Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Last weekend was our community wide yard sale. In year's past we haven't participated in the yard sale, but this year we thought we would give it a go and see if we could free up some extra garage space. Since Henry doesn't like to be far from us, the plan was that we would let Henry "help" us setup in the morning and then one of us would go inside and hang out with him in there once the patrons started to show up.
That was a great plan, but about a half hour before the community yard sale opened people started to show up to shop. Henry did a good job and the next thing we know we are halfway into the yard sale and Henry is still outside with us. He got to stay out and "help" because he was such a good boy. He simply sat in the driveway as people came and went and looked at all the things from his house. He got plenty of petting and he was so happy and proud to be able to stay out and be in charge of the yard sale.
Monday, November 3, 2014
Looking forward to your captions in the comments.
Sunday, November 2, 2014
On Halloween, Henry proved once again just how #HenryStrong he really is. He was quite spunky when we got home from work and was ready to walk. So, we suited him up in his costume and set off on our normal trick or treat route. Even though Henry was full of energy, we brought the stroller with us in case our little pirate hit some rough seas.
We ended up using the stroller for small bits of the walk, but for the most part Henry walked the whole route himself. He was so proud to visit his neighborhood friends and to get some treats.
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Arr, Matey! It's Henry the Pirate Pug!
After Henry had his eye removed in April, we knew exactly what the pugs were going to be for Halloween. How could they not be pirates?
Liking to get a jump on things, we ordered pirate costumes for Henry, Benjamin and Luna and they were delivered before the end of April. Little did we know, that Benjamin and Luna would not be here to be part of Henry's pirate crew.
It's a bittersweet day, but we know that if they were here Benny and Luna would insist on hitting the high seas and bringing back all the treasure they could find. We're not sure how much trick or treating Henry will be up for this year, so we are going to play the night by ear. This might be the year Henry is the official candy giver outer.
And as a extra Halloween bonus, here is a look back at the pug's Halloween costumes over the years.
Have a safe and happy Halloween!
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
About 2 years ago, Cupid was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. We had taken her to the vet because she was eating like mad and losing quite a bit of weight.
The treatment plan was to put her on a special food with no iodine and that would get her thyroid under control. It seemed to work at first, but the biggest hurdle we faced was that Cupid hated the food.
It got to the point where she became desperate for any food other than her "special food". After Benny and Luna passed things got even worse because Henry would just let Cupid have his food. Benny and Luna would never allow no kitty cat to eat any pug food, but Henry was more than happy to oblige with the cat's wishes.
Not only was the cat ravished and cranky that she never got to eat yummy food, but her thyroid levels weren't really stable. There were times everything would be ok and she would start to gain some weight and then times she would drop weight fast.
The pot boiled over about a month ago, when Cupid started throwing about a few times a day and having diarrhea. We took her to the vet and they reluctantly recommended putting her on an easy to digest food that would help ease her tummy issues. However, while on this food, her thyroid would go untreated, so this was not a long term solution. More like a try this for a few days then we will switch back.
Cupid was thrilled to be on the different food. She was like a different cat. She was so much happier that we talked to the vet about alternative treatments for her hyperthyroidism. We knew our options from before, a pill that a lot of cats react negatively to (vomiting, stomach upset) and a radioactive treatment to be done at a specialists to zap her thyroid.
The zapping option seemed so scary to us when we heard about it a few years ago. Mainly because it was at a specialist we weren't familiar with and Cupid would have to stay there for about a week. We'll that option seems a little better now because the specialist that performs the treatment is SEVO and that is where Henry received his chemo treatments.
At Henry's last chemo treatment we talked to his Dr about Cupid's treatment and she gave us all the details. The pros and cons and stories about how other cats they have treated have fared.
We left feeling much better about our options and at the Dr's urging decided we would get a baseline blood test, start Cupid on the thyroid pill and then do another blood test after a month. Why all the blood tests? Well it turns out that the kidneys are the only organ that benefit from hyperthyroidism. With everything pumping so fast they actually benefit from the increased blood flow. So, some cats have kidney troubles once their thyroid is regulated and things stop pumping so fast.
Once her thyroid is zapped, there is no going back. However, you can easily take her off a pill. So Cupid is currently on the thyroid pills and in a few weeks we will check and see how her thyroid levels are doing and if her kidneys are holding strong with her thyroid being under control. From there we will decided if we keep her on the pill or if we zap her thyroid.
Long term I'm not sure how any of this is going to play out, but right now Cupid is happy. She is eating better food, she has stopped throwing up, her diarrhea is gone and she is putting on weight. For the first time in a while she is playing again! Check out this video of this happy girl in action!
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
With Henry having been so under the weather, Grammy was allowed to take a mini vacation. Henry was able to get a few quickie visits to see Grammy but Henry was too under the weather to curl his little tail. On Monday, though, Henry was starting to turn his corner to good heath and he spotted Grammy in yard doing some gardening. So, Henry popped by to show off his regained spunkiness.
We are not sure who was more happy to see who! If Grammy had a curly tail, it would have curled right up just like Henry's did! Upon making eye contact with each other, they both just melted with relief and joy. It was quite the sight!
Tuesday was Grammy's first shift with now less sick Henry. We have a hunch that they are both glad to have their routine back in order. Henry & Grammy: thick as thieves once again.
Monday, October 27, 2014
I am very happy to report that Henry had a very good day yesterday. The morning got off to a rocky start with us worrying that he might be on the verge of throwing up, but we gave him some food and that seemed to help settle his stomach.
We are under strict orders from the vet that we need to feed Henry small and frequent meals. He went a good 10 days with almost no food so we can't just turn him loose and let him eat what he wants. This had proven more difficult than I thought it would be.
Henry has never been much of an eater. Even as a pup. Sure he had an appetite, but he never had the type of appetite typical of a pug. And he never had the appetite that Benny had. But today, Henry had the appetite of Benny and Luna combined. He was ravenous. We fed him a small meal about every 2-3 hours and he was ready to chow each time.
It was fantastic to see him ready to eat. Not just to see him eating after getting over pancreatitis, but to also see him happily eating since Benny and Luna passed. Without them, Henry has a bit lost in the food department. He always followed their lead and just ate when they ate. Today, he was his own pug, and told us, "I'm hungry!" I hope his appetite sticks around!
