Whiskey Camp, DOTW for 12/24-12/28!

Whiskey Camp is the DOTW for the week of 12/24-12/28! Whiskey is an 8-year old Bassett mix (or maybe a PBGV mix?) who's been coming to Dog Days since late 2006. Whiskey is quite a character - he's very playful, and loves a good game of tug o' war. As he's aged, he hasn't necessarily gotten less active - he still races around the play area as much as he ever did. He's not particular about who he plays with either; as long as someone in the play area will entertain him, he's good to go. He loves his human attention as well, and we always give him lots of loving when he's here. He cleans up nicely too, although most of our pictures of him are before his grooming. He's handsome, regardless. :) Congratulations, Whiskey!

Playing with Brutus and some of his other friends

Maggie Denks, DOTW for 12/17-12/21!

Maggie Denks is the DOTW for the week of 12/17-12/21! Maggie is a 9 year old Mastiff mix who's been coming to Dog Days since early 2009. Maggie is a big sweetheart of a dog. She mainly hangs out and observes all the crazy antics of the younger gang. She prefers her people, and we always make sure we shower her with attention when she's here. Maggie is one of those stable females that we like to use for interviews, because she's relaxed and comfortable here, and knows the ropes so well. Her imposing size always seems to bring the energy level down a bit in the playcare area too, which we always appreciate. Maggie, it's much deserved! Congratulations!

Mason Brown, DOTW for 12/10-12/14!

Mason Brown is the DOTW for the week of 12/10-12/14! Mason is an almost 7-yr old poodle mix who's been coming to Dog Days since he was only about 6 months old, in mid-2006. We've watched Mason grow from a fluffy white puppy who was a little unsure of himself to a fluffy white dog who's more confident. He has some good friends here - he likes Buddy H. and Brutus, and always plays well with them. We use him a lot for small dog interviews because he's a stable, friendly boy. We always enjoy Mason's visits, and are happy to make him DOTW this week. Congratulations, Mason!

What a nice smile, Mason!

Playing ball with Buttercup in the background

Mason, why so serious? :)

Kugel Blanscett, DOTW for 12/3-12/7!

Kugel Blanscett is the DOTW for the week of 12/3-12/7! Kugel is an almost 6 year old Vizsla who has been coming to Dog Days since early 2012, when he joined his brother Ivan (also a Vizsla), who had been coming for a few years. Kugel is a special boy - he is very social and playful, and couldn't be sweeter. He loves loves loves his people, but also loves to play with his brother. He's not a fan of being confined in any way, so he has been a bit of a challenge for us. But he's such a great dog, we overlook his drawbacks. We love you Kugel, and are happy to make you DOTW this week!

Hurry up and take the darn picture, Miss Joyce!

I know it's blurry, but what a sweet face!

Kugel (standing) playing with Ivan

Boomer's Story

As many of you know, I lost another dog on Monday, November 26th. How did I end up with an old, sick dog, after going through the pain of losing my old, sick Emma one short year ago? Here is Boomer's story.

Boomer was one of my very first clients at Dog Days. He was a big Golden/Lab mix - when he started coming to Dog Days, he weighed around 130 lbs. His mom traveled quite a bit, and started using us for boarding. Most weekends, Boomer came to stay with us. This was early in the life of the daycare, and sometimes, Boomer was our only boarding dog (we would have a few more daycare clients during the day). I remember many a Sunday afternoon, with me, Scott (my now husband), Emma and Boomer, sitting in one of our suites, watching football on the television. Emma and Boomer spent a lot of time together, and Boomer was afforded some special perks, since he was sometimes the only dog. His mom didn't generally bring any toys with him when he would board, so at one point, we found a small white and pink pig and just put it in Boomer's run. When he'd enter or leave the run, he'd grab that little pig and carry it around gently in his mouth. After that, we always saved the pig for him to have when he stayed with us. He, along with Emma, interviewed all of the new dogs that came in those early years.

After several years, we stopped seeing Boomer. We never knew where he'd gone, or what had happened. And then one day, his mom called and back he came for some boarding. His mom's personal life had changed, and she didn't need us to watch him as often, but occasionally, she'd bring him to board for a while with us. He looked older, but was still a really big boy. Then he dropped off the face of the earth again.

When Boomer returned the next time, I was shocked at how he looked. His front end was still really huge, but his back end had very little muscle mass, and had wasted. In addition, his spine was showing. He also had lost a lot of fat on his head. I took one look, and knew he wasn't healthy. I tried to baby him when he stayed with us, and told Scott that he needed to come see him, and probably say his goodbyes, because I didn't think we'd see him again. It made me very sad - he was still the same dog, but was so obviously sick. It broke my heart.

One day in late July or early August 2012, Boomer's mom stopped by the daycare, without Boomer. I immediately assumed the worst. But she told me that he was fine, but that she needed to rehome him. By this time, he was almost 12 years old. I was dumbfounded - how do you rehome a sick, 12 year old dog? The rescue she'd gotten him from 11 years earlier was no longer in existence, so she was going to take him to the shelter, but thought she'd ask me if I'd take him first. I started crying, told her to do nothing, and that I'd talk to Scott. I knew what I was asking - that he agree that we take in a sick, old dog with incontinence problems for however long he had. Scott, bless his heart, said that we couldn't possibly let him go to a shelter, and to bring him home. His only requirement was that we have our vacation (planned for the week before Labor Day) before we bring him home. I called Boomer's mom the next day, and told her we'd take him in early September.

Boomer's mom brought him to the daycare in early September, and before even getting him home, I took him to our vet. I wanted to get him checked out, so at least I would know what I was dealing with as far as his health. I had suspected that Boomer had laryngeal paralysis, and the vet wholeheartedly agreed. She also said she thought he had cancer - wasting along the spine doesn't often happen without some serious disease like cancer. We decided to just start him on some supplements for the LP and for the nerve damage to his back end. He occasionally knuckled under, and didn't seem to always be aware of where his back legs were. We planned an ultrasound for a few weeks out to take a look at his organs.

Boomer slowly settled in and got used to our routine pretty quickly. Because he couldn't do stairs, he had to stay on the main level. We cleared our dining room, laid down rugs and a rubber mat, and set up his crate (which he really liked). He'd sleep in there, and when we were gone, that's where he stayed. That way, if he had an accident, it was just a tile floor and could be easily cleaned up. Boomer did some barking at first (he didn't want to be left alone) but that slowed down.

Getting Boomer to the vet for an ultrasound was a nightmare. He wasn't very mobile, and was far too big to pick up like Emma. So we bought a ramp. Even getting Boomer up the ramp wasn't easy. The day I took him in for his ultrasound, it was raining, and Boomer hadn't pooped on our short morning walk. When I put him in the SUV, he pooped (although I didn't notice at first). I turned my back and started pulling up the ramp, and Boomer jumped or fell out of the SUV behind me onto the garage floor. He seemed okay, but it completely freaked me out. When I got him back in the truck, I noticed the poop, and had to clean that up. I finally got him to the vet, and left him for a few hours so they could do the ultrasound. The ultrasound showed us that, while most of Boomer's internal organs looked okay (at least from what Dr. Chau could see), he had a metastatic liver, meaning he had cancerous tumors on his liver. It wasn't liver cancer, but instead was cancer from somewhere else in his body that had metastacized to his liver. Dr. Chau said that his liver enzymes were still okay, so that was probably not going to kill him. At that point, Scott and I had already talked about when we would make the decision that it was time for Boomer to go to the Rainbow Bridge. Because of his size, we decided that if he got to where he couldn't walk, that would be the time. I spoke to Dr. Chau about it, and she thought that was probably the best indicator that it was time. Boomer was obviously not going to be getting any better. He was still at 89 lbs, so carrying him was not an option. We used Emma's old Help Em Up harness - both the front piece over his shoulders, and the back piece, over his hips. He stayed in that harness 24/7 once we put it on him. We couldn't have managed him without it.

Because Dr. Chau thought he might be having some arthritis pain, we started him on Tramadol and Gabapentin. His little cocktail of meds and supplements was working pretty well. He was taking 3 short walks a day - one of us would come home at lunch and take him out for a spin then eat lunch with him during the week. We walked him separately from Leeloo and Murphy because Boomer couldn't go very fast or very far. So we swapped out each night - I'd take him one night, then Scott would take him one night. I took him every morning. The routine seemed to do him a world of good - he was eating well, walking pretty well, playing a little bit with toys around the house and really seemed to enjoy just hanging out with us watching TV. He almost never had any accidents in the house - I can only remember 3 instances until that last day. Then he started barking. He didn't want to be left alone, and he didn't want to be blocked in his room. So if we were in the house, but for whatever reason he had to be in his room, he would bark. He wouldn't stop, and it could go one for many minutes. He barked one night for an hour and a half. I was losing sleep and getting terribly frustrated.

In October, I decided that the Benedryl we were using to calm him and keep him from panting and barking (because of the LP) had stopped working. Dr. Chau and I decided to try Doxepin, an anti-anxiety and anti-depressant drug that is sometimes used for LP dogs. The Doxepin worked great for Boomer - really settled him down and quieted him. It did make him a little sleepy, but he was so much more comfortable. The panting and barking pretty much stopped. Finally, we had found the perfect combination of drugs and supplements. The rest of October and November went well. Occasionally he'd have a bad day, where his front right shoulder would seem stiff, but after a day or two and some pain meds and NSAIDs, he'd be back to normal.

UNTIL the year anniversary of Emma's death, November 25th. That was a Sunday this year, and when I got him up in the morning, he didn't want to move. I could get him standing, but walking, no way. I managed to kind of drag him out to the backyard, and he peed. But he wouldn't walk around the yard at all. He ate normally, and I went for a run as usual. When I returned, I put his leash on him to take him for his walk, and again, he kind of just stood. I was able to get him to walk down a house or two on our street, but it was obvious he didn't want to go. He kept stopping and looking at me. I was very upset - I knew that look and I knew what day it was, and I was not ready for this to happen on this day with Boomer. I got him home and walked Murphy and Leeloo as usual. When Scott got up, I told him what I'd seen. He took Boomer out to potty, and we started talking about what to do. We decided to carry on as usual (as much as we could) on Sunday, and if he was no better on Monday, we'd take him in to Dr. Chau. He was no better as Sunday wore on - he wouldn't walk, so he didn't poop. I woke up at 3:30 Monday morning, smelling poop, and spend 45 minutes cleaning up the carpet and Boomer's rear end. He'd pooped, not realized it, and laid down in it, pressing it into the carpet. I knew in my heart it was time. Monday morning was the same as Sunday morning - I kind of had to drag him outside to pee, but he ate well. I went to work early in the morning as usual, and Scott stayed home from work in case I was able to get an appointment in the morning with Dr. Chau. I set the appointment for 11:30, and told the tech that I wanted Dr. Chau to take a look at him and let me know what she would do if he was her dog. Scott and I got Boomer into the car. We got him to the vet, and laid him down in the exam room. Dr. Chau examined him. As she was manipulating his front shoulder (pressing into the bone) he kept turning toward her (a sign of pain). She thought he was in pretty bad pain (and this was with the Tramadol, Gabapentin, Doxepin and Metacam, an NSAID). She agreed with us that he was in pain and it was probably time. Boomer was always pretty nervous at the vet, so Dr. Chau gave him a sedative to quiet him before she injected the euthanasia drug. When she gave him the sedative, he stuck his head between my arm and my ribs (I was sitting on the floor in front of him) and laid his head on my lap. He fell asleep with his tongue sticking out. Then he went to the Rainbow Bridge.

When we took Boomer into our home, we knew we only had about 3 months or so. We weren't sure if he'd make it to Thanksgiving; once he made it to Thanksgiving, we weren't sure if he'd make it to Christmas. He seemed to be just plugging along, not doing badly until he went downhill so quickly. We loved Boomer - we'd known him for so long, 8 years. Although we only had him in our house for 3 months, he was a part of our lives for much longer. He'd fit himself into our lives and into our routine as if he'd always been a part of it. Scott even taught him (at 12 years old!) how to beg at the table, just like Murphy and Leeloo. When he'd be in a playful mood, we'd laugh at his antics. He'd get excited when Murphy and Leeloo would chase each other around the yard, grab a ball and throw it then kind of pounce on it. Once he met Issy, one of the dogs who lived in the house behind us, he loved walking up to her at the fence and give her kisses through the fence (and she'd give him kisses too). One of the ways I knew he didn't feel well was that on Sunday, when Issy was outside, he didn't go over to say hi to her. I knew it wouldn't be easy - both to take him in and take care of him, and to send him to the Bridge when it was time. He touched us very deeply, and we are so happy that we could provide him with a few months of happiness and warmth in our home. I hated having to be the one to make that horrible decision to send him to the Bridge but also knew that it was time. I am glad that he was such a good boy and was so appreciative of what Scott and I did for him. He knew I think how much we cared for him, and I hope that it gave him some peace and pleasure in his last months. He's left another hole in our hearts, and although he was only here for a few months, the house seems very empty with him. I hold out hope that Emma met him at the Bridge, and they're together again, waiting for me to join them someday. Rest in peace, big Boomer. We loved you very much.