Archive for July, 2007
July 29, 2007 - Well, today was both good and bad, as suggested in the title of this post. When Maleah came out of her crate she had difficulty getting up. She couldn’t walk properly and ended up not putting any weight on her left leg. I’d hoped it was b/c it simply fell asleep, but long story short - it wasn’t. I also noticed her ulcerated eye bleeding when I gave her the eye meds. Double Bads! So, I took her into the Emergency Clinic where, thankfully and by the grace of God, one of my vets was working! Yeah!! Very good, Good! The diagnosis was a tick born disease! UGH!! BAD!!! However, it’s easy to treat and we caught it early. GOOD! Her eye, however, did look worse, and was bleeding, despite the 2 previous meds. Bad. However, tomorrow he will get a big time med that is supposed to do wonders, so I’ll stop by his clinic to pick it up. Good!! To boot he said that she looked much better than she did when I first got her - Good!! AND…she’s up to 62.2 pounds!! that’s 14lbs she’s gained, total!! Another GOOD!!! So, ultimately the “goods” outweigh the “bads,” and she will be fine in the end. I just felt terribly bad for her and kept thinking, “poor gal…she just keeps on taking the punches.” But, she’s doing well and ate big at dinner, took her first round of meds, and is resting comfortably in her crate. She’s so funny, though…she got mad at me today b/c I told her NO. She turned her head away and ignored me…I mean REFUSED to look at me. However, when I presented a treat to her a little while later…she loved me again! Good! 
July 27, 2002 - Yes, there is a problem regarding Maleah…I’m having difficulty walking sometimes because Maleah rubs her head against and in between my legs too much, tripping me. 
She is so silly! She’s been puppy playing a lot lately. She looks at you boldly, then PLOP! Her front end is on the floor and butt is straight up in the air!
She’s extremely smart, too…she plastered her head on Auntie Glenda’s leg and acted real pitiful…resulting in lots of baby talking, pettings, and smoochies from Auntie Glenda. Sucker!!!!
She comes to life more and more every day. She’s even got a tad big of arrogance…I LOVE IT!! The others are merely “dogs.” ugh…peasants, they are….
Oh Maleah…you have such character….
July 23, 2002 - Pictures are finally up of Maleah, day 21! Check out all that hair on her head! Yipee!! You can also see the ulcer on her eye. I’m giving meds 3x daily…saying prayers it will heal…we’d like to avoid any possible chance of surgery!
July 23, 2002 - So much has been going on that I’m a little behind on posting, but I do have lots of goodies to share! First, Maleah is now up to 53lbs!! That’s a whopping 5lbs she’s gained! At first I thought…is that all? And then I realized how I had to start off feeding her in such small amounts, and how her meds, colitis, and kennel cough curbed her appetite for quite a while, and I realized it actually was quite a bit considering all the time it took for those things to take place. So yeah, I think it’s great!!
We had to go see Doc, for Maleah has an ulcer on her eye. I’d been treating it appropriately, but for some reason it kept getting worse. So we had a quick trip to the vet where we received a different antibiotic, in hopes of ridding the ulcer. The first one should have done it, but the little bugger is stubborn. So Doc tried another. He also found the scarring of an old ulcer on her other eye, poor gal. Doesn’t seem to bother her, but I thought, geez…the poor girl has been through even more in her short life.
I wish you could have seen her at the vet…she had a BALL!! She pawed the technician for more attention, rubbed all over her, rubbed all over Dr Houlberg, went up to everyone that came into the reception area wagging her tail and greeting them happily, and even made sure to poo, pee and sneeze all over the exam room. 
She wanted to let them know she felt at home, you know….
But my goodness she had blast! Then we stopped to visit some of my foster parents, where she jumped out of the car and absorbed the attention. She apparently thought a lot of the foster daddy b/c she wanted to follow him inside vs stay outside w/me or the other foster mommy…Gee thanks, Maleah! Hey!! Remember me???
It was good to see her having so much fun, though. In fact, when we got home, I opened the car door to let her out…and she paused…looked at me…blankly, I might add…and promptly laid down, refusing to go inside. I said “C’mom, Maleah! Let’s go inside!” and she turned her head away. Apparently she had so much fun that she wanted to continue her adventures and have a fun filled Friday night! I finally had to pick her up and carry her inside, where I swear she laughed at me for coming to her beck and call.
Yesterday, she actually JUMPED UP on me! Yep! She was all waggily and playful, and she jumped up on her hind legs to hug me! I was on the phone with a friend and said “OH MY GOODNESS! SHE JUMPED UP ON HER HIND LEGS AND PUT HER FRONT PAWS ON ME!” I LOVED it!!!
She is eating like a horse…LOL! She gets very impatient if I take too long, too. She will practically knock the bag over to get my attention, and then wolf it down…then crash and snooze when her belly is full. She is prancing around the yard more than ever these days, and full of playfulness! She looks great, too…you’d not believe the amount of hair on her head considering it’s only been a few weeks and that she was in the condition she was…it’s super!!! I do have pictures that I will post as soon as I can. Her skin looks great, and Doc agreed!
Miss Maleah is so full of herself…YEAH!!!!!!!!! I love watching her blossom and love it when she rubs that (now) furry head up against me. She’s surely half cat…but she’s so affectionate that way, and is pawing more and more for your attention. She’s even dancing and being a little playful. I’m so happy for her…she is SUCH a darling girl! If I can get the video to load properly on the page, I’ll put in on there to show how she rubs up against you…it’s simply too cute.
What a great girl…so inspiring. Each day her spunk grows and she gets funnier and more alive. I wish I had her stamina and determination. Perhaps one day she’ll tell me her secret.
July 15, 2002 - Maleah has been too funny lately. She is so happy and so silly now, and it’s fabulous to see her in such a state. Yesterday she was rubbing her head all over me and wagging her tail…it was too cute! I’d been petting her, but stopped, so she came up to me and rubbed her funny little head all over me, wagging the entire time. I laughed, pet & loved on her somemore, stopped and she did it again. It got to be a game for her, as she got fiestier and fiester each time she did it, wagging harder and rubbing that goopy nose on my clothes. She was having a ball!
She even pawed me! Yep! I got the pyr paw which was delightful! She has a lot of personality, that’s for sure, and it’s starting to come out. She likes to sit at the front door, on the door mat, and hang out for a bit, enjoying the sunshine. She then trots in, excited about her treats, and waits expectantly.
She’s even dancing! Yep! She has started this little prance dance when she wants her treat or if she wants to go outside, etc. It’s adorable! I have one other pyr that does that and I’ve always said he dances like a TN walking horse…now she’s doing it, too. Perhaps I could make them a dancing team and do a fundraiser? ;-)
And guess what? I see less rib! yeah!!! I do believe there is actually some meat covering those ribs! As soon as she is totally free of the kennel cough, I’ll take her in to weigh her. I can’t wait to see how much she weighs! I’d even swear she got a little taller…probably just my imagination, but I’d almost swear to it. AND, I’d say ther’s more hair, too. Yipee!
She’s making major progress, that’s for sure, and boy is he absorbing the attention. Can’t say that I blame her, and I’m happy that she is…she deserves some good loving!
July 11, 2007 - Maleah and I enjoyed the sunshine today, as it was truly beautiful outside. She explored the yard a bit, and then we sat on the porch to just spend some time together and absorb the pretty weather. She seemed to watch the breeze, became alert when the cars drove by, and she listened to the outdoor noises.
I then got the bright idea to grab the camera and take pictures since it’d been two weeks (13 days). She’s grown hair sporadically across her body, and her skin looks soooo much better. She’s actually grown a lot of hair on her face, although much of it is still very short and hard to see unless you’re right in front of her. So we got the camera ready, and the first picture told me exactly what she thought about the situation:
However, she was very good about “putting up with me” as I continued my photo shoot. Not that I gave her much of a choice. Unfortunately for my animals, I LOVE taking their pictures.
I watched her as she soaked in the lovely day, and to me she looked so beautiful. I love her bedroom eyes, so common with pyrenees…so emotional, so kind, so “mom you’re really on my nerves.” She has opened up so much, and it’s such a delight to see. She is eating VERY well at 7-8 cups a day…hehe…she’s drinking well, learning the routine of eating, going potty, coming back inside and gettting a treat….’stare at the box and WILL THE TREATS when mom is moving slowly’…which admittedly seems to work pretty well. She is so good when I clean her nose, as she still has some drainage that is slowly going away… I am your typical annoying mother that says “come here and let mommy me clean your nose.” So she sits, lets me pick (sorry, I know that’s gross!), clean, and get her nose back to normal. Obviously not her favorite part of the day, but she is sooo good about it. I always kiss her on her bald (but hair is growing!) little head afterwards and she wags her tail.
Speaking of wagging her tail, she’s doing it a LOT lately! Yep! She wags when we go out, wags when she’s done, wags for treats, wags for dinner, wags when I come in to talk to her…she’s getting quite waggy! Yesterday she made me laugh b/c I’d slept in a little bit and was late for breakfast. WELL! … after her potty break she promptly came back inside and stood impatiently next to the bag of food. When I (again) wasn’t moving quickly enough for her taste, she began hitting the bag with her nose DEMANDING breakfast! She was so insistant that she almost didn’t let me get into the bag b/c her nose was in the way! I just laughed at her and told her how funny she was…she ignored me and ate….annoyed but satisfied.
She’s really coming out of her shell and feeling so much better. Her skin…I was petting her today and although some of it is still scaley, like sunburnt skin flaking, there is a lot of it that is so baby soft. Hopefully her supplements are helping and it will continue to improve.
I placed new pictures up today on her photos, trying to take shots to show how hair has popped up in places, show her skin, etc. there’s a picture of her neck and one of her ear that shows how flakey they are…but still improving!
One of my favorite moments today was when I sat with her and was petting her sweet naked head. I stopped…and she nosed me for more. It was a gentle touch of the nose to my hand, so I continued to pet her. If I stopped at all…there was that gentle touch of her nose…it was precious. She’s such a remarkable little girl…I”m so proud of her!
July 8, 2007 - Maleah ate 8 cups of food today!! And of course, let’s not forget the treats!
July 7, 2002 - Maleah was feeling good today and enjoyed the sunshine. She continues to make progress and open up. It was very cute today b/c Aunt Bernie came to visit! When Maleah walked out the door, Aunt Bernie began talking to her…and immediately Maleah’s tail began wagging. She sat on the front porch while we talked and enjoyed the bright and cheery weather. She trotted around the yard again today, watching birds, things blow in the wind…she was very alert and willing. She tires easy, naturally, while still recovering, but she really enjoys the time she spends outside, with me, eating, etc…she even kissed me today! :0) She was standing and waiting on me to go potty each time today, too, as well as excited about her dinner. And, of course, she was looking for the treats…those are super! She knows where they’re located, and she sticks her nose in that direction, looking at me expectantly. Her personality is starting to show, and it’s adorable. Watching this progress is great! What a stoic little girl!
July 6, 2002 - Well, Miss Maleah was full of herself today! She wolfed down another 4 cups of food, some treats, and actually refused to go into her kennel by locking her itty bitty body up (you’ve seen the demonstrations on “America’s Funnies Home Videos,” i’m sure….). She even “Hmph’d” when I cleaned the yuck off of her nose where it’d drained out and caked up. I did laugh at her for it, though, which of course made her “HMPH!!” yet again. I thought that was a good sign! Of course, I got tickled again. :-D She trotted through the yard and even held her head up proud. It was a joy to see! She wagged her tail when she saw the other animals and tried to visit with them (there was interference by mother, however…”HMPH!”). To boot…when I went to her crate to walk her this morning…she wagged her tail when she saw me. It was awesome! BAYTRIL IS THE BOMB!!! hehe!!!
This is the part that’s so wonderful…I love watching that Pyr come out in her! She’s too adorable for words!
I almost hold off on mentioning this out of sheer fear and murphy’s law…but her ear hematomas are no longer there! It is utterly bizarre! In all the years of rescue or as a veterinary assistant, I’ve never seen such a thing. Perhaps it wasn’t true hematomas? Perhaps it’s just a miracle? I certainly don’t know, but keep up those prayers that they don’t come back!
July 4, 2007 - Well, this morning Maleah looked better and was ready to go out to potty. She’s been more alert today and finally ate about 4 cups of food! You can already tell the medicine is kicking in, so I’m so relieved. I spoke to her last evening…”don’t give up,” I willed…”Mommy is going to get you through this, I promise. I’m here.” I repeated myself several times while I stroked her bald head. My heart went out to her…I knew how exhausted she must have been, and how respiratory infections make you miserable when you’re generally healthy, let alone emaciated and compromised.
It’s hard not to want to comfort her and hold her while she sleeps. She’s like an infant, longing for your affection and security. At the same time I could see her looking at me and saying “Moooom, let me sleep, will ya?” I love to see that Pyr disposition come out in her…it lets me know she’s not given up.
She’s resting well with her blanket and bunny, curled up in a little ball. I think she actually looked at the sunshine today and welcomed it. Big prayers she continues to respond to the medicine…she has so much life and fight in her! What a beautiful soul!