Celebrating Life

Friends of mine recently lost their dog Jasper to cancer.  Then a few months later, they got devastating news again - Tsuga, their other dog, also has cancer.

Tsuga turns 7 today so we went on a walk the other morning to celebrate his birthday and his life.  If we didn't know better, we wouldn't have known anything was wrong.

Tsuga had a blast. He was all smiles, got the zoomies and made new friends.  What more can you ask for?

Happy Birthday Tsuga!  I hope you live each and every day to the fullest just as you have for these past 7 years.

Steroids

By the time Tuesday rolled around this week, Coulee's feet had gotten worse and she was limping on her back left foot.  I emailed the dermatologist and we decided to start the steroids.  I'm glad we did because on our walk on Wednesday one of her front feet started to bleed so I know they definitely are getting worse again. Most days I wonder if I'm just being paranoid.  And I can actually tell by her ear set in the pictures I took that day that she isn't feeling 100%.

She is on 50 mg/day for 30 days after which we'll drop down to 25 mg/day for 30 days.  From what I've heard it is a pretty strong dose.  The plan is to kick it hard in the ass to send it into remission so that hopefully we never see it again.

On Wednesday she literally peed every hour.  She did pretty good overnight though and I'm hoping that will continue.  She survived my 4.5 hour morning shift with no problems too so hopefully she won't need to come to work with me.

So fingers crossed this works.  We haven't come up with a plan if it doesn't, so it better!

Sassy Snow Day

There is nothing like a little snow and cool temperatures to bring out the extra sass in Lacey.

If I get one flying picture from a walk, it means she was sassy... When I manage to get 3 flying pictures from a walk it means she was wild...

Yesterday she was wild.

I took advantage while I could because in about 10 more degrees she is going to become a large black and tan gofer who refuses to budge.  ;)

Craptastic

So I mentioned a few weeks ago that Coulee's feet were doing craptastic.

 

I think I screwed up.

The plan was to soak Coulee's feet for 2 weeks in propylene glycol for 10 minutes a night and if that didn't work, start steroids.  So for two weeks we diligently made Coulee stand in 4 little buckets for 10 minutes every night.  She is really awesome about it, but it is still a struggle.  She sulks, she pulls out her feet, she tries to shift her stance and knocks buckets over, etc.  It sucks. For all of us.  But we did it.  And on day 12 they still looked crappy, but as always seems to happen, almost over night they made a HUGE change.  They appeared dry still (i.e. were grey) but there were no more cracks and the feathering at the tips had disappeared.  Yippee!!!  We finally found something that worked.

We emailed the vet in elation and discussed long term treatment.  She said we'd have to play it by ear but it would probably require soaks just once or twice a week.

Even though they weren't perfect yet, we started to slack.  First we missed a night, then we missed another and then we went 3 days without soaking at all.  Next thing I knew, her feet looked like crap again.  Another email to the vet.  She instructs us to soak them again every day until they are completely healed and then for a solid 2 weeks after that.  Ugh.  But OK.

So we started 17 days ago and have been expecting to see improvement quickly. We weren't starting from as bad a condition as the first time, yet we still haven't seen much improvement. I'm starting to think it was just coincidence that they got better in the first place.

IF (and that is still a big if) this is an autoimmune issue, we can expect to see some waxing and waning of her symptoms.  Which means if we are constantly trying new treatments, something is bound to look like it works.  If we hadn't slacked on the soaks, we'd know for sure whether or not they worked or if it was just coincidence.  I'm so annoyed with myself.

The vet thinks they look better than when she saw them last, and they do, but they sure don't look how they did the first time we soaked them for 14 days straight.  And they sure as hell don't look healthy.

I've agreed to try for 2 more straight weeks before throwing in the towel with this treatment.  If it worked in 2 weeks the first time, there is no reason why it wouldn't work in 4 weeks the second time.  Right?

The good news is they are no longer bleeding and she is no longer on any kind of pain meds.  They don't seem to be slowing her down the way they used to and that is a very good thing.

A Week in Review

Life has sure gotten busy lately.  I am never on the computer, I don't watch TV and I never seem to be home.

So let's see... where did I last leave you...

Monday night I worked.  That's dull.  You don't want to hear about that.

Tuesday night was derby testing.  I did as expected.  I didn't make a complete ass of myself but I didn't pass my laps.  I wasn't disappointed at all with the evening.  The only people who passed were the two girls who had been in fresh meat for a few months and Scot, who started with us, but you could tell on the first night was pretty fearless on skates.  The entire team was there for a practice which was more than a bit intimidating but we also got to help out and watch a scrimmage at the end and that was fun. I continue to be amazed at how friendly and nice this group is.  Seriously.  I've never experienced anything like it.

Wednesday night was Fresh Meat Intake.  There were 10 new girls plus 4 of us from last week.   It was crowded on the track. The new people were going every which way and I'm still not able to turn on a dime to avoid them.  I'm surprised there weren't more collisions.  :) We broke into separate groups to work on things so we got to focus on some stuff we were still a little weak on, while they learned falls and stops.  I discovered I was doing crossovers wrong.  Sigh.  I'd been using my right leg to do all the work and I should be using my left.  

Thursday night I worked on my crossover problem (unsuccessfully), came home, made dinner, ate, soaked Coulee's feet and went to bed.  If it wasn't for soaking Coulee's feet every night for 10 minutes Marlin and I would barely see each other.  At least the soaks are good for something!  More on that in a separate post...

Friday night was more derby.  There seemed to be less people and there was only one instructor for the first part so we worked in one group.  It seemed way less crowded and everyone seemed much more stable.  Phew. One of the newbies said I looked smooth and effortless! LOL. I must have really improved!  Or maybe that was just in comparison to the newbies on the track.  :)  I have put my outdoor wheels on and I feel SO MUCH MORE stable!  I could always feel my indoor wheels sliding to the side, but the outdoor wheels are much, much sticker.  (I used them at work though on Thursday and talk about slow.  I'll need to be sure to change them every time I practice on my own.)  I think I figured out my crossover problem thanks to Jeremiah and Cherry Blaster. :) I'm going to practice this weekend to make sure.

And that's it. My week in review.  I spent the rest of my spare time walking the dogs, and making endless pounds of dog food for our two bottomless pits.

Think Like a Speed Skater

So my first roller derby "test" (aka mini benchmarks) is tomorrow night.  We'll need to demonstrate that we know at least 2 ways to stop, 3 different proper falls, that we can give and receive a (gentle) hit, that we can glide on one foot, that we can do crossovers, that we can jump 3 inches high, write a written test on the rules and that we can do 5 laps in 1 minute.  I think that's it.  But that is enough.

I will not pass.  I can't do 5 laps in 1 minute.  I am slow.  Quite slow. And whenever I try and speed up, I'm not comfortable so I just slow down again.

This weekend I practiced at work 3 times and all I did each time was skate in a circle for an hour. We need to be able to do crossovers in order to get 5 laps completed in a minute.  So that is all I did.   Crossovers, crossovers, crossovers.  Preacher's Slaughter (or Abigail, whichever you prefer) was talking a lot about our centre of gravity at Friday's practice but it wasn't until Saturday that I really got it.  One of the problems with my crossovers was regaining my balance in time to do the next one.  I finally figured it out.  I need to use my arms to transfer my weight back over to my left foot so I'm ready to pick up my right again. With that in mind, I was finally able to do a whole bunch in a row smoothly.  I thought "I've finally got it!!", and promptly crashed to the floor. LOL

I've been told my technique doesn't suck, but that I just need to gain confidence on my skates.  I completely agree with the confidence part, but crashing to my ass really isn't helping.  For example, on Friday we were practicing jumping - I did my first one, crashed to my ass the second time and then COULD NOT work up the nerve to do another one properly.  I don't feel stable on my skates. I don't feel comfortable even just standing on them.  They seem to move in directions that I don't always intend them to.  I watch the experienced women with awe as they glide around effortlessly.

I will be in Fresh Meat for at least another month and I'm perfectly OK with that.  To be honest, I'm scared to move on.  I don't feel like I've mastered this stuff enough yet and I'm not ready to learn even more.

My goal is to pass everything but the laps so that next month, that is all I'll need to do.  Wish me luck!

Randomness

1. I bought Lacey a superman cape.  This makes me happier than you know.

2. I can remember learning to skate in Ontario right outside our back door and using a chair to stay upright.

3. I wish those lessons in skating were helping me now. And I wish I could still use a chair.

4. We have a "mini benchmark" test on Tuesday for roller derby.  I am not going to pass.

5. Being realistic is not the same as being pessimistic.

6. I'm going to practice skating a lot this weekend.

7. Internet "spying" on my business competition often makes me giggle.

8. Coulee's feet are craptastic, but I don't want to talk about it.

9. Lacey is a wild, savage beast this morning.

10. The poor dogs have not had enough attention these last few days.

11. I have SO MUCH TO DO this weekend.

12. I just want to sit on my ass after what felt like a super long week.

13. I'm quite enjoying this randomness thing.

14. I might go and photograph 2 puppies this weekend... if the weather doesn't turn them into frozen pupsicles that is.

15. I just realized yesterday that because we've stopped taking new clients at the daycare, I won't be able to get my puppy fix.  Maybe we'll make a rule - we'll take new clients, but only if they are puppies.  ;)

16. It is only 7:30 on Saturday and I already feel guilty for not doing work.

17. I'm sure a much deeper post could be written about how Lacey is my hero that would be better suited to these photos, but my brain is much too scattered for that.

18. About 20 minutes after these photos were taken a storm rolled in and it was dark, grey and snowing.  Weird eh?

19. I'm going to check out some of the dog show this weekend.  There are no Lancashire Heelers entered.  One day, I'll see one in person.

20. Photographing birds in flight, is a skill I've yet to master.  As only 1 in 20 shots were in focus, this one was obviously a fluke and not talent.  Isn't he pretty?

21.  My brain is finally blank.