SacPaws.com

After spending enough time with our canine kids, you get to know their behaviors pretty thoroughly.  As I blogged a few days ago, Miss Ruby was showing symptoms of another bladder infection....lethargy, dragging her booty, peeing more.  The telltale sign was having her wake me up like clockwork between 2-3am the last few nights to go out to pee.  Usually she sleeps through the night and is often a total slug in the mornings so I knew it was probably another bladder infection.  The vet confirmed it and now we're on a 10-day course of antibiotics.  This is the third infection in the past year which is most likely from a bladder stone that was found on a CT scan last summer while we were in Sacramento.  I think it's time to explore the possibility of having the stone removed since its presence will only continue to aggravate Ruby's bladder.  In humans they can use laser lithotripsy to break up stones which is very effective but I'm not sure that's an option with dogs.  Better do my homework.

I don't know if anyone else has ever experienced this but my little puggy, Ruby, gets some sort of yeast-like build up on the sides of her mouth especially with the warmer weather when she's panting more.  It becomes almost scab-like...it can be peeled off but I think it causes her discomfort.  I have some Malaseb medicated pads but that's not doing the trick.  I've also noticed a similar patch along the inside of her front right leg which she licks quite a bit.  Looks like we may be headed back to the vet tomorrow to find out what's going on. 

Happy Memorial Day Weekend

I wanted to blog about something that I experienced in the wee hours of this morning that isn't pet-related but an amazing experience nonetheless: an organ harvest.  As part of my surgical rotation, I can volunteer to be part of the team that "harvests" or retrieves organs from patients.  Because I was going to be in town during the long weekend, I put my name on the list to be called and sure enough yesterday a call came about a liver and kidneys available.  I was to meet the surgeon at one of the local hospitals at 2am this morning.

I managed to sleep about an hour before taking off.  I could tell Ruby and Amie were thoroughly confused as to why we only slept for such a short time but we did our usual weekday morning routine: go outside to pee then get them comfortable on the couch before I left.  Only this time it was 1am.  They were troopers and probably fell back to sleep immediately.

I didn't get much information on the patient aside from she was 44 and had been declared braindead because of a brain hemorrage.  I was nervous.  Would I become too emotional once we started?  Would I freeze up and not be able to participate?  To my surprise, I was calm and felt overwhelming gratitude for this woman and her family.  I hope their anguish can be made less profound knowing the enormous gift they are providing for other families who will be forever grateful.  Forever changed by their courage to give someone else a chance at life. 

The entire procedure from start to finish took less than two hours.  The surgeon left and I closed up the long incision then bandaged it.  Afterward, the scrub nurse and ICU nurse helped clean her up.  We took all the tubes and lines out.  I think we were all aware, in our own way, of the need for treating her body with dignity.  Her life ended but she's providing life for others through her organs.  I hope she somehow knows this. 

I was home by 5am and took the girls out for a very quiet, peaceful walk.    

I just finished reading the book Marley and Me....it's about a family and their life with a chaotic but dearly loved lab named Marley.  What a great read!  Anyone who has ever loved and lost any sort of furry creature will see themselves in this book.  It reminded me so much of how intense the bond can become between animals and humans and the pain we experience when they cross the Rainbow Bridge.  

I'm a late-bloomer relative to dog ownership....adopted my first dog when I was an adult: a greyhound named Jack.  I had him for just two years when I noticed one day he was lethargic and not much interested in his food.  Thinking it was some sort of mild stomach upset, I was completely unprepared for when the vet diagnosed kidney cancer.  After one round of chemo, I couldn't handle watching him suffer so I put him to sleep.  I can say with certainty that I have never cried, more like wailed, in my entire life as he took his last breath.  To this day I still get choked up when I think about him because he was my first dog, the first time I was completely responsible for another life.     

After reading this book, I love my little puggies, Ruby and Amie, that much more!!

Weather-wise, this was a near perfect weekend!  The girls and I have been outside as much as possible either sitting in the grass behind my apartment or stretching out under the shade of a big tree at our favorite park.   They even accompanied me in the car at the crack of dawn this morning when I was dropping off bottles of gatorade for my long run.  As I was planting a few bottles near the edge of some trees, a beautiful young deer came bounding out and trotted across the grass until it was a safe distance from us.  We all stood and watched in awe.  What an incredible sight.

Amie and Ruby are having a ball with the warmer weather--smells must be more potent or something--but there's also more canines out.  We met a beautiful dog the other day called a Shiba Inu.  Don't think I've ever seen one before.  Also saw one of the largest Great Danes I've ever seen....it was loping along side it's owner who was running.  I think the head was nearly level wit h the owner's shoulder!  Ruby, who usually wants to sniff EVERY dog we encounter, stood still in her tracks.  I don't she could figure out if it was a dog or a small horse but decided to give them plenty of room.

If anyone is looking for a good book, I just started one: Marley and Me by John Grogan.  It chronicles the story of Marley, their precocious yellow lab.  So far it's terrific. 

I had a very dogcentric weekend!  Saturday was our monthly pug gathering but Mother Nature wasn't too cooperative.  It was drizzling but Ruby had been looking forward to this event for days so we braved the weather and thankfully so did three other pugs.....Tito, Brutus and Bubbles.  They were all less than 2 yrs old so Ruby had her hands (or should I say paws) full just trying to keep up with the young'uns.  She had a blast!  Amie hung by my side as she usually does but she enjoys the fresh air and many park smells. 

Sunday morning I was out running and a beautiful chocolate lab came bounding up having the time of his life.  It was clear he was sailing solo because there was no owner around and a collar with no tags.  He was enoying himself immensely because he tagged along for about a mile.  I did a few laps in his neighborhood and came across a guy walking his dog so Mr. Chocolate Lab found a new friend.  The owner said he would take him and ask around for his home. 

Tags!!  Get your canine buddies tags with a name and phone number!  You can get them made instantly for a reasonable price at any of the bigger pet stores like PetSmart or Petco.  Do it!!!