Merry Barkmas everybody!

I am doing much better!  I went to my vet today again and had more x-rays taken.  I had them taken 2 weeks ago to.  The vet said the icky stuff is gone from my lungs and I just have to take my medicine until it's done.  I'm not sure what medicine she's talking about.  I get molasses mixed with a little maple syrup and topped with ground gingersnap cookies twice a day... but no medicine.  I gained 1/2 lb in 2 weeks which made everyone happy.

I got to go to my rehab vet last Friday to drop off a present for them.  The vet came out and had me pick out a toy.  I chose a special needs gingerbread man.

My people and I have been getting ready for Barkmas and I have been helping my man work on some projects for my woman.  We pick my prime rib up next week and I'm hoping the store makes a mistake like they did last year when they gave us one that was too big and I got to eat part of eat!  My people said they would grind the meat up for me if it happens again this year.  I get to play Santa Chance this weekend and take gifts to some friends.

My people said we're going to be grinding up some more food for me in the next week.

I'm writing this week's Tails because Chance is currently under the weather.  We took her to one of our e-vets last night and she was diagnosed with mild aspiration pneumonia.  We caught it quick enough that she came home with us and is only on one antibiotic instead of two.

She has had two doses of antibiotic now, a steam, work with a cheap back massager to help loosen secretions, I've been using a couple of massage techniques to help loosen secretions, is drinking water, and ate a mashed sardine.

Hi all.  My people and I took a break from the website to focus on my health issues.

A vet friend of my people, and my favorite vet of all time, suggested I try acupuncture for my collapsing trachea.  So I've had a vet come to my house 5 times now and do acupuncture.  My people think I have less breathing issues.  We got everything under control enough that my woman decided to start slowly introducing some aromatherapy for my issues.  She spent a week researching and deciding what would be best, and how to apply it, before she started.  Living with an animal aromatherapist has benefits!  I haven't needed any aromatherapy for 2 weeks now and that was because we had a lot of pollen coming out of the trees that always stay green.

I missed a rehab vet appointment in October because the vet was injured by an animal she was working on.  I didn't have anywhere near the number of issues I should have going 2 months between visits so we know the acupuncture is working for my joints.

My vet came out in October and stabbed me with a needle and stole stuff from me.  They said it was a "fine needle aspiration" and not theft, don't know if I believe them.  My woman said it was because a lump that had been checked had gotten bigger and felt different.  The vet said it was still a cyst.

We've been really, really dry this fall which makes picking up leaves really easy.  It's also not been very windy so the leaves aren't blowing to our yard like they usually do.  We've only made 2 trips to give the people our leaves this year.  And the guy who lives on the corner that my people call a bad name hasn't use his leaf blower to his leaves into the street so they come here.  I like raking leaves!

I've been swimming every other week. I had to swim once at my old pool and they still haven't fixed the ramp or the swim jets so I didn't like it much.  The jets don't turn off like they are supposed to so I have to work harder which is hard on my breathing.  The ramp is really steep still which is harder on my joints and they put a towel on it to try to make it non-slip so I wasn't too sure about walking on a wet towel.  

We got my new Jeep bed done and I got to go for a ride.  My man made new metal legs for it so it's about 5.5" lower than it used to be.  He also had to cut a new shorter board for the front so cargo stays under my bed.  My woman gave the entire inside a thorough cleaning to remove as much dust, dirt, and pollen from all the cracks and crevices that she could without taking the Jeep apart.  She also bought me a new orthopedic foam bed to go in my old bed cover which got washed and looks all new.  My Jeep bed only has 1 layer of foam so it's easier for me to stand on bouncy mountain roads so she pulled the 2 layers of foam apart.  She also bought me a twin allergy/bed bug mattress protector and put my foam in it so stuff that can aggravate my CT can't get into the foam.

My woman special ordered 14 vanilla bean cheesecakes from her friend who makes them for the farmers markets and I'm all set to see me through until next May!

I started having some weird breathing issues when I got super excited, not just Chance excited, and had my head level or down so my people took me to the vet yesterday.

I got x-rays and it looks like I have Collapsing Trachea.  Both my vet and rehab vet say it's a weird spot for it and that big dogs don't usually get it.  My trachea also doesn't run where it should.

We're waiting for the radiologist to look at the x-rays and my rehab vet gave my people some ideas when we saw her yesterday for my monthly appointment.

My people thought that was going to be the diagnosis.  My woman says the big dogs don't usually get this explains why all the really nice harnesses for this condition are sized for small dogs!

I had a good rehab vet appointment.  My muscle tone was good, I had very few issues, both knees were in good shape, and I'd put on muscle mass.  The vet said I was a 3-4 out of 4 on muscle mass now.

My Man:  Had a mole removed from his head last month and is still wearing a bandaid on his head.  The hole in his tummy is all healed up and his surgeon said he doesn't need to see him any more.

Me:  Doing pretty good but won't have internet for I don't know how long.

My Man: He is getting better but will be home longer than the humans thought - he was going to leave me on Friday but not anymore.  He had another thing of old blood come out last week but it was by the one my woman has been putting stuff in so the surgeon cut it open so it made 1 big hole. 
The one where old blood came out where the surgical drain was now has a bandaid over it. 
He has 2 appointments this week - 1 with his people vet and 1 with his surgeon.

Me: I've been keeping my man exercised so he stays healthy.
I saw my vet eye doctor and she says I have something called Corneal Endothelial Degeneration which means the pump cells that keep fluid from building up in my corneas are having problems.  I have NSAID eye drops I take twice a day for that and may need a salt ointment to get rid of the extra fluid if it gets worse.  The rest of my eye diseases were doing good.  I have to take my steroidal eye drop once a day for my Pannus.  The corneal disease can't use steroids because it can cause water blisters to form and my Pannus needs steroids!
I had the rest of my annual.  My vet came out to draw blood and recheck the lump on my gum and the one behind my shoulder.  Neither lump had grown so we're watching them.  I got put on Zyrtec because I have started having some issues that appear to be due to the pollen this year.  I sound like I'm breathing underwater if my head is down or turned a certain way and have been bringing up lots of mucus and hocking something up that I chew.  It goes away when the pollen count is low.  So we all think my megaesophagus pocket is collecting my post-nasal drip and causing the raspy sounds when my head is a certain way.  My people have started giving me 1 Zyrtec in the morning and 2 in the afternoon since my vet said I could take 2-3.  That way, if I have the mucus stuff, I have a better chance of getting at least some of my Zyrtec in my system before it wears off from the day before.
I saw my rehab vet and got so worked up I had the breathing stuff.  She did a bunch of acupuncture and had them do cold laser on my whole spine.  The person after me forgot to bring the dog so the rehab vet came back while we were waiting for the laser to get set up and fed me some cheese from their fridge!
The pollen count is pretty high today but I'm doing pretty good so far.
I  get to go swimming on Saturday!

My Woman: Still alive.

I know I haven't been around much but 3 weeks ago my man had some problems and ended up having emergency surgery.  My woman said something about "hernias" and "bowel" and "strangulation."

He's getting all better and was home 3 days later.  I've been helping take care of him until he can go back to work.  

When I have time, I'll post some pictures and stuff!

Friday was my 12th birfday.  I went for a birfday walk, opened presents (I got 2 treats, a squeaky ball, and a glow-in-the-dark ball), hung out outside when it wasn't raining, had a Sonic bacon burger, and got to go to the money place where I get cash and treats!  It was a pretty good day!

It's been really rainy here.  The creek by my house has been flooding the path and some of my trails are flooded.  My grass is really long and touches my butt when I pee but my people say it's too wet to mow.

In the past week, I've found a baseball and 2 playground balls to bring home from the school. 
Yesterday I helped my man use his fire stick to bend the last 2 metal supports for my truck bed.  We had to come in before making sure they were bent right because it started raining harder.

I went swimming at the pool I go to when my usual one is closed.  My usual one was open but my people think I like the other pool better because the water isn't as hot, the ramp isn't as steep, and there's a flat place for me to stand when I play splash.  My people say I spend more time swimming at this pool than the other one that has warmer water.  My woman made a bunch of appointments with them to see if it's true.  I like to jump off the flat spot at the bottom of the ramp at this pool!  I was crazy and spent way more time swimming in this pool than I do the other one.  I was even going to take my ball down to the woman who owns the place and see if she wanted to play too but my people told me I'm not supposed to go wandering off on my own.

My birfday is in 4 days!  I turn 12 years old.  My people say that's not bad for a Puppy Butt that shouldn't have lived!!  I've been busy helping my woman with my birfday candy bar wrappers even though we don't have any candy bars yet.

I helped my man work more on my bed for the back of the truck.  My truck didn't come with a back seat so I get a bed like what is in the Jeep.

I have new neighbors.  I met them last week and they are OK with me hanging out in the shade of their front yard.  They don't have a dog.  That's all I know about them.

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Hi everyone!  Sorry it’s been so long since my last update.  I got busy helping my woman with her aromatherapy stuff.  Thanks to me, she’s now a Certified Animal Aromatherapy Practitioner.  I also had to help her update her website to make it look more professional.

Even though I was busy with that, I still had to make the time to take my man out for his morning walks, play with friends, kill basketballs I found, bark at cats and dragons, work on my bed platform for the back seat of the truck, go swimming, go to my rehab vet, and make sure no one stole the neighborhood!

My vet came to my house last month to stick me with needles, look in my mouth, and put my pee in a jar (humans are gross!)  My woman said they were there to look at a lump in my mouth and behind my shoulder, steal my blood for something called a “heartworm test,” and do a “urinalysis.”  She said she thought my eyes looked a little cloudier than they did last year.  No one knows what the lump behind my shoulder is and she isn’t sure what the lump in my mouth is but my pee was good and the vet said no heartworm.

Last week, I saw my rehab vet, who mistook me for a pincushion, and she said my eyes were cloudier than last month so Monday my woman called my eye doctor.  They can’t get me in before my regular May appointment and said I had to start using my eye drops twice a day.  If something happens before my appointment, she can send me to one of the specialty clinics in our area that has eye doctors.  I don’t think she’s too worried because I still see fine for my age.  Oh, my rehab appointment went good and my people only have to do “sideways walking” with me which is weird but I have never minded it.

I get to go swimming this weekend and I’m getting ready for my 12th birfday!

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