March nor'easter

March surely did come in like a lion! We have about ten or so inches of snow, I guess? Dave was not happy to be outside in the midst of it, but once the heavy stuff stopped, he did his high speed laps around the yard. He wore one of his Christmas gifts - a denim jacket/gray sweatshirt combo. He somehow managed to get the hood to cover his eyes, and ran into a few things before I could fix him up.

Obviously, he's feeling better. I spoke to the oncology vet again this morning, and she was happy to hear that he improved. She didn't think the lung sounds were significant, as he was stressed and his smooshy face contributes to louder sounds. She joked that he has nine lives, as things that appear to be serious turn out to be anything but. Shoulder injury... I took back my comment to him that it was okay to stop fighting.

update

The oncologist called us back, and recommended that we take Dave to the vet on Saturday, as long as he didn't get worse through the night. When I called to make the appointment, I found out that they had late hours, so we were able to get him in. The vet we saw wasn't our usual regular vet. Dave's exam was good - his temperature, heart and stomach sounded/felt good. He said a few interesting things: that his lymph nodes were big, but that he'd felt worse, that he heard lung noises, which could be anything from excitement to an infection/pneumonia.

The good news? He thought that Dave hurt his shoulder. Upon examination, his front right leg was concerning.

I'll follow up with oncologists on Monday, and hope that it's a random leg injury in the meantime.

nervous

We didn't come home to what we usually do today... Dave has a limp, but ate and gave us some kisses. He definitely doesn't seem to be himself. I have several calls into several vets, but we're going to monitor him for the night, unless he seems to be in pain or if the limp gets worse. I don't have a good feeling about all of this. I told him that it's okay to stop fighting.

happy half birthday!

Dave is officially 9 1/2!! His half birthday was yesterday - we celebrated with new treats, new toys and a ride in Mike's new car. I'm so happy to reach yet another milestone... I remember how excited I was a year ago that Dave made it to 8 1/2.

Thanks to all for checking in! We've gotten 1,000 visitors in just over a year. I realize it's not much in the scheme of things, but it's nice to know people are thinking of us.

Valentine's Day

Mike and I don't celebrate Valentine's Day. I have an aversion to made up holidays, where flower and dinner prices go up, and the quality goes down. However, that doesn't preclude me from forcing Dave to celebrate! Ha. He truly is Hot Stuff!!!!

looking back

I'm still in disbelief that we've been doing this for over a year. It's nice to look back on the old posts, and know the outcome. It's Westminster time again, and it's once again time for the sad Pedigree commercials that get me. Every. Single. Time. It makes me want to volunteer at an animal shelter, but I know I couldn't do it without wanting to take everybody home. This coming from the social worker...

Dave is excellent - barely perceptible lymph nodes, lots of energy, big appetite and just a happy guy in general. In contrast to the snow of last week, we're taking advantage of the 60 degree February weather with walks on the beach!!

more snow