Not What We Were Expecting...

About two weeks ago we were awakened by one of the most effective "alarms" a dog owner can have; the sound of a dog in the process of throwing up. Skylar vomited another two times throughout the night. Then came issues with the back end. We suspected she was going to have issues while we were at work so we made sure to crate her by herself (she usually shares a crate with her brother). Sure enough, I arrived home to a wonderful scene of a dog in a crate surrounded by vomit and diarrhea. Unfortunately I have experience in addressing this type of scenario. A trip to the vet and a few days of a bland diet and some meds and Skylar got back to normal.

Skylar, being normal.

A few days later her brother Braxton starts to do the same thing. We get him on the mend. Then Friday of last week Darby decides its his turn at being sick. Braxton happened to have a follow up appointment with our vet on the next day. So we email her and ask if Darby can tag along to get checked out. 

Braxton, using the ottoman as his dog bed

At the vet, she tells us Braxton looks great and his knee has fully recovered from his surgery. Then she looks at Darby and says, "I am concerned at what I see."

Wait, what?!

She shows us Darby's eyes are yellow and his gums are very pale; he is jaundiced. She runs some blood work and the results show his liver is in very bad shape. 

We need start treatment immediately.

This is not how this trip the vet was supposed to go. We were supposed be told we to give him the same bland diet and meds as the other two dogs and in a few days he would be back to normal.

We aren't supposed to find out we need to start supportive liver treatment immediately and if things don't improve start considering an ultrasound to look for tumors and start considering comfort and quality of life.

This hit us hard, really hard. We are not ready to lose this fluffy guy. Not yet. He's starting to get old, but he isn't that old.

The next few days were a real challenge as Darby needed to take one set of pills on an empty stomach and another pill with food. He pretty much refused to eat anything. He would show interest in food, but wouldn't eat. If he did eat something he wouldn't eat it again. We tried everything we could think of to get him to eat; chicken, yogurt, cheese, ham; even bacon. Not even the glorious smell of bacon could get him to eat. 

Things were looking bleak.

On Tuesday before his follow up appointment with the vet, he showed a higher interest in food. He ate! We waited a few hours and fed him again. He ate again! We waited another few hours and he ate again! Then he vomited; ok maybe we shouldn't have been so cavalier with the feed.

That afternoon the vet said the results of his blood work were mixed. Some numbers had improved,  and a different increased a small amount. He still looked jaundiced. However, his increase in appetite was encouraging, so the doctor said we should continue doing what we were doing. 

By Thursday night he was eating normally (although he was trying to work us get some of that nice human food we had been offering him earlier in the week). Even better he started playing with Skylar and Braxton; and ended up picking out a ball for me to toss. 

Good boy.

Friday at the vet, she said his eyes were clear, and his gums were the correct color. His blood work showed that nearly everything was back to normal levels or clearly trending in the right direction. She wants to see him next week.

Thanks for pulling through buddy. We weren't ready to say goodbye.

Darby trying to convince me to toss his ball for him.

Darby, almost exactly 11 years ago.

The Pumpkin Spider

Last week I noticed a single web line show up in our yard. It caught my attention because it stretched between our patio heater and a shepherd's hook holding our hummingbird feeders. This is a distance of about 8-10ft (2.5m-3m), with no trees or structures above

. The following morning I noticed the web was complete. So I made mental note that the web actively being maintained. The next morning I was able to meet architect of this marvel:

It was eating breakfast and while I was about to leave for work, I decide to take the opportunity of the good morning light to take some portraits of this engineering master. I took several photos from different angles. Then I left for work.

The following morning was now a Saturday and so I decided to take some more photos of the builder while it was enjoying it's breakfast. I noticed the web was different. There as void in a different part of the web and I assume it was because a hummingbird had flow through the web on it's way to the feeder.

I was able to watch her finish her meal, and then descend into the bush below until she was out of sight. After I finished my yard work, I decided to use my Google-Fu to learn more about this new occupant in my backyard. It is a Marbled Orb-Weaver or Pumpkin Spider. It will take down and rebuild the web almost every night (I witnessed part of this process last night).

Only portions of the web are sticky and it remembers which portions are which. It will eat the old web in order to recycle it into new web. Here's a link where you can read more about these fascinating little creatures. Click on any of picture above to view them full screen. I also posted a photo over on my flickr page as well.

Re: Roadrunner

Over the last several years I have neglected flickr (which somewhat saddens me, as it was the first social network I used and I learned so much about photography thanks to flickr). Even more neglected was my flickr mail. Today for whatever reason, a notification about a flickr message did not get dumped into it's usual folder and made it's way to my inbox.

It was a message from an individual regarding the photo shown below.

The individual is a "Norwegian Non-fiction author, I write and illustrate books about animals for kids." 

They had made a book about bird facts and folktales from around the world and used my photograph as reference for one of the illustrations (below):

A nice little gem for my day.

I started to look through the remaining unread messages from flickr and realized I have several more messages from other creators asking if they may use photos on different artistic mediums of their own creation. I have sent a few replies, I don't expect responses given some of the messages are older than 6 months... but maybe... it was rewarding to discover several of my photos had engendered inspiration in others.  

Hug From A Stranger

I wondered when (or if) I would start blogging again. Facebook memories has reminded me of several blog posts over the last few months; which in turn reminded me of one of reasons I started this blog:maintain and improve writing skills that weren't needed by working in the technology industry.

Today provided me with a pretty good prompt, so here goes...

I stopped for a cup of coffee on my way to work this morning. As I got out of my vehicle I walked past another vehicle with an elderly man sitting in the front passenger seat and a woman out side of the vehicle saying,

"Dad I need you to unlock it."
"Push the button. No, not that button the other button."
"Dad push the unlock button."

I immediately recognized the situation.

I paused for a moment to offer help, but I knew for the confused elderly gentlemen a stranger giving directions would only add to the confusion so I continued on my way.

Suddenly I hear a car alarm going off and turn to see that it is coming from the woman's car. At this point I could see she was relieved to have the car open, but frustrated and embarrassed that her car alarm was doing its car alarm thing. She grabbed something from inside the car and then hurried past me into the coffee shop.

As she went buy, I asked if she needed any help.

"No, thank you it's just my dad." she replied over her shoulder.

I saw her approach another woman carrying a sizable order and say, "Give me the keys, Dad set off the car alarm."

I was holding the door open at this point and as she hurried back past me I said, "Don't worry, it's only a car horn. It's not a big deal."

"Thank you." she replied as both left the coffee shop.

As I finished paying for my order I felt a tap on the shoulder and turned around. It was the woman from the parking lot.

"Thank you! I really needed to hear what you said and it meant a lot." she said and then gave me a quick hug.

"You're welcome, I have been there with my dad. Roll with it as best you can and keep him safe."

Her thanks made my day and will be an event I will long remember; a hug from a stranger.