Nine lives...not just for cats!

When I started this blog, I figured that I'd be posting on a regular basis for a few months about Willie's health...I didn't think he'd still be around and doing as well as he has been, therefore warranting more postings than I had ever imagined. My last post "No News is Good News" still holds as there are no new developments. People still ask how he is doing and the best I can say is that he is doing well. He has his days where he just seems to not feel well, a bit lethargic, eyes glazed over and part of me thinks that is more about allergies then a brain tumor?!?! The last time I called to renew his prescription they said I'd have to bring him in for a recheck before they would refill again...and it is almost time for a refill. I imagine that they will figure out what I already know, Willie is a miracle dog. He has been known as the dog with nine lives and according to my calculations, he is working on at least his fifth so I think he still has lots of time left. He is getting older, has a harder time jumping up on the couch, holding his pee, a bit ornery at times, but what can you expect from a ten year old dog?!?! For a while we noticed quite a change in his personality and just within the past week or so he has been his old self again. I'll probably bring him back to LSU with in the next week or two and I'll surely post what I find out!

No news is good news!

I've had a few people comment about the lack of recent posts and I just wanted to let everyone know no news is good news. Willie is doing well, no further symptoms of a brain tumor which has led me to convince myself that he does not actually have a brain tumor. The only difference I've noticed is that he is really fat...his belly is huge!!! He constantly begs for food, crying and whining for it, like a junkie needing a fix. It is really kind of pathetic. I called the LSU Vet School last week for a refill (the second refill) of his prescription and they said the could refill it one more time and then he would need to come in for a recheck. Which I interpreted to mean..."Holy hell, you mean that little dog is still alive??? Maybe we should take a look at him!" I figured they were surprised he was still alive and maybe he should not be taking steroids three times a day for two months. I had already reduced his dosage to twice a day when the instructions were every 8 hours, and as you know that is a bit of a challenge when you work for a living! The first month, I'd come home everyday in the middle of the day to give him a dose every 8 hours but a month later when he was still kicking...I decided to cut back to twice a day. Now, he gets his medicine every 12 hours, and if we are home we would give it to him every 8 hours. So, when I picked up his refill the bottle said to give it to him twice daily. I'd imagine three daily doses of steroids may start to cause some sort of damage. Wouldn't that be something if Willie dies from liver damage instead of a brain tumor?!?! That'd be my luck! If he is still alive when we get close to the end of this bottle I'll bring him in and see what they have to say about my little medical miracle.

Dying Wish

We brought Willie with us to the camp in Grande Isle for the Memorial Day weekend. I was thinking if I had a dying wish it would be to travel, but probably not to Grande Isle, no offense! It was nice to see Willie outside of his element, which is the couch or the bed. He seemed to really enjoy himself and didn't complain too much about the 2.5 hour drive. He sat in his car seat like a good boy, not that he had a choice, the car seat attaches to his harness. He didn't pee in the car which was a good thing, I let him out when we stopped for gas. He stayed on his leash below the camp most of the time taking it all in until he totally exhausted himself and sprawled out on his side like road kill. My favorite part was that it was very windy this weekend, so windy we didn't get to take the boat out, and the wind would catch Willie's ears and stand them straight up...it was the funniest sight I'd seen in a while. As you know, Willie's adorable ears usually flop over and I learned that is not the case in a strong wind. It was nice to get out of the house for all of us and I'm happy to say that Willie may have got his dying wish, if his wish was to travel.

Willie could be a puppy model!

I received Willie's proofs today and I must say, my dog is adorable! One of my coworkers said that Willie should be a puppy model and I thoroughly agree. There are so many cute ones that it will be very hard to decide. I think it would be a bit much to have a ton of pictures of my dog in frames at my house and I'm not at all sure how I will decide. I love my dog and hopefully you will look at the pics and agree that Willie is totally adorable!!

I was also pleasantly surprised and almost moved to tears to learn that a friend of mine was so inspired by reading the Willie blog that she and her son decided to get a min pin. It is like Willie now has a name sake or a legacy that will live on after he is gone...isn't that exciting!!

Ready for my close up!

Willie and I went to have his picture made on Friday and it was fairly uneventful. The appointment was at 9am and I was at work for 10am. He was a bit of a challenge as he doesn't sit still for longer than a second so most of the pictures have me in them. That wasn't exactly what I had in mind, after all why would I want a picture of myself??? If Willie was better behaved then it may have worked out better. Cindy (the photographer) would say "On the count of three move your hand." and I'd move it and he'd be off. That is why most of the pictures I try to take of Willie are just a black and tan blur. Oh also by the way I'm chubby...so I really was not excited about being in the picture. I guess that is the sacrifice I have to make. Hopefully at least one or two will come out for me to choose from...I'll keep you posted as I eagerly anticipate my proofs!

Second Bring Your Dog to Work Day

I'm not sure if Bring Your Dog to Work Day will become a monthly event and I did declare to day the second Bring Your Dog To Work Day. This morning, as I do every morning, I woke Willie up, gave him his medicine, took him to the grass, then brought him back to bed with us. He couldn't sit still and finally got off of the bed. I waited for a while and when he didn't return I went looking for him and found him in his kennel. This is quite unlike Willie as he usually doesn't seem to want to be in his kennel, let alone lay in there with the door open?!?!? When Brandon woke up (because you see he sleeps through all of the stuff I have already done!) he asks "Where's Willie?" and I told him that the last time I saw him he was in his kennel, and sure enough that's where he was. When I got home from the gym...where was Willie, in his kennel, with the door open mind you. It was a bit curious to me as that is not normal, so to prevent a nervous break down on my part, I decided today was yet another Bring Your Dog to Work Day. I think he enjoyed himself, hung out, barked at Catherine, got lots of attention and tons of petting and didn't even pee inside once which is a mere miracle for Willie.

Going to Grandma's

We dropped Willie off at my mom's house last night...she is keeping him while we are on vacation. It was so sad...he kept looking at us, like why are you leaving me? I told him we would be back and I'm not sure he understood. After all he has a really tiny brain and most of it is eaten up by a humongous tumor (just in case you all forgot!) My mom has two Great Danes and when he walked into the living room and saw them he shit his pants, seriously! We were in the kitchen and he came running into the kitchen with poo hanging, how gross is that? I imagine if he can survive her house we will be doing good. I got so sad when we left because I couldn't help but think what if that was the last time we see him alive?!?! I started to cry a little, like one tear and Brandon quickly told me that he (and I think he meant that I) would be okay. I left my mom strict instructions to have him cremated while we were gone and not to tell us about it because I don't want to ruin our vacation. I'm sure I'll call her everyday to check on him.