11/2 Gus's surgery

It was only $50. Yep. $50. That's why I love Western Illinois Vet Clinic. That and the fact that my first visit I noticed a vet had a big black eye. He said, "Yep, a horse kicked me."

They're real country veterinarians. (Like the ones you go to in Palmyra, Jan.)

Joe and Cindy got rid of all my leaves today. I appreciate it so much. (We talked about it in a comment on a previous blog entry. Gussie loves you and so do I.)

10/13 Story of Gus

I took Gus to the vet for his surgery for "cherry eye." When we got there the malady had disappeared. Doc said to wait until it comes back--and it definitely will. While we were there I said we might as well get him groomed, so he is back to his adorable, skinny self.

Will try to post pictures as soon as I can hook up my phone to my home computer. Problems there.

Had a rough day physically at work. My brother Joe helped me to carry out the yard waste tonight. I really appreciate it, Joe.

2/4 Work is good for the soul, and the psyche

I feel much better today. Working is a great medicine.

Pampered Pets is closed today so the pups were home this morning, but this afternoon I brought Quincy with me to the office. She's a lot more antsy than Cookie was. Drove by the vet's to get some meds and weighed Quincy. She's only gained 2 pounds since Rob was here at the end of November--she's 78 1/2. I sure thought she'd be more than 80 by now. But what was funny is that she's 20 pounds heavier since the last time I brought her to the vet's.

Just gave her an almost empty jar of peanut butter. That should keep her busy for a little while.

Tomorrow is the last day of Mardi Gras. Am going with friends to the Biloxi parade. We're having a picnic so I get to use a really cool little cheese board set that I got from Jim and Karen at Christmas. I'm taking cheese, crackers, and beer. Genia's taking wine, chicken salad and something else. Others will fill in the blanks with chips, bread, and other items. Should be a fun day. I just hope Doggy Day Care is open so I don't have to worry about going home to let the dogs out. Everything is closed here on Fat Tuesday.

Not this weekend but the following one, I'm going on a road trip to Florida with Genia and Caroline. I absolutely can't wait--a totally relaxing weekend with no responsibilities except to have fun and relax. Yay.

10/4 Poor, poor Cookie--poor, really poor me!

As soon as we got home tonight Cookie's face swelled up and she got hives all over her head. I called the vet but they'd closed. Then I called the Emergency Vet. They told me to bring her in. By the time we got there the hives were all over her body, and she had a fever.

She got stung by something apparently. So after a shot of benadryl and prednisone she's a bit better. But her right eye is still swollen. Poor, poor Cookie.

And after I paid the bill--poor, poor me.

10/1 Time is going fast

They say when you're over the hill you pick up speed. That is certainly true in my case. Time has been passing so quickly I can't believe it.

It's like today didn't even happen, it went by so fast.

At the end of the day I picked up the dogs and took them to my office so I could work late. First Cookie peed (she's been under sedation earlier in the day for a tear duct flush). Then I got attacked by ants at my desk. The new office is infested. On the way home Cookie pooped ALL OVER the back of the SUV.

So tonight flew by too since I spent a good part of it cleaning upholstery.

She's sleeping now, so I'm hoping the sedative will help her sleep all night. The vet said they just gave her what they would normally give a chihuahua-sized dog, but apparently it's done her in quite nicely.

Hope it's done.

8/15 It's never normal

The meeting in Jackson was long but very productive. Q ended up with an ear infection from swimming, but I got medicine and she should be fine soon.

Today was NUTS. I had two different board meetings as well as interviewed a new admin assistant. Still managed to find time to do some office work. What a brutal day, and it's not over yet.

Tomorrow and Friday I'm giving 8 hours worth of workshops each day. So it's going to be hard to get other stuff done. Virtually impossible. And Monday I go to Austin. So it's obvious that I'll be working this weekend. But I'll get to have Quincy with me, so that it will make it a little more easy to take. :)

I love this job, and will be able to slow down a little bit late next week. At least that's my hope.

Time to give Q her meds.

8/7 Time flies, etc.

On August 2, I turned 60. One of the worst birthdays in my life. Not because of my age--that's never bothered me. But because of Quincy's diarrhea.

Yep. It started the evening of August 1. Luckily she was able to run to the door and we had no accidents inside the house. Until in the middle of the night I heard a loud SQUIRT and woke up scraeming, "NOOOOOOO!" It took a good portion of the rest of the night to clean the carpet, then clean my rug shampooer.

Woke up at 3:30 after only a few hours rest. We drove to Jackson MS, making many stops along the way. I dropped her at a vet/kennel while I went to a meeting at the MEMA EOC (Emergency Operations Center). Told the vet that instead of just boarding her, she needed to be seen.

My wild dog just loves kennels and vets. She bounds into those places like she bounds everywhere--with joy and enthusiasm. God, I love her!

Turns out she has a lower GI infection. More meds to the tune of $125. After my meeting Q and I took off for Quincy, IL. We stopped VERY frequently. Ended up staying at a Drury Hotel in Cape Girardeau, MO. Thanks, Jill, for making the reservation for us. Turns out that all Drury Hotels are pet friendly. And the place didn't smell at all. This means I'll definitely stay at that chain frequently.

Got to Jan and Tim's in Maywood MO, right across the Mississippi River from Quincy on Friday, the 3rd. Quincy absolutely loves their property where she can run all over the acreage. Their two dachshunds run hot and cold in their feelings for her, but she seems to like them a lot.

On Saturday I drove to St. Louis to pick up the grandkids. (Left Q at a kennel in Quincy so Jan and Tim didn't have to worry about diarrhea.) It was wonderful to see Jill and Todd, but my heart exploded with joy to see Kayla and Hunter. My nephew Jordan went with me to help out and prior to the kids' arrival, he and I spent time at a Mexican bar and restaurant with my friend Joe.

We got back to the Quincy area around 8:30 or so. Jan and Tim had other guests too, so it was a wonderfully crowded house. I kept Q in the kennel overnight because there were a lot of little kids at Jan's, plus a new puppy. Crazy--but fun.

The kids and I have been swimming daily except for today. Swimming in the pond in the country is absolutely superb. Quincy loves it too. She is having the time of her life.

Must run. Most of the big family is meeting at Kelly and Todd's for pizza at 5. Tomorrow is shopping with Aunt Jane, and Friday is going to Mark Twain Cave with the kids. Jordan has been a real godsend with the kids. Can't believe I just said that. But he has been awesome.

And I owe so many thanks to Jan and Tim for their patience with the kids, the dog, and me.

Wish I could have gotten more work done. My vpn (virtual private network) won't connect and our IT department hasn't gotten back to me about it. Have worked nearly all day though. Just wish I could send the emails via my computer instead of Blackberry.

Much more, much later.

5/7 Medical update

Short version: Quincy has a congenital defect affecting both bladder and kidney.

Long version: She has a pelvic bladder. Instead of her bladder being near her stomach, it's in her pelvis. This causes all kinds of problems, including incontinence and bladder infections. First course is to see if she'll "grow out of it." If not, then we go to medicine which has some rotten side effects. Then finally surgery. The professor at Mississippi State said something else about one of the kidneys, but my vet and I didn't quite get it, so she's going to wait for the written report and then will tell me about it. They advised that I have Quincy spayed because it wouldn't be good for her to get pregnant. Would be too hard on her kidneys and bladder. I'd already decided to have her fixed, so that wasn't a problem.

For right now, I know she "leaks" like some women after they've given birth. And they might have to do a bladder tuck to fix that. So if you come to my house and it smells like pee, remember that it's not this old lady who did it (yet), it's my beautiful, semi-incontinent, puppy.

She's so beautiful and sweet. I sure hope she gets better--for her sake.