SETBACK - POTP

My boy Shiloh just suffered some kind of a setback less than an hour ago - it may have started earlier but that is when I was really paying attention to what he was doing - he started yelping a little, pacing-couldn't get comfortable, trembling and a little panting.  He has eaten ok and gone out to potty.  I have given him his pain med and muscle relaxant.  He had been doing better so I cut back on his meds since they said "as needed".  But we all know that dogs are not always the best barometer at letting us know what they need.  Now, since he had those two meds, he is relaxing and laying on his bed - The DIVA Shasta is right beside him.  I hope the effects of those two meds last long enough til I get home from work.  

I'm sure most if not all know the helpless feeling one gets when you look at their furbaby who is obviously in pain - it broke my heart to look in his eyes and see his total confusion and fright at what was going on.  So, what I thought/hoped for was a lasting improvement, evidently was temporary but is hopefully leading to a more lasting improvement.    However, if he is having more problems when I get home later - back to the vet we go to find out what the next step is.

Would you please keep Shiloh in your prayers? 

 (Maybe I should get him a critter to chase- 

that seemed to help before)

ALERT PSA ALERT!

We Beaglebratz just herd frum

DEXTER THE WONDER DOG 

He sed that he an'the family r fine.

Like most of the folkz out on the East Coast,

they haf lost power.

He answered a quik email we had sent butt

we ain't shure if he can post to hiz blog.

He sed they haf tue uze their big noizy elektrik

machine butt that iz better than nuthin'.

Let'z all make shure tue keep 

Dex an'hiz momma'n master

an'so many otherz in Blogville-

az well az all the otherz 

affected by Hurricane Sandy

in our thoughtz'n prayerz.

~Shiloh'n The DIVA Shasta~

Two for Tuesday

We Beaglebratz just gotta haf fun sumtimez.  

We wood like tue thank www.dogbarkcollar.com

fur bringin'u'all tuedayz post.

Ya'just never know what u mite c 

when we start our funtimez-
By the way, theze pikchurez wuz taken
B-4 me, The DIVA Shasta, had my recent problem-
mom STILL won't let me play much or
jump up'n'down off furnichure. Then, Shiloh iz
not playin'like this yet, butt one day soon.
Make shure tue go tue the bottom-
Mom wantz tue add a little tue-
kinda down mem'ry lane, AGIN!.

SHILOH:  My snake!

THE DIVA SHASTA:  NO! Mr. Snake iz MINE!

A lull in the playtime-

sibling love/rivalry.

A surprize attack under the belly. 

The DIVA Shasta headz Shiloh off at the pass.
Ok - mom'z turn.

Thank you to Shiloh'n The DIVA Shasta.
I have noticed that Team Beaglebratz has picked up a few new followers in the last few weeks.  Soooo
I wanted to take a little trip down memory lane &
provide a little history.
When Shiloh joined my family at about 8 weeks-
(Spring, 2003)

it was just me and Oreo - a YorkiPoo.
As Shiloh got older, they loved playing together

and soon became best buds in spite of 
their size difference.
By late spring of 2005, Shiloh had become a 
therapy dog,

altho I had no intention of this when 
he joined the family-
we had attended our local 
animal shelter's fund raiser one year and
learned there was a local therapy dog group-
I was hooked.
Eventually Shiloh became a 
great therapy dog which is part of the reason
The DIVA Shasta joined our family 

in the Fall of 2006.

The other reason-
by the summer of 2006, my little Oreo was having 
increased health problems at age 15.  
And since Shiloh and him had become best buds who kept each other company when I was gone and-
admittedly I liked having two dogs around, I was already thinking about the time my little Oreo 
would cross the Rainbow Bridge - what would happen to me and Shiloh.
And knowing that Beagles really like 
to be part of a pack-
I didn't want him to have to stay home by himself-
he RARELY had been alone his entire life.
So, with all these things going thru my head-
I began thinking about a pack-mate for Shiloh and
another dog for me.
Meanwhile my little Oreo was doing well

 altho the health problems continued-
almost blind and deaf, incontinence and a few months earlier, had some kind of vestibular attack.  He kept to himself and rarely interracted with either me or Shiloh.  He slept in the kitchen and would slowly walk into the living room-
act like he was looking around then walk back out to the kitchen to sleep some more.
He didn't appear to be in any pain, was eating ok and would go outside only 
long enough to take care of business.
I began to wonder about his quality of life and wrestled with the question of was I just keeping him with me for my own selfish reasons?
I wrestled with that most difficult issue 
any responsible pet owner faces.
Finally a friend of my sister's told me-
"When you look into their eyes and 
there is nothing there-
no signs of recognition, 
no signs of happiness then 
they are telling you it is time".
It was not my decision-
I was just a tool to make 
Oreo's final wish happen.
He really did make it easy for me and 
Later at the vet's, as Oreo fell asleep in my arms
so quickly and without a struggle, 
I knew indeed that this was what he wanted.
Oreo was 16+
Oreo was tired.
Oreo was at peace and
finally home.

Mommy will always miss her little fur-angel.

Shiloh had big "little" paws to follow-
he had been the baby brother for over 3 years.
Had Oreo taught Shiloh how 
to be a great big brother?
Shiloh had many opportunities over the next several months to show us all what 
he had learned-
(of course all pictures can be bigefied)

 As you can see, the admiration The DIVA Shasta
has for her big brother developed as she grew.

And it is still there today-
This was the scene once again the past few days as
Shiloh was going through his recent struggle
with his IVDD.

  
UPDATE on Shiloh-
still no meds since Sunday afternoon.
Walking well and no pain. 

  A little truth here-
I didn't do this little trip down memory lane just for our newer followers-
I like looking back too now and then.
That first New Year we were all together.

and today

~Kim, Shiloh'n The DIVA Shasta~

 

a

Mom on Monday - roller coaster weekend

Lately this blog has been nothing but mom - I hope that changes soon, especially since The DIVA Shasta's birthday month is about over.

This past weekend has been somewhat of a roller-coaster.  The last post I left was Friday and at that time, Shiloh was improving and acting kinda like his old self.  When I got home Friday, he greeted me at the kitchen door - tail wagging and even trying to jump up a little for a biscuit.  After being out for a bit and by the time I left for the grocery store a half hour after I got home, he was walking around - occasionally crying out in pain, restless and unable to relax and walking again with a little hunch in his back.  This would happen a couple more times over the weekend mixed in with periods of what I first reported on Friday.  Then yesterday, I hope was a bit of a break-through as he and Shasta were out in the bakyard. They must have spotted something on the other side of the privacy fence behind the Dollar General store behind us as they BOTH began RUNNING back and forth along our fence - barking like usual and Shiloh jumping up and leaning against the fence.  I know I should have had a leash on him to prevent this but I did make him go in the house almost as soon as this started.  Since that happened, there have been NO repercussions.  Shiloh walks around normally, no yelping-no whining.  He has finished his first course of anti-inflammatory and the other meds are given now as needed - none have been needed since yesterday afternoon. So I hope everything stays good now with Shiloh.  

I feel like I have been ignoring The DIVA Shasta-
especially stealing her limelight this past weekend.  She achieved a milestone this past Saturday - actually she has been there before but because of all my eye problems the past two years, her therapy dog status expired earlier this year and I have not had a chance to renew it.  Well, as of this past Saturday - October 27th, 2012, she once again PASSED her evaluation for therapy dog and will once again begin her visits (when mom gets her butt in gear and gets the registration done).  HOWEVER - even now I am afraid I have to cut this short to get ready for work.

 

A late but great and wordy pupdate on Shiloh

I am so sorry I did not get this done until today 

I guess I was looking for a real change of some 

kind before posting anymore.  And there IS change 

and it is GREAT! (but then I kinda did give that 

away in the subject line - oh well)  But yes, the 

improvement has been, at least to me considering 

Shiloh just started on meds yesterday.

First, our vet visit to the University Bird and Small Animal Clinic

In case you missed it, this is our new vet clinic-

Shiloh now and Shasta will start later.  There are

3 vets there - we saw Dr. Phillip Moon. Shiloh 

took an immediate liking to him, would even walk 

over and sit by him plus the two cookies Dr. Moon 

gave him didn't hurt Shiloh's feelings either.  I 

liked him because he took time to explain the 

different parts of the spine - even showed me on

Shiloh's spine and where/why the pain was in the 

spine - no xrays were needed at this time since 

Shiloh definitely yelped when Dr. Moon was 

checking his spine and pushed in the one spot 

where the pain was.  Dr. Moon definitely got my

vote when he, the vet, actually told me that I 

had likely and CORRECTLY diagnosed that Shiloh 

was having a recurrence of his IVDD.  I also felt

comfortable enough and since I already knew they 

offered it, discussing alternative medicine and 

treatment.  I learned that is why there are 3 vets

Guess you could say that Dr. Moon does a lot of

the more traditional and Dr. Gratton specializes

in chiropractic medicine along with sports 

medicine and rehab for canines and Dr. Snyder 

does the acupuncture and adipose stem cell therapy

I really liked the pairing of traditional medicine

along with alternative or complimentary medicine.

So what is Shiloh's course of treatment?  We are 

starting with Metacam, Tramadol and Robaxin. I am 

hoping that for now at least, the meds continue to

to do the trick.  And so far they are doing GREAT!

He is acting more like the macho Beagle-boy he is-

Now I am beginning to intervene in what Shiloh 

feels like he can do.  He does know, at least for

now, that he is not yet ready to play with Shasta 

altho she does try a little to get him to play 

tag.  Shiloh does join us out in the kitchen more 

when he hears the refrigerator door open.  Shiloh 

has also found his voice again and is moving more 

freely and voluntarily and is getting easier to 

rouse him dog bed - which I found really amazing 

this morning since it is about 35 degrees out.

And Shiloh has found his Beagle appetite - once 

again eating anything offered - including the 

pills wrapped in peanut-butter or cheese.

Ok - I need to post this then get ready for work.

Tomorrow, Shasta has her therapy dog re-evaluation

so I may not be around much til after that.

I think I was able finally to find one of the 

best vet clinics in the immediate area-

University Bird and Small Animal Clinic 

Check out their website for a wonderful 

description of their services.  There are 3 vets 

there and they come highly recommended from a 

couple in our therapy dog group.

Shiloh is no better today and did not greet me at 

the door when I got home.  Boiled chicken along 

with some rice and broth mixed with his kibble 

and his glucosamine was eaten well by Shiloh.

He still eats some, drinks a little and potties so 

I hope these are all good signs.We will be going 

into the vet's later this afternoon 

so will be bak later with a little update.  I 

feel comfortable knowing that Shiloh will get the 

treatment there he needs.   At some point I will 

be visiting your blogs however I am running short 

on time right now.  Please keep Shiloh in your 

prayers.
Kim

A quik pupdate on SHILOH

When I got home from work yesterday, I honestly 

thought Shiloh was getting better - he came out 

to greet me as I came through the door, he was 

carrying his tail a little higher, he was moving 

a little freer and more voluntarily.  When I let 

the Beaglebratz outside, Shiloh trotted a little 

as he crossed the deck.  But now I'm thinking he 

overdid it as he stayed outside a little longer 

and moved around more - back to patrolling the 

perimeter of the backyard.  And also this morning 

he seems to be a little more 

uncomfortable and at times, Shiloh has trouble 

settling in one place.  Again he is not wanting 

to drink or eat his little biscuit or the food 

he usually eats with gusto.  If it wasn't for my 

own eye doctor appointment today, I would be 

staying home to locate a vet then somehow get 

Shiloh in.  But instead I will go on to work, 

look through the phone book and locate a vet 

then take Shiloh in tomorrow.  I juat hope and 

pray that Shiloh has not suffered any lingering 

effects of his Inter-vertebral Disc Disease 

flare-up.  Please continue your POTP for Shiloh.

I really do appreciate all your comments and 

concern.  Need to go for now.

Kim 

just in - Shiloh did eat his breakfast after I soaked it in warm water and then was looking to go outside - at this time, I am taking any little positive move as going in the healing direction HOWEVER a trip to the vet is still a distinct possibility/reality.
Need to go finish getting ready.
   

Again - not what I intended

From the mom - today was to be another trip to the city library for me and Shiloh - operative word - WAS.  

This morning we had spent almost an hour on the deck with the Furminator then to the tub for a bath.  Shiloh did really good - all I had to do was place his front paws on the side then he practically jumped in on his own - no problem.  No problem IN the tub - never tried to jump out.  He patiently waited in the tub while I started drying his ears and face then slowly came out - no problem - or so I thought.  Sometime while I was drying him some more with the towel is when he first yelped then whined.  Of course I began having all these thoughts flash through my mind - mostly thinking about his previously diagnosed Inter-vertebral Disk Disease along with the thought - what had I done to cause his current pain.  Luckily after his bath it was sunny and warm outside so I just took him out.  At first I didn't think it was bad and maybe it isn't-
Shiloh is getting around some and his tail is up and wagging - not tucked tightly between his back legs the way it was when first diagnosed. So I am hoping and praying Shiloh just strained a muscle and with a little rest he will improve on his own - with all my own medical expenses with my eye, especially the ongoing medication and knowing this vet visit, unlike Shasta's, could very well include x-rays or more, just not ready to commit to another vet visit yet, especially on a Sunday with an ER vet.  I hate to sound that way - would love to rush Shiloh to an ER vet however he is acting better than before so like I said - hoping and praying that some rest and decent temps will do the trick.  Then see what is what tomorrow.

              _________________________
In the meantime, The DIVA Shasta is doing very well. 

To look at her, you cannot even tell she had a problem.

If you could, please give Shiloh some POTP and prayers that it is nothing more serious then a little pulled muscle.  Thank you.
Kim

Wordless Wednesday - almost

Mom got theze pikchurez fur a friend of ourz fur a Mother's Day project - we think they r good tue uze tue selebrate us az a furmaly.

Oh dear, is it Monday AGAIN?

To help ease the discomfort of it being Monday again, Team Beaglebratz encourages you to watch this video (and in case that video here doesn't work then you can click on that link below it) It isn't long and guaranteed to get your Monday started with a smile.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Kg8r3NUljA&feature=player_embedded

The DIVA Shasta is recuperating well - however now she thinks she is back to her usual self; I was UPSTAIRS yesterday afternoon and turned around - The DIVA Shasta was there checking up on me.  If I'm not around then she will get on the couch or chair - time for enforced crate rest.

 

A QUIK PUPDATE ON THE DIVA SHASTA

Sorry this is late, no real excuse - Shasta is doing better.  In fact at times it seems like she improves by the hour   We did go to the vet Saturday morning - he checked her reflexes then gently pressed along her spine - reflexes some improved and no spinal pain.  I almost felt silly taking her in altho there are a few times she still exhibits behavior that is very un-Shata like.  my sister was able to pick up on that when she picked us up at the vet's.  Shasta is moving - walking and trotting - more voluntarily and even slowly taking the two steps down from my deck.  Friday morning before I left for work, I had to go hunt her down in the backyard to bring her in - a little while ago when she and Shiloh were both out back - when I opened the door to get them in, BOTH Shiloh'n Shasta were there at the door waiting to come in.  So, making sure I keep her warm, lots of rest and a little anti-inflammatory meds, are doing wonders.  One time yesterday, when Shasta was laying on her bed, she must have heard something outside - she got up, started her Beagle howl and trotted over to the window with her tail straight up, eventually wagging it.  Just Friday nite, when I was getting their dinner in the kitchen - she stayed laying down in the living room while Shiloh was eagerly watching me - last nite when I was in the kitchen fixing their dinner, I had four eyes intently waiting for a crumb to hit the floor.  When I was sitting on the floor in front of the tv, she walked over to sit with me.  Now when I let her outside, she trots across the deck to go down the steps.  At this rate, she will be back to her usual self in no time.  Now I just NEED to watch her so she doesn't overdue - easier said then done.

~Mom Kim~

POTP - Not the post I intended

Oh goody I'm in a hurry and blogger is being a butt-head.  Not sure what happened but it started shortly before bedtime last nite.  The DIVA Shasta is off her food and I can tell she is having some trouble with her back legs.  Won't be able to get to the vet until tomorrow morning at the earliest - already I can see the dollar signs and I already have a balance there - hate to think about that when she is obviously not rite.  I had to go out to the far corner of the bakyard this morning to bring her in - doesn't want to walk.  She has always had a skip in one of her back legs but when I touch it or rub it, she does NOT act like it is painful.

Now I need to go get ready for work - not sure how long I will be there - wish I had some kind of a web-cam but since she is quiet - she went in her crate and is laying down - I think(pray) she will be fine after some crate rest.

Please pray for my little lady The DIVA Shasta - NOT a good way to be during her barkday month.
Mom Kim

Thankx on Thurzday

 Mom SEZ I kept movin'my head an'I woodn't co-operate - this iza pikchure of me(well duh - who else) with my new tiara I gotz fur my barkday.  Gonna show u 

a few more pikchurez of my barkday.

A DIVA'z werk can tire a little pup out

 

This wuz dinner - kibble with cottage cheeze, a little grated cheeze AN'FRESH BLUEBERRIEZ!

DEZZERT-

Yep, mom sez the poor quality of the 

pikchure iz MY fault.

See this cookie - c it sez Happy Birthday an'haz

PINK frostin'on it

R'member what I told u'boutz

the other day - when

Mr. Nozey-Butt Shiloh 

helped hizzelf tue one of my Chewnola bonez?

Yepperz - mom wuz tryin'tue make my 

barkday plate of goodiez intue a]

photo-op an'Mr. Nozey-Butt Shiloh just

reached in with that 

big mouth of hiz an'GRABBED

MY Happy Birthday cookie-

pink frostin'an'all!

Mom wuz able tu save me the bestest part-

By the time we finished

this wuz what it looked like

Ok - b-4 I git frusterated cuz

mom iz tryin'tue hurry me with this post-

here iza pikchure of ME unwrappin'MY prezziez-

 I gotza new HALLOWEENIE BO-BO

I haven't named him yet tho.

I also got a nu KrazyKritter-

named Mr. Skunk.

Ok - that wore me out so 

I just gonna take a nap now.

Hope u enjoyed a look intue

MY barkday.

~The DIVA Shasta~