A rescue for the ages and a sick little dog
Sorry I did not get on-line yesterday to celebrate the Miracle Rescue in Thailand. That truly was a rescue for the ages. I hope we all will remember Saman Gunan, the diver who died in the effort to save the boys. There is so much ugliness in the world these days that we desperately need to be reminded that there are people capable of this sort of altruism and courage. Here is a link to a story about the divers and doctors involved in the rescue. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-4...
I was off-line yesterday because my spaniel, Holly, became very ill this week. Without warning, she began to stagger around as if she were drunk, her head cocked at an odd angle and her eyes twitching like pinballs. I admit I was terrified, sure she was having a stroke. Thankfully, it was not; my vet diagnosed vestibular disease, which can be treated with steroids. It is strange that I did not think of this, for one of my other dogs was stricken with this ailment about 12 years ago. I think I was associating it with diseases of age, for that dog was much older than Holly. The poor girl is still having a rough time, though I do see some improvement; she is no longer lurching around as if she were trapped in an earthquake. She did refuse food this morning, though, and normally that would be a sign of the coming Apocalypse. But my vet says to be patient. Of course he is not the one throwing up or having to be hand-fed because of the extreme head tilt. I just hope Holly does not decide hand-feeding is something she wants us to continue. The vet said it usually does not recur. It did with Randy, my elderly dog, but her great age—15—may have made her vulnerable. Just curious….have any of your dogs had vestibular disease and if so, did it come back?
I was off-line yesterday because my spaniel, Holly, became very ill this week. Without warning, she began to stagger around as if she were drunk, her head cocked at an odd angle and her eyes twitching like pinballs. I admit I was terrified, sure she was having a stroke. Thankfully, it was not; my vet diagnosed vestibular disease, which can be treated with steroids. It is strange that I did not think of this, for one of my other dogs was stricken with this ailment about 12 years ago. I think I was associating it with diseases of age, for that dog was much older than Holly. The poor girl is still having a rough time, though I do see some improvement; she is no longer lurching around as if she were trapped in an earthquake. She did refuse food this morning, though, and normally that would be a sign of the coming Apocalypse. But my vet says to be patient. Of course he is not the one throwing up or having to be hand-fed because of the extreme head tilt. I just hope Holly does not decide hand-feeding is something she wants us to continue. The vet said it usually does not recur. It did with Randy, my elderly dog, but her great age—15—may have made her vulnerable. Just curious….have any of your dogs had vestibular disease and if so, did it come back?
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I know what you mean, Asghar; I think most of the people who post are animal lovers. I have had mainly dogs in recent years, but have had many beloved cats in the course of my life. What is your cat's name? The book is done and submitted to my editors' tender mercies. It is so long that I probably won't hear from them for a while. I still have a lot to do with it, but this was a huge milestone. I let everything else fall by the wayside while I finished it, so now I have to catch up with the rest of the world; wish me luck.
I am not a dog person either, I'm afraid. It's cats for me too. We have two of them right now; recent additions to the family.
Sharon wrote: "I know what you mean, Asghar; I think most of the people who post are animal lovers. I have had mainly dogs in recent years, but have had many beloved cats in the course of my life. What is your ca..."That's great new, that you have submitted to your editors and while there is still work left to be done, I agree, the hard or at least the torturous part is over. I can't wait for your new book to hit the stands and the bestseller lists. Best of luck :) You have my best wishes, always. Now though you can relax for a while and enjoy things and maybe even enjoy the final season of Game of Thrones next year, without worrying about your manuscript.
Oh, his name is Smokey and he is a black Himalayan, I do love him so much :)
Though I am not a dog person, I do think they are cute and harmless, I get the connection and do admire them.
I hope Holly makes a full recovery. Please, do update us on her condition.
Dogs are much more high maintenance than cats, but I love them both. I've never seen a black Himalayan; he must be spectacular. A friend has several Himalayans and they are so gorgeous. I have a soft spot for Siamese and Burmese. Holly is almost catlike in some ways; a friend and I joke that Holly and her Siamese, Cricket, must be sisters from another mother. I have not had a cat since my last one died in 2006. At the time, I had two dogs and so held off adding to the menagerie. Holly likes cats, though, and would probably like to have a furry roommate.
We have an all black, yellow-green eyed male kitten who we got around October last year. His mama had been picked up as a pregnant stray and poor girl was only 5 or 6 months old herself (it is so important to get your pets fixed!). The cat rescue named him Boo, and we liked it so we kept the name. He is quite the character, very curious and confident, definitely a mischief-maker. He's an aggressive play-fighter too, but it's not hostile - more like he has no idea of his own strength! He loves being around people and will follow us around just to see what we're doing and have company. He's grown particularly attached to me - if I've shut my door to get some quiet work done, he'll scratch madly to be let in even though other people in the house are available to cater to his needs - and he pretty much smothers me in headrubs.Then we decided he needed a friend his own age, so we got another kitten from the rescue. She is a beautiful calico cat - white and orange and brown. She came all the way from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. She was dumped in a box by the side of the road there with a fractured paw, aged just 5 weeks old, and rescued. But after the vets fixed her up, no one over there wanted to adopt her, so she came to the UK to find a forever home. We called her Nedjem, an ancient Egyptian cat name, as it is obvious she is of the Mau breed. She is wary and super independent, definitely in charge over Boo, pretty aloof but at the end of a long hard day's wandering she'll submit to a cuddle.
We briefly had another kitten too, a little black-and-white Tuxedo boy named Storm... but the poor little one died aged just 8 weeks. It really broke our hearts. Apparently there were genetic abnormalities he was born with - nothing anyone could've done for him. I still find myself getting sad about it sometimes.
They sound adorable and lively, Iset. I am partial to black cats, think it is so unfair that black cats and dogs are harder to place at shelters. And a cat from Dubai---how cool! Here I thought it was something when I adopted a shepherd from a rescue group and volunteers drove him all the way from Florida to New Jersey where I live. How did Nedjem end up in the UK? Sad about Storm. I had a similar experience many years ago with a kitten we'd just adopted. She died in my arms without warning. But at least Jade (her name) and Storm were loved , no matter how short their lives were.
The rescue in Dubai had twinned itself with the one near me in the UK. I imagine Nedjem had a long flight, followed by quarantine, before she came to our local rescue.Gosh. Jade was the name of our old cat (19 years!) who passed away recently (prompting us to get our new kittens, as every home should have a cat). Poor dear, old age just caught up with her. But I don't have regrets about her. It's the young ones lost that really hit me hard.
Fun fact; out of the eight cats I've had total, four have been all blacks. We didn't plan it that way, but that's just how it turned out. It is sad how they are overlooked, as they are beuatiful!
I agree, Iset; it is harder to lose a young pet. We can console ourselves with an older pet that they had a good life. I was shattered when I lost my young shepherd, Shadow; that had never happened before. It was much worse, too, because he'd been horribly abused for most of his young life and he only had nine good months with me before his tragic past came back to haunt him; an injury from those years was what killed him. Nedjem is such a lucky girl, to be rescued, to get to start life anew in the UK, and to end up with you and your family--with Boo to boss around!
One of my Labs had vestibular disease at 13 and it was just like Holly's, sudden and stroke-like and pretty scary. However, he came out of it pretty quickly, within a few days he was almost back to normal. He had another episode almost exactly a year later; it was much milder but it took him longer to get over it. My vet did not prescribe steroids (given Alf's age, we're trying to limit anything that may have side effects), just nausea medication. Since then we have not had any episode and Alf turned 16 this year.
Awww, poor Holly. I hope she feels better soon!
Thank you, Kasia, and Amy. Thanks, too, for the feedback about your dog, Kasia. Holly is still ill; she is very unsteady on her feet, and while she is eating if I offer food by hand, she is obviously miserable. So it's been a bad week for us both.Sixteen is a vast age for a Lab, Kasia! What a lucky boy to get so much TLC!
Sharon, happy to see you post again. I was worried! I just read the Welsh Princes trilogy. I was saving it for a time when I was overwhelmed by the world - your books are such an amazing escape from everything going on. Many late nights with the books!The Wild Boars and their coach had me riveted. We really needed a good outcome there. I was in tears watching the people applauding as the ambulances went past.
I've always said pets need to tell us exactly what hurts so we know how to get them better. My littlest dog is always giving me sleepless nights worrying about what's wrong. Last time, he just needed his teeth cleaned!
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How are you? How's the book coming along? I think you were just finishing up the last chapter? Of course, queries about ongoing projects fills us with anxiety lol I have missed your blogs.
I am very sorry to hear about Holly. But I am glad she is doing better. I do not have dogs. I do have a cat and even though he is healthy, whenever he even seems dirty and scruffy my heart skips a beat. He is not that old but thought of Smokey passing on fills with me dread and deep sadness. Our companions, they have such personalities and they are so human sometimes and you are right, Holly just might decide that getting fed by hand is the way to go.
I hope you get the info you need from other dog owners and ease your worry.