100 mile bike marathon!

My Auntie Beth rides bicycles and stuff and she did a 100 mile ride on her bike in one day. I got to go out to the "pit stops" and help Mom & Dad have water for her and stuff. We waited there with water, and first aid kit and things she might need. It was fun and I got to run around a lot in parks and stuff, and lots of people petted me. Oh, and I stole a sandwich too! A whole turkey sandwich! And then I went under a car in the parking garage and got black grime all over me again and now Mom has to shampoo me again. She is not too happy about that but she said I am still cute. So that's ok.

Ha!

Doing good, and happy!

I am doing really well. My medication has been regulated and now I don't have seizures all the time and I am not dopey either. I sleep through the night most nights and when I do wake up I am really quiet until the humies wake up too. Then we have breakfast together and go for a walk, and sometimes Bunny Thing goes with us. I like car rides so whenever Dad drives anywhere, he usually takes me too and I don't mind waiting in the car while he does errands. Of course, once it gets hot outside, I can't do that but right now is ok. I am more friendly now and Mom pets me a lot and gives me lots of love. I help her clean the house and sometimes I help her cook too. I sit under the stove and wait for her to drop any food- then I quickly vacuum it up. 


There are only two things that mom says are not quite right yet.
One thing is the potty training. I just cannot figure out where these people want me to pee and poo. I mean, outside? Inside? Which room? I can't figure it out.
The other thing is socializing with other dogs. Sometimes I am nice, but sometimes I want to show those other dogs that i can kick their butts, so I lunge at them and try to start a fight. Mom says some of this is just "dog politics" but she has not taken me to a dog park yet to test me out off leash. That's coming soon.


Mom says in every other way, I am perfect. "Best dog in the whole world" she says. 


Oh, and I have lost weight! I am looking goooooood! I still have a couple of pounds to lose or turn into muscle, but I am no longer dangerously overweight. I am more agile now and I can easily jump onto the sofa and jump down from things without face planting into the carpet. A month ago I was too fat to jump on things. Tomorrow, Mom is gonna give me an "in between bath" which is a bath I get in between grooming appointments. I am kinda nervous about that, but mom says it will be fine. 


Aunt Deka is coming over in a minute and she and Mom are going to plan Mom's wedding while petting me lots.


Oh yeah, Mom & Dad are getting married in August! How cool is that! 

I'm clean!

Today I got groomed! It was a little scary at first, but then I was Ok. Lisa, of All Cats & Canines took such good care of me that once I got past the first nervous minutes, everything was great. I got a shampoo and a haircut and my ears, eyes and butt cleaned. Mom requested that I have a "Puppy Cut" since it is getting hot outside and I overheat really easy because I am overweight. A Puppy Cut is shorter than a normal cut, and makes doggies look really young. Soooo much hair came off of me! Like, a whole second dog! I look like a totally different doggie now! Oh, and I am SOFT! I'm happy, and my tail is fluffy and wagging.

Me, this morning. Really dirty!

Me, getting my hair clipped.

So much hair coming off!

The shampoo. I was so dirty I needed two shampoos!

Look at me now! Clean and minty fresh boogawoof!

Can I have a treat now?

Look, I'm cute!

Mom and Auntie Deka were in the bedroom all day going through the closet which has all Mom's costume things in it. Mom used to be an actress, so she has lots of costume things like big poofy dresses that people used to wear hundreds of years ago. There's all kinds of hats and something called corsets and petticoats. I dunno what any of that stuff is, but I know it's fun! Mom & Deka were going through the closet to find costumes to wear to something called The Tim Burton Ball, which is some kind of party, I guess. Well, I have never been in that closet before and let me tell you, that is the place to be! I got petted and given treats and put on a pillow on the bed and my belly rubbed... it was AWESOME! Plus, I helped Mom pick out things for organizing the closet too. Mom let me try on some hats and scarves for this cell phone application she has called "Cloth." It is a wardrobe documenting application thingie for people who work in theater and film to keep track of costumes and clothes worn by actors. I got to model some hats and scarves, and I model like a pro. I earned some treats, definitely. Then Auntie Deka took me for a walk in the park for an hour. I chased lake chickens, and got more belly rubs!

Me, relaxing on Mom & Dad's bed.

My glamorous evening look.

Shabby Chic.

Green, lots of green.

Mom's Dickens Fair bonnet.

"Has it ever occurred to you that you are insane? 

Because you just put a tiara on a dog."

      -Deka

Getting better- but only kinda

I have been doing both better and worse. Isn't that weird? Mom reduced the Potassium Bromide and that didn't work out so well because I went from being totally drugged out all the time to being really restless all the time AND having lots of seizures. So mom increased it a little and that helped but I still have seizures. Not as many, but they are a pretty regular thing. I am really, really unhappy when I am all drugged up. I have trouble walking and can't really do much. But seizures are bad too, so Mom & Dad are trying to balance my meds and make sure I am medicated but not OVER or UNDER medicated.

Mom says she has the same problem. When she takes the pills the doctors give her, she doesn't have much of a life at all. She gets so sad and tired and woozy all the time that she can't go places and do things. The pills are real bad for her kidneys too and caused Mom to have kidney problems. Mom now has a card to take "special medicine" and that works better for her. It stops the seizures, doesn't hurt her kidneys and she can have a life and actually do things. Mom says if all else fails, she will make me special medicine dog biscuits.

So, I have been having seizures, but when I am not having seizures, I am more able to do things. I am clumsy so Mom has pit pillows around the things I bump into often, but without the extra potassium bromide, I seem happier and more alert. Mom says it is a balancing act not just with the meds but with quality of life:

Is it better (for the dog) to have a doggie that is really dopey on drugs and can't do much, but doesn't have seizures?
Or is it better to have a doggie that is on less medicine and does have seizures, but can still function and play?

It is a risk to the doggie to allow seizures, but what kind of life is a doped up one?

Mom says people who don't have seizures often don't understand what seizures are like and cannot understand how some people choose to not be medicated. It does look scary, and it does feel awful, but it is five minutes of awful in a day, and sometimes five minutes of awful is better than all the time awful.

In good news, next weekend I get to go to the beach! Me and my dog-friend Curtis are taking off to the beach in Pacifica! Mom is gonna make me a nest in the back seat of the car so I can be a wet, dirty dog if I want to be, and we are gonna go find seashells and rocks. Me and Curtis get along real well. Bunny Thing can't go because Curtis will eat her.