Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Not too much has been happening with Abby, so there hasn't been a whole lot to write about. She's doing well, after that little scare she gave us (in my previous post) with the combined tummy trouble/toe problem/heat issues. We've been taking her to the beach and she runs like her usual nutty self. Her energy and appetite still both seem to be really good, so we are pleased about that!
"Woah, it's dark out there."
You probably all heard (and some of you lived through...) the Great San Diego Blackout of 2011. Well, we missed all the excitement. We left town that day at exactly 3:20, missing the traffic chaos by twenty minutes. Whoohoo! We went to spend the night at my sister's, so Abby stayed with aunt Terry and uncle Jon and cousin Lou, the Corgi. We called that night to check on Abby and to see how they were doing in the blackout and heard a LOT of barking in the background. That was when I remembered that Abby goes nuts for flashlights. She has "a thing" for lights and reflections of any kind (sort of an Overly Attentive Light Disorder), and flashlights especially make her crazy. Apparently so do candles. :) So my sis and brother-in-law had the fun of trying to keep her calm with all the flickering lights and flashlight beams!
"Aunt Terry, the flash is too bright!"
Exhausted
from the blackout madness.
On the plus side, Terry said they had a lovely walk at dusk and everyone was out and about in the neighborhood (cuz there was nuthin' else to do). Abby was apparently quite the topic of conversation with neighbors they had never met before. Ah, three-legged dogs... bringing folks together. (In that picture to the right, she is resting on the daybed that she's not supposed to sleep on without a cover on it, but she gets away with a lot since she
is the sweet cancer puppy... Besides, she looks cute on it!)
In other non-Abby news, but in cute-photo news, Mike took Tuesday off and we went to the zoo. I was a little worried it would be boring since it was mid-morning by the time we got there and sort of warm, but the heat was a good thing since we saw a lot of animals in the water, even some of the elephants which was very cool. The best were the polar bears, so we watched them for a long time. The one bear had a bone that she was totally batting around underwater, like it was a volleyball.
Dropped the bone and had to dive for it.
This big ol' polar bear grabbed a mouthful of carrots off a rock and then sat in the water right in front of the window eating them. If you click on the pic and see the bigger version of it, you can see what a slob he is -- there are carrot crumbs all over his tummy. I can relate to that. Although, with me it is usually something more like cookie crumbs...
That's about it for news around here. Abby has a follow-up appointment on Friday. It shouldn't be a big deal - no x-rays this go round - but keep fingers and paws crossed please that when Dr. V. listens to her lungs and heart everything will sound good!
Downs
OK, so... it's been a bit of a stressful week. In my last post I mentioned we took Monday off from the beach because I was worried about Abby's leg and lack of stamina. Well, Monday night, after having a bad bout of tummy trouble, she was suddenly her old self - racing around, play bowing, jumping on me, etc. She seemed totally fine, so we met up with her buddy, Dakota, at the beach on Tuesday like usual. She was OK at first, but then started stumbling again. We turned back way early but she still was stumbling and breathing a little heavy and laid down several times, which is NOT normal. I was very upset the whole way home and imagining terrible things…
Ups
While I was waiting for Dr. V. to call back, she started furiously licking one toenail and then she jumped up to race around and chase a fly! So, I figured either she is the most stoic dog ever, or there's no spread of cancer to that leg (which is what I had imagined)… Dr. V. thinks it is just a combo of things all hitting at once: the heat sapping her energy, bit of a tummy issue (maybe ate/drank something funky at the bay) also sapping her energy, plus a problem with her toenail and/or a strained wrist. I think she may have slightly torn a toenail at the base, which if you think about it, would hurt like crazy on the uneven surface at the beach - not to mention the sand and salt water getting in there. So the last two days we have just done short walks in the neighborhood and she's done OK with that. Tomorrow we will attempt the beach again, but plan to take it a little easy.
Monkeybutts
It's been a rough couple of days, but as usual the folks at the Tripawds.com site help you through these things. One of things I love about the Tripawds community is that there are some darn funny people on there. (Gee, using humor to deal with adversity... who'da thunk it??) Well, one of the funniest folks on the site made Abby a special video for her 10 month ampuversary, which I've included below. But before you watch it, I have to explain about Monkeybutts...
Monkeybutts (Latin: canis monkeyanticus familiaris OR canis lupus jealousicus) are other dogs (or cats or ferrets, etc.) who live in the house with a tripawd and get up to all sorts of antics due to their jealousy over all the special attention tripawds get - like car rides! (trips to the vet) and treats! (pills hidden in food). The Monkeybutts try to stir up friendly trouble with the AMBF (the Anti MonkeyButt Forces) on the Tripawds site. Abby is a proud member of the AMBF! The Monkeybutts' leader is this little tyke pictured to the right: Rocket, aka "Monkeybutt-Bunny Vampire Pirate". He is the one who made the video for Abby - which is why (as you'll see) it is not the...er, love message you might be expecting.
Abby explained to Monkeybutt that she saw the hidden message in the video... Just like god backwards is dog, she figured out that NOT backwards is TON and that Monkeybutt-Bunny was really trying to say that he likes her a TON! (I may have left you all with the Barney song in your head a couple of posts back; now just try to get this ditty outta your head!)
One More Little "Up"
Today Abby and I went and got sandwiches and then hijacked Mike from work and took him to the park for a wee picnic lunch and a nice stroll/hop in the sun. It was very nice.
And One More Big "Down"
Hate to end on a sad note, but I wanted to mention to please send good vibes out to Chili Dawg's family. Chili Dawg was the tripawd golden that we sent Barney on to. Sweet Chili didn't make it. (You might not want to click this link unless you have tissues handy...) He had an appointment with heaven that he couldn't miss. He didn't even get to have much fun with Barney, and had to let his monkeybutt brother, Finchy the boxer, try to kill Barney. The Tripawds folks are all very sad about the loss of Chili, a great Tripawd Warrior.
Today is Abby's 10 month ampuversary - that's right, she has made it to double digits! Whoohoo!
Unfortunately, we are not having a super celebratory day... Normally we would have gone to the beach this morning, but yesterday she gave us a little scare. We took her to the beach for a walk/run, like we always do on Sundays, and as we were running down the hill at the far end of the beach, she face-planted. She got up and immediately face-planted again. That second one was a little more worrisome. Then she acted a little strange at home – hopping around quite slowly and just not seeming like herself. (She didn't even terrorize me at night like she normally does - chewing my toes while I try to lay on the couch and relax.) But... yesterday was pretty much the hottest day we have had here yet (it's been a cool summer at our house until just the other day) so I'm hoping it was just that the heat got to her and that she maybe tweaked her leg a little when she took the tumble.
Of course, as soon as I decided today that she should stay home and take it easy, she started racing around chasing a fly – so I'm assuming the leg doesn't hurt or she wouldn't do that, no?? Anyway, it is supposed to be hot again today so I think we will just take it easy and hopefully be back at the beach tomorrow.
I can't help the sinking feeling that the cancer has spread to her good front leg… I keep looking at it seeing (imaginary??) strange swelling, but hopefully that is totally not the case (and is just my paranoia). And hopefully Boris & Natasha are still all alone in there…
We will at least break out a Frosty Paw to celebrate making it to DOUBLE DIGITS!!! Whoohoo! This was a big one – I really wanted to hit those double digits… Now our next BIG goal is ONE YEAR. Come on, Ab, you can do it!
On a brighter note - Friday was a great day. It was National Dog Day so we went to the beach for an extra long time. I took a lot of pics of her:
"I ran with some big dogs...
...and a little dog that kinda looked like me."
"I looked for my friend, Gopher, like I always do."
"Mom took a gazillion pics. She likes this one best."
Abby also got a Frosty Paw that day. It was a good day to be a dog - but then, every day is pretty much Dog Day at our house.
Probably any of you out there with children of a certain age will recognize today's blog title as the first line of Barney's insipid number one hit (which is pretty lame for many reasons, but mainly because he ripped off the music from This Old Man. Come on, Barney! Write your own music, you loser!).
Having no children (at least of the non-furry variety) I never really knew the Barney song. But I know it intimately now. We got Abby her very own used Barney through Amazon and I would have ordered a different one if I'd realized they were sending us one that sings the whole of the I Love You song! Actually, I should say "sang" the I Love You song, because luckily Abby has already chewed on him enough that his music box is now just deadweight in his stomach.
Sadly, he's not as stinky.
"Mmmm. Barney tail."
She gave him the exact same tooth surgery as the last Barney. (Still not safe, Barney.)
"Could I have that back, please?" (Abby was impatient with my photo-shooting.)
He actually came with an extra "Beanie" Barney that they threw in for free. (Guess there's not a lot of demand for Barney, so they can give him away... Those people probably bought that Beanie Barney back in the heyday of both Barney and Beanies, which according to wikipedia was ~1993 for both, thinking "Man, this is going to be worth something someday!") Anyway, the extra Barney is good for when she totally mangles the first one!
Whoohoo! Two-for-one Barneys!
Ever since she got Spirit Jerry's Barney in the mail--which was actually addressed to her--she now thinks that any package that arrives is hers. Mike got some sunglasses in the mail the other day, and she was all over it while he was opening the box:
"Is that for me??"
"I thought so!"
"I don't know who sent this, but it's awesome!"
I guess since she likes to chew the boxes, all the packages really are for her.
Anyway, back to Barney. If you are dying to know the whole Barney song, it goes like this (remember, to the tune of This Old Man): "I love you; you love me. We're a happy family, with a great big hug and a kiss from me to you, won't you say you love me too?"
Here is what Barney looks after just a few days of living with Abby.
I can see into your brain, Barney. And there ain't much there.
He no longer asks her if she loves him too. I think he has his answer.
Thanks for reading.
Oh, P.S. My sis and I felted some corgis today. Thought I'd show off how cute they came out!
P.P.S. I can now say where we sent the original Barney on to... He went to Chili Dawg in Illinois. You can read about Chili's adventures with Barney here (in Chili's words; quite amusing) and here (in Chili's mom's words). The second blog has some good pics of what all comes along in the box with Barney!
Today we said goodbye to Barney. Before we could mail him on his way, I had to fix him up. Here he is after I tended to his wounds:
I thought he might appreciate the Tylenol PM--hopefully keep him knocked out for the long ride to his next stop (which has to remain a secret for now as per the official Kill Barney Tour rules... Yes, there are actual rules for this thing, and I am nothing if not a rule follower.)
I wanted to also take a picture of him with his mementos from the zoo that we added to his box of treasures. While I was preoccupied with the camera, you can just see a little fuzzy head sneak up into the picture and make one last attempt at him.
Abby certainly did try to live up to the name of the Kill Barney Tour. She definitely had the spirit of the thing, but, poor her, her mom wouldn't let her really kill him.
I also thought I'd tell you about a stupid/funny thing that I did yesterday.
Abby does so well on three legs that (unless I hear her hopping along) I sometimes forget that she is missing that leg. Sometimes I'll come around the corner and see her standing there and just go, "Oh man." You sort of forget, for like half a second. Well, yesterday when we got back from the beach, we went to the front yard to rinse the sand off her feet like we always do. I was on her "good side" hosing her feet off, and I did the back two and then the front - and then I hosed the space where her other leg ought to have been. Yeah. Felt a little stupid about that. I've heard of phantom limb pain, but never phantom limb washing. It's been almost 10 months, so you'd think I'd really get it by now! But I guess that is just a testament to our fuzzy little girl, who sure doesn't act like she is missing anything!
Gosh. Don't know what I'll blog about in the future, now that Barney's gone. Hopefully I'll think of something! Thanks for reading.
Abby finally got her chance to kill barney. It took us a week to get him fully lulled into a false sense of security. There was the spa day, the trip to the zoo, and then Abby and I took him to her favorite spot - Fiesta Island. I confess I was worried about taking him there, lest some OTHER dog grab him and run off and get the joy of killing him (tragedy!) but it was a fairly quiet day there and I mostly kept him hidden in my backpack (which he didn't seem to mind, but remember - he's a total moron.)
He played lifeguard
First, he enjoyed the view
Personally, I think Abby makes a cuter lifeguard, but Barney wanted to give it a go. (He said he wanted to pretend he was David Hasselhoff in Bay Watch. He made us call him "The Hoff" the rest of the day. Moron.)
Then the time finally came to sit Barney down and clue him in:
Admittedly, she was a little slow to get into it. But after a few more nibbles on him, she really started to develop a taste for him. She chewed:
His nose...
His side
The spots on his back
His hand
His hiney (she's actually chewing his tag off here...)
His tail
His stinky feet
She got so into chewing him that I decided to video a bit more:
And then it was time to save Barney so that some other Tripawd could try to kill him.
"I'm not done with that!"
"Hey, where you going with that thing??"
I documented his wounds.
Small hole in left butt cheek
Big hole in mouth, small hole in left big toe
I now have to sew him up good and get him looking presentable to go off to the next Tripawd home. Abby is very sad to see him go... but we ordered her her very own used Barney from Amazon yesterday. She can't wait for it to get here so she can kill it!
Thought I would take a short break from the actual events of this stop on the Kill Barney Tour(KBT) to 'splain a little bit more about Barney and what the KBT is all about. I explained it a bit a while ago, but folks may have missed that, and also I didn't explain what I think Barney means to the Tripawds community.
The very same Barney that we are now hosting once belonged to Jerry, who is now known on the Tripawds site as Spirit Jerry since he's no longer with us in the flesh. Jerry was the Original Tripawd--the dog that inspired his pawrents to start the Tripawds site. Jerry has been gone since 2008, but his spirit lives on in the Tripawds community, which has been a really amazing place to go for support and answers during all of this. Everyone on there is very nice and very helpful - and some of them are damn funny.
Which brings us back to the KBT. If I'm counting stops correctly on the KBT map, we are the 25th house to host Barney. Barney travels with a journal and everyone who has hosted him writes about their tripawd pooch and a little bit about Barney's visit. Here is what one woman wrote, which I think sums up nicely why we are all spending time doing silly things with a stinky purple dinosaur:
"I cannot begin to express my gratitude over this Barney. I believe he carries strength from all the tripawd and quad-pawds he's visited. He has been a great source of comfort to us during his visit."
Here's what I'm planning to write in his journal:
"It’s been an honor to host Barney. The Tripawds family has been so great and supportive and it’s nice to have something tangible we can all share that brings a good laugh along with it. Barney is a great symbol for sharing our strengths, our hopes and even a laugh in the face of tough times."
So hopefully that explains why a grown woman is playing with a stuffed dino. It's nice to bring a little silliness to the sucky roller coaster ride that is canine osteosarcoma. I mean, really, how can you not look at something like this and at least crack a smile?
In other news (many of you will already know this from Facebook)... remember this drawing I did of Abby?
Well, the Tripawds folks are putting it on T-shirts and gifts and such, and you can customize the items with your own caption. I ordered a bunch of stuff today, most of it with the caption: Tri to relax. Can't wait to get it!
