Walks!

The weather was so awesome this weekend.
Both mornings the girls and I were able to take nice long walks.
Of course that is all going to change tomorrow though.
Snow is to return.

YUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hopefully not for long. Or even better yet, hopefully the weather dudes are WRONG and we won't get the snow at all (I will make sure to have a Xanax handy for the afternoon in case we do get snow so that I can take it and not totally freak out about the drive home.)

I saw on the news that it could be in the 50's by next weekend so hopefully we will be able to do our morning walks again.

It felt really good to get some exercise and fresh air.

Phoebe is doing well.
No accidents.
Still drinking a lot though.....so the diapers stay on just in case.

this and that

Phoebe is still doing so well and not peeing in her diapers, but I'm still worried about letting her go totally diaper free 'cuz she does drink quite a bit.

Maybe this weekend I can let go without one for awhile. Hopefully the weather will be nice enough and we can be OUTSIDE a lot!!!!

Note for myself:
*Pick up Phoebe's refill of thyroid meds tomorrow
*Don't forget BOTH Phoebe & Sabrina's vet appointments on Saturday April 5th at 10:15. Heartworm testing, plus I guess Phoebe is due for her rabies shot.

Eeee!

Not diaper free

Phoebe got to go a few hours without her diaper last night, but after taking both Phoebe & Sabrina out for a potty break around 10 o'clock or so she came back inside and drank, and drank, and drank, and drank.

I knew right then and there that I would not get a good nights sleep if I let her continue to be diaper free all night long, so I put one back on her.

She was a good girl and honestly could have been without it, but I didn't want to risk her wetting the bed again. Not after that large amount of water she drank.

ACK!

I think for now I will just let her have diaper free times, when I know I'm around to watch over her and let her out often, but overnight, she's gonna need to wear it.

She's such a good girl about the whole thing!

Diaper free?

Phoebe's excessive drinking hasn't been as bad and she hasn't had a single accident since wetting the bed last week so I'm gonna see if we can go diaper free tonight.

Wish us luck!

I'm down in our room, Phoebe sleeping next to me (with her butt on the heating pad) and Sabrina is still upstairs with Grandma. I think she's mad at me or something 'cuz she's been shunning me since I got home from work (except when I was eating supper.)

Or it's because Grandma is watching Dancing with the Stars and I'm watching Family Guy reruns? I betcha that's it. Sabrina is sick of Family Guy. TOUGH!

Matching outfits!

I know everyone thought I was crazy, which is why I wanted the sweater so badly and waited and waited and waited for it to go on clearance at Target, so that me and the girls could match.

Henry took this shot today. It's the only one of all of us, sort of, Sabrina is kinda cut out!

Phoebe






Sabrina

HAPPY EASTER!

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

from Laura, Phoebe & Sabrina

Who is this cute little kid????????

Wyatt & Sabrina
May 1998

unhappy poodle!

If Sabrina wasn't so darn afraid of the vacuum, we wouldn't be stuck down here with the door closed while Grandma ran it.

If it were nice outside we would go out there.....

but it's not...

So here we are...

July vacation!!!!

I'm really looking forward to my week off in July. The girls and I are going to spend the week at the cabin. I was concerned about Phoebe and her Addison's and what if something goes wrong during out time up there so I looked on-line and found the local vet and sent them an e-mail and told them all about her.

I realize that this is like months in advance, but I want to be prepared!!!

They just sent me a note back that they would be able to help and check Phoebe's electrolytes if that needed to be done. They suggested I talk to Phoebe's vet before we go to see about bringing some Prednisone with us just in case. I'm so glad I sent that note, I never would have thought of that!

So for our vacation I have to pack:
*Portable DVD player plus movies and TV shows to watch!
*iPod
*Thyroid meds & Prednisone for Phoebe.
*Diapers for Phoebe!

Spring?

Snow, snow, GO AWAY!
We are sick of you and want to play outside without our feet getting cold!
We want to go for walks without getting muddy!

WE WANT SPRING!

Where are you?

~ Phoebe & Sabrina

Coupons wanted!

Just a note to family who read this.
If you see any coupons for Pampers (Swaddlers) save them for me!

That is the brand Phoebe uses.
We are set for awhile, but thought I'd start using coupons whenever I can!

Thanks.

PS: I still think it's quite hilarous that I'm buying baby diapers!?!?!

HAPPY SPRING!

Happy first day of spring to everyone!

Love,
Phoebe & Sabrina

Oops....

Phoebe wet the bed last night.
I blame myself 'cuz I hadn't put a diaper on her. I didn't because I hadn't noticed any excessive drinking....but I apparently missed it.

Oops.

So there I was at 5 this morning stripping the bed.
It made me giggle 'cuz here I am, someone who 10 years ago made the decision that she never wanted to have human children and not only do I have diaper duty, but I've got a *kid* who is a bedwetter too!

I can laugh about it because other then this peeing thing, Phoebe really is doing quite well. :o)

Called to check

I just called home to check on the girl and so far the medication has not kicked in and caused the excessive thirst again.

From what I recall from that first month, she had the injection on a Monday and it was Thursday when things started to go haywire.

Grandpa said that she's been sitting in her chair with Sabrina and all is well. :o)

back to work!

(it's slow today!)

Diaper duty....forever

Well, bad news.

The vet was not comfortable with lowering Phoebe's dose of medication. Her electrolytes are so good at the dose she is currently at and the fact that this particular dose she is getting is already fairly low for the size of dog she is, the vet said there is a good chance that if they lowered it even a little bit it would mess up Phoebe's electrolytes and that would not be good for her at all.

So basically Phoebe will be a diaper dog for the rest of her life.

I'm okay with that and Phoebe really is a good girl about it.
It will be easier once the weather is nicer and we can spend lots of time outside where she won't need to wear the darn thing.

Plus, she has been diaper free since Thursday, so it looks as though she will need the diapers for about 3 out of the 4 weeks each month. I believe she will be okay over night tonight, but by tomorrow she will probably need the diapers again.

It's not the best news. But heck. A lot of you have seen how well she has done despite the diapers so if this is the worst thing to come from having Addison's disease, I'll take it. After almost losing her in January, this is a small price to pay for this diagnosis. She's otherwise happy, energetic and hungry. I'm willing to have diaper duty for the rest of her life.

In other news:
Sabrina had a great birthday (thanks again for the e-card Wyatt!) When Phoebe and I got back from the vet I made the girls scrambled eggs (Sabrina's favorite!!!!!!!) then we watched Dancing with the Stars with Grandma. Yeah, it was a wild and crazy birthday. :o)

MORE BIRTHDAY WISHES!

HAPPY 10th BIRTHDAY SABRINA!

I LOVE YOU!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SABRINA!

This is a day early, but again I wouldn't have time tomorrow to post this until way late, and I want it out there as soon as possible.

On March 17, 1998 my Sabrina was born!
She was a little cutie pie

She was so tiny that she couldn't even jump onto the furniture in the house!

It was love at first sight for me. :o)

Phoebe loved her too.

I can't believe she is 10 years old already. There are days she still acts like a puppy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SABRINA!

hunchback Phoebe

Phoebe is obviously due for her next injection. She's walking a bit funny, like a hutchback or something. Her back is curled and her tail is way down. We had assumed it was her being sad from having to wear the diaper, but she hasn't had a diaper on since Thursday evening. Her tail does go up when she's happy about something, but for the most part it's way way down and her back is curled.

Other then that she is still in good spirits and hungry and energetic, but I am relieved that she has her vet appointment tomorrow evening.

We had lots of visitors yesterday which made her very very happy. She loves it when the kids come over!!!!

Grandma took the girls through the Diary Queen drive-thru this afternoon to get ice cream. They were crying and whining they were so happy! :o) At first Phoebe was shaking and scared about being in the car (it doesn't help that the DQ is right next to her vet!) but once she realized the car ride was just to get a treat she stopped shaking and just cried for joy that she was gonna get some yummies!

24 hours diaper free!

It's now been 24 hours since Phoebe has worn a diaper and things are going well.

I just hope that after her next injection on Monday that the lower dose is low enough that it doesn't cause the excessive drinking/peeing again.

I've got plenty of diapers ready for her if it does. :o(

Everyone keep your fingers crossed she can remain diaper free!

Diaper free night!

Since Phoebe hasn't had any accidents since last week Mom suggested we let Phoebe go without her diaper last night.

(the poor girl's tail has been way down lately she's getting so sad about wearing them all the time)

She did fine all night.

Hopefully she can have a diaper free weekend!

*fingers crossed*

Next injection

I just made an appointment for Phoebe to get her third Percorten-V injection for her Addison's on St. Patty's Day at 5:30.

I'm going to make darn sure they LOWER THE DOSE this time so that maybe the excessive drinking & peeing will finally subside and she might actually get out of the diapers! *fingers crossed*

Not the greatest way to spend Sabrina's birthday, at work all day and then at the vet....but that just so happens to be the same day Phoebe is due for her shot. Nothing I can do about that!

I will make the birthday girl some scrambled eggs (her favorite!) when Phoebe & I get home from the vet. :o)

Schmidt's syndrome

I was searching for more info about Addison's disease and found this web site:
http://www.nadf.us/diseases/addisons.htm

Auto-immune Addison's disease, the most common type, can be associated with other autoimmune diseases that similarly affect other endocrine glands. The most common one is the thyroid. If an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) coexists with Addison's disease, this is called Schmidt's syndrome. Less commonly associated auto-immune diseases are insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, and insufficiencies of the parathyroid glands, gonads, and vitamin B12 absorption (pernicious anemia).

Phoebe has had hypothyrodism for at least 7 years so I guess she has Schmidt's syndrome.
That poor girl!

God, I hope she doesn't become diabetic. I don't think I could deal with daily injections!!!!!!! I would learn to deal with it, yeah, but ACK! NEEDLES!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

Happy Birthday to Phoebe & Sabrina's Grandpa!!!!!!

Crabby old poodle

After work yesterday I had to buy a new heating pad because the girls and I wore out yet another one. (I don’t think the last one survived a year!)

So last night I set up the new one and turned it on. Phoebe plops her diapered butt on the whole thing. When I tried to get her to move over a little bit so I could have some of the heat: SHE GROWLED AT ME!!!

How rude!

Sabrina and I decided to just ignore the crabby girl and snuggled on the other side of the bed....so basically Phoebe won and was left alone with the heating pad.

Later in the night she did let me have at least a corner of it....but she still had most of it. :o)

Grandpa's home!

The girls are happy tonight because their Grandpa made it home from his road trip!!!!!

They missed their Grandpa!!!!!!!!

I stopped at K-Mart on my way home from work to pick up some more diapers for Phoebe and the cash register spit out some coupons that they thought might come in handy for me since I bought the diapers:

Enfamil formula

and some laundry detergent that is "The #1 Choice of Pediatricians"

If they only knew I was buying those diapers for a POODLE, not a HUMAN!

Hee-hee!

Diaper coupons would have come in handy. And baby wipes, 'cuz I use those on Phoebe too!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PHILLIP!

I know this is a day early, but by the time I'd be able to post something tomorrow it would be almost over:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PHILLIP!!!!!!!

SLEEP OVER!!!!!!!!!!

The girls are so excited!
Henry and Maggie are sleeping over tonight!!!!!

Woo-hoo!!!!!!!

Sabrina's feeling better!

Apparently on Wednesday Sabrina left a couple *presents* for Grandma while I was at work....but she's been feeling fine ever since so she got all the icky out!

Phoebe is doing well. She hasn't messed a diaper in a few days but I'm still reluctant to remove the diapers completely 'cuz she is still drinking quite a bit and I don't want to risk her making a mess on Grandma's carpet! Better to be safe than sorry, ya know????

TGIF!

Sabrina's turn?

This morning Sabrina didn't want her daily treat.

The routine is that I wash my hair and after that the girls get some liverwurst (which I call stinkerworst.) I use that because it's easy to hide Phoebe's thyroid medication in it.

Anyway, after I washed my hair I find Phoebe in her usual spot to get her yummies, but Sabrina has already gone to the chair and laid down! :o(

She must have an upset tummy. That is the only time she refuses her treat is when her tummy is queasy.

I hope that is all it is!

The worst part is I won't be home until late tonight because the clinic has CPR recertification class tonight from 6 - 9. That darn thing better be over before 9, I gotta be home to watch the Project Runway finale!!!!!!!!!!!!! (and to check on Sabrina!)

What is Addison's anyway?

So what is Addison’s Disease?
Honestly, I’m still confused about what the whole thing is. I know it has to do with the adrenal glands and that they believe that author Jane Austen died from it. Phoebe and Jane! (JFK had it too and they also believe Osama Bin Laden has it.)

From the Mayo Clinic web site:
Addison's disease is a disorder that results in your body producing insufficient amounts of certain hormones produced by your adrenal glands.

Your adrenal glands are located just above each of your two kidneys. These glands are part of your endocrine system, and they produce hormones that give instructions to virtually every organ and tissue in your body.

In Addison's disease, your adrenal glands produce too little cortisol, which is one of the hormones in a group called the glucocorticoids. Sometimes, Addison's disease also involves insufficient production of aldosterone, one of the mineralocorticoid hormones. Addison's disease can be life-threatening.

Also called adrenal insufficiency or hypocortisolism.

From this web site:
http://www.vetinfo.com/dencyclopedia/deaddisons.html

Most dogs with Addison's disease initially have gastrointestinal disturbances like vomiting. Lethargy it also a common early sign. Poor appetite can occur as well. These are pretty vague signs and it is extremely easy to miss this disease. More severe signs occur when a dog with hypoadrenocorticism is stressed or when potassium levels get high enough to interfere with heart function. Dogs with this problem will sometimes suffer severe shock symptoms when stressed, which can lead to a rapid death. When potassium levels get high heart arrhythmias occur or even heart stoppage which also is fatal. In some cases, especially secondary Addison's disease, there are no detectable electrolyte changes.

SYMPTOMS
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Lethargy
Depression
Lack of appetite
Tremors or shaking
Muscle weakness
Pain in hind quarters

Phoebe had ALL of these symptoms.

:o(

The whole stress thing makes me very, well: STRESSED!

When Phoebe was still in the hospital the vet had told me how if I knew there was going to be times when she would be under added stress, that I should give her some extra prednisone. So far there hasn’t been any added stress. She did well at Petco groomers a few weeks ago, which I was a little nervous about, but Phoebe is such a trouper, she did just fine. :o)

Thank you card

The girls and I received a thank you card from my co-workers dog who had the surgery last Thursday to have his eye removed.

Apparently he LOVES his little blanket we got for him and is using it quite a bit right now because he's unable to get into his little house due to wearing the cone collar to keep from scratching at his stitches.

My co-workers tell me he is doing really well.
The thank you card thanked me for my thoughtfulness and how they know I understand what their dog means to them because he is their "kid" like my girls are to me.

We did compare our vet bills....and his surpassed Phoebe's. Not a goal they are especially proud of, but he's worth every penny, just like Phoebe! :o)

Classic video

Sabrina wants me to post the link to the video Henry did:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9w1rGA2Z2A

Heating pad

Last night there was a bit of a dilemma over the heating pad.

Sabrina got on the bed first and instead of going to her pillow, she went to the heating pad....so when Phoebe got on the bed she was pacing back and forth, back and forth, STARING at Sabrina.

It didn't take long for Sabrina to realize her *mistake* and she got up and let greedy Phoebe have the heating pad.

God forbid anyone other then Phoebe have that darn thing!!!

a rough day!

These are pictures of the girls I took this evening.

As you can see they are exhausted from our very very busy day of napping on the couch.

Tomorrow looks to be another hectic day!

Vet visit

Phoebe's appointment at 11:45 to have her electrolytes checked did not go well at all.

They could not get her veins to share some blood.
The vet tried THREE different legs and then went and got a tech who has had luck with Phoebe in the past and she tried her jugular vein.

It was awful.

After that even failed the vet said "We give up!"

The vet said that since Phoebe's appetite and energy level is good right now that she is not too worried about her electrolytes.

We did find out when looking at her chart from her last visit (when she got her second injection) that the person who gave her the injection gave her too much. It was the same dose that she got in January and the vet had wanted to lower the dose for February. This explains Phoebe's constant excessive thirst and peeing. I was wondering why it was still so bad! I had expected it to be a bit better with a lower dose, but it turns out she didn't get the lower dose!

I don't know who it was that gave her the second injection. Mom was the one who brought Phoebe in for me 'cuz I had to work and it's not Mom's job to know the dosage stuff. I guess I assumed it was written in her chart that they were supposed to lower it when she went in on Feb. 18th.

She is due for her third injection on March 17th (SABRINA'S 10TH BIRTHDAY!) and I will make sure I am the one able to take her in and remind them that it's supposed to be a lower dose this time.

Oh well.

It's not that big a deal. She's in otherwise very good health, the extra meds are just making her so darn thirsty. I've got plenty of diapers to help us out until we get this dosage thing figured out.

The vet told me that since she is doing so well I don't have to bring her back until she's due for the shot. So that is very good news. :o)

Hopefully that day her veins will be willing to share some blood!

Well, it's time for nap number 3, so I'm gonna go!