This is a Heinz 57 Ketchup post.....oh, I mean catch up post. Tee hee. With the dawn of Facebook I don't tend to blog often. Where to start? Let's start with the kids.....
Spencer's doing better with his seizure and auto-immune disease. No seizures since starting his medications and his itchy/hurting mouth is much better. As of this moment he has started a second anti-convulsant medication. Our hope is to acquire a stable state on the second medication and wean him off the first medication. We're doing this to protect his liver long term. After the change, we'll then start the transition off of one steroid to the other for his auto-immune mediated disease.
Jax. Well everyone knows he has FIC (Feline Interstitial Cystitis), however over the past 2 months he was coughing/sneezing. We initially thought it was hairballs and treated as such. It continued, so we went ahead with a workup with radiographs. We found he had no problems with digestion and tried a few trials on medications with no success. With the process of elimination and watching his symptoms he was diagnosed with feline asthma. It is a condition that needs to be addressed. If it is not addressed it will get worse and can be fatal. If you do treat, it will still get worse, but you can help to control it. We went ahead with an injection of steroid to give him relief. It helped. Not only did it help, but it definitively diagnosed the asthma since he had a positive reaction to the medication. There are several treatment options but most consist of being on some sort of steroid regime. As with Spencer, and any other animal, you want them on the lowest effective dose. So only time will tell as we go through the next few months, but hopeful we'll get a handle on his condition as we did with Spencer.
I've posted before, but all of our animals have some sort of condition. Most have multiple conditions/diseases. When I told my mom about Jax, she couldn't believe it. She said, "Only your animals." Most people have pets that may have one to two major health problems in their life, ours keep adding. I'm just thankful that our pets are with us. They are worth it.
David's still a vegetarian. Actually he's a vegan. He doesn't want to say he is because there's a stigma that comes along with it. In addition, although he's strict with his lifestyle, he knows there's room for error. I'm amazed at his transition. I would never have guessed he'd go down this road, let alone as fast as he has. In addition, he's soda free. Yep, you read right....no soda pop. That in itself is amazing. Although he drank a TON of water, he also loved his soda. So giving this up is huge. He loves where he's at and I don't see him ever looking back.
As for me, I'm still dabbling in the raw vegan world. Actually, I have transitioned from high raw to low raw. Basically what that means is I've moved from using a lot of nuts to focusing on fruits and veggies. I was 100% low raw for a month, felt great, doing awesome and last week had a bit of a hiccup. I don't want to call it that, but have no other word. There's too much that goes into this lifestyle that it's hard to explain here. But, in a nutshell, it's all raw, no added spices (including salt, etc), focuses on LOTS of fruit and veggies, and LOTS of water. I plan on keep on keeping on with it, but not as strict as I was initially. I have an addictive personality and cold turkey is the best way for me to do things. Unfortunately cold turkey changes don't always make for the best long term changes. I ulimately would love to be 100% low raw and know I'll get there, since I've already been there and have felt the amazing changes. But, for the time being I'm going to work towards that target and feel positive that I'm moving in the right direction.
I've gotten back to running pretty solid. In addition, I got a Trek bike for mother's day and plan on biking to work this summer.
I'm glad for the positive changes in our lives. I'm grateful for everything in our lives. After these recent changes I've realized that not only do I need to see what I'm grateful for, but also verbalize it. Hence, my daily "4 gratefuls". It's not about throwing stuff in people's faces (the I got this and you don't type of thing) it's about being positive and spreading happiness. Maybe if more people did it, the world may be a better place. Wishful thinking? Meh, maybe, but it's worth a try. It's easy to see the negative and get down on yourself. When I first started my gratefuls I found it hard to think of 4 for each day. Now I go through my days constantly thinking, "I'm grateful for this...." It's hard to narrow it down at the end of the day oftentimes. That, or trying to remember all what I said I was grateful for during the day.
Well, I believe that's about it for the catching up. Until next time...
Showing posts with label spencer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spencer. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Nothing New
Why do I never get around to blogging anymore? I still find it so enjoyable, yet never write. Bah.
I'm still doing the raw vegan thing. Still loving it. There are multiple "forms" of going raw so I've decided to venture into a specific area. In a nutshell it focuses on increased fruit intake which means it has lower fat intake. I enjoy fruit so I see this being a positive thing. As always, only time will tell, but I'm willing to try it and see if it "works" for me.
Spencer's doing well. I'm thankful that we've started to taper off of his steroid. He was to the point of needing to go outside every 2 hours and having accidents in the house. He's a good boy though and found the puppy pads all by himself (we have them setup for the other dogs and everytime he's used them). Unfortunately I feel horrible when he has to use the puppy pads. Although he's relieving himself in the right area, in his head I know he thinks he's having an accident. He knows he is only supposed to go potty outside, so I know it's probably a mental battle as he tries to hold it as long as he can. Thankfully mom and dad have been able to check on him which has limited his need for accidents. I'm looking forward to continuing to taper off his steroid and getting to the lowest dose possible. Within the next week we also hope to start to transition to the other anti-convulsant medication.
Other than that nothing much has been going on. Warmer weather is around the corner. We're ready. Both of us have been sick over the past 2 weeks with head colds and just want to feel better.
I'm still doing the raw vegan thing. Still loving it. There are multiple "forms" of going raw so I've decided to venture into a specific area. In a nutshell it focuses on increased fruit intake which means it has lower fat intake. I enjoy fruit so I see this being a positive thing. As always, only time will tell, but I'm willing to try it and see if it "works" for me.
Spencer's doing well. I'm thankful that we've started to taper off of his steroid. He was to the point of needing to go outside every 2 hours and having accidents in the house. He's a good boy though and found the puppy pads all by himself (we have them setup for the other dogs and everytime he's used them). Unfortunately I feel horrible when he has to use the puppy pads. Although he's relieving himself in the right area, in his head I know he thinks he's having an accident. He knows he is only supposed to go potty outside, so I know it's probably a mental battle as he tries to hold it as long as he can. Thankfully mom and dad have been able to check on him which has limited his need for accidents. I'm looking forward to continuing to taper off his steroid and getting to the lowest dose possible. Within the next week we also hope to start to transition to the other anti-convulsant medication.
Other than that nothing much has been going on. Warmer weather is around the corner. We're ready. Both of us have been sick over the past 2 weeks with head colds and just want to feel better.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Spencer's Results
Spencer's results arrived this week. We had several possible diagnoses and one was proven correct....lymphoplasmacytic neutrophilic gingivitis. It's also known as Lymphoplasmacytic Stomatitis (LPS). It's a for of immune-mediated inflammatory response. Unfortunately there is no known cause. In addition to occurring in dogs, it can also occur in cats. With cats, often full mouth extractions are necessary. With dogs it usually is easily controlled with excellent dental hygiene, antibiotics, and long-term steroids. Other changes (i.e. diet) can also assist in treatment.
Unfortunately, treatment for Spencer may not be so easy. Considering his previous diagnosis of epilepsy and already being on an anti-convulsant we'll have to make some changes to his pre-existing medications. There are many ins and outs of his treatment, but I'll simplify it.....Due to drug interactions our current plan is to wean him off of phenobarbital onto potassium bromide while on prednisone (steroid). After changing, if steroids are required long-term, we will then switch to a different steroid. In addition, he will be put on an antibiotic for the next 3 weeks since an underlying infection was also found.
We're hoping that this treatment will give Spencer some relief. Something to keep in mind is that there are possible side effects from long-term treatment of both of his conditions, so we can only hope for the best. Although we haven't been down this road before, it's all too similar having been down another road with our other pets, especially Lily. But as we've found, this too shall pass. And if it doesn't pass, we'll adapt and overcome. We're thankful to have an answer and thankful to have a plan so that we can make Spencer feel better.
Unfortunately, treatment for Spencer may not be so easy. Considering his previous diagnosis of epilepsy and already being on an anti-convulsant we'll have to make some changes to his pre-existing medications. There are many ins and outs of his treatment, but I'll simplify it.....Due to drug interactions our current plan is to wean him off of phenobarbital onto potassium bromide while on prednisone (steroid). After changing, if steroids are required long-term, we will then switch to a different steroid. In addition, he will be put on an antibiotic for the next 3 weeks since an underlying infection was also found.
We're hoping that this treatment will give Spencer some relief. Something to keep in mind is that there are possible side effects from long-term treatment of both of his conditions, so we can only hope for the best. Although we haven't been down this road before, it's all too similar having been down another road with our other pets, especially Lily. But as we've found, this too shall pass. And if it doesn't pass, we'll adapt and overcome. We're thankful to have an answer and thankful to have a plan so that we can make Spencer feel better.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Spencer's New Problem
Within the past few months Spencer's breath has become horrible. Originally I thought nothing of it. If anyone knows anything about greyhounds, they know most have been dealt a bad set of cards in the dental department. However, looking closer I noticed his teeth weren't bad. They're not perfect pearly whites, but there's not a huge buildup of tartar and calculus. More recently we've noticed Spencer itching his mouth on anything he can find. His paws, a rug, our legs, and even our radiators throughout the house. Most recently I took a look inside his mouth to see his gums are red. We're not talking pink....we're talking RED, inflamed, painful gums. In addition to the redness we noticed this past weekend that there were lesions on his gums from rubbing so much. So we had him checked out.
Originally we (myself, David, and the doctors) visited the idea of him having a form of allergic reaction to his phenobarbital (anti-seizure medication). After research we came to the conclusion that chances are this theory isn't right. Thankfully due to my co worker's (our vet's) affiliation with OSU he called them to get some input. OSU has a large greyhound "program" that focuses on greyhounds, along with research on the breed. They lead us in a new direction.
There could be a multitude of things going on with Spencer, but these are our current ideas....lymphoplasmacytic stomatitis, pemphigous vulgaris, bullous pemphigoid, and systemic lupus erythematosus. Those are some mouthfuls, eh? Basically they're all autoimmune type of diseases.
The next step in diagnosing is to put him under anesthesia, retrieve a biopsy, and submit it for further examination. I'll be taking him into work in 2 weeks to have this procedure performed and hopefully we'll get some answers. It may not be a serious problem, but it's obviously uncomfortable for him and it's time to find out what's going on. If it is one of the diseases listed, USUALLY they symptoms can be controlled through corticosteroids. Although, the side effects of steroids aren't preferable (increase food/water intake, increased urination, weight gain......), especially using them long term.
Once again, it comes as no surprise that we may have yet another special need to address with our pets. As I've blogged so many times, they each have their nuances and diseases. And although we don't want our kids to suffer and wish they didn't have these problems, we wouldn't trade them in, even if we had the chance. I'm thankful that they are in our lives for a multitude of reasons, especially the fact that we have the ability (for the most part) and the desire to help them instead of casting them aside like some others may do.
Once we receive results I'll post more information.
Originally we (myself, David, and the doctors) visited the idea of him having a form of allergic reaction to his phenobarbital (anti-seizure medication). After research we came to the conclusion that chances are this theory isn't right. Thankfully due to my co worker's (our vet's) affiliation with OSU he called them to get some input. OSU has a large greyhound "program" that focuses on greyhounds, along with research on the breed. They lead us in a new direction.
There could be a multitude of things going on with Spencer, but these are our current ideas....lymphoplasmacytic stomatitis, pemphigous vulgaris, bullous pemphigoid, and systemic lupus erythematosus. Those are some mouthfuls, eh? Basically they're all autoimmune type of diseases.
The next step in diagnosing is to put him under anesthesia, retrieve a biopsy, and submit it for further examination. I'll be taking him into work in 2 weeks to have this procedure performed and hopefully we'll get some answers. It may not be a serious problem, but it's obviously uncomfortable for him and it's time to find out what's going on. If it is one of the diseases listed, USUALLY they symptoms can be controlled through corticosteroids. Although, the side effects of steroids aren't preferable (increase food/water intake, increased urination, weight gain......), especially using them long term.
Once again, it comes as no surprise that we may have yet another special need to address with our pets. As I've blogged so many times, they each have their nuances and diseases. And although we don't want our kids to suffer and wish they didn't have these problems, we wouldn't trade them in, even if we had the chance. I'm thankful that they are in our lives for a multitude of reasons, especially the fact that we have the ability (for the most part) and the desire to help them instead of casting them aside like some others may do.
Once we receive results I'll post more information.
Friday, January 01, 2010
Who Says We Don't Have Kids?
Back when we were first married we were able to sleep in until whatever time we wanted. Even after we added Viking to the mix he never woke us up early to go potty (thanks to litter box training) or to eat (must not have been a hungry fellow). Adding more animals to the family didn't seem to change things much, until we added Lily. Lily's issues with IBD lead us to puppy proof our house. Not from her chewing things up, but from making unexpected messes she could control. In order to let her sleep by us we purchased a Pack and Play. We'd wake up in the middle of the night to clean up any messes for our sake and hers. I even went through a year of making her own homemade food. Cooking, measuring, packing, and freezing. As everyone knows, she has gotten 99.9% better. She'll sleep with us here and there, but tends to stay downstairs now.
After adding Spencer to the mix, our lifestyle once again changed. He has a set time for meds, eating, and going outside to go potty. And trust me, if you are off of his schedule, he'll let you know. Needless to say, his schedule is an early one. He'll let you know by pacing in the bedroom and sticking his wet cold nose in your face. In addition, Lily has taken to his schedule and oftentimes takes it upon herself to let us know what time it is if Spencer decides to slack off. Her method of wake up? Standing at the bottom of the steps barking until you wake up. Most times the cats join in too....meowing outside the bedroom door. It makes almost no difference if you go to bed early or later, they'll wake up between 6 or 7 am (if you're lucky).
For instance, we stayed up until midnight last night. Sure enough, 6am rolls around and they are wound up and ready to go. Time for potty and to eat! I'm thankful that most nights we can make it through the night without a wake up from them now. I'm also thankful that we've figured out some sort of schedule for the weekends. David and I flip back and forth as to who gets up, feeds them, lets Spencer go outside, and then head back to bed.
Add onto the early morning wake ups and schedules, the constant cleaning (putting toys away, vacuuming hair, washing bedding, washing bowls.......), having 2 crib mattresses in our house (Spencer's beds), and their afternoon naps (as we speak)......who says we don't have kids?
Disclaimer: We know full well that animals aren't' kids and understand that people see their pets/animals different than we see ours. However, in our eyes, we see our pets as our kids. We know that many people cannot identify with the bond that we have with our pets. In addition, in no way am I complaining about the lifestyle we've made for ourselves by adding our pets. We wouldn't change it for the world.
After adding Spencer to the mix, our lifestyle once again changed. He has a set time for meds, eating, and going outside to go potty. And trust me, if you are off of his schedule, he'll let you know. Needless to say, his schedule is an early one. He'll let you know by pacing in the bedroom and sticking his wet cold nose in your face. In addition, Lily has taken to his schedule and oftentimes takes it upon herself to let us know what time it is if Spencer decides to slack off. Her method of wake up? Standing at the bottom of the steps barking until you wake up. Most times the cats join in too....meowing outside the bedroom door. It makes almost no difference if you go to bed early or later, they'll wake up between 6 or 7 am (if you're lucky).
For instance, we stayed up until midnight last night. Sure enough, 6am rolls around and they are wound up and ready to go. Time for potty and to eat! I'm thankful that most nights we can make it through the night without a wake up from them now. I'm also thankful that we've figured out some sort of schedule for the weekends. David and I flip back and forth as to who gets up, feeds them, lets Spencer go outside, and then head back to bed.
Add onto the early morning wake ups and schedules, the constant cleaning (putting toys away, vacuuming hair, washing bedding, washing bowls.......), having 2 crib mattresses in our house (Spencer's beds), and their afternoon naps (as we speak)......who says we don't have kids?
Disclaimer: We know full well that animals aren't' kids and understand that people see their pets/animals different than we see ours. However, in our eyes, we see our pets as our kids. We know that many people cannot identify with the bond that we have with our pets. In addition, in no way am I complaining about the lifestyle we've made for ourselves by adding our pets. We wouldn't change it for the world.
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
One Month On Phenobarb
Quick update on Spencer: He's been on the phenobarb one month. I must admit we were getting worried for a bit there. He couldn't make it up the steps on his own without falling, so David was having to carry him up to bed every night. Of course David can easily carry him, but at 83 pounds, that's a little rough on me. He was in a a generalized fog and would crash (as in sleep) one hour post pill. Thankfully, he's evened out and seems to be doing excellent. He's still on the medication but is back to his old self. Knock on wood, no seizures either.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Worth It
Things are content here the Henry Household. Spencer has been on his medication for a week now and has had no seizures. He's a little doppy (maybe I should say more doppy....greyhounds aren't always the most gracious) due to the meds, but he's getting by. Jax had another flareup with FIC, but I think we had it back under control. We've got him on daily meds and the cats both on a different diet in hopes of curbing the flareups.
With everyone (animals and humans included) I've finally broken down and purchased a dry erase board for the refrigerator to keep track of who's gotten what. Some things/doses you can miss, others you can't, so although I have an excellent memory, this will help us keep track too. In addition, David will know if I've already given them meds, etc. and not have to ask. Even with my memory and the dry erase board, I have no fear that Spencer will not let me forget his medication. That boy has an internal clock that's amazing. If it's time for him to eat, he follows me until I feed him. If it's time for meds, he follows me until I give it to him. I've been giving him his meds in cheese for the time being to make it a positive experience, so of course he's after the cheese and not the meds. Even so, he cracks me up.
One thing is for sure, these kids keep me busy. Last week I had to run a few errands after work. Could you believe that 2 out of the 3 stops were for the animals. Ha! It's alright though. And although it may seem like I'm complaining, I'm not. I'll be honest, as with everything you sometimes hit your limit and get frustrated, but 99.9% of the time we know that they are worth it. We wouldn't have them if we didn't think so. Speaking of, it's 7am, time to feed the birdies and time for Spencer's meds.
With everyone (animals and humans included) I've finally broken down and purchased a dry erase board for the refrigerator to keep track of who's gotten what. Some things/doses you can miss, others you can't, so although I have an excellent memory, this will help us keep track too. In addition, David will know if I've already given them meds, etc. and not have to ask. Even with my memory and the dry erase board, I have no fear that Spencer will not let me forget his medication. That boy has an internal clock that's amazing. If it's time for him to eat, he follows me until I feed him. If it's time for meds, he follows me until I give it to him. I've been giving him his meds in cheese for the time being to make it a positive experience, so of course he's after the cheese and not the meds. Even so, he cracks me up.
One thing is for sure, these kids keep me busy. Last week I had to run a few errands after work. Could you believe that 2 out of the 3 stops were for the animals. Ha! It's alright though. And although it may seem like I'm complaining, I'm not. I'll be honest, as with everything you sometimes hit your limit and get frustrated, but 99.9% of the time we know that they are worth it. We wouldn't have them if we didn't think so. Speaking of, it's 7am, time to feed the birdies and time for Spencer's meds.
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Update On Spencer
A quick update on Spencer. After reviewing his history the doctors have determined that yes, Spencer, our 3 year old greyhound, has epilepsy. We ran a bit more bloodwork to compare back to the bloodwork ran in August and we have decided that it's time to get Spencer on an anticonvulsant medication. He will be on this medication daily, for the rest of his life. As with many disorders/diseases there is the ability to control, not cure. We will continue to monitor any further seizures and will also monitor bloodwork in the future in hopes of controlling Spencer's symptoms.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Gotcha!
Today is Spencer’s one-year “gotcha” anniversary. Yep, it’s crazy to think that we’ve had him for a year. I’ll admit, he and I butted heads for about the first 6 months, but I think it’s safe to say we’re all settled in. As with anything you add to your life, I can’t imagine our lives without him now. Happy Gotcha Day Spencer! Hugs and love to you!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Ah Wooooo Woo Woo Woo Woo Hm!
I'm thankful that none of our animal have separation anxiety....however Spencer can come close. He absolutely hates when I take Viking on a run and leave him at home. I can hear him for blocks while he howls. Even if I leave and David's still home, he howls. Hopefully someday he'll put two and two together and realize that he gets his turn too....he just has to wait until I get back with Vike. This video doesn't give him justice, but you'll get the gist. After I left, with Viking, for a run this morning, Spencer started to howl. This was after he had wound down a bit, so he wasn't going nonstop. Parts of it includes David howling too. Even so, it's quite cute. David thinks he's saying, "I want/love my mommy!" That or "Ah Wooooo Woo Woo Woo Woo Hm!" What do you think he's saying???
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Playing 'Possum
Is it sad that I can identify which dog vomited depending on how the vomit looks and where it's located in the house? Meh, maybe. But hey, it's ok, I'm a vet tech ;)
In other gross news. I let Spencer out this morning to do his business, went downstairs to do some laundry, then I heard David yelling, "Spencer! SPENCER!! DROP!!!!" I ran upstairs to find Spencer had dropped what he was holding on to and was coming in the back door. I asked, "What's going on?" only to look outside and see a dead opossum in our yard. Gah! Don't really care that we had a dead animal in the backyard, but my vet tech side went into drive to think, "what things can Spencer acquire from this exposure?" Thankfully he didn't chomp into the opossum. It looks like he was just carrying it, so more than likely if anything, it'd be tapeworms. Fun eh? I can deal with that. Easy diagnosis and easy treatment.
We watched the opussum for a bit, making sure he wasn't playing 'possum, but he wasn't moving. We went about feeding the kids, and 5 minutes later David says. "Well, either he was playing 'possum or a bird got him. He's gone." Ha! Dunno. Either way, he's no longer in our backyard.
In other gross news. I let Spencer out this morning to do his business, went downstairs to do some laundry, then I heard David yelling, "Spencer! SPENCER!! DROP!!!!" I ran upstairs to find Spencer had dropped what he was holding on to and was coming in the back door. I asked, "What's going on?" only to look outside and see a dead opossum in our yard. Gah! Don't really care that we had a dead animal in the backyard, but my vet tech side went into drive to think, "what things can Spencer acquire from this exposure?" Thankfully he didn't chomp into the opossum. It looks like he was just carrying it, so more than likely if anything, it'd be tapeworms. Fun eh? I can deal with that. Easy diagnosis and easy treatment.
We watched the opussum for a bit, making sure he wasn't playing 'possum, but he wasn't moving. We went about feeding the kids, and 5 minutes later David says. "Well, either he was playing 'possum or a bird got him. He's gone." Ha! Dunno. Either way, he's no longer in our backyard.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Mmmm Cake
As planned, we celebrated Spencer's third birthday late this evening. Even though he's had cake before (on his Gotcha Day) I don't think he remembered what it was all about. He had no clue what was going on until David gave him a lick. Of course Viking and Lily are old pros and showed him how it was done. He caught on quick. Check our Flickr account for more pictures.
Happy Birthday Bigz!
It's time to celebrate! Today is Spencer's, (AKA Sir Spencer, Bigz, Big Nose, Banana Nose) 3rd birthday. This is his first birthday with our family. Unfortunately our schedules are crazy today. Of course we could just celebrate it another day, he wouldn't know, but given it's his first birthday with us, I just can't do that. So Spencer, have no fear, your birthday will be celebrated today.....even if it is at 10:30 tonight. Hugz to Bigz!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
North Coast Greyhound Connection
After adopting Spencer we became members of North Coast Greyhound Connection. This has allowed us to meet with other greyhound owners and also participate as advocates for greyhounds. We go to member events and also attend "meet and greets" where prospective adopters can see adoptable dogs. It also allows us to get Spence out of the house, which he loves. Of course the other kids get their time too, but being members of the group has been great in the short time we've joined.
Ever since we joined Traci (friend/member) told me I had to go on a "greyhound haul." I trusted her judgement and put it on my "things to do list." When the first haul came around I jumped on it. So my first experience with a greyhound haul was this past weekend. Basically a greyhound haul is where the dogs are transported from the track to various adoption groups across the United States. Our group works with 2 specific tracks and actual chooses the dogs they receive in hopes of adopting them. We rotate between the tracks. As our "caseload" gets smaller we are added to a haul and the dogs are delivered via bus or hauler. For instance, this weekend the dogs came from Kansas. The first stop was in Toledo, we were the second stop, and they continued all the way to New Jersey. Most often the dogs are delivered in the morning (2am), but that changes. You never know exactly when they'll arrive until you receive the call. Like this weekend, the plan was to arrive at 8:30pm but they did come until 11:30pm.
It was quite exciting. I arrived with Traci super early. The 2 hours passed more quickly than expected. Other individuals arrived and we all just chilled and had conversation. I could feel the anticipation of everyone. When would they arrive? What are they coming in? What kind of shape will they be in? What are their personalities going to be? And mostly for me, what was this going to be all about?
The assigned collars/leashes marked for the new adoptees were given to members and the wait continued. The hauler arrived without much notice but as they drove into the parking lot my excitement grew. I started videotaping and snapping as many pictures as I could. I will be making an adoption video(s) for the group and I thought this was the perfect moment to start my project. Each dog was collared and leashed, walked off the hauler, walked to grass so they could relieve themselves, and then welcomed with open arms and probably the most love they've ever received in their lives. Immediately upon stepping off the hauler you could see the personalities of each of the dogs.
We then loaded them in the Hound Hauler and headed over to a member's home to give all the pups the TLC they deserved. Free water, nail trims, baths, microchips, washed collars and muzzles, and flea preventative. They must have felt like new dogs. In the beginning I was so focused on taking pictures that I had to remind myself to step back and see what was happening. Not only was this being done but it was all done with hugs, kisses, kind words, and gentle hands...just unbelievable. I've found another nitch in my life where I know I belong! These people haven't spent but a moment with each of these dogs but that didn't matter. Each one received equal amounts of love and attention. I could see that these people genuinely cared about what they're doing and especially greyhounds. It's not just another dog. And even at 2am, there were no complaints of being tired and just wanting to get it over with. When we got done everyone went on their merry way.
I didn't get home until 3:30am and my mind was reeling about what I had just witnessed. In my eyes it was awesome. I looked at Spencer, gave him a big hug and kiss. When I said my prayers I made sure to thank God for the volunteers of North Coast Greyhound Connection. Because of their love and determination we now have Spencer as a part of our family. And even more, we now have an extended family in NCGC. We've not only witnessed their generosity toward animals but also toward each other. It's amazing. I'm thankful for that and proud to say that we're members of an awesome group.
Ever since we joined Traci (friend/member) told me I had to go on a "greyhound haul." I trusted her judgement and put it on my "things to do list." When the first haul came around I jumped on it. So my first experience with a greyhound haul was this past weekend. Basically a greyhound haul is where the dogs are transported from the track to various adoption groups across the United States. Our group works with 2 specific tracks and actual chooses the dogs they receive in hopes of adopting them. We rotate between the tracks. As our "caseload" gets smaller we are added to a haul and the dogs are delivered via bus or hauler. For instance, this weekend the dogs came from Kansas. The first stop was in Toledo, we were the second stop, and they continued all the way to New Jersey. Most often the dogs are delivered in the morning (2am), but that changes. You never know exactly when they'll arrive until you receive the call. Like this weekend, the plan was to arrive at 8:30pm but they did come until 11:30pm.
It was quite exciting. I arrived with Traci super early. The 2 hours passed more quickly than expected. Other individuals arrived and we all just chilled and had conversation. I could feel the anticipation of everyone. When would they arrive? What are they coming in? What kind of shape will they be in? What are their personalities going to be? And mostly for me, what was this going to be all about?
The assigned collars/leashes marked for the new adoptees were given to members and the wait continued. The hauler arrived without much notice but as they drove into the parking lot my excitement grew. I started videotaping and snapping as many pictures as I could. I will be making an adoption video(s) for the group and I thought this was the perfect moment to start my project. Each dog was collared and leashed, walked off the hauler, walked to grass so they could relieve themselves, and then welcomed with open arms and probably the most love they've ever received in their lives. Immediately upon stepping off the hauler you could see the personalities of each of the dogs.
We then loaded them in the Hound Hauler and headed over to a member's home to give all the pups the TLC they deserved. Free water, nail trims, baths, microchips, washed collars and muzzles, and flea preventative. They must have felt like new dogs. In the beginning I was so focused on taking pictures that I had to remind myself to step back and see what was happening. Not only was this being done but it was all done with hugs, kisses, kind words, and gentle hands...just unbelievable. I've found another nitch in my life where I know I belong! These people haven't spent but a moment with each of these dogs but that didn't matter. Each one received equal amounts of love and attention. I could see that these people genuinely cared about what they're doing and especially greyhounds. It's not just another dog. And even at 2am, there were no complaints of being tired and just wanting to get it over with. When we got done everyone went on their merry way.
I didn't get home until 3:30am and my mind was reeling about what I had just witnessed. In my eyes it was awesome. I looked at Spencer, gave him a big hug and kiss. When I said my prayers I made sure to thank God for the volunteers of North Coast Greyhound Connection. Because of their love and determination we now have Spencer as a part of our family. And even more, we now have an extended family in NCGC. We've not only witnessed their generosity toward animals but also toward each other. It's amazing. I'm thankful for that and proud to say that we're members of an awesome group.
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Lure Coursing
We had a ton of fun at North Coast Greyhound Connection's Meet and Greet today. It was the grand opening of the Erie Metroparks Bark Park and we were invited to host an event. This was our first official Meet and Great and Spencer's first event where he could run with the other pups. Boy did he have a blast. We didn't know what his reaction would be but once they started the luring he was darn near the only one squealing, and couldn't wait to take off. He gave us his quick answer. Too funny. Originally we weren't sure if we were going to participate in the event given his history of a broken pelvis and the parvo that's been going around, but we got clearance from Doc and boostered his vaccines to cover all of our bases.
Lily had to stay home given her size and that all greys aren't small dog safe (Lily-sized small dog), but Viking got to participate. He was unable to run with the greys but he got to take part in the lure course. Once again, we weren't sure what he'd do, but he absolutely loved it too. I got to say I was quite impressed by both of our boys. They can run!
Check out of Flickr account for more pics.
Lily had to stay home given her size and that all greys aren't small dog safe (Lily-sized small dog), but Viking got to participate. He was unable to run with the greys but he got to take part in the lure course. Once again, we weren't sure what he'd do, but he absolutely loved it too. I got to say I was quite impressed by both of our boys. They can run!
Check out of Flickr account for more pics.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Spencer Can Run!
Spencer was cleared for full activity after his pelvic radiographs Friday. The boy can run!!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Spencer's Cove
Alright, so the baby gate didn't work. We went out for a short run on Tuesday morning only to come back to Spencer, still behind it, with a severely scratched up hardwood floor. Ouch. After a bit of touch up with a wood stained marker it wasn't looking too bad. The scratches are still there but are pretty good camouflaged with the marker. Thankfully David didn't saw our door in half yet so we moved on to option 2.
David constructed a door out of plywood, hooks, and plexiglass. I must say that I was quite impressed. He then placed a rug underneath and near the door. We thought we had the answer. Not so. I came back from my run this morning and found the rug pulled up and more scratches in the floor. Man. Back to the marker. I called David to let him know, and he once again got his brain a' churnin'. He has now secured a piece of thick plexiglass to 2, 2 X 4's, which are then secured to the wall, on the floor. This way when he does scratch, he'll be scratching at the plexiglass instead of the floor. I don't even want to get my hopes up as to if this will work. We'll be going to dinner in a bit and then we shall see when we arrive home. I'm sure after time he will come to love his little cove, but for now he just wants to be free. Thankfully my husband is mechanically inclined. Here are some pictures of the contraption. Please disregard the primitive walls and wood. We're currently working on renovating them and also plan on painting the door once we find if this is our solution or not.
David constructed a door out of plywood, hooks, and plexiglass. I must say that I was quite impressed. He then placed a rug underneath and near the door. We thought we had the answer. Not so. I came back from my run this morning and found the rug pulled up and more scratches in the floor. Man. Back to the marker. I called David to let him know, and he once again got his brain a' churnin'. He has now secured a piece of thick plexiglass to 2, 2 X 4's, which are then secured to the wall, on the floor. This way when he does scratch, he'll be scratching at the plexiglass instead of the floor. I don't even want to get my hopes up as to if this will work. We'll be going to dinner in a bit and then we shall see when we arrive home. I'm sure after time he will come to love his little cove, but for now he just wants to be free. Thankfully my husband is mechanically inclined. Here are some pictures of the contraption. Please disregard the primitive walls and wood. We're currently working on renovating them and also plan on painting the door once we find if this is our solution or not.
Monday, July 21, 2008
The Honeymoon's Over
Spencer has come into his own. I must say that we didn't expect it so soon. He's comfortable with his surroundings and is making it his own. His anxiety is gone, he's not in as much discomfort (pelvis), and now he wants to have fun.
This isn't all bad but we must be on guard even more than before. He's wanting to play more with Viking and Lily. Viking mostly wants nothing to do with him. This isn't anything new. Viking's always been an independent little guy. He's so human it's scary. And when it comes to Lily, he wants to play with her but given a 70 lb difference between them he can squash her pretty easily and we've already had a yelp or two. So we thought we had everything figured out...we'd just let them out separately. But his playfulness has now gone from wanting to play outside to wanting to play inside. And it doesn't matter if we walk him, he wants to have play interaction with the other dogs.
Once again, we thought we had it under control, but when David's been coming home the house has been in disarray. It's not like things are torn up, but it looks like Spencer's been trying to play. A simple answer to this is to kennel him, which we did the first several days we had him. We did all the right things...giving him treats, making it a happy place, but after several days he put his brakes on and wouldn't get near the kennel. And since I'm the last one to leave in the morning I have no way to get him in the kennel. And we didn't want the kennel to be a bad thing, so the muzzle was put on and he was let free to roam. Things seemed to go pretty well. We had a few scratches on our back door from him trying to look out the window (we now keep the shade closed and have had no further problems).
So everything was going well until Spencer started coming into his own and I think it's time to regroup. This is nothing new to us. We're the people that bought a playpen and made it easily cleanable for Lily so that she could "sleep" with us at night. And we're also the people that tore up ALL of our carpet in our house and refinished the hardwood floors to for easier cleanup of poopie accidents. Going into adopting we knew that all of this was a possibility, and we were willing to make changes, and the time has come.
So that leaves us with, what should we do? We've had several ideas. We could just kennel Lily and Viking again. I'd feel absolutely horrible about this given that they have done nothing wrong and all they'd think is, "This huge dog came into our house and took over and now we're getting in trouble." Not a good idea. We thought about gating him in the kitchen but weren't too sure about that given that the cats have now taken to the kitchen being "their area." I'd hate to evict them from another place again. We've come to the conclusion to give him the downstairs bedroom. We will begin with just a baby gate but I can see us ending up sawing the door in half. We'd love to do that now but we want to make sure that this idea is even do-able before jumping the gun and possibly ruining a door. So the litterboxes will be relocated for the animals and the new area will be called Spencer's Cove per David. I'd love to end up making it secure enough that we'd be able to take the muzzle off while we're away. I understand the the muzzle is important and that he sees it almost as part of his body, but I'm sure he'd prefer it to be off.
Some people may think that we're taking this to extremes but I want to let them know that this is nothing special. We have friends that have greyhounds and smaller dogs. They co-exist great, but they only interact while fuller supervised. This will be no different than anyone else. In addition, when Spencer's fuller healed we'll be able to make playdates with our friends and their greyhounds.
Ah the joys of being pet owners, but we truly do love it.
This isn't all bad but we must be on guard even more than before. He's wanting to play more with Viking and Lily. Viking mostly wants nothing to do with him. This isn't anything new. Viking's always been an independent little guy. He's so human it's scary. And when it comes to Lily, he wants to play with her but given a 70 lb difference between them he can squash her pretty easily and we've already had a yelp or two. So we thought we had everything figured out...we'd just let them out separately. But his playfulness has now gone from wanting to play outside to wanting to play inside. And it doesn't matter if we walk him, he wants to have play interaction with the other dogs.
Once again, we thought we had it under control, but when David's been coming home the house has been in disarray. It's not like things are torn up, but it looks like Spencer's been trying to play. A simple answer to this is to kennel him, which we did the first several days we had him. We did all the right things...giving him treats, making it a happy place, but after several days he put his brakes on and wouldn't get near the kennel. And since I'm the last one to leave in the morning I have no way to get him in the kennel. And we didn't want the kennel to be a bad thing, so the muzzle was put on and he was let free to roam. Things seemed to go pretty well. We had a few scratches on our back door from him trying to look out the window (we now keep the shade closed and have had no further problems).
So everything was going well until Spencer started coming into his own and I think it's time to regroup. This is nothing new to us. We're the people that bought a playpen and made it easily cleanable for Lily so that she could "sleep" with us at night. And we're also the people that tore up ALL of our carpet in our house and refinished the hardwood floors to for easier cleanup of poopie accidents. Going into adopting we knew that all of this was a possibility, and we were willing to make changes, and the time has come.
So that leaves us with, what should we do? We've had several ideas. We could just kennel Lily and Viking again. I'd feel absolutely horrible about this given that they have done nothing wrong and all they'd think is, "This huge dog came into our house and took over and now we're getting in trouble." Not a good idea. We thought about gating him in the kitchen but weren't too sure about that given that the cats have now taken to the kitchen being "their area." I'd hate to evict them from another place again. We've come to the conclusion to give him the downstairs bedroom. We will begin with just a baby gate but I can see us ending up sawing the door in half. We'd love to do that now but we want to make sure that this idea is even do-able before jumping the gun and possibly ruining a door. So the litterboxes will be relocated for the animals and the new area will be called Spencer's Cove per David. I'd love to end up making it secure enough that we'd be able to take the muzzle off while we're away. I understand the the muzzle is important and that he sees it almost as part of his body, but I'm sure he'd prefer it to be off.
Some people may think that we're taking this to extremes but I want to let them know that this is nothing special. We have friends that have greyhounds and smaller dogs. They co-exist great, but they only interact while fuller supervised. This will be no different than anyone else. In addition, when Spencer's fuller healed we'll be able to make playdates with our friends and their greyhounds.
Ah the joys of being pet owners, but we truly do love it.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Tales Of Sir Spencer
Things are still going great here at the Henry household. Spencer absolutely loves our backyard. I'm sure he can't wait until he's free and clear from his pelvis fracture so he can let loose. After the first few nights he has now made it through the entire night without waking up to do his business. He'll still wake up, shake, maybe walk around, and lay back down. But that's cool. We don't mind taking him out at night but we have a much more restful sleep when we don't have to.
For some reason he has taken to our mass of daylilies in our backyard. Originally he would just barrel through the long leaves. This left them looking "interesting." Now he has taken to actually laying on them. So they're looking quite sad. We're not sure why he's doing it. We can only guess that it's because they feel cool or something. It's cool with us though. If that's what he wants to do....it's better than laying in the dirt or mud.
It's taken some getting used to having a huge dog next to you at every moment. He's like velcro and follows you almost everywhere. This has made me slow down because I have to step around him alot of times.
I also think he's put on some mass. You can still see his spine more than I'd like but it's not as prominant as it once was. He has an awesome appetite. I think he's going to like our birthday celebrations around here...he definitely dug the cake he got. Let's just say anytime we've had some leftovers of the cake he's been quite interested.
Which leads me to the next thing. It's so different having a dog that is head level to counters. He's not what we call a "counter surfer," where they steal things off of the counter. But when you're standing at the counter his nose is right there checking out what you're doing. I find it quite funny.
Not that we didn't already know but Spencer is an awesome dog. So relaxed but has a huge personality. And after the first questionable day (due to our other dogs) everyone's getting around well and he's now truly part of our family. If anyone is interested in an interesting, personality filled, relaxed dog, adopt a greyhound. You'll have a forever friend. Spencer has spunk every so often but most times you'll find him just chilling. He lays down, rolls over, and plops his head down. It's quite hilarious.....
For some reason he has taken to our mass of daylilies in our backyard. Originally he would just barrel through the long leaves. This left them looking "interesting." Now he has taken to actually laying on them. So they're looking quite sad. We're not sure why he's doing it. We can only guess that it's because they feel cool or something. It's cool with us though. If that's what he wants to do....it's better than laying in the dirt or mud.
It's taken some getting used to having a huge dog next to you at every moment. He's like velcro and follows you almost everywhere. This has made me slow down because I have to step around him alot of times.
I also think he's put on some mass. You can still see his spine more than I'd like but it's not as prominant as it once was. He has an awesome appetite. I think he's going to like our birthday celebrations around here...he definitely dug the cake he got. Let's just say anytime we've had some leftovers of the cake he's been quite interested.
Which leads me to the next thing. It's so different having a dog that is head level to counters. He's not what we call a "counter surfer," where they steal things off of the counter. But when you're standing at the counter his nose is right there checking out what you're doing. I find it quite funny.
Not that we didn't already know but Spencer is an awesome dog. So relaxed but has a huge personality. And after the first questionable day (due to our other dogs) everyone's getting around well and he's now truly part of our family. If anyone is interested in an interesting, personality filled, relaxed dog, adopt a greyhound. You'll have a forever friend. Spencer has spunk every so often but most times you'll find him just chilling. He lays down, rolls over, and plops his head down. It's quite hilarious.....
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