That look is why she gets absolutely everything she wants.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
A story of hope and progress (For Miles)
There's a story I've been wanting to tell about Bella's progress for a while now but so many other things kept taking precedence. Then something rather serendipitous happened this weekend that made the telling a priority. Let me start with that and then I'll get onto Bella's story.
I woke up Sunday morning to the most interesting message that had been left at Bella's Facebook page. It was from the hu-mom of a dog in Australia named Miles and Miles, it seems looks a LOT like Bella. Acts a lot like her too, from what I can tell.
See, Miles' hu-mom had been writing on a local shelter board to find stable, 'bomb-proof' dogs that would be willing to help Miles get over his fear of dogs when our friend Jet over at jet's furkid palace told her about our Bella.
Miles has dog-reactivity just like Bella does but with a slightly different story. I haven't yet asked permission to share his story here so I'll save that for another day but I wanted to write about one of Bella's recent stories to give Miles' mom some encouragement about what these fearful dogs can do with a little time and a lot of patience.
I've written recently about Bella' shoulder injury that had us traipsing all over town for various treatments and examinations. Back in March, we took her into Boston for the first time to visit noted neurologist, Dr. Allen Sisson at Angell Animal Medical Center. I had never been to Angell before and have to say, I was incredibly impressed.
The place looks like a well-funded big city hospital: big, clean, modern, high-tech. The waiting areas for the animals are spacious and separated: dogs in one area, cats in another, yet a third for birds and exotics. Even better, there were two areas for each!
I, now the master of scoping the world for imminent Bella danger, chose the area to the left of the entrance which was empty and hoped against hope it would remain so until we could get Bella into an examination room.
Nice thought.
We were soon joined by a couple whose beautiful yellow Lab was waiting with them on a gurney. Poor old guy was really sick (although we did see him leave of his own volition later in the day) so I knew he was no threat to Bella. She knew it, too. But they were soon joined by another yellow Lab whose owner was more interested in talking to the sick dog's owners than watching her own.
I knew what was coming and knelt down in front of Bella to get her focus on me and doing our training. "Bella, look." Click. Treat. Good girl. "Bella, down." Click. Treat. Good girl.
I'm doing all this quite loudly and obviously - trying to make a point to the other owners that my dog needs special attention when all of a sudden, I feel the telltale sign of a dog's breath on the back of my neck. Not MY dog, this lady's dog. He's so close to us, I can actually feel him sniffing my hair!
"Bella, look." Click. Treat. Good girl. "Bella, down." Click. Treat. Oh you remarkable girl!
And finally "Can you PLEASE get your dog away from my dog?"
I am not one for conflict. In fact, I avoid it at all costs. But in my time with Bella I have learned that I am the only advocate she has so I have learned to speak up on her behalf. I'm sure many people have decided I'm just plain rude. Surely this woman with her beautiful, stable, friendly Lab walked away with that impression.
But here's the kicker. This dog, in this strange and stressful place, got within a couple of feet of Bella, with me in between and how did Bella react? With a small, quiet growl. As soon as I spoke up, she stopped, laid down and looked at me.
Oh Bella, you are a remarkable girl.
I was so proud of her.
The folks in the waiting room probably thought we were the most awful people they'd ever met with a dog who didn't deserve to be out in public. But I was over the moon with pride at how my little girl handled herself. Was she happy? No, not really. Was she scared? Yeah, probably some. But did she handle it all without causing a scene? Absolutely. And I couldn't have been prouder.
So Miles' mom? I know you're going through some difficult times right now. I'm sure you want to die of embarassment at times, weep in frustration at others. Hang in there, though. You can do this and so can Miles. Patience and practice.
And if you ever need encouragement, stop in here or a few of the other blogs we know who are dealing with similar issues: Life with Desmond, Rescued Insanity, Oh My Dog! and Adventures of a Cattle Dog. We all know the pride and heartbreak of life with a crazy dog (or two or three).
If nothing else, you'll discover you're not alone. Maybe you'll even decide to start your own blog letting us follow Miles' progress. In any case, please drop me a note again someday to let me know how it's going. I have a lot of faith in you, your boy and your dog. You can do this. And I know Miles is worth every frustrating minute of it.
I woke up Sunday morning to the most interesting message that had been left at Bella's Facebook page. It was from the hu-mom of a dog in Australia named Miles and Miles, it seems looks a LOT like Bella. Acts a lot like her too, from what I can tell.
See, Miles' hu-mom had been writing on a local shelter board to find stable, 'bomb-proof' dogs that would be willing to help Miles get over his fear of dogs when our friend Jet over at jet's furkid palace told her about our Bella.
Miles has dog-reactivity just like Bella does but with a slightly different story. I haven't yet asked permission to share his story here so I'll save that for another day but I wanted to write about one of Bella's recent stories to give Miles' mom some encouragement about what these fearful dogs can do with a little time and a lot of patience.
 |
| Hi Miles! Nice to virtually meet you! |
I've written recently about Bella' shoulder injury that had us traipsing all over town for various treatments and examinations. Back in March, we took her into Boston for the first time to visit noted neurologist, Dr. Allen Sisson at Angell Animal Medical Center. I had never been to Angell before and have to say, I was incredibly impressed.
The place looks like a well-funded big city hospital: big, clean, modern, high-tech. The waiting areas for the animals are spacious and separated: dogs in one area, cats in another, yet a third for birds and exotics. Even better, there were two areas for each!
I, now the master of scoping the world for imminent Bella danger, chose the area to the left of the entrance which was empty and hoped against hope it would remain so until we could get Bella into an examination room.
Nice thought.
We were soon joined by a couple whose beautiful yellow Lab was waiting with them on a gurney. Poor old guy was really sick (although we did see him leave of his own volition later in the day) so I knew he was no threat to Bella. She knew it, too. But they were soon joined by another yellow Lab whose owner was more interested in talking to the sick dog's owners than watching her own.
I knew what was coming and knelt down in front of Bella to get her focus on me and doing our training. "Bella, look." Click. Treat. Good girl. "Bella, down." Click. Treat. Good girl.
I'm doing all this quite loudly and obviously - trying to make a point to the other owners that my dog needs special attention when all of a sudden, I feel the telltale sign of a dog's breath on the back of my neck. Not MY dog, this lady's dog. He's so close to us, I can actually feel him sniffing my hair!
"Bella, look." Click. Treat. Good girl. "Bella, down." Click. Treat. Oh you remarkable girl!
And finally "Can you PLEASE get your dog away from my dog?"
 |
| Insert gratuitous picture of pretty dog here. |
I am not one for conflict. In fact, I avoid it at all costs. But in my time with Bella I have learned that I am the only advocate she has so I have learned to speak up on her behalf. I'm sure many people have decided I'm just plain rude. Surely this woman with her beautiful, stable, friendly Lab walked away with that impression.
But here's the kicker. This dog, in this strange and stressful place, got within a couple of feet of Bella, with me in between and how did Bella react? With a small, quiet growl. As soon as I spoke up, she stopped, laid down and looked at me.
Oh Bella, you are a remarkable girl.
I was so proud of her.
The folks in the waiting room probably thought we were the most awful people they'd ever met with a dog who didn't deserve to be out in public. But I was over the moon with pride at how my little girl handled herself. Was she happy? No, not really. Was she scared? Yeah, probably some. But did she handle it all without causing a scene? Absolutely. And I couldn't have been prouder.
So Miles' mom? I know you're going through some difficult times right now. I'm sure you want to die of embarassment at times, weep in frustration at others. Hang in there, though. You can do this and so can Miles. Patience and practice.
And if you ever need encouragement, stop in here or a few of the other blogs we know who are dealing with similar issues: Life with Desmond, Rescued Insanity, Oh My Dog! and Adventures of a Cattle Dog. We all know the pride and heartbreak of life with a crazy dog (or two or three).
If nothing else, you'll discover you're not alone. Maybe you'll even decide to start your own blog letting us follow Miles' progress. In any case, please drop me a note again someday to let me know how it's going. I have a lot of faith in you, your boy and your dog. You can do this. And I know Miles is worth every frustrating minute of it.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Wordless Wednesday 91 - Snowflake
We're still in recovery mode here at Casa de Bella so here's a picture of a pretty cat.
Bella is doing fine. Thanks to all for the support and encouragement - you got me through a "ruff" day.
Bella is doing fine. Thanks to all for the support and encouragement - you got me through a "ruff" day.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
It has been a "ruff" day
I had a great post planned about my BlogPaws experience but today has really been one of those "Awful, horrible, terrible, no good, very bad day(s)".
First things first: Bella is okay.
But let me start by bringing you up-to-date about Bella's health. On April 16th, Bella had a second steroid injection for her shoulder injury which lasted exactly 24 days. Resigned to pain management and medication, we started her on Metacam on May 13th.
The improvement was immediate and remarkable.
Bella seemed to realize she was no longer in pain and was initiating play with me and showing more eagerness to run now that she knew it would not leave her limping for days afterwards. We have still been taking it easy and slow at agility - no jumps or A-frame in her future, sadly.
But she's been doing really well and we were relieved to finally be able to provide a reprieve from her pain.
And then there was today.
Bella woke me early today insistent that I take her out. As I staggered through the house to find something to put on my feet, I noticed two small spots where she had vomited.
Bella has, in the past, vomited bile in the morning due to her nervous, empty stomach. So I thought little of it and headed outside with her intending to holler at Jan that Bella left him a present in the master bedroom.
(Oh yes, it may be helpful regarding my state of mind to know that last week, Jan and I moved into the spare bedroom because, for whatever reason, Bella now refuses to sleep in the master bedroom. More on that someday in the future.)
Moving right along...
While we were out, I could immediately tell Bella didn't feel well as she chowed down on grass. I could see that kind of creepy, little smile she gives right before she hurls and encouraged her to "Get it out, honey. We've all been there."
All well and good until I came back in and started to clean up the mess she left in the bedroom. (Yes, I am awesome, I know. Thank you.)
As I cleaned up her puke, though, I noticed there were red bits of spew in it. I thought for sure it couldn't possibly be blood, right? I ran outside to poke through the puke she has deposited out there (oh the things we pet parents do) and found the same red splotches.
It scared the crap out of me.
Of course, this only begins to describe the start of my "awful, horrible, terrible, no good, very bad day" because after all of this, I went to work. Whereupon it became immediately obvious that the sole victim of the currently raging political firestorm was going to be: me. I can't carry on too much about that except to say the first thing I ate today was a Twix bar at 2:37 in the afternoon. That was also when I had my first cup of coffee. (Food I can live without. No coffee puts those around me at risk.)
Next up, there was a bit of a mishap with a volunteer project on which I'm assisting. And finally Jan, as a friend of mine noted, should have had just a little more "situational awareness" not to press me about which shower handle I preferred before he placed the order with the glass company. (Sorry, sweetie. Dan was the first person to get a smile out of me all day. Sorry it was at your expense.)
In the midst of all that, frantic phone calls to vets were made: Bella had recently had a series of vaccines at our primary vet - what were they? Is there any chance they caused this? Our Neuroligist had prescribed the Metacam for her shoulder. Could this be the cause? Dr. Sisson, please advice? Or could it be the behavioral medications prescribed by Dr. Dodman? In combination with the Metacam? Calling Tufts Behavioral Clinic, stat.
My primary vet wanted to see her in the office today but I wanted to wait to hear back from the specialists before setting up that appointment. Dr. Sisson from Angell Animal Medical Center responded immediately chastising us that we hadn't notified him earlier. We were to stop giving Bella the Metacam and cut off all food for 24 hours.
"So it goes..."
Which brings me to this moment where my dog is sitting behind me mumbling and muttering at the back of my head because "It is time for her after-dinner chicken!", don't ya know. Not that she had dinner but we had to get her behavioral meds in her somehow.
So that folks, is lame excuse #497 why I did not write the blog post I intended to tonight.
Bella, of course, seems fine, if a little disgruntled that she didn't get her dinner. I took her outside to run and play in an effort to distract her and she was totally game. She even, gasp!, played fetch for a few tennis ball tosses.
I'm sure she is going to be fine. I also know that folks out there have had their dogs on Metacam before. I was so concerned about Rimadyl but my Lab was on Rimadyl for 5 years and he never threw up blood. Were my concerns misplaced?
Dr. Sisson says once she has not thrown up for three days, we can restart the Metacam but I'm not sure I want to. Have you ever had a dog that threw up blood and successfully went back on Metacam?
PS - To add final insult to this "awful, horrible, terrible, no good, very bad day" while I was writing this post, my blog host decided to log me out. Luckily, I was able to salvage it and not have to re-write the entire thing.
I think I'm just going to go to bed and cuddle with my doggie now before anything else blows up on me.
First things first: Bella is okay.
But let me start by bringing you up-to-date about Bella's health. On April 16th, Bella had a second steroid injection for her shoulder injury which lasted exactly 24 days. Resigned to pain management and medication, we started her on Metacam on May 13th.
The improvement was immediate and remarkable.
Bella seemed to realize she was no longer in pain and was initiating play with me and showing more eagerness to run now that she knew it would not leave her limping for days afterwards. We have still been taking it easy and slow at agility - no jumps or A-frame in her future, sadly.
But she's been doing really well and we were relieved to finally be able to provide a reprieve from her pain.
And then there was today.
 |
| I can't imagine what you're talking about. I am NOT high maintenance. |
Bella has, in the past, vomited bile in the morning due to her nervous, empty stomach. So I thought little of it and headed outside with her intending to holler at Jan that Bella left him a present in the master bedroom.
(Oh yes, it may be helpful regarding my state of mind to know that last week, Jan and I moved into the spare bedroom because, for whatever reason, Bella now refuses to sleep in the master bedroom. More on that someday in the future.)
Moving right along...
While we were out, I could immediately tell Bella didn't feel well as she chowed down on grass. I could see that kind of creepy, little smile she gives right before she hurls and encouraged her to "Get it out, honey. We've all been there."
All well and good until I came back in and started to clean up the mess she left in the bedroom. (Yes, I am awesome, I know. Thank you.)
As I cleaned up her puke, though, I noticed there were red bits of spew in it. I thought for sure it couldn't possibly be blood, right? I ran outside to poke through the puke she has deposited out there (oh the things we pet parents do) and found the same red splotches.
It scared the crap out of me.
Of course, this only begins to describe the start of my "awful, horrible, terrible, no good, very bad day" because after all of this, I went to work. Whereupon it became immediately obvious that the sole victim of the currently raging political firestorm was going to be: me. I can't carry on too much about that except to say the first thing I ate today was a Twix bar at 2:37 in the afternoon. That was also when I had my first cup of coffee. (Food I can live without. No coffee puts those around me at risk.)
Next up, there was a bit of a mishap with a volunteer project on which I'm assisting. And finally Jan, as a friend of mine noted, should have had just a little more "situational awareness" not to press me about which shower handle I preferred before he placed the order with the glass company. (Sorry, sweetie. Dan was the first person to get a smile out of me all day. Sorry it was at your expense.)
In the midst of all that, frantic phone calls to vets were made: Bella had recently had a series of vaccines at our primary vet - what were they? Is there any chance they caused this? Our Neuroligist had prescribed the Metacam for her shoulder. Could this be the cause? Dr. Sisson, please advice? Or could it be the behavioral medications prescribed by Dr. Dodman? In combination with the Metacam? Calling Tufts Behavioral Clinic, stat.
My primary vet wanted to see her in the office today but I wanted to wait to hear back from the specialists before setting up that appointment. Dr. Sisson from Angell Animal Medical Center responded immediately chastising us that we hadn't notified him earlier. We were to stop giving Bella the Metacam and cut off all food for 24 hours.
"So it goes..."
Which brings me to this moment where my dog is sitting behind me mumbling and muttering at the back of my head because "It is time for her after-dinner chicken!", don't ya know. Not that she had dinner but we had to get her behavioral meds in her somehow.
So that folks, is lame excuse #497 why I did not write the blog post I intended to tonight.
Bella, of course, seems fine, if a little disgruntled that she didn't get her dinner. I took her outside to run and play in an effort to distract her and she was totally game. She even, gasp!, played fetch for a few tennis ball tosses.
I'm sure she is going to be fine. I also know that folks out there have had their dogs on Metacam before. I was so concerned about Rimadyl but my Lab was on Rimadyl for 5 years and he never threw up blood. Were my concerns misplaced?
Dr. Sisson says once she has not thrown up for three days, we can restart the Metacam but I'm not sure I want to. Have you ever had a dog that threw up blood and successfully went back on Metacam?
PS - To add final insult to this "awful, horrible, terrible, no good, very bad day" while I was writing this post, my blog host decided to log me out. Luckily, I was able to salvage it and not have to re-write the entire thing.
I think I'm just going to go to bed and cuddle with my doggie now before anything else blows up on me.
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