December Pupdate

Curly Joe's first Christmas is rapidly approaching. Personally, I'm a bit of a grinch about Christmas. After our dad died, my sister took it upon herself to decorate the house for the holidays. We haven't had any sort of Christmas (with a tree and presents) in seven or eight years, but this year my sister is determined to go all out: dig the tree out of storage, string up some lights and ornaments, put some twinkle lights out front. Me, I just want to get a leg lamp and stick it in the front window. My south-facing bedroom window faces the road, and I think it would be hysterical to put a leg lamp there. None of our asshole neighbors would get it, but we would. I actually got my sister a mini leg lamp a few years ago, but the cats spend a lot of time curled under it for warmth, so the stocking has gotten a bit ... furry.

But I digress. Oh, hey. Curly Joe finally (just now) chewed through his fire hose and pulled out the squeaker. Garbage time!

Curly continues to do well. He raided the garbage quite a few times last week, so I've been worried he'll have a flare up or something, but he seems to be okay. He's still on L/D, Hepato Support and the 3V supplements. Every now and then, he'll eat around the Hepato Support capsule (I just stick it on top of his food) and I'll have to yank open his gob and cram it down his throat.

Saturday, Sis and I took Curly Joe on an outing. I can't say what we did because it's a surprise for LaShea and Chad, but Curly had a great time and met a lot of nice people, including Dr. Brown. She is the doctor I met last year (through my regular vet) who did acupuncture for Lady and Meathead. It was good to see her again, as she was on maternity leave for a while, and we didn't have a reason to see her after Meathead died in July. She introduced us to a massage therapist (whose name I've forgotten), and we chatted for a bit. Everyone had to stop and say hello to Curly, which is pretty much par for the course with this guy. He's irresistable. When it came time for Curly to [do that thing that's a secret], he wasn't happy about it at all. Afterwards, we went back over and continued talking with Dr. Brown. She said a lot of nice things about me and my sister and how we have the island of misfit toys except for animals. And also the fountain of youth because our animals live so long. "Curly Joe, even if he doesn't get his liver fixed, will probably live to be 15 and they'll go, "Well, he's starting to get a little bit of a limp.'" Oh, I hope.

Sis mentioned how I wanted to get Curly Joe trained for pet therapy, and the massage therapist said that he would be perfect for it and I should definitely look into it for him. That made me so happy. For one thing, now I know I'm not biased; there really is something about Curly Joe that draws people to him. I mean, all dogs are wonderful, but Curly Joe is special somehow. At home, he's hyper, obnoxious, jumping all over Tank, but when we're out in public, he's all quiet and submissive. I dunno what that's about, but I'm going to roll with it.

At any rate, here are some recent pictures and video of Curly Joe:

On our way to [the thing].
Afterwards, I stopped at Petco to replace the leash Curly ate last week.


Curly Speak is funny.

Yesterday, Curly Joe was frolicking around the office with a toy in his mouth. He was play growling at Tank, teasing him with the toy. This went on so long, we tuned them out. Tank, who had been silent the entire time, got fed up and went, "ARF!" and Curly Joe dropped the toy and went, "Damn." I keep telling Tank to kick his ass. I hope someday he'll take my advise and put that little dog in place.

Get to the part where you pee!

Last night, we had Early Thanksgiving at my ma's. I don't normally celebrate this holiday (for several reasons), but my mom is going to be in Florida for Christmas, so we kind of threw both holidays together and celebrated early. Plus, she's going to spend Thanksgiving with her friends, eating normal, non-vegan food. (Sis and I, since I have the day off of work, are going to the zoo. I wouldn't normally patronize a zoo because it kills me seeing those beautiful creatures in cages, but it's free on Thanksgiving as a thank you to Portlanders for voting to pass a measure to improve living conditions at the zoo. I really want to see Samudra.)

Anyway, Sis was teasing the dogs by talking to them through an empty paper towel tube, and this is what happened when Curly Joe got too excited:

November Pupdate

Not much to report on the Curly Joe front, except that he has learned how to bark and has taken up the unfortunate hobby of digging holes in the landscaping. See?



He has also learned doggy laughter, which I haven't caught on video yet. I do have some new photos, though:

Hanging out on the front porch with Tank.


Snoozing (with Tank) by the warm and cozy wood-burning stove.




Caught in the act.

A few seconds after that last picture was taken, Tank taught Curly Joe a thing or two about inappropriate touching.

I'm still looking into puppy classes for the young'un. It's hard to find something to fit my schedule, since I work nights. I'd love to take him to a dog park soon and just let him loose. He has so much energy, it exhausts me just watching him zoom around the yard.

Homecoming

On September 28, 2008, four days after checking in at the NWVS to undergo an operation to repair his liver shunt, Curly Joe came home. He wasn't all that excited to see us when we picked him up, but he was pretty gorked up on codeine, so I wasn't insulted. He slept a lot the next couple of days, but his appetite was good and he was obviously happy to be home. I had to tether him to heavy objects a lot of the time because the urge to chase cats proved far too great, even for a puppy with 18 staples in his belly.

His recovery went really well, considering what dire straights he'd been in just a few days before. When his pain meds ran out, he had one bad day and then he was back to normal.

When we picked Curly up from the vet, they gave me release papers for him:

Summary: Curly Joe had surgery with Dr. Donna Lee Taylor to repair a porto-systemic shunt. Unfortunately, the shunt was found to be intra-hepatic and could not be ligated. Dr. Taylor entered the abdomen and also the chest in attempts of finding an extra-hepatic shunt. Curly Joe had some bleeding and hypotension during anesthesia. Post-op Curly Joe was very critical and overnight after surgery, he had developed hemothorax and was administered multiple pRBC transfusions, a plasma transfusion and was ultimately given several auto-transfusions over 24 hours. About 48 hours post-op Curly Joe was much brighter and started eating on his own and maintaining his PCV count. He has severe hypoproteinemia with TS of 3.0 and Albumin of 1.3 (Albumin improved - post-op = 0.7). Curly Joe is being sent home today and will follow up with Dr. Taylor.

Medications:
1) Cephalexin 250mg capsules: Give 1 capsule by mouth every 12 hours with food. (antibiotic) Next dose is due at 8pm.
2) Codeine 30mg tablets: Give 1/2 tablet by mouth every 6 hours for pain. Next dose is due at 8pm.
3) Purchase Pepcid 10mg tablets over the counter. Give 1 tablet by mouth every 24 hours - next dose is due this evening.

DISCHARGE INSTRUCTIONS
1. Strict exercise restriction. No running, jumping or playing. Only take Curly Joe outside on a leash to urinate/defecate.
2. Monitor incision daily for any signs of redness, swelling or discharge. If any of these signs are noted, please have Curly Joe rechecked by a veterinarian.
3. Keep an e-collar on at all times to prevent Curly Joe from licking at the incision site.
4. Monitor Curly Joe closely; if he becomes lethargic, stops eating or drinking or starts vomiting, please have him rechecked by a veterinarian.
5. Schedule a recheck with Dr. Donna Lee Taylor in 10-14 days for a recheck. Please call her team on Tuesday to give us an update.
6. Please feed Curly Joe the L/D diet.

I followed those instructions faithfully (except for that minor bout of horseplay, but that was two weeks after his surgery), and recently took Curly Joe back to NWVS for his check up. As we sat in the lobby, at least two techs walked by and greeted Curly by name. He's a rock star to these people. They took him in back for the recheck and came out to tell me the doctor was thrilled with how well he is doing. I had taken him to my regular vet a few days before to have his staples removed, but was concerned about some swelling in that area. I was paranoid it was a hernia, but the tech told me it was his body's reaction to the internal sutures. She said it would go away as soon as the sutures were completely dissolved. Whew. Other than that, he was in great shape. He now weighs 26 pounds!

When we first got him, he was scrawny. His ribs were showing, his fur was patchy and he had a skin condition. I believe that the L/D food I've been feeding him, as well as the Hepato Support and 3V I've been mixing with his food has really done wonders for him. The doctor said he looked amazing and that I should keep doing what I've been doing.

The tech told me Dr. Taylor was going out of town for a week, but is still looking for other options for Curly Joe and would get back to me as soon as she found something.

Today, a little over a month later, Curly Joe continues to improve. He still has a messed up liver, but for now he is doing well. He still hasn't learned that cats hate to be chased and that he shouldn't turn his back on the geese when we're out in the yard, but he takes everything in stride and keeps me laughing with his antics. Sometimes we'll be out in the yard, and I'll look over and see Curly standing there with his front legs wrapped around Tank's neck. Or I'll go to call them in and see Tank running for the door on three legs because Curly Joe is running alongside him with one of his legs in his mouth. A leg or an ear, Curly's always got something that doesn't belong to him.

Halloween will soon be upon us, and I promised LaShea I would buy Curly a costume. I found the perfect one for him and took pictures yesterday. I will post them as soon as I get the film developed.

Until next time . . .