A bad weekend for Maggie

Maggie is the white samoyed/husky mix

Maggie had a really bad weekend.  The poor dog woke us all up at 3 AM when she stumbled into some furniture trying to get to her water dish.  She is an old dog now at 14 years old which makes her about 72 in dog years.  My wife woke me up out of a sound sleep to let me know that she just threw up and was stumbling around. So I got up to check on poor Maggie.  When I looked into her eyes, I saw them going side to side like a pendulum.  She was very weak in the rear legs and kept stumbling around unable to keep her balance.  I stayed up with her the rest of the night and called the Vet the next morning as soon as they opened.

The Vet was booked until Monday, so we made the appointment and prayed that it was just some virus that was kicking her butt and not something serious.  The whole day Saturday and Sunday, we had to help our daughter move from their appartment to their new home, so there was not much time to baby poor Maggie. She stayed under my computer desk which is her haven or out on the porch up on the lawn furniture both days with little change in her condition. She did stop vomiting however.

So today we finally got to the Vet.  Dr Leck is a wonderful Vet.  He gave Maggie a very good physical examination, took some blood tests, checked her blood pressure, and then came up with his diagnosis.  We were ready for the very bad news that she would have to be put down and were on the verge of tears.  But the doctor told us that he believes she has a simple case of an inner ear infection.  He said it was common in older dogs. And it is like a severe case of vertigo in humans.  It makes you dizzy and stumble.  It makes you nauseous and causes you to lean and fall to one side or the other.  Just in case, he also wanted to do a couple of blood tests to be sure there were on other problems and to double check his diagnosis.  So the vet drew some blood and took her pressure. We got some anti-biotics and some anti-inflammatory pills and took her home. 

The most wonderful thing that happened to me was when I was about to leave for work.  Maggie who did not want to leave her den under my computer desk for the entire weekend, came out to the door to see me off to work which is her usual ritual when she is healthy.  I nearly lost it. I was so happy that tears started to gather in my eyes. The vet cost me a sum total of $387, but to have my special girl see me off to work for another day and to know that she would be around for yet another made it worth every penny.

Mornings go too fast

It Sure was a fast morning.  I slept in until nearly 9 AM with Blu scratching at my door informing me that I had quit enough time to sleep thank you.   But how could you be mad at that face?  So I shook off the cobwebs and rolled out of bed after a really bad night of sleep having come home from work very late. 

My granddaughter Kyana was also waiting for me to wake up.  The Husky’s and her were ready to go for a walk, but the wife had other plans.  A trip to the grocery store was to be the first priority of the day.  This is never much fun especially with my wife Cindy doing the shopping. She is a stickly by the list shopper.  No extras, no humor, no fun, no fooling around, because we are here to resupply and that is that.

Eventually, we get that ordeal over with and it is back to the waiting pack. With tails wagging and tongues hanging with excitement, we are off on our daily adventure.  

As any Siberian Husky owner knows, the first priority is to satisfy a Husky’s social needs.  So the first stop on our walk is to the neighbors house to visit their best friend Angelo. He spoils the girls more than anyone in the community and that is saying a lot.  So after about 2 minutes of howling and barking at the bottom of his back porch steps, he comes out bearing treats in his fisted hand.  The dogs of course, play it for all it is worth carefully preparing their victim for the next encounter, by fussing over the man and making him feel god like.  No, the next time they come over he will be ready to spoil them again.   

Now it is time to do some four pawing as we call it. The girls hit the forest with vim and vigor sniffing every tree, bush and branch.  Kyana was with us today, so she held Maggies leash and I had Blu.  Kyana asks me every day whether she could hold Blu’s leash, but the kid would not stand a chance if Blu saw a wild animal or another dog.  Blu is just too powerful for a 10 year old girl, even if she is only a test away from getting her Black Belt in Karate.

Today’s walk took us through the woods near a creek where both dogs enjoyed a short dip in the stream.  This always further invigorates Blu and soon she is a wild beast wanting to run run run.  To satisfy this craving, we headed to the small path by the baseball field.  Kyana played fetch with Maggie, which is her favorite game and I played chase and dig up the dirt with Blu.  

Soon we were all exhausted (well not Blu, she never runs out of energy). So we all headed back home so that I could get ready for work.  It was a nice warm day so it was not as difficult to get the two girls inside where there was a shady place to rest on the couch. 

But it was a short lived rest, as lunch was done and the mooching began in earnest.  Kyana was completely surrounded by hopeful Husky’s wagging tails and getting ever closer to her lunch plate. In the end, the human weakness prevails as always and they are satisfied with a small taste of each of our lunch fare.