Tink, Nick and I have been thoroughly enjoying ourselves here in MA the last few days. God is good and we made it here in 7hrs flat including stops. We stayed ahead of the traffic and the accidents.
I am guilty of not posting pictures in a while, we'll need to change that soon! But today we went to Woof it down in Windham and spoiled Tinker profusely (and did some christmas shopping : )
Sams Yams and chicken strips and zuke's z ridges....and then we were given some flossies to see if she likes them!!!! She loves them (but doesn't like bully sticks... you figure her out ; ) and is contently trying to chew a piece off! hehe, good tendon.
then we went down to beaver valley and picked up some hoofs and lambs ears... that will help put some weight on her : ) its been a nice relaxing day and holiday so far. What a pleasure for us to have jobs that have plenty of paid time off and to be able to enjoy it!!!
Tink's stitches are out, btw and she is doing well... the vet is pleased. She also gained 1.6lbs in a few weeks which is great, she needs it, but has already lost a little again. Gotta keep feeding her! (I blame all the walks her grandpa keeps taking her on!!!)
pics to follow soon : )
Friday, November 24, 2006
Saturday, November 18, 2006
You guys will never believe this.....
Nick and I went up to Allentown to meet our friends Ken and Sarah from New Jersey this afternoon. We had a great time but were gone longer than we anticipated arriving home 8.5 hours after we left.
When we arrived home I hurried to the second bedroom to get Tink out of her crate when much to my dismay her crate door was open and she was no where to be found in the room....
TINKER?!?!?!
....and the pitter patter of little feet greet me from the bedroom. Her bed was warm where her little body had just gotten up from and her kong was next to her bed empty...
NOTHING was destroyed, NOTHING was out of line, NOTHING was off with her in any way, except that she was happy and well rested : ) (When we latched the crate door tonight we actually missed the latch part and well she nosed it open quite easily and early on in the day i'm sure--no pee in her crate and the crate was as neat as we left it...)
AND only 2 little (fresh mind you) pee spots in the dining room.... She went all afternoon and evening on her own with the ENTIRE apartment at her disposal and only 2 pee spots and she is safe! I am elated!
Now, obviously i am not planning on letting her get free reign of the house, but it does bring up some interesting points. Sarah and I were talking about separation anxiety and ways to reintroduce a "fun" crate situation and other points to consider... But maybe its more she doesn't like being confined than separation anxiety? because she certainly wasn't as excited to see us and LESS was destroyed in the apartment in MORE time than when we left her baby gated in our old apartment's kitchen.... she would knock over the trash and tear up bags and wee-wee pads and pee 4-5-6 times in the kitchen.... free roam of the house and nothing is out of line? it certainly makes one wonder... and possibly a crate move to the bedroom could do some good too : )
I am so happy.... this could have been so disastrous but God is good and it wasn't disastrous.
Every day i am convinced that WE have the smartest bestest little girl in the world!!!
OK off to snuggle but i needed to post tonight about this!
We had a great time visiting with Ken & Sarah tonight and thoroughly enjoyed talking, laughing, eating, playing spades, and shopping at petco! And the whole time i was concerned about Tinker, she was sleeping in her big bed or playing with her kong.... hehe was a night : )
When we arrived home I hurried to the second bedroom to get Tink out of her crate when much to my dismay her crate door was open and she was no where to be found in the room....
TINKER?!?!?!
....and the pitter patter of little feet greet me from the bedroom. Her bed was warm where her little body had just gotten up from and her kong was next to her bed empty...
NOTHING was destroyed, NOTHING was out of line, NOTHING was off with her in any way, except that she was happy and well rested : ) (When we latched the crate door tonight we actually missed the latch part and well she nosed it open quite easily and early on in the day i'm sure--no pee in her crate and the crate was as neat as we left it...)
AND only 2 little (fresh mind you) pee spots in the dining room.... She went all afternoon and evening on her own with the ENTIRE apartment at her disposal and only 2 pee spots and she is safe! I am elated!
Now, obviously i am not planning on letting her get free reign of the house, but it does bring up some interesting points. Sarah and I were talking about separation anxiety and ways to reintroduce a "fun" crate situation and other points to consider... But maybe its more she doesn't like being confined than separation anxiety? because she certainly wasn't as excited to see us and LESS was destroyed in the apartment in MORE time than when we left her baby gated in our old apartment's kitchen.... she would knock over the trash and tear up bags and wee-wee pads and pee 4-5-6 times in the kitchen.... free roam of the house and nothing is out of line? it certainly makes one wonder... and possibly a crate move to the bedroom could do some good too : )
I am so happy.... this could have been so disastrous but God is good and it wasn't disastrous.
Every day i am convinced that WE have the smartest bestest little girl in the world!!!
OK off to snuggle but i needed to post tonight about this!
We had a great time visiting with Ken & Sarah tonight and thoroughly enjoyed talking, laughing, eating, playing spades, and shopping at petco! And the whole time i was concerned about Tinker, she was sleeping in her big bed or playing with her kong.... hehe was a night : )
Friday, November 17, 2006
...a better friday
Tink appears to have had a much better day today. Since yesterday i've been taking her out to pee every hour or so, and so far no more accidents *knocks on wood.* And no mess in her crate! wahoo!! (its not really fun washing a dog with 40 stitches by the way).
Because her stitches could have come out as early as today she got 2 real walks for the first time in a long while and I also put the kong back in her crate as well (we've been using chicken strips so she wouldn't tear up the place and possibly tear up her knee in the process). I also let her climb the stairs for the first time in a while (I can't say since the surgery because ahem, someone forgot and let her climb them once : )
Well when i came home she was such a happy little girl, she took that kong out of her crate and was prancing around with it (and actually wouldn't let me have it, fiesty little girl : ). She's been walking around, following me around and eating like no tomorrow. Maybe the antibiotics are already kicking in. or maybe if she caught a bug its passing....
In any case she enjoyed her walks today (even in the cold tonight--when did it get cold again anyways?!?!?) and is now sleeping on the bed with me.
I'm hoping and praying that she is on the mend now... and that the accidents are through.
Because her stitches could have come out as early as today she got 2 real walks for the first time in a long while and I also put the kong back in her crate as well (we've been using chicken strips so she wouldn't tear up the place and possibly tear up her knee in the process). I also let her climb the stairs for the first time in a while (I can't say since the surgery because ahem, someone forgot and let her climb them once : )
Well when i came home she was such a happy little girl, she took that kong out of her crate and was prancing around with it (and actually wouldn't let me have it, fiesty little girl : ). She's been walking around, following me around and eating like no tomorrow. Maybe the antibiotics are already kicking in. or maybe if she caught a bug its passing....
In any case she enjoyed her walks today (even in the cold tonight--when did it get cold again anyways?!?!?) and is now sleeping on the bed with me.
I'm hoping and praying that she is on the mend now... and that the accidents are through.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
When does Tinker get a break?
Sigh... a lot has happened this week....
first off, Tink's tumor surgery wounds are healing well and the stitches come out on monday Nov 21... she's been antzy to get outside and stretch her legs again.
On this past monday (nov 13), Nick came home to find that some threads from a towel in her crate had gotten wrapped around her back right paw so tightly that the paw was twice the normal size. THANK GOD he has a level head on him and he got home early (his last client cancelled). Nick made all the right phonecalls and did things in the right order. The vet asked all kinds of questions, "is it warm, is it blue, etc) and told nick to massage the foot for an hour. By the time i got home, it was back down to normal size and i could not tell which foot it was (he didn't tell me until after i looked). So we've been keeping an eye on it watching for discoloration, sensitivity, sloffing off of pad skin cells etc.) I talked to the vet tuesday morning and he point blank told me that the phone call with nick was "Scary." What makes this tough too, is that its the same leg that a tumor was just removed from, so its difficult to decide when she skips or something if its the foot or the knee.
So on tuesday Tink messes in her crate just a little for the first time and I chalk it up to the fact that she was nervous after the previous day... but then she pees on her new bed twice in one night and continued to pee in the house tuesday and wednesday. We just fnished drying the bed and put it back together and less than 20 minutes later she's peed on it again. So we put her under "24 hr" watch as we call it where she needs to be in the same room as we're in and she still manages to pee (on a blanket in the bathroom while i was in the shower) and on the other side of the bed where i couldn't see her....
SOOO i call the vet again this morning and he determined that it is possible that she has a bladder infection... i get the antibiotics today (from CVS because i couldn't get over to Leola) and upon arriving home she has messed ALL over her crate.... a runny messy (nervous?) diarhea type stuff. So i bathed the poor girl with 40 stitches....
long story short... nick and i wonder if maybe she is sick (we were both sick for about 2 weeks between us) or maybe it was the meaty knuckle we gave her last night... or maybe she's nervous after mondays experience and needs time to feel safe again. She's been more "clingy" than normal these past few days... i just feel so bad for the poor girl....And i hurt for her because i dont know how to help her... She's here on the bed with me.
Meanwhile today (Thursday) I have been taking her out to pee every hour to hour and a 1/2 and each time she has been peeing right away... she actually almost gets excited when i put her collar on her... so maybe the bladder thing is at least part of it... I started her on the antibiotics right away.... that was fun..... the pharmacists at CVS all knew i was coming and then they had to figure out how i could administer it to her so they gave me a 1 ml syringe... she actually almost seemed to like it : )
so thats that... I will be calling the vet again tomorrow morning and run some things by him... she's going in on monday to have the stitches removed so he can physically look at her again.
Just one step at a time...
first off, Tink's tumor surgery wounds are healing well and the stitches come out on monday Nov 21... she's been antzy to get outside and stretch her legs again.
On this past monday (nov 13), Nick came home to find that some threads from a towel in her crate had gotten wrapped around her back right paw so tightly that the paw was twice the normal size. THANK GOD he has a level head on him and he got home early (his last client cancelled). Nick made all the right phonecalls and did things in the right order. The vet asked all kinds of questions, "is it warm, is it blue, etc) and told nick to massage the foot for an hour. By the time i got home, it was back down to normal size and i could not tell which foot it was (he didn't tell me until after i looked). So we've been keeping an eye on it watching for discoloration, sensitivity, sloffing off of pad skin cells etc.) I talked to the vet tuesday morning and he point blank told me that the phone call with nick was "Scary." What makes this tough too, is that its the same leg that a tumor was just removed from, so its difficult to decide when she skips or something if its the foot or the knee.
So on tuesday Tink messes in her crate just a little for the first time and I chalk it up to the fact that she was nervous after the previous day... but then she pees on her new bed twice in one night and continued to pee in the house tuesday and wednesday. We just fnished drying the bed and put it back together and less than 20 minutes later she's peed on it again. So we put her under "24 hr" watch as we call it where she needs to be in the same room as we're in and she still manages to pee (on a blanket in the bathroom while i was in the shower) and on the other side of the bed where i couldn't see her....
SOOO i call the vet again this morning and he determined that it is possible that she has a bladder infection... i get the antibiotics today (from CVS because i couldn't get over to Leola) and upon arriving home she has messed ALL over her crate.... a runny messy (nervous?) diarhea type stuff. So i bathed the poor girl with 40 stitches....
long story short... nick and i wonder if maybe she is sick (we were both sick for about 2 weeks between us) or maybe it was the meaty knuckle we gave her last night... or maybe she's nervous after mondays experience and needs time to feel safe again. She's been more "clingy" than normal these past few days... i just feel so bad for the poor girl....And i hurt for her because i dont know how to help her... She's here on the bed with me.
Meanwhile today (Thursday) I have been taking her out to pee every hour to hour and a 1/2 and each time she has been peeing right away... she actually almost gets excited when i put her collar on her... so maybe the bladder thing is at least part of it... I started her on the antibiotics right away.... that was fun..... the pharmacists at CVS all knew i was coming and then they had to figure out how i could administer it to her so they gave me a 1 ml syringe... she actually almost seemed to like it : )
so thats that... I will be calling the vet again tomorrow morning and run some things by him... she's going in on monday to have the stitches removed so he can physically look at her again.
Just one step at a time...
Friday, November 10, 2006
Post Surgery, day 3
Tink continues to act like her old self.... a little jumping jack in her crate when we get home from work (real good for her knee), tries to run around outside (the weathers been so good, can you blame her for trying?!?!), and stakes out in front of the kitchen around dinner time : )
She's also getting the hang of climbing into and nesting in her new bed : ) although she usually ends up to the far side of the bed leaving room for a large boxer (if we had one : )
Tink's incisions look pretty good but i did call the vet to check on some swelling and bruising above one incision. He believes its where one of the clamps were; it's probably a little excess blood in there (hence the bruising.) I was given strict orders if it were to change to call back immediately and to call on monday to give an update. The oozing has essentially stopped and all the cuts looks pretty good considering.
She's here sacked out on the couch with us... nice comfy bed or not she's still my little snuggle muffin. Tinks been enjoying double rations on food... I can still feel her ribs more than i want to....just being patient and given food plentifully : ) Tink doesn't mind.
I'm very glad we did the surgery when we did... her stitches come out the monday before thanksiving which means she should be basically healed up well enough to travel to MA. The complete babying (ha right) should have ended and she will actually be able to go for a decent walk at that point.
God is always good. Not only did He provide funds, he provided perfect timing and healing.
I feel like a broken record, but this little girl has been through SOOO much... and if God cares so much for her and her well being, how much more does He care for you and me?!?! He has our best interest in mind and having Tinker here each day is a beautiful reminder of God's love for us.
She's also getting the hang of climbing into and nesting in her new bed : ) although she usually ends up to the far side of the bed leaving room for a large boxer (if we had one : )
Tink's incisions look pretty good but i did call the vet to check on some swelling and bruising above one incision. He believes its where one of the clamps were; it's probably a little excess blood in there (hence the bruising.) I was given strict orders if it were to change to call back immediately and to call on monday to give an update. The oozing has essentially stopped and all the cuts looks pretty good considering.
She's here sacked out on the couch with us... nice comfy bed or not she's still my little snuggle muffin. Tinks been enjoying double rations on food... I can still feel her ribs more than i want to....just being patient and given food plentifully : ) Tink doesn't mind.
I'm very glad we did the surgery when we did... her stitches come out the monday before thanksiving which means she should be basically healed up well enough to travel to MA. The complete babying (ha right) should have ended and she will actually be able to go for a decent walk at that point.
God is always good. Not only did He provide funds, he provided perfect timing and healing.
I feel like a broken record, but this little girl has been through SOOO much... and if God cares so much for her and her well being, how much more does He care for you and me?!?! He has our best interest in mind and having Tinker here each day is a beautiful reminder of God's love for us.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Tinker update: day 2 post surgery
Tinker, as we all know, is a trooper and full of spirit. Yesterday (Wednesday) was a great day for her. She is back to acting like her own self, 40 stitches or not. We're keeping her quiet, but she already wants to run around outside again! She hasn't been licking her stitches too much which is great. Only yesterday morning did she seemed disoriented and gave up very easily getting to the kitchen area... alas it didn't last long ; )
I'm not sure on the what type of cancer Mammary tumors would be, but the vet is 90% sure that the one on her knee was a mast cell tumor... again not sure if that is a specific type of cancer or not.
She loves her "recovery ball" as nick as dubbed it, however she managed to slip right out of it last night which made me awake with haste! She now can climb into it and out of it herself but she still has figured out just how big it is yet : )
We've moved her original (and still very well loved) bed into her crate for the next couple of days (to week) so she has something softer than a bunch of towels while she recouperates. She'll also use it as we travel : ) People are so kind and we are so blessed by their generosity!
I have a few pictures of the "patient's" stitches (as we affectionately call her); i will try and post them later.
Tink's been eating like a horse, hopefully she'll gain some weight soon. now if only we could get her to do her business like a horse would we'd be in business : )
more later
I'm not sure on the what type of cancer Mammary tumors would be, but the vet is 90% sure that the one on her knee was a mast cell tumor... again not sure if that is a specific type of cancer or not.
She loves her "recovery ball" as nick as dubbed it, however she managed to slip right out of it last night which made me awake with haste! She now can climb into it and out of it herself but she still has figured out just how big it is yet : )
We've moved her original (and still very well loved) bed into her crate for the next couple of days (to week) so she has something softer than a bunch of towels while she recouperates. She'll also use it as we travel : ) People are so kind and we are so blessed by their generosity!
I have a few pictures of the "patient's" stitches (as we affectionately call her); i will try and post them later.
Tink's been eating like a horse, hopefully she'll gain some weight soon. now if only we could get her to do her business like a horse would we'd be in business : )
more later
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Christmas in November!
On the Woof! Board we did a christmas gift swap and Tink and I participated... Cheri and Brandy's Christmas gift for Tinker arrived today!! How perfect is THAT timing? Tink is completely spoiled and we are so greatful to Cheri!!! Here's tink's story!
The box...
Mum, whats in it?!?!
Look at all these awesome gifts mum!!!
And stuff for you too!!!
Look at how soft and comfy this new bed and christmas blanky are!!!
It took no time for Tink to get comfy!
She also received a warmer that we heat up
in the microwave for those extra cold nights!
Perched on her new bed... it took no time for her to figure it out
Cheri even sent some things for me! How thoughtful!
Sigh, sleeping where she belongs... safe warm and home.
The box...
Mum, whats in it?!?!
Look at all these awesome gifts mum!!!
And stuff for you too!!!
Look at how soft and comfy this new bed and christmas blanky are!!!
It took no time for Tink to get comfy!
She also received a warmer that we heat up
in the microwave for those extra cold nights!
Isn't this Christmas blankie so warm and perfect?!?!
Perched on her new bed... it took no time for her to figure it out
Cheri even sent some things for me! How thoughtful!
Sigh, sleeping where she belongs... safe warm and home.
She has not moved off her new bed since she found her way in it after dinner. I can't thank Cheri enough for her generosity. What a beautiful end to a long day!
Post Surgery update
Tink's surgery was successful...over 1.5hrs of surgery and 3 mammary tumors, 1 mast tumor, and 2 skin tags are removed. She has a ton of stitches all over her belly, her right back knee knee, & her chest... sigh, hopefully her recovery is uneventful. The vet let me know that her tumors were cancerous... so its a good thing we removed them...
She was absolutely famished when we came home, but she made due with half rations. And since dinner, she has been sleeping like a queen... next post will explain and show why!!!
She was absolutely famished when we came home, but she made due with half rations. And since dinner, she has been sleeping like a queen... next post will explain and show why!!!
Monday, November 06, 2006
Family Portraits
Dan from life group was kind enough to take our family picture while we were on our walk...what do you think?
a walk in the park...
or on a rails to trails hike : )
Yesterday our life group went for a beautiful 3 mile fall walk and guess who came with us?!?!
That's right our little trooper ; )
the entire crew walking ahead of us
We stopped 1.5 miles up the trail at a stream with tons of rocks
and lots of beautiful picture opportunities
My Nicholas did a beautiful job with the photos : )
The weather was just beautiful and it was so nice to be outside in the fresh air. Tink did great. We had a nice break at the half-way point and then we had a big meal with the crew when we got back. When we returned to our home Tink got a drink of water and went straight to bed. She chopped wood all night and woke up feeling refreshed : )
Yesterday our life group went for a beautiful 3 mile fall walk and guess who came with us?!?!
That's right our little trooper ; )
the entire crew walking ahead of us
We stopped 1.5 miles up the trail at a stream with tons of rocks
and lots of beautiful picture opportunities
My Nicholas did a beautiful job with the photos : )
The weather was just beautiful and it was so nice to be outside in the fresh air. Tink did great. We had a nice break at the half-way point and then we had a big meal with the crew when we got back. When we returned to our home Tink got a drink of water and went straight to bed. She chopped wood all night and woke up feeling refreshed : )
Saturday, November 04, 2006
A much better day!
We sure made up for yesterday! lets recount:
- Tink and I slept in this morning all snuggly warm (after she spent the night again in bed with us)
- Tink did some errands with me which included a stop where she received lots of attention!
- Tink, Nick & I went to Petsmart where she got to help us pick out gifts for our WOOF! gift swapper! (where she was also mistaken for a baby Boxer and we were asked for some of her puppies when she had some---- thats wrong on so many levels, i can't even begin to get into that at the moment!)
- I stopped in at the dollar store to pick up some christmas containers and I picked up a new shirt for miss tink (we'll post pics soon!)
- When we got home we baked peamutt butter cookies and Tinker got to taste test of course! She also licked out the peanut butter jar (which was a riot by the way), licked out 2 cottage cheese bowls, and begged many liver treats off me today : )
- She also decided she wanted to snuggle with her daddy on the couch while her mum finished up a few things around the house.... Daddy enjoyed it thoroughly
Friday, November 03, 2006
It was a tough day....
We started this morning bright and early at the vets office tomorrow to have a few bb pellet sized tumors on her belly that have changed shape over the past few months. The vet was worried about the tumors at a few of them are mammory tumors. There's also a nebulus kind of tumor on her left leg which also needs to be removed... so she goes in for surgery on tuesday bright and early....
We had bloodwork done this morning (she was such a trooper) while we were at the vet to prepare for the operation next week AND to check for diabetes. I had been noticing how hungry she's been in the past month or so. She also had lost 2.5 lbs since we got her... the GOOD news is however she DOES NOT have diabetes or cushings or anything else... all her bloodwork came back great. I just don't understand where her weight is going... she looks good but always acts so hungry.. we're slowly upping her food intake to see if we can stabilize her hungry pains a little bit!
The vet also looked at her X-rays from the summer and looked at how arthritic her back was. He was very surprised and said that she might be in a lot of pain even though she doesn't act like it. Sigh, i'll get a better joint supplement and put flax seed in her food (and more food too!) and just take as good a care of her as we can. My poor girl. She's so happy and full of life though, she's getting the best she can now and I believe she's enjoying every minute of it.
Operations are expensive... we're just praying that the surgery goes quickly and it is on the low end of the estimate rather than the high end. I trust Dr. Haver very much and know he's working in her best interest, but this is all happening so quickly.
So thats the latest with our little one.... it was quite the day, but we made it up to her with a marrow bone and then we went to McKrackens and bought some chicken treats and a meaty knuckle for her later this weekend : )
We had bloodwork done this morning (she was such a trooper) while we were at the vet to prepare for the operation next week AND to check for diabetes. I had been noticing how hungry she's been in the past month or so. She also had lost 2.5 lbs since we got her... the GOOD news is however she DOES NOT have diabetes or cushings or anything else... all her bloodwork came back great. I just don't understand where her weight is going... she looks good but always acts so hungry.. we're slowly upping her food intake to see if we can stabilize her hungry pains a little bit!
The vet also looked at her X-rays from the summer and looked at how arthritic her back was. He was very surprised and said that she might be in a lot of pain even though she doesn't act like it. Sigh, i'll get a better joint supplement and put flax seed in her food (and more food too!) and just take as good a care of her as we can. My poor girl. She's so happy and full of life though, she's getting the best she can now and I believe she's enjoying every minute of it.
Operations are expensive... we're just praying that the surgery goes quickly and it is on the low end of the estimate rather than the high end. I trust Dr. Haver very much and know he's working in her best interest, but this is all happening so quickly.So thats the latest with our little one.... it was quite the day, but we made it up to her with a marrow bone and then we went to McKrackens and bought some chicken treats and a meaty knuckle for her later this weekend : )
NEBtRescue
I've decided to be a part of the North East Boston Terrier Rescue and to help out with house visits, transport and eventually fostering... although i am filling out the fostering application... so we shall see. I love the breed and feel a real passion to help in any way i can : ) The group seems really nice and well organized, it should be a lot of fun in the process. We're just at the very beginning but we'll update as we know more and do more with them : )
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