Arrow Gives a Shout Out

Wow - its been a long time since I've written about our little champ. We had a nice thanksgiving and I was able to reflect upon how lucky Sally and I are to have her with us. We've been through a lot together and she has pulled us through even more than we helped her pull through. She is really doing great. She is running, jumping, barking at house guests (she had kind of stopped doing that for several weeks during her treatment).

Arrow's friend Rocky was diagnosed with cancer this week. They are still waiting on the results of the biopsy, but we're all keeping our fingers (and paws) crossed that Rocky's cancer is gone and he won't need any further treatment. Arrow gives a shout out to Rocky -- she wants to let him know that he is going to be OK because she knows how great Loren and Jon are and how much they will help him. Oh - and she says the lampshade sucks, but you get used to it!

From both Arrow and Rocky, here are some tips about doggie tumors. All lumps should be check out, but if the lump loses its hair, then you need to get that checked out right away. If it turns pink or black and loses its hair - that's not so good either. Get it checked. And if it's mucousy on the outside, that's a soft tissue tumorand needs to be removed. Most of all, a dog after surgery needs a lot of TLC. And peanut butter will help them regain any weight lost during the process!

She is So Back!

Arrow is doing incredibly well. Today we went for our first real hike since her treatment started. We climbed up to Mount Sugarloaf and she was out in front the whole time. She was running, hunting chipmunks, jumping up for a stick, wanting us to chase her. She was running so fast, she looked like a puppy. She's losing more hair (which seems odd), but really, she is back and ready to take on new challenges.

I think we may have created a small medicine monster. She is still on one of her medications which is an antiinflamatory. Take a look at these picutres to see how much she LOVES her nightly treat.

You can sort of see her scars in these pictures. They mostly look better, but she has one spot about the size of a nickel that she keeps picking at so it won't quite heal. But its almost 100%--except for the hair, she's going to be a bit bald for a while. But that's OK, bald is in. Isn't it kind of metrosexual? She lives in Hadley, and she doesn't like cities so there is really nothing "metro" about her. But we'll pretend she is "hip" and has a whole new doggie hair trend going on. She looks fabulous!

We've Got a Container Full of Rusty Nails for Sally!

In case you didn't read Sally's comment on the last blog entry, I suggest taking a peak at it so this title will make sense. She is a funny one that Sally! While she is chewing on rusty nails -- which someone in the family should do to ensure the delicate flowers in the family don't have to-- Arrow and I continue to support each other through our very eventful days.

We had a very nice weekend on the Cape this past weekend. I think it was a really good thing for us to go there. Arrow loves her pond and feels so energized by walking around and checking out the territory. She gets to say hi to the ducks, look for food outside Link and Marge's house, and hunt for rocks in the water. It was a bit cold so we didn't spend a lot of time outside nor did we get to the beach, but she ran around the pond. She is 100% better (for both moms) and shows each of us just how incredible she is.

She got to bring her friend Buttons to the Cape. There was one little incident where Buttons assumed she was doing a little bit better than Arrow was actually willing to admit. Arrow had a stick in her mouth and Button charged her trying to take it form her. Arrow yelped (I don't think she actually got hurt by Buttons, but definitely got scared) and when Buttons came running back at her with a little growl, the "rusty nail" Arrow had enough and bared her teeth, snapped, and chased Buttons. We actually had to call her off at which point she ran up to both Sally and I as if to say, "She scared me, I think I might be hurt. Do I look OK? Am I bleeding?" She actually was bleeding a little because her little scar had cracked (no fault of Buttons, her skin is just so dry). But she is no worse for the wear. Today she was even quicker on her feet, leading us down to the river with her head held high and prancing away as if she were auditioning to be one of Santa's reindeer!

We are in search of a little doggie sweater for her to keep her side warm and protected from the sun. Any fashion tips are appreciated!

Miss Merry Sunshine

I can turn my attitude around just like anyone else can. Sally may think I'm Debbie Downer, however, I like to think of myself as the realist. Other words for it include, pragmatist, worrier, thinker, and anxious wreck.

Our visit to Tufts yesterday went very well. Arrow is doing much better, and although she still has to wear the funny outfits when we are not at home, she is pretty much cleared for all other activities. They think her limp is still there because of the healing skin. When they palpated the area, it did not seem to cause her any pain so it doesn't appear to be soreness from the actual muscle. Once she gets moving, she mostly loosens up and she is running more and more.

Here's a funny story. Yesterday, we were getting ready to drive out to Worcester for our vet visit. I was getting Arrow into the car while Sally was in the house doing her last minute puttering. Arrow stared at the backseat, wiggled her butt a little, and contemplated jumping up onto the seat. I could tell she was aprehensive, so I lift her up and put her in the car. (In the process I touched her wound getting vitamin E all over my hand. As many of you may know, that didn't go over well and I promptly went in to wash my hand holding it out in front of me as if it had leprosy).

I told Sally that she was sore and needed help getting in the car. When we arrived at Tufts, she took her time getting out of the car, but jumped down and walked into the building -- half excited to see her friends, half shaking, afraid to get more radiation. When we picked her up from the visit, Sally was the one to open the car door for her and she PROMPTLY jumped into it for her. No need for assistance at all.

When we arrived at home it was just Arrow and I. We had dropped Sally off to pick up her car which was being serviced. I open the door for her and she stares at the ground, wondering how she will ever jump the 1000 feet to the garage floor. She takes a step down, puts her foot back up, tries again, moves around again as if saying, "oh, I don't know if I can do this!" She was soooo dramatic, I would swear her pain level was a 9.5!

My question/thought is: Why do you suppose she puts on the drama for me? And maybe that's why I come off looking like Debbie Downer!

Checkup Time

Tomorrow we head out to Tufts again for the one month post check-up. Crazy that it has been a month already! My head spins with how fast time goes. So far the radiation has affected her quality of life for about six weeks. Sally refutes that her quality of life is affected, but then I remind her of the donut, e-collars, and t-shirts. Also, her walks have been short and she is still limping quite a bit. Would I do the treatment again...I have to say yes. She is doing well.

Continued Improvement and other Changes

Arrow continues to improve as evidenced by her racing Buttons to see who can get out the door first, walking ahead of us on our walks, and the continued fiesty behavior of ripping off t-shirts, and trying to pull off the sheet we have placed on her bed (to prevent icky stuff from sticking to it). Her wound looks better some days and then on other days it looks like it is still pretty raw and then gets scabby again. I feel kind of bad still putting one of the collars (either the e-collar or donut) on her while we're gone for the day because I've promised her she would be better by now. But she doesn't hate me yet.

The new direction now is that she is starting to itch it with her back leg. That is a bad thing. We tried putting a sock on her this morning to prevent her nails from scratching her sore. Oh my God, I don't think I can describe how funny that was. She took one step with her front paws and then lifted up her paw with the sock on it and walked like she had to lift that leg over a giant log. She took about four steps just like that until she could collapse in her dog bed. She is too damn funny! So now she is on benadryl which makes her a little mellow. Can't wait to see what phase is next :)

Today Was A Wicked Good Day

Hi, this is guest blogger Sally again. Gloria is busy worrying about something else for a change so I get to give the update. Today was a wicked pissah day for all of us. I really think we turned a new page in this adventure.

Our friends Suzanne and Pete visited this weekend. Arrow has known Suz her whole life and just met Pete for the first time. Arrow was showing off big time for them both, picking up her toys and flinging them around the living room yesterday. She really liked Pete a lot, so she made sure to sit at his feet when not doing her nudgy pat me thing with her nose. She hasn't really shown interest in her toys much, so we took this as a good sign.

This morning we took both dogs out in the woods for a longer walk with our friends, but weren't sure how long Arrow could go. She was pretty frisky yesterday so we thought she might be a little sore today. But the little girl showed us exactly how she was feeling. She ran off trail to chase chippy munks, went up and down the steep hills, picked up sticks, and barked in her playful way that says "c'mon, pick it up guys, stop moping. You are all walking like peas." Those of you who have known us for a while know that expression well. A Glo-ism. She rolled in the newly mowed lawn and tried to drink from the drunk cow stream in our back yard (Years back some neighbors had to dispose of their moonshine quickly so they dumped it into the brook, where allegedly it flowed into the cow field across the street and all the cows got trashed. So we call it drunk cow stream.) Today was really the first day that she seemed totally like her true self.

Perhaps getting into some mischief has been good for her. It always has been good for me!!She ripped her tshirt off last night while we were at dinner, has taken off her swimmie a few times and has been getting feisty over all. I think she is telling us she is done with this sick role behavior, and ready to have some fun. We took Buttons for a long hike to Mt. Skinner this afternoon, and leaving Arrow behind was so sad. But in a few weeks, she will be a hiking fool again. We can't wait.

You can see for yourself with these pictures just how much fun she was having!

I Thought My Dog was Normal...

For a long time, I really thought Arrow was a normal dog. I never had a dog before her (unless you count "Pork chop" a yappy Chihuahua who I had as a 11 year old and lasted in our family maybe 3 weeks) so I really didn't have a reference point for what dogs are like. I had heard some horror stories about dogs who jumped out windows, ate the linoleum, or caused complete chaos in their homes. But those stories were out of the ordinary so for all my years of having Arrow, I considered her normal.

But over the years we have gotten to spend quite a bit of time with "real dogs." Currently, with Buttons living with us, we are once again reminded of how our dog is --- well, how do I say it...odd!

Now to set the stage, I have to say that Buttons is a GREAT dog! She is totally well trained (good job Kathy and Minh), expressive, and cute as a...well...button. But she is more like a "real dog" than Arrow. Here are some examples:

We were instructed to give Buttons a very thin rolled up (maybe even compressed?) rawhide to eat when we sit down to dinner. This would keep her from staring at us and give her something to do. So they gave us several of these sticks and so far, each night at dinner, we have given one to Buttons and one to Arrow. Buttons, like a real dog, gets hers down in about 5 minutes flat. She chews it up like it is candy and then its gone. You hardly even noticed that she was chewing.

Arrow on the other hand, doesn't take the stick directly in her mouth. She sniffs it, thinks about it, and then looks at you wondering if there is something better coming. When your arm gets tired from holding it in front of her nose, you finally drop it on her bed and let her take it on when she's good and ready. She places the stick between her paws and starts the process of daintily chewing on the stick. By the end, she starts chewing, and chewing, louder and louder, then--the snorting sounds start. It sounds as if she just got rawhide down her windpipe. Then the choking motion happens followed by a cough in which a piece of rawhide inevitably comes up from being lodged down her throat. Convinced she is going to choke to death we go to take it from her and she finally is able to swallow it down. Her skinny rawhide days are over!

While we're on the topic of treats, I can add that as soon as Buttons hears a bag crinkle or a cabinet door open, she is in the kitchen standing so close to me that I have to catch my balance or I might fall on top of her. She is game to eat anything. In fact, in some ways she was easy to train because Kathy would ask her if she wanted a treat and she would run right over to her. All very normal dog behavior.

Arrow on the other hand will not be bribed with treats. In fact, the treat has to be pretty darn special for her to be bothered to open her mouth. Many times, I have put a treat in front of her and she would either turn her head and disregard me or put it in her mouth only to drop it as soon as I stepped away, abandoning the treat for good. If I yell "treat" to her, she could care less. She loves peanut butter and I've been putting her pain meds in peanut butter so she would swallow those right down. But each day, I'd place the peanut butter under her nose and she would turn her head as if she really didn't like peanut butter much. You might say, well she didn't like it because she knew it had the pill in it. But the reality is, Buttons would become a prescription drug addict to be able to eat that peanut butter. Our routine was, she would turn her head and I would remind her that she LOVES peanut butter and is just playing hard to get. Finally she'd remember that I was telling the truth and eat it right up. What kind of lab is not food motivated?? That has always been a mystery to me.

When I put Buttons' food down in front of her, she eats it up in a heart beat. It is gone probably within 3 minutes. Arrow, leisurely strolls over to her bowl, take a few bites, looks up, looks around, takes a few more bites. In some ways, she tortures poor Buttons who has finished her meal and is staring at Arrow just hoping she would walk away from her bowl. I think Buttons is calculating how long it would take her to finish Arrow's bowl, "I would only need 6 seconds!" Yesterday, Sally's comment while Buttons was eating: "It's funny to see how a 'real dog' eats."

When we wake up in the morning, our routine is to shower, go downstairs, eat breakfast, and have a slow morning. We take Arrow out for a walk, and then when we're back, we feed her. Buttons, with her small bladder, is kind of pacing, trying to decide if she wants us to feed her first or let her out to pee. The first morning we had her it took us a fair amount of time to figure out she was actually asking to go out to pee-- again, something most dogs get trained to do and then become proficient at.

Not Arrow. She rarely asks to go out. We can sleep for 10 hours, come downstairs, take another two hours to putter around, and she just sits there. Sometimes, I've even opened the door for her because I'm sure her little bladder must be killing her. She goes on the deck or in the lawn and just lies there--maybe she'll roll around in the grass. But she won't pee. She wants company for her bathroom break and will wait for Sally or I to join her.

But I guess it is unfair for someone who is far from normal to expect as much from her dog. Both Sally and I are pretty darn quirky and perhaps that's why our funny little yellow dog fits right in!