Monday, December 29, 2014

GOOD NEWS...AWFUL NEWS.....

from the Meadow House.  First, Elliott had his gonads removed on the 17th.  Came thru like a little trooper, I brought them home in a jar for 'show and tell' at Friday's breakfast.  I also took pictures, interesting procedure.  Then watched her spay a little female from her farm.  Boys are easier.
While going thru all of this, my vet is telling me about her niece's dog.  A pregnant, 3 year old chocolate poodle, kept in a pen with a neutered doxie and a beagle.  Guess who the father is.  She had two puppies last year, they gave one to the step-sons girlfriend and kept the other one.  This little poodle was my vet's sister-in-law's dog until the fleas became too bad and she was banished to the pen outside.  Niece came home, she's 8, and found her mom dead at 42.  Niece and her dad move in with dad's mom.  He builds another pen for these dogs.  My vet is seething.  She and her brother do not speak, haven't for 20 years, she took the puppy last month after she found it standing in the middle of the road.  Two weeks ago, she takes the poodle, aborts the 4 puppies, spays the mom, offers her to me, free.  "This dog is NOT going back to the farm!"  I brought her home on the 17th.  A couple of accidents in the house, but mostly a good little dog.  Archie is not a brat towards her and the big girls could care less.  The only problem child is my big boy Elijah.  They have gotten into it a few times, which is not good as the poodle has a congenital cataract in her left eye and is partially blind in that eye.  A cat scratch in the right eye would be bad.   That's the good news, now, the awful news.
Took Phoebe the poodle in this morning to have her stitches out, which means now I can give her a bath.  Also took Daisy, my beagle-lab mix in to get her left hind leg checked out.  She has been holding it up for about a month on and off.  I figured she just sprained it chasing the Amish, but I noticed this past weekend, she is off her feed and looks like she is in pain.  When I put her harness on, there was a noticeable weight loss.  Not a good sign.  She was weighed in and has lost 10 lbs.  Vet took an x-ray and came and got me.  "It's not good, Sharon."  "How bad is it?"  "Bone cancer"  She showed me on the x-ray and on other people's dogs x-rays, and, told me she was 99.9% sure that's what it is.  We have several options...1) Amputate the leg, but, the weight loss is disconcerting and she would need to x-ray the lungs as that is where it would metastasize next.  2) Radiation and Chemo, which would require lots of $$$$ and several trips to West Chester, which is outside of Philly.  3) Put her on pain meds now to keep her comfortable and let her go.  She has 4 to 6 months.

Later........

Sunday, December 7, 2014

MAYBE HE WAS WAITING FOR ME...............

but eventually, left.  Who?  You say.  A huge buzzard, sitting in my maple tree since yesterday morning.  Saturday was a dreadful, cold, rainy, foggy day.  He must have just gotten too wet and cold, plus, no thermals to glide on.  So, he, or she, hung out at the Meadowhouse for a while.  Today is warm and sunny.  Buzzard took off about 7:30 when I let the dogs out.  Sorry, no pics.
I was told the reason we have so many of these birds around this area is because of wars.  Buzzards would follow the battles. There were two major wars in this area, the Revolution and the Civil War.  Disgusting thought but necessary I guess.

Had three friends in the hospital this past week and one in the ER.  First friend, 56, went in for a cat bite on Sunday, after self-medicating for a week.  Admitted, operation on Monday, sliced the finger from tip to hand, to get at the infection and left it open to drain.  IV blew 4 times, she is not gonna get the Patient of the Year Award.  Operated again on Thursday to close.  Should be home by now.
Second friend, 55, became sicker and sicker and finally relented; her son took her into the ER, admitted, test done, found out she was a diabetic, plus, after a heart cath, needed a quadruple by-pass.  After 4 days without a shower, and not yet having the operation, she freaked at the nurses.  They relented after she signed a waiver, took her to the shower, told her they would be outside waiting.  She finished, went out into the hall and no one was there, so she went back to her room.  The nurses started to give her hell, she freaked out at them again.  She too, will not get Patient of the Year.  The third friend, 60, went into the hospital on Thursday, something with her stomach and pancreas, again.  Haven't heard how she is.  The fourth friend, 62, was taken into the hospital last Friday, by ambulance, from the doctor's office.  Got a call from her granddaughter, who was with her, asking me to go up to the doctor's office and get two of her eight dogs and take them home.  One is a Chihuahua that hates me, the other one is a Pit Bull that doesn't yet know me.  Oh joy.  Go down to her house and pick up the other 3 grandkids, go to town, get dogs, bring home, go up to the hospital, she's released.  Take her to her van, she follows me back to her house.  On Sunday, picked them up after church, take out for pizza.  Asked the kids if they knew why we went for pizza, they didn't.  Told them because they were so brave and helpful on Friday when their grandmother needed them.  They were pleased.  They don't get much 'Atta boys' from their parents.

That's been my week.  On the up side, Dad's about the same, we are still getting along better, PTL. 

Had to get a new alternator for the truck.  With 216,000 miles on it, am not complaining.

Later..........