Interview with Mr. Bits

I have decided to interview each of my dogs by asking them each the same five questions.
I know I am the crazy dog lady (ahem, the Dog Dame), but I'm not crazy, I swear.  Read on to learn about the mutts that inspire me to blog!

1. For the record, please provide your full name:
They call me Mr. Bits! My registered name is Lil Bit, but my family mostly calls me Bits or Mr. Bits.

2. Tell me about when you joined the family.  How long has it been?
Wow!  I joined the family in July 2016 and am their newest addition.  I'm eight years old, and have the body of a chihuahua and the colors and markings of a beagle.  I'm the smallest of the mutts, and the craziest!  Despite having two slipped discs in my back, I like to race around the house and yard like a wild puppy.  I'm about 13 pounds but have no problem jumping on my new siblings - even Remy who is a lot bigger than me! I LOVE the love, and have no idea what the words "personal space" mean!  I was adopted from Love Mutts Rescue, just like my brother, Otis!

3.  What is your favorite toy?
I like to wrestle with my stuffed toys!  I roll around on the floor and wrestle with them - I win about half of the time.  My favorite to play with is Otis, though.  I love to run and jump on him.  It sometimes takes a long time to convince him to chase me, though!  I'm also a big fan of the kong, which is usually filled with peanut butter and kibble, or steamed veggies!

4. What is your least favorite thing to do?
I hate going outside.  I'd much rather be in someone's lap or cuddling with Otis on the couch! My people make me go outside and play with the others, though, and I do sometimes have fun.  I hate when my feet get wet, or when I have to get my nails trimmed, and I don't like it when it's cold, or hot.

5. What's your favorite treat?
I really love green beans, the 3 ingredient cookies, and the dental treats.  I also like peanut butter/greek yogurt ice cream in the summer.  I used to enjoy chicken broth popsicles until my people figured out I'm allergic to chicken!

Interview with Mr. Otis

I have decided to interview each of my dogs by asking them each the same five questions.
I know I am the crazy dog lady (ahem, the Dog Dame), but I'm not crazy, I swear.  Read on to learn about the mutts that inspire me to blog!

1. For the record, please provide your full name:
I am Mr. Otis Ulysses.  You may call me Mr. Otis.  My family calls me Mr. Odit or Mr. Otis.

2. Tell me about when you joined the family.  How long has it been?
It's been almost 15 months since I joined the family.  I was five years old I was adopted from Love Mutts Rescue, and my family brought me home to live with Remy.  She just wanted to play, but I was too dignified for that, and a little portly, too.  It was love at first sight though... as soon as I met my new sister, I just wanted to cuddle with her... ALL THE TIME. I was really scared of the people in my family and hid from them, especially from the males.  I loved Remy, though.  The humans kept giving me love and cuddles and treats, though, and after awhile I wanted to be around them, too.  They had no idea for the first several weeks that every day, I like to greet the morning by loudly singing the song of my people (beagles) to the entire neighborhood.   They know and love (or at least begrudgingly accept) that about me, now.

3.  What is your favorite toy?
I haven't played with many toys, though I do have a red squeaky ball that I like to carry around, and sometimes roll around with.  Remy steals and and hides it because it squeaks.  I also enjoy playing with ropes and other toys that I can play tug of war with Remy.  I love to hide a cow femur in the leaves and chew it when I think nobody is looking.  I do run and play now, but mostly I just like to chase Remy (or run from her) and sniff things.  I like to cuddle with soft toys, but she Remy steals them to rip them apart and Bits steals them to cuddle with, too.

4. What is your least favorite thing to do?
I love to be outside, so I hate when it's really cold or rainy and I can't be outside much.  I just sleep  on the couch those days.  I'm not a huge of fan of getting my nails clipped but mom says I am the best out of the three about it.

5. What's your favorite treat?
ALL OF THEM!  I love to eat, and I love all of the different kinds of treats!  I love green beans, raw carrots, 3 ingredient cookies, ice cream, and I really love the dental treats.

Interview With Miss Remy

I have decided to interview each of my dogs by asking them each the same five questions.
I know I am the crazy dog lady (ahem, the Dog Dame), but I'm not crazy, I swear.  Read on to learn about the mutts that inspire me to blog!

1. For the record, please provide your full name:
Remy.  Unless mom is irritated with me, then I'm Remington. Unless I'm being stubborn (because I'm a basset) and ignoring mom and she's irritated with me, then I'm Remington Ophelia, but you can call me Remy.

2. Tell me about when you joined the family.  How long has it been?
I barely remember it because it was forever ago! I remember I used to live in a place where I stayed in the kennel almost all the time, though they did take me outside to potty and we played a bit.  Those people called me Rapunzel. Anyway, my people came to the shelter and brought with them another dog that was just a little bigger and about a year older than me.  I hadn't even had my first birthday yet but was a pretty big girl at nine months old.  The other dog was Benelli, and at first we just sniffed each other, but then we started playing and my people gave me a new collar and took me home. Benelli became my sister, and for a year she was my best friend.  A day short of one year of living with my family, Benelli got really sick and died from IMHA. I was so sad after she died and missed her so much that I didn't want to play anymore, even though I wasn't two years old yet. It took a long time before I wanted to play again.  Then, my family brought home my new brother, Otis, and then another brother, Bits.  They are both older than I am but since I was here first since April 2014 AND I'm the biggest, I'm the boss.

3.  What is your favorite toy?
I LOVE anything that squeaks! My favorite toy to chomp on is a live squirrel, but mom thinks that's gross.  I have a couple of Kong balls that squeak and I love to chase those and chomp on them.  I also love elk antlers and cow femurs- they are so great for chewing!

4. What is your least favorite thing to do?
I'm not a fan of getting a bath, or getting my ears cleaned, but I REALLY hate getting my nails clipped.  One time, they were clipped too short at the vet's office, which really hurt and I bled a bit.  I'm like an elephant, I never forget...and I make it hard for mom to clip my nails.

5. What's your favorite treat?
While I love the dental treats, I actually really love the 3 ingredient cookies mom makes.  My favorite treat though might be either the puppy ice cream she makes or peanut butter in  a kong.  I do LOVE peanut butter!

IMHA: What I Wish I Knew

IMHA. What is it? Why should dog owners care about it? Let me start by saying that prior to April 17, 2015, I had never heard of IMHA, or Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia.  In some ways, I wish I still didn't know about it.  I am going to tell you the story of how I came to learn about IMHA, and how it changed my life, and my dog's life, forever.

Benelli as a puppy, climbing on the woodpile.  She was less than a year old. (2015)

 It was April 2015, and my boyfriend and I had a trip planned to the mountains to celebrate our anniversary.  My mom was staying at my house to take care of my teenage son and our two pups, Benelli and Remy.  A couple days before our trip, I noticed that Benelli had not finished all of her dinner, but I wasn't worried about it.  My dogs eat twice a day, and it wasn't unusual for Benelli to turn her nose at her food, especially when we were getting towards the bottom of the bag of kibble.  I store the kibble in a plastic airtight container, but it seems she could just tell when the food had been opened for a few weeks.  She was acting normally, playing with Remy and being her usual affectionate and silly self.

She was right around a year old in this picture (2013)

The next morning, Benelli ate most of her breakfast, but did leave several kibble behind.  I still thought nothing of it, since I assumed she was just being picky because we were nearing the bottom of the bag.  That evening, she again ate most of her food, but left some behind.  At this point, I was a little annoyed that she wasn't finishing her food, but didn't think there was anything wrong.  We left the next day for our trip.  I had long suspected that my boyfriend was going to propose on that trip on our anniversary, and I was looking forward to it.  We ended up coming home before he could propose.

My mom, who was staying at my house, called to let me know that she was really worried about Benelli, because not only was she refusing food, but had refused to drink and water and was acting lethargic.  As if that wasn't enough, my stepdad was sick and had been hospitalized, so we rushed home on April 17, 2015 so she could go to the hospital.  When we got home, Benelli did not even get up to greet us, though she pitifully wagged her tail from her position on the dog bed.  I knew then that something was really wrong, because she always greeted us at the door.  I had called my vet on the way home and made an appointment, so after a couple of hours home, we took her in for her appointment.

I had a really hard time saying no to her beautiful face,

At the veterinarian's office, the vet examined Benelli and noted that her gums and lips were very pale, and took some blood.  A few minutes later, the vet let us know that Benelli's red blood cell count was very low, and she needed specialty emergency care.  The vet called a local specialty hospital and arranged for Benelli to be admitted with a referral.  We hurried her to the specialty vet and they took her back within a few minutes.  We completed a lot of paperwork while waiting for her diagnosis.  The vet took us to a quiet corner and told us that Benelli had something called IMHA, or Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia, and that it was incredibly serious.  Red blood cells have the important job of carrying oxygen to cells all over the body and they also help remove carbon dioxide from the body.  When a dog (or person for that matter) is anemic, there are less red blood cells than normal to do the job.  When the anemia is immune mediated, it means that the body's immune system is attacking and destroying it's own red blood cells.  In Benelli's case, her body was producing antibodies to attack her red blood cells, treating them like it would if they were a virus or bacteria.

This was taken on her trip to the mountains with us, July 2014.

Benelli required canine blood transfusions. Prior to this trip to the emergency/specialty vet, I had never once thought about canine blood transfusions. There is a shortage of canine blood because owners don't know about canine blood transfusions or blood banks, and so don't have their pets donate.  Blood transfusions are very expensive, partially due to the low supply of available blood.  They gave Benelli two blood transfusions overnight, and called me around 6:00am on the morning of April 18, 2015 to let me know that her red blood count had increased a little bit.  This was welcome news, and I felt like things were heading in the right direction and she would be okay.  I've never been more wrong.

Another pic on our mountain trip in July 2014.  

When we went to visit her in the hospital a couple of hours later, Benelli was led out of the treatment area.  She wagged her tail, but was moving very, very slowly. It was obvious she was in pain, and it broke my heart to see her so excited to see us but unable to get to us as fast as she wanted.  We were led to a visiting room where we could sit with her and spend time with her.  The vet came in and asked my boyfriend and I to come out of the room.  We did, and left my teenage son in the room with Benelli.  The news was grim.  Despite the transfusions and medications, Benelli's red blood cell count had dropped lower than it was when she was admitted.  The vet confirmed that Benelli was in a lot of pain, as her organs were shutting down.  We talked about treatment options.  We could continue to transfuse blood and pump her full of medication, but she would have to stay at the hospital.  Treatment would be around the clock, but even so, her chance of survival was slim since her red blood cell count was dropping faster than they could be replaced, her major organs were shutting down, and she was in pain.  My mom and stepdad had arrived to visit and were in the visiting room with my son and Benelli.

This is Benelli (R) and Remy (L) on their first trip to the mountains together, July 2014.

I had already signed the papers authorizing euthanasia, because I couldn't stand to see her in pain.  I didn't want to end her life and wanted to keep fighting for her, but the vet explained that we were looking at thousands and thousands of dollars to put Benelli through hell, and she most likely wouldn't survive it.  Signing her life away on that sheet of paper was the single most hardest thing I have ever done in my adult life, and to this day, I feel guilty for it.  I know I did what was best for her, because I couldn't put her through pain and suffering.  So, we gathered around her on the floor, and spent time loving on her, telling her how much we loved her, and crying our hearts out.  After a couple of hours, the vet came into the room and administered the injections to put our sweet Benelli to sleep, and she crossed the rainbow bridge in our arms.  We spent a little more time with her, before going home in a haze of grief and loss.  About a week later, the hospital called to let us know her urn with her ashes was available for us, and my (now-husband) brought her home where she belongs.

This was taken about two weeks before she died. I often like to just snap pictures
while hanging out in the yard with my pups.  I had no idea this would be the last picture of her before she would be
on her deathbed.  I do have some pictures of her with family,  taken in that little room
where she died, but we would prefer to remember her this way.

I spent a lot of time researching IMHA, and trying to figure out what symptom I missed or how I could have known that she had something seriously wrong.  The only early symptom was that she wasn't finishing her food, and I attributed it to her normal behavior at the end of the bag.  Other symptoms did develop, but I wasn't aware of IMHA and didn't recognize them.  I hope you never has the misfortune of crossing paths with IMHA, but these are the symptoms so you will be more informed than I was.  Perhaps it will make a difference in the life of your furbaby.

• Weakness

• Lethargy

• Poor appetite

• Fainting

• Exercise intolerance

• Vomiting

• Rapid breathing

• Diarrhea

• Increased thirst and urination in some dogs

• Fever

• Jaundice

• Rapid heart rate

• Melena (Black feces due to hemorrhage in gastrointestinal tract)

• Petechia (red, purple spots on the body due to minor hemorrhages)

• Ecchymoses (skin discoloration in patches or bruises)

• Joint pains

There is a lot more to IMHA than I'm covering in this blog - like how some breeds are predisposed and females are more likely to suffer from it than males.  I urge you to read up on it so you can catch it early if it happens to your dog, and hope you never need that knowledge.  The links listed under "Sources" below are great places to start.

Sources:

PetMD

Pet Health Network

Introduction

Several nights ago, my husband and I were having a conversation about our dogs when he quipped, "I married the dog lady!".  The idea for this blog was borne from that conversation, but my love for alliteration (the same beginning sound in adjacent words) led me to name my blog The Dog Dame.

I am not in a professional field related to animals, but I do love animals and spend a lot of free time reading about them (particularly dogs) and researching related topics.  I plan to share some of my findings here.  Please note that I am not a veterinarian, and you should always consult with your vet regarding medical issues.

I grew up pretty much always having a pet in the family. Usually we had a dog (or two, or three, or more!), but we also had a cat.  As an adult, I have adopted cats and dogs.  I promote adopting instead of shopping for an animal, and believe all dogs and cats should be inside pets, as members of the family.  I have loved and lost several beloved pets, and care about things like nutrition and exercise for my pets.

In 2012, my eldest stepdaughter's mother adopted a puppy from the local SPCA for my stepdaughter.  After a couple of months, her mother decided she was done dealing with a puppy and said she was going to return it to the shelter.  At that point, we intervened (as the dog was physically in our home) and made the decision to keep the puppy as a family dog, belonging to the entire family and no one particular person. Benelli was a basset/lab on paper, but anyone who saw her knew she had some pit bull or american staffordshire in her.  The entire family fell in love with her.

Several months later, we decided that Benelli needed a canine playmate, and we adopted Remy, a basset/beagle from an SPCA a couple of hours away.  For nearly a year, Benelli and Remy were the best of friends and life was good.  In April 2015, Benelli was a bit picky about her food, eating some of it but leaving much of it in the bowl.  I wasn't particularly concerned as we were getting to the end of the bag of food and this was typical behavior for the end of the bag.  We went out of town for a couple of days and while we were gone, her condition worsened and she laid on her dog bed, refusing to eat, drink, or get up.  We rushed home several days early and took her that afternoon to our vet, who directed us to take her to a nearby specialty hospital.  That night, the emergency vet gave her two blood transfusions and pumped her full of medication to help stabilize her and help her body fight what it was dealing with.  By the next morning, things were worse and due to her organs failing and Benelli being in a lot of pain, we made the decision to have her put to sleep and end her suffering from Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia (IMHA).  She was two and a half months shy of her third birthday, and losing her devastated my entire family.  We had Remy to love and take care of, but the loss of Benelli left a gaping wound in our lives.

Five months later, we knew Remy (who celebrated a year with us the day after Benelli's death and also her second birthday two months later) needed a buddy to pal around with, and we humans were just not enough.  I was looking for another basset around her age as we prefer short dogs who are unlikely to jump our fence. Instead, on Halloween 2015, we adopted a five-ish year old overweight beagle who had been abused, and we named him Otis.  We adopted from Love Mutts Rescue.  Remy and Otis made fast friends, and she plays very well with him (she sometimes forgets she's much bigger though!).  I can't imagine my life without a couple of dogs to love.

Benelli Grace (07.01.2012-04.18.2015)

Gone But Always Remembered

Left: Remington Ophelia (b. 07/04/2013)

Right: Otis Ulysses (b. ?10/31/2010)