tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-190008292024-03-07T18:57:10.399-05:00German Shepherd MomGerman Shepherd Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08504273259468541419noreply@blogger.comBlogger761125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19000829.post-62460126097051931422013-08-05T20:41:00.000-04:002013-08-05T20:41:05.904-04:00MycroftSweet kitty, you would have been 13 years old yesterday. Even though you've been gone a year and a half, I still think about you every day. I was going to post a photo that showed your handsome markings, but this one always makes me smile. I love you, Mikey!<br />
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German Shepherd Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08504273259468541419noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19000829.post-53973275396804401752013-07-12T06:57:00.000-04:002013-07-12T06:57:31.867-04:00DuncanHappy birthday, Duncan. You would have been 8 years old today. I think about you every day and I miss you so much. I love you, sweet boy. <br />
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German Shepherd Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08504273259468541419noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19000829.post-88128786965307483222013-06-15T18:23:00.001-04:002013-06-15T18:23:21.602-04:00LokiHappy 15th birthday, sweet boy!<br />
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German Shepherd Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08504273259468541419noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19000829.post-11949969422552889322013-04-23T06:54:00.001-04:002013-04-23T06:55:03.944-04:00Birthday GirlMy cantankerous, crotchety little girl is 16 years old today.<br />
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Happy birthday, Mirabelle!<br />
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German Shepherd Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08504273259468541419noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19000829.post-22217472764228637952013-04-16T21:14:00.000-04:002013-04-16T21:14:44.317-04:00Birthday Kittens!Its hard to believe, but these two cuties are 8 years old today. Even harder to believe is that Parm was ever that small...<br />
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Happy birthday to Khar'pern, Parm, and (gone but not forgotten) Per'la.<br />
<br>German Shepherd Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08504273259468541419noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19000829.post-25219437375835134802013-04-01T07:33:00.002-04:002013-04-01T07:33:38.826-04:00Belated BirthdayMy sweet little demon spawn turned 9 years old on March 1st.<br />
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Happy birthday, Reyna!<br />
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German Shepherd Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08504273259468541419noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19000829.post-20823266591050049422013-03-11T19:46:00.000-04:002013-03-11T19:46:06.901-04:00Duncan, 7/12/2005 - 3/6/2013I’d hoped this post would be about the VALOR Fun Day or Draft Workshop. Or, if I was really slow to post, it could have been about Reyna’s 9th birthday or the upcoming Draft Test. Sadly, this post is about none of those things. Instead, it’s about a dog who left us much too soon.<br />
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Duncan had been doing really well since we’d changed his meds after he went into status in February. Wednesday, March 6, would have been 21 days seizure free. That morning started like any other. We played outside before breakfast. Duncan and Kodiak had a game of chase, and then while Kodiak was harassing Reyna, Duncan stole her basketball. After breakfast, we had a bit of a cuddle on the couch and I headed off to work. There was no indication of how the day was going to end.<br />
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When I got home, I didn’t pay attention to who was (or wasn’t) in the kitchen window barking and howling hello. As I came up the front steps, I heard Kodiak give three of his seizure-alert barks. I still don’t know how he understood to do that, but I’ll always be grateful for that little bit of warning. As I looked through the door window, I could see Duncan on his bed. I could only see his back legs, but it was obvious that he wasn’t in the middle of a seizure. From that distance, I couldn’t see if he was breathing, but I knew something was wrong. I got inside the house and before I put my bag down I knew he was gone. I did have a faint hope that maybe he had just seized and there was still something I could do for him, but when I touched him it was obvious he’d been gone for several hours.<br />
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John came over to help me take care of Duncan. We did a plaster-of-paris paw print and put Duncan in my truck (thankfully, it was cold night) for transport the next morning. I took Duncan to the vet school early Thursday. They did a full necropsy and will hopefully be able to tell me what killed my boy. We’re working on the assumption that he had one last seizure, but the physical evidence doesn’t really indicate a standard grand mal. I just don’t understand how he could survive 80 minutes of seizing three weeks prior and then die so suddenly. The neurologist said it’s extremely rare for a dog to die from a single seizure like that, but unless there’s some internal physical indication, we may never know what really happened. It’s entirely possible that his enormous heart just gave out. If nothing else, I hope the vet school can learn something from Duncan’s necropsy that may let them help another dog in the future.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqrz8c9FOcXc4O_dg-R8Rn7bLEBZ72fnouLhXDhGt_xCXg2sAfDIEdHzmb1-Q7Uo-qIg_8Vlbvg3PAjYUXDMLU3iZRS-mLV3gme7dDi-bRemrbVKF2Tpi8JMvbP011FcMNaB_x/s1600/IMG_6372.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqrz8c9FOcXc4O_dg-R8Rn7bLEBZ72fnouLhXDhGt_xCXg2sAfDIEdHzmb1-Q7Uo-qIg_8Vlbvg3PAjYUXDMLU3iZRS-mLV3gme7dDi-bRemrbVKF2Tpi8JMvbP011FcMNaB_x/s320/IMG_6372.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Reyna and Kodiak have been quieter than usual the last few days, but I hope that witnessing Duncan’s passing and spending time with him before I got home gives them some doggy understanding that helps them deal with the loss.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">D’Cans Dark Warrior Dreaming, RA, RL1X, RL2, PTs, JHDs, VIJ, VBK, BPF, ITD, CGC</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPgh-PBvTId-Iv8LgYYB6uq7HDsZ28c2sMm6TEyQKrTJwzqcG9GTQ9DlI6SUsrOVCYNR2ReSUO3N7-yHU7iTFzdkXeDLagYZVwdD1ggitIhFMMNCZY1eMGtzDcsXL0cSjfPW67/s1600/Duncan2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPgh-PBvTId-Iv8LgYYB6uq7HDsZ28c2sMm6TEyQKrTJwzqcG9GTQ9DlI6SUsrOVCYNR2ReSUO3N7-yHU7iTFzdkXeDLagYZVwdD1ggitIhFMMNCZY1eMGtzDcsXL0cSjfPW67/s320/Duncan2.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Duncan was an absolutely wonderful dog. When he first joined our family, I really wasn’t planning to do much with him beyond basic obedience (he was such a good puppy I even forgot to take him to class for several months) – after all, I got him to keep Reyna busy, and I still say he’s the best toy I ever bought her.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5WDoW7awlmtGM61fCU8HneMnF0_luTLbuJGnOsPAitNpyk2Wm7WMuW2wqsp4h9Ks5mYNssyzLzzG3maNRQow7rQ33EfMnxDrPavn9KuQnpEB6_BuBT4CRAOZbRicuzygXQctw/s1600/DSCN1372.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5WDoW7awlmtGM61fCU8HneMnF0_luTLbuJGnOsPAitNpyk2Wm7WMuW2wqsp4h9Ks5mYNssyzLzzG3maNRQow7rQ33EfMnxDrPavn9KuQnpEB6_BuBT4CRAOZbRicuzygXQctw/s320/DSCN1372.JPG" /></a></div><br />
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As time passed, though, I realized Duncan had more smarts than he’d been letting on. He went from general obedience classes to doing musical freestyle, sheep herding, rally, tricks and agility. He was even entered in a draft test scheduled for next weekend. Duncan was never the fastest dog or the most graceful, but he was willing to try anything I asked of him. One thing he never could figure out, though, was how to find “hidden” treats. I swear, I could toss a handful of hotdog pieces on the ground in front of him, he’d eat maybe two or three, and then he’d look at me as if to ask, “Where are the rest of them?” Such a gooberhead. <br />
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Duncan was the dog you could take anywhere. He had the sweetest temperament you could want, which was a good thing in a 120lb German shepherd. His appearance could be intimidating, but pretty much everyone who met him loved him. It usually took him a bit to warm up to new people, but once you were a friend, you were a friend for life. He traveled wonderfully once he decided that pottying in strange places really was okay. He was very much a Mama’s Boy and did not like being left alone, but he would wait quietly if necessary. I remember taking him for a walk with Brian and Marie and asking Marie to hold him while I used the restroom. When I came out, he was sitting exactly where I’d left him, staring towards the building. Marie said people had asked if they could pet him, but when they tried, he would just shift his position to keep watch on where I’d gone.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIoQuLlYSFfa7Cs7WU42M1CCnVZ_WZ_IcJYya0qGE_RhmvK4GVBpvVHIBW8ExjjN7aXSCtpdMtBjHI1H-pB9b35HjpyZVP8U1Bf_UPRNH14dxKLw22c-OFKp_g9sQs10-GVmv4/s1600/IMG_3184.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIoQuLlYSFfa7Cs7WU42M1CCnVZ_WZ_IcJYya0qGE_RhmvK4GVBpvVHIBW8ExjjN7aXSCtpdMtBjHI1H-pB9b35HjpyZVP8U1Bf_UPRNH14dxKLw22c-OFKp_g9sQs10-GVmv4/s320/IMG_3184.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Reyna has never been a cuddler, but Duncan more than made up for that. As a pup, he always wanted to be in my lap. It wasn’t too long before he got so big that I couldn’t breathe when he sat in my lap, so we compromised – he could put his head and front legs in my lap, but everything else had to be beside me. We spent many evenings curled up on the couch, Duncan’s head resting in my lap while he snoozed. He would often wake up, give me a kiss, and doze off again. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipPPCO39yGyep2yTFgeGnjBcQtNaOqCYT905Lgg1ygQo9eCRPZip8KBYR-vFn_81puZY-kkeFJiMz6-jeX7BZ6S0c8yu6TiwpuRgObQKrzyki8aJ3ht3qo8rIX-OBtyKVVMaBx/s1600/DSCN3145.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipPPCO39yGyep2yTFgeGnjBcQtNaOqCYT905Lgg1ygQo9eCRPZip8KBYR-vFn_81puZY-kkeFJiMz6-jeX7BZ6S0c8yu6TiwpuRgObQKrzyki8aJ3ht3qo8rIX-OBtyKVVMaBx/s320/DSCN3145.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Duncan was a genuinely happy dog and easily the best kisser around. He might forget to walk calmly on the leash at times, but that was because he was so eager to see everything (and occasionally to get to the truck and go home). He loved to talk and sing. He could be trusted off leash anywhere. He had no interest in running off, but he did love to explore. I always laughed when we were out at Dad’s, because Reyna would position herself where she could see me but Duncan always had to check things out. He would go inspect something of interest and then come back and make sure Reyna and I were where he’d left us. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7AlrM8e9cg71iwrYpRep8wb4aqEUAbAyL25SCSbyTbvzcUhq-XimxNXuVMd28Z7ozL3_9auWMTbzD-HAyEfcNT999Z_nvCCcTg3d1KE0Y-IO60liR9HH4ieYZiRLF_dRtxWBT/s1600/IMG_1733+2.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7AlrM8e9cg71iwrYpRep8wb4aqEUAbAyL25SCSbyTbvzcUhq-XimxNXuVMd28Z7ozL3_9auWMTbzD-HAyEfcNT999Z_nvCCcTg3d1KE0Y-IO60liR9HH4ieYZiRLF_dRtxWBT/s320/IMG_1733+2.JPG" /></a></div><br />
When it came to guard dog work, Duncan took a laid-back approach. He generally let Reyna handle it, but he was always willing to provide back-up. One of my neighbors commented that because Duncan barked so rarely, when he did bark they paid attention. If Reyna wasn’t around, though, Duncan easily took over guard duty. On walks, Duncan would put himself between me and the stranger, but he never showed any signs of aggression (or of even being concerned). His size and color was certainly enough of a deterrent for anyone who might be thinking bad thoughts. The only time I ever saw any aggression from him was when a strange dog had the nerve to put her paws on me. We were at John’s and we were talking with his neighbor. John had just finished saying how good natured Duncan was when the neighbor’s dog, Cheyenne, jumped up on me. That’s the fastest I’ve ever seen Duncan move. He lit into Cheyenne for all he was worth – although he didn’t hurt her - and she certainly didn’t try to jump on me again.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEst1IwAMhX3l_5rva4vDZgg2rEijIRluuARsWIBDg9XM6GjBlcR_jAAqlGMj-PDmE7rFH9Dri4xoqMi9CWVf99kcE14vYbxOAOqLFxcDS0VS2kW8rXeB8Zh7T6u9O4bDmZ7Bo/s1600/IMG_2485.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEst1IwAMhX3l_5rva4vDZgg2rEijIRluuARsWIBDg9XM6GjBlcR_jAAqlGMj-PDmE7rFH9Dri4xoqMi9CWVf99kcE14vYbxOAOqLFxcDS0VS2kW8rXeB8Zh7T6u9O4bDmZ7Bo/s320/IMG_2485.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Duncan got along with just about every dog he met (except maybe Cheyenne) and he was even good with little dogs, but he absolutely loved Reyna. She could do anything she wanted to him and he’d take it with a smile. They would wrestle and roughhouse and sound like they were mauling each other, but they were the best of friends. Reyna and Duncan would often rest near each other, even with other options available, and they were always thrilled to see the other come home. When Kodiak joined us, the pack dynamic changed a bit but nothing could change the friendship between Duncan and Reyna.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn39b-bjU0iFJBojtFYx8fE7y2ie2E7JtsTa9HHCQEN1PC0bM9nbblGftc3W9JM50f1bHELEb2HsfI_EH3YAx7rc9VQxy-yBLZHs5yEQwRVRK84zMRQE6Z-ScFrGU4LIGEsVC8/s1600/IMG_8471.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn39b-bjU0iFJBojtFYx8fE7y2ie2E7JtsTa9HHCQEN1PC0bM9nbblGftc3W9JM50f1bHELEb2HsfI_EH3YAx7rc9VQxy-yBLZHs5yEQwRVRK84zMRQE6Z-ScFrGU4LIGEsVC8/s320/IMG_8471.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaUmt6GGtew8K6J6pHhQ7JZySiy_oCbZJlmb11zKWdr2snbhMZ2eIbUCcW6FozS4VrnHA2iEQZgDEPyTWJEDYiit8OryKGd2IwOuUexhBXgGt5ILrMzxTYN2zobGDNeQivzwnb/s1600/IMG_3219s.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaUmt6GGtew8K6J6pHhQ7JZySiy_oCbZJlmb11zKWdr2snbhMZ2eIbUCcW6FozS4VrnHA2iEQZgDEPyTWJEDYiit8OryKGd2IwOuUexhBXgGt5ILrMzxTYN2zobGDNeQivzwnb/s320/IMG_3219s.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiQ3jh9vEoZBVTw6b60Fg70eRskpDv_BkW5Foc4PghszCly_DIfq-Gwmv1yWE9q4PE13qVrl_rcMTu2Paw133EL6Edg1oUjmnXT4oqyzTgc_iPwybJfCgWYxPGteaxBG3e_A19/s1600/IMG_2451+2.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiQ3jh9vEoZBVTw6b60Fg70eRskpDv_BkW5Foc4PghszCly_DIfq-Gwmv1yWE9q4PE13qVrl_rcMTu2Paw133EL6Edg1oUjmnXT4oqyzTgc_iPwybJfCgWYxPGteaxBG3e_A19/s320/IMG_2451+2.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisooBc-UQdd2KirNRFQx79jR4tSCJMULziA6F1SM4itx928GHJUOqXbtcYUnM46MjJ3RkeBdTD1VpDLVqTkyN16UnbxuuGKNclkn1FQYblHX_bggS-5VJmrBzW5wBYDisB4FsR/s1600/IMG_0904.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisooBc-UQdd2KirNRFQx79jR4tSCJMULziA6F1SM4itx928GHJUOqXbtcYUnM46MjJ3RkeBdTD1VpDLVqTkyN16UnbxuuGKNclkn1FQYblHX_bggS-5VJmrBzW5wBYDisB4FsR/s320/IMG_0904.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi09Dxwg9pdarqne5sHhZDA5vikl5HmQPbWmbxrd3PfTGCJEBS2yAkzsNBzFl3e4C9SBvkGeJemDXq2WfscilOm3WV5NGt46MQmI5UujaxoFP0Vwa8yZjrdBxoIW9QK-g0wdTWd/s1600/DSCN2309.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi09Dxwg9pdarqne5sHhZDA5vikl5HmQPbWmbxrd3PfTGCJEBS2yAkzsNBzFl3e4C9SBvkGeJemDXq2WfscilOm3WV5NGt46MQmI5UujaxoFP0Vwa8yZjrdBxoIW9QK-g0wdTWd/s320/DSCN2309.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivq_2LjmckHsdVWy0I1LoZHqz_vhnddyvQS7UFF3iFSrgCiRIBlQwZONNrwSUwP7BoDTIajtxeBiCO1WrRIVDo8oTkkK6O4EWEYEgbExX46qUHX60sWMfMp9CN5UBa9P1B4PNq/s1600/IMG_5581.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivq_2LjmckHsdVWy0I1LoZHqz_vhnddyvQS7UFF3iFSrgCiRIBlQwZONNrwSUwP7BoDTIajtxeBiCO1WrRIVDo8oTkkK6O4EWEYEgbExX46qUHX60sWMfMp9CN5UBa9P1B4PNq/s320/IMG_5581.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiljk2OWqslsnB7byLvVW_-qrN0ODk79khbLk2N5ctYGwTmJbJ5AMx8M-4cm6RZQtGN1Y-pBHgpOq4UCTQulI_Vm31li8_mZfmjkOXaiXhFvWswcQwqa3DGQf7g8gGFWIgEVHL3/s1600/IMG_5445.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiljk2OWqslsnB7byLvVW_-qrN0ODk79khbLk2N5ctYGwTmJbJ5AMx8M-4cm6RZQtGN1Y-pBHgpOq4UCTQulI_Vm31li8_mZfmjkOXaiXhFvWswcQwqa3DGQf7g8gGFWIgEVHL3/s320/IMG_5445.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_udrOmuKMyDKq1NbFpDZWbt8rS1cdqql69ALy3ZhqjaYjKbSSXWrgCtQmEFxQ5KwlTZy3K23Fln8izNm3Dekwd2l8q7lAg_QKlkDzn0P7oB79J15OvhyphenhyphenMf9RweKhMiba4eVud/s1600/IMG_8545.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_udrOmuKMyDKq1NbFpDZWbt8rS1cdqql69ALy3ZhqjaYjKbSSXWrgCtQmEFxQ5KwlTZy3K23Fln8izNm3Dekwd2l8q7lAg_QKlkDzn0P7oB79J15OvhyphenhyphenMf9RweKhMiba4eVud/s320/IMG_8545.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Kodiak was a rambunctious little pup and Duncan was very tolerant of his bad behavior. As Kodiak got older, he started randomly snarking at Duncan. It was always obvious that Duncan could have put Kodiak down in a heartbeat if he’d wanted to, but he would just turn his head or put me between them and wait for Kodiak to get a grip. The boys absolutely loved to play a game of chase. They would chase each other around the yard at full speed. Poor Duncan, Kodiak was so much faster that he could run laps around Duncan. That never stopped Duncan from enjoying the game, though. At times, Duncan would actually start planning his route – he would watch Kodiak run the circles and instead of following directly he would go straight across the yard to cut off Kodiak’s path. The boys also loved to sing together. I need to go through my video clips and see if there’s a second album by Big D and Lil’ K that can be released posthumously.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDm2hyYs8p-zBtDkbU0QI7uurEDPcB_MK12Q8ixa42w932sGssu-oyGFcnHSe5SNOezqRGWdGRMO-cVfPFe49KiPrwH-T0sqNrvNfip4K0FMwT46UMR6qqE2kMcKcP128tiNLz/s1600/IMG_1763.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDm2hyYs8p-zBtDkbU0QI7uurEDPcB_MK12Q8ixa42w932sGssu-oyGFcnHSe5SNOezqRGWdGRMO-cVfPFe49KiPrwH-T0sqNrvNfip4K0FMwT46UMR6qqE2kMcKcP128tiNLz/s320/IMG_1763.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCPp9mQxZsvdF5Ax3OdBr7HSt2Jd5Kz3GqHhRylNQ6PfwEXWOmPZWH02Ma96HZm0LpETMdf8rYl8TZbrzO21Zr5KlC5IxIjP6_cvE6y-0RMPx812kYcnshriQ97iyEVR8uR-N0/s1600/IMG_2337.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCPp9mQxZsvdF5Ax3OdBr7HSt2Jd5Kz3GqHhRylNQ6PfwEXWOmPZWH02Ma96HZm0LpETMdf8rYl8TZbrzO21Zr5KlC5IxIjP6_cvE6y-0RMPx812kYcnshriQ97iyEVR8uR-N0/s320/IMG_2337.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAL6lumTx9h-Igeng3KXeeRA-GbCj3NuvUdFVP4PzEOnQSzXyY8F9OE56f5v-PtP2jCKNHBmm57JxOotzxUXukNhfyCiyRPH4Ka4kQrriq6SBSLJyP-PJBSoS3FI2vrHszZok2/s1600/IMG_2975.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAL6lumTx9h-Igeng3KXeeRA-GbCj3NuvUdFVP4PzEOnQSzXyY8F9OE56f5v-PtP2jCKNHBmm57JxOotzxUXukNhfyCiyRPH4Ka4kQrriq6SBSLJyP-PJBSoS3FI2vrHszZok2/s320/IMG_2975.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif2Y3XEd7-e7holzORgFjhT647BzeqRKCs65dnT0TSLq0jZUX1RCmpEWQsH90MXjCesw2Nd9NoAifvZVxaf3NGHm0sc4DgDIvU-BlEZkw5hAJ2hFZf7UkDVPrjPQfu4HlvgLda/s1600/IMG_4718.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif2Y3XEd7-e7holzORgFjhT647BzeqRKCs65dnT0TSLq0jZUX1RCmpEWQsH90MXjCesw2Nd9NoAifvZVxaf3NGHm0sc4DgDIvU-BlEZkw5hAJ2hFZf7UkDVPrjPQfu4HlvgLda/s320/IMG_4718.JPG" /></a></div><br />
VALOR agility was a wonderful thing for Duncan. Interestingly enough, I looked into it because I thought it might be good for Kodiak. I wanted to check it out before starting with Kodiak, so I took Duncan for some lessons. Turns out he was a natural at the jumpers courses. Jumps and tunnels were his thing. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtVSXqOU6pD5tKg8tmQKQUDGtXTws8X7XaO3O-8cO-cu2OG6Uj9Od8G85g1jjiPoFX-Gm1If9PYwj-cGeuB73iDndvP1itSyR2a39XaP35aVK2CgSmXOWRc0GCioWahNWZIbyv/s1600/IMG_6179a+5x7.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtVSXqOU6pD5tKg8tmQKQUDGtXTws8X7XaO3O-8cO-cu2OG6Uj9Od8G85g1jjiPoFX-Gm1If9PYwj-cGeuB73iDndvP1itSyR2a39XaP35aVK2CgSmXOWRc0GCioWahNWZIbyv/s320/IMG_6179a+5x7.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif02eyf_EGRxPtRQJO94ojQdbqZT0FGRXY_Zz6pwNS-vtLuwqUdfni_j7ztamNfLwG3c0qPBvWmwvJ-nRvWGwIViO08fiPTrOAnxsNYcDNhevhXViq3sBZhmVio1qV7gcg_xcs/s1600/IMG_6186+5x7.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif02eyf_EGRxPtRQJO94ojQdbqZT0FGRXY_Zz6pwNS-vtLuwqUdfni_j7ztamNfLwG3c0qPBvWmwvJ-nRvWGwIViO08fiPTrOAnxsNYcDNhevhXViq3sBZhmVio1qV7gcg_xcs/s320/IMG_6186+5x7.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">Duncan absolutely loved to roll around on the grass, especially on a warm, sunny day.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJdbjKoN2oKn15p7-aFl-8zWmplPEzw8jzp6BfmzzmbKb1K-bHAvBfYXZgjyl0LA-BHnUmniZZHDF4cBZq5bAh8cYVCZL8ga7q0_QqHhx6dsmOlBcfrPf5AxHlajVoMWKGtycF/s1600/IMG_0376.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJdbjKoN2oKn15p7-aFl-8zWmplPEzw8jzp6BfmzzmbKb1K-bHAvBfYXZgjyl0LA-BHnUmniZZHDF4cBZq5bAh8cYVCZL8ga7q0_QqHhx6dsmOlBcfrPf5AxHlajVoMWKGtycF/s320/IMG_0376.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Duncan's face as a puppy was so dark it was sometimes hard to see his eyes. His face eventually lightened up, and a lot of the black became a brown mask around his eyes.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9OUL3_HiEDWHrea6ablmx2SkwM899NV-PiQNhyPXTl9AF2k1U6c_z_IxRep8iRB9MZHsIa-pJ8AWucToxO5jkMDjBXJewrgSKq4nIyYil5NsyTlNElpawapMybEFwPnACJO8h/s1600/DSCN1581.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9OUL3_HiEDWHrea6ablmx2SkwM899NV-PiQNhyPXTl9AF2k1U6c_z_IxRep8iRB9MZHsIa-pJ8AWucToxO5jkMDjBXJewrgSKq4nIyYil5NsyTlNElpawapMybEFwPnACJO8h/s320/DSCN1581.JPG" /></a></div><br />
This is one of my all-time favorite photos of Reyna and Duncan, taken in the woods behind my house. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2cPeoQYU_8axkdZhDTlnkOH0hjAxNPC-GkNlUH61J0dRzA3ziG5U8nWf7PblwNKmOVLv6IhInTbwIsmsYq6Jn8MpkzsOiTl73rI_Jw1w92Is8JOPSgusbWNNr75jFO6hjAKBx/s1600/in_the_woods-29.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2cPeoQYU_8axkdZhDTlnkOH0hjAxNPC-GkNlUH61J0dRzA3ziG5U8nWf7PblwNKmOVLv6IhInTbwIsmsYq6Jn8MpkzsOiTl73rI_Jw1w92Is8JOPSgusbWNNr75jFO6hjAKBx/s320/in_the_woods-29.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">An awesome shot of Duncan at an AKC Rally trial.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSAPkyoE3q0QkB9X4hGfe8lUjx8Eb6Zq_tRAV2iaF_Q1xIEiZfX2qFj7hjwYcRFbsbcUZsrF4eQ9tYqweyatnIMGMtkA-AdtJH6TO8IleuppFsPrsRK6xeWyjgj-3mlrInDbyA/s1600/A04D7798+5x7.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSAPkyoE3q0QkB9X4hGfe8lUjx8Eb6Zq_tRAV2iaF_Q1xIEiZfX2qFj7hjwYcRFbsbcUZsrF4eQ9tYqweyatnIMGMtkA-AdtJH6TO8IleuppFsPrsRK6xeWyjgj-3mlrInDbyA/s320/A04D7798+5x7.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Did I mention that Duncan was a great kisser?</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizkYbDdww-P1qASOvGWtezGMAUn6LKVF6jNktuovK0mQ6ZKbIGcUVCYTdMIQ3NkiQg4YnXUEkuJis7YlOAgDBNOAcvOIv_7kVcBuiEAkCZ17S19waqHA-lje-4JvaT52XUJ_Kb/s1600/DSCN3398c.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizkYbDdww-P1qASOvGWtezGMAUn6LKVF6jNktuovK0mQ6ZKbIGcUVCYTdMIQ3NkiQg4YnXUEkuJis7YlOAgDBNOAcvOIv_7kVcBuiEAkCZ17S19waqHA-lje-4JvaT52XUJ_Kb/s320/DSCN3398c.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">I loved this photo from the moment I saw it, and I still can't believe this was taken by a photographer at PetSmart.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_nZvvc6jgRVVlHw-UM8SsMt2aAxv-_ET5CmnbUb8wkR0E9MncdhcNQIFq0UN_kKD4wbYFrEnJhwbf8CaFWAhkHTsC41n2OvA_PJGIlHxip2cvr6S6ppfMvvL2bAJhRVSr1niZ/s1600/Both+-+best.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_nZvvc6jgRVVlHw-UM8SsMt2aAxv-_ET5CmnbUb8wkR0E9MncdhcNQIFq0UN_kKD4wbYFrEnJhwbf8CaFWAhkHTsC41n2OvA_PJGIlHxip2cvr6S6ppfMvvL2bAJhRVSr1niZ/s320/Both+-+best.jpg" /></a></div><br />
This was taken at the SPCA dog walk several years ago. I saw it happening and could only hope the photographer managed to catch it. I love that Duncan actually looks offended.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTDlufHmHp8YTD6PtrvJi4LDzlZ1e-VlupC5qcYbromdfhuPbOb6BWuvVTVKGPKcjZZ00LUBWe06VQQ_NHerdqYUiZqIXZZXIgFQw0wg7c2ijM7r-P0nVYCXZYtrudrMpsukyx/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTDlufHmHp8YTD6PtrvJi4LDzlZ1e-VlupC5qcYbromdfhuPbOb6BWuvVTVKGPKcjZZ00LUBWe06VQQ_NHerdqYUiZqIXZZXIgFQw0wg7c2ijM7r-P0nVYCXZYtrudrMpsukyx/s320/1.jpg" /></a></div><br />
When Duncan was a young pup, one of his favorite activities was pushing the ottoman around the living room. I don't remember when he outgrew that, but its probably just as well, since it would have really freaked out Kodiak.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLsDwC-igJOBylInSD4gE__d-Hq5rzP8LWW5B8ZAbbJX7rymH6DbTCUUksWwMzGWqOdoC29w6HgkmHO2qBRpfjzQzJ_p3T0HshngwKZtnCOZ7hvKwrzBBb0IMPheXPc5MGHIqI/s1600/DSCN1660.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLsDwC-igJOBylInSD4gE__d-Hq5rzP8LWW5B8ZAbbJX7rymH6DbTCUUksWwMzGWqOdoC29w6HgkmHO2qBRpfjzQzJ_p3T0HshngwKZtnCOZ7hvKwrzBBb0IMPheXPc5MGHIqI/s320/DSCN1660.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Duncan was so tolerant of Kodiak taking up space on his bed. Even after he started snarking at Duncan, Kodiak still loved to share bed space.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi90CTVrx2t4OK15g_tO1XLtDl-keIHD0rWUhp5KQFRGci3Fp6ikeI_sdidiRgIV5PP7HIf6I3CbG-4et-5mLyIpTRCzP8-d0-2_39ew01nbEo1ztWYKGXnvOMflDOgZBTEHl4i/s1600/IMG_1236.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi90CTVrx2t4OK15g_tO1XLtDl-keIHD0rWUhp5KQFRGci3Fp6ikeI_sdidiRgIV5PP7HIf6I3CbG-4et-5mLyIpTRCzP8-d0-2_39ew01nbEo1ztWYKGXnvOMflDOgZBTEHl4i/s320/IMG_1236.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM4ZnnC3zfVo49WAKZE-_RyxrBPdDM9q04hHsvm7rZpon4nlDJkEdIHZshalk-ufzOeH5QtxFlMXUOByb97KEcynSFtDWhyXxLc0qUk0R-4P4XcnhOusaKTqkfMNSDTHcFmPYO/s1600/IMG_3168.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM4ZnnC3zfVo49WAKZE-_RyxrBPdDM9q04hHsvm7rZpon4nlDJkEdIHZshalk-ufzOeH5QtxFlMXUOByb97KEcynSFtDWhyXxLc0qUk0R-4P4XcnhOusaKTqkfMNSDTHcFmPYO/s320/IMG_3168.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">He might be a slow sitter, but no one could deny the focus and attention he would give me when I asked.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzhBeScqXEPcpn336C5X7uYTtBlyRaePEl69iFTj3SB94TZbyl9K29rZ96FZ_X01-GnJjJ96UkMsbr5A0g-K5RyFv52EIbSFjDCPZTf_gq8-5KINhfdZTcnukTlElmgpKqSkpP/s1600/IMG_1404.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzhBeScqXEPcpn336C5X7uYTtBlyRaePEl69iFTj3SB94TZbyl9K29rZ96FZ_X01-GnJjJ96UkMsbr5A0g-K5RyFv52EIbSFjDCPZTf_gq8-5KINhfdZTcnukTlElmgpKqSkpP/s320/IMG_1404.JPG" /></a></div><br />
This was a common sight on walks. No matter where we went or what interesting things might be found, Duncan and Reyna were most often side-by-side.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnxoBl6uln7jS_KkDxfaz7Zx8OCjMRAZgkVKXWtXqT1Pw9HMGQh594CpI8FjarSuLIVTxC2SVCs9VJfJdxdu9K13syKJXX8z1RDk9eviplVgNo76PZpcIVbEgw6rrOGuwjjLMa/s1600/IMG_1452.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnxoBl6uln7jS_KkDxfaz7Zx8OCjMRAZgkVKXWtXqT1Pw9HMGQh594CpI8FjarSuLIVTxC2SVCs9VJfJdxdu9K13syKJXX8z1RDk9eviplVgNo76PZpcIVbEgw6rrOGuwjjLMa/s320/IMG_1452.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWuIKjg4gmlarXg6waXrq_hrw4pJebOSHAhcwtF5WaHFLiWad828pHTVMU8HEwl9O8tWoQv7mzptrkNq2dLcLJ7M42F37DOTpkfMYkJGlHQn-odWkcOBhJ9qFqx-0XwCEBhOnY/s1600/IMG_1708+2.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWuIKjg4gmlarXg6waXrq_hrw4pJebOSHAhcwtF5WaHFLiWad828pHTVMU8HEwl9O8tWoQv7mzptrkNq2dLcLJ7M42F37DOTpkfMYkJGlHQn-odWkcOBhJ9qFqx-0XwCEBhOnY/s320/IMG_1708+2.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">Duncan seriously hated getting sprayed by the hose, but he absolutely loved to chase the stream of water.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq9_4qYAFNW_DBKznRCZmCV2TgkSqA9li5iezyKHONJDwbDamyghytpUrVOWQlRH84Bxc9jBx_-8PU8BfZ0W_ly4QWcykw7GD3t26I83xxotS2WN9vssbV-LIlFNflfPF1e1hR/s1600/IMG_3509.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq9_4qYAFNW_DBKznRCZmCV2TgkSqA9li5iezyKHONJDwbDamyghytpUrVOWQlRH84Bxc9jBx_-8PU8BfZ0W_ly4QWcykw7GD3t26I83xxotS2WN9vssbV-LIlFNflfPF1e1hR/s320/IMG_3509.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Duncan was perfectly happy pulling a cart. As big as he was, he barely even noticed these light-weight training carts.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaS939SXf6bZdNLCINACqPYmhyVGASfoOfI49CGJwWimlnoEIWzpbS963PTr-xEG-STaTZJmMMAGA10Ivof_dm9esDFjGKCBT3X51i13054twxu7_Lx0Rz6lnQoH_J6ontKqRd/s1600/IMG_7601+5x7.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaS939SXf6bZdNLCINACqPYmhyVGASfoOfI49CGJwWimlnoEIWzpbS963PTr-xEG-STaTZJmMMAGA10Ivof_dm9esDFjGKCBT3X51i13054twxu7_Lx0Rz6lnQoH_J6ontKqRd/s320/IMG_7601+5x7.jpg" /></a></div><br />
After the status episode in February, Kodiak became particularly sweet towards Duncan. He would often give Duncan a few sniffs and licks.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv68OYdjLE6wM9yg0O4PZujtUImrTbDhl058jhnRv2Hy1FN-EeGyIZQw2lCUYpkGGkI_P_Bx7ZPA9yDAIVCqIwmDGl93OH_VI7oDP77toW1HVaDBWKLBs0HIX2KEwki_MGu5CJ/s1600/IMG_9403.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv68OYdjLE6wM9yg0O4PZujtUImrTbDhl058jhnRv2Hy1FN-EeGyIZQw2lCUYpkGGkI_P_Bx7ZPA9yDAIVCqIwmDGl93OH_VI7oDP77toW1HVaDBWKLBs0HIX2KEwki_MGu5CJ/s320/IMG_9403.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">Duncan might do anything I asked, but he wasn't shy about expressing his opinion....</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7DdORc4Jc3vlo0RY-8Pk2czADXHl4yZPSJz0tJrpS3GiOP4alJF7KNw7TfgOrpnXDvfD0Ns_DgMptRvanxhgYRlY4A7oFRgNVTrxUTCCJf2yRTDSayYWOCIrTVDU7Gupv8tCr/s1600/IMG_8908-2.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7DdORc4Jc3vlo0RY-8Pk2czADXHl4yZPSJz0tJrpS3GiOP4alJF7KNw7TfgOrpnXDvfD0Ns_DgMptRvanxhgYRlY4A7oFRgNVTrxUTCCJf2yRTDSayYWOCIrTVDU7Gupv8tCr/s320/IMG_8908-2.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Isn't this a great photo? We were doing a musical freestyle demo for the local GSD club and I was thrilled to discover the photographer caught this. We've got focus, we've got matching steps, and we have an awesome red bow tie!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvgprC2UCKlfF_hF82amq85Swv10RR2XRdLDY6FeZjv01_UwCYPJdNSCNxHCk0EyGfJKb2kE0sIbeiApcTR10GmNzTb3FoK8x5Co7wWRYA35CKOTed5EwvI5auBAps5Amx-R1m/s1600/IMG_9247+c.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvgprC2UCKlfF_hF82amq85Swv10RR2XRdLDY6FeZjv01_UwCYPJdNSCNxHCk0EyGfJKb2kE0sIbeiApcTR10GmNzTb3FoK8x5Co7wWRYA35CKOTed5EwvI5auBAps5Amx-R1m/s320/IMG_9247+c.JPG" /></a></div><br />
This was the last photo ever taken of Duncan. We were at the draft workshop in Virginia, prepping for the upcoming draft test. Duncan blissfully ignored me during the basic obedience portion, but his focus returned once he was hitched to the cart. It was so cold that I swear Duncan's ears were shivering. He happily moaned his abuse to anyone he thought might listen.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAEUkiuo91Yg_lKhoI9O-Ga2vj4edzkyIpSxsijeq8lhn4OO_AUOBQWqHonPN_lyf1fG3TpLHZtY4afdR4RA9vX885-NxfnJL70Xs7ecYUtWKgYXO5J4MfBm-8ADyjALL8sT5d/s1600/IMG_9567.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAEUkiuo91Yg_lKhoI9O-Ga2vj4edzkyIpSxsijeq8lhn4OO_AUOBQWqHonPN_lyf1fG3TpLHZtY4afdR4RA9vX885-NxfnJL70Xs7ecYUtWKgYXO5J4MfBm-8ADyjALL8sT5d/s320/IMG_9567.JPG" /></a></div><br />
There’s no doubt that Duncan had a great life; he packed a lot into the seven and a half years he was with us and he will be remembered by a lot of people. It’s grossly unfair that this horrible disease took him so soon, but I know he is healthy again. He brought joy and happiness into my life, introduced me to activities and people I might not otherwise know, and expressed his love every day. No matter what was happening, I could count on kisses from Duncan. His passing has left a huge hole that will not easily be filled. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVTcSKw-GRSRJ3YlxbwOAYY9kVGF9eGpZFRm6tRV-F4v9diBznj1fKFlq7bficAGJJ2213QlAfbNOLkYWYtIUzCGyEhbKNgn2Q49bhyphenhyphenvCCZsJzbxGbnMBpSlejYLhRuAFQYqRk/s1600/IMG_1861.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVTcSKw-GRSRJ3YlxbwOAYY9kVGF9eGpZFRm6tRV-F4v9diBznj1fKFlq7bficAGJJ2213QlAfbNOLkYWYtIUzCGyEhbKNgn2Q49bhyphenhyphenvCCZsJzbxGbnMBpSlejYLhRuAFQYqRk/s320/IMG_1861.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw2l8t6ZH5Hez1o7bt4TN2J6TY4uuoc9j7tj0hLCaeVbkrMUZHXklvGIlH8hoeWyK9EstTDUOcvP2ThCzHy6_WZEIpfU7Y5jwX6r2j_cGap8L5TgAiW3_lAfbrwHaD-LKtbKTo/s1600/IMG_6358.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw2l8t6ZH5Hez1o7bt4TN2J6TY4uuoc9j7tj0hLCaeVbkrMUZHXklvGIlH8hoeWyK9EstTDUOcvP2ThCzHy6_WZEIpfU7Y5jwX6r2j_cGap8L5TgAiW3_lAfbrwHaD-LKtbKTo/s320/IMG_6358.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw-wzKN4NZoEUCmZdODbsVvD6CWHuJ8VrzXSHAvagc7hh2v0aBvcbAzoCCv1sXMXJtWhVlrrsyK9Np_W0c7csNCGFsZ5oAak0Axl03OUzkiPGJ3d1loAb_QO14XvXrwpoLOTgu/s1600/IMG_8105.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw-wzKN4NZoEUCmZdODbsVvD6CWHuJ8VrzXSHAvagc7hh2v0aBvcbAzoCCv1sXMXJtWhVlrrsyK9Np_W0c7csNCGFsZ5oAak0Axl03OUzkiPGJ3d1loAb_QO14XvXrwpoLOTgu/s320/IMG_8105.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3PTTG-APTW3_tlw9uSQe_Z7ITvrHFLWiViD7IhAa5A0cmwkd0CixzJo_c3Qo0EjS-IM7_BY9OqWe4QeZXJTVAXgdHw5DAnkTV3NXatqvT964VRJmvpbIKZALJUsUEi7l6Su2j/s1600/IMG_8074.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3PTTG-APTW3_tlw9uSQe_Z7ITvrHFLWiViD7IhAa5A0cmwkd0CixzJo_c3Qo0EjS-IM7_BY9OqWe4QeZXJTVAXgdHw5DAnkTV3NXatqvT964VRJmvpbIKZALJUsUEi7l6Su2j/s320/IMG_8074.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizDZ5GlEo2yekTywPliAUggPKug1At9Yve06Dy32QDNPuKrwIMa7nuc73b5K6KkKr12U-81roHlXptJ7nQxvkfKGTISCvUYiYUtBZ3OXYGa8GIeav1lNy_y0746uOsH2NjzNbU/s1600/IMG_9349.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizDZ5GlEo2yekTywPliAUggPKug1At9Yve06Dy32QDNPuKrwIMa7nuc73b5K6KkKr12U-81roHlXptJ7nQxvkfKGTISCvUYiYUtBZ3OXYGa8GIeav1lNy_y0746uOsH2NjzNbU/s320/IMG_9349.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic096bYrWvrHVJLMrnoQ_eZGX3_iUuJLesSj18NCSQpkLivyfsMFzvqIA2IQiMPOcz17WQoBzFdU4EdeKynY2Y_-J7Z4eoAkAEJ8EqkjagiYPZYFVot2E8LObA1IkdVVYm53hs/s1600/DSCN4195.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic096bYrWvrHVJLMrnoQ_eZGX3_iUuJLesSj18NCSQpkLivyfsMFzvqIA2IQiMPOcz17WQoBzFdU4EdeKynY2Y_-J7Z4eoAkAEJ8EqkjagiYPZYFVot2E8LObA1IkdVVYm53hs/s320/DSCN4195.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYZfoy1p_XTyOdmrPrxkLCPzDdDp2ZxMkfXBENr79rGkvKKmglEFEv0Cd-VZaXCWBlM2ZXjLRHIu8pw8woEiZySILd_VEex1WgNYnpeVWXvSFPukInVBkIiyOoQvbNvWJKD6o4/s1600/IMG_9499.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYZfoy1p_XTyOdmrPrxkLCPzDdDp2ZxMkfXBENr79rGkvKKmglEFEv0Cd-VZaXCWBlM2ZXjLRHIu8pw8woEiZySILd_VEex1WgNYnpeVWXvSFPukInVBkIiyOoQvbNvWJKD6o4/s320/IMG_9499.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Duncan, my sweet boy, you will be forever loved and missed. <br />
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German Shepherd Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08504273259468541419noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19000829.post-37778803531637009292013-02-18T20:20:00.000-05:002013-02-18T20:20:07.932-05:00Duncan's DramaDuncan’s been dealing with seizures for just over a year now (not counting the two that occurred seven months before they really got started). He’s occasionally had patterns that last for a couple of months, but since going off the Phenobarbital, the pattern has basically been to randomly have a lot seizures. Adding the Keppra as a cluster-buster helped, but didn’t address the issue of the frequent seizures. Well, this all came to a head at 8:25 Wednesday evening when Duncan went into status epilecticus.
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Just three days after a series of grand mals, Duncan fell into another seizure. I proceeded in the usual fashion – remove any furniture or other items that he might hurt himself on, start the timer, and get a notepad and pencil to track the GMs. About 10 minutes into the seizure, I realized that it didn’t look quite like the ones he’d been having. 15 minutes in, I called John and asked him to be on standby for a trip to the vet school. The next call was to the vet school emergency unit to describe what was happening and get some feedback. After a bit of back and forth, it was decided that Duncan needed to go to the vet school. I called John and asked him to come on over. By the time I got what I needed and cleared out the back of the truck, John was pulling in. I went next door to ask my neighbor and his girlfriend for some assistance with carrying Duncan. We flipped Duncan onto a spread and the four of us carried him out to the truck (answering the age-old question, how do you get 120lbs of seizing GSD into the back of my truck?). John drove, and we pulled into the vet school carport at 9:40pm.
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The vets were able to get the seizure stopped fairly quickly, thank goodness. By this time, Duncan had been seizing continuously for 80 minutes. That’s right, 80 minutes. With no breaks other than two extremely short ones during the first 10 minutes. Even when he wasn’t in a full GM, he was having random spasms with no indications of consciousness. His temperature was 106.4 degrees (high end of normal is 102.5). They shaved his belly and went to work on cooling him down. When the vet came in to update us, we found out that Duncan had done some pretty significant damage to his two left canines. I saw him contort in ways he’d never done before, but didn’t realize he’d done that kind of damage. By the time John and I left the vet school, their main focus was keeping Duncan’s temp down and preventing any more seizures.
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They did blood work Thursday to make sure there wasn’t any damage to Duncan’s kidneys or liver (all fine). They also kept him fairly heavily sedated most of the day, but switched him to regular meds Thursday afternoon. After a good bit of discussion with the neurologists, we decided to add 2000mg Keppra XR (extended release) to his regular 500mg Zonisamide (9 pills total), twice a day. Since Keppra has fewer side effects than Phenobarbital and potassium bromide, we’re hoping it will provide better control of the seizures without incapacitating Duncan. It’ll be a while before we really know how much it helps.
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Duncan got to come home late Friday morning. He was extremely wobbly, both from the meds and the physical effects of the seizure. It was almost impossible to get him to focus on anything but napping – I even had to bring him dinner in bed. Reyna and Kodiak spent a lot of time checking on Duncan – Reyna was definitely stressed while he was gone and very happy to have him back.
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We had an odd little incident Friday night. Everyone had finished their bedtime cookies, Kodiak was getting ready to do his regular post-cookie crumb check, but Duncan was still searching the bed around him to see if he'd missed anything. Kodiak was about two feet away from Duncan and he started growling. Reyna was instantly in Kodiak's face, growling and snarling at him. I dragged Kodiak over to his crate and Reyna followed right behind, growling and snarling the entire way. She's never before corrected Kodiak for snarking at Duncan, but apparently her therapy/service dog tendencies kicked in pretty hard. I guess I shouldn’t have been as surprised as I was, considering Reyna would walk over to Duncan every time Kodiak got close enough to check him out.
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Duncan improved Saturday, finally getting some of his coordination back. He was better Sunday, and after work this evening he actually played with Reyna and Kodiak a bit. He still wants to sleep more than usual, but it doesn’t look like the Keppra will cause too much trouble with side effects. Of course, the big question is how much will it help. If we can get a couple of weeks between seizures, I’d be happy, especially if we aren’t dealing with multiple seizures each time.
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Duncan had to have some help getting on the couch, but it was definitely his favorite place to be over the weekend. You can see some of the shaved parts on his paws, legs, belly and neck.
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The poor boy was sitting even more off-kilter than usual Friday afternoon. He did seem to enjoy going outside and baking in the sunshine, though.
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The rightmost tooth is Duncan's upper left canine. The dark spot in the bottom middle is the root. The second tooth from the right is his lower left canine. It should be as long as the upper canine, but its not anymore. The dark discoloration in the middle is the root. Duncan goes for a check-up this Saturday with the regular vet, and we'll have to decide if/when the teeth will need to be removed. One of the downsides to this type of slab fracture is that they can be prone to getting infected - not to mention they're frequently uncomfortable for the dog.
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Paws crossed we never have to go through this again.
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<br />German Shepherd Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08504273259468541419noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19000829.post-22301424347218526312013-02-12T21:24:00.000-05:002013-02-12T21:24:40.101-05:00Yeah, YeahI know, I am waaaaaay behind on this. I’ll try to get caught up, one critter at a time. Let’s start with Duncan, since he always has something going on. Since his last update, he’s done some agility, started training for a draft test, lost weight, joined an epilepsy study at NC State University Vet School, and had a whole lot of seizures.
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Duncan earned his VALOR Intermediate Jumpers title in November, and started working on Snooker and Perfect 50. There are a couple of VALOR fun days coming up and Nationals will be in late April. If all goes well, he’ll have a lot of qualifying runs, add a few more titles and have a ton of fun.
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We’re planning to attend a draft workshop in early March to help us prepare for a draft test a couple of weeks later. Duncan’s been practicing his maneuvering and working on his weight training, since he has to pull a 20lb load during the off-road portion of the test. Granted, 20lbs isn’t much for a big fellow like him, but he still needs to get used to it. The hardest part for him is backing up, although he only has to move the cart 12 inches at the Novice level. I’m sure he’ll be ready for it by mid-March.
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Now for the not so fun stuff…
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Thanks to the Phenobarbital, Duncan packed on about 24lbs between January and November. That’s a lot more weight than is healthy for him. I started weaning him off the Pb in November, and he was completely off by late December. He’s now taking Zonisamide twice a day, instead. Being done with the Pb has been wonderful for him in the sense that he’s back to being the dog he used to be. Unfortunately, his seizures are coming more frequently and have been getting more severe. His last set was 7 grand mals in 21 minutes a couple of days ago, with 6 in 20 minutes just a few days before that. He had 10 grand mals in 31 hours over New Year’s. We’ve started a new cluster-buster protocol with Keppra that really seems to work, but the meds make him extremely ataxic so it takes a couple of days to recover from the treatment. We did get the great news in January that he’d lost 12lbs since November 1st. With luck, we’ll have him back down to a sleek 115lbs in another month or so.
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Duncan was asked to participate in a study being done by the vet school (well, I was asked if I’d put him in the study, but you get the idea). They’re testing to see if external electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve will help increase the time between seizures and decrease the severity. I have a small device that I put against his neck two to three times a day for 90 seconds. We’ve been doing it for a few weeks now, and so far I’d say its not helping at all. Maybe after a little more time… One thing we have discovered is that Duncan really hates the thing for about 24 hours after a seizure. I think that’s pretty interesting, especially considering he’s actually slept through the treatment before.
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Other than the seizures, Duncan’s doing pretty well. I’m going to give him a run at barn hunting in the next few weeks, and I’m hoping we’ll be able to attend a rally trial in May. It just all depends on how his noggin is doing, since he’s pretty much comatose for about 48 hours after a cluster. Paws crossed for the big pup!
<br><br>German Shepherd Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08504273259468541419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19000829.post-14301047461820801082012-11-19T22:09:00.000-05:002012-11-19T22:21:02.084-05:00Santa Paws 2012We've gone to the SPCA's Santa Paws event to have the pups' picture taken 7 years in a row. This was definitely the best of the four I received this year.
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German Shepherd Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08504273259468541419noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19000829.post-87745799642224590082012-11-15T21:49:00.001-05:002012-11-15T21:50:38.814-05:00Queen Of The Mountain!Or the couch. Whatever. The point is, Belle is finally able to get to her favorite sleeping spot - the top of the couch.
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<br>German Shepherd Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08504273259468541419noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19000829.post-61906584820091558472012-11-14T02:44:00.000-05:002012-11-14T02:44:11.694-05:00All About The CouchDuncan made it 25 days this time, which is pretty good, all things considered. His first seizure was sometime this morning while I was at work. At least I hope he had a seizure, because otherwise someone is peeing and pooing on the kitchen floor for no good reason. Another seizure shortly before 8pm, and then a third just before 2am. Which is why I'm posting at this time of night. Morning. Whatever.
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The 8pm seizure was on the couch (naturally). Its fascinating just how full his bladder always is when he seizes. In fact, I don't believe Duncan's ever had a seizure shortly after going outside to pee.... After the seizure, I put baking soda on the wet cushions to try and absorb as much moisture and odor as possible. Its not a perfect solution, but its better than nothing. Poor Duncan really, really wanted to be on the couch even though two of the three cushions were unavailable.
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<br>German Shepherd Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08504273259468541419noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19000829.post-69834377429036741212012-11-13T21:23:00.000-05:002012-11-13T21:23:00.004-05:00My New Old DeskMom and Ronnie went out to Krysti's this weekend and picked up Dad's old roll top desk. Ronnie added some reinforcements for stability and a light coat of stain to get it back to its original color. The desk has a bit of water damage along the bottom, unfortunately, but overall its in decent shape. No one knows when Dad got the desk, but we do know it pre-dates Mom and Dad's wedding, which was in 1974.
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I really love all the little drawers and shelves for stashing items.
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Another neat thing about the desk - the transport stickers that were put on the desk when Mom and Dad moved to Alaska are still on the back. How cool is that??
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Now I just have to figure out how I want to reorganize my office....
<br><br>German Shepherd Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08504273259468541419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19000829.post-41573878967941032952012-11-12T20:42:00.000-05:002012-11-12T20:42:35.558-05:00AnimalsI made a wonderful discovery yesterday - four months after whatever happened to her back leg, Belle is finally able to get up on the couch again.
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The pups were being so cute this morning, I just couldn't resist getting a few photos.
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<br>German Shepherd Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08504273259468541419noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19000829.post-38486973972203955982012-11-05T21:19:00.001-05:002012-11-05T21:19:56.410-05:00Duncan Schwarzendogger"Its not a tumor" is the only line I remember from the movie Kindergarten Cop. I think it stuck with me for two reasons: 1) I used to get a lot of headaches, and 2) if my choices were teaching a kindergarten class or having a brain tumor, I'd probably opt for the tumor. But that's all beside the point.
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Duncan's been having a lot of cognitive issues over the last several months, including - but not limited to - not recognizing basic commands or even his own name. Combine that with the changes in the seizures that started in September and the really bad weekend we had recently and I decided it was time for Duncan to see a neurologist. His appointment was Monday, October 29. The neuro actually remembered Duncan from a couple of years ago when he was having trouble with his back end. He reviewed the video, seizure log and medication log I provided, asked a lot of questions, and agreed that it sounded like Duncan was dealing with something other than just standard seizures. He was less concerned about the changes in the seizures than in the cognitive issues.
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While we were there, they took samples and did a full blood panel including Phenobarbital (Pb) levels. They also did a bile acid test to check Duncan's liver function. The blood work came back pretty much normal. A couple of values were a little outside the typical range, but nothing to worry over too much. Duncan's Pb was low (15 is the low end of the theraputic range, his value was 14.9) which is clearly why we don't have good seizure control. Thankfully, his liver function was normal - its always a concern for dogs on Pb, Novox, etc.
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They couldn't get Duncan in for imaging Monday, so he had to go back to the vet school Thursday. Poor fellow, that was two days in the same week that he didn't get to have breakfast.
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Thursday afternoon the neuro told me that Duncan does *not* have a brain tumor. That was confirmed late Friday by the senior radiologist who reviewed the images. They also checked his spinal fluid and confirmed no infection or inflammation. So, unless there's some odd thing that's too small to see but big enough to cause major problems, Duncan has idiopathic epilepsy. Since there's no tumor, the neuro thinks the screaming at the wall episode a couple of weeks ago was probably a partial seizure. Which brought us back to the cognitive issues.
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The vets all got together and decided that, barring the weird option I mentioned above, Duncan is just one of the very few dogs with an extreme sensitivity to Pb. Of course, since Reyna and I both have trouble taking medication that works for 99.9% of the population, why shouldn't Duncan? The good thing is that a sensitivity to medication is pretty easily resolved - stop taking that medication. Granted, we still have to worry about the seizures. But that's okay, because we have a plan. We've started Duncan on Zonisamide. He's taking a higher-than-normal dose of that for now because the Pb actually makes the Zoni metabolize faster. After he's been on the Zoni for a week, which will give it time to build up in his system, we'll start slowly weaning him off of the Pb. We can't go too fast because it could spark more seizures. Ideally, once Duncan is off the Pb, we'll be able to lower the dose of Zoni while still controlling the seizures. The neuro and I spent a chunk of time talking about what we consider "good" seizure control. If we can average one seizure a month, we'll both be happy. Since Zoni has fewer side effects than Pb, Duncan should start getting his brains back together. Duncan's been on the Zoni since Thursday, and so far he hasn't shown much more in the way of new side effects. A bit more sedated (is that even possible??) but none of the extreme drunkenness he showed when we tried the Keppra. This isn't going to be a quick process, but we'll get there.
<br><br>German Shepherd Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08504273259468541419noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19000829.post-31375634898101593462012-10-22T21:39:00.001-04:002012-10-22T21:39:54.575-04:00Its Been A Long Six WeeksThat mass on Reyna's belly that was nearly gone when I posted last? It went away. And then it came back with a vengeance. It was barely visible the morning of September 12. By the evening of the 13th it had gone from nothing to a huge mass to a giant hole in Reyna's belly. It didn't behave like any of the masses she's had before. I actually intended to post about it and include some photos but never dug up the motivation to do it. We had an appointment with Dr. L already scheduled for the 15th - the first thing he said when he saw it was "Oh, crap!" Never a good thing to hear from the vet... The second thing he said was "You need to go to the vet school." So we did.
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Reyna ended up having a CT scan done at the vet school. They were so bewildered by what was happening with her belly that they had Internal Medicine, Orthopedics, Radiology, Soft Tissue Surgery, Dermatology and Neurology (a vet on rotation) all examining her and looking at the scans. All they really determined was that the drainage tract goes from her belly straight towards her hip implant. Unfortunately, the artifact from the implant made it impossible to see where the drainage tract stopped. The implant looked good, so they don't think its the problem. They do think its possible that all of this could be caused by a piece of suture, one of the wires around her femur, or some random foreign body. The major concern is infection getting in through the drainage tract and causing trouble with the implant. Their recommendation is exploratory surgery when there's another active mass. They would follow the drainage tract to wherever it goes and hope to find the piece of whatever that's causing the problem. They did admit that its also possible they might never find the cause, no matter how hard they look. Isn't that reassuring? I'm holding on to the hope that this was the last mass and that the reason it was so different from all the others is that whatever caused all this trouble has finally worked its way out of Reyna's body.
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While Reyna was dealing with her drama, Duncan was having his own issues. He had the two seizures after I got home from my trip, and then 19 days later, another seizure. Interestingly enough, Kodiak actually alerted me to this one. I was in bed and almost asleep when I heard Kodiak give one sharp, deep bark. I've never heard him bark quite like that before. When I got to the living room, Duncan was in the midst of a grand mal. He was on the rug, so its a good bet that I never would have heard him. Unfortunately, he had another one the next day, giving him two within 16 hours. He made it 21 days after that. This past Friday, Duncan had three grand mal seizures within 20 hours. Kodiak alerted me to the one that happened just after midnight. I'm so glad Kodiak has turned into Duncan's seizure-alert dog. These were particularly hard on Duncan - he didn't really get back to normal until today. He had a lot of trouble walking over the weekend, running into walls and furniture, not really in control of his back end. Sunday, he woke me up at 4am screaming at the living room wall. I have no idea what brought that on, but it certainly increased my level of worry. Duncan has an appointment with a neurologist at the vet school next Monday. Hopefully something useful will come of that.
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To add to the fun, Kodiak pretty much lost his mind this weekend, thanks to the stress of Duncan's seizures. He spent Friday evening flipping between cute and Cujo. He went after both Reyna and Duncan several times during the evening and even growled at me twice. Interestingly enough, he didn't try to bother Duncan during the last seizure. Mixed in with the bad moments were "I'm sorry I'm psychotic" cuddles. He was calmer Saturday morning, but I could tell that it wouldn't take much to push him over the edge. Sunday wasn't much better, which meant we didn't get to go to the herding trial that I'd really been looking forward to. He's done well tonight, only threatening to go after Reyna once, which I shut down pretty quickly. If Duncan can stay seizure-free for a few days, Kodiak should be back to his normal mildly-psychotic self soon. I really never thought Reyna would be the sane dog of the bunch....
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Some good critter news - Belle has regained most of the use of her back leg. She still has spots with no feeling, but she's walking almost normally - the foot isn't dragging and the toes aren't knuckling under. No idea why the improvement suddenly happened after nearly three months, but I'll take it.
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On the human side of things, I was offered the position that I interviewed for right before I went to New Jersey. I started on October 8. Finally, a permanent job with full benefits and paid time off. To make it even better, its only 11 minutes from my house via back roads. I don't have to sit in traffic any more and a week of work only takes a quarter of a tank of gas.
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I think that covers all the important stuff that's happened lately. If I think of something else, I'll be back...
<br><br>German Shepherd Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08504273259468541419noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19000829.post-68729557102031453922012-09-09T20:58:00.000-04:002012-09-09T20:58:18.737-04:00Home Is Always BestWork sent a group of us to New Jersey for a couple of days last week. We were there to check a couple of the substation sites we're building and conduct training. It started with a 4am alarm Wednesday morning so I could get to the airport by 6:00. At my layover in Charlotte, I found out the person who was supposed to be traveling with me (and paying for food, etc, since I don't have a company card) changed his travel plans Tuesday and forgot to tell me. I got to Newark about 11:30 and had to wait until the others showed up at 1:00. Thanks to traffic, we didn't make it to the first site until 3:15. We toured that site then drove over to the second site. We finally got to the hotel at 6:00pm. Checked in and did a quick luggage drop-off, then back out the door at 6:15 to get to the group dinner. We ate at a place on the river with a gorgeous view of New York City.
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We finally made it back to the hotel around 10:00, and I was asleep maybe 15 minutes after that. At 1:37am, I was rudely awakened by the fire alarm.
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We were kept outside for nearly 30 minutes. Luckily, I was asleep within a few minutes of getting back to my bed. I found out the next morning the alarm went off because some idiot decided to smoke a cigarette in the stairwell.
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Thursday was training day. We were supposed to finish at 4:00pm and then go into NYC for some sightseeing. I was the only one in the group who hadn't been there before. NYC is one of those places that I wouldn't necessarily pay to go visit, but if the company wants to send me, I'm definitely up for seeing the sights. We did actually finish the training at 4:00, but then it was decided that we should change to a hotel closer to the airport so that we wouldn't have to worry about traffic in the morning. By the time we relocated and turned in the rental vehicles, it was after 6:00. We finally made it into the city at 7:00. We did a really fast walk through Times Square, sat down for dinner at 8:00, left the restaurant at 9:00, hustled back to Penn Station and made it back to the hotel at 10:15pm. I have to say that I was really disappointed with how that all worked out.
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Back to the airport at 6:15 Friday morning, then finally home by 1:00pm. Sooooo happy to be home. The pups were just as happy - lots of wiggles and kisses from them. Belle gave me the evil eye and the other cats stayed in hiding until dinner time. So, pretty much the normal reaction.
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While I was gone, John came over twice a day to feed everyone and monitor a few issues. Reyna developed a mass on her belly on the 3rd, so I figured it would rupture while I was gone. Surprisingly, it didn't. More surprisingly, its almost disappeared now. I talked to Dr. L about it Friday afternoon. We're both happy it didn't rupture, but concerned because that's just not how Reyna does things. She causes us enough stress without suddenly doing things differently.
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Poor Duncan had a grand mal seizure Friday evening. He made it 25 days past the last one, which is good. What's not good is that he had another grand mal Saturday about 12:30pm. Two seizures in 16 hours is worrisome. Dr. L and I chatted again and agreed there really wasn't anything to do but monitor him. I can't afford to add other medications and he reacts so poorly to increasing the phenobarb. Thankfully, he hasn't had a seizure since Saturday. I'm hoping the two were the result of the stress and excitement of me being gone and coming home, rather than an indication that things are getting worse. We'll just have to wait and see.
<br><br>German Shepherd Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08504273259468541419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19000829.post-74515207828427525162012-08-27T21:07:00.000-04:002012-08-27T21:08:02.855-04:00What A Couple Of Weeks....So things were looking pretty good two weekends ago. That should have been my clue... The following Monday, I discovered that Duncan had a grand mal in the kitchen shortly before I got home from work (the puddles of saliva and urine and the spazzy behavior were dead give-aways). I cleaned that up and fed the animals. As I was getting my dinner together, I saw Duncan looking for a stray crumb or two under one of the dog beds. When I picked up the bed to let him look underneath, I realized that someone had peed on the bed. I'm not sure when it happened but it didn't seem fresh, so it could have been anytime since Wednesday evening (when I cleaned up the projectile vomit). I finally got to sit down to eat my dinner and discovered a large stain on the couch cushions - someone had peed on it since I went to bed Sunday night (I never have time to sit on the couch in the morning and I didn't even glance at it Monday before work).
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Tuesday evening, I discovered that someone had peed on the second dog bed. I'm not completely sure it happened Tuesday, since it was dry and I didn't actually check that bed Monday. For the heck of it, I decided to check the chair in the living room. Yep, someone had peed on the seat cushion. No idea when, but the odor was still pretty strong. At the time, I had three theories: 1) Duncan was seizing and losing bladder control while resting on the bed/couch, 2) someone had recently developed some sort of urinary issue, or 3) someone was being a total brat and just peeing on the furniture for the fun of it. I sent a quick email to Dr. L and his thought was that it could be related to Reyna having been so sick the week before. He said I should bring in a urine sample the next day.
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For the first time in 8 years, I got Reyna to pee in a cup Wednesday morning. Poor Duncan was so confused...he knew she'd peed, he just couldn't figure out where - he even spent three solid minutes trying to find it. Dr. L called that afternoon to give me the test results and started with "since its Reyna, it can't be easy." Sigh. Her urine showed a lot of blood but had a very low white cell count, which is not what you'd typically see with a bladder infection. He said there were
a few other things that could cause blood in the urine and low white cells (none good), and of course they all cost money I don't have to test for and treat. We decided to try antibiotics for 10 days and retest the urine to see if that fixed things. One of the difficulties of antibiotics is that Reyna truly hates taking capsules. I finally figured out a way to get her to take them without fussing - the powder mixed with not-quite-rancid meat soaked in beef blood. Nasty, but effective.
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This morning, after 40 minutes of walking the yard, Reyna peed in a cup for the second time in her life. The results - no real change from last time. There's still a lot of blood in her urine, but this time there were almost no white cells. Dr. L doesn't think we're dealing with a UTI or bladder infection, although he said it could be cystitis due to a resistant bacteria. Dr. L is recommending an ultrasound to determine if there's a stone in her bladder or a mass somewhere in the bladder, kidneys, etc. The cystitis would need a lab culture to determine the type of bacteria and appropriate medication. We could try a random antibiotic and hope we pick the right one, but the choices are really expensive (and would make Reyna sick in the process), so its not really worth doing that for something that we may not even be treating. Dr. L said we can wait for a bit on the testing if necessary, we just have to be aware of the potential problems that could arise in the meantime (they range from nothing to medical emergency). Unfortunately for Reyna, I'm really broke and don't have anywhere near the $350 that's needed for the ultrasound. Paws crossed for Reyna that whatever is going on with her can wait indefinitely.
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In the midst of all this, the rest of life continued on.
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I'm still trying to figure out a good way to protect the top of Belle's foot. For now, a toddler sock secured with a velcro strip seems to be the best way to keep it safe from all the dragging. The only problem is that if she drags it though the litter box, the sock absorbs the urine. So now I'm on the search for a faster absorbing litter.
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No, the sock is not falling off. This is the position of her foot when she's walking and standing.
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I'm pretty sure this expression means that she's plotting my demise...
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Assuming she can stir herself to acknowledge my presence, of course.
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Last Friday was my 36th birthday. As a gift to myself, I worked my tail off and shoved 40 hours into 4 days and took Friday off. The weather was so nice Friday and Saturday - overcast and cooler than its been in months. I don't remember the last time it was so cool on my birthday. Even the pups were loving it - the cool air always makes them frisky.
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Kodiak was very interested in the camera, until he realized it was pointing at him.
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Duncan's such a handsome fellow.
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Reyna said her teeth might be flat, but she can still kick Kodiak's butt.
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I got a few really neat shots of Reyna jumping for her ball. These are two of my favorites.
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And this is a fairly accurate representation of Duncan's opinion of all the shenanigans.
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<br>German Shepherd Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08504273259468541419noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19000829.post-40727735112292530692012-08-12T21:40:00.000-04:002012-08-12T21:40:09.634-04:00Back To The Vet We GoTuesday evening, Reyna was acting a bit lethargic and didn't eat all of her dinner. Wednesday morning, the same. Wednesday evening, I came home to discover that someone had been very, very sick in the living room (who knew dogs could projectile vomit?). Reyna refused all food Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, so off to the vet we went. Her behavior was so off, even the office staff could tell something was wrong. Not surprisingly (because this happens almost every time we walk in there), the vet couldn't find any obvious cause of the troubles. Reyna did eat a little bit Thursday evening, but she's still not eating normally. She started chasing her ball some Friday, playing with the boys yesterday, and has been pretty active today, so I'll take that and be happy. And hooray, no more projectile vomiting!
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In cat news, Belle's bad foot is showing some damage. The fur is worn off from the dragging and she's developing sores. I'm still working on the best way to protect it that won't absorb any liquid, since she'll inevitably drag it through the litter box. The poor girl is isolating herself more, as well. I'm afraid we're running smack into the quality of life wall and its going to be decision time soon.
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And with that depressing thought, its time for some cuteness.
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<br>German Shepherd Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08504273259468541419noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19000829.post-3318049354050560702012-08-07T21:33:00.000-04:002012-08-07T21:33:14.036-04:00BelleThis is how Belle walks now. I sent the clip to Dr. L tonight because I'm a bit concerned about how far backwards her ankle bends. I could be wrong, but I don't recall her being double-jointed....
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<br><br>German Shepherd Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08504273259468541419noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19000829.post-30493611426575929102012-08-05T18:39:00.000-04:002012-08-05T18:39:38.654-04:00I Love My BedIts hard to believe that it hasn't even been a full three weeks since Belle woke up unable to use her right rear leg. It feels like its been so much longer. I'm sure part of that's due to the fact that I haven't had a good night's sleep since then.
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Belle hasn't improved much since that day, but at least she's not getting any worse. The only positive sign we've seen is that she's had good circulation in that foot for the last week or so. There were several days early on when the foot was much cooler than the other, indicating a problem with the blood flow. That's better, but she still has no mobility at all below the knee and only limited mobility at the hip. She also has no feeling below the knee. There seems to be some above the knee, but its not consistent.
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We went back to the vet two weeks ago for a follow-up and Dr. L was concerned about an arrhythmia that he heard. Last week, I took her in for an echo to check her heart. She does have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, but not so much that we need to worry about treating it right now.
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Unfortunately, the vet still has no idea what's caused the leg problem. It could be any number of things, but without very expensive tests or invasive procedures there's no way to tell. Dr. L has not been encouraging about her chances of improvement and its more likely than not that she'll get worse rather than better. She could have months, or she could have years. No way to know. Its basically all about quality of life now.
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Belle has a permanent set-up in the spare room with food, water and litter box that she can access easily. She can't get on the loveseat so I have blankets and pillows scattered around the room to give her snoozing options. And since there was absolutely no way I could continue sleeping on a pallet on the floor (oh, my aching bones), I had to figure out a way for her to get on my bed. After poking around on the internet, I saw a ramp that was perfect - except for the $270 price tag. I'm a smart cookie, though, so I figured out how to make a decent version of the same thing. Its not perfect or beautiful, but it does the job and it cost a heck of a lot less than $270. I bought the materials and built it yesterday. Belle is already using it, thank goodness. Last night was the first night since this started that I slept in my own bed - I don't think I've ever felt anything so good.
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Between the carpet and the shallow slope, Belle can cruise right up the ramp, even with the bad leg dragging behind.
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Belle likes to sit on the platform and keep an eye on the other cats. Its also just the right height for her to look out the bedroom window. Guess its time to put the bird feeder in front of that window.
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In other news (because I hadn't gotten around to posting about it yet), four days after I was rear-ended, I was side-swiped. Some idiot couldn't be bothered to sit in traffic like the rest of us, so he decided to drive up the center median of the highway. There was apparently enough of a gap between me and the truck in front of me that the idiot decided that was the best spot to get back on the road. In the process, though, he smacked right into me. And then he took off (traffic had started moving normally again). Thankfully, a trooper was right there and saw the whole thing. He caught the idiot a little farther up the road. The trooper told me the the idiot was being charged with hit-and-run, driving with an expired license, and a few other traffic violations. I got really lucky again - no significant damage to me or the truck. I'm hoping its been long enough that we're no longer in danger of being in a third collision. I can't help thinking that massive good luck in two collisions in such a short time means the third one would be really bad.
<br><br>German Shepherd Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08504273259468541419noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19000829.post-42475865137220865912012-08-04T20:48:00.001-04:002012-08-04T20:48:52.575-04:00MycroftHappy 12th birthday, Mikey. I think about you every day and I miss you so much. I love you, sweet boy. <br>
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<br>German Shepherd Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08504273259468541419noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19000829.post-15447132334336624512012-07-22T16:09:00.001-04:002012-07-22T17:28:22.724-04:00Let's Not Do This AgainLast Saturday was a good day. Sunday was quiet, which makes it good. Monday was a little disappointing because Kodiak's lesson was cancelled due to weather, but otherwise it was fine. I don't really remember anything about Tuesday, so it must not have been bad. The week went to hell starting Wednesday, though.
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I woke up that morning to discover Belle dragging her right rear leg. She couldn't move it at all and her foot was knuckled under. I had an early meeting that morning but I managed to get in touch with the project manager and get my portion pushed back so that I could take her to the vet. Poor Belle was in significant pain from the middle of her back down and had no feeling in her right rear leg. Her pads were warm, though, which indicated that she still had circulation in the leg. The vet took a couple of x-rays and ruled out trauma (hard to get hit by a car when you don't leave the bedroom), a spinal tumor and a ruptured disc. The current thinking is that the problem could be a soft tissue tumor or a slightly damaged disc, neither of which would show up on an x-ray. The vet said that if its a damaged disc, it could take a month for her to get back to normal. And the longer she goes without the use of her leg, the less likely she is to regain full mobility. They gave Belle a shot of steroids to try and reduce any inflammation and sent her home with pain meds. She's been living in the spare room since Wednesday evening, which lets her stay quiet and allows me to monitor her eating, drinking and litter box use.
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When we got home Wednesday evening, I discovered that Duncan had some trouble outside. Courtesy of the anti-seizure meds, he can't balance himself properly when he poops which means he occasionally ends up with it on his fur. And then he comes inside and sits down. Wednesday, he apparently sat in several places in the living room and kitchen. If Reyna's behavior was any indication, he also sat on her favorite bed. After cleaning up the mess and getting everyone fed, I decided to blow up my air mattress so I could sleep in the spare room with Belle. Turns out the air mattress had a not-so-slow leak. I ended up sleeping on a pallet of every spread and blanket I could find. Not much padding for a hard wood floor, but I managed to sleep well enough.
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Belle wasn't too inclined to come out of her carrier, so she just pulled everything towards her.
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Everyone was up early Thursday, as usual. No improvement with Belle's leg, unfortunately, but she was eating, drinking and peeing, which are all good signs. Shortly before I left for work, Reyna decided she wanted to let me scratch her belly. I thought I saw something that looked off, so I got her positioned for a good look at her belly. I couldn't believe it - she had two masses in the exact same spot as all the masses we dealt with last summer and fall. One had already ruptured and had the same type of drainage tract; the other hadn't yet ruptured. I took a couple of pictures and sent them to Dr. L. According to him, we have three options. 1 - Exploratory surgery to see if they can finally find the problem (nope). 2 - Expensive tests to see if they can finally find the problem (nope). 3 - Antibiotics to prevent infection from setting in while the open sores heal (only choice I can afford). Since the vets couldn't find the cause of the masses when they first appeared, I have serious doubts they'd find it this time. So, Reyna gets a month of antibiotics and we all cross our paws and hope these two masses are the only ones.
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Thursday evening, I discovered that Duncan had a grand mal seizure shortly before I arrived home. Between the altered behavior and the very large puddle of saliva on the kitchen floor, there's no doubt about it. He made it 28 days this time.
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Friday evening, as I was leaving work, I was rear-ended while sitting at a red light. The good part is that the woman who hit me wasn't going fast enough to do much damage to the truck. The bumper is a little scratched up, but not enough to worry about fixing. The way I was sitting when she hit me left me little sore, but again, nothing major. Just the icing on the cake for the week. I decided on the way home that I would go to Wal-Mart Saturday morning (I'd been putting it off all week) and then the house would go on lockdown. I'm more than a little afraid of what's going to happen next.
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Rather than try to walk, Belle has been doing a very impressive beached whale impersonation. She'll lay down and then flop herself over or drag herself with her front paws to her food plate or water bowl. The only way I can get her up is by irritating her into trying to get away from me. In her defense, its hard for her to maneuver and if her foot snags on something she can't easily free it. I watched her try to turn around in her litter box a little while ago, and instead of turning she fell because her leg got twisted under her. Its pitiful to watch, but there's not much else I can do. Belle seems to have regained some feeling in the upper part of her leg and I occasionally see her trying to sling the leg around. There's still no feeling in her foot below the heel and the pads have been cool since Thursday night. Its hard to gauge just how uncomfortable she is, but she definitely does not like me checking either back leg. She's been worse about that today (Sunday) than the last couple of days. She's eating less each day and she hasn't pooped since Wednesday evening (an accident in her carrier), neither of which is good.
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This shot doesn't show how far Belle's foot knuckles under when she moves, but it gives you an idea. If she can't get it under her, it just sticks out behind her when she stops moving.
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I set the room up so that I can keep the door open (I don't like being unable to hear if one of the pups has trouble during the night) and the pups have been fascinated by being so close to one of the cats. Except Kodiak, of course - he's still nervous about being that far down the hall. When I go to sleep, Reyna is guarding the door. When I wake up, its to see Duncan keeping an eye on us.
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I don't know what's going to happen with Belle. I do know that I am so very, very ready for this string of bad days to be completely over.
<br><br>German Shepherd Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08504273259468541419noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19000829.post-38511292238951610632012-07-16T20:51:00.000-04:002012-07-16T20:51:05.097-04:00Happy 7th!My sweet boy turned 7 last Thursday!<br><br>
On Saturday, we celebrated with cake from <a href="http://www.gourmuttsbakery.com/newsite/store.php4">Gourmutt's Bakery</a> (they did a lovely job, as always). <br><br>
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Duncan also got some cookies from his Aunt Mary.<br><br>
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The birthday boy was very patient while we took photos.<br><br>
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Right up until he decided he was ready for the cake, that is.<br><br>
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This year, Duncan decided he was old enough to eat his cake in bed.<br><br>
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As part of his birthday celebration (although the timing could be a coincidence), I decided to start slowly reducing his phenobarb dose. Even with the small reduction, I'm already seeing signs of improvement. He's showing interest in his jolly ball again, and tonight he jumped two in a row four times! Another indication that lowering the dose is a good thing - Duncan put a beat down on Kodiak when the pup snarked at him a little while ago. Duncan had gotten to where he would try to hide from Kodiak rather than stand up for himself. Tonight, though, Duncan obviously remembered that <b>he</b> is the big dog!<br><br>
Happy birthday to a wonderful boy! May you have many, many more!
<br><br>German Shepherd Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08504273259468541419noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19000829.post-22449668590249107812012-07-04T21:14:00.000-04:002012-07-04T21:31:23.627-04:00Superstar!Earlier this year, as I was scanning the list of classes offered by <a href="http://www.dogtrainingraleighnc.net/">Teamworks Dog Training</a> for what had to be the 8,000th time, I decided it was time to get more information about the <a href="http://www.dogtrainingraleighnc.net/VirtualAgilityLeague/VALOR_home.html">Virtual Agility League</a>. I was trying to find classes that Kodiak could take and, ideally, pass without having multiple meltdowns. Nothing looked particularly promising, but I knew I needed to keep him in training of some kind. I contacted Michele Godlevski (owner of Teamworks and founder of VALOR agility), told her about my dogs and asked if she thought VALOR might be something worth trying. Naturally, she said yes. I decided to start with Duncan since I didn't know anything about agility and I didn't want to risk screwing up Kodiak before he had a chance. As we all know, Duncan took to jumpers agility just fine, as long as I run the course in a way that compensates for his natural tendencies. For various reasons, Kodiak didn't actually have his first agility lesson until June 17.
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Kodiak had a very hard time with his pre-agility class, he stresses over new people and places and things and sounds and textures and smells and everything else, and he often forgets that something he did yesterday didn't actually kill him, so I wasn't really expecting a lot for his first lesson. Not surprisingly, he was concerned about the gate to the agility field and all of the new equipment. Somewhat surprisingly, he was taking cookies from Michele (although not quite ready for petting) and not too worried about her being in his general area shortly after the lesson started. We worked him on jumps (which he loves) and tunnels (which he likes) and the table (which terrified him). It was really nice to watch his ears and tail perk up every time he sailed over a jump. He wasn't too interested in paying attention, so we kept him on leash for that session.
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His second lesson was the following week. Jumps - yay! Tunnels - okay! Gate - scary! However, he was willing to get on the table that time. Big yay! He also took several obstacles off leash with only occasionally having to be directed away from the fence. The biggest thing, though, was the plank. Michele had a flat plank on the ground that we wanted Kodiak to walk along. The first time, I had to put him on the plank. The second time, he eeeeeeeeased himself on and managed to walk without looking too stressed. Off to the jumps for a break, and then an amazing thing occurred. We were going past the plank on our way to something else and Kodiak deliberately walked over to the plank, stepped on it, and walked its length. Twice. I say again, it was an amazing thing. I was so proud of my little boy! Michele and I were both very excited about his progress and she mentioned that for his next lesson, we should see if we could get him to touch the A-frame. Crazy idea, right?
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Monday was Kodiak's third agility lesson. This is where I remind you that Kodiak has consistently demonstrated that he is afraid of the world. Keep that in mind. Third lesson, afraid of the world. He seemed a bit skittish, so we decided to keep him on leash so he would have the physical connection with me. We started with jumps and tunnels, then headed off to the table. "The table? Oh, yeah, I've been sitting on the table for years." Everything was going well, so we headed for the A-frame, hoping we could get him to touch it, figuring we'd be feeding him lots of treats the whole time. He walked towards the A-frame, stopped, looked at it, and then strolled right up the thing without a care in the world. He stopped at the top, looked around ("I'm king of the world!"), and strolled down the other side. You could have knocked me and Michele over with a feather. We turned him around and up he went, no resemblance at all to the pup who was completely freaked out by the little baby ramp in the pre-agility class a few short months ago. The plank thing? From the week before? That was nothing compared to this. And Kodiak wasn't done.
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The A-frame went so well that we said what the heck, let's try the dog walk! Michele wanted to start him nice and slow (its much narrower than the A-frame) so she had him step on the lower portion from the side and walk down. Kodiak seemed a bit confused by that, but he was willing to humor the silly humans. After a couple of tries, Michele told me to pick him up and put him a little higher on the ramp facing the ground so that all he had to do was walk to safety. We did that once and then Kodiak decided to take matters into his own paws. I was getting ready to pick him up again when he strolled right up the ramp, along the full length of the dog walk and down the other side, no worries at all. He immediately turned around and did it again. Apparently, he didn't need to start nice and slow.
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After such unprecedented success, we figured we'd break out the video camera and see if we could take him through an entire course off leash. I still think it was a good idea, even though it didn't work. It turned out that Michele is okay, but Michele with a video camera is worrying. Kodiak couldn't get his focus back on me and kept turning to see what Michele was doing. To distract him, I decided to take him over a couple of jumps. Well, I distracted him all right - I forgot he was on leash and didn't manage to get it over the jump support, which resulted in the leash pulling the jump over right after Kodiak's front paws hit the ground. That was it for him; he wouldn't go over any jump after that without me literally pulling (or pushing) him over it. I have to admit I'm actually surprised that was the first time I'd ever done that with him. Even though running the course was no longer an option, we had him go over the A-frame and dog walk a couple more times so that he would end the lesson on a good note. He wasn't as enthusiastic as earlier, but he was still willing to do the obstacles. The video is a little dark (it was nearly 9pm) but you can see him on the A-frame. On the dog walk, you can mostly see his brown legs.
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<iframe width="495" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/yzd9SaBLWTs?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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He has a lesson next week and I'm hoping he'll be willing to go over the jumps by then. I've managed to get him to jump the one we have in the back yard, so maybe he'll be okay (enough) by Monday. Paws crossed... Regardless of how things ended, I'm so excited about how far he's come in only three lessons. I really do think VALOR agility is going to be a wonderful thing for him.
<br><br>German Shepherd Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08504273259468541419noreply@blogger.com3