Sometimes, It's Worth the Cost

January trip to the vet......$200.00

2nd trip to the vet.............$130.00

Surgery trip to the vet......$530.00

Having Gizmo home and healthy........$ priceless


Well, Gizmo came home Thursday evening after her surgery on Wednesday. She has recovered very well with still more to go. She has a bacteria that the vet referred to as "rods". Apparently this is a complicated UTI caused by the stones because there are only 2 antibiotics available to treat it.

I have been homebound for the last couple of days to watch her to make sure that she tolerates the medication. There are serious reactions when the medicine is not tolerated.

She will have to go back in 3 weeks to have your urine cultured again in order to make sure that the antibiotic is working. They have also sent the stones off to be analyzed. Once they are back with a report, the vet will then be able to tell us preventative measures, if there are any. Sometimes a simple change in diet will help prevent future stones from forming.

Again, thanks to all of you have shown such concern and love for pets.

Until next time, HB

Update on Gizmo, II

Gizzie went through the surgery yesterday just fine. Her vet said that they removed 5 stones and there was alot of infection from the stones. They immediately started her on antibiotics to keep the infection from spreading. I asked why we didn't start antibiotics before to which he replied,"It wouldn't have helped as long as the stones were still in the bladder. They were causing the infection therefore, we need to get the stones out before the infection can be treated and cleared up." Made sense after he explained.

They kept her overnight for observation and hope to send her home sometimes after 4:00pm pending there are no complications throughout the day. I called this morning to check on her and the report was very positive. The vet tech said that Gizzie's vet was extremely pleased with her recovery; however, she was giving them a hard time with taking her medicine. I asked if they put it in cheese, which of course was a quick reply of "NO!" "Well, there's the problem", I informed them. "At home she takes it just fine if you put it in cheese." She's so spoiled!

I hope to bring her home this evening. It sure has been quieter around here without her. No barking, no "fighting" with the boys over chair and sofa space. Even the boys have been asking "where's Gizzie?"

I'll keep you posted on her recovery. Thanks again to those who have shown much concern.

Until next time, HB

Stuffins Gets a Bath

Meet Stuffins. This is BB's stuffed dog that typically follows him around even to the great outdoors. This past Monday, the boys were outside playing when BB came through and asked if Stuffins could "pay outside". I told him that was o.k. but be careful not to get Stuffins dirty.

As I was cleaning my bathroom, I heard all this commotion coming from the hall bathroom. When I walked in, BB was standing at the sink with poor Stuffins in the above predicament. I asked BB what he was doing. To which he replied, "Stuffins got dirty, he need a bath." Apparently, Stuffins was dropped in the leaves as I don't believe he came alive and rolled in them himself as Gizzie tends to do.

I proceeded to rescue Stuffins from the cold water running down his back. I put him back outside to air and dry out only to have to rescue him again from the rain later that night. He now sits on the counter in my bathroom drying.

Until next time, our dogs have had "ruff" days here lately, HB

PS. Please remember my little Gizmo as she will be having her surgery in the morning (Wednesday).

Update on Gizmo

I talked with Gizmo's vet this morning and it appears that the her bladder stones will have to be removed via surgery. She also has a severe UTI due to the stones so he wants to do the surgery ASAP which will be this Wednesday.

I will take her about 8:00am and she will have to stay over night. Provided there are no complications, she should be able to come home Thursday.

I have been most pleased with her vet. He has been so professional, yet friendly, compassionate and concerned. He himself has called me several times to check on her and has answered all my calls. I have been grateful for their personal care of Gizmo and her mom.

I'll keep y'all posted as I ask for your prayers. Thanks to all of you that have shown such love and support.

Until next time, HB

Good News...Bad News

Since the beginning of December, my little dog, Gizmo has been having random "tee-tee" accidents in the house. I took her to the vet in late January only to be told it could be one of several things. 1) bladder infection...UTI 2) Transitional Cell Carcinoma (TCC)...cancer 3) Bladder Stones 4) Inflamation of the bladder.

We treated her for 1 month with antibiotics for the most common and probable...UTI. She did seem to feel better and the accidents stopped. If it was TCC the antibiotics would not have any effect and the accidents would become more frequent, however, this cancer is rare but still possible.

Well, this past week, she had 2 accidents within 24 hours. And of course, I lost it in the form of worrying and tears fearing the worst, TCC. This form of cancer in dogs is very aggressive and once diagnosed, typically they have 3 to 6 months to live with no successful treatment or cure.

Today, I took her back to the vet for more testing which included x-rays, ultrasounds, urine cultures, etc. When talking to her vet, he seemed less hopeful since the antibiotics did not work and wanted to go ahead and rule out TCC if that was not the problem. However, the problem with testing for TCC, the specific testing is not definite and can give false positives and false negatives leading to more tests and of course more expensive vet bills. Instead, he tested her for Bladder Stones in which he found 3 in her bladder. So the good news...it's not TCC. The bad news, she does have Bladder stones which have to be treated either through diet or surgery depending on the type of stone. The best news would be that the type she has can be treated through a special diet, however, I will take having surgery over only 3 months to live.

I know to some, dogs are just pets, but to me they are another member of the family. Loosing a pet is devastating to me and causes such emotional sadness. I am so thankful that Gizzie doesn't have cancer and we have several more years of her as our little blessing of a pet.

"It's difficult to understand why some people don't realize that pets are gifts to mankind.”~Linda Blair

Until next time, Ruff! Ruff!, HB

Prayer Request

I typically don't post prayer requests but felt to do so in this case. (Some have received emails regarding this).

I have a distant cousin who is 26, pregnant and has breast cancer. Her cancer was not discovered until after she was pregnant. She has been taking low doses of chemo throughout the pregnancy. However, the doctors will be taking the baby today at 32 weeks in order for her to begin much higher doses of chemo to save her life. She will then eventually have a mastectomy.

Please pray for the baby's health in that she will thrive even after being born so early. Pray for the mother as I can't imagine such fear both physical and mental. Also please pray for her family as they will be her support for the long, hard months ahead...especially her husband as he balances becoming a new dad and a concerned husband.

Thanks for your prayers and I will keep you posted as I receive more news.

Until next time, HB

The Perfect Husband

I got this through an email from friend, thanks Leah. Hope you enjoy:

Several men are in the locker room of a golf club.

A cell phone on a bench rings and a man engages the hands free speaker function and begins to talk.

Everyone else in the room stops to listen.

MAN: "Hello"

WOMAN: "Honey, it's me. Are you at the club?"

MAN: "Yes"

WOMAN: "I am at the mall now and found this beautiful leather coat. It's only $1,000. Is it OK if I buy it?"

MAN: "Sure, go ahead if you like it that much."

WOMAN: "I also stopped by the Mercedes dealership and saw the new 2008 models. I saw one I really liked."

MAN: "How much?"

WOMAN: "$90,000"

MAN: "OK, but for that price I want it with all the options."

WOMAN: "Great! Oh, and one more thing...the house I wanted last year is back on the market. They're asking $950,000"

MAN: "Well, then go ahead and give them an offer of $900,000. They will probably take it. If not, we can go the extra 50 thousand if it's really a pretty good price."

WOMAN: "OK. I'll see you later! I love you so much!"

MAN: "Bye ! I love you, too."

The man hangs up. The other men in the locker room are staring at him in astonishment, mouths agape.

He turns and asks: "Anyone know who this phone belongs to?"

Until next time, HB