Victory

So today I took Killian for a walk and we struck gold. Killian has always been horrible on a leash. He wants to be in control and in front there fore our entire walk is spent with Killian pulling. I hated taking him for walks because it was such a pain. Well for the last few months we have been working on how to walk properly (thanks Cesar Milan). And of course those methods were not working. They were resulting in more frustration for me.

So today, I took Killian out and to my amazement without any prompting he walked right next to me. Once or twice on our 30 minute walk he would try to get ahead and all I had to do was say his name and he stopped. I was so excited. This was the first good walk we have had and it was so enjoyable. I am hoping this wasn't a fluke and that are future walks will be as enjoyable as this one.

I will miss you

Well the day has come. I took Murphy in for exploratory surgery this morning and they discovered that he does have cancer and it is inoperable. I am going soon to pick him up and spend his last day with him. I am so incredibly sad right now that there is no way that I can describe it.

Murphy is my little trouble maker. He has been since the day we brought him home. Murphy loves to chew things--especially things he shouldn't like my shoes and underwear. And everyone who knows him also knows how much he loves to lick. Murphy would lick anything in front of him and if there wasn't anything he would lick the air. Moo was also my little snuggle bug. He would jump up and curl right in. I am dreading coming in the door and not have his shaking butt and wiggly tail there to greet me. I will miss his soulful brown eyes and how happy he made me. Murphy could always make me laugh, he was quite the comedian even though I was usually laughing at him. I am going to miss him so much. My house will feel so empty without him.

Dogs on a Diet

Seriously! I get the whole 100 calorie pack thing and I must admit that I am one of the consumers who actually buys them. Come on - it is portion control (which is my downfall) and convenience all wrapped up in one little package. But I was completely surprised when I saw this in the dog treat aisle today. Do dogs really need their own snack packs? Our society is completely focused on weight when we create calorie packs for our pets. What is next, exercise programs for them? I was standing in the aisle trying to contemplate why on earth we would need these for animals. I give my dog a treat or two each day. If he is getting fat I cut down. Do I really need to start counting his calories? Or maybe my dogs should do it for themselves. All I can say is only in America!

Mooter Update

Well we found out that Murphy has autoimmune hemolytic anemia. Basically it means that it white bloods cells are eating his red blood cells, or basically he is allergic to his own body. They can give him medicine and see if it reverses. If it does reverse, then he will go on to live a normal life, although it may come back. There is also a 25% chance that the meds will not be able to reverse it and his red blood cells will be destroyed. And you can't live without red blood cells.

He is still not completely himself, but he does have more energy. He is eating better and drinking a lot and has started fighting with Killian again. The vet seems to think these are good signs even though he still continues to lose weight and his white blood cell count continues to go up. Please pray for Murphy. I need him to get better. I do not want him to be sick anymore. I miss my old Murphy that was ornery and always getting in trouble!

Murphy ate last night and this moring...and his regular food :) yeah i hope this is a good sign!

Weird Sight

The other day I was driving down the road enjoying the nice weather. I had my windows rolled down and was noticing the other people who were also enjoying the weather. As you probably already know I am a dog person, so when I saw a lady walking her dog I gave it my full attention (yes I know I was driving).

Well this lady was walking and her yellow lab was right next to her. The dog had something in it's mouth. I remember thinking that I thought it was weird that the dog was carrying a Frisbee in it's mouth as it was walking. As my car moved closer I realized that in fact it was not a Frisbee. This dog had it's own leash in it's mouth. It was one of those retractable leashes. It was hooked to his collar and he had the handle in his mouth. His owner was not touching him at all and he was trotting along beside her. It was one of the most random things I had seen. I wish I could have gotten a picture so that you could have enjoyed it too. I am still wondering though if that counts towards the leash law since technically he was wearing his leash.

Murphy

So it has been a little crazy here with me. Murphy had his surgery and all has been downhill with him since. He had been sick, as you may have previously read. Well it continued to get worse. He continued not eating and then had two seizures. I have been pretty worried about him. The vet thinks that he has a pancreatic infection, but is also concerned that it may be pancreatic cancer. We go in this Wednesday to run more tests. They will check his white blood cell count and see where it is. If it has not gone down, they will have to do further tests.

I am hoping for the infection. His last seizure was Friday morning, He has been eating better, though still only once a day (and if you know Murphy that isn't much). He seems to be getting a little more energy back. He actually runs up and down the stairs now and as I speak he is gnawing on a bone--something he hasn't done at all in the last two weeks. I am praying that this means he is gettting better and that everything will go back to normal. I will let you know when I find something else out!

Update

Murphy is now home from the vet and doing well. The growths came out nicely and he seems to be not be in any pain. All three (the found another in his mouth during surgery) are also benign which is great news, so I am now back to having a healthy dog! Yeah. Thanks for all your kind words and phone calls. I appreciate having your support when I needed it. Now we just have to get his hair to grow back where they shaved him...can you help me with that?

Murphy

I am worried. My little Moo (Murphy) is sick and it scares me to death. The past few days he has been eating extremely slow, which is crazy since he is definitely a food wolfer. So I checked his mouth and he had this huge growth. It sort of looks like a chewed piece of gum hanging over his tooth.

Fast forward to today....I took him to the vet and the vet said that in fact it was a growth and also found another one on his side. She wants him in this week to remove them. Not only does the word growth freak me out, but she said that the removal of the growth from the gums is a very painful/bloody procedure. They are going to biopsy it after they remove it, so my big fear that he has cancer will still be lingering in my brain for awhile longer.

I am so worried that something will be wrong with him and since this is my first "real" pet, I don't know how I would handle it. Also, this is one of those things that tests me and my situation. I am in this all by myself. I don't have anyone to worry about it with or to go with me to take him to surgery, or to get any news (be it good or bad) with. It scares me since this is one of my first things I have to do being "single" again. I wish it would have been something easier to handle.

Well Murphy goes in Thursday morning at 7:00 am (bright and early) to have it removed. He will stay all day and I will get to pick him up that night. Please be thinking about us!!!

Animal Sympathy

So I have this random love for animals and every time I see one that is not in a place it should be I get very upset. For example, this weekend as I was riding, I saw a dog on the side of the highway. He was just watching the traffic, but of course I was worried about him all weekend. I hope that he is okay and that he didn't get hit and I am still worried about him.

It is wierd, I see animals out and then they stay embedded in my mind for a really long time. I have several spots where I have seen animals and everytime I drive by them, I think about that animal and what happened to it.

For example, once I saw a dog tied to the guard rail at 1-70 and Lee's Summit Road, so whenever I am there I think about it and the friendly people who were helping it. Ward Road by my house has lots of animals thoughts too. A few weeks ago I saw a little dog running down the sidewalk and his owners chasing after him. I still am hoping that they caught him. And in the white house I saw a dog that had been hit and people were helping it. When I drive by I wonder what happened to that dog. There are many others places that hold these animal what-ifs.

Animals are so loyal and I hate to see them frightened or hurt. I always put Killian and Murphy in their place and think about how sad I would be!