Eau de Pug

Flickr-holics Anonymous

There's a reason I haven't posted in a long while.
It is an addiction called Flickr.
Really, it has gotten out of control.

It's been awhile

Holy COW -- almost a YEAR has gone by! I am a bad blogger friend and do apologize for that. Hopefully next time it won't take quite as long to get around to posting again. It always helps for one to remember her password as well.

Tyler would say hello, but he's too busy having a cow.

Not enough junk in the trunk

Sorry I haven't been around much lately. A bit going on right now, and part of that is the house is full of so much accumulated STUFF that it is overwhelming and just a big chaotic mess. Boxes, stacks, piles of STUFF everywhere! Most of this is STUFF that is covered in dust because I don't use it, and when I do need it, don't know where to find it!

A significant portion of the STUFF is clothing. After reading several articles, I feel past the stages of keeping things that are multiple sizes too small, hoping to fit into them again "one day." So the jeans from high school finally went on their merry way last summer. But...

I have the hardest time getting rid of STUFF for various reasons, especially sentimental ones. Like, there were several nightgowns that I occassionally wear, but they were full of holes and from 1994. I didn’t want to get rid of them because they were from my grandmother who passed away, but they were full of holes and all stretched out! So - those finally had to go.

Question for y'all: What do you do with old t-shirts that are very comfy and all stretched out that are only good for sleeping in? I keep them, of course! But how many of these does one need? Does a person really need a few dozen of them?! So I got rid of the most raggedy looking ones, and am hoping now I will wear the other ones more. I did find some new shirts that had been buried in the mess and forgotten about, so those can finally get some wear.

But it’s hard getting rid of even the old raggedy t-shirts, even knowing there is no worry about running out of stuff to sleep in. What about all those concert t-shirts that never get worn anymore because they are so long, yet seemingly too snug to be slept in? The t-shirt from the first Tori Amos concert I ever went to, which has yellow stains on the underarms and doesn't get worn... I just couldnt' get rid of it. Blah, blah blah, the list goes on and on! You would be ASHAMED if you saw the mess I kept. Only got rid of three bags full of clothes, and “bags” are those little handheld plastic ones like you get at the grocery store or Walmart. Maybe about 15 garments altogether going to Goodwill. And about 4 or 5 t-shirts with holes ended up in the trash. Not a very impressive spring cleaning, considering I spent an entire day on it.

Guess what we got yesterday

First snow of this season!!!!! Yay!

Tyler's feet got a bit cold.

So did his cousin Zoey.

But that didn't stop them from leaving cute little prints all over the deck :-)

Tyler and me thank you

Wow. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for all the purrrayers and good thoughts sent to Tyler. This means a lot to him and to me. It seems to be helping him also.

Tyler went for x-rays a couple days ago and nothing significant was found. The vet recommended we keep him on the anti-inflammatory med (Deramaxx) for a couple of weeks because he could have a sore muscle, nerve or joint which would not show up in an x-ray, and he didn't think the condition was urgent to warrant doing an MRI at this point.

The following morning, Tyler seemed a lot better. Normally when the medication wore off, he would stop walking. Now he seems okay when the meds have worn off. So that is progress, right? We have kept him on the medication a couple more days, but my husband wants to take him off the medicine. His theory is that Tyler doesn't need the meds any longer than absolutely necessary. I am not sure. It seems like the inflammation could return and stopping the meds now could be too soon. However, I am willing to give it a trial run this weekend, to see how Tyler acts without the med for a longer time frame, and also if he is *able* to feel pain, he might be less inclined to run and jump and damage whatever is healing.

What are your thoughts? Should anti-inflammatories be continued after the symptoms subside? Or should they be stopped as early as possible?

In the meantime, I went home for lunch yesterday and Tyler begged politely for food. When I finished eating, he brought a toy and wanted to be chased. The spring and curl are returning to his tail. Although I'm scared to say he's out of the woods, he definitely seems to be improving.

Your comments and prayers have meant so much. I cannot thank you enough! Any suggestions or advice about the meds or symptoms, if you have thoughts on this, would be welcomed too.

My sweet boy does not feel well...

Tyler has been acting strangely since the end of last week. Thursday night he awoke and was pacing the floor. Friday morning, he did the same thing. Then he seemed fine for a bit, but when I came after work and tried walking him, he would barely move. He laid down in the road and huddled into a ball. He had to be carried home. When I brought him inside and called the vet, he crawled under our Christmas tree and laid down against the wall. He acts like he is in severe pain, and when he stands he arches his back and is afraid to move.

The vet saw him and gave him anti-inflammatory drugs, and said to give this ten days because he could have an injury or degeneration of a disc in his neck or upper back. The medicine works VERY well, but wears off hours before we can give another dose. During the 4- 5 hours he feels bad each day, he can barely move. He is clearly in pain. This is not like Tyler. It is heartbreaking to see him like this. I am worried to tears for him, and really scared of what this could be. It is like his spirit is completely broken when he is hurting.

Please send healing thoughts and/or prayers for Tyler. Hopefully it is something that can be treated. Thanks to much internet research and pondering of worst case scenarios, I have cried almost non-stop the past few hours, and a lot over the weekend and am pretty much a basketcase over this. Tyler is too young to have to deal with anything serious, and we haven't had nearly enough time with him. He has to be okay. Please let him be okay.