It's Castiel from supernatural. Though I messed up his eyes a bit.
In other news we took all 5 dogs to the vet so we could renew heart worm meds. It was crazy
And Mr. Tuvok got his teeth cleaned. We had made an appointment for Weasley to do the same but our vet said his teeth weren't that bad yet and we could wait a year. I love my vet he's very honest and saved us 800 dollars. He did say Tuvok had lots of tartar for a two year old dog and would be needing lots of dentals over his life time. We expected that though since he is a toy poodle. Tuvok isn't happy about it though.
November 14 will mark the 131st anniversary of the birth of one of the most stylish women of all time, Louise Brooks. The queen of the bob, Louise was known not just for her brilliant acting, but her rebellious flapper spirit and her gorgeous, shiny Bob.
Louise's hair was so striking that she was known as "the girl in the black helmet." Perhaps, her look was a little too iconic because she never transitioned out of her flapper image and her film career evaporated in the 1930s.
Louise appeared in just 12 films, yet nearly 100 years later she remains one of the most recognizable stars of the silent era, particularly for the 1929 German film Pandora's Box.
Louise will never be my favorite silent female star, my heart forever belongs to Clara Bow, but I do adore her and I think that in the flapper hair contest she passes the finish line before the others even get out of the opening. No one has ever looked as fabulous in a Bob as Louise did. I'm no Louise Brooks, and I'm constantly changing my hair, but for the past 15 years I keep returning to one particular style, the close cropped Brook's style Bob.
While I'm no Louise, I really think this is my all time favorite hair style and for now at least I've decided to keep it. Do you have a favorite iconic hair style?
On another note if you read this blog you know we have had some pet health problems this month, though thankfully none too serious yet. First Fry had a biopsy (benign yeah!), then our cat Ernie had a seizure or cardiac arythmia attack we don't really know which, and now 13 year old Ping has bronchitis. She started honking and coughing on Election night, perhaps sickened as I was by the turn of events, and I was really afraid that she had pneumonia. Thankfully, it's just bronchitis, but respiratory issues are always serious in pugs, particularly older pugs, and we are a little concerned. Thankfully, so far she seems to be coughing a bit less and responding to the antibiotics, but any well wishes are appreciated.
We have an apple TV with a link to our cloud and the screen saver runs family pictures. I was watching many pictures of Tubby and Norbert on previous Halloweens scroll buy, pictures like this one.
I was really missing boys but it was such fun to take pictures of our current babies this Halloween weekend.
They really enjoyed this years pumpkin
We put cat treats in the pumpkin as well, but Spot was the only one of the four cats that was interested.
However, I do have some not so good news. On Saturday we discovered a small hard lump on Fry's lower muzzle near his bottom lip. We went to the vet but could not see our regular vet. We had to see a vet I don't particularly like, perhaps through no fault of her own she diagnosed Norbert's nasal cancer so I may have a bias against her. Anyway, she thought Fry's lump was suggestive of a mast cell tumor a type of cancer common in pugs. Tubby had one, but when he was 9 and Fry is only 2! She did a fine needle aspiration and we get the result back Monday and I am already making an appointment with my favorite vet. If it's cancerous he will require surgery with wide margins which might be tricky on his face. The good news is we have excellent insurance, Pet's Best, so we can get him the best care. Still, we could really use some positive thoughts.
I have known for awhile, even before adding the delightful Mr. Tuvok, to our family that poodles are a breed that can inspire strong feelings in others. Plenty of people love poodles, and plenty of others feel they aren't for them. I understand, no breed is perfect for everyone and I am a big believer in breed matching and research. What I don't understand is the people who like poodles, even own them, but don't want them to look like what they are.
Am I not adorable
When I added Mr. Tuvok to my family several people advised me to get his hair clipped in a way that was not too poodle-ish. Now I get avoiding show clips, I don't really understand them and they certainly aren't practical for a family pet.
Maverick, one of Mr. Tuvok's relatives in full show coat!
However, I definitely want my dog to look like what he is! After all Mr. Tuvok and I are proud that he is a poodle. So I always ask whatever groomer we use to give him a traditional type pet poodle clip and to cut his face short so he looks like a poodle. Nearly every groomer has told me that the number one instruction they get from poodle owners is don't make him look like a poodle. This weekend we tried a new groomer, I was using the groomer at the Vet but Tuvok is a bit afraid of the vet due to his recent shots and I didn't want to make a grooming appointment stressful for him. I'm lucky that he is very well behaved while being groomed and I don't want that to change. So we tried Downtown Woody's Grooming Salon in Jersey City and I asked for a summer do, a Miami Clip. This was the inspiration. The women grooming Mr. Tuvok expressed her pleased surprise that I wanted a short face.
They did a great job and Mr. Tuvok looks fab and ready for summer. (They also gave him a tie which lasted about one hour before he started chewing it.)
This cut is also really practical and easy to mantain with just a few minuts of daily brushing, though he will need a trim in about four to five weeks. Of course most importantly its very comfortable for Mr. Tuvok. In fact in my opinion this short clip with a clean face and feet is more comfortable and practical that the current craze for so called "puppy cuts" that are floofier and obscure the face of the poodle, like the ones below:
I'm not saying the dogs in the images above aren't cute, they are, but I think dog guardians need to realize that these less poodle-ey cuts take a lot of daily maintenance, even more then some of the more traditional pet clips which already require at least daily brushing. When Tuvok was at the groomer there was a young gentleman with his standard poodle who had his hair like the one above. The groomer was explaining that the dog had many matts. I think that is something people really need to consider when they ask a groomer to ensure that their dog doesn't look like a poodle. (They also should also ask themselves why they got a poodle if they didn't want a dog that looked like one.) Poodles, like every breed, have a unique beauty and no poodle guardian should be trying to obscure it!
Regular readers now that we have a sweet old lady in our house, little Ping who will be 13 in May.
Ping is not without her share of health problems, including liver disease, deafness and arthritis. Her liver issues are managed with a special diet and supplements but it makes anesthesia a bit risky. Thats why I agonized and worried over her getting her teeth cleaned a few weeks ago. My vet and I put it off as long as possible, but eventually her teeth where so bad that she had loose ones in her mouth and was in pain, so clearly we had to do something. She went under with my excellent vet and had several extractions and a cleaning. I'm so glad I did it! My vet uncovered an actual hole in Ping's palate caused by her bad teeth that he had no idea was there. This was in a dog who had 3 other dentals and got regular brushings, so obviously Ping is just one of this dog's with bad teeth. The dental has really improved Ping's over all health. She's back to her old feisty self, she is even climbing stairs!
After my experience with Ping I'd tell anyone who has an old dog with very bad teeth, don't be too afraid to the dental. I really wish we had done Ping's sooner.
On another note the hat I'm wearing in these pictures represents a vintage style danger I never foresaw.
Driving safety! I wore it on Sunday while my husband and I where driving with the dogs to go on a walk down town and I had to take it off because it was so large he couldn't see to turn!
I wonder if this was a regular issues for 1940s drivers.
Thanks for all the well wishes. Poor Fry in addition to the neuter Dr. Bucholtz had to pull four residual baby teeth. When we went to pick him up he warned us that Fry looked pretty pathetic. I don't think he was lying.
Luckily he should recover soon. I'm very lucky to have a vet that really understands pugs and their special needs. He did complete blood work, had fry on IV fluids throughout the procedure, used a combination of gas anesthetic and injectable and had him intubated until he was fully awake. Plus he listened to my concerns and acknowledged that pugs could be tricky with anesthesia. I don't think I'd trust a vet who didn't. (Note: if Fry's dad looks a bit unhappy too it could be the 600 dollar bill).
Recently my husband and I have noticed some definite changes in Tubby, who just turned 14 March 29. 14 is an illustrious age for any dog and Tubby does show his advancing years. He is definitely blind, and almost entirely deaf, he also has arthritis and neurological issues that cause hind end weakness. Recently, we have noticed signs of doggie dementia as well. Thank goodness he still recognizes us, but he is confused about time, for example he wakes up frequently at night, and seems to be looking for meals at times other then meal times and then initially confused about eating at meal times. Thankfully, his appetite is still good. Since he has a suspected UTI right now, he is responding to antibiotics so knock on wood its nothing worse, he just had a full physical and the vet feels he looks good for 14. We have started him on choline for the dementia but I don't see much change yet. Its hard to see him go down hill, especially so soon after losing Norbert, but we know we are lucky to still have him with us. Any time he is happy and enjoying himself now is a double blessing which is why I got a thrill out of watching him enjoy this chew.
To say the least this is not a post I ever wanted to write, but sadly it was always inevitable. The people who follow me on facebook and instagram likely already know that we got some not good news on the second day of the new year. For about three weeks our dear Norbert
has had some pinkish discharge coming from his right nostril. When I first saw it I wasn't too concerned because first of all it was only a tiny bit, and I was more focused on Norbert's arthritis. At the time he was badly limping and the supplements and acupuncture we had been getting for him where not helping. We put him on Rimadyl, something I've always been against due to side effects, and quickly he began acting like he had taken a time machine back a few years.
Obligatory nerd Dr. Who reference, it must be done when mentioning time travel
Norbert in 2012
He seemed better then he had been in months: running, playing, eating well, climbing stairs, and best of all not wetting in his sleep. It seemed silly to worry about a tiny bit of nose discharge.
Then on New Year's eve he had a gagging sneezing attack and I noticed a new longer pink booger and I consulted Dr. Google...... not good, not good at all. Everything I read pointed to the same dire conclusion, nasal cancer. I spent most of New Years Eve crying and worrying and New Years day as well. I read everything I could find on the internet and came to the conclusion that Norbert most likely had cancer and that there was little, if anything, that we could do to help him. Apologies to any non-trekkers out there for this reference, but I took a deep breath and channeled the Vulcan part of my mind
and determined that the best, and most logical thing, my husband and I could do was to make Norbert as comfortable as possible for the time he has left.
We made a vet appointment for January 2nd and sadly our vet confirmed our fears. She examined Norbert and said that while he was bright and alert and in no apparent pain, bloody nasal discharge from one nostril in a dog his age with excellent teeth due to years of diligent brushing, was indeed almost definitely indicative of nasal cancer. Further more, she confirmed what we had read online about nasal cancer. Namely that while it rarely metastises it is locally very aggressive. It invades deep into the bone and eyes and mouth and sometimes the brain of the afflicted dog before symptoms are apparent. Since the tumors are deep in the sinus and nasal cavity they are not surgically resectable and the only effective treatment is radiation. Unfortunately radiation requires anesthesia for each treatment, and in particular when focused on the face has many severe side effects, including the potential for blindness. If Norbert where to receive radiation he would have to spend days away from us in the hospital, which we know he would not enjoy. While radiation might buy him extra time it would not be a cure. Our vet who has recently graduated from vet school told us in no uncertain terms that the dogs she had seen in university hospitals going through treatment for nasal tumors had many unpleasant side effects. She told us point blank that she would not put a dog of her own through it, particularly a dog of Norbert's age. Furthermore, according to our vet, in order to definitevely diagnose nasal cancer a CT scan and a nose scope in order to get a sample of the tumor would be needed. These procedures would require anesthesia and cost thousands of dollars. Since we are not going to pursue radiation our vet felt that the tests would be an unnecessary risk for Norbert and unnecessary expense for us, and we agree. Since we don't know what type of tumor Norbert has, if he does have one, our vet couldn't give us a definite prognosis she said anywhere from 2 months to a year (though the longer time frame is unlikely), depending on how aggressive the tumor is and when, and if, it severely obstructs normal breathing.
Right now we are treating Norbert with antibiotics in the unlikely event that this is just an infection. If the symptoms don't lessen, which so far they haven't, we may consider trying steroids in an attempt to reduce inflammation from the tumor, while this wouldn't extend life quantity it could improve quality, which of course is our primary objective. The problem with steroids is in order to go on them Norbert would have to come of the Rimadyl which is the only thing that has helped his arthritis.
There is some positive news though. Norbert does not appear to be in pain and so far his bloodwork is good. We have ordered apocaps at a whopping 60 dollars for a ten day supply, these are supplement for dogs with cancer and I figure they can't hurt and may help. We have switched Norbert back to grain free kibble, he was on honest kitchen due to his peeing issues, but he prefers kibble and we know grains are bad for cancer. Norbert's dad and I also went on a shopping trip on Saturday with Dr. Dressller's Dog Cancer Diet book as a guide we purchased ground turkey, broccoli, shitake mushrooms, chicken livers, oatmeal, blueberries, and cottage cheese. We plan to cook the mixture up accoding to Dr. Dressler's recipe and add it to Norbert's kibble. At the very least he should enjoy the recipe.
The most important thing we plan to due is to enjoy Norbert and spoil him as much as possible. I feel guilty for admitting this but it is a good example of our new extra spoiling program. Norbert, like most dogs, loves chews. However, we have rarely given him any. The reason is that Norbert's pug siblings and bulldog brother can't have chews because they always, and I mean always, choke on them. I only gave Norbert, who handles chews like a pro, chewies on very special occasions. However, with this new diagnosis he will be enjoying a chewy every day, for however many days he has with us.
As I am sure other pet owners who have been in this situation will understand I am feeling very conflicted about this, in some ways I'm handling it all much better then I expected I would. I know that Norbert is an old dog and that are lucky to have had 12 and a half wonderful years with him. Many loving dog owners don't get that long. However, I can't help but lie awake at night and listen to the new whistle in his breathing and worry about what the future holds for my dear boy and for our family. I know we are making the right decision, but I am still haunted by the guilt that we should be doing more. In an effort to move forward we are going to continue to enjoy every day and I plan to continue the blog as it always has been, with its mix of dogs and vintage. I love blogging and it brings me happiness, which I certainly need now more then ever. However, I may not be able to visit our friends blogs as often as usual and for that I apologize. We love you all and appreciate your support and friendship and we wish you all a happy and healthy 2015.
Our big guy is really starting to show his age lately. Increased stiffness, more accidents at night, and all the other tough parts of old age. The good news is he is still eating well and basically most of his complaints are a result of being 12 years old. We love our big guy and hope to have a good bit more time with him. Old age isn't for sissies and neither is watching our dog's age.
With a family of dogs with a wide range of sizes, 14 lb Ping to 95 lb Norbert, and a range of tastes, it can sometimes be hard for us to find a treat that everyone agrees upon.
The pups dad and I picked up a mixed sampler of these treats at the Milford Oyster Festival and honestly I didn't figure they would be much of a hit. Since they were hard I thought the older pugs, Tubby and Ping, wouldn't go for them as they generally only like soft treats. Well I couldn't have been more wrong all of our dogs went crazy for these!!! They were gone in a day and Norbert, our pickiest eater who has been known to turn up his nose at pancakes, was actually barking at the empty container hoping it would magically refill. (Note the only reason Weasley and Ping aren't pictured below is because they gulped the treats so fast I couldn't get a picture).
Thankfully Whisker biscuits are a healthy obsession. Made in the USA with USDA certified human grade ingredients they offer a wide range of products from biscuits to chicken and beef jerky to healthy beer flavored treats! They have something for every dog. They also offer a variety of monthly plans to insure your pets will never run out of their favorite snacks. Or you can order treats one time for a flat shipping rate of $4.95, orders over 50 dollars ship for free. I'm quite sure that our dogs pumpkin this Halloween and their stockings this Christmas will be over flowing with Whiskers Biscuits.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
