If I Could Talk to the Animals...

Remember that song from Dr. Doolittle?  Well, there are people out there who seem to be able to and I am fortunate to have one of them as my friend.  I've known Tina Hassett of Our Animal Allies for around 8 years now.  We first met at an agility trial in New England.  I was running Sam and she was running her Italian Greyhound as well as offering her services as an animal communicator.  I sat down with her, had a chat with both Sam and Ginny, and we've been friends ever since.

Tina's insights into Sam and Ginny's personalities that day - when she'd never met me or my dogs before - were uncanny.  Ginny's comment that, "Boys are stupid." was so right on with the way she treated Sam and every other male dog.  At the time I was taking some herding lessons with Sam and when I asked what he thought of that he replied, "I'm going to get those fuzzy bastards."  Yeah, I'm quite sure that's what Sam was thinking and exactly how he would have expressed it too.  Several years later, when Moira joined The Horde, Tina was able to perfectly capture her more reserved and enigmatic personality.

So I've stayed in touch with Tina, despite moves for both of us.  I check in with her 2 or 3 times a year and we have a talk with the dogs.  This week I made an appointment to talk with her to see how everyone is doing since Sam's passing and to check in with Sam as well.  Yes, Tina can communicate with pets who have crossed The Bridge.

Ginny started communicating almost as soon as Tina answered her phone.  Over the years, Tina and Gin have developed a very close friendship.  Gin indicated that while she loved Sam to pieces, it's much easier since he's passed.  She said his passing was a big relief because he was so uncomfortable but she misses the "old goat."  Exactly what I would expect Ginny, who rarely minces words, to say about her father.

Moira was, as always, less talkative.  I think it's because she spends so much time barking.  Anyway, Moira has acknowledged that she is not yet ready to be head of the household.  Before we left Virginia, Ra definitely seemed to be trying to step up and it caused a lot of friction, especially with Georgia.  Apparently, Ra thought being in charge would be easier than it really is :)  She also seems to have taken on Gin's perspective where boys are concerned.  When I mentioned Bogey she replied, "Boys are not a challenge."  She really enjoys agility.  Especially the fact that the obstacles stay put and she gets to be active but she doesn't like not knowing where she needs to go next (yes, I'm working on MY timing Ra).
 
I know you are wondering if Tina was able to reach Sam.  Of course she was!  Sam was so connected to me that it was easy for her reach him.  Sam was eager to tell me how much he loved me and how grateful he is that I was his person.  He's so relieved to be out of a body that doesn't work anymore and his friend Stomper met him as he crossed The Bridge. He's said he would like to help me, not Moira, at agility trials.  Hmm, seems even Sam thinks I am the weakest link when it comes to agility :)   Sam keeps an eye on all of us and continues to shine love down on me.  He's not ready to come back yet but, he will someday.

Busy Summer

Wow!  I realized I haven't posted much at all this summer and I apologize for that.  It has been a busy one.  From my previous post, you learned that Sam crossed the Bridge at the end of June.
Wishing we had more time together would be greedy.  We had nearly 10 wonderful years and he gave me every bit of himself every day of those years.  In the end, I was honor-bound to give something back to him and release him from the pain he was experiencing.  The house is certainly quieter since his passing but it is a good quiet.  The girls and I have adjusted to his absence and, quite honestly, things are much less stressful now.  Ginny is happy and smiling again - something I hadn't seen for a very long time.

For the weekend following the 4th of July, Moira and I were entered in a 3 day USDAA agility trial.  We ran in 4 classes each day and I couldn't have been happier with our results.  I had 4 goals for that weekend and achieved 3 of them - all on the first day.  Moira finished her Starters Jumpers title so she is now CardiRidge's Sweet Potato Pie HT, JHD, SJ.  The first title listed, HT, is an AKC title that means Herding Tested and the second is an AHBA herding title that means Junior Herding Dog.  So now she has titles in both herding and agility.  Our other goals for the agility weekend were to successfully complete the teeter, dog walk and weaves in competition.  We got the first two but not the last.  We've been working hard on weaves in class and I think we might just have it now.  We'll test that in two weeks at an AKC trial.  Moira also had qualifying runs in Snooker (2) and Gamblers (1) so we had a 33% Q rate for the weekend.  Not bad when previously we were lucky to have one qualifying run.  August is a heavy trialing month for us with agility trials 3 of the 4 weekends.  Two of those trials are AKC so there's a possibility we could get some more titles.

Ginny's 13th birthday was July 18th.  As far as I know, all her litter mates are still living.  Ginny is doing remarkably well for a 13 year old dog.  She's active and happy these days.  When I was packing up to go to the agility trials at the beginning of the month she couldn't wait to get in the car for an adventure.  She is a little stiff in her joints these days so at her next vet appointment we will talk about a prescription for an NSAID.  Other than that, she's great.

So that's where we are with July half over.  I'm going to make a commitment to post more regularly as it's something I miss.  I hope you all are having a wonderful summer.

Farewell

Ch Yardican Roland ROMb
SAM
5/31/1998 - 6/30/2012

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. 

You make me happy when skies are grey.

You'll never know dear, how much I love you.

Please don't take my sunshine away.

Sam Update

First, thanks to everyone who has made suggestions on ways I can help Sam.  All of them are wonderful and appreciated.

Now, what you all need to know.  Sam's condition is chronic, progressive and painful.  He has deteriorated much faster than I anticipated.  When we arrived in Nashville, three months ago, the vet was able to treat him with Prednisone and an increased dose of Tramadol.  At that time, he also told me that we were at the maximum dosage of Tramadol.  When that dosage became ineffective, we would have to move on to something stronger; most likely Morphine.  We are very close to that eventuality.

Sam's mobility is also seriously compromised.  Some days he can move around pretty well.  Most days, walking is a struggle.  I have to escort him outside and stay outside with him while he does his business.  Then, most of the time, I have to assist him to get back in the house.  I'm not carrying him in and out but he needs me to motivate him.

Being a caretaker for an elderly dog is heart breaking and exhausting.  This is especially true of a dog like Sam; a dog whose personality and physicality is such a huge part of who he is.  Those of you who have met Sam, or have members of the Samily, will understand what I mean.

Last fall, I wrote a post called Choices.  I'm asking myself the questions in that post almost daily now.  The answers are telling me that I will have to make a choice, soon.  It's made all the more difficult by the fact that Sam is still Sam.  He's not yet telling me that it's his time but, it's not in Sam's personality to quit.  Knowing Sam, I doubt he will ever tell me.  The last appointment we had with our regular vet, he warned me that Sam wasn't going to make this easy on me.  I always knew that would be the case.

It's Not Just Potty Humor..

Warning!  This post contains not just potty humor but actual potty...


As part of managing the symptoms of Sam's cauda equina he has started having acupuncture treatments with Dr. Tammy Perkins at Animalia Wellness.  He had his second treatment yesterday.  I'll post some pictures of the clinic in a later post.  It's the most gorgeous clinic I've ever seen.

Dr. Perkins suggested that Sam might benefit from some hydrotherapy as well.  I can't really afford  to take advantage of the underwater treadmill at Animalia so Dr. Perkins said that a kiddie pool would work too.  That I can afford!

Yesterday I bought Sam a kiddie pool at Lowe's.  Did you know these pools can be tough to find now?  Wally World didn't even have them.  This morning, I filled the pool with water and let it sit in the sunshine for a few hours so it would warm up a bit.  Then I got Sam outside and lifted him into the pool.  The idea was to have him walk circuits around the pool.  Turns out, the pool is a little too small for that.

Sam, lounging in his private pool.

Yeah, this might not be too bad.

And then it happened..... Sam's re-enactment of the pool scene in Caddyshack.  Only no one was eating a chocolate bar......

That's no Baby Ruth....

And so ended Sam's first dip in the pool.  I helped him exit the pool - there wasn't any panic - dried him off and then dumped the pool.  I don't think I'll need to wear a hazmat suit to clean it but it might be a while before Sam takes another dip.

Happy Birthday Sam!

Today is Sam's 14th birthday.  It's hard to believe he's been with me for nearly 10 years!  I dearly love this boy.  I took this photo while he was eating his birthday treat of soft serve ice cream with Bailey's drizzled over it.  It just might be one of my favorite pictures of him EVER!

A Good Vet

While moving can be fun and exciting there is also the hassle of finding a lot of new service providers; hair dressers, dentists, doctors and, arguably, most importantly a vet.  I got so lucky in the veterinary department with this move.  Before I left VA, I had several recommendations for Dr. Bernander at Caring Hands Animal Hospital in Franklin, TN.

It turns out that was a good thing because while I was making the drive down here, I called his office to schedule an appointment for Sam.  In the weeks leading up to our move, Sam had increasing issues with mobility - specifically, his rear movement.  So we arrived in TN on Tuesday evening, moved into our house on Wednesday and Sam went to see Dr. B on Thursday.

Dr. B took xrays and diagnosed Sam with a potential infection in one disk, a fully fused disk and a third disk - L7/S1 - that was causing the real issue - and quite a bit of pain.  Basically, Sam has cauda equina.  This is a chronic condition that is very painful and will eventually lead to rear paralysis.  It's a fairly common condition in large, athletic dogs but you don't hear much about it in Cardigans.

The initial treatment for Sam included Cephalexin, Prednisone and an increased dose of Tramadol.  It also included return trips to the vet every 2 weeks.  So we made return trips for the next 8 weeks.

In the middle of all that, Grace, the cat, also became ill.  My first clue was that she missed the litter box.  During one of Sam's regular rechecks, I brought Grace along and ended up leaving her at the clinic overnite.  She was diagnosed with a severe UTI and ended up spending 3 nights at the clinic.  She came home on a Monday but by Thursday evening she had made it very clear to me that she was finished with this life.  I took her back in on Saturday morning and Dr. B helped her cross the bridge just one week before her 15th birthday.

In my next post, I'll introduce Sam's new physical therapist.  She's going to help us manage Sam's pain so we don't have to graduate to morphine for pain control.