They Don’t Call Him Snoopy Because of Charlie Brown

I didn’t go to work on Thursday. Snoopy tried to scare us to death, and as a result I wound up being awake for nearly 24 hours in a row. There is a TMI warning for this post, as there will much discussing of disgusting canine bodily functions. Well, these bodily functions would be equally as disgusting if they were human. So those of you with weak stomachs, proceed with caution.

Wednesday was interesting in and of itself, without Snoopy’s help (see my weight-loss blog post, which interestingly enough comes with its own TMI warning). I got home around 7pm, fed all the animals, and everything seemed fine.

Then, at about 8:30pm, Snoopy barfed in front of the front door. He went outside and had some runny poop, walked around in a squat for a few minutes, then came up on the front porch and barfed two more times. I felt so bad for him; he was trying to get around the puddles and I was trying to help him, then he slipped and fell in one of the puddles. He completely wigged out and obviously grossed himself out! I managed to get him back in the house and cleaned up. I turned my back for 20 seconds, turned back around and discovered he had suffered massive, projectile, explosive diarrhea. And peed. By the time I cleaned that up, he did it again. I was very concerned about him, and so was everyone else. He kept going to the water dish, hovering his muzzle right over the surface of the water, but not taking a drink. We would sit in the hallway with his head hanging, then wander around, come back to the water dish, not be able to bring himself to drink, then go sit in the hallway and hang his head. He repeated this pattern over and over until he barfed again. I was really concerned about dehydration, especially considering the amount of liquid he was losing with each…erm…discharge, and because of his age – which we figure to be between 12 and 15.

He finally was able to take a few sips of water. By this time, it was way past my bedtime, but Sis had wrapped him in a towel and held him in her lap in the recliner. I went to my room to play a few games on my fabulous Kindle before going to sleep. Sometime around midnight, I got up to use the bathroom one last time before lights out and when I came out, decided to check on Snoopy. I found Les sobbing in the kitchen, begging Snoopy not to die as Snoopy wobbled in circles around the dining room. He could not keep his footing and was very obviously disoriented. He had just pooped all over Sis as well. We decided that this called for medical intervention. We thought there was a 24-hour emergency vet clinic in Centralia, about 25 miles away, but it turns out it is not open 24 hours. We found one in Olympia, about 45 miles away. Sis and I threw on clothes, wrapped Snoopy in a couple of towels, told Les to get his shit together and hit the road. On the way, we noticed that his eyes were constantly flitting from left to right and he was very agitated. He calmed down after about 10 minutes into the car ride.

We got to the clinic and they took him right back (we had called ahead to explain the situation so they were ready for us). They gave him a mild sedative to calm him down, and after about 20 minutes they came to talk to us and get the whole story. By this time, not only were his eyes going from side to side, now his head was wagging from side to side as well. The doctor could not figure out what was going on; I discussed my concern about dehydration, and wondered if he had a blockage or something. I did find something that looked like chewed up, tiny, splintered green things that sure looked and felt like plastic to me. The doctor was concerned that he had gotten into something toxic, but we just don’t have any idea of what it could be. We keep all medications (human and otherwise), chocolate, sugar-free items, etc. all out of their reach, and we could not think of anything in green plastic that he could have gotten into. There were no signs of anything in the house being chewed up or gnawed on. But, like this post title says, he wasn’t named for the Peanuts character; he’s called Snoopy because he can’t keep his big, doxie nose out of stuff.

They did x-rays and did see something in his colon, but it seemed to be moving along just fine with no danger of obstruction. The cost of all of this was great and we wanted to do as much for him as we could; the clinic was very helpful and understanding of this. In the end, we did the x-rays, he received subcutaneous fluids, an anti-nausea shot, a dose of antibiotics (a pill which we did not end up giving him – it was for if we saw blood in his poop or vomit, which never occurred), and the sedative: $477 and change. I paid for half and Sis paid for half; this way we are both mostly screwed instead of just Sis being totally screwed. He is Jim’s dog, but Jim would have just had him put to sleep because Jim is an asshole and won’t even fork out the $18 to have his toenails clipped (no, we cannot do his at home). But that’s another whine for another day.

We got home at 4:45am, right when my alarm clock goes off. I sent a text to my co-worker and told her I wouldn’t be in since I was just now getting home from a vet emergency. Sis kept Snoopy with her and slept with him in the recliner and I went to bed. The sedative wore off about the time she tried to go to sleep, but he stayed with her all morning. I got up around 1pm and was overjoyed to see that he was doing great! His eyes and head had stopped that weird flopping back and forth, and though he was weak, he was walking around just fine. He continued to get stronger throughout the day, and when I came home from work on Friday night, he was even better than his old self. When Luka came in for dinner, Snoopy ran after her into the kitchen – boing boing boing. His eyes were clear and bright and he just couldn’t seem to wag his tail enough. I nearly cried. Tonight he has been frisky, even initiating play with Les by pawing at his hands and nipping him.

Sigh…it was a close call and really scary. I hope he doesn’t do that again. I tried to look up his symptoms on The Google, but couldn’t come up with anything. I don’t know if it was the dehydration that caused those weird neurological symptoms; we still don’t know what he ate – if anything – that would have caused the vomiting and diarrhea.

We are just glad he is his good ‘ol self again.

Oh, and everyone at work was totally cool about my missing work; two of the guys I work with even came into the lab to ask me how Snoopy was doing and were so very happy that he was doing so much better. It made my heart feel happy.

TTFN.

Random Stuff and Things

As promised, here is a picture of my progress on Poppy Puss. Progress has been pretty hit and miss lately; fatigue, depression and a visit from Mom kind of got in the way of my stitching time. My super-duper nice (and very expensive) Ott light fell over during the middle of the night while Mom was here; it looks OK but I need to tighten some bolts and might have to replace the light bulb before I can use it in my room again. We had snow – well, most of it was down in the Portland area – and Sis couldn’t make it in to work so she was home for an entire week! It was weird, felt like she’d been home for a month! So, since the only chair she can sit in comfortably is the recliner in the living room where the only decent floor lamp resides, I wasn’t able to stitch out there. Since I never get to see her, I didn’t want to shut myself up in my bedroom to stitch either. Hopefully now that things are back to normal (or what passes for it in our house) I can get some more stitching done.

Mom brought her two dogs with her – we already have five, what’s two more? For your viewing enjoyment, here is her dog Stanley asleep on Mom’s robe on my bed:

OH, and speaking of stitching, here is a very rare picture of an actual finished project of mine. I am very proud of it as I designed it myself! It’s not a great shot because it is framed and hanging on the wall above a very tall (and cluttered) dresser. I zoomed in on it for the best detail, so the navy bit around the fabric is the mat inside the frame. You can’t tell, but the pink dots inside the diamond border are beads, as are the dark blue and red flowers under the poem. I made the pattern for the design on graph paper with pretty big squares, and the pattern was huge! About 4’ x 3’. I worked on it during my lunch hours at work and my all male co-workers thought I was nuts. I am really happy with how it turned out, and my sister and bro-in-law were very touched by it. The "L" is for Les, the "K" is for Karen, and the "B" is the first letter of their last name.

I like to make things; Sis and I got into making jewelry about 20 years ago. I’m not super accomplished at it, but I really love when something comes together. I have made many bracelets and tons of earrings but didn’t really keep track of them all. Here are a couple that I actually recorded for posterity! I gave the copper one to Sis as a gift; I am pleased as punch when I see her wearing it.

I made a really nice bracelet for Mom a few years ago. I tried to download the picture of it but the computer, Yahoo, and Blogger were not cooperating! I’ll try to post that another time.

Well, that’s about it for the time being. I reviewed another book, so be sure to check out my review page. Blogger has been a right booger about letting me update my lists on the right side of the blog; bear with me until I can get it all fixed up.

Take care and TTFN!

PS – I’m still trying to wade my way through all the blogs from the GYB party; please don’t be upset if you are following me and I’m not following you back yet! I’ll get through everything eventually!

It’s Been a Winter Weenieland

Howdy everyone, and a great big HOWDY to my new followers! I want to say thank you so much to everyone who is following – each one of you is a warm spot in my heart and I really appreciate your interest. Thanks, too, for all of the kind comments on my last post! I love comments, so please always feel free to say something, even if it’s just Hi.

I’m sorry I haven’t posted anything lately; between migraines, depression days, bad weather and slow internet, I haven’t been able to get up the gumption to get anything posted. I have some pictures to post but the batteries are dead in the camera and I swear there isn’t a single freaking AA battery in the house. Grrrr.

The weather bestowed upon us all here in the Pacific NW (south of Olympia, WA down to Eugene, OR) some lovely (unless you were driving in it) snow. Mom had come home with Sis last week to spend some time with us for what was supposed to be just a few days. They got home Monday night and would have gone back down to Mom’s in Portland on Thursday, but the roads were just not good enough. It wasn’t too bad at our house, but Portland really got walloped. Driving in the Portland metro area is terrible when it snows because the snow is really, really wet. Freezing rain often accompanies, and with all the bridges it can be quite treacherous. Let alone the idiots in their 4WD trucks and SUVs that are under the mistaken impression that having 4WD makes you magically stop better than everyone else. Uh, no. More often than not, they are the ones that wind up upside down in the median.

I was at work and was watching the WDOT cameras online. There is a camera where I get on I-5 at exit #36, and the next camera to the north is the exit (#68) where I leave I-5 to head for home. No cameras in between. When the snow started falling by the bucketful, my co-worker declared it was time to get out of town. The mill where I work generates a lot of heat, so if there is two inches on the ground on the mill site, there is going to be a minimum of double that in town. The snow fell heavily all the way home, and I didn’t go to work on Friday because I couldn’t get from the house to I-5. I sent a text to my co-worker, and she said she only got to work because her husband drove her, and she recommended staying right where I was. So I did. Unfortunately, I had called out sick (migraine) on Monday, and then didn’t work Friday, so I will get only half a paycheck tomorrow. Ouch. Sis couldn’t go to work at all this weekend, so she is out $500. O.U.C.H. That smarts!

Mom brought her two little dogs with her – Stanley, the Chiweenie and Shadow, the Chihuahua. SO CUTE! They had a grand time playing with everyone else and it was like a rodeo most of the time. Mrs. Weenie, Stanley and Shadow absolutely loved the snow! Did I get pictures? Nope. Hopefully next time.

I took Mom home on Sunday because I have 4WD (but I know how to use it). The roads were just wet but there were cars off the road everywhere. ODOT was requiring all vehicles over 10,000lbs to put on chains, so big rigs were parked every which way trying to get them on before they got into Portland city limits. This made driving rather exciting because I was either dodging the back ends of their trailers that were sticking out into the lanes, or trying to avoid the piles of thrown chains that were lying in the lanes. Getting to the general area where Mom lives wasn't too bad, but trying to get into her mobile home park was treacherous, and getting to her actual trailer was horrible. I had to engage my 4WD to get up the hill; as we were unloading the rig, some guy in a supped up 4WD that had chains on the back wheels tried to get up the hill and busted one of his chains! I spent the night (and risked death to get to my favorite Mexican place there in Milwaukie – Super Burrito Express – for their Super Nachos with Al Pastor. Totally worth the risk.) and drove directly to work from her place Monday morning. The piles of thrown chains had increased to approximately eleventy million, and I believe they were the cause of the flat tire I discovered when I went to leave work that night. I had to wait an hour for the Les Schwab truck to arrive (thankfully I had my lovely Kindle with me and I worked jigsaw puzzles on it while I waited), then stood out in the pouring down rain holding a flashlight for the guy while he changed my tire. Soaking wet and $45 later, I got home at 8:30pm. So. Not. Amused. The rest of this week has gone fine.

I will get on here this weekend and post pictures of my progress with Poppy Puss (yes, there has been some stitching going on over the last few weeks). I really want to get a small project to do at work on my lunch hour, but I’m having trouble finding anything. I’ll just have to keep looking.

To tide you over, here are two pictures of Stanley sleeping on the foldout couch at Mom’s, nice and cozy under the blankets:

Sorry about the quality - cell phone pictures!

TTFN!