Dave hates Sarah McLachlan

We have Verizion Fios HD. Over the last week or so I've learned that the ASPCA is a major advertiser on most of the "cable" HD channels (Food Network, Nat Geo, Green Network). That damn "In the Arms of an Angel" commercial makes me cry. Every.damn.time. It doesn't help that's it's an especially long commercial - I pause the TV, and try going back to live TV, and it's still on. Changing the channel seems to be the key. I guess it's not really hate, because she's doing good things with the commercials, but they're hard to watch when they're in the hourly rotation.

In honor of the sadness of the commercial, here's Dave's rescue story, which some of you may know, some may not.

I rented my first post-college apartment in 2001. After a couple of weeks alone, I decided I wanted a dog. There was a show on Animal Planet that featured a Boston named Daisy, and I became obsessed with these "ugly," yet incredibly cute, dogs. I searched petfinder.org for months prior to the move, hoping that I'd find an apartment that allowed dogs and then find a perfect dog to adopt. I didn't know much about dogs or breed rescue, but, in classic Abbie tradition, I bought a Dogs for Dummies book and an adoption book that gave me some general knowledge. After moving, found an all breed rescue group, Animal Rescue and Referral, that had a Boston. The woman I spoke with said that "Axel" was still with his family, but they had surrendered him and were willing to keep him until a new family was found. She said someone was looking at him that day, but would put me down as a backup. She tried telling me about a couple of other dogs they had, but I had my heart set on a dog whose picture wasn't on the site.

A few days later, she called to tell me that they had several people go to look at Axel, and none of them wanted him. She said that he was hyper, but the family reported he was trained. I called a friend because Mike wasn't available for the drive to Levittown, and off we went. We were greeted by a skinny, jumpy dog that promptly peed at our feet. But he was damn cute. So, off we went, along with his crate. We got him home, and he didn't want to go to the bathroom outside. So up we went, where he again peed.

Mike arrived at home, took one look at him and says "he's big. Bigger than I thought he'd be." To which Dave responded by pooping. The rest of the weekend followed that theme, with the exception of nighttime, where he whined in his crate (he was supposedly crate-trained mind you). We reluctantly allowed him into bed at 3 am on night two, when any doubts we had disappeared. We were in love.

The ARR lady was due to visit in a couple of days to do a home check, but had family issues that prevented her from coming. She finally made it in two weeks, and was overjoyed to see how happy we all were. We asked about changing the name, and she thought it was fine, considering his past. And Dave it was. No reason, really, we just think people names for dogs are funny.

After four months, Dave finally learned that walks (and not the crate) were for going to the bathroom and marginally passed obediance school. Prior to living with the other family, Dave was in a pet store, meaning he likely was from a puppy mill. We love our puppy mill, rescued, not breed standard yet still purebred Boston. And I think the feeling's mutual.

Aaaaaand, in the time it took me to write this post, the damn commercial came on again!!

Merry Christmas!

I am so thankful that Dave was alive and well to spend Christmas with us. He had a full couple of days, including driving down to my mom's late on Christmas Eve, walks with grammom, running around the kitchen while Mike and I prepared Christmas dinner. He got a lot of new toys (that he promptly destroyed), a new jacket and a gift certificate to his favorite store for more treats and toys.

Dave hit another milestone, and next week - 2009 - should be another!! That's 11 and a half months since diagnosis, which is amazing considering how bad it was at diagnosis and the quick recurrance. My brother, who hasn't seen Dave for a while, was really surprised at how well he's doing. Dave is recovering from the excitement today, but is more energetic than I thought he'd be. Good stuff.

still fine

Dave is good. He got through our busy weekend of a late Saturday night and even more cleaning and decorating just fine. He is definitely a creature of habit, but wasn't too fazed by the various goings-on. I'm calling the vet tomorrow to let her know that, oops, I was a little paranoid/jumpy on the impending death phone call, and that, at this point, we're not giving him extra pred.

Could something still happen between now and when they're back in the office? Of course, even though that would be very, very upsetting for us. Hopefully it won't. And hopefully Dave will continue to hit these mini-milestones (getting past weddings, Thanksgiving, a weekend away and Christmas). The lymph nodes are there, but only noticable when giving Dave a good petting. He was on point today, enjoying the sunny but cold weather outside and sniffing around the kitchen during Christmas cookie baking.

busy time

Between work parties and buying presents and decorating, I've had little time to update. Dave is happy, sitting next to me on the couch, head on my knee. A few days ago, I called his oncologist because I was a little concerned. For a few days, I noticed him breathing funny and seeming uncomfortable - just not acting like himself. Mike disagreed with me, although we both thought his lymph nodes were bigger, if still soft. When I talked to her, she said that it was possible that things were going in the direction we don't want them to, and that we could increase his Pred to 12.5 mg twice a day. I got home from work and found him back to normal. The breathing and discomfort weren't there, and he was fine.

I was really relieved... especially since the oncology vets will be out of the office from the 23rd to January 5th. Not that things can't get worse during that period of time, but the longer we put off the inevitable while having a normal, active, happy pup (and not giving him extra meds) is great. I know the Christmas day excitement will take a bit out of him, but I'm hoping for a quick return to form.

It's December

And Dave is still a-okay. He's currently relaxing, legs hanging out, on two snugglebeds, as we were getting the living room ready for the Christmas tree to come in. A snuggle sandwich, garnished with a bit of Dave, is making me laugh!

His weekend was somewhat unusual as Mike and I had to stay overnight for a wedding, so he stayed with Mike's parents. They have more space and stairs, both make him happy. Then, when we were home, we were running around. It seems like he is enjoying his quiet time.

His lymph nodes are still palpable, but small and fairly soft. He's eating and active, and we've noticed no significant changes since getting the second cancer diagnosis in September. I'll probably be contacting his oncologists again, just to touch base prior to Christmas.