So Many People I know have LJ's.....

Gonna keep this short and sweet, because Daughter Dearest is hanging over my shoulder waiting her turn at the computer.... but in all honesty I owe her Many Many Thanks for helping me set this up! She Number One Daughter, you betcha!

So Many People I know have LJ's.....

Gonna keep this short and sweet, because Daughter Dearest is hanging over my shoulder waiting her turn at the computer.... but in all honesty I owe her Many Many Thanks for helping me set this up! She Number One Daughter, you betcha!

Hair Turning Grey -- Again

I swear.... half the grey hairs (carefully touched up with Lady Clairol) on my head have been caused by that Brain-Damaged Bottomless Mooch of a Gaseous Nebula Masquerading as a Canine we call 'Orion', and considering he's only been living with us for five and a half years, that's probably saying something.... something that's probably lewd, crude, and profane.

Orion has Liver Cancer. Non-operable, of course; and forget about treatment. If we were rich and famous maybe we'd be able to find some experimental procedure or chemotherapy.... but us lower middle class income types are *SOL*. Our vet, bless her heart, did research on holistic, alternative treatments.... and now the poor beast is ingesting vitamins, minerals, herbs and spices (KFC, anyone?), and eating a special formula dog food that is supposed to help with digestion and possibly 'starve' the nasty killer crabs into remission. This, I might add, in addition to his seizure medication.

I'm starting to think it's something in the local well water. All three of my darlings: 2-year old Kavhi had bone cancer, Chani developed liver cancer near the end of her long and mostly happy life (15+ years!), and now our dear Master Lickatongue, the Orion Nebulae.

Yesterday morning, he literally scared the snot out of me: I came out to the living room and found him sitting oddly in a very awkward location.... and he couldn't move his hind legs.... I was terrified, thinking that he'd tried to climb up on the sofa and fallen, and either injured his spine or ruptured something internally..... I managed to pull him into a more accessible location, with the thought that I'd have to call our vet and have her send the Animal Ambulance and if he WAS paralyzed or ruptured.... I was crying my eyes out because if he was, then I really didn't think I'd have a choice other than to have our Mr. Fuzzy put to sleep....

I woke our daughter up, told her to get dressed and what the situation seemed to be, then went to get dressed myself intending to call the vet as soon as her office opened..... Orion had spent roughly the last thirty minutes lying on the living room floor, every so often sitting up but apparently unable to move his hind legs....

And Daughter yelled "mom!" and I ran out of the bathroom half-naked and there was Orion standing up on all four legs, wagging his tail and looking reproachfully at his food dish as if asking 'where's breakfast, Mom?'

Long story short: the vet thinks it might have been either temporary paralysis due to pressure from the tumors, or an atypical seizure. Orion was sort of spaced-out the rest of the day but otherwise normal; and today he was his usual pesky, mooching, demanding self again -- thank God. Last October when Orion was diagnosed, the vet told us she couldn't say how long he might have -- it could be a week, a month, half a year -- but as long as his appetite stayed healthy and he wasn't vomiting, and he wasn't in obvious pain and his attitude was good, that we should enjoy him for all he's worth.....

Meanwhile, the Mother Chow Goddess worries and watches more of her hair turn grey.

Hair Turning Grey -- Again

I swear.... half the grey hairs (carefully touched up with Lady Clairol) on my head have been caused by that Brain-Damaged Bottomless Mooch of a Gaseous Nebula Masquerading as a Canine we call 'Orion', and considering he's only been living with us for five and a half years, that's probably saying something.... something that's probably lewd, crude, and profane.

Orion has Liver Cancer. Non-operable, of course; and forget about treatment. If we were rich and famous maybe we'd be able to find some experimental procedure or chemotherapy.... but us lower middle class income types are *SOL*. Our vet, bless her heart, did research on holistic, alternative treatments.... and now the poor beast is ingesting vitamins, minerals, herbs and spices (KFC, anyone?), and eating a special formula dog food that is supposed to help with digestion and possibly 'starve' the nasty killer crabs into remission. This, I might add, in addition to his seizure medication.

I'm starting to think it's something in the local well water. All three of my darlings: 2-year old Kavhi had bone cancer, Chani developed liver cancer near the end of her long and mostly happy life (15+ years!), and now our dear Master Lickatongue, the Orion Nebulae.

Yesterday morning, he literally scared the snot out of me: I came out to the living room and found him sitting oddly in a very awkward location.... and he couldn't move his hind legs.... I was terrified, thinking that he'd tried to climb up on the sofa and fallen, and either injured his spine or ruptured something internally..... I managed to pull him into a more accessible location, with the thought that I'd have to call our vet and have her send the Animal Ambulance and if he WAS paralyzed or ruptured.... I was crying my eyes out because if he was, then I really didn't think I'd have a choice other than to have our Mr. Fuzzy put to sleep....

I woke our daughter up, told her to get dressed and what the situation seemed to be, then went to get dressed myself intending to call the vet as soon as her office opened..... Orion had spent roughly the last thirty minutes lying on the living room floor, every so often sitting up but apparently unable to move his hind legs....

And Daughter yelled "mom!" and I ran out of the bathroom half-naked and there was Orion standing up on all four legs, wagging his tail and looking reproachfully at his food dish as if asking 'where's breakfast, Mom?'

Long story short: the vet thinks it might have been either temporary paralysis due to pressure from the tumors, or an atypical seizure. Orion was sort of spaced-out the rest of the day but otherwise normal; and today he was his usual pesky, mooching, demanding self again -- thank God. Last October when Orion was diagnosed, the vet told us she couldn't say how long he might have -- it could be a week, a month, half a year -- but as long as his appetite stayed healthy and he wasn't vomiting, and he wasn't in obvious pain and his attitude was good, that we should enjoy him for all he's worth.....

Meanwhile, the Mother Chow Goddess worries and watches more of her hair turn grey.