Did we tell you that on Thursday, Mom is getting a totally new left knee? Not just part of her knee, the whole freakin’ thing. She doesn’t know when she will be ready to start blogging about our adventures again, but worse, when will she get down on the floor and play with us? Her goal is to start walking Jolie again by summer. That would be awesome we think.
Charlie doesn’t go for walks anymore because of his heart, but he can at least come to the stop sign on the corner when Mom is ready. Until then, Mom is going to post some memories on Wednesdays for you to enjoy. Hopefully, you will see us back on the internet real soon.
Charles here to explain some really important life-saving things to you:
It is always a good idea, before something happens medically, to have a thought about what you should do. Now that I have seizures and collapse sometimes from congestive heart failure, my Mom really needed to learn more about the steps to take if/when bad things happen.
I want to focus on my 2 medical issues: Seizures and Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)
SEIZURES
Please make sure that I am in a safe place. Move me if you have to. I should not be somewhere, like a bed, that I can roll off of.
Move me away from toys or other things that might hurt me (even furniture) while I am in the event.
Try to keep other animals away so that they don’t bother me (or me scare them).
Don’t try to hold me or stop me from doing what my body needs to do.
If you have emergency medication, like Diazepam, administer it as soon as I come out of the event.
When I come out of the event, if I peed on myself, or did other stuff, just wrap me in a towel or blanket until I know where I am.
Make sure there is water nearby because I could be thirsty.
I may wander around the house because seizures can be very disorienting to me. Don’t worry but keep me safe.
Since I have already been diagnosed with a seizure disorder, contact the Vet if my seizure lasts more than 2 or 3 minutes or if I have a cluster of them.
CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE
Please make sure that I get my medicines several times a day, because they are keeping me alive. (Furosemide and Pimobendan).
Make sure that there is always fresh water around because I get dehydrated.
I am pretty stable right now, but if I collapse on my meds, emergency treatment may be required. Don’t wait, get me to the emergency vet if I collapse and do not respond within 30 to 40 seconds of the event.
Check if my heart is beating. If it isn’t do the following to resuscitate me:
Lay me on my right side on the floor (my heart is located in the lower half of my chest on the left side).
With your hands around me, gently press down on my heart (I am little so you don’t need much force).
Massage my heart (with your hands around my chest, fingers on the right side, and your thumb on the left side, and compress the chest by squeezing it between your thumb and fingers 100-150 times a minute (because I am so little). Around 80-120 for bigger animals.
Keep doing this for about 4 to 5 minutes while on the way to the Vet. Hopefully, you will hear a heartbeat and my breathing will return to normal.
I know that emergency medical treatment is the best way to save my life and the life of other animals with medical issues. But I do want you to know about other serious medical emergencies that happen every day especially, POISONING and EXPOSURE to TOXINS. Please make sure that you learn how to take care of those. You should have the number of your local Animal Poison Control hotline on your fridge (ASPCA # 888-426-4435 (there is a fee for the consultation)).
Mini Cooper has always loved FishTV. She watches the fish tanks for hours. When she discovered that there was a little slit in the top of the kitchen tank, she decided it would be a good time to take a taste. As you can see if you look closely the fish are not phased by her at all. They must be so used to her presence at this point it is just another day at the FISHDaz zoo.
Charles had to go back to the vet (going to vet pictures above) to make sure all the heart medicine for his advanced congestive heart failure (see post on March 21: Charles’ 2d Chance) was OK. Jolie, of course, suffering from FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out), came for moral support. Well maybe Charles was her support, but I digress…
Charles at the Vet with Jolie butting in as usual
Dr. Buchanan said everything is looking good. We are watching his liver and kidneys and all that stuff because between the Phenobarbital, for seizures, and the VetMedIn and Lasix, for the heart, his poor little organs are under a lot of strain. But Charles does not know this, so he is as happy as a lark.(Coming home from the vet – smiling – pictures below.)
One side effect of these meds is that he is really hungry. I mean, eat the wallpaper hungry. He is not only constantly barking at us and demanding more than ever (he is a Pomeranian CHIHUAHUA as you know and currently we must place a very heavy accent on the little demanding dog part of the breed), but now he has taken to jumping up at my arm when I am in the recliner and giving a little nip if I am not listening to him (since I try hard to ignore him if I can).
We are really glad that Mr. New-lease-on-life is still with us, but we really would like to watch at least one TV show undisturbed.
He finally did conk out after all that excitement at the vet, at least for a little while.
We got our spring hair/fur cuts and Sonya, our groomer extraordinaire, gave us cute little shamrock bandanas. Do we look Irish? March 17th is the Feast of Saint Patrick. He was the patron saint of Ireland around the year 461 and supposedly March 17 is when he died.
Though it is an Irish thing, we celebrate it big here in the US. Actually, according to Wikipedia.com, it is celebrated bigger in North America than in Ireland. Americans have actually had parades since the 1600s to celebrate.
We have a lot of Irish friends: Irish Wolfhounds, Irish Terriers, Wheaten Terriers, Kerry Blue Terriers, Irish Setters, Irish Water Spaniels, and who could forget the cutest little Glen of Imaal Terrier.
Well, maybe we don’t look Irish, but everyone can be Irish for one day. Now, where is that pot of gold they talk about at the end of the rainbow?
It snowed. Yes, it really did for like a day. Then we broke a record for heat. Then it got cold again. Welcome to life in Maryland. We have crazy seasons, but this year has been the craziest. Hottest February on record they say. We are catching every ray of sun we can because you never know when it will start hailing. In Maryland, we can pretty much experience all 4 seasons in one day. Grab that sun when you can!
How has your winter been? I know some of you are snowed under. Stay warm. Spring is coming.
You smell interesting. What did you have for dinner? Can I have some? Let me sniff some more. This is my Mom and I really don’t feel like sharing her lap with you. But maybe. You do smell good.
I noticed that as the security guards we hire get smaller in size, they have a lot more yard to cover. They appear to get further and further from the big tree so that they can see what is happening. It looks to me like Charles and Jolie have worked out their parameter strategies. I must say that Jolie is very fast whenever a squirrel touches down.
I don’t know who I am more afraid of, the 2 ankle biters or the big 100 lb ball of fluff. Squash never barked unless he really meant it (and what a bark it was) vs the littles who never stop yapping.
Internet photo of male and female Eastern Bluebirds
We are blessed to have Eastern Bluebirds spending a great deal of time in the yard this year. It is probably because V has discovered that they love mealworms and is mixing them into the feeders. We have waited years for Bluebirds. V even put a Bluebird house, perfectly positioned on the big maple out front, so that we can watch it when doing dishes. Last year a male came and checked it out but never moved it. I wonder if he will try it again this year?
DogDaz Zoo 