Farewell, Old Friend

One of my last pictures of Rudy

We took Rudy to the vet yesterday, which was no small endeavor as he has never been a fan of riding in cars. Our last attempts (several years ago) resulted in either poop or barf in the back of the vehicle, sometimes both. So I got a sedative from the vet, gave it to Rudy, then an hour later loaded him up in the back of the Vanagon with Zion's help.  The reason for the trip was the new and sudden appearance of a wound on his stomach. We hadn't seen it the night before and had no idea what could have caused it. A couple weeks ago he had an incident outside and came in and seemed really out of it and weak, and he spent the entire next day in his bed. We really thought that was the end, but the next day he got up and ate some food and acted like a slowed down and older version of his old self. 

It turned out he had a large abdominal/chest tumor that ruptured--there were no outward signs of the tumor prior to the rupture. The vet said that our options were very limited. Of course they could do surgery, and the vet was willing to do the surgery if we chose that option, but he said there was really no way of knowing what they would find once they were in there, and that given the size of the tumor, there would likely be more. He also said the likelihood was high that it had been a fast-growing one, which also has a reduced chance of successful treatment or recovery.  He said that euthanasia was also an option, and one that he felt was acceptable in this case. We knew that we weren't going to put our sweet old friend through the risks and stress of surgery at his age, especially one that had so little chance of giving him a longer life, so the choice was pretty clear. But that certainly didn't make it any easier. 

I called David from the vet's office and tearfully discussed the news. David felt strongly that we should try and have Rudy euthanized at home, as kind of our last loving gift to this friend of ours. He has been a member of our family for over 8 years, and the kindest thing would be to help him leave his life of pain in a place where he feels safe and loved. After we got off the phone and the vet came back in, I spoke with him and he said this was a service he offers, so we scheduled it for this morning at 9:45.  The vet gave him a steroid shot with some morphine to help with his pain for the duration and we loaded him up and brought him home. 

I broke the news to the other kids (minus the twins) and we all cried together. We planned to discuss that night what we should put on Rudy's epitaph plaque that will be returned with his ashes. We spent a lot of time petting and loving on our sweet old dog. And more tears. We remembered funny stories and nicknames for him. We counted the characters in the different ideas we had and finally settled on something that we felt was a loving tribute and also a bit of a nod to Rudy's quirky side. I'll share it when we get his ashes back. 

Last night Rudy seemed every one of his 10+ years, and acted like a dog with cancer would be expected to act. He seemed uncomfortable, walked around and leaned to the side, favoring different feet at different times.

This morning, though, he was happy to eat the pampered breakfast and leftovers that we gave him. (He stopped eating much of his kibble several days ago, which was completely out of character for him.) Still moving slow, there was a bit more spring in his step. It made it easy to think that maybe it wasn't the time to say goodbye. My heart yelled to have more time with him. But my mind knew that with the state of his wound and his cancer, things were likely going to get worse fast and be really difficult in the meantime. He was in no condition for surgery of any sort, even to close up the wound, and he would have had to be on medication and steroid shots to try and keep the tumor from growing. It all was just too much to ask him to go through so we could get maybe another month or two with him. But to have to make the choice to say goodbye to a friend and hold that responsibility is positively heart wrenching. I do believe that we made the best choice for Rudy, to save him the suffering of what was ahead, but I still feel so much anguish over having had to make that decision. 

The vet arrived at about 10:00 and gave Rudy the sedative while David held him and Zion and I caressed his head. The boys went upstairs with the twins as they didn't feel like they were up for being present during this time. After a few minutes, Dr. Bott gave the injection and it wasn't long after that before he passed. We brought the kids back downstairs to say goodbye to Rudy one last time. 

I'm sure reading this, you can sense my sadness, but those words hardly seem to be able to convey the depth or breadth of my feelings. But you can't really write all the tears that were shed or the many many thoughts and questions and fears that race through your head when you are overwhelmed with emotion. Trying to balance my own grief while helping my kids handle theirs has been a challenge. I reached out to a friend who has had experiences with pet loss and I really appreciated her support today. Another good friend brought us lunch, which was wonderful as when noon rolled around, I was not any more productive than I had been since yesterday's vet visit.  Yesterday I shared a brief account of what was happening on Facebook, which I had debated doing because I hesitate to share really personal things like this. I was glad I did, though, as the kindness and love and support I received made a difference in my feelings this morning. I felt understood and less alone, and that was nice.

This afternoon while cleaning the kitchen, I was cutting up a piece of leftover pizza from lunch to toss to the dogs, and it was so weird that there were only two of them. And Zion and I took Orbit and Daisy out on a walk (while the twins rode their scooter bikes) and I commented that it was weird and sad that we were out with all our dogs, and that only equaled two. We've had three dogs for 6 years, so it feels empty to only have two.

After his passing, I started making notes of fun memories or particularly Rudy things, as I'd like to make a memory book of pictures and fun thoughts about him. I filled up three pages in my Moleskin book. It was therapeutic and something to do when I didn't have the energy for anything else. We also made some paw prints with Model Magic clay and are planning to make a little memorial in a shadow box for him. In my sadness today, I wanted to order a memorial rock, a mug with his picture on it, and a blanket with a collage of pictures, but I opted to hold off and let my emotions settle a bit. Not that those things wouldn't be lovely tributes to him, but sometimes it is probably better to let the sadness settle a bit. 

I'm grateful to have this day come to a close. So many tears and so much sorrow and a lot of feeling empty. But also bits of joy and love recalling his years and being grateful that we got to have him. I feel completely spent, but I didn't want this day to end without recording my thoughts somewhere, and while this blog is very neglected, it still exists, and that's something. 

This is Rudy the summer after we adopted him from the Utah Friends of Basset Hounds rescue. 2008

He had gotten so white the past couple of years. Still the sweetest eyes. 

Sweet Rudy, waiting for a treat. 

furkids

So, back when I had fewer dogs (only 2), still 2 cats, and more "other" pets (4 rats and a rabbit {now deceased} and a fish), my sister and her (then) four kids came to visit. After her kids thoroughly enjoyed helping Noodle & Spud with their pet chores, she commented to me, "I can see why you aren't in a hurry to have more kids. With all these pets, it feels like a houseful." She was right. And even though we've mixed it up a bit since then, by adding a third kid AND a third dog, two tank-dwelling frogs, and not "replacing" the smaller mammal pets, it's still a houseful.

Most of the time, it isn't overwhelming and is just our regular, happy life. Usually it is Noni, our male cat, who throws me in to "WHY DO I HAVE ALL THESE STINKIN' PETS?" mode, and it is usually because he gets a UTI or starts showing his displeasure at something by peeing/marking. The latest thing is his displeasure at Orbit's arrival, and he has marked a few places in the kids' room. I've been trying various home remedy conconctions, but it has been a big pain. I ended up moving Orbit's crate into their closet, so I can block it off from the cats, and closing the doors during the day. Also, I've put around butcher paper and other things cats don't like to walk on. I don't think there has been any additional marking, but I still can't quite get the full odor out. It doesn't help that I have a super sensitive nose. So, that's the current frustration.

We had Orbit neutered about 3 weeks ago, and for the next 10-14 days, he seemed to have some difficulty urinating. Plus, he was peeing in his "playpen crate" a LOT. He'd been doing so well with his housebreaking prior to the surgery, so this was disappointing. Over the last week, though, he seems to have gotten back to his pre-surgery level of bladder control, which is a relief. Since he was a cryptorchid (that means he had undescended testicles), they had to do a more invasive surgery than a standard neuter. I was afraid they might have messed something up inside him, but it looks like all is well.

It's funny, because I don't blog about the pets that much, but I really enjoy talking about pets with other people. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of friends locally who share my interest in animals. I've been spending bits of "free" time lately reading through some of my issues of Bark and have really enjoyed it. I love reading books about dogs, dog training, dog behavior, dog evolution, etc. I also enjoy all of those dog movies targeted (usually) at kids, like Hotel for Dogs and (especially) Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Well, I am not a huge fan of the "Buddies" movies, but they are harmless enough. I'm kind of a sucker for animal movies in general. Babe and Babe: Pig in the City are two of the best movies of all time. The latter has so many fabulous quotes, such as "It's all illusory. It's ill, and it's for losers." David and I use that one quite frequently.

Here are some pics of two of the pooches from today's game of Kitchen Fetch. Also, one crappy shot of Orbit modeling his "Sit." He was a hard one to teach sit, only because the best way is to catch them sitting, click&treat, and then after doing that a dozen or so times, you teach them the word "Sit". He almost never sits down. He runs around, jumps, and lies down, but seldom sat except for in his playpen, which made training difficult. In my experience, Sit is one of the most useful commands because you can then require that the dogs be doing a good thing before you let them inside, outside, give them their meals, etc. When they are sitting, they can't simultaneously be jumping around or otherwise going nuts. I make Rudy sit and stay while I pour his food out (he eats outside or in the garage, off the floor so it takes him more than 1 minute), and he is so good, he'll sit even as I walk away until I give him the "Okay," release. He doesn't know too many other commands, but we get a lot of mileage out of Sit.

and then there were none

Otis, the last living of our four rat brothers, passed away this morning. This is the first time in nearly 7 years that we've had no pet rats living with us. We've had as many as seven before. We aren't planning on getting any more for a while, either. Probably not until the kids are a little older and able to do the cage cleanup on their own. (We have a HUGE cage.)

Otis had been alone since shortly after Thanksgiving, and I think it was mostly sadness and loneliness that hastened his passing, rather than illness. Poor guy just missed his brothers so much.

Rest in peace, little ratties.

temporary houseguest

We are tending this little guy until Christmas (he came on Saturday) for a family in the neighborhood. He is so sweet and cute! It will be kind of hard to say goodbye. He loves to be scritched and makes the cutest little chirps and other happy noises. I foresee a guinea pig in our future. (Not the immediate future, but someday!)

fetch: fun for dogs AND kids

So, my Daisy doggy is a fabulous fetcher. A fetching fetcher, if you will. She will race to retrieve all manner of soft squeaky toys or her tug rope time after time after time. She releases the toy to the command "Give," or just drops it on her own. It's a lot of fun to watch her fluffiness run and carry her toys around (she has a HUGE plush bone which is especially entertaining!). We play fetch outside and also inside. Rudy is not such a great fetcher. He will, however, play for a bit inside when he can try and steal Daisy's toys from her, or act like a roadblock just by standing longways in her path. Spud, however, is a most awesome fetcher. I think it is one of his favorite activities. Whenever I get Daisy going on a game of fetch (usually without Rudy around), Spud will come and join in the fun, racing Daisy to get the toys and bring them back. And he can keep these sprints up for a loooong time. It's a great way for both of them to burn off their excess energy, and it's pretty fun to watch.

Though there are days when one or more of the pets threaten to send me over the edge of sanity, I do love having them around, especially for the kids. I really can't imagine anything more fun for kids than to have pets to play with, tease (in nice ways), cuddle with and love. I know my kids will never fully appreciate their "good fortune" in having an animal-loving mother, but it makes me happy enough knowing that they are growing up with these experiences and will be animal-loving adults, too.

Jack the Rat

I think Spud changes his name every so often, but I still call him Jack.

the newest cuteness at our house...

This little guy, Frisco Junior, and three of his brothers are the newest additions to the family. More pictures to come.

out of his shell..er, cage

So I think Jake, our rabbit, has finally decided he likes us. He really truly likes us. A while back I put a small rug outside of his cage door so he could hop out without slipping on the vinyl flooring. He liked his rug a lot, and would hop in and out of his cage, but rarely leave the rug. So on Monday I bought him a LONGER rug (a 6' x 2' runner-type) and put it outside his cage. Thinking that if nothing else, he now had a bit more room that he felt comfortable hopping around on. Well, give him an inch and he takes a mile! He has now decided that he looooves hopping around the family room (adjacent to the kitchen and a few feet away from his cage. He hops around, up on the sofas, under the ottoman, on Daisy's bed, everywhere! And tonight he has, several times, turned into a rabbit blob due to ecstasy while we've been scritching his head.

We're pretty happy that he has decided to officially join the family now.

Happy Holidays, from the Family Pets!

"See how we are waiting so patiently for our food? Well, that patience will soon run out!"



"We like to play in this paper. Isn't it great to have a mom who leaves junk around the house for us to play with?"



"This is where I hang out while mom is running her errands. Do I look sufficiently bored?"



"This small hairless one likes to hang out with me. I allow it."



"There seems to be a fat intruder in my house. Huh."



"Look, there's a reason there are no holiday tales about cats. We hate holidays. And this is why."

farewell, Orion

My sweet ratboy Orion died this afternoon. He has been doing poorly the past month, but was hanging in there until the end. He had been in a cage by himself for a while as he tended to start fights, but the last month we had him back in the big cage, and I think that really helped him last this long. He even ate some macaroni & cheese at lunchtime. Give your furry friends a scritch in his memory tonight.

Orion was named for the "star" on his face (more correctly called a blaze). Also, all of my rats have been named after cities, and Orion is a city, though off hand I can't remember where.

why you shouldn't leave your dog in the car with groceries

We went to Target to get some groceries and household items, including 3 cheese pizzas for our party tomorrow, and then I decided to go to Costco. I had the food in the back of the car, but since it's not a real trunk, there was nothing stopping Daisy from hopping back there and helping herself to the cheese. I discovered it when we came out of Costco and was not amused. At least they were $2.50 pizzas instead of $10 pizzas. And she only got into the one. So I cut off the doggy-half, and we cooked the rest for lunch.

sigh...

found in the yard today

Okay, so this isn't a picture of OUR garter snake, but it looks just like it. I was being a leafherd (which means I was corralling leaves into a pile) and I found him by the fence. Noodle was absolutely delighted, as she's wanted to find a snake since we moved into this house. David & I had each seen one in the yard in the past year, but Noodle hadn't. So now we're trying to determine whether we should try and keep him through the winter. I guess garter snakes like earthworms, which I would not have guessed (Thanks Dean!). So, we'll see. I have a tank that we could use, but we'd need a heat lamp, substrate, and of course determine an appropriate food source. If we can resolve the food issue, I'm not opposed to keeping him, as snakes don't require much in the way of cleaning, and that's my big issue with pets right now. Between a litter box, a rat cage, and a rabbit cage, I'm kind of at my max. Noodle really is enjoying the little guy, though.

cats do the strangest things

Here's Minnie (the same cat who snuck behind the dresser drawer) in Clive's desk. She hung out there for a good 15 minutes. Go figure.

weirdness...

So I was just putting the kids' pants away in their dresser. I put Noodle's in her drawer, and then put Spud's in his drawer, which is the bottom one on the dresser. The drawer wouldn't close, and I tried a few times. Finally I figure some clothes must have fallen behind the drawer, so I pull it all the way out. I look down there, and see a black sweatshirt. I reach in to pull it out, and two eyes turn to look at me. It was Minnie! She calmly walked out and went on her merry way.

The Fluffhound

I sure love this silly little dog. Honestly, it'd be hard not to.




Dogs have amazing tongues!

meet Jake

Jake is/was my sister-in-law Tina's rabbit, but she went off to college so he needed a new home. We are happy to have him, and he fits in with the black & white theme we apparently have settled on for our larger pets. (The rat colony presently includes some brown, though it too was B&W for a time.) He's about 6 years old, and hopefully has another 2-4 years with us.

she's home!

I got a call yesterday evening from some neighbors around the corner who had "found" Minnie. She was hanging out on their lawn with them, and they said she acted like she wanted to go inside the house. We rushed over, thanked them profusely, and brought her home. Noni was very happy to have her back. Last night they were both on the highest shelf and Noni was biting her neck while she licked his face. They are a couple of lovebirds sometimes! By the time I got my camera, though, all they were doing was this:



I'm just so happy to have both my kitties home safely!

lost kitty

Well, I guess she's a full-grown cat, but she'll always be my kitty. While we were out on Tuesday evening, Zion and a friend snuck back to our house to get her bike. They left the door to the garage and the door from the garage to the back door open. On Wednesday afternoon, after being gone late Tuesday night and all of Wednesday morning, I realized I hadn't seen the cats for a while. They frequently hole up in a cozy napping spot, so it wouldn't be unheard of to not run into them for a few hours. I checked everywhere in the house, but no cats. (Our foster cats are all shut in one of two rooms, so they were unaffected.) After a while I found Noni under the shed in the backyard, but we have yet to see any sign of Minnie. I think she was an outdoor cat in her pre-shelter life, so I'm hoping she at least has some street smarts. But I REALLY hope she comes back home to us. We miss her a lot, and Noni misses her even more. I've never seen a more bonded cat pair than the two of them. Please pray and send good thoughts that she'll find her way back to us. We have posters around the neighborhood and are taking more out tonight.

I'll probably be scarce the next several days or week as we keep hunting for her.

Bring on da FLUFF

We tried the "show" method of brushing Daisy while blow drying her after her bath on Sunday. Talk about FLUFFY!! It took both David and I to do it, but I actually like the result. She's softer than a teddy bear now, too.

Farewell Sweet Marco

My dumbo rat boy Marco passed away today. I knew the end was imminent, as he has been quite frail the last couple of weeks. David and I had been saying our farewells the past couple of days. I am relieved that he went as quickly as he did, though, and didn't suffer much. He was able to stay in with the pack until the end, and was even still eating. I think his little body just had worn out. He was about 26 months.