In Memoriam ~ My Beloved Keno

Before Jada, there was Keno, the family dog. Keno was a handsome rough coat collie who we rescued after another family wanted to get rid of him. We had not had a dog in a long time and my dad always said if we could find a dog that was free and housebroken we could get it. That's when Keno blessed our lives on that November day in 1998.

We didn't know much about Keno, just that he had been bounced around from home to home and that he didn't like the mailman. Still, we took him in with open arms and loving hearts.

Fast forward to 2005, Keno was still with us and he couldn't have been happier! He had a loving family, food in his belly and a best friend, a cat named Angel (BTW, Angel is a boy!). Since we didn't know Keno's actual birthday, we just picked one for him, which was September 3rd. We assumed he was about 4 years old when we got, making his birth year 1994. This exact weekend, 6 years ago, we had just celebrated Keno's 11th birthday on Saturday. Sunday everything was fine but that Monday, September 5, 2005, Labor Day, would change everything.

Without going into the entire long story because it still hurts to tell, we had to put Keno down on this very day, 6 years ago. The vet had found a mass in his bladder which had made him very sick. It was one of the, if not the most, difficult day of my life. That day is still so clear in my head, I think because I was in the room when Keno passed. My mom had told me to never be present when a dog is put down, but I couldn't just let him leave this world all by himself. I needed to tell him until his last breath that we loved him, that I loved him, and that he could be free of pain.

The next few weeks were a blur for me, going through feelings of heartbreak and guilt. I felt as if I had let Keno down and most of all took him for granted. I wish I would have put more effort into being around him and playing with him because you really don't know what you got until it's gone.

Once we had gotten Jada, I realized that Keno had taught me something: He taught me compassion for animals and life in general. Even though I have always been an animal lover, it meant so much more to me now to help animals and also be more appreciative to life. I never witnessed death until Keno and just the fact of knowing what was happening to Keno will always haunt me. I also feel Keno showed me responsibly and how I need to be there for Jada. This is probably why I'm an over-protective pet parent when it comes to Jada's health issues. I hope one day I can hug Keno and thank him for that.

I found solace in the Rainbow Bridge poem, different Pet Loss website and having a picture memorial of Keno in my room. I've also done a balloon release for Keno on his 4 year anniversary. I found it most healing to be creative and did a memorial video of all the pictures and few videos we have of Keno. I posted it below so please turn up your speakers and enjoy!

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Keno's Balloon Release ~ This was his 4-Year Anniversary to Rainbow Bridge

4 Balloons, representing 4 years

Here they come Keno :)

For more on Pet Loss and how to cope, please visit the Pet Loss Website. It has wonderful information, candle vigils, and inspirational readings for anyone experiencing the loss of a loved pet. You don't have to go through this alone!

To read the Rainbow Bridge Poem, Click Here.

"If tears could build a stairway, and memories a lane, I would walk right up to heaven, and bring you back again." - Unknown

Wordless Wednesday - Sports Dog

Wake me when football starts ...

But wait, the Phillies are close to clinching their fifth consecutive NL East division championship?! OK, I'm awake!!

Be Pet Prepared!

Earthquakes and hurricanes are all I've been hearing about lately ... and I live in Pennsylvania!  Eerily strange, I know, but these two major, often disastrous events are happening to me all within a week of each other.

On Tuesday, August 23, 2011, I felt the earthquake that happened in Virginia.  Even though it was only minor (very thankful!), it was still weird to feel your chair and desk shake and even more scary to see your brick office building move back and forth, especially when you are on the third floor. I don't know how people in California deal with this.

It's all over the news and radio that the entire east coast should be preparing for Hurricane Irene which is supposed to hit where I live late Saturday, early Sunday. We've been through tropical storms before but it seems Irene is only gaining momentum and hasn't even been talked about being downgraded to a tropical storm. Okay, I'm a little scared now.

While I am very fortunate to have a generator and secure home with safe rooms, my thoughts have really been with those who are being evacuated all along the east coast and in New Jersey. Also having the compassionate heart I have, I can't help but think about the animals and pets that will be affected. I remember seeing those haunting images of animals/pets following Hurricane Katrina and recently, with the the Japan tsunami.

I wanted to make sure to pass along some tips and of course to remind people that pets need us too in these disaster times.  I found some great information on the Humane Society's website that is very helpful in disaster situations.  Just to highlight a few:

1. If you are planning on evacuating, don't forget your pets!  The Humane Society has a list of pet friendly hotels.
2. If you plan on staying to wait out the storm, be sure to have a pet disaster kit, including food, water, any medications your pet is taking, medical history in a waterproof container, leash/harness, pet first-aid kit, blankets, toys and waste collection items.
3. Be sure to have your pets ID, in case something would happen where they may get loose.

It's better to plan now and be safe rather than sorry.  For more information on Pet Disaster Preparedness, please visit the Humane Society of the United States of America website HERE for more information.  Stay safe everyone, that goes for humans and pets!!

"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart." ~ Unknown

The Follow Up Appointment

On Wednesday night, I took Jada back to the vet to have her three week follow up appointment. As I stated in my previous post, I was a nervous wreck. I couldn't help but dread the worse case scenario. We didn't have to wait long until it was our turn.

Dr. Mary couldn't believe it was already three weeks. Upon her examining Jada's paws, she was happy to see that they did heal a little bit but she still wasn't satisfied with their overall look. I had told her everything that I posted in my previous blogs about how we noticed changes for the positive in the beginning and then last week (and after the steroids were finished) we noticed things were slowly relapsing. I also told her about Jada starting to chew the fur off her paws again.

I got the news I was hoping for and that was that Dr. Mary didn't see any reason to do a biopsy on Jada's paws. She did, however, do a skin scrap and paw smudge, which she looked at under the microscope. This was to check to see if there were any parasites or a common possibility of yeast/fungus on her paws. Jada was negative for mites and parasites, but yes, she has a yeast infection in her paws. Weird!! Dr. Mary said she sees this in many dogs that have theses allergies.

So basically it was confirmed that Jada does have allergies in her paws. She will be put back on the steroids for the same time period as before and I will continue with the Derma-strength vitamins, Duoxo Shampoo and Spot-on droplets. Also, for the yeast infection, a special prescription medication is needed and had to be called in from another pharmacy. I should get that delivered to my house in a few days. All I can remember about that one is that she needs to take it with food. Jada will then have to go back for another three week check up to make sure that the yeast infection is gone. We finished out the vet visit with a much needed pawdicure for Jadie! No more hoochie nails :)

I will caulk this up as a pretty darn good vet visit considering what Jada's paws looked like about a month ago.

Jada giving "paws up" (8/17/11)

Day 21 - Tonight, Tonight

Today is the day ... Jada's 3-week follow up appointment with the vet for her "allergies" on her paws.  Jada is all done with the recommeded treatment of meds, so now it's up to Dr. Mary to tell us what to do next.  Did the meds really work?  Do we stick with this treatment?  Does she really have allergies?  With all those questions and more, I also have all sorts of emotions going through my head at this point: nervous, anxious, worried. I am just hoping that everything goes well and that we can avoid any biopsy being done on her paws, which I think I would be crushed if Dr. Mary tells me this tonight.  Of course right before we have to go to the vet, Jada's paws are looking a bit beat up, but mostly that is because she chewed the hair off the tops of them ... not a good look Jadie!!  As for the pads, I think they look 90% better than 3 weeks ago. No infection or sores, but they still look raw and dry. I'm optomistic that will get better with time.

Here we go ... wish us luck!!


Jada's "excited to go to the vet" look? ... naw, actually she has no clue yet she's going!



Day 17 - Chewing

In my previous post, I mentioned that Jada had begun licking at her paws again. I think this is most likely due to the excessive rain we had this past week. When I examined her paws today, the pads looked good, showing no signs of irritation or open sores. However, the tops of her paws are starting to look very raw.

I am pretty sure the rain is the reason for this flare-up, but moreso the reason behind the itching. This is resulting in her chewing the fur off her paws. While I still think the open sore infection was worse, I was just hoping with the medication it would have soothed the other symptoms and pretty much, ended this issue.

As if this wasn't enough for my little girl, she got sick this morning, throwing up some yellow substance. I noticed she was in a bit of distress and her stomach expanded bigger than her body. She was fine the rest of the day but I was still worried. With talking to some friends, I think it was because I gave her the antibiotic on an empty stomach. She usually had breakfast before I gave her the medication but today was different because she slept in :)  I know I get sick when I take a pill without food. 

On a positive note, I did see that more of the black color has returned to her paw pads. I even had a difficult time telling her left paw from her right  paw (the worse of the two paws) when I was watermarking my pictures. If it wasn't for her dew claws, I wouldn't have known which was which.

Right Front Paw ... came a long way since Day 1!!

Left Front Paw

Caught in the act ... but you can see the chewed off hair.

Jada thanks everyone for their thoughts and prayers! She's a trooper :)



Day 15 - It's A Wonderful Jada

Since Saturday through Tuesday, we had a ton of rain.  Don't get me wrong, we definitely needed it but since then I've noticed a difference in Jada.  The difference being that she has become obviously irritated with her paws again.  She was a real trooper going outside in the pouring down rain (I actually try to stand over her with my umbrella!), but it was when we would come in and I would dry her off, she would run to the living room carpet and immediately start licking her paws.  I wonder, could this all be weather-related?

This morning was also the last day of her steroid.  I'm thinking that maybe since she is weaning of the medications, the symptoms are gradually coming back.  I will probabably give her a bath in the Duoxo shampoo again before we go back to the vet next Wednesday to see if that helps.

After doing tons of research since Jada's medical intervention, I wonder if her health issues, in general, could be contributed to the fact that she is a purebred and the genetic illnesses.  Regardless, I don't want to make this an argument into purebred vs. mixed breed; but for the fact that I'm just happy that I have Jada and I'm the one taking care of her and getting her better.  I don't even want to fathom if someone else would have picked Jada for their puppy, would they have taken care of her the way I have?  Or would they have given up on her the first sign of sickness?  It breaks my heart to think about the "what if" scenerios and "what if" Jada's life was different and I wasn't apart of it?

I MUST NOT THINK LIKE THAT ... okay now that I had to wipe that terrible thought from my mind, I'm going to give Jada some hugs and kisses.  It's definintely a wonderful life, especially that I have and care for my Jada girl.