Wish us luck, and have a great 4th of July weekend!
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Mt. Bachelor Kennel Club Agility Trial
Cedes and I are headed off today to Redmond, OR for the AKC agility trial there this weekend. We are entered in Open standard, JWW and FAST. No Time 2 Beat, as I feel like 3 classes for three days in a row is MORE than enough for us right now.
Wish us luck, and have a great 4th of July weekend!
Wish us luck, and have a great 4th of July weekend!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
The Exciting Adventures of Moss at the Vet
The sneezing started Monday afternoon, progressing to wheezing and lethargy by Monday night, pawing at the face and general misery by Tuesday morning.
Clearly, whatever was in Moss's nose was not going to get better on its own. I feared foxtail; a quick post to my facebook friends (most of which are very knowledgeable dog people) confirmed that the best option was to take him to the vet.
After all, foxtails are freaking dangerous.
Crap.
The problem? I just moved to Kennewick, know like two people other than my husband, and don't know anything about the vets in my area. So, armed with Google, I picked the first vet that was somewhat close. Ironically, they have the same name as my vet in Boise: Vista Veterinary Hospital.
In an oddly fortuitous turn, they had an appointment at 10:30, ten minutes from the time of my call. I snapped it up, in spite of the receptionist's obvious sigh of disapproval when she asked if Moss was neutered and I said no. Anyways... I threw on some clothes (it can't be called an "outfit"), and dragged my husband and Mr. Wheezy McGee (aka Moss) into the car. By this time, Moss's eyes were all squinty and he looked really uncomfortable. He just wasn't acting like himself, and I was worried.
After filling out some "new patient" paperwork at the vet, we were ushered into an exam room to wait for the doctor. When he came in, I was struck by just how YOUNG he looked. A year or two older than me, tops. Luckily, he was fantastic. He checked Moss over, couldn't see much, and then laid out our options for Moss:
1) take him home and wait it out for a few days.
2) put him under anesthetic and look up his nose with a scope and try to get whatever is in there out.
3) bring out the big guns and take him to the vet hospital in Pullman.
Option one, while the cheapest, really did nothing to fix Moss's discomfort. Plus, we'd already spent 60 bucks for an exam. I wanted to get this whole thing figured out, and pronto. Option three seemed like a little, well, much. Moss wasn't sneezing blood or anything.
We decided to go with the second option, and left Moss at the vet for a few hours to get the procedure done. Leaving him was really hard for both Joe and I. We were both grim and nervous the whole afternoon.
3 PM couldn't come fast enough. After waiting around for awhile, we were shown to the office conference room, where the vet came and talked with us about the procedure and Moss's treatment. They did not end up finding anything in Moss's nose (ugh, of course, right?), but his nasal cavities and throat were extremely inflamed and they did find some pus. They flushed his nose out extensively and gave him a shot of a strong anti-inflammatory.
The showed us some pictures of Moss's throat, too, which were cool. Here's one for your viewing pleasure :-P
Moss was still pretty doped up when we were allowed to take him home... a bit unsteady on his feet, whimpering softly and with a far away look in his eyes like a druggie who woke up fifty miles away from where he fell asleep, wearing someone else's pants. It wasn't his best day :-P
This is your Moss on drugs:
After we got home, I spent a few hours hanging out with Moss on the couch, feeding him some ice cream, and making sure he was okay.
He hasn't sneezed since.
Cross your fingers that they got whatever was bugging him out of his system and that he doesn't have a foxtail migrating slowly towards his brain.
Oh, and if anyone in the Tri Cities is looking for a vet, Dr. Matt Stidham at Vista Vet is awesome! He gave me his cell number to call in case Moss wasn't doing any better, since he won't be in the office today. What a nice guy and a good vet, too.
Clearly, whatever was in Moss's nose was not going to get better on its own. I feared foxtail; a quick post to my facebook friends (most of which are very knowledgeable dog people) confirmed that the best option was to take him to the vet.
After all, foxtails are freaking dangerous.
Crap.
The problem? I just moved to Kennewick, know like two people other than my husband, and don't know anything about the vets in my area. So, armed with Google, I picked the first vet that was somewhat close. Ironically, they have the same name as my vet in Boise: Vista Veterinary Hospital.
In an oddly fortuitous turn, they had an appointment at 10:30, ten minutes from the time of my call. I snapped it up, in spite of the receptionist's obvious sigh of disapproval when she asked if Moss was neutered and I said no. Anyways... I threw on some clothes (it can't be called an "outfit"), and dragged my husband and Mr. Wheezy McGee (aka Moss) into the car. By this time, Moss's eyes were all squinty and he looked really uncomfortable. He just wasn't acting like himself, and I was worried.
After filling out some "new patient" paperwork at the vet, we were ushered into an exam room to wait for the doctor. When he came in, I was struck by just how YOUNG he looked. A year or two older than me, tops. Luckily, he was fantastic. He checked Moss over, couldn't see much, and then laid out our options for Moss:
1) take him home and wait it out for a few days.
2) put him under anesthetic and look up his nose with a scope and try to get whatever is in there out.
3) bring out the big guns and take him to the vet hospital in Pullman.
Option one, while the cheapest, really did nothing to fix Moss's discomfort. Plus, we'd already spent 60 bucks for an exam. I wanted to get this whole thing figured out, and pronto. Option three seemed like a little, well, much. Moss wasn't sneezing blood or anything.
We decided to go with the second option, and left Moss at the vet for a few hours to get the procedure done. Leaving him was really hard for both Joe and I. We were both grim and nervous the whole afternoon.
3 PM couldn't come fast enough. After waiting around for awhile, we were shown to the office conference room, where the vet came and talked with us about the procedure and Moss's treatment. They did not end up finding anything in Moss's nose (ugh, of course, right?), but his nasal cavities and throat were extremely inflamed and they did find some pus. They flushed his nose out extensively and gave him a shot of a strong anti-inflammatory.
The showed us some pictures of Moss's throat, too, which were cool. Here's one for your viewing pleasure :-P
Moss was still pretty doped up when we were allowed to take him home... a bit unsteady on his feet, whimpering softly and with a far away look in his eyes like a druggie who woke up fifty miles away from where he fell asleep, wearing someone else's pants. It wasn't his best day :-P
This is your Moss on drugs:
After we got home, I spent a few hours hanging out with Moss on the couch, feeding him some ice cream, and making sure he was okay.
He hasn't sneezed since.
Cross your fingers that they got whatever was bugging him out of his system and that he doesn't have a foxtail migrating slowly towards his brain.
Oh, and if anyone in the Tri Cities is looking for a vet, Dr. Matt Stidham at Vista Vet is awesome! He gave me his cell number to call in case Moss wasn't doing any better, since he won't be in the office today. What a nice guy and a good vet, too.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Catching Up
Okay, so I've been a ghost lately. But I've had a lot going on... with moving and all :)
I have had time, however, to bathe and groom all three of the dogs. Of the three, Cedar is the only one who enjoys the process. She loves the grooming table so much that sometimes I'll go outside and find her laying on it <3. She holds up each of her legs for brushing and has a really happy look on her face. I love her :)
She does, however, get a bit tired of getting her picture taken after awhile.
Moss, on the other hand, HATES grooming. He would much rather be out playing fetch, working sheep, or otherwise getting covered in dirt.
In other words, he'd rather be like this:
...than this:
Scully could care less about grooming either way. I think she enjoys being clean, but she also likes to roll around in the dirt.
All of us are starting to feel more settled into our new house and new town. I'm still awfully homesick, though.
I have had time, however, to bathe and groom all three of the dogs. Of the three, Cedar is the only one who enjoys the process. She loves the grooming table so much that sometimes I'll go outside and find her laying on it <3. She holds up each of her legs for brushing and has a really happy look on her face. I love her :)
She does, however, get a bit tired of getting her picture taken after awhile.
Moss, on the other hand, HATES grooming. He would much rather be out playing fetch, working sheep, or otherwise getting covered in dirt.
In other words, he'd rather be like this:
...than this:
Scully could care less about grooming either way. I think she enjoys being clean, but she also likes to roll around in the dirt.
All of us are starting to feel more settled into our new house and new town. I'm still awfully homesick, though.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
CONTEST WINNERS LOOK HERE
Well... I've managed to not forget about the contest, and today Cedes and I picked out the winners via random draw.
*Drumroll*
1) Megan Donovan for her entry, "Discovery Channel" by the Bloodhound Gang
2) Aimee Towell for her rivoting choice, "You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC
Great choices!
Megan and Aimee each get their choice of one of the following:
1) One Dog At A Time: Saving the Strays of Afghanistan, by Pen Farthing
Farthing, a British Royal Marine, describes his struggles to save stray dogs languishing and dying in the streets of wartorn Afghanistan. Already burdened with the responsibility of overseeing and protecting his 20-man crew of Marines, Farthing becomes consumed with the suffering of the strays and risks his own life to rescue them--he fights with police and risks walking into a Taliban trap to save a dog with a wire noose around its neck, knowing that without his intervention, the dog will starve to death or strangle itself. Soon he finds himself developing plans to save strays from dogfighting, a centuries-old local tradition that usually requires the removal of ears and tails without anesthetic, and adopts a former fighting dog he names Nowzad. Today, Nowzad happily resides in the Farthing household as his owners continue their quest to save thousands of suffering strays. Farthing's remarkable story will inspire, shock, and move readers, introducing them, perhaps for the first time, to war's most voiceless and unintentional victims.
or
2) A Kong Extreme dog toy (my dogs LOVED theirs... until I lost it in the move :(
Here are the other song choices entered in the contest:
--Buck Cherry, "Crazy Bitch"
--Snoop Dog, "Doggie style"
Not a big contest, but a fun one! Winners, please contact me via email to claim your prize :)
*Drumroll*
1) Megan Donovan for her entry, "Discovery Channel" by the Bloodhound Gang
2) Aimee Towell for her rivoting choice, "You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC
Great choices!
Megan and Aimee each get their choice of one of the following:
1) One Dog At A Time: Saving the Strays of Afghanistan, by Pen Farthing
Farthing, a British Royal Marine, describes his struggles to save stray dogs languishing and dying in the streets of wartorn Afghanistan. Already burdened with the responsibility of overseeing and protecting his 20-man crew of Marines, Farthing becomes consumed with the suffering of the strays and risks his own life to rescue them--he fights with police and risks walking into a Taliban trap to save a dog with a wire noose around its neck, knowing that without his intervention, the dog will starve to death or strangle itself. Soon he finds himself developing plans to save strays from dogfighting, a centuries-old local tradition that usually requires the removal of ears and tails without anesthetic, and adopts a former fighting dog he names Nowzad. Today, Nowzad happily resides in the Farthing household as his owners continue their quest to save thousands of suffering strays. Farthing's remarkable story will inspire, shock, and move readers, introducing them, perhaps for the first time, to war's most voiceless and unintentional victims.
or
2) A Kong Extreme dog toy (my dogs LOVED theirs... until I lost it in the move :(
Here are the other song choices entered in the contest:
--Buck Cherry, "Crazy Bitch"
--Snoop Dog, "Doggie style"
Not a big contest, but a fun one! Winners, please contact me via email to claim your prize :)
Wild Thing... I Think You Move Me
Wow... I can't believe how long it's been since I wrote a new post! I've been just a little bit busy with life over these past few weeks... an inter-state move tends to do that to a person!
I've been in Kennewick since Sunday afternoon, and still feel very disoriented and out of place. I am also still adjusting to the time change, so I'm tired a lot, too. All of our stuff was moved in on Monday, and I'm slowly getting things unpacked. The kitchen, office, and living room are mostly done...the bedroom and other living room still have a ways to go. I will get some pictures of the house to show y'all after everything gets unpacked. Right now I'm just trying to get everything sorted out with the house, try not to feel homesick for Boise, make sure the dogs get settled in, and adjust to living with another person again. No small feat for someone who doesn't like change. Hah! ;)
Last week was a week of goodbyes. I moved out of my house once the movers came and packed up everything, and stayed with my parents for a few days. It was good getting to see them a lot before I left.
I also said goodbye to my agility friends, which was really hard. I was able to get out and practice three times last week, in spite of all the craziness. On Saturday, we all went out to dinner. Everyone gave me cards, and I even got a few gifts. I was really touched. I will miss all my agility friends and hope to drive back to Boise often to visit and practice. And, of course, I'll still get to see them at trials so it's not like I'm leaving them forever (at least that's what I tell myself ;)
I've got a lot of really fun things coming up over the next month and a half or so... more about that later. I have to get back to unpacking!
I've been in Kennewick since Sunday afternoon, and still feel very disoriented and out of place. I am also still adjusting to the time change, so I'm tired a lot, too. All of our stuff was moved in on Monday, and I'm slowly getting things unpacked. The kitchen, office, and living room are mostly done...the bedroom and other living room still have a ways to go. I will get some pictures of the house to show y'all after everything gets unpacked. Right now I'm just trying to get everything sorted out with the house, try not to feel homesick for Boise, make sure the dogs get settled in, and adjust to living with another person again. No small feat for someone who doesn't like change. Hah! ;)
Last week was a week of goodbyes. I moved out of my house once the movers came and packed up everything, and stayed with my parents for a few days. It was good getting to see them a lot before I left.
I also said goodbye to my agility friends, which was really hard. I was able to get out and practice three times last week, in spite of all the craziness. On Saturday, we all went out to dinner. Everyone gave me cards, and I even got a few gifts. I was really touched. I will miss all my agility friends and hope to drive back to Boise often to visit and practice. And, of course, I'll still get to see them at trials so it's not like I'm leaving them forever (at least that's what I tell myself ;)
I've got a lot of really fun things coming up over the next month and a half or so... more about that later. I have to get back to unpacking!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
