AUSEEZ

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 03:14:52 GMT

Waves of sadness

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 22:57:33 GMT

I keep finding all these pics of Zeke. And every time I go to do something there are constant reminders of him. Sometimes I think this is getting harder as time goes on(not easier). I am approved as an Aussie foster home, but just do not feel ready. However, I find myself looking at all sorts of dogs online. I don't want another dog right now as Ava is too young. I don't really want dogs that close together. Even having dogs four years apart..well, I lost two in less than two years. That hurts!

They were good sports....

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 03:26:42 GMT

I love this!

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 02:22:22 GMT

Found this pic today

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 03:12:48 GMT

I was looking for a pic to send to a friend today and found this pic from October. Sigh.

Sunset

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 02:31:31 GMT

15 mo old ( a day late)

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 04:09:56 GMT

Learning to "take a nap." She looks pudgy, but is actually a skinny, little thing.

Wonderful poem

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 04:59:57 GMT

This was sent to me from someone on the Aussie list when they heard about Zeke. I think it is beautiful and oh, so true!

"We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own live within a fragile circle, easily and often breached. Unable to accept its awful gaps, we still would live no other way. "

Irving Townsend from "The Once Again Prince" in Separate Lifetimes

ILP/PAL Update

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 03:27:56 GMT

I got a big envelope in the mail today from the AKC. It was Ava's PAL registration. They approved it. After I talked to the people who denied the original application, I wrote a letter, submitted info from the ASCA web site and info from Ava's breeder's web site. At the end of my letter I offered to submit whatever they might need to prove she is an Australian Shepherd...DNA...whatever. I hope that helped. I'll be darned if I get screwed because of other people's dishonesty. I said this in my letter( a little more nicely)!

Anyway, glad that's over!!

DW training

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 22:53:24 GMT

Today I was having Ava run the dw for confidence building. I put a bowl at the end with treats(kind of like a manners minder) and released her to get it. She LOVED it and really ran. I noticed that her natural stride carried her deep into the yellow and I was like, hmmm....... running contacts for Ava? I don't know if her stride will stay like this when she gets really confident.

She has a lot of ground speed for such a small dog, however, I'm not sure she will ever show the speed she is capable of in agility if she is not super comfortable. She is worried about some environments, so I don't always see the behaviors that I know she is capable of. So I was wondering if running contacts would giver her more confidence?? I don't really have the access to equipment I need to train a running contact and she has a very good understanding of "feet" as a rear end behavior...so it is just something that crossed my mind.

Part of me thinks that she won't be able to do agility becuz she is concerned about different environments and is worried about men (think judges). But, if she isn't cut out to do agility, we won't do it! I didn't get her "just" to do agility. I guess time will tell.

Let sleeping dogs lie

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:18:44 GMT

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:12:14 GMT

Found these.....

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 04:17:30 GMT

pics of Zeke from last summer. I totally forgot about them. He looks so happy! I'm SO sad that he is gone. But, these pics show what a happy life he had.

Just the two of us now

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:54:42 GMT

Some pics

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 04:16:25 GMT

In an effort to keep busy, I have been walking Ava and Cole a lot and taking lots of pics. It sure is strange to go walking anywhere without my Zeke. Here are some from today and some others I found while browsing through old pics.

Weird mushrooms

Beautiful boquet from Dr. Cary - best vet ever(she cried with me about Zeke).

Ava and Apache (Collie)

One of my fav pics - they are all holding on to the same toy.

Good-bye, Zeke

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 02:52:39 GMT

I can't believe it, but it's true. Zeke is gone. After his spleen surgery, he developed fluid in his abdominal/chest cavity(pleueral effusion).This was causing him to cough. I had the fluid analyzed and it was non-cancerous. I had scheduled to do a ultrasound on the heart to see if this is where the fluid build-up was coming from. However, he had a very bad night on Wednesday and early Thursday morning I let him go. I didn't want him to suffer. Poor guy, he had been through so much.

This is just killing me. 12 years is not long enough. I thought I would have a few more years with him. You just never know.......

Still healing

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:26:32 GMT

A few fall photos

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:18:21 GMT

Oink - Ava meets Babe

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:06:45 GMT

How do you work this thing?

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:01:11 GMT

Hmm....

This feels awkward.

This doesn't seem quite right, either.

Oh, like this!

Good News!!

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:00:16 GMT

The results came back from Zeke's spleen and they were non-cancerous! The bump on his elbow that was removed turned out to be a form of a lipoma. It looked gritty, so she removed it. So, no cancer anywhere!! Yippee!!! Now if he can just heal!

Thanks again to everyone for their kind thoughts!!

Horrible Night

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:54:11 GMT

Zeke came home last night. He wouldn't eat and couldn't sleep. He whined and cried the whole night. Poor thing. I tried having him sleep by my bed, on the bed, etc., etc.....nothing worked. At 6:30, I finally got down on the floor with him and he slept.

My Mom offered to stay with Zeke today so I could go to the trial. But, I just didn't feel right about that for today. Also, there is no way I could have been 100% for Cole , so I didn't go. Bummer when it's just 5 min from my house! Maybe I'll get to go tomorrow and Sunday.

I talked to the vet and he said I can take the Morphine patch off tomorrow. That will probably help with the not wanting to eat. He ate a little chicken(cooked) this morning. Poor guy.

He's resting comfortably in the living room right now...what a relief!

ILP/PAL update

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 04:22:31 GMT

I called the AKC today. I explained that Ava is not a mixed breed and comes from a well respected breeder who does not register her dogs with AKC. I spoke to a nice woman who explained that the pictures I sent really made Ava look like a mini. I explained that Ava is small, but is not a mini and is not registered with any mini organizations(she asked me this). I questioned why her ASCA registration didn't hold more weight in their decision making process. She said it did hold weight, but just because she was is registered with ASCA doesn't mean she couldn't have something else in her. As if her mother just bred with any dog coming down the road.

The woman was nice, but it was a weird conversation. At one point I asked about DNA. Does she really think I'm going to offer sending in DNA results if she is a mixed breed. Sheesh! I love mixed breeds as much as purebreds...it isn't about that.

So, she wants me to send in better pictures. She said I didn't do myself any favors with the pics I sent in. Some of the pics were of when she was younger - I had noted this on the back. Apparently she didn't read the back until today. She also asked if I know how to measure a dog. I told her that she has been measured by an AKC agility judge. Then she said it would be good if her ears were tipped over a bit (not that she was suggesting altering them). As she is saying this, I clearly felt that she wanted me to write down that Ava is over 18" tall and to glue her ears before I take pics.

No wonder people get disgusted with the AKC....... I really like AKC agility and tracking, though, so will send in some more photos. This all seems like a bit of a joke to me.

Spleenless

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 04:08:00 GMT

Zeke came through his surgery well. Dr. Cary said the growth was confined to the spleen. She said the other internal organs looked very good. She said that she had to make a big enough incision to get both of her hands in to lift out the spleen. That sounds awfully big to me! She stated that it was a definite blessing that we did xrays yesterday and saw the mass. She said the growth was starting to turn black and was becoming necrotic. She said when this happens, the chance of rupture is higher. She is saving the spleen for me to see - oh, joy! I am kind of interested, though.

They will be keeping him an extra day to help with pain control. They called me as she started surgery to let me know he was handling the anesthesia well. Then she called as soon as the surgery was fininshed. She came in on her day off to do this surgery. She is awesome.

She sent off part of the spleen to be tested. The results should return in 3-5 days.

I miss my Bubba, but am glad he is in good hands.

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts, prayers and blessings for Zeke!

Surgery for Zeke

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:48:19 GMT

Poor Zeke. He was acting very sore at the trial in WA this weekend. I took him in this morning for xrays and bloodwork. He does have some arthritic changes in his spine and hips(this is recent, because these changes were not there last time we xrayed him - less than a year ago, i believe). Two of the xrays showed a mass. So, they did an ultrasound that showed a growth on the spleen. Dr. Cary is removing his spleen tomorrow. His blood work looked good, so Dr. Cary is hoping that the growth is not cancerous. I totally trust Dr. Cary- she is super meticulous and a very good surgeon. I am hoping for a good outcome. Poor Zeke, if its going to happen, it's going to happen to him! :-(