Gromit's Holiday Adventure

It's been a rough Christmas. I was not feeling well a few days before Christmas so my family brought me to the vet where it was discovered that I had pneumonia and possibly some other source for infection - they just didn't know what, or where. I was kept there for two nights so I could get intravenous fluids (because I didn't want to drink or eat at all) and they gave me oxygen through my cute little nose to help me breathe.

I was able to go home on Christmas day, which was the best present my family got. We were all so happy to be together again, but I still wasn't feeling well. I spent most of the day sleeping and snuggling on my Nana's feet on the couch. By Boxing Day morning Mum and Dad knew I wasn't well enough to be home so they brought me back to the vet.
This time the vet discovered a lump on my neck, which they suspected was the source of the infection. They put me back on the IV and oxygen and watched me closely overnight. By the next morning the lump was bigger and my temperature was up vet, who by then suspected it was an abscess decided I would need surgery to drain it. Mum and Dad were very worried for me, but I was in good hands and was very well cared for. I spent one more night in hospital before they decided I was well enough to go home.

I was so happy to see my family again, and to be feeling so much better. My tail has been wagging again, and I have my energy back enough to go up and down the stairs without problem. Dad has been away at work the last few days and I can't wait for him to get home so he can see how much I've improved. I still have a drain tube in my neck that's helping to clear all the infection out, which Mum has been cleaning every few hours, but that will come out in a couple of days. My stitches will come out in a week or so, then hopefully this whole sad story will be over.
Nobody really knows what the cause of the abscess was - perhaps I swallowed a piece of Christmas tree and it cut my esophagus a little bit, just enough to become infected? I might have aspirated some of this which could have caused the pneumonia. We'll probably never know. I'm just happy to be home and feeling on the mend.  

I've been licking my little legs where the IV needles when in because they itch and hurt a little bit. :(

As you can see in this picture taken the day I came home, I still have a lump on my neck, which my vet says will go down in a few weeks (maybe months), but Mum thinks that this morning it seems to have gone down significantly. I was also very swollen in my face at first.
We'll take some more photos when I'm feeling more photogenic (see this week's Fred Basset Friday). I have no Gromit fur from my neck to my chest on my right side, revealing all my cute pink skin, which is not nice in the cold, cold temperatures we're currently experiencing here. I'm just going to take it easy for now, lay around on the cozy beds Mum keeps laying down for me, and keep healing. Tonight Dad comes home and it's New Year's Eve so I want to keep my energy up for a good night with my whole family.

I wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year, and send a special shout out and a huge thank you to my great friends at Northwest Veterinary Hospital for all their tremendous care for me during the Christmas holiday. Doctors and techs came in throughout the holiday (even on Christmas morning!) to take care of me, and my whole family really appreciates all their efforts in making me better. :)

AaarrrrRRRRrrrOOOOooOooooo!

Fred Basset Friday

Wordless Wensleydale

Gotcha Day

Well, it's hard to believe, but it's been 12 months since my forever family came and took me home. Of course, they'd seen pictures demonstrating my cuteness and obvious intellectual superiority, but on the 5th December, 2009 we became a family.

To demonstrate their love for me, they drove 1,100km from Thunder Bay, Ontario to Jackson, Wisconsin. Dad had two herniated discs in his back, but he wasn't going to let that slow him down (of course, his chiropractor knows nothing of this)

I started to assert my human training on the first night. My family had some blankets and toys for me, which they arranged on the floor of the hotel (which was pet-friendly, I might add). However, by 2am, Mum couldn't bear to listen to my pathetic whimpering anymore and took me into bed. While I didn't actually see the look on Dad's face when he rolled over in the night and buried his face in my fur, I did hear his exclamation. Of course, having coerced my humans into letting me sleep on the bed, I continue to this day to assert my rights in that regard.

I don't remember much of the drive home. I spent the trip nestled in the lap of my human sister, who smothered me with love. We have a special bond, the two of us - her hair and my fur are the same colour, so of course we have something special.

When we arrived home, we were greeted by my other big sister, Claire, the Golden Retriever. She didn't really know what to make of me initially. At first, she seemed to think I was a giant chew-toy just for her. She would grab me by the ear and drag me around the floor. Funnily enough, she still does that, but I let her and we have great fun play-fighting. There's lots of growling and noise, but we have lots of fun.

In September this year, we had another addition to the canine family, when Clifford, the minature Dachshund joined the fold. He's permanently wired - Mum calls him Jumping Bean, because he's always hopping around looking for attention. He's really funny - Dad calls him Pokey Nose, because every morning when he comes upstairs he attacks everyone with his nose. Personally, I call him a thief, because he steals all the chew-toys in the house and hoards them in his bed. Claire and I think he may be a spy or something, because he's always interrogating the stuffies and making notes about them.

Anyway, that's pretty much my first year here summed up. I've had a lot of fun and have a great family behind me. Between the humans and my canine brother and sister, I can't complain.

             

Fred Basset Friday