Unfinished story

I hate to leave a story without an end, and the other day I blogged about Penny and her testing, but didn't finish the story up.

The vet called me regarding her urinalysis, which was fine. He said the next step was to get her bloodwork done again, a more complete panel. So Penny and I trooped up there to get her blood drawn. Penny was starting to balk at going into the vets at this point, and I had to force her into the office, where she shook and shlumped to the ground in her Penny schmooze that she does when she is freaked out. Poor girl. The vet took her blood, and we were free to go.

A few hours later, he calls, he has the results and would like us to come in and discuss them. Which freaked me out- I figured if I had to physically go in, it was bad news. But it wasn't, not really. He told us that her bloodwork was perfect. With this bloodwork and her urinalysis, he said that he really only had Cushings Disease, Kidney Disease, and incontinence to rule out. To rule out Cushings, I need to bring Penny in the following day for an 8 hour test! This was hard on me and her both. The next morning I took her for her test; she sat up in the car, looked around the parking lot, looked at me, started shaking, and refused to get out of the car. I had to lift her up out of the car and set her on the ground to get moving. Then I had to practically drag her in. Not really how I wanted to start this process, with me forcing her to do things she didn't want to do. When I left, she looked at me so pathetically betrayed, that I felt guilty all day.

The day passed with me in various stages of being ok with it, being worried she was there, and then anxious to pick her up. Finally they called and said I could come and get her. When I got there, they told me that the third and final time they had to draw her blood, she wouldn't come out of her cage, just looked at them like "Nope, not gonna happen people!". Then once they got her out, she wouldn't go back in-they had to gently kind of push her in. Where, being Penny, she got scared and froze up, which means she slumped over on her back and hid her face. And wouldn't move- she plays possum when totally freaked out. Which freaked the vet tech out, until she realized what was going on.

Friday I got the results of the test - no Cushings. And no kidney disease either. And the vet doesn't think it is incontinence, since she is aware of what is going on, and not just going in her sleep, etc. So that leaves she just didn't want to "hold it" those times we were gone, and maybe never will again, or that she was upset over the changes that have been going on in our routines. With Penny, the answer is never simple or easy. But we love her, our complex, crazy dog.

Wordless Wednesday - Penny's Brown Study

Penny in a brown study.

Life among the animals

This month has been a frustrating one, for me and the animals both. Owning four animals is not always easy. Most of the time it is- sometimes things happen though, that you need to take care of.

Earlier this month, I was really sick for a week- I joked with everyone that I had malaria, but I did have a high fever for four days, and all I did was sleep. My poor husband was a little overwhelmed with all the duties he now had to take over. He did a good job, but one thing was neglected. A very important thing. The cats' litter boxes. The week I was sick, was the week I should have done The Big Clean. You all who own cats know what I mean - the week you completely scour the boxes top to bottom, new litter, etc. When you do this really depends on your cat's level of picky. Mine are picky, but I usually do The Big Clean every two weeks, with scooping every two days. I had also changed the litter box situation, from three boxes to two bigger boxes.

Well, Billy didn't do The Big Clean. I am not sure he even scooped. I was unconscious, and it wasn't in my thoughts when I was awake. So, what started to happen? One or more of my cats started to urinate on my brand new couch. At first I worried bladder infection immediately, and tried to figure out which of my cats was doing it. How would I figure that out? I know now I could isolate them one at a time in the bathroom with a box, but then, I was just freaking out. I caught one of my cats, who wishes to remain nameless, wet footed. After talking to my friends who are also experts on cats, Billy and I decided we had to change our setup first, and then also clean the cushion with an industrial strength enzyme cleaner. So, we added another box, which we really should never have gotten rid of, and cleaned the cushion twice with enzyme cleaner. Now, knock on wood, we haven't had any problems. If that hadn't worked, the next step would have been the vets.

Which brings me to Miss Penny. Doesn't she look cute in her 70s style picture? A week after we figured the cat problem out, Billy went on vacation. Penny urinated in the house three times that weekend. Now, Penny is a sensitive dog, and changes in routine or schedule throw her off big time, and for her to do this in reaction is not too unusual. The week following this started my summer break, and I didn't notice her acting unusually, and she didn't have any more problems. Until last Saturday, when she did it again, twice in one day, both times when Billy and I were both gone more than five hours. This prompted a trip to the vet on Sunday. The vet ordered a urinalysis, which I am waiting for the results on currently, nervously and anxiously. He said we will start there, and then make our way through other possibilities. The only other thing we have noticed is more frequent bathroom stops on walks.

Does this stretch our budget thin? Of course, especially since Billy is unemployed. Should Penny suffer because of this? No, it is not her fault. Should I have surrendered all my animals to the pound, and said that one of them is urinating in my house? Of course not, although so many people do. They don't bother to find out why - and the answer could be as simple as cleaning a litter box and adding one, or a trip to the vet. And if we have to cut back to pay for the vet visits, so be it. I just want my animals healthy and happy.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Not Amused

My English Setter Penny is not amused by all this snow we have.