Wordy Wednesday 130 - Bella here

Hello friends,

Bella here.

Mom says she's sorry she hasn't been posting recently muttering something about her crazy dog taking up all her time. Does she have another dog somewhere because I do not believe she'd call me crazy. Not to my face anyway. Would she?

Anyway, I told her if she wasn't going to update you on all things me, I would and so she let me take over the keyboard for a bit. But this is really hard without opposable thumbs so it'll be short.

I wanted to thank everyone who has been sending me all their positive vibes - I can really feel how much everyone is rooting for me to get better.

Mom and Dad took me to the Foster Small Animal Hospital today for something they called an "MRI" but all that happened was mom ran back and forth between the car and the building and when she came out one last time, we drove home. That was okay with me because I was starving since they had somehow forgotten to feed me my breakfast! Can you imagine?

I think I heard that we're going to go back there again tomorrow. If this "MRI" thing means I just get to drive in the car and hang out around the hospital for a little while and then get extra treats and cuddles, I think I'd be game to go for one every day.

My front legs have been feeling pretty sore though and mom won't let me do anything like run or jump or go downstairs or even get on the furniture. She keeps saying they're going to fix me up and I sure hope they do because I'm getting a little tired of the pain.

My tummy's been feeling good though. No diarrhea or puking in a few months so that's all good. And now I get this really spiffy food for dinner that mom cooks on the weekends for me. It tastes so good I even usually eat all my breakfast without a fuss now. And mom's happy about what comes out the other end, if you know what I mean. She keeps telling me I'm a good girl but I'm kind of only doing what comes natural, you know?

Mom's reminding me that I should tell you all I've been a real good and brave girl especially considering how they've been letting people I don't know poke and prod me. Says I've been "a real trooper" through all this. (I think that means she's glad I haven't bitten anyone lately. Yeah, well, don't push it lady, we all have our limits.)

So that's all the news that's fit to print about me today. If you happen to think of it tomorrow, give me a 'power of the paw' nod because I don't think "MRI" means sit outside the hospital and eat cookies. I could be wrong but I'm a little nervous about it.

Mom's been keeping all my friends on Facebook informed if you want to drop by there tomorrow night, she'll probably tell you how it went.

Thanks again for thinking of me. I may run away from you if we were ever to meet in person but I'm okay with meeting you all in cyberspace.

Your pal,
Bella

Wordless Wednesday 129 - Are you talking to me?

"A list of all good things"

So before Bella blew up a disc in her neck, we were chatting happily about the behavioral path we've been on with her since just after Christmas. I told you about how she had flipped out on me just before Christmas and our conversation with Dr. Dodman and his staff and what treatment option we chose to pursue with his team. Tonight, I'll finally get around to telling you how it's been going.

When we last spoke, Jan and I had chosen to add Gabapentin - a neurogenic pain medication with anti-convulsant properties - to Bella's treatment regime.

As a recap, Bella's still on Soloxine (for sub-clinical hypothyroidism) as well as Fluoxetine (anti-anxiety) but we've taken her off the Clonidine (our original wonder drug) and switched it for the Gabapentin. She still gets a tiny bit of Clonidine for especially noisy situations like snow-blowers, thunderstorms and snow falling from rooftops.

So how has it been going? Well, here's a list of things Jan and I have said to each other about Bella over the last couple of months:

• "She slept through New Years' Eve fireworks without so much as a blink."
• "She closes her eyes when I pet her."
• "She actually fell asleep when I was petting her!"
• "Wait, did she just come in to bed without the usual histrionics?"
• "She comes and gets in her own bed as soon as the lights are out."
• "She sniffed a fly! Come here, watch!"
• "She slept right through me stepping over her in the closet."
• "She slept through the morning squirrel crossing!"

Also of note:

• Her ears are up and happy.
• Her face is softer and eyes more relaxed.
• And she requests petting sessions.

I still don't really know what's going on: has she been suffering from nerve-pain and twitchy-tingling for oh these many years and has finally found relief? (I have reason to believe she has...) Or is she really experiencing a seizure-like episode? I'll go deeper into what we believe is going on in our next chapter.

Whatever it is, we'll figure it out. Because, if you haven't guessed already, we're in this for the long haul. Whatever it takes, whatever she needs. Bella is ours and we are her forever family.

We see the neurologist again on Thursday and hope to be making some decisions at that time about her neck problems. Thank you for all the kind words and helpful suggestions on how to entertain her in the meantime. We will keep you posted.

Black & White Sunday: Open to suggestions

So Bella is more than a little bored being on 'crate' rest for her second week. We've pulled out all the stops: stuffed Kongs, Nina Ottoson puzzles, photo sessions, even toenail trimming practice for treats but she's still bored.

How do you entertain your dogs when they're on crate rest? Got any ideas we haven't tried? Let us know in the comments.

Bella, and her exasperated mom, thank you.

This was supposed to be a list of all good things...

I know everyone is waiting to hear how well Bella is doing on her new protocol and believe me, I do have that list formulating. But if you've dropped by our Facebook page recently, you'll know we hit another bump in our road to Bella's happy and carefree life.

Last Tuesday night Bella hurt herself again. We don't know if she awakened an old injury or created a new one but she had an unexpected visit to Tufts Emergency Hospital on Wednesday and is in strict rest and recovery mode at this time. It appears to be a ruptured disc in her neck and we're not sure if it's a new, unrelated injury or a degenerative disease related to her previous lameness.

Needless to say we're all a bit subdued here at Casa de Bella and in a bit of a wait and see mood.

Bella has been a very good and tolerant patient through all of it. They even wrote that she was "a good girl for her exams today and wonderful to work with" in her release notes from the hospital.

In the meantime, she's getting lots of pampering and allowing lots of snuggles. And until next time, we leave you with a glimpse into a recent snugglefest.

In case you think I live in fear of my dog...

I don't.

Or she a life in fear of me.

She doesn't.

As always, thanks for following our crazy dog. We'll be back next week to tell you all how great she's doing.