It's Never Simple

Of course, Lanie's dental did not go off as planned.

The day before, I took her to the vet for a blood panel and an EKG. Her bloodwork came back perfect, but the EKG detect an abnormal beat or two over the space of 30 seconds. No big deal. The plan was to repeat the EKG with a longer duration in the morning.

The longer duration EKG was less than ideal. As seems standard with these things, the information is relayed over the phone to a company that specializes in interpreting it. They expressed concern over the results. Again, there was an abnormal beat or two; no clarification of what that actually means. They also said there were "indications" of an enlarged heart.

The vet working with me is trying to get more information from the EKG people, who insist that for a more in-depth analysis they will have to charge more. Meanwhile, an x-ray of Lanie's heart looks normal from the side and maybe, possibly "borderline" large from the top. Lungs are clear. She has no symptoms of any illness (other than the mental caseload she's always carried, obviously.)

So the vet recommends that we do an ultrasound of the heart to be extra-super-sure that Lanie does not have any enlargement issues.

If I were wealthy, this wouldn't be a problem. But I'm not. I'm really not. I checked. In fact, I checked right before I started writing this post and I'm still pretty not-wealthy. So I am left trying to decide if I want to give my dog a $300 ultrasound on a heart that might maybe be a little enlarged, so that we'll know that before she has dental surgery. Because she still needs her teeth cleaned and one of her canines probably needs to come out. That three hundred bucks is the money we have set aside for her dental.

She has no symptoms of anything. As far as anyone can tell, she's in perfect health and full of joyful, deranged energy. We're really unsure what we should do. Either way she's getting her teeth cleaned, but our choices are to get the ultrasound and put off her teeth until tax time, or get her teeth cleaned without an ultrasound and take our chances -- which we're doing anyway, given that Lanie is an elderly greyhound.

My favorite part of having this blog is reading the comments, especially when people share their own anecdotes. I don't think I've ever said that before. So I'm telling you now, I love the comments. I love the experiences, and I especially love the wisdom.

If you have any wisdom to offer here, I would love to hear it.

(Preemptively because I know some of you: Thank you deeply and sincerely but please don't construe this as a plea for financial aid. ;) )

I just helped. Your turn!

Do you have any idea how much a dog like this eats? I don't know myself, exactly, but I feel like it would be important to keep him fed.

For each blog that posts about the PEDIGREE® Adoption Drive through September 19^th, PEDIGREE® will donate a bag of their new Healthy Longevity Food for Dogs to shelters nationwide. It’s simple: Write a post, help a dog.

So I'm writing a post! If you haven't heard about this event, please check out the post on the Life With Dogs site here.

Twenty pounds is a lot of food. Maybe not for this guy...

Vegan Dog Cookies

I recently took part in an auction to help aid the greyhounds rescued from deplorable cruelty in Fort Worth, TX. Tomorrow I will be shipping boxes of these cookies to the kind souls who bid on them, with the hope that their pups aren't fussy.

I wish I had a better way to gauge how good they are. I mean, my dogs enjoyed the samples I tossed their way, but my dogs make questionable consumption choices on an hourly basis.

My husband ate one, though, and he said they were okay. Any horrible mistakes in this recipe come from the fact that I'm not used to writing down or remembering my recipes. They just sort of happen.

Peanut Butter Parsley Cookies

1 c. apple sauce
1 c. peanut butter (Such a pain to measure, I just eyeball this. Err on the side of more)
1 tsp. each baking soda and salt
1/4 oil (I used olive oil)
3 c. flour, approx. (I've used different kinds, go wild with your grain of choice)
Parsley (I used about an eighth of a cup dried, but suit your dog's taste and breath)

Combine the wet ingredients and mix thoroughly. Stir in the parsley. Add flour by the half-cup, incorporating it all before you add more. The dough may be a little sticky, but it should be workable. If you want to roll it out for shape-cutting you'll need more flour. I just dropped rounded tablespoons onto the cookie sheet and smooshed them flat with the bottom of a glass. (About a quarter of an inch thick or less, if you need to know that.)

Use a cookie sheet lined with foil and lightly coated with nonstick spray. If allowed to sit in between batches, the dough may start to look shiny and oily; mix it again before you form more cookies. Put them in a 350-degree oven for 15-17 minutes. Watch carefully! They seemed to go from "Almost Ready" to "HAHAHA BURNT!" in the space it takes a toddler to ask for help getting down off his dresser.

There's plenty of room for mix-ins here. Carob chips or carrot chunks or oats, whatever your dog likes. Please research any ingredient you add before giving it to your dog. Some surprising household snacks could be poison for your dog, which we discovered when Drive once ate an entire batch of oatmeal raisin dough. (He's fine! But we hauled his butt to the vet to make sure.)


Have fun! I apologize in advance if your dogs are more finicky than mine. ;)

Please help. You can make a difference.

Fundraising Auction

Five years post-retirement, this is what Drive's muscles look like. He does pretty well, for a spoiled boy who loves food and remains horizontal as much as possible. That's a greyhound "secret," that ability to sleep for 30 hours a day.

A friend once remarked to me, "I never knew dogs could have buttocks."

I need you to think about something else this morning, something aside from the glorious lump that is Drive. Drive is safe and loved, as are so many retirees and rescues all over the country. But there are some dogs that aren't safe, aren't loved. There are some greyhounds that were recently saved from unthinkable circumstances in Texas, and I need you to help them.

I am squeamish. I don't advertise that fact, being tough and whatnot, but I do not have the ability to look at graphic photographs of abused animals, so I will post none here. I will not link to any, either, in case you are the same. These dogs were starving, terribly ill, and infested with thousands of parasites, inside and out. One dog received an emergency transfusion while over 1,500 ticks were removed from his body.

“Fort Worth Animal Control Cruelty Investigation Officers took 28 dogs into custody Thursday night, July 8, 2010. GALT was contacted as greyhounds were included in the seize. At GALT’s request, Greyhounds Unlimited (GU) joined in this effort, as GALT and GU are the only adoption groups in the DFW/north Texas area to help stray and shelter greyhounds. Friday morning, representatives from GALT and GU met with Diane Whiteley, the Executive Director of the Texas Greyhound Association, to assess the dogs. Eight were taken by each group. Wednesday, July 14, GALT took one more female and with that now all 28 dogs are with adoption groups."

Additionally, a 29th dog was recovered later as a stray. He was two years old, and the best thing that I can tell you is that he was let go from a terrible, brief life while cradled in kind and loving arms. Kiowa Braden is at peace now and his suffering is ended.

So will you help the survivors? There's a link under the picture to a fund-raising auction for these dogs, and here are links for more information. I promise that as of this writing none of these links contain graphic images to upset us sensitive types, but the pictures I have seen of the "lesser" cases are heart-wrenching and nauseating.

Life With Dogs: Going Flat Out

GALT (Greyhound Adoption League of Texas)

Greyhounds Unlimited

And once again, the link to the fund-raising auction is here.

Thank you. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.

In Service

This post is semi-serious, so please know I won't be offended if you look at the pretty picture and leave. I understand.

When I tell you that Drive is my best friend, it isn't hyperbole or cliche. Plainly stated, there are days I would not get through if I could not bury my fingers in his fur or wrap my arms around his neck. This blog is not about me, but I live with mental illness and that is relevant to Drive. Before him, I didn't truly understand the miracle that is Dog. (That's a secular, science-type miracle, for what it's worth.)

Drive does not, I must tell you, have the necessary temperament to be an "official" service dog. The training would stress him deeply. I did have a trainer tell me recently he might "settle down with age."

"He's ten."

"... Oh."

So maybe not.

Are you aware that while most people see service dogs as large breed animals who hear and see, there is a whole separate category into which Drive could fall? I mean, if he could learn the commands and since it took me almost a year to teach him to go up some steps, I have my doubts and I won't force it on our relationship. If you're interested, here's a little information on "Emotional Support Animals."

When I say that Drive is my very best friend, I mean that deeply and truly. Over the past five years, through some of the hardest and darkest hours in my life, Drive has helped me live. He's helped me want to.

July

Please take a moment to look, if you're unaware of July and her family's situation.

From the "Retire July" blog:

Herman Burnett is a police officer at Lambert – St. Louis International Airport. He is assigned to the Canine Unit and has a bomb dog partner, July. July lives with and is part of the Burnett family.

Herman is retiring in January 2010 after 36 years with the City of St. Louis, the last 31 with the Lambert Airport PD, the last 15 years assigned to the Canine Division as a bomb dog handler.

Canine July belongs to the Federal Government, specifically the TSA. Herman would like July to be retired with him. Instead of retiring July, personnel at Lackland AFB want to have July shipped back to the kennels there, to eventually be paired with another handler located in another city.

We are hoping to reach someone who can help Officer Burnett keep his canine partner. If you know something, anything, anyone (maybe a friend in Washington D.C. ;) we would be forever grateful for your assistance!