Daisy, a poodle princess

Yesterday, I learned that Daisy, one of my favorite poodles in the internet, is seriously sick. I'm sure it will help if we can send positive vibes to her. Sweet Daisy, we are all praying for your recovery. :(

Vacation Stories Part II: Meet the Secretary's Pets

Some of you know that I have eight dogs living with my Mom in Iloilo ( learn about my city in Wikipedia). Four years ago, I left to pursue a career in Manila but had to stay indefinitely when I married the Animal Doctor. I am still plagued by separation anxiety, but my job pays for the good life my dogs are currently living. It takes a 45 minute plane ride on weekends every other month for me to see them, and so, I look forward to vacations where I can stay longer. Our time together is so precious, I can't even afford to sleep!

Dee-Dee Marie, who is turning ten years old, is my very first dog. I remember being scared of her on our first meeting, when her brothers and sisters started jumping up my legs ( silly me). The person who gave me Deedee had to pay P1,500 ( somewhere between 30-35$) to the breeder. I think Deedee is worth billions now- or even more-if I can even put a cash value to how much I love her.

Dexter Franklin Toblerone J, Jr, nine years old, was given to me by Deedee's veterinarian in Iloilo City. Deedee was terribly sick at that time, and the vet promised to give me a new dog if Deedee dies. Deedee recovered( miraculously, if I may say so. I think my non stop bawling scared her illness away), but I adopted Dex anyway. The vet kept him in a very small cage, and it was only after I brought Dex home and given him a bath, did I realize he was spitz and not a golden retriever pup.

Here is Luning Ann, aka Inday Lou, (Inday is an Ilonggo endearment for a sister or daughter) eight years old, looking sad and miserable on the day of my flight back to Manila. Lou was born out of Deedee and Dexter's mating. Of all my dogs, she is the sweetest, she follows me everywhere, even inside the bathroom when I take a shower. Lou has never been mated, and right now I am torn whether or not to have her spayed before she gets pyometra. My other vet ( not the Animal Doctor) here in Manila quoted P14,000( between $311-320) for the operation and I might go for it in January next year- hopefully I can deal with the jitters. He will use gas anesthesia so the risk will be minimized. And I will request to be sedated too.

Poput, seven years old, is Dex and Dee-Dee's son after their second mating. I learned my lesson and had Poput neutered when he was two months old. All of Deedee's offsprings had poor skin and coat when they were puppies, but look at Poput now with his glorious mane. Poput did something strange when he was 4 or 5 years old. I was seated on a stool in the middle of the garden watching the dogs play, when all of sudden, he ran to me, lifted his leg, and peed. Yes, directly at me. The vet interpreted it as a form of marking, maybe Poput was telling all the other dogs that I was his fire hydrant.

This apricot toy poodle is Cleo Marie Mae, aging between 7 to 9 years old. She used to live in the veterinary office where the Animal Doctor used to work. Her owner, some rich lady, split up with her boyfriend and decided to rid herself of the mementos of their relationship, including their surrogate child. Cleo came to live with me in my apartment in Manila in 2005, and for a while we had fun living an independent single lifestyle. In 2006, Cleo had enough of traveling and decided to retire in Iloilo.

Jennilyn, is somewhere between 4 of 5 years old. I adopted her from the same veterinary office where I got Cleo. Jennilyn was a product of another person's igorance ( her Mom had just survived distemper when the veterinary staff mated her with another dog ) and was kept in a cage entirely since birth. She was thin and had wobbly gait when she came to my apartment in 2006. In that same year, I decided to relocate my Manila dogs to Iloilo which was a far better environment.

Puppy, now three years old, is a cocker spaniel pup the Animal Doctor bought after Jumbo's (Deedee's son, he was airlifted to Manila in 2005 for treatment of Ehrlichiosis) death. Instead of being happy and grateful, I got so angry with the Animal Doctor because like most misguided people, he thought animals were toys that made nice gifts. I was still grieving and totally unprepared to meet the needs of a very young animal. In 2006, I relocated Cleo, Jennilyn, and Puppy to Iloilo.

This is Destiny Joe Aringkingking ( dont ask me about his last name, it just popped in my head) around 2 to 3 years old. He was given as a gift to our neighbors who did not know a thing about dogs. They let him roam in the street outside and basically just forgot that he was a living thing needing quality food and water. My tummy was bursting with a human baby at that time so I managed to ignore Destiny's pathetic cries at night by covering my ears with a pillow. I vowed to save him after I gave birth. Several months later, I barged into our neighbor's house and "confiscated" Destiny. I invoked the law which penalizes the neglect of animals. It was a good thing that the owners did not charge me of theft or tresspassing--maybe they learned how much I spent just to keep their dog alive.

Destiny, after I groomed him on the day of his rescue. He was severely matted and infested with ticks.

As of this date, I have not heard of any person criminally charged of neglecting their pets, although Republic Act 8485 ( The Animal Welfare Act) penalizes this.

Jack Flash is an askal ( asong kalye or stray dog) pup that came to our house in 2002. My Mom agreed to let him in after I assured her that the puppy was only looking for transient residence and will be on his own as soon as he hits adolescence. Well, it never happend. I mean, Jack grew up but my Mom had to spend thousands for the reconstruction of our fence to keep Jack inside.


This is our honorary dog, he is a topiary in the shape of a dog. Sometimes he grows little flowers all over his body and I find those really cute.


This is Pepe, the gold fish I bought to teach my son Miggy about responsibility. Pepe died on Miggy's second birthday. Rest in Peace, Pepe.


We have two other dogs, six cats and two rabbits that have crossed the Rainbow Bridge, but I will never forget them.

We, who choose to surround ourselves with lives
even more temporary than our own,
Live within a fragile circle, easily and often breached.
Unable to accept its awful gaps,
We still would live no other way.
We cherish memory as the only certain immortality,
never fully understanding the necessary plan."

Irving Townsend, from "The Once Again Prince

How to lead a dog to water and make her drink it

Scarlet has not been drinking water lately. I put her bowl in front of her, but she just pushes it away with her nose. Well, I found a way to make her drink, with what else- treats!

This biscuit came from Moy's hooman GF ( Aki's Manang). I have to break this into small pieces though to prevent choking.

By the time Scarlet finished the biscuit, she has drank all the water too.


I have not seen her smile or look happy or wag her tail in a while. Poor Scarlet.

We're doing the exercises Shelly's Pop taught me. When I pinch her hind leg, I can feel a bit of resistance, she's actually pulling her leg away, but very weakly.

She presented me with a bit of poop today( even without the laxative), perhaps I will add more fiber in her diet so I can totally wean her off the medication.

Addie

Addie gave me, Trudis, several awards. This is the first time I ever got an award and I am so happy. I will pass those wonderful awards later. Thank you Addie. I hope you have a nice celebration. All of us wish that you stay pretty and healthy and happy for many, many, many, many, many, many, many, manyyyyy months- more than we can ever dream of counting.

We love you!!!

Trudis Reporting

The Secretary allowed us to blog all days now so here I am, Trudis, with some good and bad news.

Good news:
My sister Benji has recovered from her illness, yay!

Thanks to friends who sent positive vibes, Benji's creatinine and B-U-N have normalized! What a great reward for all of us at the clinic too. The Animal Doctor had been working real hard on Benji's case, while me and the Secretary had our heads glued to the 'puter for several days, asking Mr.Google about Benji's health problem. The Secretary gave some papers for the Animal Doctor to read- there were no pictures, but I knew those were the work of animal doctors in other parts of the world. Our Animal Doctor found some new stuff and thought it won't harm to try on Benji. Here's a summary of Benji's treatment.

1. continous slow IV drip with potassium chloride infusion
2. diuresis
3. omegal 3 fatty acid supplementation(new, based on research)
4. ferrous sulfate
5. ranitidine to protect the stomach from excessive acid produced during renal failure
6. prescription diet for renal failure( Benji was on this diet and nothing else during her confinement)

Current maintenance medication/diet:
1. Nefrotec
2. Multivitamins
3. Diet of boiled chicken, egg, or tuna, rice( Benji can not stay on prescription diet for long)

I'm whining in this photo because the Secretary made me stay in jail with Benji. She wanted to document that I'm now a lot bigger than my sister- and to think that I was the runt of our litter! Benji stays in our house right now and needs to be fattened up and cured of her pica before she can be returned to her adoptive hooman ( shhh, but the Secretary thinks she might just keep Benji).

Now,

Bad News

After returning from her vacation, the Secretary noticed a firm bump along Scarlet's back. Once again, Scarlet stopped making bowel movements and lost control of her bladder. Her hind legs were swollen and her breathing was so fast, I think she was in lot of pain.

The Secretary got desperate. A months ago, she took Scarlet home because it was a better alternative than letting Scarlet go home to his real parents( they couldn't take care of a special needs dog). She was committed to take care of Scarlet but just wasn't financially prepared to deal with Scarlet's current condition. Finally, she managed to fork money for xray. When the result came out, the Animal Doctor saw that Scarlet's spinal cord had become deformed in the middle and there is a sort of mass ( or fluid filled cavity??) just underneath the arc. The Animal Doctor is not a specialist in this field and wants a bone expert to see Scarlet's xray plates. In the meanwhile, he gave Scarlet a medicine to make her poop and she did! The swelling on her hind legs disappeared almost around the time she got her poop out. And she began breathing normally too.

Shelly's( of the Fleasgang) pop was so kind to teach the Secretary how to exercise Scarlet's legs. This is the same exercise they did on Simon( of the Fleasgang) who was able to walk again after his hind legs became paralyzed. The Secretary is hoping to see some light out of the tunnel. Its been very difficult not even knowing what ails Scarlet.

Oh, I could cry with all the sadness and suffering I see around me :(

Happy Birthday, Moy-Moy!

I saw the Secretary carrying the biggest and juiciest bone I have ever seen in my whole life. To whom will she give this?? I demand to know!

Then I saw her cook these chunky meats. Whoa- wait a minute, are we celebrating something??

HUWAAAT???

OHMYDOG!!

Its my birthday??!!
(The Secretary's Note: Moy's gotcha day was last November 9 and we celebrated it last night.)

And you say I got a gift from my beloved hooman girl friend??

Thank you Manang!

I wish everyday is my birthday!

I dedicate this post to Aki's Manang, my girlfriend;
and to
Lorenza, who guessed that it was my birthday even before I knew it!

Belated Greetings

Whew! We are not even halfway through sniffing everyone's blog but its already apparent that we missed a lot of celebrations and notable events in our friends' lives while we were gone. So, better late than never, we want to greet:

CC-man

Do not ever give up on your political ambitions!

Lorenza

Stay pretty and sweet like these flowers...

Big Pupi
for passing his examination making him a certified Therapy Dog in Chicago

Great job, buddy!

Shelly
who started going to puppy school already.

We know you can do it!

and our friend, Sherwin
who blogs about homeless animals. His site, MeFindHome.Org, is included in Ratified.Org's top 50 blogs in the Philippines! Hurray!

Keep up the good work,bro!


If we forgot anyone, don't fret okay? We will be back.
and hopefully, so will our normal blogging routine.

Moy's Favorite Things

Aki ( who is sort of like my brother-in-law since his Manang is my online girlfriend) gave me a letter "B". This is a tagging game where I'm supposed to list my favorite things that start with the given letter. Okay, here goes.

Being a Boy

No offense to my gal pals Lorenza, Poopie, Shelly, Addie, Shantee and my sister Trudis, but being a boy is more fun, in my opinion. So someone took my boy bits out ( Sherwin, I forgive you for laughing at me) but that does not make me less of a boy. I am tough and macho and can be really ferocious especially when someone messes up with my tail.

Bitey Face
Oh, yeah, this is really fun!

Balut

This yummy delicacy contains an almost developed baby duck or chicken inside. I am sorry if my eating this upset some people.

Bones
I just luv, luv, luv the real ones.

Brekkie

This is what I look forward every morning. I get so excited that I have to supervise the Assistant as he prepares my breakfast.

Books
I found a quicker way to digest my bed time stories.

Biscuits
Well, my face says it all.

My first ever Buddy Marshall

I have a lot of buddies, but Marshall is the first friend that I ever had while growing up. He taught me all the rules in being a boy and I thank him for it. I miss my best bud, we rarely see each other these days because he is not internet savvy like me.

Our Vacation, Part I

Thank you, friends, for greeting our human baby on his second birthday. We threw a nice little party for him while vacationing in Iloilo City, with an elephant and a penguin as guests of honor.

Miggy's best friends:
Mambo(penguin) and MingMing (elephant) posing with Miggy's cake.

Some of the food that the grown-ups feasted on.

Bruschetta with sundried tomatoes and balsamic vinegar with a blanket of mozarella cheese.

Alfredo sauce, parmigiano reggiano, bacon, and mushrooms on a bed of spinach flavored fettuccine pasta.

Aki's Manang gave this cute little stuffie to Miggy. Thank you Manang!

Stay tuned for our next vacation story!