WELCOME

Thanks for visiting my blog. It's rather flattering to have someone read your minds meanderings. I hope it's entertaining and sometimes educational.

Saturday, October 31, 2015

Dually works(sort of)

  I have let him work a little the last couple of days. Mostly it was driving the sheep out to a pasture or driving them back, but today I let him sort and gather a couple of times and then I put him in the house.  He came back out still up and peppy and tonight he was playing toy with me and seems fine. I think this is how it will be for a while.   Tomorrow we are going to pick up some goats in Ct and I will take him with me and he may have to load them for me. I will take Edge for back up.
   I am spending way more time with Dually which means when he does go I am going to be completely lost without him. He is going in the car with me shopping and sitting next to me on the couch and generally not out of my sight.  I am not comfortable leaving him outside like a mere dog with Edge and Kip anymore.

    Ok fun times.  When I came home from Tenn I got stopped for speeding in Va.  BAD  BAD  BAD place to get stopped.  I had punched the acelerator to get by somebody who was slowing and speeding up in the passing lane and I wanted to get a head of him so it was longer than the 5 secs it would take to pass and I came over a hill and a cop was right there. He said I was going over 90. I had no idea.  He gave me a ticket and told me it was an arrestable offense and gave me a court date.  I sent the ticket in and put my head in the sand until yesterday when I got a pamphlet from a Va lawyer which said big trouble if I don't pay attention to this. LIke jail, huge fine, insurance points, suspension of license.  F'g Great.  more stress. Now I have to hire a lawyer in Va to try to get this reduced.   I am such a criminal.  Ask anybody.

Thursday, October 29, 2015

DUALLY

 We saw a cardiac Dr at Tufts today. She was very nice. She was not the one I was scheduled to see but that one had a family emergency and I was given the option of putting off the appt till tomorrow and I did not want to do that. 

     The test came back negative for Chagus.  I asked if it were possible the test was wrong. They said no, so I do not have to retest or to test Edge.  They did a kidney function test and everything came back normal.  So he remains on the meds and we up the elanapril to 2x day.  He can do anything he wants to do.  Short of letting him run full out I will see what he is up for. He is social in the house and not hiding behind the furniture. He is begging for my food(not his).  I am getting him to eat his food by mixing it with my homemade chicken soup.  He loves it, but it still does not always mean he will eat without coaxing.   He picks up the ball at night and harasses me in the house. He is whining right now which usually in the past means he is bored and he is not getting enough exercise.   So tomorrow I will let him work a little. 

His prognosis remains the same. Severe heart disease and it will kill him eventually and they dont' think he has a very long life ahead of him. If he dies while working sheep then what better way for him to go doing something we both love. 

He has a huge heart and might have killed himself for me at Finals. I was lucky he did not die in the arena.  What a great boy!  I would take a clone in a heartbeat.  He has always been an easy dog in every way.   I hope I have some quality time with him.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

worrisome

   I walked Dually out to sheep tonight and he drove them  back to the barn.  He was walking and I was behind him. His rear legs were crossing over quite noticeably when he walked. I have also seen him stumble in the rear. Chagus can affect him neurologically  too.  Great f'g great.

Dually gets a new ball

Dually started taking heart meds on Tues of last week. All week he moped around and hid in corners or on the stairsteps.  Weirdo.  He would not interact with me or the other dogs and when outside he followed me around and when I stopped he stopped and more often than not layed down.
     Sunday he started to feel more normal. He came out of the corners and started acting like good ole Dually.  Today he has been playing ball with me in the house with a new ball I bought him this morning and when outside he is out ahead of me trotting around and acting relatively normal.  All good stuff.  When I leave the house to go in the car without him, you can hear him having a fit until I leave. 

     The lasix is making him pee more.  Last night I closed the porch door which meant he got me up twice to go outside.  I guess I will be heating the porch until I leave for Fla so he can get out at night.

    Good news, I went to my dentist today and he was able to save the crumbled tooth that I just had a root canal on.  He put a screw in it and built it up so he can make a crown for it.  Of course this tooth is going to cost me twice as much as it should have.  yay. 

     I signed up for Netflix because I still don't have a dish receiver 2 weeks after I have gotten home from Nationals.  Geez.  At least I have something to watch and I am watching the series Madmen.  I started it a few years ago when part of it was free on Amazon Prime.  I had to stop watching when they wanted to charge me per show. 

Friday, October 23, 2015

Cardiologist called

  I had a list of questions. She  was very good about answering them. 
If it's a taurine deficiency then it's reversible.  (not likely)mostly seen in cocker spaniels
If it's Chagus then we can treat but only 10% chance he will live longer than 6-9 mos.  He will either have a massive heart attack and die or get slowly worse.
They see this is dogs that have had Parvo and he has not. 

He was good today and his resting respiratory was down to normal, But tonight he is acting weird even for him.  quiet and lying down and not happy.

He did however eat a good dinner an hour ago.  He really likes the chicken soup mixture I have made to mix with his kibble.  I hardly have to beg him at all to eat.   He gets highly offended when I have to give him pills. Maybe he is mad about that.  The dog can hold a grudge.

Thursday, October 22, 2015

yesterday and today

I spent all day watching Dually yesterday.  And talking on the phone.  I'm kinda of  a wreck.  Like I said, a death is much easier to deal with.

Today I spent the morning watching him mope around the house.  I decided to take him out and let him be a dog.  So I let all the dogs out and they ran out to the gate and then they ran out to the arena and waited for me to say " ready set go".  I had to draw the line on that game.  Dually picked up toys and played a little and trotted around and played a little keepaway  with Edge.  He had some fun . We stayed out for about 1 hr and then he wanted to come back in the house and lay on the stairs. Not sure why that is his choice spot, but I guess if I am upstairs I have to go over him to get down and if I am downstairs he can see me fairly easily from that vantage point and also if the other dogs come in they ignore him on the stairs.

Not sure what the new normal will be but I am not enjoying the ride.

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

all day at the vets

  Dually and I left at 730 this am to get his first ultrasound at my regular vets.  I waited for him  and afterward my vet suggested I take him to a cardiologist but we could not get an appt for a few days at best so we went to Tufts emergency dept.  I got there at 10:30 and just got home at 5.  Long day for a tired and stressed Dually dog.    They did another ultrasound and I never did get to talk to the cardiolgist, but a senior resident took care of us. I think that is what she was. 

Anyway the diagnosis is the same. Heart failure and he will not live long. They put him on meds and told me to keep him quiet.  I countered with " WHat's the point if he's going to die anyway he might as well die doing something he loves.".  Jan said I would " do the right thing" but damnit I don't know what the right thing is.   This is really tearing me up  inside.  I can't save him but can I put down a dog that can still wag and smile and love me?  When I go outside with  him all I see is what he can no longer do, not what he can do. He wants to work and he wants to be with me and he is upset when he is denied those things.  Is it fair to him?  

When Ebony died, she was sick for a long time before I put her down.  It killed me.  I would race home from work to see if she was still alive.  It's way easier to grieve a death and get over it than to drag it out for months or even years.

I'll wait and see how he does on the meds before I make any decisions. I wish I was a praying person. And I really wish Mom was here to talk to.

Monday, October 19, 2015

More BAd very bad news

We got home last night about 5:30.  I was in bed by 8 with no pain. but Dually was up and down on the bed, breathing funny and whining every now and then. He is not a whiner. There was something wrong.
I called the Vet at 8 am and got a 9:50 appt.  I told her "There is something wrong with my dog" She checked him out and decided to do blood work, urinalysis, heartworm(oh how I wish it was heartworm)xrays  and the xray showed a very enlarged heart putting pressure on his trachea and causing his little cough which I thought might be kennel cough.(I wish it was kennel cough), She called it cardiomyopathy.  Which when I googled , it's an enlarged diseased heart muscle most often found in male dogs.. Prognosis is not good.  I have an ultrasound scheduled tomorrow and we will go from there, but it sounds like it will be comfort measures.  She said he would never work again.  He;s only 7.  

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

NATIONALS DAY 1

No sleep last night and I so did not want to trial this morning. My cattle run was awful. I had no energy to give him and he had not energy of his own. 

My sheep run was interesting.  He took them out of the take pen beautifully and then walked them up the right side and the operative word is walked.  He barely moved.  He did the crossdrive by himself, but did turn them a couple of times.  I was set up to bring them out of panel 2 perfectly and of course he would not take his flank.  I called him off  and resent him and he took his away and brought them al thru and then we had a nice set up for the chute but they went by and I sent him to catch them and he bodee oh dode around and picked them up . Not his usual speedy cover.  He's not working normally.  Finally finagled 1 thru the chute and repenned.

The duck run , well we got excused for biting but we  the first 11 dogs got reruns.  The rerun went much better.  He picked up a stick right at the beginning and that settled him for the run.  However he would not take his go bye on the 2nd panel. There is a pattern here. I got all the ducks in the center pen and the repen was fine.  Not good enough for a placement I dont' think.

I was done by noon so I went back and took a nap then I went back and met Jan and we went to dinner Mexican.   Ice cream social when I came back and then back to trailer to bed.

BTW,  I decided not to get a puppy at this time. 


Tuesday, October 13, 2015

yesterday was pre trial

I did not enter but I was supposed to work all day. Thankfully they replaced me and I stayed in the trailer feeling lousy most of the day.  Felt a little better in the afternoon and went and watched some sheep runs and went to the welcome banquet.

Today, I volunteered for ASHGI for 2 hrs and at noon came back to trailer to find Kip had diarrhea in his crate which of course meant outside his crate on the rug.  Still trying to get that cleaned up.

Then I was suppposed to go to the stockdog committee mtg at 3:30 but it was changed to 4:30 and I was scheduled to work again for ASHGI BLOOD DRAW, But when I got there they had quite a few volunteers so I just went to the meeting.  I am pooped.

I slept fairly well last night but I still have no energy.  No pain from 8 till 1 then tylenol and sleep until 7.  Not bad but I need a week of that.

Tomorrow is the Nationals trial and the cows are just as bad as at Finals. In the pre-trial there was apparently only 1-3 competitors of advanced dogs that qualified.   Great can't wait.

Hopefully they changed the sheep out and I know the ducks are tired but have had today off so maybe.... they will be okay.

Bed early tonight I hope

Sunday, October 11, 2015

Finals Day 2

   I gave up my cattle run.  I really did feel badly this am and I know Dually is not his normal self. He's coughing like kennel cough.  Great where did I pick that up?
I did go over and watch some of the cattle runs. They were just as bad as yesterday.. The cows did not get any better and I understand fresh cows are coming tomorrow from the same place.  I am glad I am not entered. If the Finals dogs cannot get them around the course, what chance is the average competitor going to have or especially the started dogs.

I watched a lot of the ducks and they went very well. Some great runs. They grouped the ducks according to color and they worked better than mixed groups.

I watched a few of the sheep runs and they were going really well too. I liked the sheep, they were light but responsive. We'll see how they do with the Started and OPen dogs tomorrow.

I tried to nap but can't.  I bought some extended release tylenol so I am hoping I can sleep 8 hrs tonight. Dually is too. '
'
They relieved me of my duties at the trial tomorrow so I have a free day. 

I did go to Tractor Supply and get some propane and some canned dog food to see if I can get Dually to eat something.  He still did not eat a whole bowl full.

The awards were done better than last year. They did ackowledge all placements thru 15 which they should have.  Hopefully next Finals I qualify for I will feel good enough to go and do well.

Finals Day 1 (THe Horrible,Awful Forgetable Day)

Course E on completely undogbroke cattle.  First run we got them nowhere and the 2nd run we made it a little farther than nowhere. Scores were 47 and 46 or something like that. Not that many people were doing much better but it was demoralizing.

Sheep were not bad but we did not do well on them either.  No scores over 100.  

Ducks got stuck in the right hand corner and Dually  would not take an away flank and take them out, By the time I decided to send him go bye, we were just about out of time. 

I feel crappy.  Lots of pain at night and no sleep

Last night Dually coughed all night and he was exhausted too.  When I got up this am I decided we would not trial today. We made the cut in Cattle Top 15.  But I gave up my run and took the day off. If he has kennel cough then he should not be trialing. I felt like shit this am so I am sitting in the trailer trying to keep warm. 

All in all so far, I am very sorry I made the trip down here.

And I am sorry and upset I am not doing better.  Sure makes you rethink your life choices.

Friday, October 9, 2015

Arrival Day

I didn't sleep well. The pain started at 8pm last night and kept waking me up all night. I had pain until noonish. Weird.

So instead of leaving at 7am I didn't get on the road unti 9:15.  It was another 6 hrs to Shelbyville. When I got there the RV parking was alittle backed up so I had to wait a while and then they took me to a nice spot although kinda far from the arenas. I will not be riding my bike. It's too hilly. I can drive the car just fine and hopefully there will be enough parking close to the rings.

I put my awning out only to have it stick on one side and when I loosened it, it worked fine but has a huge crack in the housing on one end. I have no idea how that could have happened. How annoying. I had to close it back up because of wind and I think it closed ok although I need to look at it closer.

There is an hour difference in time so at least I get to sleep in a little longer tomorrow.

Wish me luck.  2 each runs cattle sheep and ducks tomorrow .

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Travel Day 2

 I slept well last night till 5 am and woke in pain. The pain is odd. It last 1-2 hrs and then it's gone for the day. I guess it could be a whole lot worse.  I got on the road about 7:15 and drove till 4.  I did about 450 miles. today   Tomorrow there is only 250 to go.

I stopped at Baileyton RV and they had no spots but they let me park in a tent spot and only charged me for a tent spot and they are willing to let me leave   the trailer here on my way home for only $1 day.  Good deal!!

So I took the dogs for a run and a swim in a pond out back and I'm sure they want more but it's 6pm and I just want to go to bed.

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

ON the road again to Finals

  I woke up this morning in pain at 2 and it would not subside and I could not get back to sleep.  I guessed I had 4 hrs so (huge improvement)I got up finished packing loaded the dogs and took off at 4:30am.  I avoided all the traffic in Harftford,Waterbury, Danbury and NY.  It was great. but when I got to the first rest area in NY I crashed and slept for 2 hrs. Then back up and on the road again till 1ish.  I stopped for lunch and felt lousy for 2 hrs so stayed in place. Back on the road at 3 and crashed again at 5.  I had a reservation in MD but just could not make the extra 40 miles.  So I am in a nice quiet secluded campground where I can let the dogs loose and no one is watching. I was too tired to stay out there with them long though. 

Its 7: 30 and I just finished dinner and I am  so ready for bed.  Looks like I have some tv reception which will help me fall asleep and I am taking some benadryl tonight.

I managed to make 400 miless but it took me 12 hrs today.  Yikes

I don't think I will get as early a start tomoorrow . at least I hope not. NIght

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

sleep but not great sleep

The  shingles pain has come on full force.  I went out yesterday afternoon and picked up some homepathic gel to use on the shingles specifically for shingles. Shingles pain is pretty severe and this gel is helping unbelievably.  It is also drying up the blisters or they don't even seem to be coming up.  So last night I tried to sleep in bed but that was too uncomfortable so back to the recliner. Thank goodness I bought that recliner last year in FLA.  The pain woke me up every 2 hrs so I got up put some gel on, sat in front of the pellet stove to dry it and got back in the chair and went right back to sleep.  So my sleep was not uninterrupted but at least I did not walk the floors all night. 

Today my niece and my friend Gail are coming over to help me pack the trailer in case I decide I can drive tomorrow.  It's still pretty iffy. I did fill the car up with gas yesterday just in case.

Heidi came last night and picked up the cows.  Dually loaded them and heeled very nicely to get them in the trailer. I also felt well enough before she came to work them thru the E,C and A course. He did a great job so very happy with him.

Monday, October 5, 2015

3pm and I feel okay

NOt good just okay but that is a big step up.      The rash is bigger and it's starting to blister. Let the fun begin.  Not really very sore.  The percosets are causing digestive upsets and I think that is what is causing the pain that is keeping me up ALL FRIGGIN NIGHT.  I stopped taking them at midnight last night so I hope hope hope for sleep tonight. No sleepy no drivy.

I'd like to say I am all packed to go to Nationals but that would be a huge lie.  Not even started.  Why pack if I have really no idea if I am going on WEd.

I did walk outside and ran the dogs and then worked on some fencing for a minute and I felt better after I did that.  But I am back in side in front of the tv.

Thursday, October 1, 2015

4 drs in 24 hrs

  so I have had pain in my side since Sat night.  Not getting better.  I called my gp yesterday and she could see me.  I went in at 4pm .  Doc thought I should see my general surgeon who had done a hernia operation on me 8 yrs ago. I called the answering service last night and got him to call me back.  He agreed to see me today.  But in the meantime I had a root canal scheduled at 9: 30 which I had done. It was not that bad and I feel fine now. At least my tooth is fine but my pain is killing me.  AFter the root canal I went to another appt with an ENT who is going to do surgery with my opthamologist in Oct.  He was very nice.  Then hopped in the car over to Memorial and waited for Dr CZ...  I didn't bring any tylenol so I was beginning to hurt pretty good.  He poked and prodded and decided I might have a kidney stone. good news bad news I guess.  So I am hopefully going to get a CT scan tomorrow.   In the meantime, I am not feelingn very well.  The pain has increased and moved to my back.  Yay.   I am drinking up a storm to hopefully pass this sucker before next week. The internet says it should pass within a couple of days and it's already been 5 days so things are not looking good. 

motorcycle class got cancelled .  bummer

I did get some vicodin from the dentist but frankly it's not doing much for my kidney pain.