Why Cats and This Chapter

First, I am happy to report, I am working with Ann on a rebrand of this blog. While I considered starting a whole new blog, I couldn't bear to leave my angels behind. Life of 5/6 angels can be found here. We will stay here with all our old content, as we move to this next Chapter. I haven't worked out a full new blog schedule, but I expect it will be at least a few times a week. We will try to keep up with all our old pals and new ones. It is hard working full time, volunteering, living life, and trying to find time away from screens. Our lack of daily visits does not reflect the importance this community plays in our lives. We think of you all daily. 

Lady ant Tigris, first selfi

Second, people were asking why cats. My blog has been about dogs for so long, so why would I want cats. We started with cats. Almost 31 years ago, we brought Bagheera home. That fall Nin joined us. We were tproud cat caretakers for 20 years. Then in 2014 we became a cat free home. We discussed getting new cats then, but knew Hailey would not have tolerated this. She did not try and hunt Baggy or Nin, but we felt very confident that she would hunt new cats coming in. So for everyone's safety, we didn't get new cats. 

Then, we said goodbye to Hailey. While Phod's death was much sooner than expected, the writing was on the wall that sometime this year we would be saying goodbye to him too. I knew our house could not be completely animal free at this time. I knew Phod was not up to having a new younger dog in the house. I also knew that unlike Hailey, the odds of Phod intentionally hurting a cat were 0 (remember the time he brought the Man a live and angry baby groundhog who he wanted to be his BFF). If anything, Phod was going to be the one to get scratched. Further, we knew he couldn't really chase them and it would be easy to separate them if needed. So cats became the quest and we found the Rivers.

Lady and Styx, first selfie

While we haven't completely ruled out getting another dog, we were dog owners for 22.5 years. We are taking a short pause at least to see what life is like when you don't have to live on a dog's schedule.  We have kept all the perishable items and we will see where we land.

For now we are going to enjoy our River Cats. 

Grief - by Zaphod

Dear pals,

It has been a weird week. Last Friday morning, I came to tell my Lady, Lee was not ok. I just came and gave a sad stare at my Lady and she understood. That is when Lady saw Lee really couldn't get up or really didn't want to get up. This led to a very long day where the people were sad, and Lee was just lying on her bed, not wanting to eat or drink (not even eat the pizza Man bought - it was good). Then the people left and came back without her. 

Checking out the melting snow

Since then, we have all be sad. I do look for her (especially when my people come back from going out, I wonder if they brought her back). I sniff her favourite pee spots to see if there is any fresh pee. I have accepted her favourite bed in the closet, when before I didn't like a bed in there. 

Mostly I keep to my routine. I spend most of the day in the closet, which is what I did before. I come out for short periods to eat and do my business. I tolerate extra love and my people trying to play with me. I take my short walks and hope to see the neighbours when I do go out. Other than a little checking, I seem to be doing ok.  Lady thinks that is because I understand in my own way.

Pretending to want to play to make my people happy

In Lee's honour, because she started this all, we will keep the name of the blog as the Hailey and Zaphod Chronicles. Both Lady and I are trying to figure out who we are with Hailey as our bosses.

Thanks again for all your love pals.

you pal, Zaphod, who is sad and ok

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 

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 - Did You Miss Us?

 Dear pals,

Hi! Did you miss us?

We have so many adventures to tell you about, but it has to wait another week, because Lady is too busy now that she is back (work, tickets to shows, painting classes, dinners with friends). 

We will give you a 2 cent update with details to come.

We were pretty good at the dog sitters and not too hard done by. 

Checking out the pet sitter's hood

Lady and Man and Uncle Chris had a wonderful time away. We are going to let Lady have one day a week on the blog starting next week to tell you about it. Lady and Man got really sick when they came back. Man was really, really sick. Lady was moderately sick. This made catching up to life and work harder. Everyone is on the mend now. 

We just wanted to let you know we are all well and hope to be back to our regular schedule next week.

Your pals, who miss you all, Lee and Phod

Phod Update

Last week the vet called to let us know that Phod was fortunate enough to not have just one but two bacteria infections and the only treatment is very expensive antibiotics. So we started him on these last week. We had been following the directions and giving it without food, but this made him sick (nothing like watching your dog puke up $29 worth of medication). After talking to the vet, we now give after he eats and this seems to be going better. 

Lady dragged me out of the closet to get a picture. I just got back from the vet, I want to sleep! 

He had a follow up appointment on Tuesday. The good news is his ear infection is cleared up. The not so good news is his skin  isn't cleared up. This means we get to continue with not only the medications but with the foam. 

In other good news is, he seems much more comfortable right now and is not nearly as itchy. Not that we see him much, as he spends 90% of his day sleeping in the closet.

It is hard to be an old Phod!

Thanks for all the POTP for him. 

Clarification on The Goose Fence

 Hi pals,

Last week when we were talking about the mean person who has us fighting for our dock, we also shared about our goose fence and we think we confused people.

The goose fence with MJ's dock in the background - it attaches to the land at the furthest place in this picture, parts rest on the beach for the winter

It is a bit complicated.

Currently, our lake access is owned by nice neighbours we will call MJ. Our house, Callie's house and another house, have deeded access. MJ doesn't really use are part with the natural beach. They leave that to us (and by us most of it is Callie's people). To keep the geese from the beach, Callie's people have a goose fence, which is very easy to move and Lady and Man often do, however, sometimes Phod is too fast and jumps over it (when he shouldn't).  

Lee wading - this is about as far as she will go on

The problem the mean person is having is the bylaw states there can be only one dock per property. We have ours on the beach and MJ has theirs down the lake in front of their house. The mean person has been complaining a lot (like at least once a week for 3 years). She rebuilt right on the property line because due to changes in zoning it is the only way her place could be on the lake. She feels our dock  ruins her view, she can hear us (if you have ever been to a lake you can hear everyone on it) and someday Callie's kids may have parties that disturb her (she should be more worried about 40 years olds having parties).  Her mother, who is the actual owner, has made comment to Lady that they should have bought all this land years ago when Callie's grandpa did, so none of us would be here. Lady said nicely, but you didn't and we are here.  They feel entitled, as they have said things like, they pay more taxes and therefore have more rights. They have a lot of money and I believe, had a huge dispute with neighbours in England where mean Lady and her husband live. We don't believe the other 3 siblings share this view. They just stay out of it. At this point we don't talk to any of them, we don't wave and Lady actually turns her back if she sees them. 

We will continue to enjoy our dock free access and take some joy that every time we go down, we are sure all the cameras she has on our beach send her notifications that we are here, and it probably ticks her off. We will continue to explore our options to get our dock back.  We will not let this mean woman ruin our lives. 

Now back to the goose fence. Does it work? The geese aren't at the beach, they are in the field, so yes, it seems to work!

Getting Old - by Lady

After my angels Loki departed at age 8, and Gemini at age 6, my goal in life had been to have a dog who lived until at least 10. I remember joking that I may have to adopted a senior dog to make this happen, as I didn't have much luck previously. 

Now I am living with 2 senior dogs. I know I am watching our last moments together as I see them both slowing down. As I write this, I should clarify I don't see any immediate threat to their health, however, at the same time, nothing would surprise me. 

I am looking at this stage of my dogs life as a gift. I am blessed that overall they are both happy and comfortable in their golden days. Phod needs his arthritis shot, has decreased stamina -there is no fetch and our walks get shorter. He avoids extra stairs and sleeps almost all day, and sleeps much deeper (he fails as a guard dog now, usually in our closet. He still has his moments of play and being silly, but they are shorter too. His vision seems pretty good, but his hearing is not what it was. 

I have taken your seat

Hailey has never fully recovered from her neurological event. She is still tippy. She doesn't run and jump like she used to. She is dragging her back paw more noticeably. Her stamina is much less and is clear she doesn't see as well. She has become a picky eater, who would have imagined that. The upshot is, she hasn't destroyed anything and I am not as worried she will. Also, while she may make a little dash to the neighbours or into the bush, we can trust her off leash way more because we know she isn't going far. 

Annoyed I am taking her picture

What I miss most besides the cuddles on the couch neither want to get on, and my full time work supervisor in Phod, is the long walks. Some times I admit, I resented those long walks when they needed to happen. However now I know physically and mentally I was healthier when I was doing them. I admit, I love these 2 with all my hearts and they will spend the remainder of their days in my care, I do think about getting a third, younger dog, for a walking companion. Man, plus knowing Lee and Phod wouldn't appreciate this, prevent me from doing it. I need to stop being lazy and just take myself for a long walk, I hear it is possible.

In spite of the changes, I am so grateful to have this chapter with them. I would not change it for the world. I have even less understanding and compassion for people who dump a dog just because they are old. It may be true that old dogs are the best. I am just going to cherish the moments we have. 

Extra Supervision Needed - by Lee

Dear pals,

Lady is requiring a lot of extra supervision these days. She has been too busy and sometimes it feels like she is hardly home. She hopes things slow down some because she was not designed for so much peopling! After being out 36 hours on the weekend at 4 different social things, she needed a day in bed.

I take my supervising duties very seriously and I am sometimes rewarded by something like cheese while she works.

We are sorry we haven't been around much lately, but again Lady has been busy and in her spare time she had added physio as she has microtears in the tendon in her elbow. She should have some more time in the next few weeks as she can't play pickleball or do things like vacuum (she is not so sad about that last one).

the best supervisor, Hailey Bug

Not So Mischief Monday - We Did It!

The Man arrives home tonight. We did it! We made it the almost 10 days without him. Lady says we were super good and other than trying to be poop eaters, we didn't really have any mischief.  Lady said our listening was good. We were good eaters and poopers. (Is anyone else's people as concerned about the latter as ours???). We had nice walks. We were good sleepers. We really enjoyed Lady's early bedtime.  Lady left us 3 times for 3-4 hours for pickleball (and one time tagged on errands). 

A digression on pickleball: Lady is not obsessed with this sport like many others. She could give or take the game, but she needs to move and be around people at places other than work, and this checks the boxes. Besides, she is hosting it, so she gets to boss, we mean organize people, which is one of her superpowers. Going a 3rd time is unusual, however, the organizers asked if she could come and host a different session, as they had a funeral to attend, and as she literally didn't have anything else pressing to do (vacuuming can wait), she of course said yes. The mischief may be how sore she is today after this. Man would say Lady doesn't want to admit it, but she has gotten good at the first sport she has ever played. 

It was a really good week.

Lady, how did you get an upside down picture of me?

That's better, now give me the greenie I know you have in your pocket because you are going out.

A happy guy to be outside. We had just had a little game of chase. 

While the Man is Away - Update - by Lee

 Hi pals,

Lady says we have done a good job getting into a routine (which is not that different from when Man is home).  She has made sure our needs are met. She is being a little mean and not letting us eat all the frozen turkey poop that litters the yard. Everyday we have about a dozen of them come for a visit. 

Nothing very exciting has happened. Lady says this is a good thing. At the time of this writing it had been 4.5 days (so when you read this it will be like 5.5 days) that Lady has not spoken to a person in the flesh. She has only spoken virtually. It may be a good thing she is out for a few hours tonight. We are worried she will go squirrelly. 

Speaking of squirrelly, we thought she had gone that way because she had the cooler outside yesterday. 

Umm, it is winter, why is this here?

Then she reminded us it was for her farm vegetable delivery. Lady found a local farm that grows greens in a greenhouse over the winter and every Wednesday for 8 weeks, they bring them to our house. Because she might be in a meeting when it arrives, to protect it from animals and frost, the delivery person puts in in the cooler. Is it sad this is the most excitement we have had for days here?

No time for posing, we have things to sniff!

So we are all good. Man reports having a good time but there have been some rough seas and his itinerary has changed. 

Living a dull life, Hailey Bug

Lee's Response to Phod's Post

 Yesterday Phod wrote about feeling abandoned. Today, Hailey writes her thoughts on all of this.

Dear pals,

While I can appreciate Phod's view on our current status as a one peep dog family, I am not so sure it is as bad as he makes it out to be.

Supervising the packing

First, I still have a person to boss around. Generally, I boss Man around, but since he is not here, I can boss Lady around. So far I have done things like bark at her for not having the fire made. Then bark at her for not sitting with me beside the fire because she was doing other things. Then barking at her because I want her to have a bed nap. With the exception of the fire (something Lady has just learned to do), Lady doesn't take direction as well as Man. I have a week to work on her.

Enjoying the fire

Secondly, she has made the fire. Even if I am not using is as much as when Man is home, it is a must have. She has warned me that it is going to get above freezing this week so we might not need one. I may get to practicing bossing.

Eating treats by the fire for movie night

Third, she has done a decent enough job at meeting my needs. She is fairly responsive to requests to go out. She has been giving us treats with dinner. She ordered us greenies.

Having a bark off with Callie

Fourth, she goes to bed at the time I want. I always want to go to bed early with her, but then Man stays up and I might miss something, so I have to get up again. 

So far, I think she is doing ok. We will see how the rest of the week goes.

Your pal, the boss of the house, Hailey Bug

Mischief Monday - Catching Up

 Dear pals,

We are back!

We had a jolly good time with the Man last week. He orders a lot of pizza while Lady is away. We really like pizza. He also doesn't get up as early, so that is great. 

While Lady was away, finally after 7 months the deck was 99% finished. It needs the railing for the stairs. If the temperatures were not around freezing, it would be safe for us to sit on.  Lady looks forward to spending a lot of time on it in 2024. Man does not look forward to having to keep it shovelled off. 

Phod didn't want to climb up with Lady

Lady was at a conference. She wasn't as cautious with her food, and must have picked up some gluten and she is not feeling 100%. Fortunately she didn't get sick with anything else. Some of you had been kind and told her to be careful with Covid. Well she is 99% sure she had it for the 3rd time at the end of September so is hopeful she doesn't get it or anything again.

Her big accomplishment while away was winning her first ever election. She wants you to all know, she is not cut out in any way for politics. Fortunately, she didn't have to campaign but sitting through the 2 hour meeting that ended with the results was torture. When her name was called, there was cheering in the room. Later when she was first publicly introduced in her new role, there was cheering.  Lady thinks everyone but her is cheering. She is now the secretary for the board of directors for a professional organization. It is a 2 year term.  She has told everyone to call her Madame Secretary. It is a volunteer position and likely going to take a lot of time, but she thinks once things get going, it will be fine. We are all very proud of her, even if she is not being overly proud of herself.

Lady's first order of business was to get herself the Board of Directors sticker for her name tag@

That is the big updates here.  We hope Lady's 10th work related title (it is something crazy like that) will not have a negative impact on our ability to be here with you all. 

Looking forward to catching up with all of you.

Lee and Phod - Dogs of the Board

Two Dogs - Two Vet Clinics - One Day

 Yesterday was a very busy, pre-planned vet day for us.

First up was Hailey's second follow up with the neurologist. After a good poop on the floor, Hailey went with the assistant for her exam. Her neurologist came back to say everything looks ok. She is less tippy, her eyes aren't doing the flutter thing they were at first meeting. Her head tilt is still there and may be there forever, or may get better over time. She has put on 1.1kg but that is likely do to all the eating thanks to the steroids. It appears all of this was just old dog vestibular disease that for some unknown reason needed some help from steroids to clear up.

Hopefully now that she is off steroids the hair on her head will grow back!

She does have some little tweak in her back and a slow response in her right back paw. We are not exploring this further as it doesn't seem to cause much pain and realistically, we won't be doing spinal surgery (which is likely what would be required).

The neruology clinic is in a neat round building

The neurologist asked us to let her know how she does and said while she really enjoyed meeting us, she hopes to not see us again. I told her the feeling was mutual. So we left with as clean a bill of heath as we could and this 2 month odyssey is over. 

Yesterday also happened to be the day Phod got his monthly arthritis shot. My terrified boy was very friendly with a new dog. He waited patiently and accepted the shot right in the lobby because they were super busy and didn't want us to wait any longer. He didn't enjoy waiting to pay.

I thought this was very cute, a list of all of the day's patients. 

Beau and his Lady had asked if we had tried anti-nausea drugs for Phod before, as going in the car is hard for him. Yes, we have tried all the things and no matter what we give him, if he eats, he vomits. I am happy to report that he had breakfast around 7 am, and was able to go into the car at 6 pm without vomiting today. He was happy to have a late dinner.

As these shots are so helpful, we will go back next month and will continue to do so until they aren't helpful anymore.

Yesterday I spent 3 hours in the car and 1 hour in vet clinics yesterday and she is honestly grateful to be able to provide this level of care to us both. 

My Neurology Follow Up - by Lee

Tuesday was a not so good day, as Lady took me and put me in the car for 87 million hours and made me drive through long traffic to go see my neurologist.

Once we finally arrived, I had to wait another 87 million hours for the assistant to come and take me to my neurologist where I was examined.

Waiting while Lady read a book

Then I was left for another 87 million hours while the neurologist and Lady talked.

Lady reports this is what was said. 

The neurologist noticed I was overall a bit better than when she first saw me. She noted that my back left paw is responding poorly like my back right. There is some discomfort in my back, so I likely have something going on. She said one thing at a time, and we can discuss back MRI later. To be clear, I am not in any significant amount of pain, just a little uncomfortable. 

The neurologist said she wants to try to take me off my steroids. So the plan is, for the next 2 weeks I stay on once a day, then I go to one every other day for 2 weeks. Then about a week after that I go back for a check up. Of course if I get worse, Lady can call and a new plan can be made.

She also said these sorts of things can take a long time to get better. So we need to be patient. This is not something I am good at and Lady is likely worse at it, so this will be hard. 

After they talked, my steroids and I were reunited with Lady, and we took the 87 million hour drive home. Phod and Man were happy to see me.

Happy to be home

So that is where we are right now friends. Thank you for your continued well wishes and POTP. 

your pal Hailey Bug

(Editor's note - the drive was about 1.25 hours, we had to wait 15 minutes for our assistant, Lee was away from me for about another 30 minutes, and the drive home was just under an hour). 

Mischief Monday - Anger and The Toe - by Lee

 Hi pals,

I am sorry I gave everyone such a big scare last week. Let me tell you, it hasn't been fun for me either, I could have done without all the excitement. It takes so much effort to stand up and walk. The drugs made me feel every worse. I am glad to not be on them anymore. Although even when I was feeling very poorly I was doing things like trying to work on my tunnel. I have work to finish before I go to the bridge.

In my tunnel

There were also so many squishes and tears. I would have thought people think I was dying would give me some space, but nope, the smushing continued.

I am so mad at Lady

I did enjoy getting much better food to eat and have been extra picky since seeing the neurologist. It could be the nausea. The people are doing all they can to figure out what I will eat.

Man trying to fork feed me eggs and kibble - maybe if he had left the kibble out

I am also really mad at the Lady. I am blaming her for all of this. I was with her when it all started and it was Man who was my primary care person the first few days (he worked upstairs beside me, Lady either was downstairs in her office or out of the house). I am far more resistant to going out with Lady than Man, but am getting a little better. I am still angry with her. I have growled at her a lot and no regrets. 

The other mischief I have caused is I have chewed off most of one nail. You see when I am nervous, I like to bury things and as you may remember have rubbed my nose raw. Well, when you have a balance issue, this is not possible, so I started chewing. So now I have to have my foot wrapped a lot and I don't like it, so I chew that off.

One of Lady's good friends said at least I am keeping on brand and she is right - I am. 

I thank you all for your POTP, thoughts, well wishes etc. It really did help.I now just need to wait for this to all go away. Let's hope it is quick. 

Your drunken sailor pal Lee

PS Lady says she is sorry if she didn't get caught up with everyone. She got so far behind with everything this week, she has had to priorities catching up in other areas. She hopes to get back to regular soon! 

POTP in Action

First, thank you all for sending your love and good vibes our way.  It has been a very trying week and your kindness made all the difference. 

Now, for the exciting news, it appears Hailey has old dog vestibular disease.  She is expected to make a full recovery in the coming weeks.  If that is all you want to know, you can stop reading here. If you want to know how we got here, keep reading! 

We found this out by things getting way worst. Wednesday night, when I got home, she tried to get up to see me but couldn't. It was terrible and scary and we really thought the end was near. 

Thursday morning we called the vet who had seen her Monday and they said, there was nothing they could do. We would need to call a neurology clinic. We did and they were able to see us Friday morning. We also took her off most her meds, as the Man (who was with her more as I was out working) felt they may be making things worse (which they may have been and she is now off them).

In the mean time, we were able to talk to our old vet and friend and he said it sounded like old dog vestibular disease (also know as drunken sailor syndrome), but to take the appointment and if the neurologist had reason to suggest it, to consider the MRI and other tests. He said this clinic was great and they knew what they were doing.

Driving to the clinic

Friday morning, Man, Lee and I went to the clinic. After the history and exam, we spoke to the neurologist. There were 2 things that made her question vestibular disease (although there were lots of signs that pointed to it). Her back right paw didn't respond as quickly to a bending test, and the head tilt came later (usually it comes at the same time as the other symptoms). To rule out the brain as the cause of these problems, we should consider an MRI. What I loved about this doctor was that she explained things simply and honestly and there was no pressure to do anything she recommended. We decided to do all the tests (we are grateful for the privilege to be able to do), which in order were blood work and chest xrays (mostly to make sure she was likely to do well with the anaesthetic), then the MRI and if needed a spinal tap. We agreed to it all, paid the deposit and drove the hour home to wait. 

Phod was very concerned when we came home without Hailey and concerned we didn't seem concerned! 

Around 2:30 the neurologist called back to say the MRI was clear. The spinal tap still needed to be done, but we could head back to pick Hailey up as she would be ready in about an hour.

Patiently waiting for the neurologist

We went over the MRI images with the neurologist and there were some cool and creepy shots. It was neat to see her brain. There is one slightly different spot around her pituitary gland, which she will send to the radiologist for look at, but she didn't think it was related. The spinal tap fluid looked clear to her, but the results will take a few days. There is really nothing expected from these tests. The staff at the clinic loved Hailey. They thought she was younger (like 9) and super sweet.

We left with a very stoned Hailey and some anti-nausea meds (vestibular problems and anaesthetics don't mix well). She is to rest and be closely monitored on things she could fall off of, but life can basically go on. We have a follow up in about 3 weeks because if this diagnosis is correct, she should be improving greatly by then. 

The bald spot from the spinal tap

That is where we are today and again we thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for keeping us in your thoughts. Blogville is awesome! 

Well - That Was Unexpected

As some of you may have seen, Hailey's annual check up didn't go at all as expected.

On Sunday, she had tweaked her back. This has been an ongoing problem for about 3 years, so we weren't overly concerned. We gave her her pain meds and encouraged her to rest. Monday, she still seemed a little uncomfortable, was limping a little, but as we had the appointment later in the day, I wasn't worried.

Both dogs were very stressed going to the vet. We met with the vet tech who gathered some information, and after she left, Hailey's back end failed her. During the exam, besides having a sore back,  she displayed symptoms of a neurological event, which would explain the extreme weakness in her back end. The vet said, it appeared to be symptoms of brain tumour that given her age would be cancerous. 

This is where I made it clear, we were looking at quality of life. I love Hailey with all my heart, but going down the path of brain cancer treatment, does not enhance the quality of life for anyone in our pack. This is not a choice for us. The vet said, if she was right, the deterioration would happen quickly.

Where we are today, is treating her back pain. She is on a pain med (that will help with anxiety), a muscle relaxant and an inflammatory. She is quite medicated and stoned, but this helps with the 'bed rest' she is suppose to be on for the back. She walks like a drunken sailor and slips a lot.  She still wants to go for walks, she is eating and drinking and voiding. At this point we just wait and see if there is improvement and we squeeze every last joyful second in we can. 

Finally the service I deserve

We will do our best to keep you all updated - it may come from our dear blog friends. Please know she is as comfortable as can be and we will not prolong any suffering.  She is having a hard time and we will take her to a vet today. 

-----

PS: Phod's hole is a little cut/scrape, likely from the bush, and just needs a topical cream once a day for a week or two.  He is slightly insulted the vet suggest he lose some weight.