I love this quote!

"Personally, I have always felt that the best doctor is the veterinarian. He can't ask his patients what the matter is; he's just got to know." - Will Rogers

10 Commandments of a Reponsible Dog Owner

I found this little 10 Commandment thing in a folder that the ABC Veterinary Hospital Staff has in their lobby. I thought it was really cute, but very true. It really shows how dogs are very loyal and obdient.

1. My life is likely to last 10 to 15 years. Any separation from you will be very painful.
2.Give me time to understand what you want of me.
3. Place your trust in me - it is crucial for my well-being.
4. Don't be angry with me for long, and don't lock me up as punishment. You have your work, your friends, your entertainment. I HAVE ONLY YOU.
5. Talk to me, Even if I don't understand your words, I understand your voice when it's speaking to me.
6. Be aware that however you treat me, I'll NEVER forget it.
7. Before you hit me, remember that I have teeth that could easily crush the bones in your hand, but I choose not to bite you.
8. Before you scold me for being lazy or uncooperative, ask yourself if something might be bothering me. Perhaps I'm not getting the right food, I've been out in the sun too long, or my heart may be getting old and weak.
9. Take care of me when I get old. You, too, will grow old.
10. Go with me on difficult journeys. Never say, "I can't bear to watch it" or, "Let it happen in my absence." Everything is easier for me if you are there. Remember, I love you.

-Author Unknown

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This is seriously heartwarming. If dogs could talk, I think they'd tell us this. =)

My pain is her pain, her pain is my pain...

This is Roxy as a little puppy. Adorable isn't she? Right now Roxy isn't feeling at her best in her health. She's still a little bit sick from the Giardia and we are taking care of her very well. She has her two sick children with her as well to keep her company. She is slowly getting better by the day and right now, it's just time that they all need to heal.

I wanted to share something about Roxy that I absolutely admire.

One day, I was crying over something that had made me sad. I was sobbing, there were lots of tears and I was red all over my face. I remember the first time she saw me cry. Her and Buddha were playing and as I cried, they stopped playing to sit and stare at me. They both came up to sniff me and it gave me some comfort. They knew I was hurting and I was amazed by it. A few other times that she has seen me cry, she would come up to me, make me pick her up, and she would lick my tears away. I don't know if she liked them because they were salty or because she really wanted me to feel better.

Sometimes, I'll even pretend to cry and call her over to me. Then here she comes with her whole booty and tail wagging with her tongue out tom come and give me her puppy kisses.

As she is sick, I have cried because really want her to be back to her normal health. I want all of them to be back in good health. But I also take care of her to the best of my ability. As I cry, she takes care of me, and as she cries I take care of her. My pain is her pain and her pain is my pain.

I've realized that once you have a pet, they need you there for them just as you need them there for you. They really do feel for you.

Doggy Intelligence...I LOVE IT!

You all know Buddha by now and for those who know him personally, people might think he's a mean dog because he barks and because he used to bite. Now that I have all of his habitual and bad behaviors under control, he's one of the sweetest dogs in our home and I want to tell you how intelligent he is.

I have a brother named Moe Moe. He has a high metabolism rate so he gets hungry quite often. Well, a little bit before 2AM this morning, he was super hungry. He came to my room and asked me if I wanted a hot dog. I said yes, but I was so tired, so I went back to sleep. He left my room and went to the kitchen to boil the hot dogs. I wake up to Buddha barking out my door. I'm telling him to be quiet but because I was so tired, I went back to sleep and was able to sleep through the remaining of his barking. I wake up to my dad saying, "Moe-Moe don't that again." I had no idea what was going on but I smelt something burning really bad. My mom came in my room and I could see the smoke coming in. She told me that Buddha was the one who woke everyone up. I guess my big puppy smelled the burning and knew something was wrong. He's soooo smart and I'm sooo proud of him. If he didn't wake anyone up, it may have gotten worst and a fire could have ignited. Thank God for Buddha!

Another smart story about Buddha:

Earlier this week, we had some scorching hot weather here in San Diego. I went home during my lunch break in that day because I wanted to make sure that my dogs had something around them to keep them cool like a fan and more than enough water. Buddha knows how everyone is a little sick. He came to greet me at the end of the hallway by the gate. When I came over the gate, he was standing at the other end wagging his tail and turning around like he was telling me something. I walked to my sister's room and on the wee-wee pad, I see little wads of poop and I realized that he was telling me that they were there so I could pick them up. I did so and I was so proud of him.

Buddha loves his sister, Roxy! When they were young little puppies, Roxy threw up in the middle of the night one night and she was sitting up looking helpless. I didn't know because I was sleeping and I didn't hear anything at all. But I did feel that something was sitting on my chest. I felt fur on my cheeks and I wake up to find Buddha laying on my chest to wake me up. I see Roxy sitting there, hunched over and looking sickly. If it wasn't for Buddha, I would have probably never woken up. I think he's an angel disguised as a dog. =)

Peoeple tend to underestimate the canine species A LOT. Little do a lot of people know that as long as you take care of a dog and give them everything they need, especially time, love and affection, they will take care of you in return. Dogs can feel your pain, they know when something is wrong and they know that there is a time and place for a lot of things. Even though you have to train them and take your time in raising them, they will always give something back to you.

The things ya miss...

So they all seem to be perking up as the days go by. I'm learning so much as a dog owner and I love being a dog owner. As many dogs as I have, I really don't mind all the work and responsibility. Although it can be stressful at times and even thought they tend to get a little crazy sometimes, I love my pets to death.

With them being sick, there are so many things I appreciate and miss:

-When Deebo and Little Foot or Deebo and Buddha are playing, I miss how J-Mittens would bark like he's t he ref or like he's trying to bring peace to their doggy-play.

-Little Foot would always chew on a piece or end of my blanket before she would go to bed. I would try and take it from her and she would snap at me and try to bite me.

-Sleeping with all of my dogs can be so uncomfortable but now that I have the sickly ones separate from the well ones, there is so much more space left on my bed that I wish was filled by the others.

-We have a baby gate that blocks off the rest of the house from the hallway. All day they play throughout the hallway, in my room and in my sister's room. I miss coming home and having them all bark and greet me at the end of the hallway, fighting each other for my attention and trying to be the first one to be picked up.

-I miss picking up their big wads of poop because at least then I knew they were healthy.

-Every time I would come in the room with food, the ones that are sick along with the others would jump up and fight to sit on my lap to get a piece of my meal.

-Roxy would eat just about anything. Now that she's sick, she'll barely take a treat.

-They're barking in the middle of the night when everyone is asleep. It let's me know that they're okay, alert, and healthy enough to get up and bark in the middle of the night.

...and so much more. There are a lot of things that you tend to appreciate when they don't happen as often, when they stop happening and simply when they just cannot happen for the moment. I know that when my dogs are all well and healthy, everything will go back to normal as if they were never sick, and I can't wait for that to happen. =)

MALTESE MADNESS!!

So, just when I thought they were all getting better from this Giardia attack, it starts to hit J-Mittens the hardest. We needed to take him and Roxy in to the pet ER to get checked out and make sure they were okay. They gave them fluids, which is what they needed. The ER couldn't tell me much but I spent $280 there. If you're unsure of whether or not you should get your dogs checked out for whatever reason, get them checked out. It's always worth it to find out that your dog is either healthy or that your dog is a bit sickly and needs treatment, therefore you can start on the treatment right away.

When we got home, J-Mittens got even worst. He had the runs really bad. It had a very bad odor, mucus, and blood. My mom took him to the doctor the following day. He was tested for Parvo, which he very fortunately did not have (THANK GOD), he had some blood drawn to check for anything else that may have been circulating throughout his body.

He was given more fluids because his doctor said he was very dehydrated. Apparently, we could also give him pepto-bismol to help rid the stomach upset and it seems to have helped over the course of a few days. According to his blood work, his blood sugar levels were very low as well as his sodium and chloride. He wouldn't eat or drink so I had to feed him baby food through a little syringe and I also gave him water and red Gatorade with it as well. We needed to get his blood sugars back up to par so she said anything with sugar that he likes and will eat he can have. I had to do this same thing with Little Foot and Roxy as they would not eat and were still having a few symptoms.

Yesterday, I had to take Little Foot in to get some fluids. When dogs are sick like this, they tend to lose a lot of weight due to the waste that they're letting out. It's important that they get all the nutrients that they need in order to stay healthy and allow their immune systems to work effectively.

It's really hard for me to see my dogs so ill. I don't think I'll ever be taking them outside again. At least not for a while. Not only is it expensive, but it's very hard.

Poor Babies...

So last week was a tough week for me AND my dogs...all 5 of them. About a week or 2 ago, Little Foot started having some diarrhea. I thought maybe she had eaten something that she shouldn't have. It got better and every few days she would have wet or very watery waste. I didn't think too much of it because since she's such a young puppy, I figure she'll eat just about anything. Last week, we had brought home a brand new puppy (a maltipoo named Spanky which you will learn more about in another post). We had him checked out a few days later and we come to find out that he had parasites which is very common among young puppies, sometimes they are born with this type of parasite as well (Coccidia). A day or two later, we notice Little Foot having more and more diarrhea, then Deebo comes down with the runs too, and then Roxy starts throwing up! I took Little Foot to the doctor, and then the boys (J-Mittens and Deebo). They all get checked out and physically they're fine. I turned in a fecal sample of all of them that I had to pay $53.50 for. Vet bills are no joke! Next thing you know, Buddha is throwing up and shaking and then he starts to have diarrhea AND blood in his poop just like the others. So I took him in as well.

The next morning, the doctor calls and tells me that they FOR SURE have parasites called Giardia. I was literally in and out of the vet's office last week. I spent $128 on Little Foot. They gave her fluids because she was so dehydrated, they gave her a shot of antibiotics, of course I had to pay for the office visit and I want to say they gave her a dose of medicine to help her with the diarrhea. I spent $72.50 on Deebo and J-Mittens, each. They got a dose of antibiotics as well. The following day, when I brought in Roxy and Buddha, I spent a total of $125 for the both of them: the office visit (each), a dose of antibiotics each, the both needed fluids, they both got antibiotics and Buddha got a dose of meds to help with the vomitting. Plus we had to pay for the medicine as well. I had my mother help me out a lot even though I didn't want to ask her for help, I knew I would need lots of it.

I've learned that Giardia in dogs is an intestinal parasite that lives in the small intestine. If giardia is ingested in any way, it can cause a dog to feel very sick. Such symptoms would include diarrhea (the main sign of the parasite) and/or vomitting. The antibiotic that was prescribed is called Panicur. The antibiotic actually stops the parasites from multiplying while it also gives the immune system a chance to do its own work. Metronidazole helps with the diarrhea symptoms as well as kill off the parasites.

There's really no way to prevent your dogs from getting parasites. However, there are measures that we as responsible dog owners can take in order to lessen the chances of our pets getting them:

-avoid dog parks and dog beaches -->some owners don't tend to pick up their dogs poop after they handle their business and this is where these protozoas are formed. If your dog licks sniffs the poop, he or she may ingest the bacteria.

-avoid allowing your dog to jump in puddles or walk through moist areas -->this parasite likes to live in moist areas. Spring time is when there tends to be an epidemic of Giardia due to the rain leaving moist and wet areas.

As painful as it was for my pockets and my mother's, I'm glad that they're feeling better. The doctor wants to get a sample of their fecal again to retest and make sure they're all better.