a99kitten's Musings

I picked up Storm this afternoon. His oncologist said he was a great patient and did very well. The receptionist joked with me that he was quite the dramatic boy and did a lot of awesome howling…I believe her version :)

The incision is HUGE! Wowza. In my head I was imagining 3-4 inches. I was clearly delusional. They basically opened most of him up. Yikes! But she said you need a lot of visual when in there to watch for bleeding, etc. Which I guess is true when I think about all those episodes of ER and Grey’s Anatomy I’ve seen :)

He has staples (not stitches) and is not allowed to lick them or mess with them. So when I can keep my eye on him, he can hang out. When not (sleepy time), it’s the dreaded cone of shame and his crate (which I need to go pull out and set up soon!) He hates the cone, although not as much as Angelus, who has figured out how to untie it and get it off.

He has to keep his staples in for 17-20 days. And no walks besides short, leashed potty breaks. No jumping or playing at all. That’s a lot of stored energy for a husky…but he can do it :)

His biopsies should be back by Friday. That’s what I’m stressed about. But I am very happy to have my little guy back at home safe and sound and will concentrate on that. He instantly fell asleep in the car and then again at home. So that is good. All that stress is bad for his Cushings! The doctor said he might not feel like eating for a day or 2 and not to worry. Umm…if Storm didn’t want to eat, I’d rush him to the emergency room! But no worries – he ate his dinner right up and then looked at me like “More please? Hello…I need energy to heal lady!”

Angelus ran up to see him as soon as we got home, sniffed him and said (with his eyes) “you stink like the hospital” and walked away. I’m pretty sure he even wrinkled his nose at him! Now that he knows his little brother is back home and safe, he can go back to ignoring him :)

So Storm is going in for surgery tomorrow. I am taking him at 7:45am. I met with the surgeon this afternoon and he was really nice and knowledgeable and answered all of my questions. He also has a husky mix and really liked Stormy :)

He described how, based on the ultrasound that he reviewed along with the oncologist, the tumor looks like a single focalized mass. He said they go in and try to get the entire mass along with a layer of healthy liver tissue from around it to ensure they get any non-focalized cells. Storm’s tumor is near his gallbladder. So he said if they feel they cannot get the tumor along with a layer of healthy tissue without compromising the gallbladder, they will just take the gallbladder out too. Wha?

He said dogs (and people) can live without it and can even live without up to 75% of their liver. Crazy. So he will see tomorrow. He said besides opening him up and seeing tumors elsewhere, he expected no surprises and it’s quite a cut and dry surgery.

They will need to send it to pathology once it’s out to determine if benign or cancerous. He said that even if it is cancerous, there is great chance that we can just remove it and Storm should be fine and we would just monitor him with blood tests every 6 months for any future tumor growth. He said he sees a dog who every 1.5 years or so has to have a tumor removed but other than that, is totally fine and healthy. He has had 3 removed so far.

The best thing would be if it was benign. Then it just comes out and yay. Storm will have to have tests every 6 months anyway for his Cushings so we will just make sure his enzyme levels are always tested too.

His surgery is around 10am (he is 2nd in the AM lineup) and it should take about 1.5 hours with no complications. They will staple his liver using titanium staples (between that and knee he will set off metal detectors!) and they stay inside him forever. They staple (not stitch) his incisions. Because of his Cushing’s, they want to keep his staples in for 21 days (they can heal slower.) He will need to wear THE CONE if he tries to lick these. Great. He will love that. So it will be a tiring 2-3 weeks for Mom but I am hoping it is as simple and fixable as they describe. Obviously it can change if they open him up and see tumors elsewhere. But this will not happen. We will not allow that.

So, speaking with the surgeon calmed me down a little. Which is good bed-side manner on the surgeon’s part. He loved Storm and was also a 49ers and football fan so that was good :)

I will go back to being stressed tomorrow when I drop him off. And then will stay so until I pick him up Wednesday. And then until I hear back from pathology. But fingers and toes (and paws) are crossed for an easy surgery for Storm and a benign tumor to make it all easier.

Poor Angelus also gets stressed when the kid isn’t around. He didn’t eat his breakfast today and only ate some sliced turkey I gave him this afternoon. But once I picked Storm up, he felt better and ate his dinner no problem (and also requested some more chicken nuggets.) So he will be stressed tomorrow too. Especially at night when Storm isn’t home :(

Storm will be most annoyed and upset by the fact that he has to wake up for a 2nd morning in a row and miss breakfast…wth? he says….

I need more McNuggets...

Stormy is watching the 49ers play Monday Night Football with me after eating the chicken nuggets I bought him on the way home :)

So I just spoke with the specialist. She did another ultrasound before performing the biopsy and said he has a tumor about the size of a baseball in his liver. She said the rest of his liver looks good so she recommended not performing the biopsy since whether it’s benign or malignant doesn’t matter – it needs to come out. She said the tumor is what is causing his elevated enzymes. She said even if it is benign, and even though he is currently asymptomatic, it will continue to grow and will cause health issues for him in the future.

She said his blood clotting time (they had to test him today) is very good so risks for surgery are just the standard “anytime you go under there is a risk.” The other risk is that they can’t get all of the the cells of the tumor. This is why she doesn’t want to wait very long since as it gets bigger, it becomes more and more difficult to get all of out. The only other issue is Cushings dogs tend to heal slower.

So I am meeting with a surgeon at 3:30pm to go over the procedure, etc. I will pick him up today and schedule it for another day though.

I am officially completely freaked and stressed out.

I’ve been doing my best at staying upbeat and positive. No good comes of getting sad or depressed but sometimes it does squeeze through.

Storm’s blood work showed very, very elevated liver enzymes after his annual vet visit and blood work on Thursday. So on Friday he got an ultrasound. I was in there with him to keep him calm and got to see all of his insides! Pretty crazy really. And the good news is, besides his liver, the rest of his insides look good. But his liver does not. Four of his 6 nodes look “irregular”. Now, as a non-doctor, a lot of his ultrasound looks like black and white squiggles. But once the doctor points things out, you can see the difference between normal and not.

So he has an ultrasound-guided biopsy scheduled with a specialist tomorrow (Monday) at 10am. And I am very stressed. It can be a list of things that are wrong. Most of them treatable. But of course malignant tumor and cancer are also part of that list.

On Friday I was broken. I cried. I was sad all night. But the boys can sense sadness so I knocked that crap off and Saturday we had a great morning beach walk and Sunday too. Much skooshing and treats too. But now that Sunday is coming to a close, and I have to remember not to feed him anything after 10pm pre-op/biopsy for Monday AM, I am getting sad again. I should probably just go to sleep early. So that I can avoid the sadness.

Hopefully tomorrow goes OK. Storm is tough little guy. He is asymptomatic for any kind of liver disease, so that is good. And I will be there to do whatever we need to do to make sure he is OK. I remember when he crawled into my lap when we went to see him with his Mom, when he was 7.5 weeks old. It’s why I took him home. He chose me. And I’m glad he did. He chose a family that had the ability, time/money/willingness, to take care of him. He deserves that. He is a sweet little guy who loves his Momma.

But I don’t see a good night’s sleep in my horizon. But I’m glad he doesn’t know. He will sleep just fine, feet in the air and snoring :)

Yesterday was my first official day of summer – first trip to Donner Lake with the huskies! This is where I take them every morning we are here from now until it’s cold again :)

We go pretty early once it’s really summer/warm (typically 6-6:30ish) but it’s not quite that warm yet so the mornings are still pretty chilly. We park outside of and walk through Donner State Park and smell all the campers making their bacon – yum! I think Angelus and Storm would be perfectly happy to make friends with them and skip the hike :)

Then we get to a trail that starts right before the Emigrant Trail (a long bike trail) that takes us up through trees and rocks and plenty of forest. I need to keep them in as much shade as possible once spring/summer hits so I always look for shady hikes and this is kind of a perfect one. I keep looking for bears as there are plenty of bear sightings in Donner Park but I have yet to see one there. You’d think they’d come out with the bacon smell!! But better for them that they don’t.

It’s a gradient uphill and then a fast down, rocky downhill. The boys will lag and sniff and pee on everything in sight on the uphill but then when we get to the rocky, dusty (aka slippery) descent it’s all about who can beat who down the hill – forgetting they are attached to Mom through the leashes. Thanks guuuuuuuuuys! But they haven’t taken me out yet. I kinda think this is the plan – Mom falls and oops – all the cookies fall out of her pocket too! They took me out once before years ago. Much bigger, steeper hill and they just start charging down it. And I know as I lay there saying “OW! you little rat bastards!” I saw a glint of a hehehehe in Angelus’ eyes..I know I did! Goobers…

Anyway, so once we finish the downhill here we end up at the lake. They both immediately wade in up to their bellies and cool off and drink the water. The lake is so awesome for this as they can’t drink the ocean water when they cool down at the beach at home. Then we walk back on the flat trail along along the lake where they go in and cool off anytime. And it’s mostly shady so it’s a great summertime walk for them.

Another fun thing about this walk as the entire walk back along the lake is full of chipmunks and squirrels who LOVE to taunt the huskies. It’s like they know they are on leash. Now, some dogs have no prey instinct (pretty much talking right at you labs and goldens) and probably do not care about chasing critters (they want the ball – the huskies do not understand this.) And some dogs do have prey instincts. A very strong one. Huskies are like this. Do all huskies? Supposedly not. But my boys – oh man. If something small is running from them – Go! Chase! Get it! And it is amazing watching the instant pack/hunting mentality kick in with them both. It’s quite an organized effort. Storm circled one way around a tree/rock formation and blocked the squirrel from running onto a rock so he leapt in the air onto the tree and Angelus leapt in the air after him trying to get him. Had that little guy’s tail been a bit longer – Angelus would be flossing his teeth with squirrel hair. I need a head cam to record this stuff :)

But seeing their eyes when they chase is a funny thing. They get intent! And wide-eyed. The prey instinct is a very strong one in them so I always have to be sure they cannot get anything. I don’t want them catching anything. They are not hunting for food to survive so they do not need to catch anything (they disagree strongly.) But huskies are actually one of the few breeds that still have DNA from wolves so hunting is a natural feeling (Storm hunts for sandwiches at work every day!) National Geographic did some big dog DNA study years ago where they took DNA from all of the AKC breeds and there were 4 or 5 breeds that still have DNA traceable to Canis Lupus. I mean – look at them. Of course they do. So the DNA and traits are not just trained out of them. Had an idiot try and tell me it can be. I asked how. She said with training and discipline. I said you mean beating and fear/aggression training? She said well – if that’s what’s needed. I responded that she should never be allowed to have a dog and walked away. Hate people like that.

But this hike/walk is great in the early mornings because it’s still too early for most picnicers (except for the 4th of July weekend when people are there at 6am staking out their spots) and the campers are just waking up so my entire trail is pretty empty. I’ll see maybe 1 or 2 people the entire way. Love it. Peaceful.

And yes, just a few steps away is where some of the Donner Party ended up. There is a museum there with some of the things they found at the site (tools, clothing and such) plus it has history on what was occurring around here at the time – gold and silver mining, railroad building, town expansion, indian tribes, etc. It’s actually really interesting. I took my MIL on a visit a couple years ago and it was pretty cool. If you are ever out there on a visit (or live here and have never been), I suggest checking it out. One of the sad things was that their whole debacle could have been avoided if they would have just stayed on target and not tried a shortcut proposed by someone. Clearly this wagon train was directed by a man who thought a shortcut sounded like a great idea and didn’t simply follow directions. Bad idea.

And no – they did not all eat each other. That is actually unfounded and the legend kinda took on its own life. Might a small amount of cannibalism occurred as they were dying out and stuck in the harsh winter? Sure. No one can actually say for sure. But it wasn’t all zombieland out there.

The thing I find most incredible is that these people left pretty secure lives on the East Coast to put their families and belongings in carts and walk across the entire country to a “new land” that was pretty undiscovered, in order to start new lives with only the potential for something greater driving them. Amazing. People were frackin’ tough and resilient back then. People today can’t live 1 hour without their cell phone, or drive thru fast food, cable TV. You just don’t see that spirit or tenacity in people. We’ve gotten soft. That’s not a good thing. Don’t misunderstand – I LOVE creature comforts. But I think too many people today expect things instead of working for things.

But then on the other hand, I can now wander through that same area with the huskies and enjoy the beauty for what it is and not worry about starving or freezing to death. We think that’s kinda of a good thing :)

Had another fun trip to Maverick’s with the huskies this AM. I slept in so we didn’t get out of the house until 7am. But we were still the only ones out there except the illegal clam-diggers (hate them.) I assumed since it was so hot yesterday, and supposed to be today as well, that more people would be out early. Guess not.

Once we got out to the point, a couple people came out with dogs on leashes. No one that Angelus looked particularly interested in playing with. We did find some fun tide pools for them to soak in and sniff for stuff in. It was super low tide, even lower than yesterday, so tons of tide pools and beach to investigate.

Once we made it back to the other beach, more dogs were starting to arrive – yay! Some dogs from yesterday and some new ones. We thought the chocolate lab puppy, Cocoa, (she LOVED Angelus) was there but as we got closer it turned out to be a different puppy – her name was Kona. She immediately started following the huskies around. Puppies seem to love Angelus. :)

Angelus played and ran and tried to steal balls and lined up for treats from other Moms :) Stormy had to stay on leash (combo of boo-boo still healing from his surgery and he gets a bit more agro when there are a lot of dogs around – he does better with 1 or 2.) He really wouldn’t leave my side if he was off leash anyway so he doesn’t seem to mind.

Once it seemed that Angelus was done and tired we started heading back down the beach to go to the car. There is this big set of rocks that, at low tide, you can walk around from/to another beach and we started going that way. All of a sudden you hear this thunder and from around the rock come 4 greyhounds running full speed. It was SO cool looking. They tore past us and Angelus took off after them. He must have flipped some kind of Hyperdrive switch because he caught up to them going SO fast. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him run that fast in his life. It was very impressive. I mean, huskies run and all but these are greyhounds running top speed. True, in the sand but still. Fast dogs. I wish I had it on video. I was quite proud of my running husky :)

They all came to a stop when they reached the other group of dogs (that we just left) and much wrestling and running (after a cool dip in the water) occurred again.

Then a female Malamute showed up. So, so, sweet. Her name was Faron and she is 5. She was bigger than Angelus. Her Mom didn’t let her off-leash. Northern breeds are runners/roamers – I only recently started letting Angelus off-leash when we are at the beach. And only then when we are at “safe” beaches – far, far away from roads or any traffic. Now that he is 9 he listens to me more ;) And doesn’t feel the intense urge to roam. Having said that, he would take off to chase any type of critter. Northern breeds require leashes. It’s not a training issue. Anyway, this malamute was awesome. Her Mom would let her wade into the water up to her belly and the Mom just walked right in with her. She came prepared with surf booties so she could take her dog into the water. She knew her buddy needed the cool water too. What a good mom :) Faron started howling and talking so the boys responded. All the people on the beach were laughing and saying how awesome that is :) Husky (or Malamute) talking is the best. I cannot handle much barking (which they don’t do) but LOVE the howling and talking. Although it does scare some people. They think it’s aggressive. Those are dumb people.

After some more playing, with Storm even playing with a little black dog named Gree and another female boxer, we decided to head back. On our way, around that same set of rocks, comes this little black and white dog who essentially looks like a mini husky** (which is not a real breed other than maybe some whack job trying to breed/make one) mixed with Pomeranian. I have read about these dogs. They are called Klee Kai. It’s a newer breed. I’m not a fan of making new “designer” breeds or of breeding larger dogs with smaller ones just so you can have mini versions. Not a fan at all. But that’s my own personal opinion.

This little doggie was very cute and sweet and a tough little guy. He thought he belonged with Angelus and Storm and started following us. His Dad had to chase him down and get him from his new found pack :)

We met up with a few more labs, a standard poodle and a few other dogs. It definitely seemed that the boys were pooped and ready to go home. Got to the car, gave them water and toweled them off. Put Storm in the car and then went to lift Angelus into the car when he backed up and looked at me like “what? I thought we were just getting water and dropping the kid off. I want to hang out more!” Dude I say. You’ve been playing like a puppy for 2 hours. Your brother wants to go home and it’s getting warmer out. He begrudgingly let me pick him up and put him in the car with a definite look of “hrmph”.

What a 9-year old puppy he is :) A another good morning was definitely had by all.

**Wikipedia’s entry on Miniature huskies: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miniature_Siberian_Husky

This whole things annoys the hell out of me because there is no actual real breed as a miniature husky. I might rant about this subject later :) but this line cracked me up when I read it because, while true, Storm protests STRONGLY on a daily basis against this “fact” as pure fiction meant to starve hungry huskies! : “Obesity must be guarded against as well, as the dogs were originally bred to subsist on smaller quantities of food than dogs of a similar size.”

This morning was a foggy, wet mess outside. The buds don’t mind but I hate it. I was already a little stressed by 6am as Angelus didn’t run up to be let out in the front yard while I did my stepper before our walk. But he had a busy weekend so maybe just tired? He isn’t a spring chicken anymore, no matter how much he acts like one most of the time. He says to “when my age, you reach, look as good, you will not” :)

But when it was time for his walk, he was ready! And off into the Dagobah weather we went. Got to the harbor beach, where it was low tide, and let them off leash. There was NO one around. So dead quiet. We walked all the way out to where the tide/water line finally was and Angelus kept walking out into the water. You could tell he smelled something. Then *dunk* his head goes and I see him come up with what I know is a chicken leg all mixed up with fishing line and fishing hooks. The people that come out here to fish for crabs use it.

*Begin Rant*

I HATE THESE PEOPLE.

They leave their garbage on the rock wall (empty chicken plastic wrappers, cans, bottles, lunch/sandwich wrappers, cigarette butts, etc..) And even worse they leave their old bait/hooks. So dogs, birds, etc can get all messed up. I’ve rescued a seagull all tied up in the fish line. I’ve helped the Harbor Patrol guys unsnare a couple of them where a hook was caught in a wing or something.

All dogs are going to go for a chicken leg bone just sitting there. Which wouldn’t be the end of the world as they are raw. But it’s the fishing line and hooks that are all snarled up – that can kill a dog if swallowed. Or at least hurt if stuck in a lip, gum, etc. But god forbid these lazy pieces of crap take their garbage to the cans in 3 different places up the beach.

These people don’t even live here. They are not local residents. Not that it would excuse them if they were. But they deliberately drive over here, bringing their mess and irresponsibility, to our beautiful coast line and F it up.

I HATE THESE PEOPLE

*end rant*

Anyway – I yelled “drop it” and to my amazement he did…but then he picked it up again…it’s a chicken leg sitting right there…so I ran into the water about half-calf deep and took it out of his mouth before he got it done. I put him on leash and turn around and see that Storm has one too! I yell drop it and run towards him and he did drop it but stared at it like “oh man…it’s right there!” But I got to him and leashed him and pulled them out.

I kept them on leash for the rest of the beach time which likely annoyed them. And I was soaking wet almost up to my knees. And cold. And thinking to myself “Really Tuesday? It’s going to be like this?”

Grrr.

So this is my day so far. But I’m done eating my lunch now so will get back to work..and the rest of Tuesday…

But still…grrrr.

Home after a 2.5 hour Angelus beachfest. He had a pretty darn good time! Played and played with lots of dogs we’d come across and it was super low tide so good tide pools to cool off in. Then went over to the harbor beach and ran and played chase off-leash with a 2 year old black lab. He seems like he *might* be a little tired. At least for now.

He got cheesed on his walk yesterday as post-op Storm couldn’t go very far and I had to keep an eye on him. Like a good big brother, he was patient…for a day :) This morning he said RUFF! We took Storm out too but he only wanted to go a couple blocks so we brought him back. I could tell Angelus seemed bummed thinking that was going to be the extent of his walk like yesterday.

But as soon as I just let Storm inside and kept him out, he knew we were going for fun! He got his spring back in his step :)

Took him to Surfer’s beach. It is gloriously sunny and warm and super low-tide. So he had lots of tide pools to cool off in and it was early enough that the beach wasn’t crowded with tourists yet.

We walked to the point where dogs are no longer allowed (they are not allowed on State beaches because CA is a stupid reactionary state) and met another doggie who LOVED playing with Angelus. Angelus was  on leash and the other doggie was off but they were having a good time!

I have let him off leash there before (technically it is leash-only but the harbor patrol don’t care if you have good control) but there are a lot of ways off the beach and up to the bluffs and Highway 1 and that freaks me out too much so I don’t do that anymore.

Plenty of people do let their dogs run off leash and I’m all for your dogs having a fun time and think the no dogs allowed rule on the other beaches is stupid. BUT – if your dog is agro with other dogs or doesn’t listen to you, then he should be on leash. Not a big deal. But I’ve had a few instances where aggressive dogs run up to Angelus and start crap with him. Angelus never starts a fight. But he doesn’t back down from any dog. Not ever. So if a dog comes up to barking and teeth bared, he will respond.

Generally, I will put myself in the way. And have stuck my arm into a few scuffles. But no one is hurting my dog. Anyway, today I saw this brown pointer running willy nilly all over the beach and you couldn’t see who was with him. No person was around in the general area. Then Angelus started playing with his dog friend and I was talking to his owner as we walked down the beach. Then I saw up ahead the brown pointer again and he was chasing and barking at a little dog who was on leash as his people tried to get away.

Then he came charging at Angelus. Angelus just stopped and waited. At first the other doggie just stopped and sniffed. But then as we started to walk away, he growled, bared his teeth and tried to bite Angelus! And then Angelus turned and growled and that started the scuffle that I grabbed the other dog and pushed him back.

Then I see the dog’s owner come up (who had been calling the dog for a good 10 minutes, with NO response, as he bothered the little dog and then Angelus – clearly the dog saw him as pack leader and listened well…)

He then has the nerve to say to me after his dog attacked my dog “well, if your dog wasn’t on leash, my dog wouldn’t have done that.” Ummm…what did you just say? Yes – you are correct in that the leash creates anxiety. However, it’s usually the dog ON leash that has the anxiety and not the attacker!

And if this were a dog park where all dogs were off leash, or an off-leash dog beach, I could understand the annoyance of dealing with leashed dogs (I have it too).

BUT, to actually say out loud to someone whose dog was just attacked by your dog that it was basically their fault. When in fact the beach is technically leash mandatory anyway…wtf?

In my head I imagined a swift and hard kick to his man-parts. And then Angelus peeing on him as he writhed in pain on the ground. But luckily for him, I used my Jedi control and did not lead down the path to anger…(although really..sometimes it is justified.)

I tried to be calm. I said simply “well, this is technically a leash-only beach and my dog might take off up the beach.”

He says in response “well it’s not like he could go anywhere.” That was it.

I said “No, pal. This is a leash-only beach and I don’t care if your dog runs around having a good time but dogs shouldn’t be allowed off-leash if they don’t respect their owner/parent enough to listen when called. Or charge up to other dogs and bite them. Plus they can run up to the bluffs or Highway 1 at a number of spots. And considering your dog doesn’t listen to you AT ALL and was clear down at the other end of the beach with you nowhere in sight – you have nothing to say here except “I’m sorry”. It’s people like YOU that give dogs and dog owners a bad name and cause stupid laws to be enacted so we all can’t take our dogs places. Jackass.”

And Angelus and I walked away to go enjoy more tide pools and beach fun time…

So Storm had a black spot here which was about 2″ x 2″ big of dead/dying flesh. Underneath was healthy tissue but the black top layer had to go.

So they cut it out yesterday. Took a chunk of my puppy. And then sewed him up. He has stitches underneath the skin too.

Then last night he either chewed it (doesn’t look like it though) or snagged a stitch so it pulled. But not completely out. Just obviously  mucked with. Why it’s so red and enflamed today :(

He keeps these until 6/11. No beach or lake for him – boo.  What a frankenpuppy…although his knee surgery had way gnarlier (uh-oh used that word ;) ) stitches/staples/carnage…

I think he will be playing up the wounded soldier role for extra treats for days :)

Owie...

this was originally posted yesterday 5/27/10 but was somehow nuked from my blog. The text was luckily recovered so am re-posting since husky-related things must always be saved and treasured :)

Doc just called and Stormy is waking up after a small and successful surgery. Whew. I stress sooooo much when the buds have to have surgery/are put under general anesthesia. They have both had knee surgeries and foxtail removal (plus other stuff removed ;) ) so I’ve had plenty of occasions to stress. I think my cortisol levels go higher than Storm’s!

He had a “foreign body” in his side. I was able to extract a foxtail a couple weeks ago but it had actually gone into his skin, burrowed into his body and then I pulled out as it re-opened his skin. So the little bit that was left inside him was killing the tissue around it as his body tried to fight it. I HATE foxtails. They are noxious weeds that should be eradicated from the planet. So many dogs get them up their noses, in the ears, even in their eyes! And if you have a dog with a thick coat – it’s a nightmare in spring. Ugh.

But he came through with flying colors and with some stitches. Thankfully it was in an area that was already shaved from his ultra sound months ago so no shaving more fur!

Because of the lack of fur regrowth, I have been giving him a lot of B vits and fish oil along with their already oceanic diet. Angelus’ coat has been soooo soft. But Storm only has some peach fuzz growing in the shaved areas. So we tried some B12 injections today as well. They can only do them when the dog is under as they are a lot of deep injections. So I went for it. We should see results in a few weeks if it worked. Fingers and paws crossed.

AND the BEST thing! His ACTH Stim test (test to check his cortisol levels because of his Cushings) came back with excellent results! His levels should be at a 3-4 (if he had no Cushings that’s where they’d be) and they came back right around 4. Yay!! So the dosage of the medication he is getting now is right and we will stick with it. Whew. He will need to get these tests about once a quarter or so to monitor the levels but this is great news!

I get to pick him up in an hour or so. His doctor said, as Northern breeds tend to, he is howling a bit there but will probably be calmer once he gets home since he tends to complain when he is there and without his Mom :) And he gets pain meds for tonight and tomorrow (loads of stitches – they cut a hunk of flesh out of his poor little side!) She said if he starts to lick the area, he needs to wear “the cone” or suggested trying a small t-shirt. I promise pictures if he gets a t-shirt :) Man….he will be annoyed.

I promised him mcnuggets on the way home – this will make up for quite a lot! He wasn’t allowed any food since last night so he is withering away (his words.) And Angelus will be happy to see him. Angelus refused to eat the Greenie I gave him after dropping Storm off. He worries about his little brother when they are not together. He would probably deny that – but he does :) I’ll make sure to get enough mcnuggets to share…

as an update…they both inhaled their chicken mcnuggets :)