Reminescing

Today I'm not having a great day. It's semi-nice outside, it would be a great to sniff around in the yard, but my heart is not in it. I'm left inside, just grateful that the window is low enough so I can see outside and try to make friends with the birds and squirrels around the bird feeder.

Just a few months ago Sadie and I were at Ocean Shores running on the beach. I am posting some pictures so you can see how fast I went downhill. These were taken in February. Look how happy I am in the back of the Tahoe and just hauling ass on the beach. I don't think I will ever be able to do that again. The waiting is the worst part.....sigh..

Sorry to bring you down my friends, it's been a difficult day for this white dog. Mom said that she met another little baby guide dog at her new office. I miss going to places with her - it was so much fun to go to Expedia and go to all the meetings. Now I'm stuck inside all the time - spending my short life waiting.

This is Sadie and I - I love her - she's my best friend. I think she's confused about what's going on with me too. She's used to seeing me frolic and now I am more of a sleeping companion.

Love to all, Voyager

Voyager Checking In

Hello Dear Human Friends,

I don't have anything new to report, but thought I'd say hi! Mom faxed my paperwork to Mary at Guide Dogs and we haven't heard back yet. Dad is going to see our favorite Dr Paik at Aerowood for a second opinion. Dad really likes him because he's very honest and straight forward. When Sadie had to have her F.A.T. bumps checked (I spelled it out as she hates it when we call her "fat"), and pretty much saved Dad a couple of thousand dollars by telling him he didn't have to have those removed. I'm sure Sadie was happy about that too.

We had a good weekend, though I tripped on my own back foot several times - talk about embarrassing. On the plus side, Mom did poop patrol in the yard. I like a clean grass as my canvas, so thank you Mom! Another good news is that we had BBQ flank steak for dinner last night and yes, that's right, there's always enough left over for the doggies. I don't understand how I could be allergic to grass and stuff, but do just fine on flank steak.

I still take pain pills twice a day. They are "cleverly" disguised in my dish - I see them, of course, but humor the humans by pretending not to so they don't have to be jammed down my throat. I guess everyone wins this way. Mom looks really worried all the time and spends extra time on the floor with me looking all lovey. I will have to remember what face I make that gets her going as it is nice to get all the love.

The boy is almost out of school - Wednesday is his last day so that means he'll be home more. Yay, I love him!
I'm getting tired, so I'll wrap this up. Will write soon when there's more to report.

Whisker tickles to all - Voyager

MRI and other unpleasant things

Dear Friends,

I'm sore and still dopey from yesterday. I had a long day without any food or drink and was probed, touched, tested and examined pretty much all day. The worst part is that they are still not 100% sure what is wrong with me.

In the morning Dad took me to a neurologist, Dr Sanders in Kirkland. He was very nice and I was very excited to meet him - of course WHEN am I not excited to meet someone. I was wiggly and happy as he examined me and did some initial tests. There were some embarrassing conversations between the doc and Dad, stuff about me having difficulty keeping my balance and posture when going potty. I mean, they don't need to be talking about THAT....sigh.

I was a little alarmed to see my Dad depart and leaving me behind, but I was quickly distracted by cookies. I don't really remember the details of the day, but I had a really long nap, during which I had something called an MRI and also a spinal tap. The good news is that I'm really smart but the bad news is that I have something called the Hansen's Type II intervertebral disk disease on L6-L7 and L7-S1. The MRI showed that at least two of my vertebraes have compression, causing the pain and immobility. The vet said that surgical decompression would be the next logical step. Which means.....surgery....then 3 days at the vet hospital...followed by at least 6 weeks of recovery at home. This means no running around, no walking around, no doing anything really.

Here's a couple of pictures of me all dopey and showing the spot where they did the final tap. I am sore today and I'm going to sleep most of the day, so please no phone calls. Mom said she'll fax these results to Guide Dogs as well, as more and more it's looking like we need to spend close to $6,000 on the surgery (not including the $1,600 we spent today on the MRI and friends). How much is that again in doggy dollars? Oh they will help me, I know they will, but everyone is very stressed. I'll go sniff them.

Much love and whisker tickles, Voyager

New Developments

Hi my dear human friends!

It's been a busy week since I last took the time to blog. I'm sorry I don't get around to doing this every few days, but since I have no thumbs, I'm not exactly "50 words a minute"!

I was kind of upset the last time I wrote since the WSU story broke, but now I'm hopeful again. Several things are happening. First news, I have an MRI appointment on Monday in Kirkland. This will really tell what is going on with my painful doggy back. I'm really not getting any better and this is the next logical step. After the MRI, a neurologist will review the results and we'll regroup after that. I'm not sure what "neurologist" is, but I sure hope it has something to do with food.

Second piece of news is that my old stomping grounds, where I was born with my brothers and sisters, Guide Dogs for the Blind is considering me for financial assistance. It's not a guaranteed thing by any means, but mommy was asked to fax my vet records to them for their review board to review. Again, I'm sure hoping "review board" has something to do with food. Probably not but a dog can hope, right?

I also got a play pen from one of mom's friends at Microsoft. This will be for after the S-U-R-G-E-R-Y, if I have one. So the adults in my house are spelling things when they don't want me to understand, but I still do. I'm worried but trust these people who feed me. I love them very much and they sure seem to adore me!!!

I will have more to report next week after my MRI and the review board (please be food!!!).
Lots of love and whisker tickles from Voyager

PS - If you'd like to donate to help with my vet bills, please send it to mom's Paypal account. She promises not to spend it on dog food (though I'm still hoping).