Category Archives: Pups

NaBloPoMo Ends Today!

Well, I did it! Thirty days of blogging. Yippee! I’m not sure if I’ll continue, beyond this one-month mark but hey, it was kinda fun. I mean, I like writing, so I guess it wasn’t really that hard to just do something I enjoy every day…

So Remy update. The temps last night dipped below freezing, and even though I put her next to a heater, she seemed really achy again. We didn’t make it to the park at all. In the afternoon,  I called the vet to inquire about the meds. For example, at what point should I start to see the max positive effect of the drugs? After 3 days? After one week? I had to ask the tech the question a couple times, but it seems like a pretty straight-forward inquiry to me. You know, like you have an ailment. You take meds. There’s some improvement. Is the improvement supposed to keep ramping up over time as you take the meds longer, or does it plateau at a certain point. So she called me back, and the vet said one week on the  Meloxicam + Tramadol combo. By Sunday, it will be five days, and I hope that’ll be a good enough read. In the meantime, the vet said to keep exercising her so the muscles don’t atrophy and to add glucosamine. The pet stores are already closed, so I ordered on Amazon and they arrive tomorrow. Gotta love Amazon. I guess I could have gotten it in the morning, but eh, I’m a unabomber these days.

Today I had an info interview with someone who now works at Duke. She was super, super helpful. She’s been going through her own exploratory process, so she suggested a few personal dev/growth books and just shared some really helpful insights and observations about foundation work. I’m so thankful. We talked for TWO hours. Tomorrow I hope to go forth implementing some of her suggestions.

Progress

When Remy got up this morning, she really had a tough time. Her left hind leg just kept giving out, such that every time she would walk, the whole lower half of her body would just start to curl and tuck to the left. It was not good. After showing progress the day before, this seemed like a bad sign. But I proceeded as discussed with the vet: Remy had taken Meloxicam for three days, and now it was time to introduce the Tramadol. I fed her and then gave her the meds. By late morning, she was still hobbling, but shit, she got herself up, and somehow we managed to walk to the park!! Woohoo. When we got there, she was super tuckered, so we copped a squat and just enjoyed the sunshine for 20 minutes. Then we headed home. She still sniffs the park grasses– she seemed to enjoy herself. By evening, she looked better– still weak but moving, which is such a relief. We’re not out of the woods yet, but I’m hopeful. My little Bembo is so fucking tough!

In the afternoon, I left the house to drop off Adamo at the UPS store. The store happened to be across the street from Target, so of course, that necessitated a pit stop. I just scored some basics. Shit there can be so cheap when on sale!!

A few of my friends got sick over Thanksgiving, and that was enough to get me to the clinic for a flu shot. Omg, sitting in that waiting room surrounded by screaming kids, my throat suddenly felt scratchy. Ugh. Afterwards, I made another stop at the office. I know, I was just there yesterday, but it’s right next door to my doctor’s office. Plus, I had to drop off some mail for M. Well, an hour later, I was still stuck there catching up with people… I really like the people there, but sometimes I just feel kinda like I’m disrupting their work zone… plus, it feels a little weird to have left but then to be there regularly for fun, right??

For dinner, I tried a new Skinnytaste recipe: curry chicken. After having tried a number of their more savory, sauce-like dishes, John and I have concluded that we need to go elsewhere for those heartier dishes. These last few ones I have cooked are just too damn soupy and bland. Note to self.

I’m still following up with ranch contacts. Goddamn, I hope people start registering for shit. Come on, peeps!! Get those kids in horse camps and lessons already!!

Ok well I have my twelfth info interview tomorrow with a lady who now works at Duke, of all places. Small world, right? I also tidied the house up a bit tonight. We decided to host a party next Saturday, so I gotta start clearing my clutter. I swear to god, the work just never ends. I’m pooped. That said, I’m looking forward to tomorrow when Remy will be back to her old self. Maybe. 🙂

Catching Up with My Peeps

I went to the office today to meet some former co-workers for lunch. It’s always a weird feeling being back at the office. I feel like I’m running out of ways to respond when people ask me what I’m doing. I feel like I have to justify my non-working status. Then, when I stand in the lobby by the mail cabinet, I have to catch myself several times, because my body like automatically wants to open the drawer and check for any mail! Same thing with the sign-in sheet. Argh, stop it! I don’t work there anymore!!!

Lunch with my friends was good. We tried a new Himalayan restaurant in the area. Both friends recently bought houses, so we checked out one of their places. She had just finished remodeling. That house shit is amazing. You know me: I love the before and after transformation.

Remy is doing better today. She is able to get herself up, but the walking is still really challenging. I’m so thankful to be home most of the day, so I can monitor her and open the side door whenever she needs to go to the bathroom. Tomorrow, I plan to introduce the tramadol pain killer to the melloxicam anti-inflammatory, and then I’m really crossing my fingers for the synergistic effect by the weekend. My Remy is the toughest cookie ever.

In the evening, T came over for dinner. I served a sampling of all my dishes from the last few days. I called it “leftover tapas.” I think she was impressed. Haha. We went for a walk… damn Fitbit. Everyone’s fallen off of the program. I have no fucking idea how I managed to clock like 13k steps a day when I was working. Nowadays, I’m lucky if I clock a couple thousand. How quickly things change. Speaking of which, I was looking in the mirror yesterday, and goddamn my arms are flabby. Fucking A. You let up for a few months and bam, shit slides. So now I have a little dumbell on my desk. I’m trying to do that slow weight-lifting thing to combat the muscular atrophy. Yes, it’s my lazy woman’s version of exercise!

On tap for tomorrow? Remy patrol. More hustlin’: ranch follow-ups and info interview research. I have my twelfth info interview scheduled for Thursday.

A Day at a Time

I didn’t sleep well again last night… I know, what’s new, right? John stayed out in the living room with the pups, and then he fell asleep. He’s such a deep sleeper, that hubby. In the middle of the night, I heard Martin scratching his bed like crazy, trying to fluff it up. From the bedroom, I didn’t know it was him, but I knew I had to check just in case he or Remy was stuck and panicking. Yeah, it was just Martin being particular about his pillow. Later, I heard Remy whimpering. Did John hear any of this? Nope.

In the morning, Remy was doing a tad bit better. She was actually getting herself up, but goddamn, her walking/movement looks uncomfortable. She’s not able to use the doggie door now either, so she cries by the door. Poor thing. She made it outside to pee, but inside John found two turds in the living room.

I put down additional carpeting, but today she just wanted to stay in the living room. The house looks like a mess right now with all the random carpeting, but oh well. What can I do?

I guess, honestly speaking, I’m a little disappointed by her progress today. She IS better, but I dunno: when I read that stuff online, people were like witnessing miracles. In the end, I suppose the facts are the facts: She is almost 16. There were some really old dogs mentioned online, but most were still a few years younger… Like Marty’s age. Huge difference. I’d say, for the most part, Remy was smooth sailing and it really has been the last year and a half or two years where she’s declined substantially.

So we’re going to see how she does tomorrow and then re-evaluate. I hope that we’ll find a drug combo that works for while we’re away. I hate to leave her like this.

In other news today, I did more marketing classes on Coursera. I also did some online shopping/browsing. There were tons of Cyber Monday deals out there, especially for travel, but eh, I couldn’t settle on any dates. The clothing deals seemed only so-so, not spectacular. But the news is reporting promising holiday sales figures so far…

This weekend I received an email from a coworker. He was just wishing me a nice holiday. I replied last night that Remy wasn’t doing so well. Then this morning, I got a text message from someone else at work. She had heard from the first person that Remy was having trouble. It was nice of her to check in. I’m still a bit in my “I do all the initiating” funk regarding friendships, so it’s nice to know what someone is thinking about me without being prompted/harassed. I’m going to see her tomorrow for lunch.

Well I think I’m hitting the sack early today. I’m feeling kinda drained. Just a few more days left for NaBloPoMo!! Yippee!

Hoping for Some Remy Magic

John and I had a great time on our mini trip up to Sonoma. We went to the outlets, scored some deals, ate some incredible meals… Unfortunately, by Saturday night, our minds were kinda preoccupied with Remy. On Sunday, we headed home shortly after checking out. No heated swimming pool or bathhouse ritual this time. Oh well. When we got home, Remy still wasn’t able to get herself up. She could take a few wobbly steps after I lifted her back end up, but this was just not going to fly. I mean, she has to be able to walk!

I called N thinking maybe I was going to have to put Remy down soon, but N didn’t sound worried at all. She suggested some meds (we’ve only tried a few before for mild discomfort). Now, we’re at level 10, and we hadn’t even explored all the options apparently. After my call with N, I researched online and I found all these postings about people getting ready to put down their dogs because of immobility and then some miracle drug brought them back to life– like to the point of running and bouncing around at the dog park!! So I felt better, and then we took her to the vet this evening. We had a different doctor than the usual. She was older and seemed really knowledgeable and nice. Poor Remy was trembling the whole time, and she dropped a dukie on the floor.

The doctor recommended an anti-inflammatory med as a first pass; after a few days, I’m supposed to couple it with tramadol and together they are supposed to work synergistically. She said I should see improvement in the next couple days, so I’m hoping for some magic come morning. Stay tuned.

Weekend Escape

Every now and then, a brief out-of-town getaway seems good for John and me. Since this Thanksgiving was going to be quieter than our usual, I made sure to plan some other activities to get us out of house to reconnect and spend some quality time. On Friday, we did that Stanford hike followed by a stand-up comedy show in SJ. Today, we headed up north to the Vacaville Outlets and Sonoma for a quickie trip to wine country.

The trip kinda started off on a late start this morning though. Last night, I didn’t sleep well at all. I had some Thin Mint chocolatey drink at the improv club, so the caffeine from that kept me up until 3. Then, in the middle of the night, I kept hearing Remy shuffling around and letting out a whimper here and there. I repeatedly got in and out of bed to check on her. By morning she was still up for breakfast and a walk in the park, but she looked really uncomfortable. I figured that when we got back to town on Sunday, I would put down some more carpeting in the house, clip her nails, and check in with the vet to see what the options are for discomfort. Her walking is super labored now. This downward progression has seemed to be happening slowly over the last several weeks. I thought maybe the cold nights were making her very stiff, so I started putting her on a heating blanket. John and I decided to continue our trip, but in the late morning, the dog sitter called saying Remy had no strength in her legs. I explained that yeah she seemed weak the night before but when we woke up that morning, she walked to the park. Maybe she was tuckered out from the walk. The sitter called again tonight after dinner, and she seemed worried because she didn’t notice Remy to be drinking water. She had eaten her kibble though, and there were no accidents in the house. But she said Remy appeared alert and could hear and watch– she just couldn’t walk. I asked the sitter to check on Remy in the morning and also mix water in with her breakfast kibble. John and I head home tomorrow.

I’m feeling sad tonight, because this is how things go down, isn’t it? She’s almost 16 y/o. The body has started to go… this is something I have anticipated for a very long while, and yet, a part of me still feels incredulous. How did all those years pass so quickly? And shit, have I been in denial? What if Remy isn’t just uncomfortable but is actually in real pain… And I’ve just let this continue without having a more elaborate conversation with the vet? Maybe I have somehow become desensitized to her discomfort? John says that we should probably re-ask the vet for the joint meds– even if they are bad for her liver, because at the point that she can’t walk, what good is protecting the liver? I hope Remy will be better when we see her again tomorrow.

The Young and the Restless

So I had my final acting class last night. Probably only about 3/4 of the class showed up. We spent the first half of the class doing the usual warmup exercises: the name game, samurai, improv, repeating.

The line reading exercises could not have come soon enough. This time we actually had a legit script. I knew it was for realz, because I actually watched The Young & the Restless when I was in middle school. I feel like I taped that shit or something. The names were very familiar. Of course I got paired with the Russian lady in the class who happens to be a director. So she was all about tweaking the scene to make it different than the usual reading: She wanted us seated a certain way, she had a cigar prop… I just wanted to focus on getting the lines down.

So our turn came and we went onto the stage. I was awkward but not really nervous or shaky which I think is a good indication that my anxieties are waning a bit. Anyway, my poor partner. Towards the end of the scene, I farted. I wasn’t expecting any of that. It was a low grade quiet one, but just as her detective character leaned in close to me, I knew the scent was there. Fuck man. Only me I tell ya!

I’m glad the class is done. Honestly, I just wasn’t too impressed with it. The teacher seemed like an airhead. Week after week, she didn’t remember student names and I dunno, she just didn’t really provide thorough explanations for the exercises. And well, last week’s script was a disaster. Anyone who would pick a lame yogurt commercial set at a costco sampling table just has poor judgement.

In other news, yesterday in the middle of the night, I awoke to one of the pups wailing uncontrollably. Not the usual whimpering but a full-on wail. I turned on the light and tried to wake Remy, but she kept crying and I couldn’t shake her awake. And her body was crazy heavy and limp. I didn’t know what the fuck was happening. Then she seemed to come to, but then her body just started convulsing like she was rocking back and forth trying to get off her back and her legs were running crazy. Bizarre repeated behavior. I thought maybe she was choking again, because her eyes went vacant again. I dumped her out of her dog bed, and John started doing a light Heimlich. Fuck. She finally came to after what seemed like 90-120 secs. Then she was wiped again, eyes tired. Ten minutes later her eyes started tracking us again (normal), and she got up for food and drink. I have never witnessed a human/animal during a seizure, but now I can totally see how people would have mistaken this shit for someone/something being possessed. Super disturbing and crazy. Poor Remy. Old age is really giving her a beating.