Rest in Peace, Brea

Brea has gone to wherever good dogs go when they die. She was eleven years old, and we had nine years together. In March she was diagnosed with tumors in her spleen and abdomen. She was doing pretty well until this week, when she appeared to be becoming uncomfortable, especially when going up and down stairs, and her belly was noticeable distended. So last night I made the difficult decision that it was time to say goodbye. Sweet Brea.

Faye's Big Day

 Faye was spayed Friday, so no more worries about a bunch of little Fayes running around.

Friday night she looked kind confused and disoriented, at times pacing a lot, and other times just standing and staring at me with wide eyes. She didn't seem to be in too much pain.

Yesterday, Saturday, she seemed more her normal self, wanting to go outside and run and play, but it's too soon for that - the doctor said to keep her quiet for a few days and keep her incision clean and dry.

Today her incision seemed to be starting to bother her. I don't know if it's itching or hurting, or both, but she started licking it more, so we went to Petsmart and got her a lampshade collar. She is receiving medicine for pain and Trazodone to help keep her calm. We also went to the Panera drive through for coffee and the nice lady there gave her a piece of bacon! Good times.

Brea and Baseball

 Brea's interest in baseball extends only to catching the ball and chewing the cover off.

Faye's Family

 Some of Faye's relatives, from left to right: Sunny (brother), Willie (father), Jersey (sister), and Brinks (uncle). Photo courtesy Tasha W., owner of Sunny.

Turtles

The past few weeks I've encountered several turtles on my property.

Faye's first turtle.

This one appeared to be trying to descend the stairs when I found him...

... but turned around when I went to the other side. I ended up moving him away from the edge.

Faye's Family

Tasha, my coworker, whose parents own Faye's parents, sent me this composite of Faye and five of her six brothers and sisters. Top left is Sunny, a brother owned by Tasha. Bottom left is Frank, another brother owned by Tony, a former coworker. Faye is middle right. No ID on the other ones yet.

At her last checkup a few days ago Faye weighed 30 pounds. Tasha and Tony report that their boy dogs are about 70 pounds now. Big boys. Faye is little but she's active and healthy, no complaints from the doctor.

Honesty

One thing I like about dogs is that they're very clear about what they want, if I'm perceptive enough to recognize it. Sometimes there's no doubt...

Can you tell that Faye and Siri want to go into the park?

The only reason we didn't go into the park was because the field was a muddy mess after an all night rain.

Here are a few pictures showing how Faye compares to Siri in size. Siri weighs about 110 lbs. I think Faye weighs about 45 or 50 lbs. With the current stay at home situation I haven't been able to take her to the vet to check her weight. I tried standing on my home scale while holding her, but she doesn't like to be held like that and squirms a lot.

Currently, Faye eats a little more than twice as much (by volume) than the older dogs. She's still eating large breed puppy chow. On my days off I try to give her an extra meal. She still acts like she's starving. This week she is 26 weeks old.

Brea was relaxing on my bed at this time and didn't want to go outside.

Sign of the Times

No more playing in the park, apparently. New signs went up yesterday, which I didn't discover until I took the dogs out last night for a nighttime run.

The signs need to be posted on or near the playground equipment, I think, not at the entrance to the ball field, which is getting very little use except by people playing with their dogs. Every day I see people bringing their kids to play on the playground equipment. That stuff is getting touched way more than the gate to the ball field.

Oh, well.

Can You See Me Now?

6 Weeks vs 14 Weeks

A Trip to the Vet with Siri and Faye

Both Siri and Faye had vaccinations due, so for the sake of convenience I scheduled their appointments for the same time, something I've never done before with any of my dogs. Just in case, I took the two of them on a test drive a few days ago, although not to the doctor's office. Instead, we went to the gas station, since I had to fill my car, and then we went to Burger King, where I bought them some chicken nuggets. At both places we got out and walked around in the outer areas of the parking lot, and there were no problems.

Faye has been well-behaved on (both) visits to the doctor so I didn't expect any problems from her. Siri, however, has a tendency to announce her displeasure with very loud barking and attempts to leave, and today was no different. It did get us into an exam room a little sooner than normal.

Once in the exam room they were both pretty good.

For the record, Siri weighed 110 lbs. and Faye weighed 24 lbs.

More Pictures

Here are a few more random pictures...

In the last couple of days, Faye has started climbing up and lying on my legs as I'm sitting in my recliner.

She's going to outgrow this bed soon, her second one.

Running and Playing

Just a few pictures from this morning's session on the ball field.

Puppy's First Bath

Faye had her first bath at Belly scRubs today.

Faye was not happy with the bath.

She did seem to enjoy meeting the staff and some of the other customers and exploring the place while we waited our turn. Afterwards, we went to McDonald's for some chicken nuggets. Faye is a good traveler; so far she just relaxes in the back seat, just like Siri.

Puppy's First Snow video

I only just figured out how to post a video here. This is from the other day.

Nine Weeks Old

Faye is nine weeks old and weighs 13.2 lbs. We went to the doctor for some more puppy vaccines and then to PetSmart for some puppy pads. She did pretty well in both places, not at all timid about exploring or meeting new people or puppies. She travels well, too, staying pretty calm in the back seat of the car after the first couple minutes.

More Puppy Pictures

These were taken today on what was the longest walk Faye has gone on so far, about a half mile, without being carried part of the way.

This time it was just Siri and Faye on the walk - Brea was busy chewing on a rawhide and not interested in leaving it. Walking this puppy and even one of the big dogs is exhausting, as I have to watch for traffic and other dog walkers, as well as try not to step on Faye, who tends to walk very close to me.

 Still, she's learning how to walk in a small group. She alternates between being under foot and wanting to walk alongside one of the big dogs.

And she's learning her way around the neighborhood and starting to recognize landmarks.

The first thing she did when we got home this morning was head straight for the kitchen and lay down next to the pantry where I keep the dog food. Can't get any clearer than that about what she wants.