HEARTWORM TREATMENTS-DAY ONE!

Today was Dos' first day of the long awaited heartworm treatments.

I woke up early, at 6 am to take Dos to work with me, because we needed to go directly from there to the APA! clinic to get the heartworm treatment.

She could sense my apprehension, I think, because when I tried to get her out of her bed, she was grumbly and turned herself into dead weight. I had to pull the bed out of the crate with her on it and sweet talk her into standing up. Once she stood up, she didn't want to leave her bed at all, so I had to carry her to the car, where, as usual, she rode with her front paws on my lap.(Maybe she doesn't like my driving).

She hung out with me at work, under the desk or following me around to clean. She was very good, and didn't bark or growl at any of the other dogs, which I was expecting. She wasn't afraid at all.

I administered Dos' pain meds, and we left for the clinic.
We got to the clinic a bit early, and Dos waited patiently, laying on the floor.

When they called her back, she wasn't apprehensive about the vet's office at all, even though she has been poked and prodded so many times.

They shaved the teeny bit of fur on her back and prepared the injection site.  They asked me to pet her head/face and speak loudly to her, to distract her.

She didn't notice the injection (a large needle going very deep) at all. She took it like a champ.
They told me what to look for (labored breathing, blue gums, collapse) and what I should be worried about, and we were on our way! The process itself was easy-what was to come later was difficult.

Dos screamed in the car. She whined and whined and whined. She actually sat in the back seat (well...rolled around on the seat). Once we got home, I got her situated in her favorite spot on the couch with a soft blanket and petted her until she stopped whining enough to fall asleep-but the second she would almost fall asleep, she would start to panic and scoot her body to the edge of the couch, roll off, and drag herself to every corner of the room to lay down to get comfortable.

I tried putting her in her crate, as it is important to keep a dog undergoing heartworm treatments calm, as the worms die and break apart, you don't want to put any undue strain on  their heart/lungs.

In her crate, she was restless, and trying to dig her way out, which was making things worse-so I took her back onto the couch and just cuddled with her, to keep her still.

She didn't like her back or tail being pet, or anywhere near it. She got a bit growly with me when I was too near the back of her, so I just sat with her and petted her little ears until she finally fell asleep.


She slept through the night, and I finally got her into her crate so I could sleep, too. She slept soundly, snoring away all night, as per usual-and this morning, she was thumping her tail against the side of her crate, happy to see me.


I think our girl is going to be alright.


Today, is the second round of the treatment. I'm less nervous about the process..but it's so much poison, and still runs a risk...so I'm just trying to stay positive.

First Heartworm Treatments Tomorrow..

My sweet girl gets her first heartworm treatment tomorrow, and then the second one 24 hours later.

I know it's practically a routine procedure. I know it's going to be fine. I know that she will be in good hands..but I can't help but be worried sick.

It's going to probably be more stressful to keep her contained while she is undergoing treatments-and to keep her relaxed. . . I'm going to have to keep all paper towels out of sight...if she sees those, she may just lose her mind trying to get to them...(still, after all the delicious dog food she gets, she wants paper towels and she wants them bad).

Right now, Dos is laying in the yard, happy, and farting up a storm. 

Tonight I will be giving her extra cuddles. . She has a long day ahead of her..

The Daily Dos Has Returned!

Miss Dos has been prospering as a dog since the past update. She has been growing in so much fur in her bald patches, and where she already had fur she is growing in thicker and thicker.


One of the best surprises from Dos Mabel Ploppers has been the heart. She has grown in a heart shaped spot on her side, which has developed as her fur has grown in. It fits her so well.  She has also grown out of a lot of the wrinkles she originally had, which, as I can see now, were mostly from the swelling all over her body.

She has also grown into her personality a lot more in the past month. She is affectionate, and still very clingy. She waits at the door for me to come home, and once I do, she does not leave my side. She has decided that she must be in my lap at all times.

As sweet as she is, she is also a cranky ol' lady. She doesn't like when the other dogs run too fast past her unless she is in the mood to play (which isn't terribly often). She doesn't like when Walter whines at night. If it's bedtime and Walter wants to whine or bark at something, she growls and barks and will give Walter a little nip to quiet him down. She's definitely a mama dog, and if she were a human, she would definitely be telling kids to get off her lawn.

I've found that she's also pretty territorial, and very anxious around dogs she doesn't know. She loves her brothers (when they aren't playing ball in the house) but if a dog approaches our yard, she gets a little aggressive. A friend of mine brought her dogs over recently, and she went immediately on the defensive and got very snarly with one of them. After an hour or so, however, she settled down and she was fine, but I think the initial response is fear based.

I have taken her to work with me a few times, and at work she seems to be more interested in sniffing around -but not with any of the dogs staying here because I am concerned about what could happen.  . I know from working at the kennel that dogs behave SO differently when they aren't around their people-so Im not sure if it's just because I am around-I haven't let her around strange dogs without me at all so I am not sure what her reaction would be.

Thankfully, she's grown fond(er) of the yard, and as long as Francis is out there, she is content with it. But because Francis has been sick, he hasn't spent much time out there lately and I think she is happy about that.


At the end of the month, she will finally get her heartworm treatments. She will need to take a severe painkiller before the injections, because the injections go deep in the muscle.
She will also be seeing my vet soon about the lump in her neck-all signs point to a lipoma, which is just a fatty tumor, but we will see..I'm really hoping for the best. She's already gone through so much.


Now that things have settled down, the updates will be coming more frequently. (I have been doing more updates on Dos Facebook page, which is facebook.com/doschances if anyone is interested in seeing more pictures.)


I love this sweet girl so much-and she loves me more than any living creature probably ever will, ever in my life.

Three month progress!

This is a bit behind (obviously) so I apologize for letting the updates fall by the wayside.

Between working 6 days a week and Francis falling ill, I haven't had much time to update the blog.
(Dos does have a Facebook, for those interested. The address is www.facebook.com/doschances)

But-here is a progress photo of Dos from here THREE MONTH ANNIVERSARY:)
And a video of her 3 month anniversary present-a giant kong, which she was SOOOO interested in.


Dos should be getting her heartworm treatments as soon as APA! gets their medicine back in stock!

But for now, Dos is doing well. She's become so attached to me, Michael and our roommate told me that she waits by the door from the time I leave until the time I get home.

Halloween!

Tonight, Dos will be helping me pass out candy to the neighborhood kids. She will be in costume.

Considering how much Dos LOVES kids, I'm very excited for tonight!

Pics up asap!

Videos! Sniffing and the Pigwalrus Wiggle.

I want to apologize for the lack of updates recently-our oldest and first baby and Dos' best buddy Francis fell ill and was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and we have been tending to him. It's been a very stressful situation. Dos has been sniffing at him but not bothering him too much. I think she knows.

Anyway, here are a couple of Dos videos, the most important being the Pigwalrus Wiggle, which is is what she does when she doesn't want to do something like go in her crate or go in the house..

She uses that cute factor for sure!

Dos Updates!

Ya'll will get your Dos fix tonight! Computer is back up and running!:-D

Day 73!

Took Princess Dos Mabel Ploppers to Summermoon Coffee Shop today with my friend who just came to town.


She looked like she had been there forever, and once we got to the patio waddled right to their dog water bowl, slurped a big drink, and placed herself underneath the table where we were sitting.

She watched people walk by, she sniffed the air at dogs and their people jogging past, and she wagged her tail when people came near her. She was a happy, happy pigwalrus today.


It's a big step in her emotional recovery to be around people, and a great sign that she's started to thrive.

Day 72-Dos meets a rescue puppy

Today Dos met a little rescue puppy, who had a broken femur and hip and was skin-and-bones starving. Although he is broken, he is still a puppy and tries very hard to get around and climb into people laps. I thought she would be a bit frightened by this-but she sat down next to him when he finally managed to get his awkward little body into my lap, and put her head on my knee and sniffed into his ears, sniffed his neck, sniffed all over him and finally just put her head back on my knee and just looked at him. It was as if she was checking him out to see what was wrong with him, and then telling him everything was going to be alright.

It was a very Mother Dos thing I witnesses, and I wish I would have been able to capture it on video.

Someone was definitely cutting onions there...

Day 71-Dos' trip to Strange Brew.

I've been trying to give Dos as many relaxed outings as possible before her heartworm treatments, as she won't be able to do much of anything while she is undergoing treatments, and -i like to keep this in the back of my mind- in case something happens to her, I want her to have had the best possible life, seeing new things, and meeting new people who pet her.

I took Dos to Strange Brew tonight, and she did just that. She met lots of people, all of who she was very happy to be pet by. I went with my friend Katie, and we sat at a corner table with Dos hanging out underneath. She was content to lay at my feet-and content in general for the most part, until I went inside to get coffee, and Katie held her leash. She struggled to follow me, and when I returned to her, she acted like she does when I've been at work all day.

(As cute as it is, I do want to work on her separation anxiety)

When we got home, Dos immediately fell asleep on her couch spot. I could tell she was very happy to have been out with me, and little tuckered out girl fell right asleep.

Day 70-Dos goes to the pet food store..

Today I took Dos on a field trip to get dog treats/chewies/ dog soap, and vaccinations for a friend's dog.

We ventured off to Callahan's General Store-where there would be a plethera of things for Dos to smell and look at.  Unfortunately, I didn't know Callahan's wasn't open on Sundays, so we opted to head down to Tomlinson's, a petfeed store.

We got there a bit before they opened, so we sat out front and  Dos watched a Shar-Pei puppy play with his puppy mom in the grass.

Once inside, Dos' nose went into hyperdrive. She REALLY liked the smell of cat food. REALLY REALLY liked it. She even whined a little when I managed to finally pry her away from the aisle-but not to worry, there was not only an entire aisle of dog food for her to smell, but a row of dog treats, right at Dos' eye level.

Two children who were walking next to their parents stopped to stare at Dos as she went full-on pigwalrus mode and dove into the boxes of pumpkin treats, snorting and grunting as she chomped away. It took me a moment to dig the front half of her body out of the box, as she buried her front paws in there when she shoved her face in. I took off the top layer of drooled-on treats and put them into a bag.  You drool on it, you buy it. The sales lady said that's the most common thing for dogs to do in the store. Their marketing tactic is brilliant.

Dos seemed content with her pumpkin-treat filled belly, and was perfectly behaved as I loaded what we needed into the cart...until the bully sticks. I've never seen Dos have much balance, or speed, but quickly and gracefully, she removed two bullysticks from the box and dropped to the floor to hover over them lovingly.

This, the sales associate said, was the second most common occurrence at the store.

So, we left, with what we came for-and $30 in excess treats. The phrase 'kid in a candy store' holds no candle to Dos in an aisle of edibles.

Day 69-Dos as a Cartoon

Not much to update with Princess Dos Mabel Ploppers today, so I'll share the 'cartoon Dos' my dad sent to me, which Im going to turn into a stencil and put on a T-shirt.


My dad thought Dos was a boy dog, but no matter-I think Dos would look splendid in a top hat and monocle!

Day 68-Clingy little pigwalrus

Dos has been literally in my lap, laying with her head on my chest, my shoulder, my face, every moment that she gets the opportunity.  It is as if she is begging me to please never leave her for longer than a duration of a shift at work ever, ever again.

She even took her medicine with no problems tonight-letting me open that pigwalrus jaw and down-the-hatch! She still looks like she's surprised that I'm putting things in her mouth, and she is less than pleased, but she is going along with it swimmingly, at least for today.

Dos and I have been enjoying the porch this evening, and Dos laid on the porch with the lattice as a headrest, once she was sure I wasn't going inside/down the driveway/to the car without her.

Stretched out in her fall sweater, she's having a good time.

Day 67-more fur!

Here's a quick photo update on Dos' rapidly growing patches of fur...

She seems to be filling out from the corners in.

Back leg!

The fur on her front legs is starting to spread upwards! I keep forgetting she's a white dog with black patches. Look at that fuzz! It's growing more down her head and ears, too!

This is a slightly awkward angle, but this is a chest view, where the fur is filling in up her legs and starting to meet in the middle on her chest. She's even starting to grow a little bit of fur on the very calloused area on her elbows!

Her tail though, besides the bottom side where it has been since the beginning, is totally bare. Not even peach fuzz on the top of that thing. She may just always have an armadillo tail. If that's the case, ill be slathering sunblock on it! 

She was excited to eat tonight, especially  since she watched me make a fresh batch of dog food. She saw me pull ground turkey from the fridge and became elated, prancing around the kitchen, even trying to play with Walter a bit. It surprises me that when she wants to be playful, she goes for Walter as her playmate, because he's so big and clumsy, and has what I like to call "Lab Fury". Those of you with labs may be familiar with this-although I'm not sure how much lab is in Walter, he's definitely got it. Lab fury is the first three to four years of a labs life where they made of pure hyperactive energy and their bodies defy all the laws of gravity, and everything  to ever exist is the most exciting thing in the world. By the very nature of Lab Fury,  one would assume that Dos would avoid playtime with Walter at all costs, because she's got such little "play drive" and very little patience. But no- when Dos wants to play, she runs full pigwalrus speed at Walter and skids into him like she's sliding into home plate-straight to his legs . 

Dos is so very happy today. Now, lets see if she keeps that chipperness once I try to administer the doxycycline ...

Day 66

Michael called me this morning at work to let me know that Dos was constipated. (this blog has had a lot of talk about dog poop).

She tried to go several times throughout the day, and apparently, all of a sudden, she pooped what looked like three days worth of poop all at once.

I'm wondering if this is a side effect of the doxy, so I'll be researching this today-and making sure she drinks extra water.

This morning, she took her medicine with a bit less of a fight, although when she saw me with the syringe, she scurried back into her crate. Thankfully, Im a short person and can fit in there with her.


By the end of the day, even after her second round of meds for the day, she seemed a lot happier with it, and cuddled in bed with me like a pigwalrus teddy bear.

Day 65-DOWN THE HATCH, DOS!

Getting the doxycycline into Dos' throat is not the easiest of tasks. She's, as you all know, the most stubborn pigwalrus ever to live. The medicine needs to be administered about 1/2 an hour after eating, so after she ate breakfast this morning...I got the medicine ready, and called her over to me. She wagged her tail and sat down, ready for pets.-which she got, and then, as quickly as possible, I opened her jaw up and squirted the medicine in the back of her throat. She made a noise like a half empty shampoo bottle makes when you squeeze it, and tried to back away as quickly as possible. I administer medicine like this all the time at work, so I was prepared for the 'backlash'. I hugged her around her body, and held her head up, rubbing her throat to get her to swallow the medicine. Once I was sure it was all down, I let her go, and petted her and petted her...she looked at me with such a baffled look on her face...I gave her something and it wasn't a treat...and I wouldn't let her go until she had it all!

I've given her medicine in so many things, but this I have to give her after she ate..


This evening though, she knew it was coming. I went for the mouth and she did her famous stop drop and roll, and moved her head around so I couldnt get it. Finally, I had to trick her into it...I cradled her head like a baby and then when she relaxed a bit...I went for the goal and got it down her throat. She stared at me, motionless for thirty seconds and then went and sulked in her crate.

This is going to be a long three weeks.

PREHEARTWORM APPOINTMENT.

I arrived back in town today, early early early in the morning. When I walked in, Dos was asleep, and it took her a few moments to realize I was back, and she lost her little pigwalrussy mind. She acted like I had been gone her whole life (and I guess, up until 2 months ago, I was). 

After our happy reunion, I had to go straight to work-and Michael had to take her to her preheartworm appointment at APA! 

He gave me the rundown: 

She weighs 65 pound, the vets are happy with how she's recovering, and she will be taking a round of doxycycline for 3 weeks, 2 times per day-and then she will get her 'official' heartworm treatments.

Here's how the heartworm treatments work:

The doxycycline basically an antibiotic that kills a parasite called "wolbachia" that can live in the heartworms themselves. After the doxycycline regimen is finished, she will go back to the vet to get a physical exam to clear her for the next step, and then she'll be put on a steroid for the next two days before the treatment and then throughout the first part of the heartworm treatment.  The heartworm treatment is injected deep into the muscle tissue, a medicine which kills the heartworms. The dead worms exit the heart, and therefore she is going to need to be on doggy bedrest for a month-where her heartrate will have to be kept low so there won't be any complications while the dead heartworms leave her heart. 

So, that will be a while of keeping her still, no walks, no excitement, and lots and lots of cuddling.

The treatments go deep into the muscle, so she will be on some painkillers-hopefully they will keep her slightly sedated, so we can be sure she is resting properly.

It's 3 weeks away and Im nervous and excited. I can't wait for my girl to get better.

Day 63-Sam the Dog Walker lets the dogs out..

Michael had to work a 12 hour shift today, and I was still out of town, meaning the dogs would be at home alone for 12 hours.


I enlisted the services of Sam the Famous Dog Walker, who is the owner-operator of ATX Pet Services-. I know Sam through working at the dog kennel, and I've seen how he handles dogs, and even though I am a worried pet parent, considering I have a senile dog, a brain damaged dog, a VERY protective and territorial dog, a scared dog, and Dos, I had total faith and trust in Sam that he could handle all 5 of my babies.

I sent him about 10 text messages with information about their quirks, etc, even though he had met most of them at the kennel. I was obviously worried, but Sam assured me things would be fine, and that he would be there to let them out.


I checked the time all evening long, waiting to hear how they did, and when finally the time rolled around, he sent me a text message "Mission Accomplished," and said they did absolutely fine.


AWESOME. :) It's good to have someone who can do those kinds of services that has experience and expertise. I love Sam the Dogwalker!

Day 62

I left super early this morning, and thankfully, Dos was asleep when I left. I did give her a kiss goodbye, but I didn't want to make a big deal of leaving, so she wouldn't be confused and upset.

I did have a little bit of a breakdown before leaving-(as I usually do before getting on an airplane) telling Michael that if I died PLEASE MAKE SURE SHE TAKES HER FISH OIL EVERY DAY AND LOVE HER FOREVER.

Michael called me later on in the day, telling me Dos was happy as a clam, hanging out with him on the porch, walking up and down the driveway.


He made sure to tell me every detail of every poop she had, just so I knew he was paying attention to every little thing.

She'll be just fine.:)

Day 61-leaving town

Tonight, I learned that I was going to need to go out of town for 2-3 days. My first worry was if Dos was going to think that I left her. I know the rest of the dogs will be fine, and she will be with 'her pack,' but she is so so soooo attached to me, I was afraid she would think I abandoned her.

I went to pack my overnight bag-and similar to what she does when I get ready to go in the mornings, she crawled into my lap, she put her head on my knee, she dropped on her back and begged for bellyrubs, and she followed me at every step, sitting, sitting sitting, like "Look!!! I'm a good girl!! I'm even sitting!! DONT LEAVE!"


Although she will be fine, I just worry for her...Michael is going to have a new shadow for the weekend.

TWO MONTH MILESTONE!!!!

Happy 2 month anniversary of your new life, my sweet, sweet pigwalrus! I love this girl so so so much.

We've made it 60 days into recovery. She's still got a long way to go-but she's made so much progress mentally, physically, and behaviorally, I'm so proud of her. This pigwalrus definitely has a huge piece of my heart.

Day 59-Sitting...sitting sitting sitting..

Since Dos has picked up 'sit' and the fact that not only does sitting get her treats and lots of praise, Dos has become OBSESSED with sitting. When she wants attention, she sits. When she smells something I have that she wants, she sits. She goes to the door and sits.

I wanted to give it a week or so before declaring it official that she knows how to 'sit', and now, she will sit on command-ALMOST every time. She still is the most stubborn little pigwalrus ever.


And of course, with that stubbornness, she still drops to the ground and rolls on her back and wiggles for belly rubs when she doesn't want to do something like go inside, or walk, or move out of the way.
End of the driveway? You want me to move? NOPE! *stop drop and roll*. She knows how to use that cute pigwalrus-ness, but at least now she knows how to sit, too:)

Day 58-She loooooves me:)

I've been working some really long shifts at the kennel this week. I get up at 6am, take Dos out for a short walk and a feeding, and then leave for work and don't come home until 7pm. She has spent a lot of time with Michael and the other dogs this past week or so. Today, however, I think it dawned on her that I've been gone a lot.

I walked into the house at 7pm, and was greeted by my furry herd, as per usual. Dos typically trots over to me too, waiting for pettings and her evening walk. Today, as I opened the door, Dos bolted from the kitchen like a zebra chasing an antelope, skidded halfway across the living room floor, and slid into my legs, rolled on her back and wiggled maniacally, then pulling herself up and actually jumping up onto her back legs putting her paws on my stomach, stretching up to sniff my face.

Dos has NEVER tried to jump up on me, the entire time she's been here-she's so bumbly and awkward, I wasnt sure she was even capable of doing so! (and, it's something I'm still trying to break Walter of, so I don't want to encourage any of them to jump-but it was SO adorable.) She then glued herself to my side for the remainder of the evening.


I can't believe we're only 2 days away from TWO MONTH MILESTONE!

Day 57-Dos Marks Her Territory

A fun discovery about my favorite little pigwalrus today was that Dos marks her territory, like a boy dog.

On her walk today, she and Francis trotted along happily with one another, and I noticed Dos was peeing-a lot.

Peeing is not something Dos does often, or everytime she goes outside, like most dogs. So, I let her do her thing and observed, in case there was something wrong.

I then realized that she would pee everytime Francis would pee. He'd stop to mark a pole, a bush, a hydrant.  Dos would then waddle her pigwalrus self to the same area and mark as well.

This went on for the duration of the walk.

I have never known a female dog to mark! I've heard this happens, but I have never seen it...and it is funny, especially when Dos gets her mind set to where she is going to mark and looking very dignified, following Francis and his marking patterns.



Funny little pigwalrus.

Day 56-Dos loves her sweater.

So, I couldn't help myself.


It's back to school time, and my 'nesting' instincts are in full force, and I got the doggies back to school sweaters.

I stretched Dos' sweater over her, and although she wiggled and got her head and both her arms stuck for a good minute and a half, once it was on, she pranced through the house like a little pagent girl. When it was bed time for Dos, I tried to take it off of her, and she backed up, realizing I was taking her wearable blanket away, so I kept it on her.


She climbed onto the couch, made her little self cozy, and fell asleep in her warm little sweater.

(it's still summer in Texas, as it almost always is, but she was laying under the air conditioning vent ( her favorite place)  so I'm sure she was cozy as a pigwalrus in a rug.

Day 55- Feeding all together!

The 'pack' has finally come to a consensus that it is easier to all eat in the same room and not rush to eat the other's food, than to have to be divided up and wait. Before, I'd have to feed Francis and Dos (slower movers) first in a separate room, and make Wally Ira and Owen wait in the kitchen.


Now that we have all learned to sit (YAY DOS! She won't stop looking at me and sitting and waiting for treats and pets now) we an all sit and wait in a line, and then they all eat at the same time.


Which is lovely, and a great thing they do as a pack :)

DAY 54!

 Dos has gotten really responsive to treats this past week. In fact, as Im trying to take a picture of her recently grown-in ear fur, I was trying to lure her over with treats. When Francis snatched up the treat before I could give it to Dos, I was empty handed when she finally waddled over. She sniffed my hand, finding no treats, and I swear she rolled her eyes at me. "What? No treat? I am mildly annoyed."


She did, however, forgive me quickly and curl up next to me for a nap. She's a sweet pigwalrus.

Day 53-Dos still doesn't like the yard

Dos still is not fond of the yard. Even with straw down(yay! Baby grass is coming up! The dogs will have a real yard in no time! ) she was not happy about being that far away from me. 

I went to go be in the yard with her, just to show her that the yard is a good place! She then figured out how I got in and out. 

She was disappointment to realize that thumbs were keeping her inside the yard. 

This is a good picture indicating her size. A lot of people upon meeting Dos were surprised that she is such a short dog!

People are more surprised to realize she is actually a dog, and not a pigwalrus. 

It's been roughly thirty minutes now, and Dos is still giving me the puppy dog eyes.

I think we'll just go for a walk.

Day 52!

Just a little video just to show how much her fur has grown in on her legs and

face. This video was taken right after she tried to join a game of fetch-she trotted over and 

Playfully nipped Walter's ear, and sniffed at the stick they were chasing.

It was very short lived, and she came right back over to lay at my feet and be pet.

Only eight more days until Dos' two month anniversary!

Day 51:)

Dos' friend (and my friend, too) came over tonight for dinner.

I had Wayne feed Dos her dinner, as a trust excersize, as he did before to help her get over her wariness of men. 

It went well, and Dos then spent a lot of time looking into his eyes with her head on his knee. It helps, of course, that Wayne is generally pretty soft spoken.

Unfortunately, today, Dos had a lot of diarrhea, and I'm unsure as to why...so more pumpkin for Dos today, and if it doesn't clear up by tomorrow night it's vet time. (Her favorite place!)

Day 50!!!

Happy fiftieth day of recovery to Dos!! Hard to believe its already been 50 whole days!!

I watched all of the videos from the beginning of Dos' recovery and compared them to now-I can't believe she was so pink and red, compared to now where she is very dark and starting to grow the fur in!

Not to mention the eyes and ears, two of the biggest changes in her so far. And she moves so much faster now!

Today Francis and Dos and I went on a walk, and Dos trotted along happily next to Francis, and even stopped to pee when Francis did, even though Francis was just marking things. It seemed like she was trying to mark too, it was quite funny :) 

She was alert and excited and sniffing like crazy, for the entire 12 minute walk-and when we arrived home, she gulped down water and heaved herself up onto the couch and promptly fell asleep, snoring. :)

Day 49-perfected dog food recipe!

I finally perfected the dog food recipe, bumping it up even further and making it more nutritionally complete.

Wandering around Callahans General Store, as I was buying straw (finally getting some grass in that yard!) I stumbled across Canine Red Cell and Brewers Yeast, two things that add a good amount of protein and vitamins that  may have been lacking a little.

Recipe: (this is enough to make enough food for 5 dogs for 5 days)

4 pounds ground turkey 

2 pounds ground salmon

2 pounds chicken chunks w

6 C. Brown Rice 

1/2 pound chicken hearts

1/2 pound beef liver

5 cups chopped sweet potatoes

4 cups chopped carrots

4 cups peas

2 cans pumpkin 

2 tbs olive oil 

(Boil all the veggies and rice until soft, cook meat separately at 350 for 1/2 hour, combine meat, vegetables and rice, add the pumpkin and olive oil, cook together for another 1/2 hour.)

When serving, for Dos, I add 1 tbs flax seeds, 1 fish oil capsul, 1/2 tbs calcium powder(i use ground eggshell) 1 tbs brewers yeast, and 2 tbs red cell. ( there's instructions on the bottle!)

There may be a few tweaks here and there- but I think this is going to be the Dos Superfood Recipe!

Day 48!

Dos had a little field trip today to a friend of mines house to drop off a little dog. 

Dos was curious in the car-sniffing at the crate where the little dog was riding, being happy and wagging her tail. She even rode with her head out the window for a few minutes, but I think it threw her off balance and she fell over.

When we arrived at my friends house, my friend took Dos' leash to walk her up to the house as I grabbed some things out of the car as another friend took the little dog. Dos looked up to see that it wasnt me holding her leash, and she was with a stranger, and she had a little panic attack. Pulling towards me, dropping to the ground, whining..and it's hard to not pay that any mind, although that's what needs to happen-I don't want to encourage that kind of behavior..although its absolutely heartbreaking, I had to speak in a friendly, positive voice and act normal. 

Once inside, she was ok..but Dos got very jealous that people were paying attention to the little dog, and she growled at the other dog. I had to scold her in a stern voice-but instead of cowering and runnig away, she stopped growling and lay at my feet, leaving the little dog alone.

It's little steps-everyday training in everyday situations. 

She's making progress every day...:)

Day 47 !

Today was a lazy day for Dos, so this will be short- but I wanted to share a very cute thing she did today.

I pulled up at the house after work, and Dos was walking up the driveway with Michael. She turns around to see me pull in-and immediately (tries to) runs towards the car. I'm still halfway in the street at this point, so Michael calls her to come back . She still is going full speed (for her, anyway) towards me. Michael catches up to her and tries to usher her back, she fights it and he gently scolds her. This us when she immediately gives him the puppy dog eyes, and drops down, wiggling around for a belly rub. Full on, twirling around, legs kicking in the air, tail thumping, waiting for a belly rub. I am still stuck halfway in the street. 

Dogs know what's cute-and they know how to work it, for sure.

Day 46

As Dos gets further into her recovery, and becomes more of a "normal dog", more pieces of her past come out.

Her training is coming along well-she hasn't tried to get into the trash in a while, and she is getting better at 'sit', but it's obvious that manners were never something that was taught to her.

Dos is not, as we had thought, entirely housebroken. She's had several accidents recently, and she's difficult to rush out the door when we catch her in the act. It's going to be a grueling process-but I think she will pick it up. 

I hope it's sooner than later-for a stubby little dog, she has the intestines of a Mastiff. 

She's also very protective of her crate, very protective of her food, and very possessive of her people. She gets jealous when other dogs get attention, even sometimes growling at them and trying to run them off. Never with the intention of hurting them, but still, that's something that needs to be curbed. 

It's all a process- and rehabbing Dos is not only physical-it's emotional. It's mental. It's starting at the ground up. 

I'm training her like I would a little puppy- the groundwork is the same-but it may take longer, as she's already an adult dog and stubborn as all get out. 

You can do it Dos! Ill never give up on you, little girl!

Day 45!

Dos was more clingy today than usual. 

Besides her usual pawing at the bathroom door when I'm in there, and her need to sleep at my feet, or sitting directly on my chest so I can't move, Dos decided I wasn't allowed to leave to go to work today.

She was outside with Michael when I tried to leave, and as I put my helmet on and got on my scooter, she waddled over as fast as she could and climbed up onto the floorboard. 

She stood there, ready to go-like she had done it a thousand times before. She even sat down at one point.

I was laughing too hard to move her much, and because she is a metric ton of stubbornness, when I did try to move her, she turned herself into dead weight and was impossible to make budge. 

I turned the scooter on, finally, and she realized I was really leaving and she reluctantly hopped off.

Day 44! Fur!!

Dos teetered and tottered around the house today, chasing a fly and sleeping.

Her healing has really picked up the pace the last couple of days-resulting in a whole chin full of hair! (Do dogs have chins?)

I swear, it practically sprouted overnight!

I credit that a lot to her eating salmon-I find the more of it she eats, the more rapid her fur growth. The redness of her skin is 99% gone now, except her elbows, which she lays on all the time-she may never grow fur there, or even grow fur all the way back, but the fur that us growing back is a sign that the nutrients are really doing their job!

I am so excited for the next couple of months for her and what that will bring.

Day 43- lazy Sunday

This update will be short and sweet.

Dos is still not over her "I didn't get fed for a whole 12 hours" thing from Spay Day, and tore up the front of her kennel and the removable floor from it trying to get to Ira's dog food bowl which was near her crate. 

Dos is now the proud owner of a Kong, to keep her busy and entertained while I'm gone and to give her a little snack between meals.

Day 42-a sunburn solution

Dos has become more active during the day-and because she has gotten so used to following Francis around, she wants to go outside with him in the middle of the afternoon.  Francis lies in the shade and is completely content, and I have to drag him inside when it gets too hot.

Dos has taken to trying to stay outside with Francis after her potty breaks, but because she doesn't have fur covering her up, she risks sunburning.

I went to the petstore, which didn't have any "doggy sunscreen" so the next best thing was a light doggy raincoat, cool enough for her to wear in the heat and covered her enough to protect her from sunburning!

I think she looks like Mary Tyler Moore.

She's adorable in her pink jacket, and, for short stints, can lounge outside in the sun with Francis.

Day 41

Dos acted like she was STARVING all day today. 

She couldn't eat th night before she was supposed to get spayed, and she acted like she thought she would never get fed again.

This is how the day went: 

"Was that the fridge opening? I swear hat was the fridge opening. I will run to it and wiggle ferociously nearby incase it was."

"Oatmeal? I need that."

"Francis' medication? I see that it goes on his mouth. I need that."

"Coffee? I need that."

"Sock? I need that."

"I see you got more toilet paper. I neeeeeeeeeeed thaaaaaat!!!!"

I made her the "deluxe" meal three times today to show her she was, infant, still going To be fed.

Regular homemade food like normal, plus oats, yogurt, big scoop of peanut butter, and some extra chicken.

She gobbled it down like a Sally Struthers   commercial.

After dinner, a short walk, and a none for dessert, she settled down a bit. She didn't even try to eat the toilet paper.

Day 40-Spay day....

I woke up on the morning of Dos' spay in an absolute panic. 

I've had animals fixed a lot of times-but being as she's so vulnerable physically still, I was worried sick.

After getting her into the car, which of course is a whole adventure in itself-she crawled into the front seat, as she insists on riding shotgun.

                    Backseat refusal.

I petted her and talked to her the whole way there. She was coughing a lot in the car- and I knew it was something to be concerned about because of the heartworms.

We arrived at APA and Dos hopped out of the car, excited to smell all the exciting doggy smells around her. 

Once inside, they asked about her cough. They said that the vet would have to examine her to see if it was safe to put her under the anesthetic, and that they would let me know what their decision was.

She went with them willingly, and I left.

I cried like a baby the whole way to work. I didn't like leaving her, and I was so worried about the possibility of her cough being a terrible indicator of her health.

Around 2pm, I got an email, saying that they needed to wait, that there was too great a risk to put her under. 

I was relieved and scared. I didn't know that her heartworms were that bad as to make her congested.

I rushed to he her after work, and the APA staff told me that she had been good, and had also taken the most giant doggy dump of the day.

They are going to prescribe her some cough suppressants to see if that helps. If it does, he cough may not be due to the heartworms at all.

So, it's back to the drawing board, butI'm  glad they were looking out for our girl:)

Day 39-the dreaded nail clipping.

If you have ever seen a hummingbird in action, or perhaps if you can imagine what a howler monkey  with rabies might be like, that is Dos getting her nails clipped. 

She wouldn't even agree to a belly rub while I had the clippers on hand.

After an hour of trying various ways to sneak up on her, bribe her, distract her, and just go in for the kill and grab her paws, I decided it was time to seek professional help.

I've blogged about my friend Nora before. She is known as "The Fur Whisperer" and for a good reason. She can groom ANYTHING.

I enlisted her help, and explained my tactics. She said, sure, bring her in, and that she would squeeze it in between grooms. I didn't think that she could "squeeze it in". I thought I'd have to schedule an 8 hour block.

Lo and behold, less than five minutes, she had Dos' nails trimmed, with not so much as a squirm. 

I really don't know how she does it.

Nooo, Dos, we are totally jut going for a ride. No nail clippings here!

I wish I had whatever it is that Nora has-she's seriously amazing.  But, sometimes you have to leave it to the professionals. Dos is still eyeing me.

Day 38

Dos has been more chipper today than any day so far. Even after a bath (which she tolerated well, she doesnt like being tied up to anything, but the minute she starts getting the scrub down she's fine) and a car ride, (which she likes, once she gets into the car...she fights as hard as she can to stay out of the car) she pranced around the house like a puppy, following Francis and putting her head on my knee hoping for treats.


I'm excited that Dos has made a definite friend in the pack.

She and Francis have become inseparable. We take them on walks together, as with Dos' gimp and Francis' slow gait, they are a good match for speed.

When one gets up on the couch, the other gets up on the couch. When one goes to eat, the other drinks. When one goes to the end of the driveway to get the mail with me, the other follows.

Wherever Francis is, Dos is not far away.

Day 37-Dos--indoor hunting dog.

Dos definitely had me fooled, thinking she was not an agile create....as today, not only did she catch and kill a mouse in one fell swoop, she decided she was a full-fledged predator, and spent the morning stalking and catching a fly.


I was sitting in the living room, and I hear a rustling in the laundry room. There are some holes on the side of the house where little rodents get it, and I heard one wiggling around. (a house with 4 dogs should NOT have anything getting into the house, but the dogs are terrible mousers). Dos is lying on the kitchen floor, head between her paws, looking sleepy.

Suddenly, the mouse scurries from under the laundry room door, and into the kitchen. With ONE swift, graceful moment, Dos pounces on the mouse, scoops it up, promptly snaps its neck, and delivers it to me in the living room. She dropped it on my feet, and wagged her whole body like she had caught every mouse in the world.

I tried not to scream as the dead mouse hit my foot...so I channeled all of the pent up shrieking into praises for Dos for catching the mouse.


After that, Dos spent the remainder of the morning and most of the afternoon on the prowl. I could tell it made her feel good to have a job to do and be called a good girl. She dedicated herself to hunting a fly, crouching down like a cat and stalking it, pouncing on it, and repeating the process once it flew away.


Good girl, Dos! Doing dog stuff!

Day 36-Dos Vs. The Bathroom

Day 36-Dos decides to lock herself in the bathroom. 

She had been following me around the house all day, trotting along behind me. She was 'assisting' me in cleaning the house, by sniffing, and then tromping through, things I was sweeping up. So, naturally, she follows me into the bathroom when I swept in there..

Unfortunately, however, instead of following right behind me as I left, she shut the door. And then locked it...and then panicked. 

I hear her start scratching the bottom of the door. I call to her, to let her know I'm outside the door, and try to prevent her panicking futher. Bad idea. She starts howling.

I try to open the door with a credit card. I look for a way to take the door off the hinges. I try to pick the lock with a bobby pin (hey-it works in the movies!). I then went around the house to go in through the window...dragging our rickety old ladder, and trying to secure it on the uneven ground took me about 10 minutes in itself. By the time I had gotten up to the window and looked inside, my bathmat was destroyed, there was pee and dog poo everywhere, the doorknob was chewed up, and there was blood dripped over the floor. 

And there was Dos, watching me try to pry the locked bathroom window open with a flathead screwdriver. She was just sitting there, wagging her tail with a long trail of toilet paper hanging from her mouth.

And then it was my turn to panic. I tried to (unsuccessfully) remove the window, I continued to try to pry it open, I knocked on the glass (I'm not sure why, really).  

Finally, I give up on the window and go back inside. I try to pop the lock. I try to take the doorknob off.

Finally, it hit me that I could stick the screwdriver through the door jam and push the bolt back. BAM. Worked.

Dos trots happily out of the bathroom, toilet paper still hanging from her mouth, and puts her head between my knees....

But, she stopped 'assisting' with my cleaning, as I was wiping up mass amounts of dog poop and pee from the floor....

I still haven't been able to figure out whether or not the blood came from her mouth, one of her paws, or if she started going into heat. I checked her everywhere and she seemed fine...and the toilet paper didnt have blood on it, so its a mystery.

She's fine, though, and remained happy as a clam the rest of the day....and stayed far, far away from the bathroom.

Day 35

Day 35!!!

Jeeeeez! Day 35. Crazy!

Today is the first day I have noticed Dos' fur really starting to come in. There have been little bits and patches here and there, but it's really starting to be noticeable now. From a distance, you can tell she is a mostly white dog!

It's growing in thicker in some places, for sure. On her legs are a couple tiny spots where it's clumps of "real" fur! 

I think a lot if the growth has to do with that I upped the fish and flax seed and have been giving her 1000mg of fish oil per day.

On her face, the little stripe leading from her nose to the top of her forehead has filled in! 

I thought she was a beautiful girl before but now she's even more beautiful. :)

And one step closer to recovery!

Day 34-why canned pumpkin is your friend

Today is going to be graphic.

Today I learned that Dos cannot have certain kinds of treats. 

I was working on "sit" with her, and popped her about 10 of these little, bitty treats. I was out of homemade treats, and out of the "sensitive stomach treats" That Dos got before....so i used the "normal" training treats. tiny, minuscule treats. What happened afterwards was quite the opposite.

Dos had the worst case of doggie diarrhea I have ever seen. 

I'm talking middle of the living room then dragging it around and possibly rolling in it kind of diarrhea. I had just fallen asleep, sleeping out on the couch because she had started coughing again and I wanted to keep an eye on her-when I was jolted awake by the smell of horror. It looked like a mudslide in my living room. And kitchen ...and Dos looked like she had taken a loooong slide...with her back.

After taking her outside, cleaning her up and the house like crazy- she drank some water and curled up and fell asleep. 

Dogs get diarrhea for odd reasons, and usually it isn't long term or super serious, so I chalked it up to the treats irritating her stomach and once I was sure she was asleep I fell back asleep too. 

Until it happened again, and again, and once I was sure it was over, Michael came home and I woke up to him slipping on some.

And a trip to the store it was-canned pumpkin. Not pie filling- pure pumpkin. 

That is a dog with an upset tummy's best friend.  Shortly thereafter, everything was fine, and after a couple quick trips to the yard for the "runoff", things went back to normal and Dos will now be getting pumpkin for a treat, instead of store bought treats. 

Ill save everyone the agony by not including any pictures today...

And now I'm craving pie.

Day 33!

Dos' favorite day of the week! Dog food making day! After work, I came home to a wagging tail at the door. Five wagging tails, really, but Dos acts as if she hasn't seen me for years. She does this if I go outside for too long, too. 

Dos spent the next two hours with her eyes glued to me in the kitchen, next to the oven where she could smell her food cooking. 

During the grueling fifteen or so minutes it took for it to cool in her bowl, she stared at the table where it was.

Dos has had no training, or so it appears..and that doesn't surprise me in the least. (Anyone who lets their dog get that bad health wise obviously doesn't spend much time thinking about or caring about their dog) . She also is quite the scavenger. It's almost like having a puppy in the house, having to puppy-proof everything again. We haven't had to do that for so long, it's easy to forget that a dog who is likely used to only eating scrap food or scouring the floor for anything edible may not have a second thought about getting into things. 

Part of Dos' rehab is learning boundaries and the rules within her new pack-no getting in the trash, no taking things off tables, no eating an entire roll of toilet paper, no matter how delicious it looks. (She went straight after the toilet paper when I brought groceries home the other day, taking a roll and trotting off with it.)

So, while the food was cooling, I watched her, making sure to tell her NO each time she edged her little face up to the table or tried to climb up one of the kitchen chairs. I have to be very careful the way I tell her no, as she is very sensitive to any form of scolding.  Thankfully, gently setting her paws back down on the floor and telling her "no" in a quiet firm voice did the trick. After a few minutes, she patiently waited without trying to grab it off the table.

And when she finally got her dinner, she grunted and slobbered happily like a piggy.

Dos food: chicken, beef, salmon, brown rice, carrots, liver, a spoonful of peanut butter, a spoonful of yogurt, a fish oil pill, and egg-shell calcium powder.

I've never seen a dog so happy to eat!

(I'm going to delete some pictures from my phone tonight, so I can have room for more Dos pictures-sorry its only her dinner tonight..but I thought the "Dos eye view" would show you why she is so happy :)

Day 32-Final Determination on Pregnancy

Sitting in the waiting room of APA! while Dos got her X-rays was probably one of the most stressful moments since Dos has been with me. Previously, they had thought she was not pregnant, but needed to make sure, so X-Rays it was.


Dos got into the car, this time without too much fuss, but she insisted on riding shotgun. She really, really likes to look out through the windshield. She was very alert. She let out a few little grunts, too. Totally backseat driving!



They took Dos back to the X-ray room, and I waited in the lobby. I heard mention of maybe two puppies.
I then heard 'blurry' and 'retake.' At this point, I almost had a heart attack and was hoping the vet techs would be able to revive me.

Ten minutes later, they come out, with Dos wagging her tail, and declared her not pregnant. NOT PREGNANT! The first Xray had come out too blurry and had needed to be redone.

NOT PREGNANT!

So Dos' spay date is next Thursday, when I will drop her off at 8 am, and pick her up late in the afternoon.
I have dropped dogs off before to be fixed...but I know when I drop her off I will be a nervous wreck.


MOVING ON!

ONE MONTH MILESTONE!

Dos has made it to her first month milestone!!!!  31 days into recovery! 

SHE HAS MADE IT AN ENTIRE MONTH!!!!!!!!

      (Obviously done with the party hat)

From a month long treatment of antibiotics, mange treatments, eye infection treatments, assumed deafness, bacterial infections on the skin, full body yeast infection, swollen mouth,  an emergency vet visit, pregnancy scare (which isn't reaaaally over yet), shots, kennel cough, head tremors, at LEAST four baths, crazy skin exfoliations, to her first walk, her first meetings with strangers of different kinds, her first bark, her first time crawling up into the couch to find "her spot", her first interactions with the other dogs in her new pack, her first "playtime", to her now being eager to eat, eager to drink, eager to walk, eager to get on the couch and crawl into my lap, eager to be pet, and even feel comfortable enough to come to bed with the rest of "the pack". 

Dos has come a long way in just a month-and has had a team of people from all over the country(and beyond!) rooting for her, sending her well wishes and love, and following her story. A lot of people have come together to help this sweet little girl, and have endured her trials and successes right alongside her. 

Tonight, she will have her 2nd Heartguard pill (keeping the heartworms from getting any worse) and look forward to the second month of Dos' recovery and all that it will bring!

Thank you to everyone who has been with her along this journey, and I look so forward to sharing her next month long of growing, changing, healing, and continuing to learn how to be a dog.

Day 30!

We are one day away from Dos' month anniversary of the beginning of her recovery. Yyeeeow!

Today, Dos got reacquainted with my friend Nora, who is known as "The Austin Fur Whisperer". Nora is the one that gave Dos her first bath when she came to us. 

I actually was looking through old photos and found the picture of Nora giving her a bath. Dos could barely hold herself up, and as Nora was giving her the bath, Dos had slowly hoisted herself up onto the side of the tub to bury her head in Nora's apron. 

Nora has a lot of experience with rescue animals, and didn't even flinch or think twice about the possibility of contracting whatever infestation was on her skin.

Dos seemed to recognize Nora, wagging her tail as a dog does when they see an old friend. 

And! Today was Dos' last day of antibiotics! She is no longer on any medications! 

Of course, she is still getting fish oil and calcium supplements in her food, but that will happen for a long time to come, and for good measure, the rest of her life:)

Keep goin, Dos!

And no, not EVERY piece of food is or you, Dos-at least not coffee ;)

Day 29! Another Saturday!

Another Saturday for Dos-and almost a month!

Today I came across something from Dos' first day with us- something I had hidden away for reference and to never use with her so as not to bring up any bad memories for Dos.

I had placed in a bag the tie out she was brought into the kennel on. I've since cleaned it off, but the thing was caked in mud and smelled much like Dos did when she came to me..just the smell of it brought back the whole first day of her being at our house-and realizing how much better she has actually gotten. 

Essentially, it's about the length of two leashes tied together, but it's just one piece, and it has a clip on each end. 

I had no idea what it would clip to, I've never seen a lead like this...

It was wrapped around her neck since se didn't have a collar- and my guess it that she pulled all the way to the end of it because in he early days of her recovery there was a very obvious ring around her neck.

I just thought it was a weird find-just under a month of her recovery-just a reminder of her progress. I want to get rid of it, but I feel like there is a reason I should keep it-maybe just to destroy it the day she is cleared of heartworms.(one day, hopefully soon!)

Here's to almost a month with this little girl, this little pig walrus dog that has become a cuddly, ornery, happy, excited to be still alive little (big?) dog.

Day 28-Still might be pregnant?

Today,   I went down to APA to schedule Dos' spay.

Apparently, because she didn't have an x-ray done, there is still a possibility of pregnancy, so back to the vet on Tuesday we go, to get an x-ray and get a final answer on her pregnancy once and for all. So, again, I'll be a ball of stress until Tuesday when we can know for sure. AH!



Miss Dos is starting to regularly have more energy and want to be more active-and she's started gimping pretty hard on her right front leg. She had a limp when she came to me, but now it's more pronounced.Dos likes to keep me on my toes, for sure.

No matter how much she seems to want to investigate things and play, Dos does NOT like the yard. I can't really say I blame her. I don't like the yard much, either. It's a dirt yard from a combination of Texas drought and doggies running all over it.

Maybe she'll like it once we replant some grass....but for the time being, all she does is stare at me through the gate, or try to hardest to push through it.

She's a smart dog, and she tried to hop up on her back legs and nose open the latch....

Smart and ornery....

Day 27-thunderstorms and peanut butter..

OHow these posts keep not posting, Ill never know. Ah!

Day 27-wooowza almost 4 weeks.,

Dos had a pretty uneventful afternoon, snored on the couch,  rolled on the driveway, ate a late lunch. Rinse repeat.


Until the storms.

Dos, as I learned before, does NOT like thunderstorms. She silently shakes and buries her head between her paws. I imagine its from being outside in them so often.

Between her shaking an Francis shaking and whimpering, it was a sad sight. She tried to cuddle up to Francis, and rest her head on his. Francis accepted that for a moment, then shook her off to pace around. 

So for an hour of storms..I wrapped my arms around her and tried to make her feel secure. 

After the storms, Dos got a visitor! My very good friend Wayne came over and brought her some peanut butter. 

She liked Wayne, liked the petting, loved the peanut butter. When he gave her a spoonful of peanut butter, Dos ate it, and then proceeded to gaze at him for a long while, before going to the couch to take a nap. Wayne was the number one person I thought of to come over to meet Dos-as someone who dogs are naturally drawn to, and Wayne being a man with a big voice, I thought this would give Dos some further desensitizing to men . She was completely at ease-and happy, as she fell asleep with peanut butter all over her nose. :)

Day 26-Another Vet Visit

[sorry this post is up late!]

Day 26, another vet visit for Dos.

I think she's associating the car with things that she doesn't like, so she was being pretty stubborn when it was time to go. I tried to coax her in. I tried to bribe her in. I got in the car and patted the seat next to me.
Nothing. She's not terribly heavy (65 pounds at the vet-a 6lb gain!) but she made herself dead weight as I picked her up to get in the car.

I realized I left my keys in the house, so I ran back in to get them. Not even thirty seconds later I return to the car, and she is halfway out the driver's side window, stuck. Her big ol' belly was holding her up and her short legs weren't even touching the seat. She looked like a dog teeter-totter. She looked up at me and scoot-scoot-scooted right back into the car, and rested her face in the window, wagging her tail, like she was the most innocent thing in the world.

Yup, nothin' goin on HERE.;)

Once in the car, Dos settled in and perked up. She actually really likes riding in the car. She's the kind of dog that looks out the windows the whole time and takes it all in.

Once at the vet, she hopped out of the car (which I tried to prevent, as her bum right leg has been acting up all day.) She sniffed around and very willingly followed me into the APA office. 

The gave her a skin scrape, gave her another round of DHLPPC, and palpated for pregnancy.

THEY DON'T THINK SHE IS PREGNANT!! Just "filling in". Yay! She looks like such a large dog in pictures, but a LOT of the bulk on her is skin, and considering how low on nutrients she was a few weeks ago, she packed on the pounds in the past couple of weeks. 

Her skin scrape came back clear again, but they gave her something for it just in case, and sent us on our way. 

It was in-and-out, positive, great visit.  She's done with the cough medicines and the antibiotics are almost gone! Now, we just maintain her level of healthiness, keep an eye on her , and at some point her heartworm treatments can begin.

Ready to go home!

She's feeling SO much better. I feel like she's a different dog than what came to me 26 days ago. Her personality is showing more and more each day. DOS IS ORNERY!

Today was the first time I have had to scold her, and she did NOT take it well.

I was in the other room, and I hear a THUD come from the kitchen. In the kitchen I find Dos surrounded by the recycling, and chewing on foil that at one time had meatloaf inside.

All I had to say was, "OHHH, Dos, this is no," and she looked at me with those sad puppy eyes, looked at me like I had committed a cardinal sin, put her tail down, ducked her shoulders, whimpered a little, and scurried to her kennel where she hid while I cleaned up the knocked over recycling.

I have never seen a dog that sad, and I didn't even scold her in that stern of a voice. She's incredibly sensitive.

About half an hour later though, when I was going to bed, she followed me and the rest of the dogs into our room, crawled onto the bed and made herself comfortable, with her head on my shoulder.