Lyme Disease Claims Marley’s Sweet Successor

John Grogan and Gracie

Sad news. Marley’s successor, the sweet and calm Gracie, has died at the far-too-young age of 6. What follows is an excerpt from the blog of John Grogan (author of Marly & Me). It’s just better coming from him.

I’m writing today to tell you that we lost Gracie last week. It’s a long, painful story, but the short version is she died from a rare complication of Lyme disease. We began noticing she wasn’t quite right in the second half of December. Her appetite was a little off, and her usual energy (she could sprint like a leopard) was down. I thought she might have a bladder infection or some other minor malady. Our local vet did a blood test and discovered Lyme disease and put her on a course of antibiotics. But the next day she called back with much more dire news: another test had found high levels of protein in her urine, a sign her kidneys were malfunctioning.

We rushed her to the University of Pennsylvania veterinary hospital, one of the best in the country, where she remained for the better part of a week as she underwent batteries of tests, including a kidney biopsy. It seems her immune system in its attempt to attack the Lyme cells had caused irreversible harm to her kidneys. All the vets were in agreement; there was nothing they could do for her. We brought her home and kept her as comfortable as we could for as long as we could.

On this past Friday, she let us know it was time to let her go. She had stopped eating and drinking, even stopped licking snow, and had grown very weak, just a shadow of the glossy-coated vibrant dog of a few weeks earlier. A vet came to the house so Gracie could end her life in her own home surrounded by the family that loved her. She slipped away peacefully.

With the help of my kind neighbor Neil Wotring, I buried her on the edge of the meadow behind our barn, right beside Marley. Two dogs, so different yet both so great in their own way, and both so dearly cherished members of our family.

Farewell, sweet Gracie, our gentle girl. Your home is now in our hearts.

So sad. You can read more about Gracie (and how different she was from Marley) in Grogan’s complete post. RIP, dear Gracie. At least you finally get to meet Marley…

Canine Lyme disease is rampant in some parts of the country. Tick control and vaccination can help, but they’re not a panacea. Dogsters, what do you do to prevent Lyme disease in your dog?

(Thank you to my friend and colleague, talented writer Sally Deneen, for alerting us to this story. If nothing else, it may help some readers learn more about Lyme Disease, how to try to prevent it, and how to recognize its early signs.)

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Dog Poisoned by Meatballs in Backyard is Recovering

Oreo is recovering well, despite having been near death because of the poisoned meatballs

When Oreo found several raw meatballs in his backyard, he must have thought he’d died and gone to heaven.

Tragically, he nearly did.

The meatballs were laced with strychnine. His owners found six more in their La Mesa, Calif., backyard — but thankfully their other two dogs didn’t find them first.

Nine-year-old Oreo wasn’t expected to pull through at first, but his vet put him in a medically induced coma over the weekend.  He was kept alive via a ventilator ($5,000 per day!). Generous donations from viewers of a CBS-8 news segment raised $2,000 helped defray costs.

Amazingly, Oreo came out of the coma on Monday, and was able to breathe on his own. He even stood up and drank some water.

“He looks great. This is better than I could have hoped for,” veterinary assistant Jenny Burns told KSWB-TV. Oreo isn’t out of the woods yet, though, according to veterinarian Mike Mansfield. There’s a chance he suffered brain damage from the severe seizures he suffered from the poison. Time will tell.

The most frightening part of the story is that this is not the first attempted dog poisoning in the San Diego-area town. Neighbors say about five other dogs have been poisoned and killed within the last five years. Police are apparently investigating.

The first video below is from when Oreo was still in his coma. It provides a good look at what this poor dog and his family have gone through. The second one is the CBS-8 video that helped raise money for this very expensive medical treatment.

We wish Oreo and his family the best. And we hope police really pursue the poisoner this time.

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Singing “Therapy” Dog May Get Couple Kicked Out of NYC Co-Op

From left, Julie Hyman, Murray Hyman, Rita Hyman, and Sal Markowicz with Maltese poodles Rocky (in blue plaid) Vegas. (Photo: NY Daily News)

A wee Maltese who likes to accompany his human “grandmother” when she sings may end up getting grandma and grandpa kicked out of their Bronx, NY, co-op.

Rita and Murray Hyman are being evicted from their no-pets co-op because of frequent day-long visits from their daughter’s two Maltese pooches, Rocky and Vegas, reports the Daily News. Rocky is the one whose voice has worn out its welcome around the building, but no dogs means no dogs, say building officials. The Hymans say there are signs for rules for visiting dogs, and think they’re being singled out.

“Rocky gives me a whole different outlook on life and keeps me going,” Rita Hyman, 62, told the newspaper. The paper reports she was left disabled after a 2003 car crash and that she considers Rocky her “therapy dog.”

“They’ve hurt me so much by trying to take away our special relationship,” she said. “Who will I sing with?”

Neighbors would prefer Rita Hyman sing solo, and an appeals court supported their desires. The legal dogfight continues, with the Hymans saying Rocky will keep visiting until their case is completely resolved.

“He’s family to us, and he makes our lives worthwhile,” Murray Hyma, 69, told the Daily News. “We’ll keep fighting until we win.”.

So for now, at least, neighbors will have to deal with the dynamic duo.

What do you think, Dogsters? Is Rocky giving therapy dogs a bad name? Or should he be allowed to visit the Hymans any time and sing his heart out? I’m not so sure there will be a Dogster landslide on either side of this case. I’m interested in seeing the breadth of opinions this story may bring in.

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Make a cute little dog sweater from old sweat pants!

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Robert Downey Jr. to Voice Mr. Peabody

Robert Downey Jr., who will portray the voice of Mr. Peabody, almost looks like the genius dog in this photo

Here’s some good trivia to bring up for your next foray to the dog park: Robert Downey Jr., one of this blogger’s favorite actors, has just signed on to voice genius dog Mr. Peabody in the upcoming computer-animated 3-D Dreamworks movie, “Peabody and Sherman.” Apparently Dreamworks is creating Peabody so he bears a striking resemblance to Downey. It sounds like fun, especially since I’m also a fan of the bespectacled Mr. Peabody.

But we’ll have to wait a while to see this flick: According to Inside Movies, it won’t be released until 2014. Where’s a good WABAC (or WAYAHEAD) machine when you need one?

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Fabulous 15! A tumultuous year but another Bella birthday

I never thought I would be writing this. Not a dozen years ago, when I got her knowing that she had a heart murmur, not three years ago when she was twelve and first starting on medication for her heart condition, not ten months ago, when I came within a day of euthanizing her because she wasn’t eating or moving around or seeming to want any attention, and certainly not four months ago when she was in the ER for a seizure while we were out of the country. It sounds like Bella has had an awful year, but when I look back on it, all I can see is how many amazing comebacks she made every time I was just about ready to give up on her.

If this were an Academy Awards speech, I would start by thanking her cardiologists: Kirstie Barrett, who shepherded her through annual exams charting the progress of her disease and decided when it was time to start the meds, and Sarah Miller, who took over while Dr. Barrett was on sabbatical and pulled her through that first crisis thanks to judicious treatment with pimobendan and an appetite stimulant.

Next would be Cindy Mar, her ophthalmologist. On top of her other issues, Bella developed dry eye and a corneal ulcer and Dr. Mar helped us work through those and get them under control. And she didn’t even scold me for not making Bella wear an e-collar, which probably would have speeded the process, but I couldn’t stand that she disliked it so much. (Yes, she has me well trained.)

Of course, there are all her regular veterinarians–Dr. Hamil, Dr. G and Dr. Brower–who have all given her lots of TLC this year. Special thanks to Dr. Hamil for taking my frantic phone call from Cayman during the seizure episode and my frantic phone call one night in December when she was shivering uncontrollably for no apparent reason. He talked me through an exam, talked me down from my anxiety about her and told me I could call any time that night if she seemed to be getting worse. I didn’t, and wouldn’t have, but I sure appreciated knowing I could.

I absolutely can’t leave out our pet sitter, Terry Albert, who made all the decisions I would have made for Bella until she was able to get in touch with us and confirm what treatment we wanted done. And we’re grateful that the veterinarians she took Bella to did such a great job of caring for her.

Then there are all of our neighbors, relatives and friends, including everyone here, who have been pulling for her and supporting me and Jerry with lots of love, kind words and good advice. Thank you, everyone.

As I write this, Bella is sleeping beside me, which is her default mode these days. When she’s awake, though, she still follows me around, performing her lady-in-waiting duties as she sees them. She’s back to carefully supervising meal preparation and eating enthusiastically. We are slowly transitioning her to a homemade kidney diet, and she seems to be accepting it pretty well. Outside, I don’t see her running anymore, but she still moves at a spanking pace for an old lady. When Harper and Twyla are getting clicker-trained, Bella notices and comes over to get in on the act. She gets clicked and treated for still being alive. I have gotten good at diapers and gotten over thinking she’s at death’s door at the slightest change in her routine. At least until the next time.

Happy birthday, dear Bella!

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Bloggers behind the scenes at NAVC

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Lab Eats One-Eighth His Weight in Cookies

Gus, clearly contemplating cookies. (Oh, do I ever know that Lab expression...)

Leave it to a yellow Lab. Gus, a Wisconsin dog with a very large sweet tooth, is the first nominee of 2011 for this year’s VPI Hambone Award, thanks to his snarfing a very large amount of cookies — one-eighth his weight, according to VPI — in one sitting over the holidays.

Gus, age 2, didn’t appear to have much interest in a never-ending supply of cookies, fudge, and other treats his owners would leave out on their counter during the holidays. Most were covered with plastic wrap on trays, or in tins. His people were lulled into a false sense of security, and left to go out one day, never suspecting that innocent-looking Gus would Hoover up the goodies.

“We came back from an afternoon Packers game, and everything was gone,” owner Ken Boll said on Gus’s Hambone page. “And there’s Gus standing in the kitchen, wagging his tail, happy as can be.” Here’s what Gus ate: Every cookie on the counter, a plate of fudge, and the plastic wrap that had been covering the fudge. He even started chewing on a metal cookie tin. “He left the chocolate covered blueberries,” Boll said. “He must not have liked those.”

Of course, when the Bolls discovered what Gus had done, they rushed him to the doggy emergency room, where a vet helped him vomit up five pounds of holiday cheer. Boll said Gus wasn’t in any discomfort before or after, and that they’re going to be extra careful about leaving food anywhere within harm’s way from now on.

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Featured Photo: Cute Puppy

posted 2010 Dec 26 by Chip Green

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Featured Photo: Parker Is All Tongue

Meet Parker. This cute little dog is all tongue!

posted 2010 Dec 26 by Chip Green

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Featured Photo: Zoe And Friend

Meet Zoe. Isn't she sweet? Here she is relaxing with her friend Suzan (on the right!)

posted 2010 Dec 23 by Chip Green

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Free Wally! Another Dog in a Tight Predicament

Free Wally, free Wally!

His name isn’t really Wally, but that’s what rescuers are calling a 4-year-old Shar-Pei mix after the hapless pooch got wedged between two walls in the Palm Springs, Calif., area.

Wally was likely lodged in the crawl space separating the wall of a house from the wall belonging to the local water district for several hours before someone realized where all the barking was coming from and called in for help, according to the Desert Sun.

He was weak and dehydrated when water district workers pounded a hole in one of the concrete walls and pulled him out. A water district employee gave him a bean and cheese burrito upon his rescue. (You’d think a water district employee would give him water…) Folks at the scene surmised Wally was chasing a smaller critter and didn’t look where he was going. Clever little kitty/rodent!

Wally wasn’t wearing tags, and is waiting for his owners to claim him from the  Coachella Valley Animal Campus in Thousand Palms. If no one comes forth, he’ll go up for adoption by the end of the week.

As regular readers of this blog know, there seems to be an odd trend this year with dogs getting stuck in places they’d rather not be. Last Monday we brought you the story of Cedrick, a 200-pound dog trapped 25 feet underground in his back yard. The week before we posted a story about Emma, who was trapped in a hole for 2.5 days as rescuers tried to free her. Later that week we brought you the story of Petey, who got stuck in a hole six feet under before he was extricated.

We’re glad Wally is free, and hope dogs everywhere read this and heed the need for caution. Let’s be careful out there. The earth and its walls do seem to be hungry for dogs these days.

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Featured Photo: Wobbles & Wiggles

Meet Wobbles (top) and Wiggles. Aren't they cute little Chihuahuas?

posted 2010 Dec 26 by Chip Green

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Featured Photo: Santa's Little Helpers

 

Here are Maggie and Misty helping Santa deliver cuteness all around the world!

posted 2011 Jan 03 by Chip Green

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Featured Photo: Snuggles

Check out Snuggles!

posted 2010 Dec 26 by Chip Green

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Bo Obama’s trainer dead at 52

January 15, 2011

Dawn Sylvia-Stasiewicz, who was the trainer for First Dog Bo Obama, as well as Splash, Sunny and Cappy Kennedy, passed away at Fauquier Hospital in Warrenton, Virginia. She was 52. Ms. Sylvia-Stasiewicz was the co-author of “The Love That Dog Training Program.”
From today’s Washington Post:

She was leading dog training classes days before her death. After being admitted to the hospital, she went into a coma and died of respiratory distress, her friends said.

Ms. Sylvia-Stasiewicz started training Bo, the Obama family Portuguese water dog, at the suggestion of Vicki Kennedy, the wife of the late Massachusetts Democratic senator. The Kennedy family had sent its three dogs, Splash, Sunny and Cappy, to be trained by her and had been pleased with the results.

“She had a wonderful presence,” Vicki Kennedy said Friday in an interview. “They would instantly look up to her.”

Ms. Sylvia-Stasiewicz worked with the Obama family dog for months before she found out who its intended owners were. Kennedy had only requested that Ms. Sylvia-Stasiewicz observe whether the dog would be suitable for a very busy family with two young daughters.

“I trained and lived with him as he were one of my own,” she told the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star in 2009. “He’s sweet and cuddly, and he pays attention to you.”

Bo was an attentive student who never disappointed Ms. Sylvia-Stasiewicz by messing up the carpet.

“I had not one accident ever,” Ms. Sylvia-Stasiewicz said of Bo and Cappy. “It’s been years since I had one like that – a bladder you would kill for.”

Ms. Sylvia-Stasiewicz’s survivors include a son, Blaise, and a daughter, Paige. We extend our deepest condolences to her entire family.

Photo credit: Evan Sklar, Workman Publications.

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Catch the Westminster Online!

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Does your pet have a sixth sense?

Detecting seizures in people before they happen. Sensing an impending earthquake. According to an AP/Petside survey, 43 percent of Americans believe their pet has a sixth sense, an awareness of a bad event about to happen.

South Florida-based executive and president of American Dog Rescue,B Arthur Benjamin, says his poodle Buddy throws a tantrum in order to predict seizures in others.

About a year after adopting Buddy from a shelter, Benjamin’s wife Gail was diagnosed with breast cancer. The disease brought on seizures in Gail. “Before Gail had a seizure, Buddy would make these jerking movements — like he was having a fit — and we realized he could sense the seizures coming on.”

Although Gail has since passed away, Arthur Benjamin and Buddy continue to honor her legacy. Through rescue work they’ve done together, they adopted a second Poodle, Holly, who happens to be epileptic.

“Now Buddy warns me of Holly’s seizures and takes me to her in time for me to give her a shot of Valium, which either lessens or prevents the attack,” Benjamin says.

Do you think your pet has a “special” sense? How has it manifested?

Unthinkable in Robeson County: Shirley at YesBiscuit‘s recent post is best read through latticed fingers. Allegations have been raised that pets being put down in a Robeson County, North Carolina shelter might not be dead when they’re tossed into a truck with dead animals.

Susan Barrett, a local animal activist, “says live animals have been found several times at the landfill”:

“One is too many. And it’s not just the one, not just the two, not just the three. This is happening way too often,” Barrett said.

The number of live pets Robeson has sent to the dump appears to be in dispute. Dr. Locklear puts the number at one:

[Dr. Locklear] confirmed that there was a recent instance in which a live puppy was transported to the landfill, but said he was unaware of any other similar incidents.

He said the animal had been sedated, but the second part of the process — a heartstick or IV injection — was not performed.

“It was just a mistake,” he said. “When it was discovered alive, the puppy was brought to my office, where it was euthanized properly.”

No word on whether the puppy had been medically hopeless and suffering prior to the unimaginable terror he experienced waking up among dead pets at the dump, but Robeson does kill healthy/treatable pets and I don’t know in which category this puppy belonged. In any case, if he was healthy/treatable, what kind of person would go back and finish the job, so to speak, after learning the puppy had been subjected to such horror? I guess what I’m asking is, what would it take to inspire Dr. Locklear to spare one puppy’s life?

This story isn’t over yet, I promise.

Housecat coat colors and patterns: Cat owners have got to check this out. Courtesy of catforum.com, a large graphic showing the wide range and groupings of housecat coat and eye colors and patterns. It’s quite a big chart (click on the image at the right to see it full size), so it may well take you a while to pore over, but I was utterly fascinated — and I don’t own a cat! Can I use the chart to design one?

A Swiss pet’s best friend: In last Thursday‘s news roundup I had a less-than-flattering piece about a Swiss town, so here’s an uplifting story from the land of chocolate, fine timepieces and banks. CBS News has a short video spotlighting Antoine Goetschel, who spends his time defending the rights of abused animals.

Where’s the next party? Laura B. at Embrace Pet Insurance has a story on her blog that was a first for me. How about having your child’s next birthday party at a shelter? The cost is minimal, your kids see the importance of pet adoption up close (you know everyone’s going home with a cat or dog, right?), and it sure won’t be like everyone else’s parties! Ok, I understand all the potential pitfalls, but you have to admit it’s different.

Snow pictures: We’ve dug out from last Wednesday’s storm, which dumped up to three feet of snow in some parts of Massachusetts — almost two feet of the stuff in our yard. Boston Globe readers sent in all kinds of fun snapshots of dogs enjoying the winter wonderland. There are 448 pages, so don’t feel you have to view all of them.

Flashmob for a cause: Australia’s proposed “Oscar’s Law” would abolish puppy mills and prohibit the online sales of animals. The campaign has taken on a decidedly grass roots flavor. Yesterday, supporters of Oscar’s Law gathered as a “freeze flashmob” in Melbourne’s Federation Square to raise awareness for the cause.
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I always like to hear from readers, especially if you have tips, and links for interesting stories.  Give me a shout in the comments, or better yet, send me an e-mail.

Image credit: Hoover, Flickr Creative Commons (jaydavisconsulting). Cat chart, courtesy of catforum.com.

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Featured Photo: Daisy & Her Squeaky

Check out Daisy, a mixed breed puppy asleep with her squeak. What a sweetie!

posted 2010 Dec 26 by Chip Green

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On the road with Willy the Pug

January 17, 2011

My Pug Willy is getting a fan base, and I’m worried he’ll soon decide he’s out of my league.

We were flying back home from Indiana after being at a Karen Pryor clicker trainer school event, and airport security swarmed Willy. I’m not exaggerating when I say the TSA officials, the X-ray analysts, and all the scanners gathered around him until he had over a dozen people cooing over him, petting him and laughing.

When I told them Willy’s vest is representative of his certification through the Delta Society to visit people in hospitals, they all said that he must do his job well, because he was giving them so much joy. One Delta Airlines employee was terrified of dogs after being bitten three times as a child, and she came over to Willy and said how much she admired that he could read her body language and respected the fact that she wasn’t brave enough yet to pet him, but just wanted to look.

One security officer said it best: “Pets are the greatest therapists and bring so much healing! Just look at what your dog is doing to help all of us!”

Good job, Willy!

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