FFF Nature Friday - Leaving Their Tracks

It is Aunty-Yam's FFF and Rosy and Sunny's Nature Friday.

A poem by Lee

No matter where I go

Even in the very deep snow

The turkeys leave their mark

I could follow the smell in the dark

I like to follow their trail

Because even though I am frail

I dream of catching one

It would be a lot of fun.

Turkey wing print on the snow bank

Turkey tracks in the snow, the drag marks are my back toes

You can see the trails they are making through the yard

Another wing print

Excuse Me

 This new diet isn't working for me. Give me some of your toast.

Wordless Wednesday - Napping

 

An Update - by Lee

 Dear pals,

Thank you for all your love and well wishes the past few weeks. It has meant a lot of me and my people. 

Thinking about throwing this toy

We are into the second week of my new reality and I am doing well. Lady and Man are not seeing as many seizures. I am hungry and trying to play. I still don't always know I have to poop until it is too late, and this is just something we live with.  I am having better nights. I rarely have to go out at all in the night, which means my people are less grumpy because they are getting sleep. I am having more restless days, which makes it harder for my people to work from home. 

Playing with the Man after dinner - mostly trying to tell him I want him to go downstairs

We take it day by day my friends. We are still in the much more good than not good.

your pal, Lee 

Mischief Monday - I Got Stuck

 Deal pals,

This is a little embarrassing, but Lady said it is important to be honest and share our lives as they unfold. 

My backend is not as strong as it used to be. Sometimes the stairs seem too much for me. The other day I sort of fell on them when Lady was in a meeting and she raced out, headset on to help me (and then had to explain what happened). I can blame the steps for being slippery for this.

However, the other day I was out back and I needed to do all my business and I thought, I will follow this turkey tracks out into the yard a little and I got stuck.The snow was deeper than I thought and my back end was just not strong enough to lift me out of it. Lady threw off her slippers, jumped into her shoes and raced out in -14C/7F in her T-shirt to help me out. I did not like getting help, but I didn't much like getting stuck either.  She gave me a little time and then assessed me and knew nothing, but my pride was hurt. 

I have learned that the turkey tracks aren't solid enough for me. 

your pal, I can't believe I am getting so old, Phody

Nature Friday - Snow and More Snow! by Phod

 Thanks to my pals Rosy and Sunny who host this event in Gail's memory so I can share all my snow.

It snowed and snowed and snowed.

Last Thursday, it snowed a lot. The Man was told he had to stay at home. The schools near us were closed. Lady was working at home anyway. In the end, we got about 1.5 feet of snow.

We barely had that cleaned up when on Sunday we got another foot or so.

No one else in my house likes it, but I love it! Here are some pictures from all of this fun!

I do miss that I can't really go in the yard and must stick to the cleared parts

It was snowing so hard, we were turning white

The snow is 2 Phod's high!

Lady did knock this down, but it was cool

Helping shovel the back deck to keep the weight low

This weekend the people get to shovel part of the roof! They are not excited.

Plough update - Last winter our driveway was cleared a total of 6 times. To date, this winter, 18!

Must go back and play in the snow pals.

you pal, Zaphod the snow dog

Hey, Don't Forget About Me!

 Hi pals,

Just letting you know, I am still here. It has been really snowy and Lady and Lee said I can write about it all tomorrow for Nature Friday!

your pal, a snow lover, Phod

Wordless Wednesday - Sun Puddle

 

The Nerve - By Hailey

 Dear pals,

As I mentioned yesterday the vet has noticed I have level 1 kidney disease. While I know my peeps and I do take this seriously, I got the following from the vet. 

You don't have to speak or read French to see they have labelled me as obese. Now I am not saying I am in the shape I was in my youth. I am aware my curves are rounder, however, I am dealing with a lot right now and think the term obese is a little much. Are they trying to kick an old girl while she is down.

(Yes, Lady plans on picking up some of that food for me. She tried to on Saturday but due to some traffic issues, couldn't get to the store before it closed).

your curvy pal, Hailey Bug

Mischief Monday - Side Effects - by Lee

 Dear pals,

First I want to thank you all for your POTP, I know it is helping. But I am getting ahead of myself.

Thanks to Ann for making this for us and Madi's Lady for helping.

When I last shared we were waiting for Lady to catch my pee in a ladle, which she did well. She can add this to her many talents. The Man took it to the vet for analysis, and I have stage 1 kidney disease, which is not completely unexpected in a girl of my age (more on that tomorrow).

The vet and Lady picked an anti-inflammatory and anti-seizure meds that should be the easiest on my organs. That day after work, Lady drove to the vet to get my anti-inflammatory. It wasn't ready so she waited 25 minutes for it. Then she drove to the human pharmacy to get my anti-seizure meds, and waited 30 minutes for them to say they had to order it. You can imagine how happy she was to only get home from work at 7:45, needing to eat dinner, when she had left the house at 5:30am.

Anyway, the meds were ready the next day and she got them and it got shoved down my throat. The next morning, my friends, I was really, really not ok. I could barely walk. Lady said I was like Bambi walking on ice. I fell down a step. It was scary for my people and me. Lady stopped all medication and called my doctor.

The vet called later that day and said these side effects should be short lived and we had to ride them out. It would have been nice if they had warned us all first. So my people put me back on the drugs and every day since I have been better. I am a little off balance at times, but nothing like I was. And, already the seizures have decreased, especially the bad outside ones. 

Too busy to stop for a picture . . . 

Because I am seeming a bit better, and being a little crazy and trying to do things like play, my Lady knows I am feeling better. Again, thank you for all your POTP. 

your pal, the slightly tipsy Hailey Bug

Happy Valentine's Day

 

Nature Thursday - Still Winter

 As tomorrow is a special day, we are bringing you Nature Friday on a Thursday.

Last winter we didn't get much snow. For some comparison, Callie's Man's employee ploughed our driveway 6 times all winter. At the writing of this post, he has already ploughed it 13 times. 

How much snow do we have?

More than a Phod?

We wonder how much more we will get.

Thanks to Rosy and Sunny for hosting this event. 

Wordless Wednesday - Winter Evening

 

What the Vet Said - by Lee

Dear pals,

This old Lady has some not good news. I am having seizures. Dozens of them a day. They are especially bad when triggered by the light reflecting off the snow. The best guess is the cause of seizures is likely a brain tumour, but we will never know for sure.

At any rate, I let them take my blood. I fought a little, so needed 2 sticks. Lady has to collect my urine because my kidney levels were a little off. You can all be amused picturing her following me around to catch my first pee of the day. Then we will make a decision about meds for the seizures and for pain as I can't have Liberela anymore. Librela can have neurological effects so no more for me. 

Rocking the bandages.

Lady and the vet had a good discussion about quality of life and this is what we are aiming for, if it be days. weeks, or months. 

 Don't feel too sad for me pals. I am still living a great life and have lived a wonderful life. This is just the phase we are in.

your pal, The Old Lady, Hailey Bug

Mischief Monday - Monthly Vet Visit - by Pbod

Dear pals,

Last week it was time to do go the vet to get our monthly Librela shots. While I have been a bit stiffer, I got a slightly higher dose. I have been taking the shot since the spring of 2023 and at the time, the mean jabby person said that the research showed it was giving big dogs like me a year. I guess I am getting more. 

I was a little jealous that while Lee came, she didn't get a shot. Lady and Man have noticed some possible neurological things happening with her, and because it can be a side effect, she didn't get the shot. She had to go back to the vet today for an exam. Lady and Man told us we get one MRI each and Lee used hers in 2023. Lee never fully recovered from that, so we will see what the vet says. 

I am already not excited about going back next month, even though I am feeling good.

Your pal, Zaphod, the Old

Nature Friday - Why Do You Complain? by Phod

 Dear pals,

We had another week of really cold some days (-27C/-16F) and a lot of snow a couple of days (10 cm /4.5 inches). 

You know the best part about new snow? It is the best snow to rub your face in. Rubbing your face in the snow is one of the best things in the world. 

Lady and Man and Hailey have not tried this, so they will have to take my word for it.  If you have some snow, I suggest you try it. It really is nice. 

Here are some pictures of the snow we got yesterday.  Lady says it is pretty if you don't have to drive in it.

Look at how big the flakes are on Lady's glove

Thanks to Rosy and Sunny for hosting this event where I can share pictures of my winter. 

your pal, the snow angel maker, Phod

Thankful Thursday - Giving Back

I am excited to share that I am now the driver manager for the Ottawa Paw Pantry.

The Ottawa Paw Pantry (which I have spoken about before) has several community pantries throughout the city as well as offering in home delivery up to 4 times per year for those who can't access a community pantry. In my role, I am given a list of deliveries for the week, and I then coordinate volunteer drivers to complete the deliveries. I also get to coordinate pick up of donations from community drop off locations.  

While I struggle to find the right combination of food that makes my dogs want to eat, I do not struggle to feed them. I can't even imagine what is is like to be worried about not being able to fed them.

This weeks trick is to only eat each other's food . . . so both dishes need to be the same!

I am new to this role, (we are on week 3) but so far am really enjoying it. I feel my few hours a week on my computer, is making a meaningful difference for people. It is nice to be part of the pet community in another way. 

I am sure I will find other ways to work within the organization as well. I am a sucker for the underdog, literally and figuratively!

This is one way I am finding to give back and use my place of privilege (because it is so great), for good. 

And I would be remiss to not just say - American friends, I love you.  I am not loving the regime in your country and I have some serious concerns about the state of the world in general, but my feelings don't trickle down to the people who aren't making the decisions. May we find a way to get along. That is all I am going to say about this. 

The Lady

Wordless Wednesday - Usie

 

Trouble on a Tuesday - Different is Not Good - by Phod

 Dear pals,

I like my routine. In the evening I expect dinner, a walk, the people spending a brief period of time upstairs, before retiring to watch shows. I generally then go sleep in my closet because I can relax as all is right with the world.

You are doing things wrong

What I got on Saturday was not what I liked. 

First, I went out before dinner. Then I got dinner. Then the people took their dinner downstairs (which they rarely do) so they could watch something on TV while they ate. 

I am sitting between you and I am still not happy

I was not having this.

I went down with them and I paced,  and I got on and off the couch and I paces some more. I would not settle.

I only settled once Lady came back upstairs and did things that looked more like our routine. Then I could go to my closet to sleep.

Why do my people insist on doing things different?

your pal, Keep it the same pleaase, Zaphod

Mischief Monday - Abandoned!

 Dear pals,

Our Lady, who told us she was not going to be traveling as we are in our last chapters and she wanted to maximize time with us, abandoned us for 87 million hours.  We had to stay home for 2 whole days and one night with the Man.  Lady lied.

Lady tried to tell us that this was a little different because she was away to be the duty driver for the Big Guy, who needed a ride for a minor medical procedure. (Editor's note - all went well, he is doing fine). She said that it made more sense to just go there overnight after a day in the office, as it saved her driving. We think she lied and are mad at her. Saying she went to Grammie and the Big Guy's without us, doesn't help her case. 

In spite of this, we were very happy to see her when she came back.

your pals, who think people should be at home all the time, Lee and Phod