspect it is because he was licking his bleeding nose.
So now we wait to see what Dr. Hawkins thinks is the next step. It’s kind of scary, because I forget that Scout is actually, really sick. Canine lymphona. Diagnosed by an oncologist and everything. But he’s gained weight, he’s acting fine – even when his nose was bleeding he was romping around like a wild animal with Bailey and Bandit – and if you didn’t know he was sick, you wouldn’t believe it. I have a hard time believing it.
Hopefully this is something simple and non-life threatening. I’ll keep you posted!
I’m almost afraid to say this out loud, for fear of jinxing the relative animal calm that has descended on us this week. But believe it or not, no one is sick at The Funny Farm.
Excuse me while I go knock on some wood.
Scout, while still dealing with cancer, is doing great. Eating, playing, acting like his normal self.
Bailey’s latest urine culture came back negative, so after more than four months fighting a urinary tract infection, she’s fine. And despite a little bout of barfing and diarrhea this week, she’s clearly feeling much better, as you can see from her video. (She learned how to play ball from her big brother Scout.)
Bandit is … well, Bandit.
Murphy caught a bat this week, and apparently was none the worse for the wear from that little adventure.
The chickens’ latest stool sample came back with no parasites, so we’re cleared to eat eggs again – after maybe six months of treatment.
In other words … outside of the appointment we have with Dr. Hall next week to discuss managing Bailey’s pain from hip dysplasia, no one needs to go to the vet.
Mark it on the calendar, folks. It’s been a long time.
Today was the kick off for the next round of the ASPCA’s Shelter Challenge, and Rochester Animal Services hosted a little party in the park, with special guests from the WNY Flash women’s soccer team.
I headed down to take some pictures for the dog blog, and I debated bringing Scout. You know how much he loves to play soccer in the backyard, and how good he is with the ball. I thought he’d have some fun. But I also know how squirrely he gets in strange situations and crowds, and I didn’t want to overwhelm him in the heat, either. So I left him home.
When I got downtown, there wasn’t a big crowd (it’s hard to compete with opening day of Bills training camp). So I went home and got Scout.
I’m so glad I did! He was happy to get in the car, happy on the ride, and when we got there and he saw the soccer balls? In doggie heaven.
Forget about the people and the other dogs. All he saw was the ball. I dropped the leash, kicked him a ball, and away he went. Kaley Fountain of the WNY Flash spent some time with Scout running up and down the field and kicking the ball. A few times he looked to me as if to say, “This is OK, right?” Yup, it’s OK. Go, Scout, go! And then away he went.
If she had been up for it, I think he would have gone home with her.
Scout and Kaley Fountain from the WNY Flash
The girls had to take time for some photos with the shelter dogs, and then Scout went to play with the guys doing the soccer clinic. No kids? A dog will do.
It was a great day for my happy pup. I’d been worried since we found out he was sick that he might be prone to injury or something. But this week Dr. Hall said that she’d let him be a dog and not to worry.
You know, God really does take care of things, even our dogs. I know it seems silly to some people, but watching my pup out there running around made me so happy. I know God cares about him even more than I do and I’m glad his last days – if these even are his last days; I think he’ll be here till Christmas – are filled with the things he loves.
Yesterday was a brilliantly wonderful day here at The Funny Farm: Scout had a follow up appointment with Dr. Hall and the outcome was lovely. Lovely!
We’re two months post cancer diagnosis, when the canine oncologist basically gave Scout 30 days to live without chemo. As you know, for a variety of reasons we opted for prednisone and alternative therapy with Dr. Kathleen Hall at Suburban Animal Hospital. My hope was that if Scout only had 30 days, they would have 30 good days. Anything beyond that would be a blessing.
That was two months ago, and after our appointment with Dr. Hall yesterday, it’s looking like he may be here for another month or two … or more.
First of all, Scout’s gained 7 lbs. since he saw Dr. Hall on June 8. One of her concerns at the time was that dogs with cancer in their intestinal tract have difficulty keeping on weight with the low carb diet. So that was one big hurdle overcome.
She also was pleasantly surprised at his coloring; prednisone can make him hot, and cause excess panting, dry mouth, cracked tongue, etc. But he looks wonderful. His tongue is a lovely pink (not red), she said he looked happy, and his body condition was perfect. I’m sure she could still feel his enlarged spleen and nodes, but his weight was good, his attitude was good. She said she wasn’t expecting him to be doing so well.
She didn’t make any changes and told us she wanted to see him in two months. Two months!
She said that obviously things can always take a turn for the worse in an instant, so if there are problems to let her know right away and we can adjust his meds or herbs. But she didn’t see anything that would make her think he wouldn’t be here in two months.
We also talked about how I’ve kind of decided to pretend like he’s not sick. We treat his meds like treats, and have stopped talking about it or crying about it. (Although I do have moments.) She said that a positive outlook is probably a big part of his remaining stable and happy.
It doesn’t hurt that Scout loves Dr. Hall. When we go there, he and I sit in a a huge examining room that has a rug (to keep his feet from slipping) and lots of light and space, and we play bubbles until Dr Hall comes in. When she does, he goes right to her, licks her and then rolls over and wiggles. That just doesn’t happen at the vet. She says the room has “good chi.” I just think she’s super nice and Scout knows it.
Anyway, thanks for your prayers for my pup – he’s doing well! I’ll keep you posted!
I was sitting on the floor in the lobby of the veterinarian’s office, blowing soap bubbles for Scout while we waited for our medications after our counsultation with Dr. Hall, a holistic doctor.
A woman sitting near us was watching as Scout happily pounced on the bubbles and then stared intently into my eyes as he waited for the next wave of the bubble wand.
“He’s so smart,” the woman said. Smart, beautiful, well behaved, lovely, she said. I know this, of course, know that this dog is one in a million with his gentle spirit and simple needs. I also know that by the end of summer, he may be gone.
I didn’t know how to reply to the woman, but I also didn’t expect what came out of my mouth: “He’s dying,” I said. “He has cancer. It’s breaking my heart.”
Her eyes welled up. “Oh my God,” she said. “That’s terrible!”
We both looked at Scout, who was standing still, eyes locked on the bottle of bubble fluid in my hands.
“I’m in denial,” I said to the woman, “and he clearly has no idea what’s going on right now. So we just act like nothing’s wrong.” We both smiled. She’d been there, too. It’s easier to just pretend like everyone is fine, because the alternative is much too difficult to think about.
* * * * *
Scout and I had been to see Dr. Hall, a veterinarian who specializes in acupunture and Chinese medicinal herbs to discuss ways to keep Scout healthy for as long as possible. I’ve never considered myself into “New Age”, but the truth is that what Dr. Hall shared with me makes perfect sense. That our bodies – and those of our dogs – are created in balance, and that our bad diets and unhealthy lifestyles and genetic mutations tip that balance. Using herbs and diet and massage and acupressure and acupunture, we can help put things back into balance. Continue reading “A dying dog, holistic care, and the next step with Scout”
Scout after a round of water dog, chasing soap bubbles, and playing catch.
In going through some old posts, I realized that I never updated you on Scout’s progress or our decision about treatment.
Part of that may be the fact that I really don’t want to think about it. Yes, I’m in denial. It’s a lovely place to live. You should join me here sometime.
After much discussion, we opted to not pursue chemo. It’s a quality of life decision. Just going to the vet is often traumatic for Scout, and a weekly visit to the hospital, where he’d be on an IV every third week and possibly with sedatives, just isn’t the way we want him to spend his last days. I was more confident after the oncologist said that he may not even survive the six months of chemo treatments. If in fact the cancer is in his intestinal tract, his prognisis is very dim. Continue reading “Update from the Funny Farm – Scout’s progress, my new job, and other mildly interesting things”
I just got off the phone with Dr Koch, and the diagnosis is lymphoma. A high grade lymphoma, he said. If the … what do they call the person who reads these tests? A radiologist? … had only had the gastrointestinal samples it would have been inconclusive. But the lymph nodes in Scout’s neck and spleen were clear: lymphoma.
We’ll see an oncologist next week – is it bad I took the first appointment, which means I can’t work the first day I’m supposed to at my new job? – and decide where to go from here. No treatment means a quick decline; chemo may buy him some quality months and a teeny chance of a year. It comes at a cost of … we’re talking several thousand dollars.
I’m still trying to get my head around the fact that the dog who is romping around the back yard chasing soap bubbles is dying.
Notes From The Funny Farm 