Laverne....

Our little 5 year old Chihuahua, Laverne was diagnosed with Cushings disease this week. This is a picture of her last spring and she is much chubbier this year. She really doesn't have any of the symptoms except the over weight and some hair shedding.

My vet did a blood test to find this, I thought maybe she had hyperthyroidism. That would have been much easier to treat than Chushings.

I have been doing a lot of reading about this disease and it's not good. The meds, well, I'm not in favor of the most popular one, Lysodren, is a chemo type pill that kills some of the adrenal gland and has some harsh side effects. Lysodren has to be really carefully monitored so the dog doesn't get too much of it which and throw them into Addison's disease.

Laverne would have to stay at the vet's probably overnight, have lots of testing, poking with needles. I would have to take her in several times a week and the bloodwork, medicines and trips to the vet would be very, very costly. Laverne is a very sensitive little dog this would highly traumatize her, she sure doesn't need that! Also a specialist is needed to treat this properly and I don't know of any around here; Ohio State University would be the ideal place, except it's 2 and a half hours drive, one way, from here. Not an option.

From what I can find most of the dogs that have Cushings are older dogs, at least 4 to 6 years older than Laverne. Also the research says that they only live two to three years after being diagnosed. I am going to try an herbal remedy on her that has had good response. I am also going to work on feeding all the dogs better. Yes, I mean cooking meals for them, chicken, beef, vegetables, rice, good stuff; even healthy doggie cookies!

It's been a long week and a mental tiring one for me. No riding been way too hot and humid outside ....Gilly and Pokey won't come out of the barn during the day. Flies are eating them up, we are all miserable, thank goodness for AC and the fan in the barn for the boys.

Hoping that next week will be a better one.

Petey, new member of the family

Here is Petey, on the left with the other members of our family, the inside dogs. Buster is guarding the food, have to watch the new comer, he may eat it all you know! Gonzo and Laverne are sacked out too much excitement. This was taken shortly after I brought Petey home to meet them.

Now everyone is asleep....well Buster, who you can't see in this pictures is still guarding the food.

What kind of dog is Petey, you are probably wondering??? Not sure, he is a little smaller than Gonzo, has a monkey face so he probably has some boxer or Boston Terrier, has a big overbite like Laverne
Petey likes to crawl on the floor when he gets excited and wants to go outside. I have tried to catch him in action with video but he will stop and look at me and won't start again. Until I am not running the camera!

Petey isn't too interested in basted Meaty Bones, he just looked at it then me as if to say, "You want me to eat this tasteless thing???"

All the dogs have accepted Petey and here is Laverne snuggled up to him sleeping on the couch. Now I have to fight for a place to sit......four dogs in the house! They are sitting on my end of the couch and Gonzo is on the other end.

No matter how many times I fold up this blanket it will never stay that way. They like to move it around and crawl under it and the one on the back of the couch too. That is for them to sit on so they can look out the window but Laverne and Gonzo have other ideas. It's always wadded up in a ball and one of them is under it. So far Petey hasn't had the urge to cover up.

He seems to think that Mike's chair is a good place to nap; this is where he spends most of his napping time.

Petey is eight years old and we got him when a long time friend passed away last year. Petey was given to our friend by one of his daughters for a companion dog. After our friend passed away Petey went to live with another family but that didn't work out and now he is here on the farm with us. I think our friend would like that, Petey has a lot of friends to play with and really likes it here. We are glad he is here with us, just one more member of the family. Maybe we should call this farm "Dog Trot Farm"!

Below is our friend and Petey, taken last August, just a few months before he passed away suddenly. We miss him and will take good care of his beloved pet.