Taz...

Our little black Pom, Taz, is not doing too well, again. The vet says he will be surprised if she makes it another month, and although he didn't say it, I could tell he thinks we should put her down. Having had to do this less than two months ago with Boo, I get extremely upset even thinking about putting another one of our pets down. These three dogs have been part of my life for many years, and the house seems a lot less full with one gone, and I can't imagine what it will be like when Taz is gone. She is the one I always said I would miss the most since she has always been my constant companion. Wherever I am, she wants to be there.. even now when she can't walk and has to be carried from one location to another. Whatever room I am in, we make sure she is where she can see me at all times. If not, she gets distressed and starts fussing. It is actually funny to watch, because as soon as I stick my head around the corner where she can see me, she will hush.

She is steadily losing weight, and she has always been a great eater, but not so much anymore. Last night was a rough night. She had a very upset stomach and this is not a good situation when you can't walk. She finally settled down and seemed to rest about 3:30 this morning after being up since midnight. She would not eat this morning, and drank very little. I don't even like thinking about what the weekend will mean for her. At some point, we have to say enough is enough. We have spent over three thousand dollars trying to get her healthy, and nothing is working. I would gladly spend three thousand more if I could see any sign that she is improving, but I haven't, and at some point we have to decide if we just are just keeping her alive because we don't want to be without her. If she has lived out her days on this earth, and it is her time to go, then I want to do what is best for her, and let her go. Actually walking in the vet's office and telling him we believe it is time is what is going to suck. Especially for my husband.

Not no, BUT HELL NO!!!

When I was at Daughter's house the other night playing with the kids, out of the blue BT told his mama he wanted her to have another baby. I immediately said, "She needs another baby like a 14 year old needs another baby!.... Enough said. She loves the ones she has, but she doesn't need anymore, AND, she is single! Good grief!!!

There may be some hope after all!

Yesterday after leaving work I went to Daughter's house instead of them coming to my house. The weather was nice and she wanted the kids to play outside in their own backyard for a change. When I got there, they were all outside playing. BK was on the trampoline and BT was throwing the frisbee with his mother (or as much as anyone can throw a frisbee with someone who is obsessed with her phone).. But, I won't get off on that soapbox right now. So, when BT realized I was there, he knew he would have all of my attention because I am all about talking to the people I am with... I know, I know...it is hard to get off that soapbox.. Anyway, we started throwing the frisbee and he was doing a great job of chasing down the frisbee and catching it. I commented on it several times and told him he might need to reconsider playing baseball since he was so good at catching the frisbee. Out of the clear blue sky, he ran and got his baseball and we started throwing it and catching it with our bare hands. He was catching almost everything I threw to him. And, he throws really well for an almost six year old. He is very accurate. Then, out of the clear blue sky, again, he ran and got his bat and asked me to pitch to him. (I am almost beside myself at this point). I pitched and he knocked the crap out of the ball.... HITTING LEFT HANDED.. I mentioned something about him throwing right handed and hitting left handed, and he said... THAT IS HOW I LIKE TO HIT AND THROW!!! He said he LIKED something related to sports!!!! As any good G would do, or say, I told him all the coaches would love to have him on his team and I swear he stood up a little taller when I told him that. Then Daughter walked out and saw what was going on and told him she had gotten an email from the coach yesterday about playing ball. Usually he runs in the other direction when baseball is mentioned, or very adamantly reminds us THAT HE QUIT last year BECAUSE HE DOES NOT LIKE SPORTS!!!! I am telling you those are some sad words for me to hear. BUT, he seems really interested this year, and wants to practice again, with me pitching. We stayed outside until it was too dark to see the ball anymore. And, when he went inside to eat his dinner, he was still talking about it..

There may be some hope after all.... a G can hope!

New Orleans Saints v. Minnesota Vikings

This is the ultimate football show down if you live in these parts! Brett Favre is from Kiln Mississippi, and Deuce McAllister is a Mississippi native and actually lives in the same town I live in.

Sunday will be a fantastic game between two really good teams! Ultimate football showdown! GEAUX SAINTS!!!!!

Hanging out with the grandkids...

Monday was a school holiday for BT and for some reason the daycare followed suit and closed as well. I thought this was strange as it would appear that parents who depend on daycare would be put in a bind and either have to to take off work, or find someone to keep their children when daycare chooses to follow the school's schedule. I thought that was the purpose of daycare, to keep kids when parents are working!!! It just doesn't make much sense to me. But, anyway, I took off work and kept the kids so Daughter would not have to.

When I got the kids, we talked about what a beautiful day it was, their weekend with their dad, ran a couple of "G" errands, and then it was on to whatever they wanted to do. First stop for them was Barnes & Noble. They love this store and the first thing BT noticed when we walked in the door was a Christmas sale table. He found a puppet, pondered a stuffed gingerbread man, and BK found a "punkin" left over from Halloween. Nothing we needed, but since it was 75% off, I gave in, again. We also purchased a balloon animal making kit and a polar bear for a school project on Friday. BT informed me he needed something that lives outside in the cold. As soon as he saw the polar bear, he knew that was it, although I am pretty sure I have purchased at least one polar bear previously and it is resting in the top of his closet.

BK was just along for the ride. She spent about 30 minutes in a chair in the kids' department listening to musical books and singing along. I think she may be a future candidate for American Idol.. She loves to sing. We stayed at B&N until they were ready to move on to something else... like ice cream, but unfortunately, the ice cream shop was not open at 10:35 A.M. on Monday morning. We then ran through the car wash, which they love to do, and then headed to McDonald's for a "nutritious" lunch of chicken nuggets, although I feel sure they were both more concerned about what chipmunk from Alvin and the Chipmunks they would get with the lunch, and unfortunately, they were out of Alvin characters and gave them some super hero character that neither one could identify. Although they do not pay any attention to the previous Alvin character they obtained with their chicken nuggets on another day, not getting one today was a bit distressing for some reason.

We then headed to Gramere's for lunch with her, and then back home to practice our puppet show and balloon animal making skills. I always try to let the kids play by themselves some because I think this is when they are most creative, especially BT. BK on the other hand, test me with "let's see what I can get into while G is not looking." She is definitely her mother's child.

I cleaned off the deck and got ready to grill hamburgers for dinner. It was another great day with the grandkids...

How about them Saints!!!!

Taz...

Two weeks before Boo died, our little black pom started losing the use of her hind legs. We took her to the vet and they were unable to determine what was wrong with her. They took x-rays, but found nothing. They prescribed steroids in the event it was a bulging disc, but this did not help, and in fact she seemed to get worse. Then she lost the use of her front legs. There are no local vets with MRI equipment, so I took off work last Tuesday and took her to Mississippi State University Vet School. This was the day after Boo died, so it was a very emotional trip. And, I had to leave Taz there, which made it even worse. I thought we would get an MRI and come right back home and they would call us with the results. The vet student that was helping me was the best. Her name was Danielle, and because of her, it was easier to leave Taz behind for a few days. Dr. Baez told me there was probably a list of 50 things that could be the problem, and an MRI would help us narrow it down.

The MRI indicated she has 3 disc compressions in her neck. She will need to go back on steroids if we have any hope of resolving this issue, but she has to be off previoius steroids for 2 weeks before she can begin new steroids. And, a neurologist (I didn't know there were doggie neurologist) looked at her and he said she has all the symptoms of Cushing's Disease. Panting, extreme thirst which leads to increased urination, dull coat, etc. If that is the case, she has had it for years and we had no idea, and our local vet never picked up on this. The Cushing's can be treated, but she has to be off the steroids she was originally taking for 2 weeks before she can be tested. So, for now, we have a dog that can't walk, but is otherwise healthy, and happy most of the time, unless we leave her sight. She eats well, goes potty, communicates with us, etc., she just can't walk. We put a sling around her belly to take her to the bathroom, and she handles this quite well. She can crawl on her belly pretty well with limited use of her legs, but she can't stand up.

Next week we will have her tested for Cushing's and then put her back on steroids in hopes of resolving the compressions in her neck, and then hopefully she can walk again. The doctor at MSU didn't give us much hope for some reason, but the vet student, Danielle, was a lot more positive. She even called me daily, on her personal cell phone, to give me updates on Taz, and then called after we brought her home to check on her. I am believing the vet student is on to something. This is one tough little dog, even at 11 years old, and if any dog can recover, she is the one.

I am pulling for you 100% TAZ!!!

RIP Boo... you are missed..

Boo, our pomeranian that was 14 years old, had to be put down November 30. He was in kidney failure. Apparently he had been sick for a while, but we really didn't notice it. He appeared to be getting frail, but we attributed it to his age. He has always been healthy and has rarely been to the vet for anything other than routine exams. But, when he finally appeared sick, the end was near. It is our understanding we could not have done anything to help him, or save him, even if we had realized something was wrong and taken him to the vet. We discussed at great length what needed to be done, and in the end, he let us know it was his time.

We had him cremated and have ordered a box with his name on it as his final resting place. We don't have any place to bury him, so we decided to just bring him back home. Hopefully he will be back by the end of this week.

I have cried many, many tears over the loss of this animal. There is a huge hole in my heart right now. I look for him every time I walk in the door. I miss his barking at "Are Not," our neighbor's dog. I miss him running after his ball in the front yard. I miss him begging for a treat. I miss everything about him.

I love you Boo..