Caturday, FurFamily, & Wine

I know I have been 'few and far between the last few weeks - but I think this week that will change.  The house has been a lot more quiet without Suzie and I still think it's all a bad dream.  Paco's next appointment will be Wednesday afternoon.  I hope we see some progress with him.  I want to thank you all again for all of the kind words...they mean a lot!

This past week or so I have taken a lot of photos and will share them with you the next several posts.  First up will mostly be a fur-friend post with a few other happenings as of late. 

In this first photo you will see Jeter, Charlie, and Bernie.  Charlie is our cat and Jeter and Bernie are my parents.  Charlie is our feral cat and we've had him since BEFORE Dale and I were even engaged.  He seems to be doing well even without his tail.  Some of you may remember that he had to have it amputated earlier this year.

Bernie and Jeter are brother and sister - eventho they don't look like it.  One is Calico and the other is Orange.  One is long hair and the other medium.  They are about 12 or 13 years old.  We think Bernie is having arthritis issues.

I mentioned Paco will have his next appointment on Wednesday.  I think the medication he's taking for his skin issues is working or at least starting to.

Wednesday we are hoping for progress on the skin issues as well as to see the white blood cells NOT adhering to the Platelets. 

I've said it before and I'll say it again...ITP SUCKS!  He's our fighter, tho, strong lil guy!  He's gained a few pounds because his main med is a steroid but I'd rather have a chunky-chi than no chi...you know what I mean?

Riley is doing ok...he misses his sister Suzie that is for sure!  He's doing a bit better than I thought he would, tho.

He's a lot more quiet...then again...Suzie was the loud one...she was the leader of the pack and the instigator. 

As you can see they LOVE the blankets and we have several of them around the house.

I have a lot of food related posts but I figured I would save those for separate and stand alone posts - I will start catching up on those starting tomorrow.

Saturday - my mom, dad, sister, and I had a table at 21 Brix Winery in Portland, NY.

Everyone was really nice.  The weather wasn't bad.  The sales weren't crazy-awesome but we did ok.  Our last customer did much of her Christmas Shopping with us which was awesome and made the whole day worth it.  We had a great chat with her as well.

The winery made a warm cider wine out of their Cherry flavored wine and spices.  It smelled amazing!  The winery was decorated nicely, too!  It was a FUN time!

Yesterday - my sister and I helped bottle wine at mom and dad's house.  They are getting ready to give the home made wine as Holiday Gifts to friends and co-workers.

It was fun and we were able to spend some Father/Daughter time.

We bottled a dry red wine as well as a semi-dry white.  I preferred the white over the red for a change...but both were good!

I'm glad I was able to spend time with my sister multiple times over the last week, too!

Paco ~ Update ~ ITP Sucks!

I know I have been hit and miss lately but things have been crazy at home with losing Suzie and a few other things as well as at work.  Today's post is an update about Paco who is still battling with ITP.  Yup!  ITP Sucks!  We lost Suzie on Saturday and Monday we had a scheduled vet appt for Paco and after his blood work the vet told us he was relapsing.  They wanted to see him again today.  After doing more blood tests - the results were still a little 'weird looking' but with his white blood cell and platelet counts being where they should be they said to keep doing what we have been doing.  This is technically GOOD NEWS at the moment that I am VERY grateful for as I don't think I could have dealt with the loss of 2 furkids in a matter of days.  We have to take him back AGAIN next Wednesday.  We we learned from all of this - this past week - is that he will have to be on some sort of medication for his immune system for the rest of his life.  However, because the steroid he's on right now causes him to have stomach/GI ulcers - we will probably have to change the med he is on at some point but because of the issues we will have to do that over time and carefully.  In addition to that med - he's been taking a med to coat his tummy to prevent ulcers - which apparently wasn't working on it's own.  We added over the counter Pepcid as well as a liquid twice/day - twice/week (Tuesday/Friday).  

Outside of the ITP issues he has developed what looks like small bruises in a few spots - near his hip - and now on his tummy - which I thought was part of the ITP - but his vet thinks its separate - and a skin issue.  So tomorrow he starts a pill for that, too.  This poor little guy is on SO MANY pills at the moment!  Eventho he's dealing with all of this - he's dealing with it VERY WELL.  His spirits are up, he's vocal, he's playing, etc.  Eventho we did get some GOOD NEWS today - it's going to be an ongoing struggle from here on out.  Some days better than others, I guess.  I'm just grateful to still have him in my life.

I was reading that "Chia" means "Strength".  Since he's a Chihuahua we've often called him "Chia" as one of his many nicknames.  Now that I know it means "strength" it just seems even more fitting.

Thank you for all of the kind words about my last post on Suzie.  It really means a lot.  Thanks again!  Ongoing positive vibes for Paco - always appreciated, too!

You'll Always Be The Queen Bee ~ Suzie RIP

I really tried to prepare myself for Suzie's passing.  I think no matter how hard you try - it doesn't matter.  It didn't seem to lighten the blow. 

Eventho in the back of my mind I knew something wasn't right.  Saturday Morning we took her into the vet and they did some X-rays.  The scans showed that she had fluid throughout her body...her stomach, by her heart, near or even in her lungs.  They discovered a Heart Murmur that had gone unnoticed until then.  There were shadows in a few areas on the X-rays in the stomach that they didn't confirm as cancer but had a hunch they were.  Similar shadows were near the liver.  With further tests they could determine if her liver was failing, if it was liver disease, or cancer in or near her liver.  Even more apparent were the masses that showed up her Suzie's heart.  There were several.  The vet was confident those were cancerous tumors.  She told us that in could be days or a week but the end result was the same.  It wasn't a matter of 'if' but 'when' Suzie would collapse. 

Suzie has always been and will always be the Queen Bee in our family.  That was her personality.  She was always strong.  Always the LEADER of the pack.  She's had a lot happen in the last 5 or 6 years and always bounced back.  Some bounces were harder than others...especially the last surgery she had about a year ago to remove 2 more 'fatty tumors'.

We adopted her a year after we adopted Sammy.  At that time Sammy was over 10 years old and Suzie was around 2.  Suzie's been a part of our family for about 12 years.  She loved Sammy and Sammy loved her.  We adopted Riley about 7 years ago.  Sammy was very protective of me but tolerated Riley.  Suzie was the buffer usually.  I can't believe it's been about 6 years since we lost Sammy.

Riley always idolized Suzie.  I'm worried about him - I know he will miss her terribly.  Paco entered our lives about 3 and a half years ago.  Paco thought Suzie was pretty freakin' cool too...and again...Suzie was the buffer in the house hold.  The older Suzie got the more acceptable she was of most other animals in the house and outside of the house, too!

Suzie loved to snuggle under blankets when we 'turned in for the night'.  She loved laying on blankets.  She enjoyed wearing sweaters eventho she only had two or three of them.  When we started Paco's collection of sweaters - she seemed to have a renewed interest in her sweaters.  Since she was mostly Jack Russell - she was always on the go - walking around the house - and was quite the spitfire. 

She's been gone since around 10am on Saturday.  It's been hard for everyone.  It's been quieter.  The sofa and bed seem bigger.  For the first time since we adopted her - I'm now the only "Bliss Girl" remaining in the family.  The boys have taken over.  I've told them not to gang up on me!  It's been a rough year.  We went from 7 Bliss Family Members down to 5 in less than a year.  Dale and I are trying to give extra love to Riley, Paco, and Charlie.  Paco's still having to go to vet appointments every couple of weeks for his ITP, including another one today at 2.  Suzie is missed and always will be missed.  She was an incredible WOMAN...and I do mean that with emphasis.  She will always be the Queen Bee...no matter what.  Rest in Peace my sweet Suzie.  I'll continue to sing CCR's "Suzie Q" with wonderful memories of you, darling!

Paco Update!

I have a lot to cover today at My Blissful Journey.  First off - I'm happy to report that Paco is improving!  Last week I mention he was diagnosed with IMHA which stands for Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia.  BUT...in fact he's been diagnosed with ITP instead.  ITP stands for Immune Mediated Thrombocytopenia.

They are similar diseases being that they both attack their own systems and that they are both immune diseases.  The difference being - in short - is that IMHA - is when the Red Blood Cells are being attacked and ITP is when the Platelets are being attacked.

When we took him in last Tuesday his Platelet count was at 9.  Thursday the count was at 3.  This is VERY bad.  Anything under 200 is bad.  We took him in for blood test again yesterday after him being on VERY limited activity for the long weekend while at home with us.  He was at the vet for 3 days prior to that.  His Platelet Count yesterday was 468.  YAY!!!!  Eventho he's 'out of the woods' he's still not up to par.  With ITP there is a long recovery time.  Right now they are shooting for 4 months on meds.  Maybe even 6 months.  OR...maybe even the rest of his life.  BUT we are VERY pleased that his counts jumped that much over the long weekend.  We could be more happy!  Thank you everyone for their positive vibes, prayers, thoughts, etc.  I believe they helped make a difference!  Thanks again!

No! My Dear Paco!

This morning I took Paco into the vet for what I thought was a rash and instead he was diagnosed with Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia.  He's at the vet until Thursday to be monitored closely.  It's critical that he doesn't get injured in any way.  He's platelets are currently at 9...which is REALLY low...near nil.  This is terrifying me!  He's only 3 years old!  He's been acting completely fine.  No other symptoms other than the red dots on his hips.  From what I have read 20 to 40 percent of IMHA dogs either die from the disease or the treatments that may or may not cause clotting.  I'm in complete shock about this.  I feel like I got hit with a mack truck.  I just want him to be home on my lap.  PLEASE send any prayers/thoughts/vibes my way!  I would appreciate it.

Life Has Gotten In The Way Yet Again...

I'm NOT abandoning this blog...I SWEAR!  It's just been a CRAZY few weeks with Hubby being sick and work and then last week Suzie went in for surgery!

They had a cancellation and got us in on Wednesday of last week and we were able to take her in Tuesday Night which worked well since we are working around everyone's last minute vacation time before the end of the year.  This was the first time any of my 'kids' spent the night at the vet.  I was so worried about her.  Suzie is between 13 and 14 so she's no "spring chicken" to begin with.  She did well during the surgery to remove the lump on her leg but it was quite large and it was growing above and underneath a vein.  They were able to remove it without interrupting the vein or muscle or anything else for that matter.  She's healing slower than she did a little over a year ago when she had 3 removed.  But in all fairness they were in different locations and not on her front leg like this one was and she was a bit younger.  I did have a close up photo of the stitching but it wasn't very nice looking at all so I decided not to post it.  She gets her stitches removed next Tuesday Night.  I've been sleep on the sofa or on the floor with her since last Wednesday.  I haven't been getting much sleep at all and it's starting to take a toll.  I have been feeling a bit weak at times throughout the day(s) since Friday.  I do have TONS and TONS of other things to post and I was going to try and post them all at once but that hasn't worked out so hot...so I will just continue with my per-subject posts as often as I can.  But I assure you - my blog isn't going under!  Just had to take care of life for a bit there but I should be back now!