This began as an ongoing chronicle of the day-to-day experience of living with a diabetic dog, along with some entirely random thoughts on . . . well, anything, but my diabetic dog has died (of cancer, not complications of diabetes), so I will be expanding my scope.
In case you are wondering, I did not mean to repeat my opening paragraph on the last post -- it just happened. I've been trying to edit it out, but every time I delete it, the entire post goes. I've given up on it.
The funny thing about this is that, based on the above paragraph, Zemanta has just supplied me with photographs and articles that are related to funeral homes and the U.S. government -- I don't see the connection, myself. A few relevant things are mixed in, so I'm putting them below.
This may seem like a strange time to talk about it, but as your dog gets older you need to think about end-of-life issues, just as you would for a human. I'm thinking about this just now because the older of my sister's two Great Pyrenees turned 13 this month, which is very old indeed for that breed. Gus is still pretty active and alert, but he has developed some weakness in his hind legs, as well as incontinence. Since I was thinking about how Tony died soon after last Thanksgiving (he had turned 13 early in November, 2009), I mentioned to my brother in law that it might be a good idea to start thinking about the inevitable. Steve tends to think in do-it-yourself terms (partly from personality, and partly because he hates to pay), and he told me his expectations (although not in so many words): 1. Gus would die at home, and 2. he would bury him.
It seems to me that these are common expectations in our culture, but nowadays they are unrealistic.Unless your dog, or any other pet, for that matter, dies in his or her sleep, you will probably do as I did, which is rush it to the vet because it is in distress of some kind. You will be very upset and faced with several decisions that you are in no shape to make on the spot: BUT THEY HAVE TO BE MADE RIGHT THEN. It is much better to decide ahead of time how far you are willing to go in your efforts to save your pet (if that is at all possible or wise) because when the time is at hand, you could be in a state where you will do anything to prolong his or her life, regardless of any financial hardship or common sense.
I am thankful that my veterinarian managed to keep me from grasping at straws in that regard. I thought that I was prepared, and I was, in some ways, but I had no idea how hard it would hit me emotionally. I had already decided that when the time came I would have him cremated privately (see the article "When is the right time . . ." below for information about cremation) so that I would get his ashes, and I had a vague idea of how much that would cost. It never occurred to me to bury him at home; I'm disabled, and our water comes from a well (I don't know for sure if that matters, but I wouldn't take a chance). It turns out that there may also be legal issues involved with a home burial. Steve wouldn't like hearing that.
Burying -- at home -- a dog the size of Gus, who is small for a Pyr, but more than 10 times the size of a Pomeranian like Tony, just doesn't make sense. I think Steve sees that now; he's actually done some research into the alternatives, not that he's happy thinking about this problem in any way. But I know he will be glad he did. In the meantime, I'm doing my part to help keep Gus happy and as healthy as possible.
This may seem like a strange time to talk about it, but as your dog gets older you need to think about end-of-life issues, just as you would for a human. I'm thinking about this just now because the older of my sister's two Great Pyrenees turned 13 this month, which is very old indeed for that breed. Gus is still pretty active and alert, but he has developed some weakness in his hind legs, as well as incontinence. Since I was thinking about how Tony died soon after last Thanksgiving (he had turned 13 early in November, 2009), I mentioned to my brother in law that it might be a good idea to start thinking about the inevitable. Steve tends to think in do-it-yourself terms (partly from personality, and partly because he hates to pay), and he told me his expectations (although not in so many words): 1. Gus would die at home, and 2. he would bury him.
I've been too busy to post for a while, but I felt I had to mention a report I received from Dogtime.com about puppy mills operating over the 'net. These puppy e-mills are becoming a serious problem, and although all of the issues they raise are disturbing, my concern here has to do with health. According to the report, "The Internet also happens to make a great dumping ground for dogs. In fact when breeders are left with "reject" puppies that mass brokers or pet stores won't buy, usually due to health or form problems, the dogs are sold online." The best long-term solution to the puppy mill problem is for people to stop buying from them, but until people are aware of the problem, it will just go on and on. For now, the American Humane Society has several campaigns going, and their website has advice on how to shop for a puppy to avoid getting a puppy-mill pet. If it's too late for you and you already have a sick puppy, you should contact them.
Image by kalavinka via FlickrWell, you probably know what I'm going to say first: get health insurance for your new dogs ASAP, since their health needs don't end with shots and spaying. Next, you might want to check out DogChannel's New Dog page, which is organized into categories that are actually relevant and helpful, unlike some other sites I could mention. Additionally, they have downloads for new dog owners, like a shopping list (helpful, since you're going to want to buy everything you see, and you might miss a few important necessities), plus an "ask an expert" feature where you can get advice from a vet, a trainer, a groomer, etc.
I zeroed in on the Guide to Feeding Your Pets download, since I had so many different -- and difficult -- experiences while I was dealing with Tony's diabetes and his later bout with lymphoma. It has material on food recalls, people food that is toxic for pets, the wet vs. dry debate, raw diets, and so on. Overall, it's a good basic discussion of the topic, but I was disappointed that they didn't warn about the use of sweeteners (including HFCS) in the semi-moist foods. I remain convinced that this was what led to Tony's weight gain and his subsequent diabetes. In any event, here are a few interesting articles:
Got an email the other day about monitoring a dog's blood sugar. I've mentioned before that my brother Eric monitored his dog's blood sugar, while I didn't. Tony had regular blood sugar curves done, and they were always consistent after the first couple of months. Eric's dog Lucky (always a bad choice for a dog name), however, was almost always out of control in that area. Eric had several things going for him that I didn't: at the time, he himself was diabetic (he isn't anymore, thanks to some pretty serious lifestyle changes), so he was hyperaware of everything connected with that; Lucky was a BIG Labrador retriever, which made it easier to draw the tiny bit of blood needed for the test (trying to do this without help to a Pomeranian ain't easy; you can't ever get the right grip); and, Eric is a behavioral psychologist with tons of experience with animals and many medical procedures. At any rate, if it had been necessary to test Tony's sugar, I would have found a method of getting the blood, and it would have become routine in a hurry-- that's just the way it is. If your vet tells you to do this, DO IT. Like giving the insulin injections, you'll get better with practice over time, and you'll definitely get better control over your dog's diabetes. There's a veterinarian's discussion of this at Pet Place; it's a basic explanation that should give you enough information to ask your vet the right questions.
Incidentally, there's something new and exciting in the monitoring pipeline for humans, which should eventually work itself into veterinary applications. See the article below.
A while back, I complained about an article on winter care for dogs because it wasn't published until winter was nearly over. Fortunately, the folks over at DogChannel.com have put out their warnings early enough for us to make some use of them, especially since we've been having an early heat wave here in the Midwest. You probably -- I hope!-- know enough not to leave your dog in a closed car, but you may not know how to recognize when your dog is in trouble. According to the article: 'Heatstroke’s early signs include rapid breathing, rapid heart rate, thick drooling saliva and a dry nose and mouth. “The dog often has a panicked or wild expression,” Chodrow says. “If you lift up a lip, the gums above the teeth will be a muddy grayish-pink or a brick-red instead of their normal clear pink color. As heatstroke progresses, the dog may stagger or have seizures. In advanced stages, she may show bloody diarrhea, coma and death. Heatstroke is a medical emergency: If untreated, it can be fatal.”'
Keeping an eye on your dog in this kind of weather is all the more important if he or she has other health issues, such as diabetes, which affect hydration (if his or her blood sugar is not under good control, you really need to limit outdoor play in the summertime). It's a good idea to limit outdoor play time for any dog on a hot day, and you need to make sure that shade is available no matter how short a time you will be outdoors. I've talked about my brother-in-law's group at the dog park before, and there can be some other problems with that kind of setting in the heat. For one thing, people go there not just so their dogs can have fun, but also to socialize with other dog owners. The group that Steve hangs out with are Great Pyrenees owners, and he's lost track of time more than once while chatting with them. They all wait until early evening to take the dogs to the park to help prevent heat-related problems, which is good, but as the DogChannel article points out, humidity is a problem all by itself. If the humidity is high, evaporation is slowed, and since the dogs cool themselves by panting, heat stress can build up even after the sun goes down. There are a couple of other factors that the article mentions that I want to talk about, but the first is most important for diabetic dogs, many of whom have excess weight. As the article points out, that can have an effect on breathing as well as retaining heat, since the weight acts as extra insulation. The other problem they cite is dogs with double coats (like Pomeranians, for example). Although their coats can insulate against the heat, once they do get hot, the coat holds it in. And, of course, the kind of exercise matters, too. Here again, I'm thinking of dog parks, where many dogs get a far more intense workout than they do at home, and where they may forgo drinking at times because they are so involved with their play. The article has a lot of good advice, and I can't recommend it highly enough. Read it, protect your best friend, and remember -- warnings for heat danger for humans also apply to pets.
I would also recommend the article below about outdoor dogs. It's kind of surprising, to me at least, how people rationalize their worst decisions.
As I've mentioned before, I teach English composition, and a couple of days ago I showed this blog to my students as an example of a topic-driven blog (they have an extra-credit opportunity to create one and keep it going during the summer term). I was kind of surprised when I got questions about dogs and diabetes (specifically, blood sugar monitoring) rather than the questions about blogging that I was expecting. Before I took a few minutes to deal with the off-topic questions, I asked for a show of hands from the dog owners in the class. About two-thirds raised their hands. That's a lot of dogs. As I was driving home after class, I wondered how many of those dogs have health insurance. I'll have to ask.
Well, I said I would talk about DogChannel.com's Dog College, and I'm finally getting around to it. They offer three courses a month. I completed the Nutrition exam (a very high score, if I do say so myself), but I seem to be wiping out at Physiology (I only got the order in which a dog's feet move by waking up Gus and watching him). It's my own fault. I tried to jump ahead and take the exam too soon. I think my students are starting to rub off on me. In any event, it was interesting to read about how dogs move, and the quiz confirmed my impression that my short-term memory is going to hell.
The last course for this "term" is Communication. The article, in my opinion, is thorough and informative (one commenter-- who gave the impression that she was not terribly bright -- really disparaged it, while a number of dog trainers who commented were extremely positive). Everything in the article tallied with my own experience, so I'm giving it my approval. There is an interesting discussion of wolf behavior in contrast with dog behavior, so I'm going to recommend this to my brother in law, who is convinced that his dogs are much closer to their wolf ancestors than they are.
Now that I've finished this term, I'm looking forward to the next set of courses (and hoping that they get into preventive care for your dog).
I have come to the conclusion that every dog I have ever met is probably a slacker. Sure, some dogs may actually be heroes who just haven't had any opportunity to show their stuff, but the rest are just faking it. They're so good at faking it, though, that we all believe our dogs are capable of doing something amazing, like Buddy, a German Shepherd who lives in Alaska. He made headlines up there for saving his family's home on April 4, and he's become a YouTube sensation. The video is from the state trooper's vehicle. Buddy actually went and got help-- just like Lassie, Rin Tin Tin, or Strongheart, the dog in the picture above (he was a big silent movie star).
On the other hand, would you really want your dog to be that kind of hero? This seems to be one of those be-careful-what-you-wish-for kind of things. I'm glad none of the dogs I know has had to be a hero.
As time goes on, more and more websites devoted to dogs and other pets are popping up, some with more valuable content than others. I have hopes for Dog Channel.com's "Dog College," which appears to be both an informational service and a contest. You have to join Club Dog in order to participate, but it's open to everyone 13 and over, and free. The prizes are provided by Petco. It runs three months, and you get a diploma for finishing, plus reward points. There is also a special prize for the "valedictorian," which consists of a year's worth of Iams food and 5000 Club Dog points.
I'll take a look at their offerings in my next post. I expect this to be good, since Dog Channel.com is owned by Bow-Tie, Inc., the company that publishes Dog Fancy magazine (fyi, the website has a lot of the things I enjoy in the magazine, like local directories, for just one example, so it's worth visiting). I've always loved the retriever (I think) puppy in the Dog Channel logo: he has a wonderful expression on his face that makes me feel that I can trust these folks, however irrational that effect might be. We'll see how it goes.
In the meantime, there are three interesting items about Petco in the news. They have a new initiative that is perfect for an Earth Day (today) post, and they are also assisting food banks, according to the New York Times. However, they are also under fire for selling female guinea pigs (helping to cause an overpopulation problem). Well, you can't please everyone.
I just came across an interesting discussion about the cost of pet health care at a blog run by Liberty Mutual, the insurance company. The blog is called The Responsibility Project, and the subtitle is "exploring what it means to do the right thing." One of their staff writers, Kathy McManus, posted a piece a while back about how many pet owners spend large amounts of money in this area, and she posed the question, "When it comes to expensive veterinary medical care, is it more responsible to pay for a pet or perhaps give the money to charity instead?"
I teach rhetoric, and logic is an important component of that curriculum. This question is posing what is called a "false dilemma," which is where you are offered only two choices of action in a situation when there are actually many possible choices. Obviously, you could spend the money on anything, which would not necessarily be irresponsible. However, her intention was to get followers of the blog to talk, and not, I hope, to suggest that it is irresponsible to spend your own money on caring for a pet who is wholly dependent on you for all of its needs. Over 1600 people posted comments, some just a sentence of reaction, but a large number of them are very moving personal stories about animal companions and what had to be done to save their lives.
There is a horribly provocative essay by the notorious Peter Singer, "The Singer Solution to World Poverty," in which he looks at a number of scenarios that are all similar to the question McManus asks, with the telling difference of animal lives replaced by human ones. Based on his other writings, I think we can probably assume that he does want people to take some action in this regard, but the main effect of the essay is to force readers to confront their own hypocrisy. Oddly enough, the tenor of the responses to McManus's question is a rejection of any accusation of hypocrisy. Many of the respondents noted their contributions to various charities, and virtually all feel no guilt over spending their money to save a pet's life. Many of them also talk about the sacrifices -- not just in the financial sense, either -- they have made in order to save their pets, which I find encouraging.
One point came up repeatedly: you never know, going in, how much you will have to pay for your pet's healthcare. What starts out as a small issue can slowly develop into a big-ticket crisis, so insuring your pet for these situations helps you avoid a lot of these difficult decisions. And the value of that relief can't be overestimated.
Yesterday I saw something that brought home a problem that is the major risk factor for diabetes (in dogs and humans), which is excess weight. My brother-in-law, Steve, took the younger of his two dogs to the groomer, and he discovered why a Great Pyrenees's coat requires either constant attention from the owner or regular visits to the groomer (no more than 3 months apart).
My sister and her husband have been having a hard time lately moneywise (who hasn't, right?), and they had to put off taking the dogs to the groomer. Gus, the older dog (he's three-quarters Great Pyrenees and one-quarter Komondor -- his coat doesn't cord, but he has some cool waves) went last month, and there were no problems. Doc's coat looked pretty good, at least as good as the dog in the picture above; after all, they do brush him and so on, but what none of us could see was that his undercoat had become a giant mat. The groomer called my sister to tell her that they were going to have to shave Doc.
So, last night, Steve went to pick Doc up, and he said later that he was afraid to bring him home, since he expected his wife to go into hysterics when she saw her "new" dog. In fact, I was the first to see him when he came into the house, and I didn't know anything about the matting. "Who is that?" I asked. Steve kind of winced. "It's Doc." I couldn't believe it. Doc weighs about 130 pounds, and he looked like he was half the size he had been that morning. However, without all that fluffy white fur, his body was suddenly easy to see, and it was obvious that he is overweight. You could see that his silhouette was too round, just like those diagrams all the vets have in their waiting rooms that tell you what a dog at the right weight looks like.
My sister's reaction was totally unexpected. She kept saying, "he's so cute! Like a giant puppy!" She went nuts over him, but she also noted his enlarged midsection, and pointed it out to her husband. Now, for years he's had issues about feeding the dogs. Gus is a fussy eater, and doesn't eat a lot at the best of times, so when Doc came along and REALLY liked to eat, Steve rewarded his appetite with more food than was good for him. Doc's new look finally showed Steve what he had done, and I think he's learned his lesson. He saw what I went through with Tony. I am willing to bet that Doc is going to be getting less food and more exercise from now on.
I hope to have a picture of Doc in his "puppy cut," but I'm not sure Steve will let us take one. He hangs out with a bunch of Pyr owners at the dog park, and he's always been proud that Doc is such a big dog. I think he'll be too embarrassed to take him until some of the fur grows back.
Here's a sad story that just popped up from my Zemanta feed (Doc never looked as big as the dog in the Vail News photo, in case you are wondering), plus some less tragic tales:
I don't know what your feelings on PETA may be, but I have long been appalled by their policies on animals that are brought to them. If you don't know about this, you should read some of the material on them before you make up your mind. There is an item today in the AOL News concerning PETA's recent statements about the tragic death of a Sea World trainer, and this has brought the issue back into the news (you may also want to check out the PETAkillsanimals.com website). As one of my firm beliefs is that too many people are having their diabetic dogs put down because they either don't understand that they can live good lives after the diagnosis or because they just don't want to be bothered, I am especially disturbed by the unnecessary euthanasia of thousands of healthy dogs for which PETA is responsible. With all the money gullible animal lovers give them each year, surely they could do more to get them adopted. It would be a better use of the money than running the walk-in freezer where they keep the dead animals until they have a big enough batch for cremation.
There's another useful article from PawNation that I want to bring to your attention, since it deals with an important issue for dogs with diabetes: exercise. "Combating Your Dog's Cold-Weather Boredom" is mainly concerned with cabin fever and its results, such as chewing (usually on forbidden items like shoes and papers) and accidents in the house, but most of the remedies author Gabrielle Linzer recommends involve exercise. The connection between exercise and blood sugar appears to be hard to pin down in terms of the precise effects (see the article about sled dogs I noted yesterday), but there is no doubt that exercise can help with control.
The first cabin-fever solution Linzer mentions is almost certainly NOT a good idea for dogs with diabetes, however. Quoting a professional trainer, she "recommends stuffing your dog's meal in a Kong." I can tell you from personal experience with Tony that any kind of alteration in food delivery methods can wreak havoc with a dog's treatment. Although before he was diagnosed he was happy to eat almost anything, anywhere, anytime, anyhow, after he was on insulin he became pretty rigid in his preferences, and at least a couple of times a week he would either refuse to eat or would only eat part of his portion. I wouldn't have tried the Kong trick anyway, since he never liked Kongs to begin with, but I would hesitate to suggest this to other people with diabetic dogs simply because of its potential for disrupting the dog's feeding routine.
Her other recommendations seem very useful, particularly for those who need to keep their dog's activity level constant throughout the year. She has some good ideas about how to play indoors with your dog, and I like her suggestion to enroll your dog in a class.
As Pomeranians are bred for colder climates and our house has a large fenced yard, Tony spent more time out there in the winter than he did in the summer. It was pretty funny to watch him break trail in snow that was up to his chin so that he could complete his self-imposed duty of checking the yard's perimeter. In the heat of summer, he generally wanted to stay inside with the air conditioning, and he would run around the house a couple of times a day on his own in addition to the games I played with him to keep him in shape.
Too bad this article was published on 2/24, when we're nearing the end of an especially intense winter season instead of at the end of fall. Keep it in mind for next year.
I was just doing my usual searches for news about canine diabetes, and I came across something I missed before. It was discussed on the terrific dog-blog, Doggyblurb.blogspot.com last April, but it's still worth talking about, especially if, like me, you have loved ones who are diabetic (my mother and my sister). According to Diabeteshealth.com, "Michael Davis, a professor at Oklahoma State University who has studied sled dogs for 10 years, says their incredible endurance may be the key to treating obesity in people who have either type 2 or pre-diabetes." Now, I know I usually talk about dogs with diabetes, but this news item points up the intertwining nature of our relationships with our dogs. It appears that what the sled dogs can teach us has to do with insulin sensitivity, which is key to both diabetes and burning fat: these dogs have metabolisms that are simply amazing. If Davis can figure out how this whole system works (it's a mystery so far), we may see something that really works and can help everyone, human or other, who has or is at risk for diabetes. As long as we don't have to run an Iditarod . . . It's also worth noting that Davis was/is not generously funded, so if you've got the bucks to be providing research grants, you might do a lot worse than throwing one his way.
And here are a few articles that you may find interesting:
I'm on AOL, and on today's main screen there was a link to Pawnation.com for a list of the Top Ten Reasons Dogs and Cats Visit the Vet. The number one reason is ear infections, according to a pet insurance company. The page also has links to Pawnation pages on various ailments in a "Top Ten Searched Pet Health Conditions." Number 4 is Pet Diabetes, which doesn't surprise me at all. I also came across a Google News item about companies that are offering pet health insurance to their employees.
I forgot to mention in my last post that some of the proceeds of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show poster go to The Seeing Eye, which, as I'm sure you know, supplies service dogs to the blind.
I am (and I can't believe the Pomeranian didn't win the Toy Group! What is it with poodles?), with occasional cutaways to the Olympics. Of course, I'm grading papers at the same time. I don't know if you've noticed, but many of the commercials during the dog show are dog-related, which makes sense, and some of them talk about what the companies are doing for dogs. The one that really struck me as odd is the one for Progressive Insurance. It follows the ones from their ongoing ad campaign with the goofy cashier who gets all worked up over discounts. It's not available for viewing on their website at this moment, but you can check via the link above to see if it's up yet. They don't give any details, but the implication is that your dog is covered by them through insurance that covers your car or home. I gotta ask. What exactly does this mean? Does it cover emergency care, or what? As you probably know, I'm a great advocate for health insurance for pets (and people, too, of course, all the more so since I do not have health insurance myself). I find myself of two minds about this commercial. I like the idea that they are covering pets in any way, and I hope it makes people realize that insurance for pets is a good idea, but I also think that it might make people think that this kind of coverage is all you need. It's not. You need basic health insurance so that you won't have to make decisions based on what you can afford rather than what the dog needs. This is especially worth remembering in February, which is the dental health month for pets. Even though most vets offer a February discount, it is still an area of care that a lot of pet owners neglect, many because of the cost.
Off the soapbox now. Check out the WKC website.The poster for this year's show is fabulous.
Yes, dogs get the flu! By now you've probably heard or read the reports of pets getting H1N1 (the first one I saw was around Christmas). It seems that they are catching it from their owners. And, it's not just dogs. Cats and ferrets have gotten H1N1, as well. From what I've seen, there needs to be some educational efforts made about this danger. We're being inundated with instructions on how to wash our hands and other common sense disease-prevention practices, but the information we really need is not being spread around. When you wake up feeling crummy, how do you tell whether it's even serious enough to see a physician in the first place? If you find out you actually have the flu, do you know how to protect your dog from it? What symptoms should you watch for?
And that's not all. I think most pet owners are familiar with the idea of zoonotic diseases-- that is, diseases humans can get from their pets. Vets certainly have enough pamphlets on this in their offices. But we don't think about the possibilities of infecting our pets, who just love to lick our hands whenever possible. We also don't stay current with animal versions of everyday human illnesses, such as influenza that they can get that is not the same as any flu that hits humans. To make a good start, I think that every pet owner should visit the Center for Disease Control's website on canine influenza, especially people whose pets are often in contact with other animals (my brother-in-law belongs to a group that meets regularly at our local dog park, for example, and it's a busy place). There is a vaccine for canine influenza (this is the H3N8 strain).
When you have a pet with a chronic illness (a dog with diabetes, perhaps?), even mild infections can become serious in a hurry. The best advice I was ever given came very soon after Tony was diagnosed with diabetes. Oddly enough, it came from one of my students, who had a part-time job at an animal clinic. She told me that after she had gotten a puppy, she picked the brains of everyone at the clinic on every topic that occurred to her. One of the senior vet techs told her that she should set aside a little time each week to give the dog a little massage and "examination" to have a way to tell if something had changed. From that point on, I did that, and caught several problems early on. Of course I totally missed a few serious problems that either came on suddenly or were not really visible.
First of all, considering the situation in Haiti, I can't urge you strongly enough to go to thehungersite.com and click on the "click to give" box, and then do the same at The Animal Rescue Site (use the tab at the top of the Hunger Site page, or click on the icon to the right of this page). Your clicks produce funds for both causes -- the advertisers' money goes directly to help. It's free, but if you can afford to make a donation you'll find all the information you need to do so.
When I was looking for information to help Tony fight his cancer, I missed a terrific resource, and I'm sort of appalled at myself, since it's part of Dogtime. Go to http://dogtime.com/canine-cancer.html for a wealth of information on all kinds of canine cancer. They also have articles on canine diabetes.
Yesterday was my first day back to work after the semester break, and I was very surprised when a colleague asked me if I had gotten a new dog yet. In fact, I think my jaw dropped for a moment. I've already decided that I want to wait until I'm in a better financial position. It's going to take a while to recover from the costs of Tony's last year.
Speaking of which, every time my four-year-old niece has visited since Tony died she has asked where he is. Each time this has happened, I've explained things to her. However, she was over the day before yesterday, and I finally realized what was going on. This time she asked in front of her father, who asked her, "Where do you think he is, Caroline?" She thought for a moment, then she said that Tony was with Bogie and Grandpa, meaning that he was in heaven. Alex said, "that's right." She seemed satisfied; what she was trying to do, I guess, was to get confirmation of this idea. We'll see if she asks again next time she's over.
This is a Dorgi, and based on what I've just seen, they are cuter -- and probably healthier -- than either Corgis or Dachshunds. The picture (used by permission) comes from Dorgi Central, a website devoted to this mixed breed. There are some truly adorable photos there, plus info about the hybrid. Brittney, the site owner, tells me that she is working on an overhaul of the site, so I'll be checking back on it in a few weeks.
A few days after Tony died, I received a lovely card from Dr. Kroll. It brought a few tears to my eyes, but then almost anything did. I'm past that stage now, but I am still being reminded of him constantly. In fact, this morning when I checked AOL, they had an item about a 93-year-old man, Stan Lee (no, not the Marvel Comics guy) whose 13-year-old Japanese Chin died of shock after falling off a bed. I'm all sympathy in this case, not just because of Tony dying so recently, but rather because I know that if that had happened to me, I'd be wallowing in guilt over it. However, what made the case AOL-worthy was not Lee's age; it was a condolence letter he received, from the queen (although it was penned by a lady in waiting -- it's good to be the queen).
The Daily Mail reported (the story is at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1239244/Queen-offers-written-condolence-pensioner-death-13-year-old-pet-dog.html#ixzz0bDNONFP9) that Lee has been in the habit of writing the queen to ask after her Corgis from time to time, which is something I would not have imagined. And I find that I am charmed by this story. I'm not terribly interested in the Royals, as a rule (people I meet are often surprised by this when it comes up in conversation, since I am a Brit lit scholar), but I am fascinated, in an anthropological sense, by the functions they serve in their culture. I wouldn't have guessed that people write to them about mundane things, but I can see how they might, now that I've thought about it. The queen's well-known fondness for her dogs humanizes her, making her more approachable and less of an icon. There is a UK government website about the royal dogs at http://www.royal.gov.uk/TheRoyalHousehold/RoyalAnimals/Familypets.aspx
I was also surprised to learn that she has bred her corgis to dachshunds, resulting in "Dorgis." I tried to find a photo, but no luck. However, I did learn that my assumption that she would rely on staff to care for the dogs is not quite accurate. According to the website, "At present, The Queen owns four Corgis: Linnet, Monty, Willow and Holly and four Dorgis: Cider, Berry, Candy and Vulcan.The Queen’s corgis travel with her to the various residences, with Her Majesty looking after them herself as much as possible given her busy schedule." I find myself consumed by curiosity about the dorgis, and I'll report on them later.
If you're interested, there is a YouTube video of the Queen and her dogs available at http://lisawallerrogers.wordpress.com/2009/04/07/queen-elizabeths-corgis-and-dorgis/
I wrote most of the following on December 10, 2009, but I haven’t posted it until now because I was trying to come up with something that would cover all that I was feeling. I’m not sure that’s possible now, after trying again and again to do it. Grief is not just an emotion; it's a process.
I’m sorry to report that Tony died on Wednesday, December 2. I haven’t been able to write about it until now, but I’m hoping that doing so will help me sort out how I feel. Despite everything that was going on with him, it was sudden, almost unexpected. On Tuesday, I took him to the vet for the follow up on his abscess. He had refused his breakfast, but other than that, he seemed perfectly normal. Dr. Kroll was amazed by how well the abscess had healed, which I was pleased to hear. I had them trim his nails, and I picked up a fresh bottle of insulin. When we got home, he still didn’t want to eat, but he took his usual late afternoon nap, waking briefly to bark with the other dogs every time one of them heard something outside.
He didn’t want his dinner, but he’d done that before from time to time, so I wasn’t too worried. When we went to bed, I couldn’t sleep until I heard his tags clink against his water bowl as he drank. He got me up about an hour later. I took him out, he did what he had to do, and then we came in. But he didn’t want to go back to bed. He went up his steps to his favorite spot on a loveseat. I sat next to him and rubbed his back. After about half an hour of that, he was willing for me to carry him back to the bedroom. I remember being surprised at how light he felt. Before he developed diabetes, he had weighed as much as 15 pounds (my brother Alex was prone to call him “Pomzilla” at the time), and he had lost 5 pounds before he went on insulin. His weight stabilized at 10.5 pounds for over two years, but he had been losing weight steadily since his bladder infection developed. He was down to 8 pounds.
The big change came in the morning. I got up to get ready for my 8AM class, but he didn’t follow me out of the room as he usually did. At 7:15, I took him outside, carrying him to the edge of the patio, since he seemed kind of out of it. Instead of taking a couple of steps off the patio and whizzing, however, he walked a few steps out and made a sharp left turn. He just kept walking, and he was headed toward the pool. The pool is covered, but it hadn’t been drained down for the winter yet, so the water was almost to the top. I went around on the concrete toward the pool, but I’ve been having a truly horrendous year arthritis-wise, and I couldn’t move very fast. I heard a splash just as I rounded a bush. Tony had walked right onto the pool cover, and the water was up to his knees. He was just standing there when I reached him. I managed to grab his collar and pulled him toward me enough to be able to pick him up. He was not reacting to anything; his eyes were open, but he just didn’t seem aware. I took him in and dried him off, setting him on the floor in the den. He lay down and appeared to go to sleep. By this time, I was pretty worried, but my mother assured me that she could watch him for the hour or so that I would be gone.
I have never prepped a class for their final exam as quickly as I did that morning, but as I was driving back home, I found myself slowing down a couple of times. I was dreading what I was going to find there. Tony had never acted that way before, not even close to that. As I came through the door (no Tony barking to greet me), my mother told me that he hadn’t moved but had vomited a bit. I checked and found only a small spot, about the size of a quarter, on the carpet. I went to call the vet.
We’ve been going to the Animal Medical Clinic of St. Charles for so long that everyone there knows Tony. When I identified myself to Nada, the receptionist, she immediately asked about Tony. I said the first thing that came to mind: “I think he’s dying.” She told me to bring him right in, they’d be waiting for me. And they were. I had had to cram Tony into his travel kennel (this normally involves a lot of activity on his part, but this time he just let me put him in), and one of the techs took it from me as soon as I got there. They left me in an examining room for a couple of minutes while they looked at him in the back area. Dr. Kroll came in from the back, and I knew from the look on her face that this was it.
In the weeks since this happened, I’ve been thinking about how different it is when a beloved pet dies as opposed to a human being. It seems that only people who have had pets accept that this is a significant loss, which is difficult to deal with, for me, at least. I just lost my best friend.
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What I'm reading lately (probably not about dogs, though)
Dana Stabenow's Kate Shugak mysteries. I got the first one (for my Nook) for 99 cents, and I was hooked. Set in Alaska, which really comes to vivid life, the books are outstanding, and there is a fabulous canine character to boot. Go Mutt!
The Bell Ringers, by Henry Porter. Scared me silly!
Sacred Games, by Vikram Chandra. Reading this was one of the most intense experiences I've had in the last few years. If you are at all curious about life in India, check it out.
The Year of Magical Thinking, by Joan Didion. She has a way of describing her horrible experiences of grieving that is surprisingly comforting.
World War Z, by Max Brooks. It absolutely does NOT feel like fiction, which is amazing considering that it's about zombies.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Hilarious if you know your Austen; I'm not sure how it reads for those who don't.
Christmas Books
Miracle and other Christmas Stories, by Connie Willis- don't miss the title story, which puts up a powerful argument for It's a Wonderful Life being the worst Christmas movie
The Twelve Clues of Christmas, by Rhys Bowen (from the Her Royal Spyness series)
A Highland Christmas, by M.C. Beaton (from the Hamish Macbeth series) - hilarious!
Christmas Stalkings, by Charlotte Macleod (out of print right now, but a real winner)
Mistletoe Mysteries, by Charlotte Macleod
Rest You Merry, also by Charlotte Macleod. A very funny Christmas overkill mystery
Murder Goes Mumming, by Alisa Craig (who is actually Charlotte Macleod, who apparently really liked to write about Christmas)
I'm a currently underemployed teacher (ah, the crisis in higher education) at a community college in the midwest. I have a PhD (in English) from Northern Illinois University and a masters in Library and Information Science from Dominican University (well, it was Rosary College when I was there). My research interests are wide and varied.
Image by kalavinka via FlickrWell, you probably know what I'm going to say first: get health insurance for your new dogs ASAP, since their health needs don't end with shots and spaying. Next, you might want to check out DogChannel's New Dog page, which is organized into categories that are actually relevant and helpful, unlike some other sites I could mention. Additionally, they have downloads for new dog owners, like a shopping list (helpful, since you're going to want to buy everything you see, and you might miss a few important necessities), plus an "ask an expert" feature where you can get advice from a vet, a trainer, a groomer, etc.
Image via Wikipedia
Image via Wikipedia
Image by State Library of New South Wales collection via Flickr
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