2009?????

How is your 2009?

For me, so far, I have to say- not a big fan! If this continues, 2009 may go down in history for me as the year that I bought my vet a new Mercedes. (Or would she prefer a Hummer? Or a swimming pool? A house on the beach? Retirement?)

All of this started last year, near the end of October. Kyra had a cyst on her shoulder that was getting larger. Plus, she has had this little mole on her eyelid that, according to the vet, was a melanoma. Details of that surgery have already been chronicled, so I'll not bore you with further details of that. I will mention, however, that in doing the pre-anesthetic work-up, they did a urinalysis and came up with some *odd* results. They did an x-ray of her bladder, and an ultrasound. Both of which showed nothing. They went ahead with the surgery but wanted to check the urine again. That was done shortly before Christmas, and was still off. Because it was not normal, the vet wanted to recheck one more time.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is where all this shit started. (bad pun- you'll get it later. Just go with me, I'm sleep deprived!)

Hershey was due for shots, but I had decided that with her age, I would prefer to do titers. I had previously discussed this with the vet, and we had both agreed that this was a valid course of action.

We also noticed that Hemi has what appears to be a cavity on his tooth.


This past week, Hershey went from drinking like a camel to drinking like a fish- which resulted in potty runs every 2-3 hours. Regardless of time of day or night.

Off to the vet we go, knowing that this drastic of a change can be serious. After tests, it was determined that Hershey was not diabetic (yeah!) and was not in kidney failure (yeah!), so that only leaves cushing's disease. However, in order to diagnose that, we'll be reguired to perform yet another pricey test.

Meanwhile, it's time for Boo's shots. Since we travel to so many dog shows, we really try to keep their vaccinations up to date. We set a date for this past Friday and take in Boo for his vaccinations, Hemi to have his tooth checked, and a urine sample from Kyra for a final recheck.

We had noticed a tapeworm in Boo over Christmas and had treated with an over the counter wormer, and are instructed by our vet that we had wasted our money, so she gave us something else to treat him with. But, other than that, Boo seems to be healthy. (Knocks on rather large piece of solid wood.)

The vet was unsure whether or not Hemi had a cavity, and said it can only be diagnosed positively with a dental x-ray, and that he does need a cleaning on his back teeth. She refers us to a specailist for this. (oh, goodie!)

The urinalysis on Kyra comes back. She has more debris in her urine than urine. She has crystals, red blood cells, white blood cells, epithelial cells and her pH was too high. The vet thinks she is trying to develop bladder stones, and would like to get another ultrasound of her bladder. She also mentioned she would like to change Kyra's diet. When I began to cry and throw myself on the floor, she decided it was okay, we wouldn't have to do that. (I have finally found a dog food she can tolerate. I refuse to change it now!)

Friday night, Hemi begins to pace. Knowing that he has no off switch, and if he isn't ready to go to bed, he can be a pest, we tell him to lay down and go to sleep. I awaken at midnight to the lovely aroma of diarrhea. Poor Hemi had to go out. And then again at 3. And then again at 5:30. This continued throughout the day on Saturday, being reduced to only a few drops of liquid, since the poor fellow got no food.

We decide to make an entrance at our agility club's holiday party, but don't stay long. Between Hershey requiring a bladder void every 4 hours, and Hemi requiring a bowl evacuation every 2-4 hours, we weren't sure what we'd come home to if we left early, much less if we stayed for the entire party.

We get home, and everyone seems to be doing well. For a couple of hours at least. Then, Hemi begins to vomit. Since he refused all food, even treats, all that came up was water. He also began to pant and belch. Off to the emergency vet we go.

3 hours later, we leave with a handful of drugs and a CD with x-rays on it. These to be exact. (And, for the price we paid for the x-rays, they should be rimmed in solid gold!)




After a fecal test, bloodwork, x-rays, and a bout of bloody diarrhea in the back, the vet decided that Hemi has giardia. He got several injections and oral medications to help calm his tummy. We get home, feeling better and more confident. Let all the dogs out, and Kyra now has diarrhea.

Gene calls the emergency vet about getting medication to treat Kyra, since we were told how contagious giardia is. We were told they would not do that without seeing her. Oh, yeah. Another $700?

I've had enough of 2009. I'm done. Anyone with me?

Now, excuse me while I go steam clean my carpets.