Sophie....again

Today Sophie spent at the vet for the tests to check to correct her insulin dosage which was raised. Her eye was much better this morning and they continued the drops during the day. The blood work for that was good and we are to put them in for the next week. She got a shot for a UTI. She weighs 15.8 again but seems to feel much better and seems more hungry than before. N. took her out in the yard and she was wanting to go all over the place at 10 p.m. It was dark and hot and she can't see and was trying to go all up in the bushes. I just wish that she could get just the smallest bit of her sight back. Bless her heart. She is such a good girl and we love her so much. She's a sweetie girl.

Sophie

Last night we could tell that Sophie is totally blind. Apparently she had just the tiniest indication of light earlier in the day, but not now. This morning I took her out on a leash so I could keep her from running into trees and bushes. Then I noticed that her left eye was totally closed and was running. I put warm, wet compresses on it, N. called the vet and we took her in. They checked to see if she had a scratch on her eye, but no. It is probably some kind of infection, could have been caused from ever having a tick on her and then with her resistance low it could take hold. The vet said she was keeping it closed because it probably hurt. They did blood work and she will go in tomorrow instead of Mon. for the insulin test and they will decided which antib. to give her for the eye problem. We are doing eye drops every 2-3 hrs. That seems to have helped and she is keeping her eye open. She weighed 16.4 -- lost .4 from Tues. She doesn't seem uncomfortable and I am working to try to make things a little more cushioned around the house such as wrapping the bar stool metal bases with towels. N. & I hit our elbows on the top of them and we can see.
:-(

Sophie is blind now.........

My heart breaks and I cry for little Sophie. We took her back to the vet yesterday and they said that yes she is blind and it is irreversible. Her blood count is still high and she goes back Monday for them to test and readjust the insulin. The vet mentioned more things watch for and "quality of life". She did gain back a pound and he said that is a positive thing.

She seems to be dealing with it better than I am. In the house it is familiar and she gets around okay and in the yard we walk with her to warn her about trees, and whatever she might walk into. I'm so sad to know I'll never see her sitting in the window looking out at the world and waiting to bark at something there or looking into my eyes and seeing me or running after squirrels in the yard. (I saw her running around last Thurs or Fri. and now this) This morning she was on the porch and heard something and instinctively started to run and bumped into the corner of the porch before I could do anything.

:-( I cry and cry.......

Oh, little Sophie

My little Sophie is nearly blind. My heart is breaking.

Hot weather---ack!

I just looked at weather.com and it's 90 here and feels like 99. I am SO over this and ready for fall and cooler weather. In addition to that the mosquitoes are bad. They are supposed to come around and spray tonight. Yay!

Little Sophie is doing okay but is losing her eyesight. :-( N. read on line that this is very common and that the dogs take it in stride and deal much better than their owners.

My back is sore from mopping the floors on Saturday. The mop handle is too short and causes me to have to bend over and by the time I finished my back was hurting. I KNEW that housework was bad for your health! ;-) Then I had to leave and go get my hair trimmed instead of just staying home and resting my back. Oh well.....

Today I went to craft group at church. On the way home I met N. at Taco Bell for lunch. Then on to the now really dreaded Walmart. They no longer carry Cape Cod potato chips and a brand of frozen shrimp that we paid $5 a bag for a couple of weeks ago is now $8. I am shopping there less and less and being aggravated more and more.


I did buy a pumpkin to put on the back steps for a little autumn atmosphere alone with some pretty silk leaves on a vine

In Memory of Debbie

Our niece called yesterday morning to let us know the sad news that her good friend Debbie passed away in the early morning hours. She has been very ill for quite some time with cancer. Debbie & her husband Steve took us into their home in with our dogs Ellie ( 65 lbs.) and Sophie when we had to evacuate for Hurricane Katrina and treated us as family. She was such a fun person with a ready laugh and will be missed greatly. We got to see her at the beginning of August when we went to help niece A. with her new house. It was heartbreaking as Debbie was so frail then and not getting better. She suffered so much and now that's past. May GOD rest her soul in peace.

Sophie.....again

Yesterday Sophie spent the day at the vet's office so that they could test her before and after food and insulin. We picked her up around 4:45. It turns out that she will have to have insulin twice a day and this is something that will not change. She is taking the same amount as before, just two times per day. She goes back in two weeks for another all day stay to see how the new dosage works. That turns out to be on my birthday and they offered to make the appointment for the next day. I may call back and do that. She has lost another pound and weighs 15.8 now, but the vet says that is not uncommon when dealing with diabetes. I wonder how this will all turn out....... :-(

It's 81 degrees, feels like 88 and with 82 percent humidity and 75 degree dew point, it feels like we have a hot, steamy blanket thrown over everywhere. ACK! The ground is soaked from yet another downpour yesterday afternoon. The sun came out after that and again today, so we are really humid and miserable.

The mosquito truck came to spray last night. This time however, he drove all the way in and then only sprayed on the way out so we got half as much and it was too wet to open the other gates to let them use the other drive too. Last time we had the other gates open and he didn't go that way, so go figure. Maybe it was a new driver then?

Penny candy

We were in CVS Pharmacy this morning and at one point I turned around and saw this whole shelf of penny candy that was $1.99 and it struck me as funny. A quick snap with the cell phone and here it is PENNY candy for TWO BUCKS. ;-)

Happy Labor Day

Well, Labor Day and we have labored. ;-) We hauled concrete blocks, branches, old posts, etc. out back and threw them in the ruts from the huge tree machine. It is hot and humid and we sweated.

Now we are trying to do a steak on the grill and of course the minute the charcoal was lit, the rain came in buckets. By the time we finished dragging the flaming grill around, it quit. Figures.

Opps, raining again. Maybe this will be enough rain to settle the dust so N. can bush hog without making clouds of dust. He tried it a little the other day to test out the tractor and the dust was bad. The steering on the tractor had broken and he took it all apart to figure out which part was needed. We went to a tractor place and got the tiny little piece and he put the whole thing back together again and it works fine now.

Little Sophie.......

Friday we took Sophie to the vet to get her check up and regular shots, etc. We knew from blood work in the spring that she probably had precursor to Cushings disease. She did not get any shots or any meds for Cushings as the vet found that she is diabetic. Possibly the 2 are tied together some how. She is now on insulin injections daily and will probably be from now on. He started her on a low dosage and we will take her back to be checked before and after food and insulin on Friday or Monday so that he can get the amount adjusted correctly for her. N. is doing the shots and has done 3 so far and it has gone fine. I think she is drinking less water and the vet said she will feel better in about a week. She didn't really seem to be feeling too bad, but hopefully she will feel even better. After looking this up on line N. discovered that diabetic dogs are common and her breed is one of the top 5 for it. If we need to board her it will be at the vet's so they can give her the insulin. She is now eating all light food, nothing greasy, etc. Hopefully this will get on an even keel and be okay. Bless her heart.