emmett Archives - Page 2 of 18

On trying to stick with letting go (or, That time I couldn’t take Emmett to his oncology appointment)

01•18•17

Today, for the first time ever, John took Emmett to Purdue for his quarterly staging appointment without me.

He only ever took Lucas once without me, so this is only the second time ever that I’ve missed a Purdue appointment. For a million reasons big and small, it just didn’t make sense for us both to go today, and it made better sense that John take the day off than I.

And yet…

But, with my theme of the year–letting go–resounding in my head, I did it. I let go.

There’s something about being there that makes me feel like I have a little more control over a situation with which I have zero control. Does that make any sense?

These appointments are unpredictable, too. The pattern is the same: a vet student does his intake paperwork and then walks away with my baby, then sometime later that day they call my cell to say he’s done. But the timing is completely erratic. During that time, he goes through a slew of tests like ultrasounds and X-rays and blood work. He and his results are looked at by students, residents, and the attending. Depending on the other patients on each particular day, he’s been finished as early as 2 and as late as 7.

{{Aside: The cafe at the vet school is terrible. Truly awful. The food is gross and expensive, and the WiFi doesn’t work. There are a a dozen squished-together tables but no outlets for laptops. If I ever become a super rich millionaire, I promise to endow the vet school with a cafe deserving of those hard-working students and staff. I’ll name it after Emmett.}}

It is a long, stressful day of waiting, compounded by the fact that I’m forced to drive to a coffee shop since I can’t get any work done in the cafe. Well, not I today. John.

So, even though I’m waiting at home, with reliable internet and coffee that doesn’t cost $5 and Cooper, Newt, and Otto to keep me company… the stress isn’t diminished. It’s compounded by feeling so very far away.

Just before the holidays, Emmett’s platelets tanked. He was on exercise restriction, and they told us the signs to watch for hemorrhaging. We repeated the blood test and kept getting low results. Last week, he made a full and complete recovery in both his platelets and his white blood count. This dog is determined to keep me on my toes. But it makes me wonder what today will bring.

I’m grateful beyond measure that he’s still with us. No one, not us and definitely not his vet team, expected this. That thought is what I’m keeping in mind today when he’s so far away from me and it’s all so out of my hands, out of my control.

John texted me this pic from the waiting room:

I thought he looked unhappy. John said he’s just exhausted.

Which is probably true…

But, here I wait. It’s all I can do. It’s all any of us can do, I suppose, since we truly have such little control over nearly everything.

I fully intended this post to be an update about Em’s blood work, but I guess the stress made me take a philosophical turn. Sorry about that. 🙂 Anyway, hope your day is going well! I’ll share when I know more.

In the meantime, you can catch up on Emmett’s latest escapades here and here.

Can dogs benefit from acupuncture? Heck yeah they can!

01•06•17

Ever since I mentioned on Instagram that Emmett started acupuncture, so many people have asked me the same question: Really?! Can dogs get acupuncture?

Heck, yes! And with it comes tremendous benefits.

First, a reminder that I’m not a vet. I’m not a vet tech or an acupuncturist or in medicine in any way, shape, or form. I’m a writer. This is my experience and not meant to advise, suggest, or claim anything in any way.

Long backstory short: A misdiagnosis of arthritis in his hind legs led us down the wrong path with Emmett. At the same time as receiving that incorrect information, his oncologist suggested a neuro exam for some trembling in his legs. Ultimately, the correct diagnosis is arthritis along his spine that’s pinching some nerves and causing neuro problems.

He was trembling, tripping, stumbling, and falling because he literally had no feeling in his back feet and little feeling in his back legs.

The good news? He’s not in pain.

The bad news? He’s not in pain… so he doesn’t realize he needs to limit himself and his activity.

The only times he does experience pain is when he flings himself off the deck or slips and sploots on the kitchen floor or otherwise injures himself. Then he’s sore. Otherwise, he’s just a big, clumsy mess.

I started researching options and found a vet rehab specialist here in town. Hallelujah! I filled out her super extensive patient profile information, and she got back to me and said that she felt good that acupuncture was an option and that she makes house calls. Hallelujah, times two!

Since August she’s been coming over almost weekly for an acupuncture session, and here’s the thing: The week before Christmas, the toes of his back right leg–his worst leg–twitched during the session. Last week? His back right twitched as the needles were placed.

In other words, he had feeling in his back leg.

I think this calls for our third hallelujah!

The other question I get asked a lot is if it helps with his cancer. Well, there is some evidence in people that acupuncture helps the immune system, which would ultimately help not by fighting cancer on his behalf but by keeping him healthy enough to fight the fight.

For the cancer question: A lot of vet rehab includes laser treatments, and our vet does perform that treatment. However, there’s a risk in dogs who already have cancer, as Em does, so we’re skipping that treatment.

Another: Does acupuncture hurt my dog? I’ve had acupuncture myself, and I can say it didn’t hurt me. I can’t speak for Em, but I will say that he most often dozes off a bit. (It doesn’t hurt that she gives him a super great massage each week!) When he flinches, I don’t know if it’s pain or if it’s more just a startle reflex. I don’t think he’s in pain, though.

For Emmett’s case specifically, there’s no chance that he’ll “get better.” Instead, our focus is on keeping him stable. Honestly, he’s struggling with mobility big time. He’s graduated past ToeGrips recently and is now in rubber-gripped boots. I can share more about that later, since it’s not really about acupuncture. But, the ultimate goal of the acupuncture, I think, is to keep him pain-free and alleviate as much as we can of the arthritis/neuro issues.

Acupuncture treats a whole slew of health issues, not just arthritis.

I did ask if it could help calm Cooper the crap down.

She said no, probably not.

Ah, well. Worth asking.

If you think it might help your dog, I’d encourage you to pursue treatment. I think it’s helped Emmett tremendously, and others have commented on that to us, too!

So, what questions do you have about acupuncture in dogs? Have you tried this with your pup? Or even yourself? I’d love to hear your experiences!

How Emmett Being a #WellnessPet Helps Protect the Planet

12•19•16

We’ve gotten to know each other a bit over the years, but one thing I haven’t been blatant about… until now… is that I’m a fanatical recycler.

If someone in my visual range is about to throw something away, something that I suspect can maybe be recycled in some way, I always ask, “Hey, can’t that be recycled?” Or, “Couldn’t that go in the compost bin?” (Apparently in addition to my fanaticism, I’m also passive aggressive in my recycling efforts…)

Anyway, years ago, I was beyond thrilled to discover that this one particular boxed wine that was actually pretty good had a partnership with upcycle and recycle leader TerraCycle®. So, when we finished a box of wine, we could print a free shipping label and mail it off to be recycled AND to earn points for nonprofits, like schools.

OK. So, what does this have to do with dog food?

This post is sponsored by Wellness® and the BlogPaws™ Pet Influencer Network™. I am being compensated to help share the availability of Wellness Products at PetSmart, but we only share information we feel is relevant to our readers. Neither Wellness nor PetSmart is responsible for the content of this article.

Our good friends at Wellness recently partnered with TerraCycle to recycle dog food bags! And there was much rejoicing!

{{May I digress for a moment? For a Twitter chat about Wellness last week, I wondered how long it’s been since we’ve been feeding Wellness. Lightbulb! I could search the blog! I found the oldest mention of Wellness in 2009 when, after exhaustive research, I had decided to make the switch. How fun is that?! And holy moly… how young do Emmett and Lucas look?!}}

Seriously, though, we have tossed so many of those bags over the years, and even though we’d use them first as trash bags to get a longer life out of them, I always wondered why the heck they couldn’t be made of a recyclable material.

Here’s the deal:

Wellness is dedicated to long-term sustainability by embracing and supporting recycling efforts.

TerraCycle enables that by collecting and recycling the material, while allowing you–the recycler–to earn points for donations to your favorite nonprofit. (If your org isn’t listed, they can sign up on the TerraCycle website.)

Learn more about how the recycling program works and how to mail in (for free) your Wellness dog food bags to earn donations! One note: There are drop-off locations around the country, so that’s an option, too, though there isn’t one near us.

Totally the best possible reason to buy Emmett more Wellness from PetSmart, right? Well, maybe not the best… that’s the health and nutrition inherent in their formulas, which you can read about here… but among the best reasons!

My bottom line: Emmett is my best friend. I am committed to feeding him the best, which is why we choose Wellness. The fact that we can now recycle the packaging? That’s the cherry on the dog-food-sundae!

I can take the best possible care care of him while being a good steward to the environment. How can you beat that?

Visit PetSmart® to check out the extensive Wellness lineup in order to pick the right food for your dog. We switch between CORE (as you saw in our last post) and Complete Health (pictured below), which is what Em’s eating today!

Then, give back to the greater community by signing up with TerraCycle and recycling your Wellness packaging!

What do you guys think? Pretty awesome, right? It’s one of my personal missions to support companies that work to make the world a better place. Join me?

And please say hi to our sponsor on social! You can find Wellness on Facebook and Instagram.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Wellness. The opinions and text are all mine.

On Aging with Grace: Emmett’s latest geriatric escapades

12•16•16

About two weeks ago, it became clear that Emmett was having that problem again.

You know.

The problem with his… erm… peep.

That same day, his oncologist called to say that she needed some updated blood work to authorize his chemo refill, so we trundled off to the vet to have the CBC done, along with the swab for his chronic man problem.

Typically, his blood tests go like this: Front desk gal gushes all over him, he hops on the scale but wags too much to get a solid read on his weight, the tech takes him back to draw blood, the vet gives the thumbs up, we’re out the door. Fifteen minutes. Twenty if there’s extra gushing.

So, when the vet sat down and started a physical exam, we knew something was wrong.

His platelets tanked. They weren’t in the terrifying zone where they can bleed out from spontaneous hemorrhaging, but he was just north of that number. By this time, because we had an evening appointment, Purdue’s oncology department was closed for the night. So, our local vet sent us home with instructions to keep him on restriction: no exercise, no being around unknown dogs, etc. A bleed would be very bad. She’ll call in the AM…

His incredible oncologist called first thing the next day and went over the details. His platelet count had to recover–though sometimes it never does in long-term chemo patients. So, we stopped his chemo that day and planned a CDC recheck in one week.

A week later, his numbers were a smidge higher but not high enough to be safe.

So, he’s off chemo. The risks of the bleeding far outweigh the risks of tumor growth at this point.

Now we wait.

They’ll recheck his platelet count in early January, then he goes up to Purdue for a full workup mid-January.

In the meantime, she said it’s cool for him to take a short meander around the block since he loves it so much, but no running (ha!! Emmett running?!?!) and no rough play. The bleeding risk is too great. It’s not like he and Cooper play all that rough, but they do sometimes plod around and bash into each other, so we’re having to keep an eye on Coop, too.

All stressful stuff.

Luckily, the penis infection is clearing up. 😀

Poor Emmett…

Aging is not easy.

But, he’s doing it with grace. I mean, he had his manpart swabbed–for the millionth time–and blood drawn every six weeks for the last two years, and he STILL loves the vet tech. He adores the vet’s office, even the oncology ward at Purdue!

He is nothing but happy. Full of joy and life and love.

His new challenge is winter. We got our first round of snow and ice, and it sent us for a bit of a tailspin. The ToeGrips that have served him so well for so long were no match to the slick and snowy deck and yard.

He kept falling, which is incredibly dangerous on top of the platelet issue. What if he bashed his chin or got a cut or bruise?

So, now he has boots! They’re aahhhhhmazing. He’s been almost entirely slide-free since we got them.

“This is so humiliating…”

And, yeah, that’s Cooper wearing a double-layer fleece because this morning was -4 degrees, and he flat-out refuses to go outside unless he’s bundled up. John’s been joking that he should find a way to knit some kind of full-body/snuggy-type thing for the little bean.

Anyway, between the struggles with the arthritis in his spine, loss of muscle mass, penis infections, platelet counts, and so on… this aging business is no joke.

But, man, he’s happy. He’s so full of joy and excitement, no matter what, no matter how many times he gets his peep swabbed. And that’s all you can ask for, right?

Well, that and an improved platelet count…

Emmett Takes on Life, Love, and the Pursuit of Healthy Dog Food #WellnessPet

11•18•16

Emmett tackles life with gusto.

Everything he does, he does with force and vigor. He finds fun everywhere–even the vet–and he assumes something good is around every corner. His optimism knows no bounds. He’s a model for good living, I think.

This post is sponsored by Wellness and the BlogPaws™ Pet Influencer Network™. I am being compensated to help share the availability of Wellness Products at PetSmart, but we only share information we feel is relevant to our readers. Neither Wellness nor PetSmart are responsible for the content of this article.

But, a natural extension of good living, of course, is healthy living.

I’m going to be sharing a lot about loving and caring for a senior dog in the coming weeks (November is Senior Dog Month!) but one of the most important things in any area of health is food. As you guys know, Emmett’s been known to have a complete and utter lack of sense when it comes to food. He’s our very own Cartman.

He’s also 13. And he has cancer. And he’s my best friend in the whole entire world, so of course I’ll do anything for this guy.

He loves food and he loves outings. One of the ways I can make sure he’s enjoying these twilight years is by combining those two greatest loves! Emmett gets to go on tons of trips to PetSmart. Pretty much anytime we need to buy his food, we bring him along. Or sometimes we’ll just make a special trip out of it. (And, truth be told, sometimes we take him through the Starbucks drive-thru on these outings and get him a puppy latte… no, not healthy, but everyone deserves an indulgence once in a while!)

It’s on me to keep him healthy. That’s why he’s been eating Wellness® Core®.

But it’s also on me to keep him happy. That’s why he goes to PetSmart! (And Starbucks!)

I know not all dogs love getting out and about, but the fact is… I draw a lot of parallels between Emmett and his health and happiness with seniors in retirement communities. The happiest and healthiest people are the ones who get out and about, get some exercise–mental and physical–and take care of their bodies.

Since Emmett is Cartman in a dog’s body, it’s my job to make sure that happens.

So, why Wellness? They have a promise they call The Wellness Difference: “The Wellness Difference is about being more than natural. And it’s not about what is left out—no fillers, or artificial ingredients—these are a given for us. True Wellness is about what we put in—a small number of simple, pure, authentic ingredients. We believe this is the way to make superior food for our animals.”

They don’t put in junk; they only use good ingredients. I only want the best for Emmett in every single thing, and most especially his food, so this works for us. The fact that it’s available at PetSmart and I can combine picking it up with taking Emmett out is icing on the kibble!

He’s happy, I’m happy. He’s healthy, I’m even happier!

The herd, patiently waiting for their dinner… maybe not so patiently… Newt actually chewed a hole through Emmett’s bag of Wellness. Again. Sigh.

Anyway, all that said, and because this food has worked so well for him for so long, I wanted to share a coupon with you guys in case you were interested in trying it out for your pups. This is for the Complete Health line, which we wrote about a few months ago. We’re feeding Em the Core right now, but we switch back and forth because both have really great grain-free options. The Complete Health is a bit more affordable, and with the holidays around the corner, we can all stand to save a few bucks, right? Save $5.00 off any 24 lb. bag of Complete Health™ Dog Food at PetSmart (but it expires 11/30/16).

Now, if only I could get Emmett to STOP jumping on the checkout counter at PetSmart… but, he says, “YOLO!! They’ve got cookies!”