Tux's Nose

Here is a better picture of the snake bite wounds on Tux's nose. Very weird looking. Her diarrhea cleared up today. Now Tag has the runs, so maybe it's a virus. 

Ouch!

A very light colored sheep seen on our walk today

Watching from the safety of the cliffs

Cool Eyewear But More Troubles

The laser treatments really seem to be doing Tux some good, however, it's Wednesday and a new problem has developed so now we add Flagyl to the pharmaceutical meatballs she gets throughout the day. This latest is for gastrointestinal problems, in other words she has diarrhea. It's another bitter pill in addition to the horribly bitter Tramadol she hates, and the potential side effects are freaking crazy for a dog in her compromised condition. Seems like it's something new every week. I have to put her on a bland diet as well. Bland, but caloric enough that she won't lose weight. She was good at 57.5 pounds today.

Tux looking sexy wearing the latest in canine eyewear

Her new list of daily meds:

Tramadol (Nine 50 mg tablets)   for arthritis pain

Fluconazole (1.5 tabs, 150 mg)   for Valley Fever

Carprofen (half a 75 mg tab)   for inflammation and arthritis pain

Metronidazole/Flagyl (500 mg twice a day)  for diarrhea

Optimmune (in eyes once a day)  for Pannus

Sheesh.

Tux's Nose

I managed to snap an odd, not-too-blurry picture of the snakebite spot on Tux's nose. You can see how enlarged the scaley bumps are with the white cream filling the spaces between. The vet doesn't seem concerned about it, or maybe it's the least of her concerns with this dog, but it's been changing and not really healing for over a month now. Maybe two. On the positive side, Tux was feeling pretty frisky this morning, barking with the other two dogs to go out for their walk this morning. I am hoping it's a sign of some pain relief from the laser treatment. Second session tomorrow.

Tux update

Tux is doing OK with a half dose of Carprofen. No bleeding problems evident yet. She is able to walk better than without, but is still in pain. Took her in for first laser treatment today. There was no miraculous result after one session but she was really hungry and ate everything I put in front of her afterward, so maybe there was some pain relief. She sure looked cute wearing the protective goggles. Maybe I can snap a picture of her Wednesday. She'll get a series of six treatments -every other day over the next two weeks - and we're keeping fingers crossed she'll be walking comfortably again, and maybe putting on a few more much needed pounds.

On other mundane topics... we're having an unusually warm winter. Globe mallow and aloe in the back yard are already blooming, but not a drop of rain has fallen.

Anti-inflammatory for Tux

Adding one half of a 75 mg tablet of Carprofen (Novox) starting today. Continuing with 150 mg Tramadol every eight hours. Watching for bleeding in the next couple of weeks. Vet recommends laser therapy if this doesn't help with her lameness.

Tux

Tux not doing so well without the Carprofen. We've increased the Tramadol to 150 mg every eight hours but she is still not able to walk with any ease and we have to lift her into into the truck and Rhino. The good thing is she is eating heartily and the bloody noses have stopped. I don't know that she can manage six months to a year (or more) of being essentially crippled to get this fungus under control. I'm wondering if a smaller dose of Carprofen might not interfere with her blood clotting and be enough to give her some comfort.

An offer of sorts came on the house this week. I guess it was an offer... for six months from now. An odd couple, unlikely to come up with any money according to our neighbor who is familiar with them. He a self-appointed pastor, she the town's sometimes pooper scooper. He touts Kabbalah lessons online that no one watches and has a congregation of one for services in town. Kind of a sad story really. It's the third show of interest from people in Oatman and it feels like Zombies are swarming us. Yeah, yeah. That's a mean thing to say, but I'm a mean person and if you could see them you would agree.

Hoop doing well on kidney diet

Good News Bad News

The good news is Tux's red blood cell count has improved since last test and her platelet count is good, so she's producing platelets but they aren't clotting. Most likely this is a response to the anti-inflammatory she takes for joint pain, so the bad news is she has to stop taking the anti-inflammatory. I can increase the Tramadol, an analgesic that is probably safer to take for pain anyway, but she hates taking it. If this doesn't stop the bleeding we need to test for tick borne disease. More good news is she has gained one pound!

Too soon

Guess I shouldn't have written about Tux yet. Her nose started bleeding while eating the dinner meal yesterday. Blood all over the bowl. Dog noses aren't like human so bleeds aren't common and are usually indicative of a problem, so off we go for more blood tests tomorrow. The good thing is she is eating really well, is active, even playful and appears to have gained some weight. More tomorrow. (Big sigh.)

Dog Days

My days, for the most part, have been consumed with caring for the dogs. Tux turned the corner Monday with a return of appetite, alertness and energy. Must have been Friday she was in such bad shape I was certain she wouldn't survive the night. Throughout the day I was offering bites of burger, bacon, eggs, but she had no interest in eating, no strength to chew, could barely even get off her mat.  But she survived the first, and hardest, week of Fluconazole and we are moving forward. 

Hooper is doing well on the kidney diet, at least I would never know anything was wrong with her. She sleeps a lot, same as Tag, and her joints are bothering her but she still has that Border Collie attitude. Looking at buying foam blocks that set up as a ramp so she can get up and down the furniture on her own. 

Tag is insanely jealous of the attention Tux gets now and I'm noticing a lot of raised lips and snipping at her when he thinks I'm not looking. He won't easily give up his position as top dog no matter how old he gets. He's also into this burro/horse poop eating obsession all of a sudden and the other dogs are beginning to think there must be something good about, too. Sheesh. Dogs.

Bob got a little house hunting done in Sequim. Not much impressed. Prices seemed high for what you get. I'm starting to think we won't find what we want there. Trees were cleared from the area for dairy farms long ago, and eventually the farmers decided their property was worth more being sold off as subdivisions than farms, so much of the development is houses on small acreages of old pastureland without any mature trees. The housing lacks individuality until you get to the very expensive stuff. So, I'm thinking maybe Olympia or even further south in western WA we might find more options. Buyers expressing an interest in our desert cabin add more pressure to find something sooner rather than later. But with the dogs needing so much medical care, especially with Valley Fever experience, I am dragging my feet on leaving the desert as soon as Bob wants. 

A New Year

Watching ewe watching me