Our hectic week

Lassie is feeling very under the weather this week. Those of you who follow us on Instagram, Facebook and/or Twitter already know this. But for those of you who don’t, here’s what’s been happening over here…

Tuesday night Lassie threw up a few times. I didn’t think much of it, Lassie’s stomach is so sensitive, I just figured he ate some people food that didn’t agree with him. He was fine all day Wednesday, so I was sure that was all it was. He was running, playing, eating, drinking and acting his usual self. Despite that, Wednesday night he started throwing up again, this time there was a little bit of blood in his acid-y vomit. Thursday he went to the vet (favorite vet, 45-ish minutes away) and threw up on their floor. It smelled awful. They did some blood work on him and everything looked fine. I can’t remember everything they checked, but they checked a lot. Everything was within a normal range. We thought maybe it was a blockage then, though Lassie is not one to eat things he shouldn’t, but you never know. He does have a hard time resisting the cooked chicken bones, though 95% of the time we take those straight to the big trash can outside, which the dogs have no access to. But better safe than sorry, so they did x-rays, but found nothing. All looked well, though he did have some gas, and he does have a bit of arthritis in his hips.

We wondered if maybe he had a stomach ulcer, which just didn’t show up in x-rays. So we decided to start some medications for his upset tummy and a possible ulcer. He got a shot of Cerenia, an anti-nausea medication. They also gave him a dose of Sucralfate, for the possible ulcer, and told me to pick up a generic brand of Pepcid from Walmart.
Now he never actually got that last one, because within 30 minutes of being dosed with the first two medications, Lassie started acting funny in the car. His head was swaying and he was having a difficult time lapping up his water. Luckily we were still near the vet, so we went right back over there and had the vet come out to the car to take a look at him. She said his coloring looked good and he didn’t appear to be having a reaction. She said he was probably just feeling sick and a little uneasy. She said to take him home and let him sleep it off. We did that.

Here’s my Instagram update from Thursday afternoon:
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We had to carry him from the car into the house. He wouldn’t walk. Or couldn’t, I later realized. I hoped the drugs were just making him a little loopy. We laid him down on his dog cot to get some rest. A little while later, lifting his head became a chore. He could do it, but not for long and not well enough to drink. I started giving him water with a straw (which I later upgraded to a syringe; much easier).

Instagram update from Thursday Evening:

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All the while I’m trying not to panic to the point of sobbing hysterically. Lassie doesn’t like that.

We got through one worrisome night of me waking up to syringe more water into Lassie’s mouth and to help him wobble his way out to the yard to take care of business.

Friday Morning Instagram update:

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A few hours later, around 10:30 AM or so, Lassie gets up and wobbles around restlessly. I help him through the kitchen, thinking he wants to go outside, but he stops and this yellow, stomach-acid looking, vomit just falls out of his mouth. Then he wobbles his way over to the window that houses the swamp cooler and flops down in front of it. His breathing was labored and instantly I was reminded of my sweet Ella before she passed.
How I managed not to throw up at that point, I don’t even know.
I called the vet and told her what was going on. She wanted Lassie in right away. They’re 45 minutes away. Do I settle for one of the vets I despise here in town? Or do I take a risk and make the drive?
I called the vet here in town. He was out of town. So was the other vet. The only vet available was almost as far as Favorite Vet.
My Mom, my Dad, one of my sisters, Lassie and I piled into the car and took off. We were making the drive to Favorite Vet. They knew exactly what medications they had given him Thursday and they had his x-rays and blood work on file and, most importantly, they care the most and I trust them.
I spent the drive crying and panicking and trying not to think about a similar drive we made with Ella. Except with Ella we rushed to the nearest vet possible and she took her final breath as we whipped into the parking lot. This could not happen again. I didn’t want to do that again. Not now. Not with Lassie.
 My Dad turned that 40-45 minute drive into a 30 minute (maybe less, I don’t know, it still seemed so long to me) drive.
(Thank you Dad for breaking the law for my best friend).

Instagram update Friday Afternoon:

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I gave the vet this list of drugs not to use. They promised to review it and took my concerns very seriously.

Instagram update Friday Evening:

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 Friday night was a very long night. Possibly the longest night I’ve had in a very long time.
Or so I thought…

Saturday Morning Instagram update:
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“prayers” is the last word; it wouldn’t fit in my iPhone screen shot. 

Saturday night, last night, was a much longer night than Friday. I got very little sleep. I feel like I’m missing an appendage or something. That might sound dramatic but I don’t care, this is weird. Lassie has been by my side since I was 13. He’s been my best friend. He got me through those awkward and awful teenage years. He got me through a lot of losses. He has taught me so much, from patience to budgeting money. He makes me smile and he makes me laugh. Unfortunately he also makes me completely crazy when he gets sick. He hasn’t been this sick before. The one and only other time he spent a night at the vet was after his neuter, nearly 8 years ago.
I miss him.
Petal misses him. She’s never been apart from him for this long.

Tomorrow is the one year anniversary of Ella’s sudden passing.
I want good news tomorrow.
I want my boy back.
I have a pretty good feeling I’ll get what I want (when I take a deep breath and force myself not to freak out, that is). I just hope I get it tomorrow.

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I’ll keep you guys updated, but my Instagram, Facebook and Twitter pages will be updated first and more often, simply because it is super easy to just type everything up on Instagram and then share it to Facebook and Twitter as well. You’re welcome to check those pages for updates (links to them can be found in right sidebar, those images at the top of the sidebar will take you where you want to go). I won’t hear anything new about Lassie until tomorrow morning, however. I’ll try and post another blog post then. If not tomorrow, then hopefully Tuesday.

Thank you guys again for all the love and support and well wishes and advise on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! It means so much to me. I’m sorry I haven’t replied to every comment, but I promise I read every one.

Black & White Sunday: Missed you

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 Last night’s view. Pretty darn adorable right?

I went out of town for the weekend and got back yesterday afternoon. I was only gone two nights, but I still missed my crazy Collies. I think they missed me too. Petal curled up and laid next to me all. night. last night. It isn’t unusual for her to sleep with me all night, however it was a little unusual for her to sleep so close to me (close enough to prevent me from getting up all night, which was fine by me) all through the night. She wanted to be absolutely sure that I wasn’t going to go anywhere. 😉

My dogs make me feel so loved.


Today we are participating in the Black and White Sunday blog hop hosted by You Did What With Your Weiner, Dachshund Nola and My Life In Blog Years.

Twins!

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(Dobby image source

They’re identical! ;P

My parents have been calling her Dobby.
“Dobby want a sock?” Mom says. Penny licks her face.

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I’m sure you’re all probably wondering why she’s still here.
Penny will be staying indefinitely. My sister wants to keep her.
It’s a long story that doesn’t belong on this blog. 😉 But basically: Penny needed a new home, we were going to find that new home until Sister #2 said she wanted to keep her and would take care of her.
And that’s that.
Dobby Penny will stay.
Might be nice to have a house-elf around.

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Silliness

A little silliness for your Friday.

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Brought to you by Penny and Petal!

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Penny still holds Petal’s tail in order to keep up.

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Penny is also learning ballet!
(She’s also working on gaining a few more pounds).

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Petal uses her Sonic Bark!

It makes your tongue loll out and your eyes go all wonky.

I’ll leave you all with one last picture…

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Happy Nightmares.
😀

(Petal looks like that because Penny just chomped on her booty, just in case you were wondering).

Review: Devotion spray from Viva La Dog Spa

Today we are reviewing Devotion dog spray from Viva La Dog Spa!

Viva La Dog Spa makes— yes, you guessed it: dog grooming supplies such as shampoos, conditioners, sprays, and more.
Viva La Dog Spa has a fun and pretty French look and a adorable Poodle mascot, Lilly Claire.
Their products are made with Solar Power and their bottles, labels, bands and pumps are recyclable! They also pre-cycle whenever possible. You can read more that here.

A little about Devotion and what it was named for:
“Because there’s no one more loyal than your dog, we named our new designer fragrance, DEVOTION. DEVOTION is not only the main characteristic of our dogs, it’s our promise to them too – to be devoted! It’s a relaxing blend of soft floral scents that’s both playful and feminine. Imagine a light mist of fresh flowers with the soft, clean scent of raspberry on a warm day. It’s a winner!”

Our bottle of Devotion arrived wrapped up sweetly.
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It comes in a decent sized bottle at 6 Fl. Oz. The bottle itself has a simple and pretty look.
Pretty also describes the scent. It’s a very pretty scent. It smells so pretty that I refrained from using it on Lassie. He says it’s bad enough I named him “girl”, I don’t need to go and make him smell like one too. 😉

It smells nicer than most human perfumes. I’m tempted to use it on myself.
In fact, I did. I sprayed a bit of it on each wrist, just to sample it before I sprayed it on Petal. I have really sensitive skin and I didn’t want to spray something I could potentially be allergic to on Petal, seeing as I’m often rubbing my face against her fur and kissing on her.

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Unfortunately the scent only seems to last about two days.
It took a few tries to get the spray nozzle to work that first time, but after that it has worked like a charm! Although, it doesn’t spray the way I was expecting it to. It doesn’t drench Petal or come out in a stream or anything, it just doesn’t come out in the really light, but wide spread, misty spray I expected it to. Because of this it only covers a small area of fur, but if I rub it around I can get it to cover a larger area.

I haven’t had any severe reactions to it, but (and it very well may be just me, I am sensitive to some perfumes, so I’m keeping that in mind), it is strong at first. Petal doesn’t always appreciate it that much when it first goes on, but after I rub it in it doesn’t seem to bother her. I never use more than one spritz.

The ingredients of this fragrance are no where to be found. They’re top secret. So this spray may or may not be a suitable fit for dogs with allergies.

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Pretty little bottle, isn’t it?

Our over all rating of Viva La Dog Spa’s Devotion spray:
I give it 4 out of 5 hearts; it smells so pretty, but initially it’s rather strong (so it may not be a good choice for the really sensitive type). I almost feel funny about spraying it on Petal because it smells so much like a human perfume, LOL.
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Petal gives it 2 1/2 out of 4 paws, ’cause that first spray sometimes makes her sneeze a big sneezie.
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To be perfectly honest, unless someone directly asked me about it (“Your dog smells so good! What did you use? Where can I get it?” for example), this wouldn’t be the first grooming splash/spray I would recommend.

Check out Viva La Dog Spa to learn more about them and their products.
You can also find them on Twitter and Facebook.

Discloser: I was sent one bottle of Devotion pet fragrance for review purposes. I was not compensated for this review. All opinions expressed are my own.