Finally Friday and Feeling Fine

This Friday morning finds Ozzie feeling somewhat better. The swollen lymph nodes have disappeared and he seems a little less lethargic! The steroid has him drinking more and may have peaked his appetite to new ravenous heights! (Or is that just the normal Oz?) The other side effect to the med is that he has to pee more. Ozzie woke up at 5:00 AM this morning. We figured he had to go so we led him downstairs. At that time a thunderstorm was rolling in with lightening and drenching rain. "Great!" we thought, he won't want to go out in this mess. I fed him quickly and we went out through the garage. It was teaming at that point. He finally went into the yard and pooped. Hey! Where is the pee part of that poddy time? I went back upstairs to the bedroom and discovered his  blankets were wet! Oh well. 


Ozzie must definitely be feeling back to good since he was actually chewing on his Nyla-bone, something he hasn't done since he has been diagnosed with this disease. I guess the swollen nodes prevented him from enjoying his chewing time. We hope that there are more feeling good days ahead!

To all of you who have followed and worried with me, a grateful thanks to your support! Have a wonderful weekend all!

Worry Wednesday

Ozzie had his first chemo therapy yesterday. We  chose to go for the lesser single agent chemo route. It will be once every 3 weeks. If this doesn't improve his quality of life then we will not continue and just do the steroids which we are doing in conjunction with the chemo. The steroids help  to reduce the swelling of the lymph nodes but does not treat the cancer itself. 


I have struggled with doing this opposed to just letting the cancer take its course. In the end it's fatal and he will just have relapses that will get worse, so I am just buying a little extra time. Hopefully some quality time with us. Once it is no longer quality ..well then we will not prolong any suffering. 


Today Ozzie seems fine. Still eating heartily and pooping masterfully! Our joyful boy is still with us for now and we are grateful.

Finally Friday and What we Feared

Let me start with this is a difficult post and you will soon see why. The other day we went for a recheck on Ozzie's ear infection and we asked Dr Tracey to look at something that we have noticed for a while under his neck. We felt it several weeks ago and wondered what the heck it was. It was at least a size of a golf ball in the middle of his throat straddled by two other lumps on either side. We thought perhaps we missed this before because of all the fat and rolls around his collar. Maybe it was his thyroid or do dogs have Adam's Apples? Could it just be a case of swollen glands that would be accompanied by some kind of kennel cough? We did ignore it for a while but were going to make a point of showing it to the vet on his recheck visit. When Dr Tracey felt it her face instantly showed her concern. She felt Ozzie's back side too and said "This isn't good!" "I don't want to alarm you too much but this looks like Lymphoma." That fear in the back of my head that kept nagging me that this was bad was right! She suggested that we take blood and aspirate the lump to confirm her diagnosis. As they took Ozzie into the back room to do the test my husband and I stared at each other in shock. He was only with us for 3 years this is not fair. 
All of Ozzie's lymph nodes were enlarged, under his jaw and behind the knee. He had no other symptoms except he has been a little more lethargic than usual and stopped chewing on his Nyla-bones. Chemo would be the way to go to give him some extra time. Most dogs respond well suffering little of the ills that humans do from it since the doses are not as strong. This could give Ozzie a year or so. With no treatment he could be gone in 6 weeks. As we left the vet's office she said that the results should be back from the lab fairly quickly and then we could determine what kind of treatment would be best for him. 


So today we found out that he has high grade lymphoma which needs to be addressed sooner than later. We were given some treatment options to think about and we will wrestle with what is the best course for Ozzie. Treatment will start as soon as next week. I will keep you all up to date on Ozzie's progress. I know that this will beat him in the end since there is no real cure, but we will fight the good fight as long as we can!

Lymphoma in Dogs

Bulldogs for Meatless Monday...Really?!

We are trying to embrace Meatless Mondays here at home. Though Ozzie prefers Meat Mondays! I reminded Ozzie that dogs are omnivores and can enjoy certain vegetables and fruits. He just looked at me and walked away! Oh well regardless we are going to try it. There are a lot of great recipes out there and now that its summer time we can make some great dishes out on the grill. 


Tonight I am going to make Mushroom Stroganoff. It seems easy enough and sounds delicious. I have attached the link below for you all to check it out. You will also find the link to the Meatless Monday movement. Just doing one meal a week without meat is a healthy trend that can carry over to other days during the week.


Meanwhile Ozzie will mope about it and maybe try is own movement for T-bone Tuesdays!

"Meatless? Really?"

Mushroom Stroganoff



http://www.meatlessmonday.com/

Finally Friday and Happy Bulldog Father's Day!

Another week to be completed with a beautiful Friday! We are gearing up for Father's Day and will be doing a backyard barbecue! Ozzie already has visions of rib eye steak dancing in his head. In matter of fact Ozzie wrote a poem for his Pop for the occasion. It goes like this:

This for my Pop, 
who kindness never stops, 
We sit out on the front stoop, 
He bends down to pickup my poop,
I really love him a lot! 

Ok, he may not be Walt Whitman but the sentiment is there!

Ozzie and his Pop, taking a nap together!

Wishing all you Fathers out there a Happy Father's Day!

Another Wee-Wee Wednesday

"Then why did you take so long, it's not my fault!"

So the saga continues. I wake up and go downstairs with Ozzie. I serve him his morning bowl of kibble. I quickly run to the bathroom while he happily chomps away his breakfast. I come out of the bathroom to take Ozzie outside for his morning constitutional. Ozzie doesn't want to go out! Hmm why? Its been  8 and a 1/2 hours of holding ones bladder! Husband enters room and asks why all the bother? I tell him that Ozzie refuses to go outside to potty. That is when I noticed a puddle on the kitchen floor.....saga to be continued!

Adopt-a-Bull Ozzie

"Thanks Mom and Pop for adopting me!"

It's hard to believe that next month on the 5th of July that we will have had Ozzie for 3 years! Its been quite a ride and we have enjoyed every moment of it! Looking back it must of been scary for him leaving behind the only home he had known for 2 years. I really think it took him a good year to adjust to us and be comfortable in his new family. I would never buy a dog or cat when there are so many great animals out there like Ozzie in need of a loving forever home.


I recently got an email from MABDR or The MidAtlantic Bulldog Rescue, the organization through which we adopted Ozzie. They are in big time need of money to pay for the thousands in veterinarian bills that they incur for treating the Bulldogs they rescue. I am going to send them a small donation ( it would be bigger if we hadn't racked up vet bills lately with the Oz!) to help out. They are great people and they do wonderful work. They are super dedicated to saving these bullies. Ozzie was in pretty good shape when we adopted him but some bullies are not so fortunate. Please check out the link below and if you can send just a few dollars it will help the cause. 


What should we do to celebrate Ozzie's adoption day?  I suppose if we ask Ozzie he would say "Prime Rib please!"


MABDR Help

Finally Friday and Bully Breath

Yes it's Friday folks! Ozzie is happily chewing on his bully stick out on the deck. He is really going to town on the "stinky stick" as I refer to them. His breath smells horrendous after he has chomped on one! They are pretty disgusting when they get mushy at the end. At some point I either cut off the mushy part or just throw it out if it gets real bad, much to Ozzie's chagrin!
The good side to them is that they are digestible opposed to rawhide which is not and can cause intestinal blockages. (I wonder why they still sell rawhide?! Oh yeah, profit off of misery!) They are softer in texture unlike the hard bones from cow's legs and the like which can cause a broken canine tooth or two!  So I put up with the yuck factor of the chew treat. I buy them in a whole food pet store here in Northern NJ called Wholistic Paws.  They have a nice selection of treats and organic foods. The prices are reasonable too!

Looks like Ozzie is done for the moment and wants to come back inside for his morning nap. Yes right on schedule Ozzie ole boy!


Hoping your weekend is on schedule too! Enjoy Father's Day all you Dads out there!

Wee Wee Wednesday

"Did I do that?!"

Ozzie looks awfully guilty in this picture. No wonder why he peed on his blanket last night! Now why would you pee where you sleep Oz?! He has done this numerous times. That is why Ozzie doesn't have a dog bed. He has already ruined a couple. I know Ozzie must be upset with me for outing him like this but I am just tired of washing pee pee blankets! What to do .......doggie training pants at night?


Here is a link to a pet stain remover product that seems to hold some promise. Its is different from the rest of the stuff out there. Could this be the one?

Fizzion 

Finally Friday and Buckle Up Bullie!

Made it through another week though it was a short one! Ozzie spent most of it inside with the air conditioning on. He doesn't do weather over 80 degrees very well! 


We took Ozzie to the vet this past week for his skin infection in his "nook". He left there with 3 different types of medications and we left there a little less lighter in the wallet! He seems to be much better now but seems a bit lackadaisical. I bought him a foot long braided bully stick today and I practically had to stick it in his mouth to get him interested.  Maybe its the weather or could it be Ozzie is concerned about the recent downward trend of the stock market?! 

"I rather ride in a motorcycle side-car if you ask me!"

I wanted to share with you a recent article in our local paper about "Click it or Ticket!" The fines for an unrestrained passenger of the canine or feline persuasion range from $250.00 to $1000.00 and as much as 6 months in jail. A pretty steep fine compared to human passengers at a measly $46.00 per offense. I guess they are not pussy-footing around (sorry about the cat pun!) in New Jersey when it comes to pets free riding in cars. I feel its a good law that will help protect our pets. A 75 pound dog can make for a mighty projectile if unrestrained in a crash. Also small dogs who ride in the front on their owners lap could suffer serious injuries or worst from an airbag! Of course cats should be a in a carrier, which is the only way to transport them!  Ozzie rides in the cargo area of our Murano. Though he is confined to an extent he still is kind of loosey goosey back there. I found a website that is devoted to vehicle safety products for dogs that have a good selection of products. http://www.petautosafety.com/ I have also seen safety harnesses for dogs at Petsmart and the like. Most dogs love a ride in the car with their mom and pop but we should think about their safety. After all I assume most of us buckle up ourselves and  our children so why not our pets!?


I have a feeling we won't be going anywhere this weekend which makes Ozzie happy. Hope you all have a great weekend and remember to buckle up pup!