Coulee's Tribe

Mom took Summit and I to the beach. To lots of beaches. Laguna, Monterey, Santa Cruz, Mad River. I scrambled up and down cliffs, played in the water, and barked at the birds that Summit chased.  I only have one chemo treatment left next week and then some follow-up x-rays.  I’m ready for lots of summer playtime!

 

P.S. Mom bought me a stroller/bike trailer a few months ago.  I love it. When we go on long walks and I get tired, I bump Mom in the back of her calf to tell her I’m ready to ride.   If anyone needs one, here’s a link to one like mine.

Booyah Large Pet Bicycle Bike Trailer & Jogger with Shocks – Red

Love, Coulee

There was a lot of cooking up treats and getting the nose turned up in the air and away.  Tuesday morning, I was finally so frustrated I went to the grocery store and bought about $30 worth of various baby foods and “canned” dog foods.  She ATE!    She has even eaten some of her crunchies when mixed in with other items, including baby food, Rachel Ray dog food, Beneful wet dog food, chicken broth, and also rice & cooked ground turkey mixed together. Hallelujah, Hallelujah,Hallelujah..woohoo!

Coulee is getting pretty agile on those 3 legs (she’s still faster than I am when she gets moving) and hops up on the couch & the bed.  She flies down the ramp, but still struggles a bit getting back up.  Today she decided to run down the stairs and not use the ramp. Aaawww. What?  I admit, I closed my eyes and prayed.  She also decided to jump out of the truck (front seat) before I had a chance to help her down when we came back from the grocery store.  She’s obviously feeling better and more confident.  I’ll try not to have a nervous breakdown 😉

So the whole Doomsday thing…..what a let-down.  No zombies, no asteroids, nothing SyFy channel worthy. (Big Disappointed Sigh). Oh well, the news now needs something else to obsess about and that seems to be that  we are going to get hammered by snow this weekend. I’ve heard that before.  We are gearing  up for a nice fluffy snow storm. Coulee and Summit love to chase and catch snowballs. We’re expecting 4- 6 feet over the next few days.

Coulee’s Grandpa Peter is in hospital with pneumonia.  He is still in the ICU, but is doing better as they have removed the breathing tube and he is not sedated (as much).  We are so thankful that Grandma Linda is keeping an eye out for him and reading him our emails with all the bad jokes.  Laughter is the best medicine (besides broad spectrum anti-biotics!).  Saying lots of prayers to keep all our family healthy and safe through this holiday season.

Coulee’s is dealing with the effects of the first chemo treatment. Not interested in food…only interested in puking.  Called the vet and we are getting some antibiotics and some anti-nausea meds.  A very kind woman named Ellen was at the vet when I called in. She also lives in Mammoth (our vet is 45 minutes away) and is bring the meds back with her and will call me when she gets in to town so I can get them from her.

Watching the news…horrified. overwhelmed. disgusted with the human race. If the world really does end next week (12-21-12) maybe it’s for the best. I don’t understand how we have gotten here..we are not safe at work, at school, shopping, at the movies AND the people committing these unthinkable acts – we have failed them.

We did the 45 minute (each way) drive to the vet today and Coulee had her staples out and her first chemo treatment.  She seems to be fine (considering she got stuck in the truck for 3 hours cause I thought I’d stop by work  for a minute).She’s seems a little sleepy but she ate her dinner…

We go back to the vet the 28th for blood work and have another chemo appointment the following week.

Harry actually took time off work yesterday and today (that never happens!) and that meant Summit got to go play bird dawg two days in a row.  She’s wiped out! and sleeping in front of the fire after a much needed bath.

NOAA site calling for snow starting early tomorrow morning until Friday night (showing a small break) and then “a chance of snow” all the way through Tuesday. This storm looks to be colder than the last one and that means snow level will drop.  As much as I want the storm, it’s been nice to drive just out of town and still take the hoppy tripawd dawg for a walk on dirt.

 

Needed to do a little shopping (Husband’s 50th b-day and christmas goodies) so drove to Carson City for the day.  This meant we got to go to the Dog Park.  Unfortunately, they have changed the rules there (again) and it’s no longer an off-leash park.  I decided that didn’t apply to tripawds and let Coulee hop around all she wanted.  Summit survived being on-leash.

Coulee seems to be healing up quite nicely and her hair is starting to grow back.  I had to wrap her front leg though as she was raw from licking where the IV was inserted.

First Chemo treatment reschedule for this Tuesday by our Vet.  Coulee also gets her staples out then!

Bought new dogfood yesterday and both my girls love it!  Coulee was excited about her food again. Yeah! We got the Taste of The Wild – Wetlands Canine Formula with Roasted Fowl. It was recommended by Lynn at Tailwaggers. Thanks Lynn 🙂

We’ve had a couple of rough days here.  Is this what it’s like to have a baby??? I have never felt so sleep deprived in my life. My headache is so bad, it feels like my head is going to explode.  Of course, that can’t be anything compared to how Coulee must have been feeling the past few days.  We had some really heavy (sierra cement) snow. That of course made it challenging to get across the parking lot to the yard. Then it rained, creating a giant icee in the parking lot. And of course, then it froze and I’m pretty sure I should have gotten my ice skates out yesterday.  So Coulee had a few challenging days getting around, which I think is why she was whining and then not eating because she was doped on Tramadol.  I massaged her as much as I could.  Last night, she finally ate something (whew! I was gonna call the vet today) and this morning she ate her crunchies (woohoo!).   She has been a little trooper!  She has adjusted to taking meds without any problems.  She just swallows them. Maybe it’s the years of watching her sister take pills (thyroid) every 12 hours. You tell Summit to sit, open, and she takes her pill.

We are going to head out shortly (first trip in the car since coming back from the vet) and go down the highway and look for some dirt to go take a little hoppy tripawd walk.  Yesterday, my friend & neighbor Leigh was kind enough to come get Summit and take her for a walk, and hopefully her dad will take her hunting tomorrow. I’ve been worried that I have been neglecting her 🙁

More rain & snow expected tonight and tomorrow.

Staples come out on Monday the 10th AND first chemo treatment….

 

Thanks to all of Coulee’s Aunts for calling/texting and checking up on her. It is appreciated 🙂

I was worried that Coulee wouldn’t be interested in eating (from reading other posts). So far she has eaten cooked ground white-meat chicken, pan sauteed chopped up chicken thighs and slurped up a couple egg yolks.  She still likes the soft lamb/rice jerky treats that we get at Costco.  There’s been a lot of napping today at my feet by the computer.  We have always called her the velcro-dog as she is constantly right next to me and follows me around.  She has hopped into the kitchen a few times to get a drink from the water bowl.  She’s wearing one of Harry’s old t-shirts that reads “Coors Light”.

Harry just finished the new ramp.  Coulee isn’t interested in going out quite yet, but her sister (& litter mate), Summit, thinks it’s the new raceway for getting up and down the stairs. Zoom!  Elvis will be here in town in a couple weeks (he lives in Mammoth part-time) and I know he will appreciate it, too.

The house smells really good right now. I made an eggnog-spice-pecan cake for Harry.  People need treats/rewards for doing what they’ve been asked, just like our Kanine Kids.

 

Last friday Coulee went to the vet for what we thought was a sprain that wasn’t really getting better.  Xrays revealed a massive bone tumor and that the bone had fractured. Her chest xrays were clear, so the osteosarcoma has not metastased to her chest, which was the concern. Today we are taking Coulee to see Dr. Nikki who will be amputating Coulee’s right front leg. On tomorrow’s Honey-Do List for Coulee’s dad is to build and install a ramp on the large set of steep stairs we use to get into our home. It’s going to be a difficult day for us all and the beginning of a new journey. I am so thankful for the tripawds site for all the stories, videos and information which have given us the strength to make decisions and move forward.

Coulee’s Tribe

(Ande, Harry, Summit and best friends Burlap, Elvis & Kona)