Buster is feeling much better!
He's still very skinny/underweight but he's running around, jumping on the couch, humping Junior's butt, and stealing my panties like his old self.
Dogs
June 24, 2008
June 23, 2008
Waiting for one last throw before I go
Goodbye, crazed Mudgekins.
I have freed his ball from its thorny prison
Mudge is so happy!!!
Mudge wants this ball more than a crack whore wants crack
But the thorny roses are keeping him from his beloved.
Poor Mudge. :(
June 22, 2008
Ugh. Morning.
It's bad enough that Mom put me in the room with all the skylights... now my brother is bringing the dog upstairs to jump on me and get me out of bed.
Update: He videoed the dog attack. Fortunately, Mudge was more interested in attacking his dog bed than jumping on me.
MRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK
June 21, 2008
It's Mudge!
El perro es muy peligroso!
Peligro Perro Bravo
Oh no! What danger lurks within?
June 20, 2008
The neighbor's dog is back
Is he here to investigate the gnomenapping?
Neighbor dog 1 of 2
They come over for dog biscuits and to defend us from the evil meter reader.
June 19, 2008
The sickly one
He is still tuckered out.
June 17, 2008
Our dachshunds' brush with death
Hubby and I were planning to fly to Seattle on Thursday for a 4 day family visit to include my father's 65th birthday and a big family reunion.
So, Monday, Hubby took the dogs in for their annual booster shots so they'd be all caught up on their vaccinations before we boarded them. Both dogs threw up right after the shots, but the vet wasn't concerned and said it was a pretty common reaction. Hubby brought the dogs home.
When he got them home, Buster wouldn't come out of his carrier. Hubby pulled him out and discovered that he had pooped himself with diarrhea. Buster also wouldn't walk or stand. He just laid on the floor breathing funny.
As Hubby prepared to take him back to the vet I started researching online and discovered that Buster was displaying classic symptoms of an anaphylactic shock allergic reaction to vaccination. Apparently the progression is vomiting, diarrhea, convulsions, coma, then death.
Fortunately, we caught it in between diarrhea and convulsions. Hubby got Buster back to the vet and they gave him a shot of antihistamine and steroids, hooked him up to an IV and sent Hubby home while they kept the dog for observation.
By the time Hubby arrived home, our other dog, Junior, had begun scratching at his face. This was an early symptom of a less severe but still potentially deadly allergic reaction of hives and swelling. Sometimes the swelling closes the airway so Junior had to go back to the vet for shots and observation as well.
We ended up leaving both dogs there overnight, both to ensure that they could continue to receive IVs and other care as necessary, and because we were completely freaked out and exhausted and would not be able to rest if we felt compelled to wake up every 5 minutes and check on them ourselves.
Hubby picked them up this morning. Junior seems to be fine. Buster is still quite sick -- pooping blood, not eating, unable to rest comfortably, wheezing, coughing, and hobbling around looking miserable.
Although Buster appears to be on the road to recovery, we're still concerned because one of the things I read when I was researching this is that anaphylactic shock can cause permanent damage to the dog's liver, stomach, or intestines. So we are waiting to see if he develops any other problems.
Another couple of interesting things turned up during my research:
Dachshunds, especially miniature dachshunds, as a breed are extremely prone to allergic reactions to vaccines. So much so that there is a researcher at Purdue University's School of Veterinary Medicine studying dachshund vaccine allergic reactions. I contacted him and we will be sending him samples of our dogs' blood for his study. He believes that the allergy is to a protein that is created as a byproduct of the vaccine manufacturing product, but he needs to narrow down which protein and then which vaccines it is in.
Also, I found several sites arguing that annual booster shots for dogs are an unnecessary practice. They say the reason dogs receive annual vaccinations is that there wasn't any research on the continued efficacy of dog vaccinations after one year. So the vaccine manufacturers recommended that all dogs be re-vaccinated annually, and most vets go along with this. Now there is new research emerging that shows that dogs are actually immune for life or several (5+) years after their initial vaccinations, which means annual booster shots are unnecessary and not worth the risk of potentially deadly allergic reactions. I need to do more research on this to discover how credible these assertions are in case they are just the dog version of the OMG VACCINES CAUSE AUTISM! myth.
Unfortunately, with Buster still as sick as he is, Hubby is going to have to stay home and keep an eye on him. A small kennel is a really bad place for a dog with diarrhea. Also, we just can't trust the boarding place staff to monitor him frequently and closely enough. (The last time we boarded our dogs with a vet, they came home 20% underweight and severely dehydrated. We got a new vet! But it shows that you can't trust these places to take sufficient care of a healthy dog, much less a sick one.) So I will be flying to Seattle alone on Thursday.
June 15, 2008
Peanut butter lickfest!
When I get bored I smear peanut butter all over the dogs' faces and watch them lick it off each other.
June 14, 2008
June 11, 2008
Extra pounds on my butt
Despite my diet I seem to have suddenly gained an extra 10 lbs on my butt!
May 31, 2008
CREEP IN DARK
HORRIBLE!
May 24, 2008
Dachshund debate-watching party
They want to know the candidates' positions on mandatory spay and neuter laws.
May 18, 2008
Clean wieners
The "after" shot.
