Thursday, September 30, 2010

a little of this, and a little of that.


A little update as I've been asked by lots of people how Jane is doing.

Last week her Heart Stress Test Results came back, and her heart is in the mid-advanced Stages of CHF (Congestive Heart Failure) from what they can tell based on the scale they measure from, her blood work however is good meaning she can handle the Meds, and that gives us some hope as far as time is concerned. Back to the Vet earlier this week she had a Blood Pressure Test and ECG, we are still waiting for those results, but her Blood Pressure is so far so good. She does get a little cold in the mornings, so now we just put her little T-shirt on and that seems to help.

UPDATE: ECG Results back Thurs AM. No arrhythmia in Heart, which is he good news. But the heart is taxed like the Stress Test said, beating 190-200 all the time. Prognosis poor.

Because of the Pulmonary Edema (fluid in the lungs), that build up because of the inability of the heart to circulate efficiently through her body she is on Lasix 3xday (water pill). I've had to give her more Lasix on the odd day where her breathing gets really fast and laboured, it is amazing how fast it works to get the fluid out of her, and she feels so much better. But with those reoccurring spells that also tells us things are not completely stable, even with the Meds. She will be adding another diuretic one today, that is slower acting and will bridge the gap of the fast acting Lasix. She is up a minimum of 2 times a night to go out to pee because of it. It's been 3 weeks since I've actually slept through a whole night.

She is on all the Meds she can be to keep her strong and healthy. A regime of 3 - and today to be adding the fourth. It is a good thing she is only 12 pounds, as I couldn't even imagine the cost for even a 30 pound dog. But they seem to be working, and it is good know she can be managed with her disease's progression even though already she is on almost the high doses of all the meds. My Vet is great, he has spent atleast an hour on the phone with me this week, even on Sunday night after hours, it's nice to know they really care about Jane.

She is getting pickier with food ... we've gotten creative ... tripe, brown rice and Sojo's veggies, is one of her favourite meals, and then other times she will gobble down her usual food. She is always willing and eager to eat a pumpkin cookie however.

Gyp and Kaleb are really gentle with her and they know when she isn't feeling well, dogs are amazing creatures.

She still has spunky moments, loves to go for car rides and of course, cuddle. It's not a fun thing to deal with and I know it won't get better, only worse, but we have her, and we can help her, and that is enough for us.

Speaking of Seniors .... LOL

Gyp passed her St. John Therapy Dog Evaluation!! She was great, and I think she will really love visiting all of the Elderly people she will meet, I am looking forward to it too!! I was surprised at the intensity of the test, but Gyp took it all in stride, she didn't even spook at the lady with the Cane (which really surprised me), and she ran right up to the wheel chair. I can't wait for her to share her Gyppie charm with everyone!



Thursday, September 23, 2010

luv dog


luv dog :: 37/52, originally uploaded by sarah ....

My first dog. my best teacher. my luv dog. my little Janer.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

i'm back again.

this time for a few seconds ... i was super proud of this Jumpers run with Gypster. She had the fastest qualifying time. I am obsessed with running the most efficient lines and keeping them as tight as possible. I was really proud of this run, as I don't think we wasted much yardage on this one, and I totally went for it. Enjoy

Monday, September 20, 2010

i'm back, well for a minute.

I know I am taking a blogging break :) but this was too important not to share, K deserves a little hoopla ... OK well maybe a whole lotta hoopla :)



Kaleb is GOLDEN!!!!


He got his last 4 games this weekend for his Gold Award of Merit! (50 Masters Standards, 100 Masters Games) I can't believe we were able to get the 12 Qs we needed in the 2.5 trials he has been in since his Surgery. I know I make fun of him ... well we all do :) but K-man is a one of a kind, and I love him for it.


He is the first Flat-coated Retriever in Canada with this title. He also earned his Expert Silver Jumpers for his 25th Masters Jumpers Q. He is running better than ever, and at 8.5, I couldn't ask for more. Lucky for me he has almost an 80% Q rate ...

This Title is extra special, as this Trial was where I got my first ever Agility Title, with Jane, Gyp also got her Starters Title at this trial and one year later her ATCHC, and now the big guy earns his Gold Award of Merit at the same Trial. I just can't believe we were able to reach this Milestone, wow.

Gyp ran amazing this weekend too - she Qd in Challenge with the Fastest time and also the Fastest qualifying time in one of her Jumpers, and brought home a Snooker Q too.

p.s. Jane is responding well to her meds after another scare last week, and fingers crossed she remains stable. She even play bowed when I got home last night and got Gyp to chase her through the house twice :)

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

taking a break.

i'm taking a break from blogging - at least for a couple weeks, i don't really even blog that much - i've always done it for myself as a way to remember things in my life and get my rambling thoughts out there.

in a failed attempt to make my life less complicated, i've added more things to do. and well, for the first time in my life, i have to admit, i can't keep up.

if you miss me - well the dogs i guess - you can read some previous posts from me (or check me out on flickr) there might be some good stuff you haven't read in older posts. for now i need to de-clutter my life and get my shit together and my priorities straight. i live to please and i need to take some time for me, things are slowly unravelling and i have to stop it before the neatly rolled ball of string is just a bunch of knotted up string that can't be undone.

i'll be back.

Sarah

Monday, September 13, 2010

Emotional Rollercoaster.

We went to Kimberley BC for an Agility Trial this weekend. The plan was for my mom to stay here with Jane and I would take G & K. With Jane being sick, we took her and my mom was there to be her nanny :)

Jane got worse as the weekend went, she enjoyed herself and the pampering she got, she even had enough energy to displace her aggression at a dog coming to her face - after being given the teeth & ears back - not once but twice. Cindy's leg was the displacement object, I still feel awful, I guess it's true when they are pain they act out more, and well, she did. By Sunday evening her heart rate had risen to 200 bpm and her resp. rate was 70 per minute by Sunday evening NOT GOOD- I had never heard the "coughing" I was warned about, until that morning - I knew it was getting worse. Her temp was low when I checked too. Sunday evening we had already been to the Vet and back before I had even finished unpacking. She was given Lasix to get rid of the fluid build up in her lungs - which happened in only 24 hours. Both of my Vets have said how fast CHF (Congestive Heart Failure) can happen, and that it has ups and downs. She is now on the diuretic twice a day and the heart med she was given last week. :) It's hard knowing the change happened so fast, and she isn't the dog she was even a few weeks ago. All I know is I will cherish every moment with her. My emotions are everywhere right now, and honestly I just break out in random crying sometimes. I hope things settle down soon as I don't know how much more I can take.

We did go there for Agility, so I guess I should talk about that ..... Gyp and Kaleb had an amazing weekend - but it just doesn't seem all that important in the scheme of things when I am dealing with something pretty serious.

But I will give them the credit they deserve since they worked so hard as always :)

Kaleb earned his Gold Standard (ExSt Gold) - 50 Masters Standards ... a pretty big deal for my boy. He also Qd in Steeplechase, Jumpers, Snooker and Gamblers ... only a few more until the BIG Gold :) So proud of my boy.

Gyp was great too - and my goals were achieved, push the limits on her independence of obstacles and see how far ahead I can get of her and still set the lines. I was so thrilled that we had a few chances to really test this. She brought home 6 Qs. 2 Standards (1st and second fastest times), 2 Jumpers (1st and second fastest times), Snooker and Gamblers with 114 points.

I made them each a video montage from the weekend ... enjoy :)





Friday, September 10, 2010

my heart dog


my heart dog :: 36/52, originally uploaded by sarah ....

It's been a rough f*ing year. Jane has a heart murmer and it is getting worse, she hasn't been feeling well over the past 3 days, and she had X-rays yesterday and her heart is now enlarged, from being fine 8 months ago, it is something I would hope wouldn't happen so quickly, essentially she is in Heart failure. So we've started her on heart meds and I hope she will be OK.

Jane is my little undercovers snuggle bug, and even on a good day it is hard to get her out of bed.

Monday, September 6, 2010

a little piece o' Paradise.

It's amazing how a simple day trip to the Mountains frees the mind and can lift your spirits :)


me & my 3, originally uploaded by sarah ....


jane, on the rocks :: 35/52, originally uploaded by sarah ....

Seriously one of the most lovely places on earth ....

Grammy and Gyp having some snuggle time ...

Gyp and the Kayak on Cameron Lake ...

Kaleb making sure everyone is OK on the other side of the creek... he runs back a forth a few times just to make sure ... funny, when I fell like a ton of bricks at the park the other day after he swept me off my feet and i twisted my knee in the process ... he just kept swimming after the geese ...


me, my cousin his GF and my Aunt Pam...

this hills are alive ...

every trip to Waterton ends with ICE CREAAAM!


Couldn't think of a better way to spend a day ...

Friday, September 3, 2010

jack ass.


jack ass., originally uploaded by sarah ....

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Gotcha Day.

Each year, in the first week of September I celebrate getting Gyp - it's a bigger day than her Birthday to me, mostly because she wasn't planned :) It's GOTCHA day!! Today we celebrate 4 years! It's true it's sappy, but honestly you have no idea how lucky I feel to have her.

This little dog has brought so much joy to my life and the things we have done together in those 4 years boggles my mind ... she has been to both the East and West coasts and played happily in both Oceans. She has sat on the front lawn on Parliament Hill, explored Halifax harbour, cruised the downtown of Qualicum Beach, hiked in the rocky mountains, ridden in a canoe, ridden on a Ferry, ridden on planes, been scared of every fishing rod she has ever seen, spooned under the covers with me, been petted and hugged by i'm sure hundreds of children, been on three National Agility podiums, slept soundly on a kitchen table when she thought nobody was looking, she's stolen pizza out of Pete's hand more than once, gotten away with more than any dog ever should .... the list goes on ....



This photo was talking the first week I had her, we were in Kimberley BC for an Agility Trial and she tagged along as my "Foster Dog". Notice the pretty collar I had custom made for her ...

"So, miss Sarah....
Do you think that you'd like to take Gyp for an hour, an afternoon, a day, or forever perhaps??"

- amanda

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

An Agility 3 dog montage

I know I'm a few days late with weekend Triall news ... but I finally have 5 minutes to Blog :)

We hosted our Agility Trial this weekend and it was great. Our group is really amazing and supportive and without everyone's help it never would have happened. I am proud of our group for bringing home 70 Qs - more than 6 titles and many top 4 placements. I get more excited for other peoples runs than my own sometimes!! I am still wrapping up the Trial details and paperwork - it seems it never ends!!!! I needed to take a break and do something FUN! So i've made a little video that makes me smile....

Jane came out of retirement for ONE DAY ONLY! ONE TIME EVENT! NOT TO BE MISSED! I miss running her. She has slowed down now that she is 11, but she still enjoys to come out and do her thing, so I let her.

Kaleb also made his first official debut since he Torsed and since Nationals - he was AMAZING - a little dorky at times, but I would rather have enthusiasm to work than him being bored - his energy was that same on run 1 as it was on run 8. I still can't believe what he went through, it seems like a bad dream, he is better than ever. He brought home 3 Games Qs - Gamblers, Snooker, Jumpers, we are almost at GOOOOOLD!!!! So exciting!

Gyp, was Gyp and ran great. She brought home 5 Qs - Standard, Gamblers, Snooker, Jumpers and Steeplechase, I took some handling risks - some worked some didn't, but I learned lots and it is part of my goal to really push it with her. I had fun walking courses with Christina and strategizing how we would handle it for our girls.



thanks for reading .... OK ... bye gotta run :)