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....

what???

a lot to think about...

what a difference a month can make. one day you're fine. going on about your sniffing, your wagging, your general walking, occasional barking, shedding, eating, etc.  life is good.  everything is fine.  you have a blog, you have a few special friends (who follow your blog), you have florida and a bus and people who feed and love you.

then a bomb drops.  well, not in america so much, but you know.  something big happens that changes your life.  you even stop blogging for a month while you figure things out or not.

here's the scoop.  One Day a month ago, i walked into the doctor's office and everyone was smiling and telling me how cute i was.  oh, those receptionists are always all smiles.  then the vet techs were all cuddly and lovey dovey.  they did the routine looking in the ears (mine are perfect), and when the official vet came in to meet me, i pleased her so much that she actually kissed me on the cheek.  i mean--how cute does a dog have to be to be kissed on the cheek By A Vet??  so on we went and i was fine with it.  "let's check her toenails. oh aren't they cute, let's trim them."   i don't like a pedicure that much, but those canine professionals were crazy about me.  they checked out every which thing (all of mine are perfect), and then just because they ran out of ways to keep me in their office, they said "let's do one more routine test--for heartworms..."

i spent my ten minute wait running to each corner of that examination room, looking for my fans, picking up and eating anything left on the floor, entertaining my proud peeps, licking, wagging, jumping, you know the routine. now i look back on that 10 minute wait and wish i could return to oblivion.  but no; finally the vet came back in the room. she had wet eyes. that's never a good sign with peeps, vets or not.

drum roll, confusion, then she said:  "Tidbit tested positive for HeartWorm."  she held me tight. her eyes leaked.

we're all depressed, not just me...

the VetWithWetEyes said, "It's not a death sentence..." well thanks for the good news.  and she went on to say how there are worms, actual worms in my heart.  Excuse Me???   these are like tapeworms but they're not eating my food they're eating ME!!!  they are starting with my Heart!!  Oh My Dog, she can't be serious.  but the VetWithWetEyes continued explaining all the expensive things she may be able to do to kill the worms and try not to kill me, and i'm sitting there thinking Oh My Dog.  they will shoot what painful caustic killer?? into where?? and hope i don't suffer paralysis?  or cough up a chunk of a worm??  and the embolism does what to my lungs?  and how many days (did she really say 30) in a crate?  unable to run?  no excitement??  crated for 30 days????  but wait.  then another shot into where?  and the paralysis issue again?  and what about that pain?  for another 30 days?  in a crate?  you have to be kidding.

now, i've heard of worming one's way into another one's heart.  as a matter of fact that's what i did to my peeps,  but this gives new meaning to the old phrase.  

i'll tell you one thing.  i'm never going to another vet. that happy joyful moment in the reception area and even the Vet Kissing Your Cheek is not worth the outcome.  i'm not going back. no way, Jose.  this whole Vet thing has confounded me for the last month--just trying to figure out what the heck this means to my (lack of a) future.  my blog has suffered, but my peeps and i have suffered more, just trying to make sense of this shocking news. i guess when one (that would be me) is born in florida, and one is found running down a busy highway with a child's belt too tight around one's neck (that would also be me), one might expect to have been bitten by a mosquito. apparently mine carried the parasite, Heart Worm.  who knew...  

but i continue to put on a good front. i say, as always "Onward!"  i'll figure this out, just like everything else. thanks for being there, friends...