My Florida...yes, it's all coming back to me now

That's one mighty fine Gulf, with Seahorse Key floating on top

This is a Rest Stop! They really know how to give R and R to travelers


With only two seizures during the last month, i can remember who i am. those peeps are making more sense--they're coming around.  they've started taking me places again, and they give me tons of treats with medicine inside.  i'm gaining weight.  it's one Big, happy family.

Bird Watching is my favorite sport, and this is the place to do it.

must be messy--glad we're not hiking

Holy Mackerel!  'leeeeen got a fishing license for her birthday, so now we're serious about seafood.  spotted sea trout are the usual fare, but these guys were good!

yummm

rahhhn does this all the time. how come They get to ride??

and now i can do what i do best

life is good. dreaming is my strong suit

don't even need a bed

oops.  i opened my eye.  night, friends...  looks like i might make it after all.  blood tests soon will tell the tale.  if the worms are gone, grrrreat.  if they're still here i'll be too depressed to write.  

who am i? why am i here?

i am a little confused.  i don't know where i've been. as a matter of fact i don't know where i am now.  i'm feeling ok.  for a while there, i was having a storm in my brain--electric shock therapy or seizures or strokes.  that was horribly unpleasant. now it's been a few days and it hasn't happened...

these days, the only place i go is to Dr. Allison Wonderland and Dr. Yester. They act like they like me, but then they do some very aggressive and outlandish things to me, so i am not sure.  i'm not sure of anything much.  

i have no idea--who i am or where i live
do i have a home?  a pack?  where is the food?

i am not allowed to play, so i rest a lot. twice or more a day the other pack members say something like "BEE-ti,  BEE-ti, BEE-ti" and then hand me food with little white pebbles in them. 

i can sometimes peel away the food and eat the good part--leaving the small white rocks on the floor.  but on the frequent occasion that i'm just too hungry, i eat the food quickly--nasty tasting pebbles and all, and next thing i know it's Night nIGHT.    

seems like a nice enough place.  it's certainly hot here
there are geckos. i like geckos.
that's the only thing i know for sure.i hear them rattling around in those leaves. 
finally, i have a purpose.

yes. this is where they live.i only care about them.
i have been placed in some sort of contraption
and there is a force constantly pulling me back from what i love.

outside the laundromat
i hear geckos
i can almost taste them

the force drags me to the dock.
no geckos.

on second thought, these are not geckos but
they are fiddler crabs and they will do, but wait...

the force drags me away from my hunt

and into this white den.

the pack members are very hard to understand. sometimes when i relieve myself they are delighted. other times they are distraught.  very unpredictable pack members.  i assume i am dominant, but i'm not sure. the larger one may be.  or that other one.  

i'll just have to give them time. perhaps things will improve.  just please whoever is in charge--don't let those shocking episodes return.  

don't you have days like this?  bury thy head and wait for things to get better....

i wait outside my house.  where did i go wrong?

have i mentioned the shaved patch on my back that now itches?

that patch that drives me insane???

ok, i think i'm going to make it...in spite of that itchy bald rectangle on my back...




they took away all of my toys because Dr. Hop Along said i can't play for 60 days. she doesn't want the worm bodies to move to fast and give me a stroke.  i have a whole basket of toys, but they hid it.  after they went to bed,  i showed them.  i made my own toys out of TP.  i found the roll that waits in the shower, and made the best of it. 

couldn't help myself

i'm ok.

i'm better than ok, especially when i get my tummy rubbed...  rahhn is my hero.

this is not a silent scream.  this is my happy face.

it's just me in a rough'n tough world.  glad i've made it So Far.  thanks for caring   

Friends, I'm not picture-worthy yet, but I am doing better. They're feeding me fancy foods with medicine inside. It's worth the trade off if you ask me.  Also, they're carrying me outside like a movie star chihuahua or dainty poodle. Those are the upsides of this experience.

But I'm resting comfortably, perking up my ears, and wagging my tail. Only a little--it curls back and tickles that bald spot they shaved on my back.

All in all, the worms seem to be dying quietly, and I'm coming back to life.

My attitude is still positive. I do not hold a grudge. Thank you for your concern and good wishes...

Holy Cow

oh boy

you can't imagine.  the nausea.  the pain.  i can't wag without hurting

close up of the shaved area where they put that needle nice and deep into the lumbar muscles

i can't even eat.  no way to get comfortable...

there is no relief.

it's just a big OUCH. and Dr. Hop-Along called ibuprofen pain pills.  I don't Think So!  

let's just see whether my worms go embolize or they exit through my lungs...

please, folks, be religious in your use of preventives.  Advantix has heartworm protection.  on behalf of all of us, please spend the extra $4 and do the heartworm preventive.  it's WAY cheaper than what my peeps have done...

good night.   i'm so gone.  but alive, so far...

I'm Goin' In

Tomorrow is the Big Day. Wish me luck. I've been on the antibiotics for weeks now and they'll give me pain meds before and after  the Shot.  We're all getting psyched up for the event and aftermath. It will be hour by hour on Tuesday and unlike most canines, I'll Not be spending days at the vet's.  Dr. Hop-Along and her techs are not at the clinic overnight, so they want me to come home with my peeps.  Rahhhn and 'leeene get to sit up with me and watch for problems, too gruesome to detail.

My peeps have rearranged the house, since I'll be a caged animal for the next 60 days. I can't believe they're going to go through with this, but let's get it over with!  I'm using my Vision Board and picturing myself in perfect health, with no worms in my heart. In a couple of months I'll own the world again!  Thank you, friends, for your concern....    

the thing is, you should always get a second opinion.  i have learned this from my peeps. we went to Dr. Hop-Along and she gave us her second opinion , and more importantly, she gave me a goody bag when i left. 

 BTW i did give the radiologist a run for her money. she had this heavy lead apron on, and boy, that's a dog advantage if i ever saw one.  i took off through that open door and she was slower than molasses in January (in Illinois) and she couldn't move nearly fast enough so Off I Took.  Through the lab, through the x-ray room, out beyond the consultation room.  it was awesome.  i had vets, radiologists, and receptionists (all so cute) chasing me...  sort of like a cartoon of a dog at a vet's office.  but wait!

not only do they have a different approach (including an antibiotic which means EGGS every morning for me.... but they also want to do the Big Shot sooner, and whatever...  the important thing is:  they don't just send you home with vaccinations and antibiotics and another $250 bill.  they send you home with a TREAT BAG.  well.  have you ever...   Oh My Dog this is awesome.  the bag was loaded.  i mean loaded with crunchies, softies, chewies, bonies, u name it.  it was the most fantastic present ever.  who cares if they want to poison me and my worms some day next month.  the most important this is:  TREATS!  the likes of which i have never seen.  oh yeah, there was that toothbrush thing included, but other than that... wow.  Dr. Hop-Along is my kind of Vet.

CRUNCH

so.  after the vet thing was settled, according to the humans anyway, onward to the spa day.  i thought i looked terrific, but this Florida sun and heat and Dr. Hop-Along calling me "scruffy" sent my peeps into overdrive and they heard (from Connie) that there was a groomer nearby who would tame my tresses for small money.  ok.

all righty then. whatever you say. i look fine to me, but if you want a poodle-like artificial bulimic looking terrier then, there you go.

voila.
shaved.  i should go to Argentina.
the new me. ready for the beach. or anything else.

i am proud.  i am ready.  Dr. Hop-Along says she'll have me back for the Real Deal in two weeks. i'm on antibiotics and i don't like them much, but soon, very soon, they'll shoot me in the lower back with OUCH
and i'll be sedated, and they'll send me home with pain pills, and at least i look pretty spiffy. for a mutt.  wish me luck....