Hiking Hounds

Things that Moan and Groan in the Night

2012-01-25T13:51:00.000-08:00

I thought that title would get your attention. :-) But no... I'm talking about the beloved Zephyr. Since last summer sometimes Zephyr moans and groans during his sleep, mostly during the night when I'm trying to sleep. He didn't do this before he got encephalitis, or a least not to this extent. I thought I would describe this and then maybe some of you could tell me if any of your dogs do a similar thing.

First let me say that I really don't think it's dreaming. It seems to only happen when he moves while sleeping, like when he rolls over, stretches out, any type of body adjustment. A lot of the time it sounds to me like he is uncomfortable or somehow frustrated, sometimes it just sounds like a normal groan. Sometimes it is so loud that it wakes me up, and that's when the worrying can set in. You see, in the couple days that Zephyr was sick before we made the mad dash to the neurology center in Phoenix and I found out that he had encephalitis, he was groaning when he tried to sleep because his head hurt. In addition, I was alerted to everyone of Zephyr's seizures because each began with a very loud kind of groan/yell.

Hence, I have spent many sleepless nights worrying that he is groaning because the encephalitis is coming back. Luckily everyone of those nights has been greeted with a happy boy who vigorously shakes his head with no pain and goes about wagging his tail. I try to remind myself of this during the sleepless nights, but there is no logic at 2:30 in the morning. Oh yes, and there are the few times that I've thought he was having a seizure, thrown the covers off, flew out of bed only to scare the crap out of the animals, sending them flying up and standing there looking at me as if to say "What The Hell Are You Doing, Crazy Lady!!!"

I have a few ideas for why he might be doing this. I first noticed it in July when I reduced his prednisone and I noticed it happen in December and January when I reduced it. Even though I did small reductions, 1.25mg, spaced at least 2 weeks apart I think for the first one or two nights it made him achy and maybe that's why he would groan. For a week now he's only been taking the 5mg of prednisone in the morning. A lot of the time it does sound like a groan from being achy. And, I read that when people reduce prednisone it can make them feel not so great and achy because the body has to get used to going back to producing it's own cortisone. The night after he had his first big run in the snow in the forest he was very moany and groany. So I figured that was from the fact that it's a lot more work for him to run in pretty deep snow and he was probably stiff and achy from that. He did seem a little stiff in the morning after that. But what about the nights that don't follow a prednisone reduction or heavy playing or running? And what about the nights that he doesn't moan and groan? Are some dogs just moany and groany when they sleep? Zephyr is generally a pretty vocally expressive guy, he can really talk it up and tell you what he thinks. Could the seizure med. do funny things? Any one have experiences like this or any ideas?

Astro's Rally Practice

2012-01-18T18:08:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I took Astro to a Rally obedience run through in Phoenix. Rally is a more casual type of obedience where you and your dog walk through a course and perform different things when you reach the signs on the course. Your allowed to talk to and encourage your dog throughout the course. You start off with 100 points and points are deducted for mistakes depending on how severe they are. When you start off at novice level your dog is on leash. At the advanced and excellent levels your dog is off leash healing with you.

We've been practicing a lot at home and in a few outdoor locations, but I wanted him to get some practice in a new location with distractions. He can still get pretty goofy when we go to practice things in new locations. This was an indoor facility with new sights, sounds, and smells. On the other side of the room an Obedience run through was going on. We did the course twice and the second time I was able to get someone to video us. At the beginning of the video there is a guy who I'm just going to say is ignorant and is using the old style of popping the leash to try to get his dogs attention. It's annoying to say the least.

I thought Astro did a great job being in a totally new location. We weren't perfect but his focus was great and he was really working with me. I love how his little tail was wagging the whole time! I started over because his sit was off to the side and figured I'd take advantage of being able to practice it again. We hit the cone which was kind of my fault, I didn't leave enough room for Astro. My friend pointed out that sometimes I move my had with the leash behind and that can cause the leash to be tight even though Astro's not pulling. I also think I need to leave the leash a little longer to make sure it doesn't get tight. I'm always worried that it will get in the way and wrapped up. But those are little things that can be worked on. Overall I am thrilled with how well he did!

A Birthday in Pictures

2012-01-16T21:09:00.000-08:00

Zephyr had a great 5th birthday. Here are some of the highlights.

It's my birthday, this is my bunny!

Look mom, we're alligators! Ha, Ha, Ha, we are so funny!

You're going to make what for my birthday?!

Holly Cow! We're having Liver Cake ...

and Tuna Sardine Fudge!!!

Why is she torturing us?

By the time the next picture was snapped the plates were empty.

A birthday Hike!

Yipee!!

I think...

I'm...

Going to...

Get nutty...

and be goofy!!

Swoosh!

Thanks for all the nice birthday wishes. It was a busy weekend and a grand time was had by all.

TODAY IS......

2012-01-06T09:16:00.000-08:00

ZEPHYR'S BIRTHDAY!!!!

I don't think I can express just how happy I am that Zephyr is celebrating his 5th birthday today! Almost a year ago he came down with encephalitis and I came very close to loosing him. Thanks to some excellent veterinarians and Zephyr's strong will, my boy is doing great!

We have lots of fun planned for Zephyr over the next few days that I'll share with you when it's over.

If all goes well Zephyr will be finished with his chemo treatments (his procarbazine was reduced to twice a week Dec. 1) and only taking 5mg of prednisone once a day (down from twice a day) within two weeks. I have to admit I'm still pretty nervous about what will happen as we take him off the meds., but very happy about it at the same time.

Over the past few months he has really flourished and gotten back in to shape. With his four CCNU treatments and the warm summer temperatures he lost a lot of muscle tone, lost a lot of fur, and gained a lot of weight (to about 100 lbs.). He's looking quite svelte now, weighing in at a little less than 92 lbs. this week, fur slowly filling in, and zipping and bouncing around like a young pup.

Happy Birthday baby boy! I love you so much!!

Can't You Hear Them Laughing?

2012-01-03T20:11:00.000-08:00

Welcome 2012!

2011-12-31T22:48:00.000-08:00

We are all happy for the new year and looking forward to lots of fun in 2012.

I'm so happy to have celebrated the holidays watching Zephyr and Astro have a great time.

Our few days in Phoenix over Christmas were really nice. The weather was great. The mornings were crisp, there's actually frost on the grass, and then the days warmed up to the 60s.

Astro gave some love to Grandma.

Zephyr spent quality time with Grandpa.

PJ took out Astro. :-)

Zephyr and Astro love the big grassy yard and had many runs like this. We also practiced some agility, but no video of that. Zephyr's been doing great.

The night after Christmas we went to Zoo Lights at The Phoenix Zoo. I'd heard that it was really good and it didn't disappoint.

We were almost run over by these racing deer.

I was surprised that it was so busy after Christmas. We had to park in the overflow lot and there was a huge line to get tickets. Luckily we had pre-purchased ours and walked right in.

I'd never seen a light show like this and was really impressed.

Back at home the fashionista is still at it, and she hasn't even returned Zephyr's collar yet.

The boys got to open some more pressies when we got home.

Astro got a bag of chicken strips and Zephyr got a bag of duck strips. Yum!

I hope you have a great 2012!

Snow Days

2011-12-25T07:10:00.000-08:00

Zephyr and Astro having a great time in our recent snow storm. We are enjoying the warm temperatures and soft grass of Phoenix for Christmas. Happy Christmas!

Happy Holidays

2011-12-19T21:00:00.000-08:00

Wishing You All a Wonderful Winter and Happy and Healthy New Year!

Zephyr, Astro, Riley, Pablo, Annie, and I are sending you and your hounds best wishes for the holidays and the new year. This year was tough with Zephyr getting encephalitis and I really appreciate all of the nice supportive messages you all sent. Thank you! Zephyr is doing great! I've continued to reduce his medicines and he's feeling even better.

We are also looking forward to Winter Solstice and the return of the sun. Zephyr's registered name is Cebar Winter Solstice Zephyrus FC. I chose that because he was born in early January, Zephyrus is the Greek god of the west wind that gently blows in spring, and he definitely makes life brighter. :-)

This is the final card that I made at Shutterfly. I'm really happy with it and wanted to send it out to everyone. The inside has a collage of pictures of the dogs and cats and the back even has a picture. I couldn't get that to show, but all of the pictures are one's that I've already posted on the blog so you can imagine, it's really cute. ;-)

Enjoy the Holidays!

Feel the Love

2011-12-18T07:42:00.000-08:00

Many thanks to Nibs at BrindleHounds and A Dogs Journey for giving us the Liebster Blog award! We are feeling double the love here. :-) They actually gave us the award a week ago, but I've been a little busy and am finally getting around to passing it on.

Here are the rules to follow for accepting the award.

Liebster means “dearest” in German, and the award is intended to help up-and-coming blogs get the attention they deserve. As with any award, there is a bit of ceremony involved. In order to accept the award, we must do the following:

1. Copy and paste the award on our blog.

2. Link back to the blogger who gave us the award

3. Pick our five favorite blogs with less than 200 followers, and leave a comment on their blog to let them know they have received the award.

4. Hope that the five blogs chosen will keep spreading the love and pass it on to five more blogs

Since I received the Liebster award twice I'm going to award it to six other blogs. Enjoy!

1. Graceful Greyhounds - Sue and Song share the love from Norfolk, England.

2. Itsa Great Day at Greyhound Gardens - Spreading love from Oregon.

3. Luna's Life in the Garden State - Giving lots of love to their recovering girl Luna.

4. A Dog Blog - Sharing love with Ferg and fosters in Maryland.

5. Crafting 4 Greyhounds - Creatively spreading the love from Norfolk Broads in the UK.

6. Jennifer Zalewski Studio - Sharing artistic love from New York.

Fashionista

2011-12-08T10:29:00.001-08:00

Miss Annabelle Lee Pinkerton is a true fashionista. After a hike one day for some reason I laid Zephyr's collar on the floor next to the couch. A few hours later this is what I find. Annie decided to try on Zephyr's collar. BTW, the knitting you see peeking out of the bag is the sweater I've been making for Zephyr. It's taken awhile because I've really had to alter the pattern because Zephyr is much bigger than even the biggest size, and I'm just a slow knitter.

Annie looks quite proud of herself. She was rolling around on Zephyr's collar and managed to get it on. She then proceeded to walk around the house with her new accessory. I have to agree, it looks stunning on her. :-)

It fit her perfectly and didn't seem to impede her climbing abilities. After this I put the camera down and forgot about the little fashionista. A bit later she showed up without the collar and I went to retrieve it. Alas, it could not be found and hasn't been seen since. I've looked in all the normal and not so normal places and haven't been able to find the collar. She must have a secret place for all her favorite things. Luckily, Zephyr and Astro can tend to be metrosexual and have many collars to choose from, therefore not missing out on any walkies. ;-)

Thanksgiving Hike

2011-12-02T14:36:00.001-08:00

Astro and I went on a hike in Woods Canyon with friends Thanksgiving weekend. This was Astro's first time carrying a pack on a long hike, it was a little over 9 miles. His pack only weighed five pounds and didn't seem to slow him down.

Chris and Dan with Friday, Linus, and Astro.

Chris, on the right, organizes all of the pack hikes through the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Club of America. Thanks Chris!

This is the trail that we saw some cows on last winter. No cows this time. Actually there were no other people on the trail so the dogs got to do a lot of off leash hiking.

I was a little worried about letting Astro off leash in this areabecause there are a lot of cactus. He did a great job though and hadno cactus incidents.

A rare photo of me with a dog.

Astro did finally slow down a little towards the end of the hike. He definitely likes to be out in front of the group exploring around though. But, he won't go too far and always stops to wait or comes back to the pack.

At the end of the hike there was a nice walk along a small creek. Walking along in the grass and oak leaves and taking a dip in the cool water was a great ending for the day.

Forgotten Astro Post

2011-11-30T21:25:00.000-08:00

I just found this old post that I forgot to publish. It's from last year. The pictures are pretty cute, so I thought I would post them anyway.

With our friend Elaine.

Swooning over Annie.

In the mist.

Astro has such a sweet face with the best expressions. All I have to do is look at him and raise my eyebrows a few times, wink, smile, or turn my head and it will really get him going and being goofy.

Running Free

2011-11-29T13:11:00.001-08:00

I feel the wind in my face!

On November 17 I took some deep breaths, unhooked the leash, and let Zephyr run free in the forest with Astro.

And the ground under my feet!

Then I had to remind myself to keep breathing. :-)

We'll run

This was the first time the boys had really run together and explored the forest since March when Zephyr became sick with encephalitis. Of course they've run and played in the yard, etc., and there was a very short run on our fall outing.

And race

Running in the open forest with your brother can inspire all kinds ofacts of greatness. Because of this I wanted to wait until Zephyr hadbuilt up some muscle tone to reduce the risk of him getting hurt whiletwisting and flying through the forest like all good dogs do.

Until we are complete!

I'm very happy to report that no big injuries have occurred. Only some cuts and scrapes from forest debris, one kind of big on the front of his back foot. I was worried about two things, that something would happen to trigger the encephalitis to come back (I will always worrying about that) or he would run or twist too hard and hurt himself. Zephyr has done a great job. Sometimes Astro will try to get him going after he's kind of tired, but Zephyr's been really good about listening to his body not overdoing it.

The plants smell extra fresh!

Zephyr is so happy to be able to roam the forest again. He's gone out about six times now. It's great to watch him rediscover his forest freedom and to see him so happy. The first time I let him go it took him a few minutes to fully understand that he could really go. He kind of galloped around smelling things and looking around before he and Astro really ran. Sometimes he just stops and looks out and around through the forest. He really smells around things a lot. And, he's discovered a new forest delicacy. Elk Poop. That's right, I used to be one of those lucky people who's dog was not so interested in elk poop. Zephyr would like me to remind you that although he is doing extremely well, he is still taking prednisone and is at risk of starvation at any moment, therefore he has expanded his taste palate to include some of the finer things in life.

And the dirt is cool and soft!

Astro is also very happy to have his forest partner back. The two of them work their way around to all the good things in the forest.

Let's dig a hole together

I have some other good news. Zephyr's liver function is much better. Two of the values, ALT and AST, are in the normal range. This is great because these are the two that really indicate that the liver cells are damaged and dying. His ALP is still high, in the 800s, but down from the 1,300s. Apparently since he is taking prednisone this is typical and not as bad as having the other two elevated.

And go back and share with Mother! ;-)

Dr. Knowles also gave the okay to continue reducing his medicines. So,after tomorrow's dose of procarbazine (chemo med.) he will start takingit only twice a week, down from every other day. He'll continue onthis schedule until the middle of January and then he'll be done with it. And,in two weeks I'll start reducing his prednisone to 5mg once a day, downfrom twice a day. This will be in small increments, 1.25mg at time,and over about four weeks. All of this will continue to help his liver function too. I'm so happy to be reducing his medicines! But, I have to admit that it also makes me nervous that theencephalitis will come back. Hopefully everything will go smoothly.

The snow fell on the ground!

We've also had our first snow, it was actually in early November. The boys were so excited to go out in the morning and find snow on the ground.

And now happy greyhound feet

I love watching them first step out on the deck, realize there is snow, and then get all spunky sticking their nose in the snow and pouncing around on it.

Are the only sound!

And then of course have a good run in the snow. We are supposed to get more snow late this week so there will be a lot more running and playing to be done. Apparently happy greyhounds running free also inspires poetry. ;-)

PT

2011-11-22T11:35:00.001-08:00

Warming up on the treadmill.

Hi everyone, this is Zephyr! Ya that's right it's me, and I am doing really well and wanted to tell you all about it. I'm still going for physical therapy once a week. Going to physical therapy is kind of like going to a spa where they treat you like a king. It's all about you. Look how nice and relaxing the decor is. I feel like I'm taking a walk in the forest when I'm on the treadmill. And look close at those pictures above the treadmill.

Inspiring everyone at the spa!

That's right, it's yours truly! There to inspire all the recovering animals with my awesome athleticism and the joy of running free. I think this will really get them treading along. Those are pictures of me during my very first lure coursing run when I was just a babe at 18 months old. Notice the picture of Mom laying down? After my run I didn't want to stop. I only came back and stopped running when I thought she was being attacked by a crazy lady. I'm a good boy like that. The other picture is of my friends, family, and me on an excellent hike in the mountains. We are all powering up the trail. Btw, my friends Friday and Linus also have a photo display to inspire everyone.

Can't this thing go any faster?

I have really been getting in shape, loosing my extra weight and building muscle. Mom says that I am in even better shape now than in these photos.

Riding the wave

I'm really working on my core strength. I do lots of things with balance that use all my little muscles.


Check me out!

I'm a natural on the pods. These really help me use all my muscles from my toes and up through my whole body. When I'm on the equipment Dr. Lisa gently rocks me from side to side to really use my muscles. Oh, and do you want to know the other reason it's really like being at a spa? They feed you really good food the whole time!

Can you see the sparkle in my eyes?

Also, each session ends with a laser treatment that is like having a relaxing and energizing healing massage. Mmmm, Mom is so jealous.

Cozy

2011-11-15T14:29:00.001-08:00

Flutes

2011-11-10T12:15:00.001-08:00

These are flutes in the Coconino Sandstone in our Off Leash Canyon. They make great water holes for the dogs to get a drink from. These pics are from a hike Astro and I went on in October.

Astro was ready to go!

This tree fell sometime during the summer and makes for a grand new log walk. So you all know, Astro eats as much as he would like. He's just in his skinny teenage stage, please don't report me to the authorities. ;-)

Admiring the fall colors.

UnPack Hike

2011-11-10T11:54:00.001-08:00

Astro and I went on a hike with our Pack Dog group late this summer and I'm just now posting the pictures. Oops. I still haven't had Astro do much hiking with a pack, so this was an unpack hike for him. All the other dogs were so jealous. ;-)

Our hike was on Labor Day weekend and took us up part of Mormon Mountain. Astro actually stayed on leash for most of the hike, but he did get to go free for a while in the middle and he had a great time. For some reason people always seem to stop and watch our group as we go by, I can't imagine why. ;-)

You can see our group has quite an assortment of dogs that go along. Kenda, the Bearded Collie on the left, actually got a long skinny stick/splinter under skin on her leg sometime that weekend. It wasn't discovered until about a week later though when she started limping. Her mom thought it was a muscle problem and found it while giving her a massage. Luckily that's the most serious injury any of the dogs have ever had on our hikes.

This is the grand view out towards Mormon Lake. This is all covered in snow now. Oh, how we wish it was still summer.

Pablo in a Box

2011-11-01T21:25:00.000-07:00

Shutterfly

2011-10-29T21:14:00.000-07:00

Puter playing in the paper last Christmas.

A couple weeks ago I read this post over at Tales and Tails about Christmas cards. It's about Shutterfly's Holiday cards and an opportunity to get 25 free cards. I'm not really a Christmas card sending type of person. I am usually not that organized and motivated to send out cards. But, even before I read the post I had decided that I wanted send out picture cards this year and was wondering how I would go about doing it. I always love getting cards from my friends and family, and I really like all of the photo cards I get of friends with their furry family members. So why shouldn't I send out one too? I think part of the reason I wanted to send out cards this year is because it was a very hard year almost losing Zephyr. I know there are still challenges ahead for Zephyr and me, but I am so very thankful that he is here and doing so well.

I can't wait to see the boys tearing up paper again this year.

So, we are giving it a try. :-) Actually, one of the reasons I wanted to take Zephyr and Astro on our Sunday Trip was to try and get a picture for a card. I think I was successful, I certainly made them pose enough, but I'm not sharing the photo yet. :-)

Shutterfly has tons of cards to choose from. It's going to be hard to decide on a design, but I think I want one that can have a few pictures on it. They also have gifts and I have always wanted a picture mug so I might have to get one of those too. For a person who has thousands of pictures and a blog full of pictures I'm a little embarrassed that I haven't done this yet. Thanks to Tales and Tails for letting us know about this and to Shutterfly for letting us in on the promotion!

If you want to give the Shutterfly promotion a try here is the link to register.

Sunday Trip

2011-10-23T20:15:00.000-07:00

The Sunday after Astro and I hiked I took both boys back out to the fall colors. It was a big day for Zephyr, we went on a few short walks, they posed for many pictures, and we were out for most of the day.

Zephyr was really happy to be out and was full of energy. They broke out in this type of wrestling many times. I just have to keep the leashes out of the way. Zephyr's skin is really thin and it gets scraped, cut, and bruised easily because of his treatment. And, it takes longer to heal, so I don't let him get too rowdy.

I got good news last week. Zephyr's liver function has improved. It's not normal yet, but he's still taking a small amount of phenobarbital. He should be off it by Friday and that will continue to help his liver. The neurologist also gave the okay to reduce his procarbazine (chemo med.) to every other day. That should help his liver too. It will also start bringing his immune system back to normal. I just hope it doesn't also bring the encephalitis back. His white blood cell count was a little lower which is probably due to the procarbazine. That should improve as he goes to every other day. She told me to take it easy with him and not over do it though. As a result Zephyr (and all the others) has had to have fresh cooked beef added to his meals. Poor puppy. ;-)

I was brave and let them both off leash at the same time and let them run. They were really good, no crazy zooming. I let them run into the trees in the distance and then called them back a couple times.

The highest peak in the back is Humphrey's Peak, the highest point in Arizona. The high point on the Bear Jaw - Abeneau hike is below Humphrey's to the left in the canyon.

We also walked a little on the Arizona trail. It's a trail that goes throughout Arizona.

It was so nice to be out with both Zephyr and Astro for the day. It's been so long and he was so happy. We stayed off the popular trails and had some nice quiet walks.

While I was trying to get timed photos Zephyr decided to lay down an roll in the grass. Happy boy!

Astro joined him.

This is the best that I got for a family portrait. I'm sure Zephyr and Astro think I'm nuts.

Saturday Fall Hikes

2011-10-19T21:25:00.000-07:00

"Let's hit the trail!"

Last Saturday Chris and I took Friday, Linus, and Astro on our second annual fall colors hike. We went back to the Bear Jaw - Abeneau loop trail. It was a beautiful fall day, nice and warm.

"How many times do you think we'll have to do this today?"

Our first break was next to this lovely rock that we managed to get all three boys to pose on at the same time. Persistence pays off.

The aspens were in various stages of loosing their leaves. Some were still green, some were bright yellow, and some had fallen off.

"La, la, la, you can't catch me!"

The boys had a great time running and playing in the snow. We had a storm a week or so before the hike. Most of it had melted, luckily there were some spots big enough for romping.

Proud Mom

We took a nice break at the top of the trail.

"I know there are things for me to chase out there."

Astro was always sniffing around on the trail, pulling me ahead, and always looking out into the forest for all the critters that he knows are there.

Whoa!

The trail going down Abineau Canyon is pretty steep. The upper half was taken out by an avalanche and the trail was never officially redone so it's rough and gravely in some place. Combine that with some packed snow and some big dogs in front of us and we were in for a tricky descent.

Aspen at the end of the trail.

Another great hike with great friends!

"Am I really off leash in the forest?"

Zephyr was so excited and happy when Astro and I got home and I felt guilty for him having to stay home, so I had to take him out for his own hike. We went to "Off Leash Canyon" and I actually let him off leash for a little bit. It almost seemed like he was so surprised to be off leash that he wasn't sure what to do. He had fun checking things out and doing some short gallops though.

Handsome guy in the afternoon sun.

Poor Zephyr had to pose for pictures too. Notice the ribs you can see? A month ago I couldn't see them very well. He still has a way to go, but it's so nice to be able to go out for a little hike with Zephyr again.

Physical Therapy

2011-10-13T22:23:00.000-07:00

"Don't bother me with chicken treats, I must focus"

Zephyr and Astro are doing well. Zephyr has started physical therapy with our friend Dr. Lisa. He's only been three times, but so far it's going well. Each session starts with the treadmill. He did great getting used to it but it takes a lot of concentration. Zephyr doesn't even want chicken treats when he's on it, too distracting. He is in complete focus when he's treading. It was so funny the first time he got on and realized it was moving. He got this look on his face like "Excuse me, there is something very seriously wrong with this!"

Nice Tush!

Since it's cooled off lately, 50's and 60's, Zephyr's had much better energy. He's been able to get out on walks a lot more often and he's been able to do many walks an hour long. We've even added some hills, but not super steep. His muscle tone is improving all over, especially in his rear. Zephyr's left lower back and rear leg are weaker because he had an injury and he's right pawed. So, a lot of his physical therapy focuses on strengthening his left rear leg to prevent it from being injured when he's being a crazy boy.

Weebles wobble, but they don't fall down.

The wobble board is great because you can really target certain muscles. Zephyr's also been on the ball. The first time he tried the ball he actually hopped on top of it! I told him that was very advanced, but maybe he should go slowly. Last week he got the cold laser treatment on his rear and lower and middle back. It seemed to really relax him.

"Let's tear some things up!"

Zephyr and Astro have been enjoying many other forms of physical therapy and stress relief. They love to tear paper. Sometimes Zephyr will help himself to the recycling bin and rip into some good paper. Or, I'll find the milk container in the bedroom.

"Take that prescription bag!"

The transition to Keppra and off phenobarbital is going well. As far as I know there have been no other partial seizures. It's a slow process and we still have about two weeks until he's totally off. Tomorrow is the first day of 22.5mg, he was at 60mg. Hopefully I'll be able to reduce the procarbazine in the next week or so. I think it could have been reduced earlier but I didn't want to change two medicines at once.

"No more Risotto!"

Astro's been doing great and we have actually been doing a lot of training which I'll try to post soon. He is really progressing in agility. I closed the channel weaves a week or so ago and now I'm working on removing the guides. We have a beautiful fall hike in the aspen trees planned with friends for this weekend.

"Is yours good?" "Ya, mines perfect. Is yours good?" "Ya, mine too." "Do you wanna trade?" "Uh ha, in a minute."

I've been going to our local Sunday Farmers Market and getting the boys beef marrow bones from a local ranch. They love them! It's become a Sunday tradition.

"This one's good too."

Recently we did a taste test of kibbles. Astro's first choice was Taste of the Wild High Prairie (bison). They had been eating EVO chicken and turkey, but I don't think they really loved it, especially Astro. I was also wanting to decrease Zephyr's calorie intake. Astro would not touch the Taste of the Wild Wetlands (duck). I once bought some raw duck for Zephyr and he had the same reaction. Astro's second choice was Blue Diamond Fish and Sweet potato, and his third choice was Blue Diamond Wilderness.


"Ya, it's the High Prairie."

Zephyr started with the High Prairie, then went to the Wetlands (which was funny because it had the duck), then went back to the High Prairie. Zephyr ended up eating them all because, you know, when you're taking prednisone and phenobarbital, you could starve at any moment. So, I went with the Taste of the Wild High Prairie. Of course they still get some fresh cooked meet and EVO canned beef. I'm pretty sure my animals eat better than I do.

Liver Enzymes

2011-09-17T23:36:00.000-07:00

Goofiness after having a bath.

Well, this post will be about not so fun medical stuff, so feel free to skip it. I got the results of Zephyr's blood work on Wednesday and unfortunately they showed that his liver enzymes have increased again. About three weeks ago the Alkaline Phosphate had increased from 100 to 800, and now it's at 1,300. The Dr. says this is probably from the phenobarbital. Although all of the medicine he is taking, procarbazine and prednisone, can effect the liver. I don't think 1,300 is really bad, but there seems to be continuous increase. I just can't risk damaging his liver so, I am now transitioning him from phenobarbital to levetiracetam (Keppra). Keppra doesn't harm the liver like phenobarbital. This will be a slow transition over many weeks with decreases of 7.5 mg every four to seven days. He is on his full dose of phenobarbital and full dose of Keppra until tomorrow morning when I'll make the first decrease. He seems a little sedated from the addition of Keppra. There is a chance that the Keppra won't control his seizures and they'll start again, which I'm very worried about.

I am a happy clean boy.

In fact we had an episode today. Zephyr had his second dose of Kepprathis morning, it's given every eight hours. He was seeming prettynormal. He and Astro played this morning and we took a short walk. About 12:00 they were in the yard running and playing like normal. They stopped and I called Zephyr up the stairs to go in. As he came uphe started holding his right front foot and walking funny. I thoughtit was from pain, but realized it wasn't as he came in. He was walkingreally different and it looked like that leg was contracting and kindof stiff and his head and neck was now tilted to one side and lookedstiff. I immediately thought it was a seizure but was confused becausehe's never had any like this, they have always been when he's sleeping and heloses consciousness. When I saw the head tilt I of course also thought the encephalitis was back. He laid down and I saw that his eyes were dilatedtoo. That always happens when he has a seizure. I went to get thediazepam and he followed me. I had him lay down and he started to getbetter so I didn't give the diazepam. I think this happened in less than two minutes. I sat with him a few more minutes and then had him get up. He was still a little dazed and confused, but better. I think he had what is called a simple partial(focal) seizure. And, on the lengthy info page that came with the Keppra it says that changes in seizures can occur. Online I found many thingsabout people and dogs taking it that said they had partial seizures ormore seizures from Keppra. I do think the Keppra had something to dowith this. I also think that Zephyr is pretty sensitive to medications in general. I always worry that rowdy play will cause a seizure, but hehas played like that countless times and not had any problems.

Enjoying some yummy fresh beef bones that I got at the Farmers Market last weekend. Hopefully I'll get more tomorrow.

Zephyr was fine the rest of the day. He did get pretty tired, and he seems sedated from the Keppra. I had to leave twice for about 1 1/2 hours each time, which I hate. Sara's mom said she always hated leaving her too. I spent too much time today searching for info on partial seizures and Keppra. If you all haven't noticed I'm a bit of a worrier. Spending hours reading about and watching videos of seizures trying to figure out if that's what it was, how seizure meds. might not work, how they might work at first and then stop working, etc., etc, doesn't really help. This is why I usually don't spend a lot of time reading the forums about encephalitis, epilepsy, chemotherapy, etc. It just scrambles my mind. Oh, and dreaming that Zephyr has liver failure, repeatedly, last night didn't help. Welcome back stress. Oh, that's right, you never really left did you.

Cricket's Birthday Party

2011-09-15T13:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Cricket!

A few weeks ago we were invited to Cricket's eighth birthday party. Cricket is the Dachshund with her mom Kerry. Cricket is recovering from a ruptured disc that happened suddenly. She became paralyzed and Kerry had to rush her down to the Veterinary Neurological Center in Phoenix. The same place Zephyr went to, but she had a different doctor. If you look close you can see where her back was shaved. So, this was an extra special birthday for Cricket and Kerry. Charlie, the Papillon at Zephyr's foot, is also recovering from surgery on a back knee and doing great.

Cricket opens her presents.

Cricket had a great time. She's allowed to walk now, but no crazy play. Cricket is a very accomplished agility girl, so it's kind of hard to keep her down.

The boys play with their new friend Molly.

This was Zephyr's first time playing and running with other dogs since he got sick. I was pretty nervous. It was a warm day and I just didn't know how all the activity would effect him. I still worry that something will trigger a seizure or the encephalitis. I'm happy to say that he had a blast and there were no negative side effects.

Whip checks out the tall dogs.

Zephyr had a great time with all the dogs. I think playing with dogs is his favorite thing next to coursing. Zephyr did end up with a bit of a crush on Whip and had to be kept in line. She's super cute, so I can certainly understand why.

"OMG!!! I'm in Heaven!!"

Astro continues to perfect his methods for achieving the finest face covering. I'd say he's come a long way since its first public debut. Molly was doing a good job learning his technique. Astro couldn't understand why all the humans shrieked and shooed him away when he came up to say hi.

"We are in a race!"

This was the longest that Zephyr had ran and played. He stayed at the party for about 2 hours and I think almost half of that was spent playing.

Mouse wants some of the action too.

Mouse is the Dachshund that Astro had a great time running with early this summer. She really wanted to play again, but it was hard with all the big dogs going crazy. Astro and the lab (I'm blanking on her name :-( ) really hit it off. They were wrestling until the end of the party.

Having the best time!

"Aaah, Don't get your cooties on me!"

Whip will gladly take that Ping Pong ball.

The humans played some Ping Pong and the dogs were very happy to help out. I had taken Zephyr home to rest by this time. Whip was our catcher.

Cricket is also an accomplished Ping Pong player.

Bones Would Rain From the Sky

Cricket gave out BBQed beef ribs as party favors! Zephyr and Astro loved them, and they kept them busy for about an hour.

Six Months

2011-09-12T21:44:00.000-07:00

We love you Dr. Barnes, Dr. Knowles, and all the vet techs!!!!!

It's been six months since Zephyr first got sick and was then diagnosed with immune mediated encephalitis. It doesn't seem like it's been that long at all. I am so grateful to Dr. Barnes in Flagstaff who recognized that something was effecting his brain and sent us right down to the Veterinary Neurological Center in Phoenix. I am also extremely grateful to Dr. Knowles and all the staff at the neurology center for giving Zephyr the best treatment, which saved his life, and putting in extra effort the weekend he was there and the next week. My boy would not be here if it weren't for all of these people.

"Look Ma, One Leg!"

Zephyr has been doing really well! He hasn't had a seizure in 2 months! WOOHOO!!! I was pretty excited when he made it past one month but didn't say anything to anyone because I was afraid I'd jinx things. Actually, at about one month some funny things happened. One night Zephyr got up around 11:30 and I heard him walking around. I got up and he was just walking around the house looking around. Since he's got a pretty good appetite nowadays and I heard him bump the closet door (where he often hunts for treats left in my pocket) I thought maybe he was just up because he was hungry. I also wondered if it was a small seizure because it seemed like he might have been a little confused. It was definitely different than the night he got up and was walking around the living room because the cats had knocked the filled Kong out of the upper cabinet and were batting it around. Then it happened again two nights later. I'm still not sure what it was, another complicating factor is I'm always half asleep when these things happen. But it hasn't happened again so I'm good with that.

"AAAHHHH!! My mouth is bigger than yours!"

Zephyr's been taking procarbazine for about a month now. Procarbazine is the milder chemotherapy medicine that he's taking everyday. His white blood cell count doesn't drop really low like with the Lomustine (CCNU). It was at 5,100 three weeks a ago which is just a little lower than the normal range. So, his energy level has been a lot better and he's felt like playing and going on more walks.

"It feels so good to run!"

In the past week it's cooled off to highs in the low 70's, so even cooler in the morning and evening, and that has really helped him feel a lot more spunky. The prednisone makes him sensitive to heat, plus he's pretty out of shape. That meant there were many days this summer that he had to stay home.

"Want to race?"

I've taken him on a few hour long walks in the last week and he's done really well. This afternoon we went on an hour walk and then the beasts had a big play session in the house when we got home. It was complete with running through the house, spinning around each other, flying on to the bed and then sliding across it. :-) That's when stuffy old Mom pulled out the treats and put an end to all the craziness.

Our pool for cooling the paws. A few days this summer I thought about getting in myself.

Three weeks ago Zephyr had blood work done to check his white blood cell count and his kidney and liver function. All of the medicines and chemotherapy can harm the liver. Unfortunately, for the first time it did show that his liver is being effected. His alkaline phosphorus had increased from 100 to 800. The Drs. said that is not too bad, but it was enough to make me a nervous wreck for a few days. Dr. Knowles suggested a supplement Denamarin that has SAMe and sylibin (from milk thistle) that helps the liver function. As an added bonus the SAMe is supposed to help the brain. I ordered some online and then called some local veterinary hospitals and luckily one had some in stock so I could start him on it right away. Tomorrow he goes for a recheck, hopefully it will be better. If not we'll have to consider a change in one of the medications, probably the phenobarbital.

"C'mon Zephyr, I double dare you!"

Zephyr's also gone to town a few times to the nursery and a bookstore. He loves all the attention. The boys also got to go to Crickets birthday party. What a blast! That was Zephyr's first time running and playing with other dogs in months.

The other day we were coming back from a walk and two women were walking toward us. I could tell the older woman was sick. She smiled when she saw the dogs and asked to pet them. Zephyr and Astro were so happy to say Hi when she pet them. They wagged their tails and were so happy. The woman was so happy too, she said, "Do you think they can tell I'm a dog person?" Then she leaned her face down and they gave her lots of soft kisses. She told me about her three dogs that her son is taking care of because she's sick. It was so sweet. Someday we'll have to do the therapy dog certification.

"Oh no you don't, Astro!"

Since Zephyr's been more active I think he's built a little muscle and is looking a little more fit. I've also stopped offering him food four times a day and, much to his dismay, I don't cook ground beef for him as often. :-) I have this thing about my animals eating a lot when they are sick. It must be something like a mom that likes to cook for her kids and is always wanting to feed them.

"Out of my way while I weave!"

To help combat Zephyr's boredom this summer and to keep his brain working well I started teaching Zephyr some tricks and playing games with them. The best trick was teaching him to "shake". This was a pretty big deal because Zephyr doesn't really like his paws touched. I used the clicker and treats and was really impressed with how well he did. It took a few weeks, but now he'll even do it for no treats and in places away from home. We also play "Hide and Seek" and I've put them in stays while I hide treats throughout the house and then had them go find them. Lots of fun. Astro and I are taking a Rally class and I also practice the moves with Zephyr. Zephyr's done Rally before too. Zephyr also gets to practice agility; going through and around jumps with no bars, through the tunnel, and even weaving. Astro's learning his weave poles, Zephyr was close before he got sick. At first I thought he had forgotten them, but now he goes through them with guides. He goes really slow, which is fine, because they are almost closed for Astro now. I was just really happy that he figured it out and remembered.

Oh, remember how I said that I didn't think chemotherapy made dogs' fur fall out? Well I take that back. Zephyr's fur has thinned all over his body. His chest, belly, and sides show it the most. Some of those areas are almost bald. But even the soft fur below and to the back of his ears is really thin. Good thing I am knitting him his own full body Chemo Cap.

Still the sweetest goofiest boy.

By chance through GreyTalk I met a woman who's greyhound, Sara, went through the exact same thing as Zephyr and we have emailed a few times. Sara was also seizing, couldn't walk, etc., and they thought they would lose her. They did a very similar chemotherapy treatment, prednisone, and phenobarbital for almost a year. It was so helpful to talk to someone who had gone through this and hear that all the things I was feeling she had felt too. Encephalitis is a really scary disease and there's not much information available about it. Sara's been off all treatment for at least 3 1/2 years and just turned 10! :-) Sara's recovery is the goal I focus on, it's so nice to know that another greyhound made it through. Hopefully, Sara and Zephyr will also have their recoveries in common too.

Peak Hiking

2011-08-29T18:29:00.000-07:00

Cute little boy practices his Sit and Stay at the top of Sunset trail.

I'm finally posting some pictures from hikes that Astro and I went on in the San Fransisco Peaks a few weeks ago. School has started so I'm back to work again and falling behind in everything else. Our first hike was up Sunset trail, which has a great view of the main part of the Peaks at the top. When we got back down we went to Schultz Tank and Astro got to play in the water and get nice and muddy like he loves.

Aspen grove at the beginning of the Abineau trail.

When we hike on these trails I keep the dogs on leash most of the time because there can be a lot of people on the trail and wildlife that they would love to chase. Last fall on this trail two deer came running down the side of the canyon and jumped on to the trail about 20 feet in front of Zephyr and Astro. Luckily the boys were so startled it gave me a second to lock the Flexi's and lean back before they started to go after the deer. I still can't believe I stayed upright.

King of the rock.

But, I do take the leashes off for the sake of good pictures. :-) This is one of my favorite trails because it's higher up in the mountains and the forest is a lot more lush and diverse. There are all kinds of little critters and new smells to investigate.

Mom, I need to go over there.

We have a hike planned this weekend with our packdog friends. I haven't really had Astro wear the pack much though, so he won't be carrying a full load. Astro is doing really well in his Agility training and we are taking a Rally class now too. I need to try and have someone take pictures of us during class.

Time to head home and see Zephyr.

Astro and I have fun on the hikes and I think he likes the alone time with Mom, and I like it too. But, it is a little lonely and sad to not have Zephyr with us. Zephyr is doing well though and I'll give an update on him soon.

Forest Agility

2011-08-11T13:53:00.000-07:00

Some pictures from Astro's Open Standard Forest Agility run. ;-)

Beautiful Start Line Stay. Notice how focused he is on his handler who is doing a Lead Out.

A Frame

Tight right turn after a Pinwheel of jumps.

Table

Oops, can't help but notice the scenery.

Dog Walk

Ready for the Triple Jump.

WEEE! I'm flying!

No bars knocked there!

And he crosses the finish line a happy boy. Of course he got a qualifying score. This boy will have his MFACH in no time!

Bath Time

2011-08-04T15:29:00.000-07:00

This picture reminds me of the first bath I gave Zephyr when he was a puppy. See below.

I gave Zephyr a bath today. I have to admit this was his first real bath since right after he got sick. I don't usually bathe them too often, a few times a year, and a rinse in between if they get real muddy. I noticed that he had a bit of an odor awhile ago, but then we got busy dealing with seizures, the follow up with the neurologist, and more chemo, and then too much time had past. I also wanted to wait until he was past the low part of this last chemo treatment so as to not get him soaking wet when he was not feeling well and susceptible to infection, etc.

Sweet boy after his post bath zoomies. He's about 4 months old in this picture.

Astro does the Flying Bunny Rabbit after his last bath in June.

Anyway, this odor Zephyr had was not the normal dirty dog smell. It had some of those components :-) , but there was definitely something else. I think it was a smell from the chemotherapy and maybe everything his body has been through. I had heard that people undergoing chemo can have a different smell. It's hard to describe, but it was kind of a mediciney, chemically, metalliccy, musty, definitely not normal smell. And, I have to say I kind of feel like a jerk for not washing him sooner.

Handsome guy getting ready to go chase a squirrel.

Zephyr was great during the bath. We just go in the tub and shut the door. I give them treats during baths so even though it's not their favorite thing both of them will step in to the tub on their own. His fur has thinned from the chemo and it's not in as good of condition. I think for dogs chemo doesn't make the fur fall out, but when it naturally falls out, or is shaved, it grows back in very slowly. This makes since given shaved areas from March aren't fully grown in yet. I've also noticed that he has gotten more white fur on his muzzle. It will be interesting to see if the funny smell comes back after the shampoo smell wears off. Zephyr washed up super fine though. His fur is shinier and really soft and smooth. Even better for cuddling.

Lily Pond Play

2011-08-03T14:48:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Chris and I took Linus and Astro out to the Lily Pond for some water play after an agility practice. The boys were ready to go as it was a warm day.

The "Lily Pond" is actually called Dow Spring and I think the lilies were originally brought in a very long time ago, maybe by the Dow family that originally settled there. I've been visiting here since I was a kid and the lilies have always been there. This is the view looking down the canyon.

Astro says "Yipee!!! I get to run and bounce in super tall green grass!!!" I love the way his ears are bouncing up and he is smiling in this picture.

Linus took his first swim in May. Here, he just decided to go in for a dip on his own. I wish Astro would have followed him.

Linus goes after the stick. What a good boy! Astro would also get the stick when it was a little closer to shore.

Astro spent a lot of time flying through the grass and spinning around.

Astro and Linus are great friends. Kind of like Zephyr and Friday (Linus' big brother) are great friends. They had a lot of fun chasing each other and then cooling off in the water.

The beautiful view looking up the canyon. Of course, with a happy greyhound in it, the view is much better!

July 4th Hike

2011-07-29T23:31:00.000-07:00

Astro and I went for a hike with friends on July 4th weekend. I'm finally getting around to posting the pictures. There were seven people and eight dogs on the hike. This was actually only the third or fourth time Astro had gone hiking with a large group. He had a great time with his friends. These pictures are all courtesy of Tammy since I forgot my camera.

Woody and his mom, Karin, joined us on the hike for the first time. Woody had a lot of fun and did a great job. It was pretty warm for everyone that day.

This sweet girl, Tess, passed away the next week. She suddenly got sick and it turned out she had cancer. She had a great time on the hike and you never could have guessed she was sick. It was so sad to here she had passed. Lucy is in the background. She and Astro are the same age and have been in classes together since Puppy Kindergarten. Now we are in agility together.

Astro trying to get a break from all the big dogs chasing him.

Happy Hikers!

Luckily this hole almost always has some water in it, so the dogs were able to cool off. Right before we got to the water hole Astro, Kenda, and Linus found a cow! That's right, Holy Cow, right there next to the trail! We were going around a corner, Astro took off, and I could tell he was on to something. When I got around the corner he was bouncing in the air looking toward a tree and some bushes. I thought a critter had run into the bushes and then I saw the cow standing next to the tree. Tammy and I ran up and I called Astro. He came, but then decided he might like to try to jump a log and go see the cow. The cow would have none of that and decided it would jump the log and come at us. We all scattered as the cow crashed through, skidded as it turned, and then ran down the canyon. Kenda wanted to use her herding skills, but Mom wouldn't let her. Linus stood guard for everyone. Astro started to chase it, but thought better when he got to some bushes and I called him. It was a young cow that was separated from it's group. I hope it was okay. I love cows. :-)

After all the excitement and cooling off in the water Astro and Linus had to get their Ya, Ya's out.

Kenda, the blur, and Ketzel decided to join in the fun. Astro and Kenda have a little bit of a "friendship" going on now. ;-)

Happy Birthday Astro!

2011-07-28T20:42:00.000-07:00

Astro had his 2nd birthday yesterday! He is is still full of puppy play. Sometimes out of the blue when he is laying quietly all of a sudden he will start to kick his legs, squirm around, and start barking it up being a complete goof ball. He loves his toys and he loves to play tug. He just loves to play!

I do think he is starting to get some of that handsome adult dog look to him. Sometimes I'll get a glimpse of him and I'll think "He's starting to not look like a puppy". And then I go back in to denial. I remember when this started to happen with Zephyr too. I think it's really neat to watch them change as they grow.

This picture was actually taken during one of his goofy moments. Astro and Zephyr had been mouthing at each other and then Zephyr started doing the nibbling and grooming on his neck.

The big birthday present was beef trachea chews. I had seen Scout enjoying some and it turns out our feed store has them. I made sure to get the ones that looked like they had lots of good stuff on them.

The trachea chews were a big hit with both boys!

In the evening we went on a birthday walk. It wasn't too long because Zephyr is still recovering from the chemo. The day before Astro and I did go on a hike with a friend and her dogs. When we got back to her house Astro had a great time playing in the kiddie pool and then rubbing and rolling in the dirt until his face, chest, and legs were caked in mud. He also had an awesome time running around the yard with Mouse, a dachshund.

The boys scan the forest for things to chase. Astro and I have actually been able to get out on a few hikes and I have some great pictures that I'll post soon.

Astro may be getting older but he still thinks he can fit in the famed blue berber ball like he did when he was a puppy. Happy Birthday Astro, I love you!!!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-19T19:05:00.000-07:00

Twice!

2011-07-18T12:49:00.000-07:00

"HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!" OMG! "HEE, HEE, HEE, HEE!"

Someone, I think different people, has visited the blog in the last couple of weeks because they did a search for "What medicine can I take to make my butt look bigger?" Seriously people? You want your butt to look bigger and you think there is medicine that will do that? Well, I guess there is, it's Predinisone. But really? Of course this is all because of Zephyr's concern, which he doesn't have anymore anyway. He's very comfortable with is body. ;-) Aren't ice cream, cake, pastries, cookies, Alfredo sauce, ...., the best medicine for that? Zephyr sure thinks those things are great medicine. But, he's also taken to wanting bean burritos. Zephyr says that when you are taking prednisone you are at risk of dying from starvation at any moment. Except the moment your mother wants you to try a new turkey, fish, and sweet potato canned food, and Astro agrees. Then you can survive forever without eating.

"People are so weird!" Zephyr can't stop laughing and Astro is really worried that people like this exist!

You know how on the Feedjit Live Traffic Feed you can look and find out how people found your blog sometimes? That's how I found this out. I like the Feedjit because I've seen that lots of people have found us from searching for hiking with a greyhound, and even greyhound and chemotherapy once. So, hopefully they found some helpful information. "Butt" really people?? ;-) Seriously? I think it was two different people because the phrase was slightly different each search. Now I've just realized they'll find us even more often because I used the phrase is this post. Hey, maybe they'll find some helpful information? I did gave them a few good options to try. You know how I am, I just want to help out. Ha, Ha, Ha, ......, Ha, Ha, .....

Zephyr's Follow-Up MRI and Cerebrospinal Fluid

2011-07-15T12:46:00.000-07:00

Even after anesthesia Zephyr was still ready for some pool time. He also had fun running a little and rolling in the grass.

This Tuesday Zephyr went for his follow-up MRI and a spinal tap to look at his Cerebrospinal fluid (CFS, fluid from the brain). Things went well. Zephyr is a lot better, but not 100% yet. His MRI came out totally normal, nothing abnormal at all, it looked really good. YAY!! It's possible he still has scar tissue because often that won't show on an MRI. Unfortunately his spinal fluid showed some abnormalities. The CFS is taken from the base of the head and top of the neck and it showed that there is probably still some inflammation in his brain and that the encephalitis is probably still active. It had a white blood cell count of 8 (normal is less than 5), the protein was 32 (normal is less than 25). There is also some overpopulation of lymphocytes and macrophages, which I guess are types of white blood cells that occur when there is a problem. She said his fluid isn't really bad, but definitely abnormal.

Because of this Zephyr has to continue with his treatment for awhile. His blood work came back looking "boring" as Dr. Knowles put it :-) , which is great since he's taking prednisone and phenobarbital. Since the blood looked good he had another chemotherapy treatment this morning. It's a little strange having to wear a glove to give your dog pills. Zephyr is really good with taking pills no matter how I give them. But when they're wrapped in Muenster cheese, as they always are, Zephyr is usually waiting anxiously for his meds. After he recovers from this chemo treatment he'll probably take a mild chemotherapy drug, Procarbazine, long term, probably months. We've also gone back to the prednisone twice a day. So, this is disappointing. He was so close to being normal in the fluid. :-( She said that when he was first sick if they would have been able to look at his spinal fluid his white blood cell count could have been up to 300 and it's 8 now. Even if that's an exaggeration it's a huge improvement, which is great.

Astro had fun playing at my parents house while we were waiting to hear about Zephyr. I did take Astro in the pool and he swam for the first time. But, he did not really like it and I have the scratches and bruises to show for it. I think we'll have better luck in a natural pool with a more gradual drop and where he can see the bottom better.

There's a possibility that the abnormalities are there because his body just hasn't cleared all the yucky stuff from the original illness out yet. She also said that it's possible that he could just go on to heal on his own without more chemo or other medicine. She said who knows what happens with dogs who have this disease and don't have the follow up work. But there's no way to know these things and it's just as likely that the encephalitis is still active and that if we don't continue treatment it could come back. Obviously I can't take that risk. It's a bummer because he could be taking these nasty medicines when he doesn't really need them. I'm taking the most aggressive treatment option, the Dr. and I thought it would be best even though he was almost normal. She thought a lot about whether to give him another dose of the chemo verses just starting him with the mild chemo drug. I think we're just trying to make sure we do everything possible to get rid of it and not risk it coming back. Unfortunately I'll never have a 100% guarantee of it not coming back.

My cousin Mike came over to hang out for the day, which was really fun. Astro decided it was much more fun and safer to hang out with him since clearly I had gone crazy and tried to drown him in the pool.

We're still not sure what's causing the seizures. It could be scar tissue or inflammation from the encephalitis. I think maybe she leans toward it being scar tissue, but there's no way to know. I did learn that inflammation is an actual physical substance of cells, etc., verses swelling which is caused by inflammation. I had been wondering about this because I could tell she used the terms differently. It seems like even if he still has a tiny amount of inflammation in his brain it could disrupt things and cause seizures. Especially combined with his brain still healing and possibly having scar tissue. We did up his phenobarbital from 45mg 2/day to 60 2/day since he still had one seizure a week ago on 45.

Zephyr loves to hang out on the big middle step of the pool. When he was there Astro was much more comfortable and actually came in a few times. When you're in Phoenix in the middle of July, even on a cool day of 103 you're in the pool a lot. It was actually really fun and relaxing, especially with the good news about Zephyr.

I'm really glad that I had this done. Overall I think the news is good and this has definitely given us information that has allowed us to give Zephyr a better chance at complete recovery. I think it will really help me now that I know more about what's going on and where we're at with this. It's too bad though because he was so close to normal. She did tell me one dog with this had to have 3 MRIs before it was normal, so that made me feel better.

After a big day Zephyr finally crashed out. Anyone want to make bets on when the shaved patch will be all grown in? It's from the spinal tap and actually goes up a little between his ears. I have to put sunscreen on it to protect his pure white skin. I tried a bandanna, which looked really cute, but it kept flopping back and not covering the top part.

He'll have to take it easy again in a few days when his white blood cell count is low. Poor boy. He's been feeling great though and I've taken him on some longer walks and down to Pumphouse Wash where he and Astro get all nutty in the tall grass. It's really hard to leave him home when Astro and I are going to do things he would love. I'm learning lots of patience with all of this.

It Figures

2011-07-08T22:54:00.000-07:00

Later in the day the boys were playing.

Just when I start to think things are going well and Zephyr is going to start getting back to normal he has another seizure. It was like the others, early this morning, 4:20, while he's sleeping. I was able to give him the diazepam to stop the seizure pretty quickly. The main part was about 2 minutes or so, it's always hard to time exactly even when I look at the clock. Then it takes a minute or so for him to wake up. And then he is very anxious, confused and concerned, and his eyesight and coordination are off. The eyesight and coordination seem to come back within about 30 minutes, but he is still anxious and upset for about another hour. I really think that each dose of diazepam, which is valium, should come with a courtesy dose for the person who just had to administer it to their animal.

I came into the room to find Zephyr had the pile of poop bags on the floor at his feet. So I let them tear two up and it led to this rousing romp.

So, after corresponding with Dr. Knowles, Zephyr is scheduled for his follow up MRI and possible spinal fluid tap next Tuesday morning. I'm waving Bye Bye to my savings as I have been since March. But, I'd rather have him anyway. I do get the 50% recheck discount. WooHoo! I've known she wanted to do this but was trying to put it off a bit. She says this will tell us if the encephalitis is gone or not and whether we can proceed to eliminate the prednisone or if he will need more chemotherapy. The MRI might also show scar tissue which is possibly what is causing his seizures. This is all a huge expense, but since I'm in it this far I think I need to stick with it and follow through with everything.

Luckily he seems to be okay after the seizures. He and Astro were playing a few times today.

I am already totally nervous about what the MRI and maybe spinal tap will show. I'm also worried that something will happen while he is under anesthesia or afterward. Like it triggers the encephalitis or a cluster of seizures or worse. Again, a complementary dose of diazepam for the parent of the patient would be really nice.

Does This Medicine Make My Butt Look Big?

2011-07-07T15:32:00.000-07:00

Update Note: For those of you who ended up here because you are really looking for a medicine that will make your butt or hips bigger..... You need to stop that! There is nothing wrong with you. You are perfect and beautiful just the way you are! Now, go eat some ice cream. :-)

Zephyr: Mom, is my medicine making my butt look big?

Me: What do you mean, Zephyr?

Zephyr: My Butt, is it bigger, fatter, softer, rounder?!

Me: Zephyr, you look great! Besides, people don't accuse me of dog abuse anymore.

Zephyr: Agh. Mom, look close, see how you can't even see my pelvic bones poking out on my back anymore? And, look it's all puffy and big on my back above where my pelvic bones used to show!

Me: Zephyr, prednisone does those kind of things. It makes you hungrier and it can even make you look all puffy and bigger even when you haven't really gained weight. I've seen that happen to people. Plus, you've been very sick and you've had to take it really easy and focus on healing the past 4 months. Which, you've done an excellent job at by the way.

Zephyr: Look, even my belly is bigger and wider! I don't like this, I'm not able to go on the big hikes and run and play like I want too. And, what's up with the heat this summer? It seems like it's warmer and I don't like it at all. Also, I'm worried the other dogs will make fun of me and the girls won't think I'm cute. Oh ya, and my fur on my arms and belly still hasn't even grown all back from when they shaved it, the fur on my lower back legs has thinned, and my skin has been so dry! This is so frustrating, I've always prided myself on my nice fur.

Me: Oh Zephyr, I know, I don't like these things either. But, I'm thinking these are all normal for a pup who's been through so much. You've been recovering from encephalitis, through three chemotherapy treatments, getting seizures controlled, and taking prednisone. You're actually doing so well! Besides in the past 2 weeks we've been able to reduce your prednisone from 5mg twice a day to 5mg once a day. We could try not giving you fresh cooked ground beef with your meals as often? That might help with your waistline and roundness?

Zephyr: Ya, I do feel better, but it makes me feel all achy, groany, and tired for about 4 days after we reduce the prednisone. I know you tried to make it better by only doing 2.5mg reductions at a time, but it was still yucky. Very funny about the beef, Ggrrr.

Me: I know, I'm sorry about not feeling well. We'll do even smaller reductions next time. But, don't you feel so much better now? I don't think you have to worry about the other dogs or girls, Zephyr. Friday is so happy you're getting better, and Kenda sure was happy to see you the other day. You've actually been able to get out on a lot more walkies lately and they're getting longer. And, what about our walk down to Pumphouse Wash this morning, wasn't that nice?

Zephyr: It's true I do feel better now, and Pumphouse Wash was awesome! I loved being off leash and the water was so nice and cool!

Me: Ya, and I think I saw you doing some running. You were so happy!

Zephyr: It was so fun running through the grass and down the trail! I can't go at my top speed yet or as long. But it sure felt great! Why didn't you bring the camera? No one will believe I was there, and that's really not good blogging, Mom.

Me: I know, I've been lame lately and always forgetting the camera. It's hard because usually I have you and Astro both on leash. It's not easy holding two Flexi's with moving dogs in one hand and taking pictures with the other you know.

Zephyr: Okay, but I think you need to remember the camera. People are going to start thinking I'm just being lazy and livin' like a prince or something like that.

Pardon My Parts 2

2011-06-29T09:12:00.000-07:00

Inspiration Award!

2011-06-18T17:50:00.000-07:00

The other day I was so happy to learn that the boys, the blog, and I were given an Inspiration Award by Itsa Greyt Day! This was really nice because she said the reason she gave us the award was because of how I have been taking care of Zephyr and handling everything with his encephalitis and recovery. It's amazing how a few kind words from someone you don't even know can help you out and make you smile. If you haven't already, you should check out the beautiful pictures at Itsa Greyt Day and Itsa Greyt Day for a Photo. These hounds have a truly talented mom!

Friends Marlies and Mathew came over for dinner last night, so the big boy got lots of lovin'.

So did the little boy.

A quick Zephyr update before I pass on the award. He is doing well and I've been getting him out on more walks. We go out in the morning and/or evening for easy walks about 30 minutes long. He did have another seizure last Monday, so much for the every one month idea. This one was short, less than two minutes. All of his seizures have happened in the early morning or middle of the night. I read that seizures usually happen when they are really relaxed, so this makes since. His phenobarbital dose was doubled to 45mg twice a day. This is still a low dose for a dog his size. Dr. Knowles probably would have liked to start him at 60mg twice a day when he went back on the phenobarbital, but I was really worried about the side effects so we started low and are now working up. This last seizure was much shorter than the previous one, 5-7 minutes, but only one week from the previous. After going to 45mg twice a day Zephyr had some side effects for about 48 hours but they weren't bad. Just some slipping of the feet or slight incoordination, some hyperactivity, and maybe some drowsiness. The hyperactivity seemed to occur about 11 - 12 hours after having a dose. Then he'd be wanting to play and run and I'd notice the slipping more then. I had to make him calm down a couple times. I think the side effects were pretty minimal though and were gone after 48 hours. Hopefully we'll get the seizures under control.

Here are the rules for the Inspiration award.

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded this to you.

2. Link posts by you and ten fellow bloggers that you find inspirational.

3. Forward the award to those ten fellow bloggers.

It's sure hard to pick only 10 blogs, but here goes. If this is your second Inspiration Award, then it's doubly Inspirational. :-) And, if you don't do the award thing because your off doing lots of other fun things, it's no problem.

1. Two Greyhound Town is a blog that was usually written by Jack the Greyhound, with the occasional post from Scout his sister, or their Momma. Very sadly and suddenly Jack passed away this month from cancer. Jack inspired me because he was a very funny hound who had me laughing many times. He also had great insight and ideas about many topics. Now his sister Scout has decided to try and keep the blog going. I think she's a little unsure of this, but I know she will do a great job. Their Momma is also doing a great job of taking care of Scout and getting out on some new adventures during this really hard time.

2. Never Say Never Greyhounds is the first greyhound blog that found. Jennifer Bachelor and her greyhounds do agility, obedience, and lots of other fun things and have achieved some very outstanding accomplishments. Her blog has really inspired me to do more, and to hang in there, with my boys. Her blog was also one of the inspirations for me to start Hiking Hounds.

3. The splorin' Wolfies is a blog of the adventures of two Irish Wolfhounds, Guinness and Maggi, in Nova Scotia. Maggi is a new addition to the family who came after they lost Saige at a very young age. Maggi is about 4 years old and was rescued from a bad situation, I think it was a bad breeding program, maybe a puppymill, and Maggi is blind. Despite all this she adjusted so well to her new loving family and all of the great adventures they go on. I have a friend who's boxer is about 3 years old and losing his eyesight. I've shared Maggi's story and adventures with her many times.

4. Jennifer Zalewski is an artist who's subject is often greyhounds. She and her hounds are always off doing something fun. She did lose Clifford not long ago and a year ago or so she lost Lucy. Jack has big shoes to fill, but he's doing a great job of course. Every time I see Jennifer's drawings I think to myself "You need to start drawing again, go take a class".

5. Genji's Corner is a blog by Gyeong about A LOT of hounds! In fact, it is not uncommon to see about ten different hounds and dogs sprawled out in their living room. In addition, they are often taking care of other hounds or dogs for friends while they are out of town. And they are usually off doing some fun things like their recent trip to Barkwell's, so cool. I love Beth, a 13 year old recent addition to the family who seems to have fit right in, despite the nick name of "Grouchy Pants".

6. Jets's Furkid Palace is a Down Under blog about Barbie, Bender, FrouFrou, and Mittens. Barbie is the first greyhound to earn the CGC certification in Western Australia. This is really cool because people are still learning about Greyhounds in Australia and in some places or states they still have to wear their muzzle when they are out in public.

7. Aragon Greyhounds is authored by a group of people who all have greyhounds from the same litter of puppies. They are all active and successful in training, showing, agility, and obedience. I've gotten a lot of good training ideas from them and ideas about new things to try with the dogs. Someday we're going to give Tracking a try.

8. Terri's Knitblog is about three of my favorite things; greyhounds, knitting, and food (often scrumptious baked goods). Terri is the designer of a knitted greyhound sweater pattern that I've just started making. They lost Sabrina during the winter and now have the new addition Ava who is a cutey.

9. Greyhounds Can Sit is another Down Under blog, from New Zealand, about Beryl the greyhound and Frankie the pig dog. I love the name of this blog and it says a lot about what they do. They are also always learning and trying new things including doggie dancing recently. She also does a lot with letting people in New Zealand, and elsewhere, know about greyhounds.

10. Learning About Life With Greys is an Alabama based blog about Dan, Set, Gypsey, and Trixie. Their mom works as a veterinarian technician, which can be hard sometimes. I really admire her willingness to deal with some of the bad situations she has to sometimes. I can't imagine how frustrating it is. They also live near the area that was devastated by the tornadoes recently. Luckily they were okay.

I hope you all enjoy these great blogs!

Pardon My Parts

2011-06-15T07:47:00.000-07:00

My mom just thinks I'm so cute!

Summer

2011-06-10T23:38:00.000-07:00

Today was my last day at school, so now it's summer! I am so looking forward to spending time at home and with the dogs and cats, taking some agility classes, and hopefully getting out on some nice hikes.

Zephyr is doing well. He's three weeks past his last chemo treatment. This round of chemo went well. His white blood cell count dropped pretty low, 1,900, but he didn't have any problems. Just some tiredness. I made sure that he took it pretty easy. No walks for five days before the lowest days, and no walks for about 4 days after. And, I'm only taking him on slow easy walks of about 30 - 45 minutes. He and Astro do run and play in the yard and house. I think I'll start taking him on more frequent short walks now to start getting him back in shape slowly. It does make me sad to not be able to take him out running in the forest, or to have to leave him home while Astro and I go off to class, etc. I have to remind myself of how sick he was and that he had a pretty big brain injury and still needs to heal. Dr. Knowles also reminds me of this frequently. :-)

This past Monday Zephyr did have another seizure. :-( It was 31 days after the first seizure (since being home) and, I realized that both seizures happened almost exactly 2 weeks after having a chemotherapy treatment. I asked Dr. Knowles if the seizures could be related to the chemo, she said she didn't think so, she still thinks they're likely from scar tissue in his brain from the encephalitis. She said she had another patient with "inflammatory brain disease" have seizures a few days after the first Lomustine treatment. She asked the oncologist, Dr. Hershey, about it then and Dr. Hershey said she uses Lomustine all the time and hasn't had seizures. Still I wonder if it's related. I'd rather the seizures be from the chemo because it seems like then there would be a better chance of them going away.

This seizure lasted longer, I think at least five minutes. I missed the first shot of diazepam. To give it you have to put the syringe (no needle) in their bum. It doesn't have to go in far, but he was shaking so much it was hard to get in his rear and I missed. I think I got most of the next one in, but the seizure didn't stop. So, after a minute I gave another. The seizure still went on for a bit, I don't know if I did a very good job with the diazepam. Zephyr's heart was pound so hard during the seizure I could hear the swooshing sound of the blood pumping through. Not fun, I worried that he would have a heart attack. So, Zephyr is taking phenobarbital again. I was worried about the side effects so we started him on a very low dose, 15mg twice a day. For comparison, when he came home from the neurology center after having all the seizures from the encephalitis he was taking 90mg twice a day. Dr. Knowles said in cases like his, where the seizures aren't that often, a low dose is all that's needed control them. After he didn't have side effects from the 15mg we did raise the dose to 22.5mg today. We'll see how it goes. I can guarantee you that when it's about one month from this last seizure I'll be pretty nervous waiting to see what will happen. The good news is I didn't get sick after this seizure. :-) Best of all Zephyr has been just fine since!

This weekend is the Flagstaff Kennel Club's show and I am showing Astro. I'm just going with the attitude of we're going for the experience and fun. I've really only started training Astro for conformation again in the past 2 or 3 weeks. He's doing really well, but I think the standing still for the exam and the teeth might be hard. Plus, Astro is under the impression that everyone wants to play. He'll be two years old at the end of July, but he is still total puppy and to me he still looks like a puppy too. This is actually fine with me, and I'm sure that has something to do with his prolonged puppyhood. :-)

In other Astro news, we started taking agility classes again three weeks ago and he is doing great! I am so proud of him and I think he really likes agility. He is doing a great job with his "take a bow" contacts (two on, two off). I was really impressed when he ran the dog walk fast and then nailed the contact last week, so awesome! He's doing really well with his focus on me too. And, I have to say, Astro gets the zoomies a lot less than Zephyr did when he was a little babe.

Pablo thinks that while we are out doing all this hiking, agility, and other nonsense this summer, he will just stretch out and take a nap. Maybe he will venture out to the back deck or even yard, maybe.

Very Subtle, Annie

2011-05-25T08:59:00.000-07:00

Spring

2011-05-23T15:08:00.000-07:00

Spring is here and it's finally warming up. Later this week the temperatures are supposed to be in the mid to upper 70's. And, this combined with longer days has been making everyone feel a little better. Zephyr has been doing well overall. He hasn't had any other seizures that I know of. The week following the seizure he did have a low fever and I could tell his energy was down. So, he went back on antibiotics and one evening got some fluids to help kick the fever in the butt. After about three days he was back to normal and has had no other problems. We're (Dr. Knowles and I) not sure what caused the fever. I was, and am, very worried that it was not an infection but something related to the autoimmune response that caused the encephalitis. The whole thing started with him having a fever but not really showing any other signs of an infection like sneezing, discharge, etc. It's not an exaggeration to say that at some points in the past two weeks I was in a bit of a panic. I think some of my friends were getting ready to do an intervention. ;-) Again I think it's just one of those things that we won't know for sure. It went away and I just try to be happy for that and not worry, which I'm only successful at half the time. :-)

I work close enough to home, so I can check on Zephyr when needed. The week after his seizure a couple times I closed the bedroom doors and put the dog beds by the couch so they would stay in there and I could leave the video camera pointed at him to see if he had a seizure. The tape only lasts an hour, but nothing showed up. Yes, I've thought about getting one of those pet cams. :-) Dr. Knowles even mentioned it and I think she was only half joking. She even said she'd take him to work. Actually, my principal has said it would be okay to do that because she knows how much I worry. But, Zephyr loves kids, so I'm not sure how much rest he would get and since he's doing well now and I can check on him during the day I think home is best.

This past Friday I took Zephyr down to see Dr. Knowles and he got his third, and hopefully last, chemotherapy treatment. She was still very positive about his recovery despite the seizure and fever issues. I asked how things went for the other dogs she's seen with similar conditions. She said that one did have seizures afterward and that another is a year out from treatment and doing well. I didn't ask about bad outcomes and I still haven't asked specifically about long term prognoses for Zephyr. I'm not sure I want to know. I don't think knowing would change his treatment and I do know that I would possibly have one more thing to worry about. Plus, I have a feeling there's just no way to really know an answer to that question. She did say that he still needs to take it easy because his immune system is compromised from the chemotherapy and encephalitis, and he's still healing. Towards the end of this week will be the low time for the white blood cells from the chemotherapy. Last time it went well with him only being tired a few days. Hopefully, this time will be the same.

"OMG! This is the best smell ever!"

Before Zephyr had the seizure one day I did take the boys out on a hike and I let them each go off leash, but not at the same time. Zephyr got a little skippy, but no full on forest running. Everyone had a great time and these are some pictures from the hike. I'm still taking Zephyr out on walks, but with the fever thing and now a new round of chemo we're limiting the time. This doesn't stop them from running and playing in the yard though. :-)

"I am not running in the forest. I am just stretching my legs."

"I AM running in the forest! Full Out!! Zoom, ..."

"Zoom, ..."

"ZOOM!!"

"So nice, cool, and refreshing and after a good hike."

"I'm going to see how much mud I can splash on my belly and sides."

"Look at me. I'm just a poor boy who was attacked by a vampire. I need some lovin."

This picture is not from our hike. This is Zephyr after his last blood draw. He got a little worked up and moved while they were sucking blood from his neck, which caused a small hematoma (pocket of blood under skin). This has happened before a long time ago, I guess they forgot he doesn't like vampires and does better with the leg. Zephyr was thinkin' that he looked quite fine in all his pastel patterned vet wrap. He wanted me to take him to the dog park afterward because he thought this could work to his advantage with the girls. Alas, the poor boy was very disappointed when we headed home. ;-)

I WANT TO KICK ITS ASS!!!! (Watch out, I'm going to go off a bit here)

2011-05-09T22:58:00.000-07:00

"IT" being the encephalitis and what ever caused it. Seriously, I want to "Go Ninja" on it, take it out like the rotten trash that it is, tell it to stay away from my boy or I'll off it!!!! That's putting it nicely! Zephyr is still doing well, but he had a seizure about 4:00 Saturday morning. This is the first one he's had, that I know about, since being in the hospital and it's the first time I was with him during one of his seizures. The others all happened at the hospital when I wasn't there or he was in the back. I have, unfortunately, seen and dealt with very bad seizures in people before, so I know what it's like. But, you can't call 911 for your dog that you love more than anything, you are all they have, and I will just say that it totally sucked! Sorry, I'm not being very positive here, but I am being honest. All kinds of visions went through my head. I won't go through a complete reenactment, but I bolted from bed, ran to get the diazepam, gave it to him, and the seizure stopped within some seconds. He came around quickly, I think a minute or so, hard to remember. The poor boy was so confused about what had happened. After he was pretty awake I had him stand up, he was a little wobbly, etc. Then I stood up and after some seconds... I got very sick. A huge head rush, nausea, burning up, and I couldn't stand up without almost passing out. Did I say how much all this sucked? I'm trying to take care of Zephyr while trying not to pass out or get sick. Alternating between the floor and Zephyr, who is now worried about me. My friend who is a nurse practitioner said it was a bad case of orthostatic hypotension from going from sleeping to huge adrenaline rush to being on the floor with Zephyr and then standing up. I'll Kick Its Ass Too!!! Not what I want to have happen when I need to take care of Zephyr. After about 20 minutes and going potty Zephyr settled down and jumped on my bed, laid down, and went to sleep. He's been fine since then. I, on the other hand, felt horrible the whole day and have gone back to lots of worrying.

I talked with Dr. Knowles that morning and she said it might be from scar tissue that has formed as his brain heals. He hasn't shown any of the other signs of the encephalitis before or after the seizure so that's good and probably consistent with it being from scar tissue. I've read that this can happen too. She says that usually when they seizure from a scar they continue to have seizures. Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn! Argh!! I'm kicking its ass in my head right now!

Okay, let's focus on the positive. I know that I am extremely fortunate to still have Zephyr and that his recovery has really gone very well so far. He is an amazing boy, maybe he won't continue to have seizures. Dr. Knowles still thinks he will continue to progress and recover in general. But, I still want to kick its ass! :-)

Wordless Wednesday

2011-05-03T21:54:00.000-07:00

Smooth

2011-05-01T22:12:00.000-07:00

Since the days have gotten longer the sun comes in to my guest room in the morning. Astro has been going in and enjoying the sun each morning and Zephyr joined him.

All went smoothly and Zephyr didn't have any trouble from his second chemo treatment and low white blood cell (WBC) counts this weekend. YEE HAA!!! :-) He was tired for a couple days, especially Friday, but that was it, no fever, etc. Saturday his energy was already increasing and he and Astro did a few laps and wrestle sessions around the yard in the afternoon. The Dr. called early Saturday with his blood test results from Friday. The WBC was 3,600 and I think the neutrophils were 2,300 (could be wrong on that one). For comparison, the first time he dropped to WBC of 900 and neutrophils 72, and two weeks ago he was at a normal level of 9,600 for the WBC count. Holy crap, no wonder he got sick the with the first chemo treatment! I think being on the prednisone and the slightly lower dose of Lomustine helped. I decided not to take Astro lure coursing on Saturday though. On Friday Zephyr was pretty tired and I was worried about leaving him for the day even though a friend was going to check on him. Once Zephyr got up Saturday morning I could tell he was already feeling better. So, later in the day I took Astro to town with me to Warner's Nursery. It's a really nice nursery with green houses and a great pond with Koi and turtles that the dogs love to watch.

Mary and Ketzel in Rally.

Today was our kennel clubs Conformation, Obedience, and Rally match. A match is like an official practice with judges, etc. I was there helping out for the day. We always have the match at this time of year and it never fails that winter returns for the day of our match. Although, at least this year it didn't snow or rain on us and the sun was out most of the day. It was just windy and cold, with the wind chill it was probably in the low 40's. Brr, when your standing there for six hours you get very cold. Most of us didn't wear our big winter coats and regretted it. I did bring my wool hat though. Other than that it was a really fun day and I think everyone had a lot of fun. A lot of people come up from Phoenix for our match because it is already too hot for shows down there.

Cristine and Whip. It was Whip's six month birthday today. Happy birthday Whip!

Liz and Angel in Conformation.

Liz and Cory in Rally.

Best Puppy in the match was a super cute baby Pug. I love this picture. She was so happy with her little one.

Best in Match was an Old English Sheepdog. His owner was also super happy.

It was a good weekend for everyone. We are supposed to have really nice weather this week with less wind and temps. in the 70's. Can't wait! I'm sure the boys and I will get out on some nice walkies.

Walkies

2011-04-26T21:03:00.000-07:00


"We're ready to go!" Zephyr and Astro in the warm spring grass.

Zephyr has been doing so well the past two weeks that we have been able to go on many nice walks in the forest. We started out with 30 minute walks and yesterday we were out for 2 1/2 hours. These pictures are from our walk yesterday. Zephyr's energy has been great for all our walks. Zephyr and Astro are staying on their Flexi's during the walks because I'm sure they would turn the forest in to a race track if they were both off leash, and that's still not an option. Even on the Flexi's sometimes they break out in to play and it's a challenge to keep them under control. And, I have to say that most of the time it's Zephyr that instigates the on leash romps. If it weren't for the shaved arm bands and belly, no one would even be able to tell that anything had happened to Zephyr. :-)

It's been almost eight weeks since Zephyr first got sick, six weeks since he started showing the neurological symptoms and things got really bad, and five weeks since I brought him home from the neurological center. He is having an awesome recovery from the encephalitis!! There have been no signs of it for over three weeks. His coordination, balance and eyesight are all normal. He's off the phenobarbital and is only taking 5mg of prednisone twice a day, which is a really low dose for him. His last blood work showed that his white blood cell count was back to normal, about 9,600, so he was set for his next chemotherapy treatment.

On Friday I took Zephyr to Phoenix to see Dr. Knowles for his second chemo treatment and a recheck. She was super happy with his progress and kept saying how great he looked. He weighed 85.3 lbs. which is about his normal weight, maybe a little less. Zephyr was very happy to see everyone, and it was nice for them to be able to see him as his normal happy, goofy self. In the exam room he kept going up to Dr. Knowles and giving her kisses on the cheek, it was so cute. We went outside and she was able to watch his gait and see him running around checking everything out.

Zephyr did have his chemotherapy treatment of Lomustine (CCNU). It ended up not being a lot less than the first 60mg rather than 70mg. Dr. Knowles wanted to lower it to 50mg but the oncologist recommended against that, so 60mg it was. He'll start taking an antibiotic tomorrow. I'm a little worried that he will get sick late this week or this weekend from his WBC count dropping low again. She said the prednisone helps to raise the WBC count which might help prevent him from getting the fever, etc. again (he wasn't taking prednisone the first time because it had possibly caused some blood in the stool). Also, I am completely prepared this time with fluids and another antibiotic to give him if he does get the sickies again.

I asked about what type of encephalitis Zephyr has. My main question was whether he has granulomatous meningoencephalomyelitis (GME), which is a progressive disease that is usually fatal. She doesn't think he has GME because it usually effects females, is not common in greyhounds, and his response to treatment is not really typical of GME. She thinks this was an immune mediated (autoimmune) response, which is what she's said from the beginning, and that it probably was a response to something that he came in contact with. This is good news because GME doesn't usually go away. She thinks Zephyr has a good chance of not having a re-occurrence, and she's seen this type of encephalitis before. The scary thing for me is that I don't know what he might have come in contact with that could have caused this. There are lots of possibilities including, poison, toxin, virus, and who knows what else. Hopefully, I'm explaining this mostly correct. From what Dr. Knowles said and what I've read, I've learned that this is something they still don't know a lot about and are still studying. So, in the end I think I won't ever know for sure what happened to cause the this or exactly what type of encephalitis it is, and that only time will tell if it is completely gone. That's rather unnerving, but what can I do about it? Not much, so I will just be ever grateful that Zephyr is still with me and that he is having such a great recovery.

Cruisin' around checkin' out all the new sights and smells.

Our walkies have been really nice, the snow is gone and it's warmed up. I think this has helped us all feel better and like things are starting to get back to normal. We've been taking it easy walking on mostly flat ground and not going too far, our longest less than four miles, and not going too fast. This has given the boys lots of time to investigate and smell around and it's really helped me to relax and get rid of some of the stress. Yesterday we explored a little and found a few new trails, at least one was a game trail because it headed right to a wire fence where I could see that the animals were crawling under to get past.

Aahhh, nice cool fresh clean water!

In our exploring we took an old road/trail that ended up leading down to Pumphouse Wash. It was a really nice secluded spot with a few small pools and lots of trees.

Splish and Splash!

We stayed here awhile, walked around, and the boys played together. It was really nice to be out and relaxed not having to worry about much. I've been feeling a little less worried since Zephyr has been doing so well and especially after the great recheck with Dr. Knowles.

"La, La, La, I'm playing in the water on a nice spring day!"

Astro has been able to get out on some hikes with friends and their dogs the last two weekends. One was with a few friends and seven other dogs. All the dogs were able to go off leash and Astro had lots of fun running around. The real fun started when they found mud puddles. Unfortunately I was a bad blogger and did not bring the camera, so words will have to do. Astro loves to lay down and rub his face in the mud and then get all spunky and zoom around. Zipper, a Pyrenean Shepard, gets her coat soaking wet and then flies around looking like some kind of explosion. Mouse, a rough coated Dachshund, decided to go swimming in the biggest puddle. She was just paddling around while everyone else was spinning around. It was a lot of fun to watch all the dogs. This weekend we went for a nice walk with Chris and Friday and Linus at Fort Tuthill. When we were getting the dogs ready Friday went over to my car and was looking and smelling around. We're pretty sure he was looking for Zephyr, so sweet. They all got to do some wrestling and to run in the tennis court. Chris had been working on Drafting with Friday and Linus. I am thinking we need to hook Astro up to the cart because he pulled me up all the hills on the hike. As long as Zephyr is feeling well enough for me to feel comfortable leaving him for the day, and as long as it's not too hot, I will be taking Astro to a lure coursing trial on Saturday. It will be his first trial and I'll just have him do a JC run, but it should be fun.

"Aren't I lookin' Super Fine?"

Yes, you are! Zephyr's coat did get a less shiny and soft. He also lost a lot of muscle tone and, of course, hasn't gained a lot of it back because he's been taking it easy. I think both of those things are normal for what he went through. They are both already improving though. The funny thing is that since he has gained weight but doesn't have all the muscle, Zephyr is looking a little, ah hem, rounder in the rear and waist. I told him not to worry, he just takes after his mom. ;-) I actually think it's great, it has always been a struggle to keep weight on this boy.

"Ready?"

When we met with Dr. Knowles I made a comment like, Zephyr can't wait to be able to run in the forest. She responded with "Maybe in the winter". Ouch! I was hoping for maybe later this summer. I'll have to try asking that question again in a month or so. They do get to run in the yard though.

"Set!"

I have absolutely no doubt that Zephyr would run full out if I let both of them off. He would probably end up out of energy, sore, and with a few cuts, which is not an option for him, so we compromise. To help with the problem of the Flexi's getting tangled up I let Astro off but kept Zephyr on leash.

"GO!"

This doesn't count as running in the forest does it?

Zig this way.

Astro's got the moves to keep Zephyr moving.

Zag that way.

Resting in the shade.

A very happy boy coming back from exploring. And, a very happy mom was waiting for him.

On the way back they had calmed down and I decided to let Zephyr off leash, but kept Astro on. He explored a little but didn't break out in to the zoomies. FYI, this doesn't count as running in the forest either. ;-)

Feeling Good

2011-04-12T21:08:00.000-07:00

"It snowed and I'm going to get to play in it!"

Here's Zephyr, the happy boy who's been feeling pretty good and a little nutty this past week or so! The encephalitis still seems to be under control, Woo Hoo!!! I've been taking lots of pictures and thought I would share some along with an update. My thoughts might seem a little random, it's hard to keep track of everything and then write it down in an organized fashion. But, I'm finding that writing is really helping me handle everything. When Zephyr came home I started documenting everything in a notebook. Dates, times, amounts, behaviors, etc., of everything that happened. I'm up to about 20 pages now. When he first got sick over a month ago I thought I was over exaggerating about being so worried about the fact that his head seemed to be bothering him, rather than thinking it was something small and simple, and considering all kinds of horrible things. I remember even seeing something about encephalitis. We all know how that turned out, so now every little detail is considered important. :-) I have a science background too and I'm sure that has something to do with wanting to record everything, plus it just makes me feel better to write it down. It's definitely not an exaggeration to say that I have been, and still am, extremely worried about Zephyr and everything that has happened and that could still happen. I even worry about the fact that I worry and that Zephyr, Astro, and the kitties can tell when I'm so worried and upset, and that it affects them and Zephyr's recovery. Holy Cow!!

"Mom, please don't worry so much, I'm going to be okay. Plus, I love all the chicken and beef you are cooking for me."

I try to stay positive, project a happy attitude for Zephyr and the others (I know they sense these kind of things), remind myself that I am doing the best I can and that Zephyr is doing a great job of getting better. I think I'm hyper-sensitive to all this because Zephyr is my first dog, I love him so much, and I've never had a young healthy animal get so sick. I feel very fortunate to have him right now because I've heard even more stories of people suddenly losing their young dogs.

Under house arrest and ordered to get even more rest!

Last Thursday, and Friday I was worried that he was coming down with something. He had been sneezing some and on Friday morning he had a little goop in one eye. I had been taking him on short walks and, although he had really good energy and wore his coat when out, I was worried that he might have done too much or picked up something from another dog that had been on the trail. I had also been giving him a limited diet, boiled chicken or beef, at the time because his stool hadn't been normal since getting sick and I really needed to get them under control. Thursday night he was so hungry, and I was so worried that he was getting sick and needed more nutrition, that I mixed chicken, kibble, and some of the EVO canned beef up and let him eat as much as he wanted. I think he ate about five cups in addition to the meal he had in the afternoon. I also stopped the prednisone for 24 hours because it would be suppressing his immune system that was already suppressed from the chemo. Happily, after the eye goop and more rest, nothing else developed.

Gettin' goofy on the couch! "Ain't I a cutie?"

Overall, Zephyr's energy and strength have improved even more. His mood has really improved, he has been very playful and happy. His personality is getting back to its regular self. I'm sure his white blood cell level has improved even more from his last test at 3,500 a week and a half ago. I'm pretty sure he has gained back more of the weight he lost too.

What a beautiful sight!

Zephyr and Astro have been able to play again and they are so happy! I always stay close by to monitor and play referee. Zephyr doesn't have all his strength back, you never know what could happen, and I'm not in the mood to take any chances (although Zephyr is), so I calm things down when he starts doing things like his 180 twists over Astro. :-) I want to let him play though because I think it helps him stay happy and also builds strength and coordination.

"I'm so happy Zephyr is getting better! He's the best!"

Astro has been so awesome through all of this. I'm sure that he knew/knows what's going on. When Zephyr wasn't feeling well Astro was so calm and would lie down next to him. On the Saturday that Zephyr was in the hospital and not doing well I took Astro with me to visit. Zephyr could barely wake up, etc., so for awhile I just laid next to him and Astro laid down too and rested his head on Zephyr. What a sweetie. He has also be extra cuddly with me. Astro definitely hasn't had his share of walks, running, and play in the past weeks. He's handled it so well. I've played with him some in the house and the backyard. I've also done some fun "training" sessions with chicken and beef treats in the house with both Astro and Zephyr to try and help with boredom. There doesn't seem to be any kind of cognitive damage from the encephalitis or seizures. While things were bad he was circling to the right and the Dr. said that was because the right side of his brain was stronger. I think maybe the left side was more effected by the encephalitis, but I still need to ask about that. During our sessions I've had him do lots of left turns and circles to strengthen that side and he's done well.

"Uh, Pablo, that's my dog bed." "Oh yea? Try and make me move Astro! Besides, how many times have I seen you try to fit in a cat bed?"

All of the cats; Riley, Pablo, and Annie have even been great too. They've been sleeping on the bed with me more and often with a dog or two. Yes, Zephyr's able to get on the bed, no problem. I've had Zephyr's fabric crate, the big 48 inch long one that is even taller than my bed, at the foot of the bed since he came home, although I'm not zipping it up anymore. Today when I got home they were playing in the bedroom. Zephyr decided that rather than go around the fabric crate to get on the bed he would just jump on it and then on to the bed! Scared the crap out of me! Then a few minutes later he just jumped over its corner and on to the bed. I decided that it was time to fold up the fabric crate. :-)

"What? I know you were done anyway." Cracker thief!

It's safe to say that Zephyr is even more spoiled now and can pretty much do no wrong. He's been very hungry and for the first time even begs for food. I had finished having some cheese and crackers, but there was one cracker left. He just walked up and took it. I just watched, let him take it, smiled, and grabbed the camera. :-) I'm scared to think about what will happen when I stop cooking chicken and beef for him, and Astro and the kitties because I have to be fair.

"Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha! We're playing together in the last snow storm of the season!"

This past weekend we had another snow storm, about 10 inches fell. On Sunday I let Zephyr and Astro out for a few short play sessions. Again, I referee. They had the best time and Zephyr did great with no slips or accidents.

"Catch me if you can, Zephyr!" "You know I can, Astro!"

I even let them do a few laps around the yard. It was great to see them playing and running together. I'm sure it was the happiest they both had been in the past month.

I also want to mention that on Sunday Zephyr had his first normal poo in over three weeks! Who knew that poo could be such a great thing! I was so happy! LOL! His stool had been very soft or runny most likely from all the medicine and diet change. He's down to only the phenobarbital, prednisone, and Pepcid AC. As long as things go well, he'll be off the phenobarbital within the next week.

Happy, tired boys after playing in the snow.

I'll probably start taking Zephyr on short walks again tomorrow. He was full of energy when I got home today and he kept going to the front door wanting to go out. He's been playing off and on all evening and talking it up too. Currently he is barking at Pablo, who was resting peacefully. And he wonders why Pablo gives him a hard time.

Sweet sleepy guy.

This Friday Zephyr will go for another blood draw to check his white blood cell count and everything else. As long as it all looks good the next Friday we will go to Phoenix to see Dr. Knowles for his next chemotherapy (Lomustine, CCNU) treatment and a checkup. He'll have to start taking all the antibiotics again then, which is a bit of a bummer because it will probably mess his GI track and stools up again. The chemotherapy dose will be lower this time since his WBC count dropped really low and he got sick the first time, so that will be better. I'll be able to talk to the Dr. and ask some questions I still have then. I'm just so happy that I was able to get him the treatment he needed and that it has gone so well. The other morning before I got out of bed he jumped up and licked my face. I couldn't have been happier!

Lots of Rest

2011-04-03T20:06:00.000-07:00

Zephyr did a great job of getting better this past week. He started to really gain energy and strength. He was having some trouble peeing, it was hard for him to get things going, but that's improved a lot. The neurological symptoms are basically gone, virtually no visible symptoms at least. His balance and coordination have really improved. He still slips a little, can trip on things, and can make a mistake going down the stairs. These things seem to happen especially when he is tired or loopy from the phenobarbital. He's on a schedule to reduce and hopefully eliminate the phenobarbital. He's gotten to the point where he really wants to play and has even trotted, and galloped in the yard. His gait and body is a little off when he gallops/runs. I'm having to be very careful that he doesn't overdo it. I've let him and Astro play some and a little in the yard, but as is typical for Zephyr he wants to go all out and get too rowdy so I have to reign him in. :-) He's also enjoyed barking at neighbors and passers by, chasing a few ravens, and had a couple visitors yesterday and today who were probably surprised to see the little beast bouncing around and me trying to hold him back. Zephyr has his own little pharmacy going on too. He doesn't seem to mind since the pills are being wrapped in Muenster cheese (it's soft enough to wrap around and stick to the pills). He also gets cooked chicken or beef with his meals which seems to be working out nicely for him. Astro and the three kitties think all these bonuses are pretty good too. I'm starting to take him on short slow walks. Today the Dr. said maybe another month of recovering. I don't want to take any risks and he still gets tired fast and needs lots of rest to heal.

I took him for more blood work Friday and his WBC count is at 3,500 (normal 7,000) now and everything else looks good. He's also gained four pounds since last Friday. He's started taking prednisone again today. That's also to suppress any inflammation. He'll have 1 or 2 more rounds of the chemotherapy medicine, Lomustine (CCNU). His next dose won't be has high since they know how low his WBC level dropped.

So, Zephyr seems to be doing great so far. I still have questions for the Dr. about what might happen in the future. She was pretty positive when this all started, saying that often there is recovery without permanent damage. We've just been focused on getting him on to his recovery, so we haven't talked much about that lately. It is really hard to not constantly worry and fuss over everything I notice.

I feel very lucky to have him right now. I've heard a few stories of friends losing their young healthy dogs in a matter of hours, one was just right before Zephyr got sick. He's doing an excellent job, I'm really proud of him.

Getting Better!

2011-03-28T20:42:00.000-07:00

Zephyr is doing great today! His energy is up, he was playful this morning and when I checked on him at lunch. He's had two days of good meals. This is so funny I have to share it. After his dinner he went out to go potty, his first poop in two and a half days. When he was done he was so happy the next thing I know he's running right at me! I grabbed him because he was heading for the stairs, he ended up darting up them anyway. When we got on the deck we played a little. Then I put him back on leash and let Astro out. They had a romping mouthing session that almost got out of control. At one point Zephyr bounced over Astro. :-) I calmed it down after that. Then Astro decided it was time to zoom around the yard. Zephyr was so ready to go! I had to hold him back as he barked it up watching Astro zoom around for a few minutes. Then I took him down the stairs to the yard and he proceeded to drag me around wanting to go run and play. I didn't let this go on too long, I didn't want him to over do it, which he always has tendency to do anyway. When we headed back up the stairs he went so fast I dropped the leash because I couldn't keep up. Woo Hoo! Now he is sound asleep again hopefully doing lots of healing.

Here's the guy right after coming home on Wednesday. He lost about 8 pounds and he's supposed to stay warm, so I've been obsessively putting blankets on him and making him wear his coats (double wrapped in the morning and night). In fact he looks very similar to this picture right now. :-)

This is a little later on Wednesday. Too tired to stand up, but not too tired to get in a little play time with brother.

Can you tell comfort is important in this house? This was Thursday. See his battle wounds on his arms? His belly is shaved too. At first I thought about having Astro stay with my parents for a few days when Zephyr came home. I thought maybe he would be too rowdy and cause trouble while Zephyr was in his crate when I was gone. I'm so glad I didn't. They were so happy to see each other!! Astro has been great. Today was the first time in over five days he's ran around outside and he hasn't even been able to go for a walk. Poor guy. Normally two days pushes him over the edge. I think he knows Zephyr is sick, I swear he's even been a little more protective of the house and yard. I know it has really helped Zephyr to have Astro with him.

Zephyr Is Home

2011-03-26T18:15:00.000-07:00

I brought Zephyr home on Wednesday. His progress continued and on Tuesday he could walk and support his weight, his vision improved, and he could eat and drink on his own. On Weds. he was even better and he came home. The drive from Phoenix was easy, he just slept the whole time. When we got home I went in the house to put Astro outside and came back out to find Zephyr in the front seat. :-) I think he was happier to see Astro than me, he wanted to play with him and I let them do some mouthing. He was still wobbly and had some of the neurological symptoms. I had to lift him up the stairs to the door. Luckily I got a Help-Em-Up harness, it has really helped. His walking steadily improved and he's able to carefully do the stairs now. He still gets a little off balance and the tile is slippery for him. I am with him when ever he's walking though and he hardly needs help from the harness now. I've put rugs all over the tile and have an xpen to keep him on the area rug in the living room. He isn't turning toward the right as much, but he does still tend to bump into things. It's like his depth perception is off, he has a hard time judging how close things are maybe. It's been a week since he's had any seizures, which is great, he is still taking phenobarbital though. He has been really tired and sleeping a lot, he doesn't like to be up for more than 30 minutes or so, but when he has been awake he has good energy and even wants to play and chase ravens. He has been very hungry, he lost about 8 pounds. I've been trying to let him eat a lot while keeping the diet bland because he has been having soft stools. He's taking lots of medicines, three antibiotics, etc., so that is probably contributing to his soft stools. So, overall he has made really good progress, and I am so happy to have him home.

Now, after all of the great progress, today has been hard for Zephyr. Last Friday he started the chemotherapy drug Lomustine, CCNU. This was because it looks like it's an autoimmune response that caused the encephalitis and the CCNU will suppress the immune system and reduce the inflammation. About a week later, now, is when the effect of the CCNU is at it's peak and his white blood cell count is lowest. They monitor how low the white blood cell count drops and I took him for blood work yesterday. Yesterday I noticed that his energy level wasn't as high and today he has a fever (103 -104), no energy, won't eat, and has a small cough. This morning I called the neurologist to let her know what was going on and then the vet who did the blood draw yesterday called to say his level was very low, WBC is 0.9 (usually 5) and neutrophils? 72 (usually 2,000) . When it's so low infection will just develop even if they aren't exposed to anything, although it might not be an infection that's causing the fever. After the two Dr.s talked I took him in for a change in antibiotics and to add another one. I have fluids to give him subcutaneously to help him get past the fever, etc., and because one of the new antibiotics can damage the kidney if he doesn't drink enough water. We also wanted to make sure he had energy so I made a food puree to squirt on his tongue and I was able to give him almost three cups. The neurologist talked to the oncologist to confirm all this. They say that with this type of treatment it will often pass after about 24 hours. If it doesn't get better he might have to go in to the hospital for IV antibiotic and fluids. I'm hoping that with everything I'm doing at home that will not happen.

I didn't hesitate to call this morning though because I didn't want to risk anything. I have to say our neurologist, Dr. Kim Knowles at the Veterinary Neurology Center, is great. She's stayed late, come in on weekends, looked up things about greyhounds, gave me her personal number, talked with the oncologist, etc. I try to stay calm and not worry too much, which is a challenge. He was doing so well, I hope and think he will continue to recover.

Update

2011-03-21T22:10:00.000-07:00

First, I really want to thank everyone for all of the wonderful comments!! It has really helped me stay positive and to not feel so alone. It was so nice to read them all. And, I've told Zephyr that so many people and pups are thinking of him and hoping for his recovery.

Zephyr has made progress in the past two days. On Friday he had about 5 seizures, was totally out, and I thought I was going to loose him. On Saturday he was barely aware, could hardly wake up, and couldn't see. Sunday was some improvement in all areas. Today he was able to push himself into a stand, but he needs support and guidance to stay up and walk. He is very disoriented and his coordination is poor. His vision is still poor, but he can see and track objects and he can definitely tell when I come and go. I took Astro with me to see him on Saturday and Sunday because she said that would help him stay stimulated and motivate him. I definitely think it helped. They have been using a Help-em-Up harness that goes around his chest and rear and has handles to help him walk. I got one today for when he comes home. He is able to eat on his own now while he's laying down and propped up. I brought in some beef and kibble puree that I made, some cooked ground beef, boiled chicken breast, and kibble for him to have plus what they have. His appetite is great, apparently the phenobarbital and steroids make them very hungry. Unfortunately, this afternoon he had some blood in his stool which the Dr. said is from the steroids. So, he has to stop the steroids for a day or so. That's unfortunate because the steroids help with the inflammation. He is very frustrated with the situation. They told me that often the animals get upset because they are confused, etc., because the brain has been injured and they can't do what they want. Also, Zephyr has separation anxiety and is very vocal when he is not happy about things, and he's just a vocal guy anyway. So, he's being very vocal about his dislike of the entire situation and I'm sure it's driving them nuts sometimes. It kills me though because when I leave he gets upset. The Vet Techs there are great. Someone is there 24 hours. I know they sit with them when they can. So far he's been the only dog staying overnight. His kennel area is large, plenty of room for him and a few people, and they have put nice big pads on the whole floor with blankets and pillows. If he continues to progress he might come home on Wednesday. Whenever he comes home he will still have lots of healing and recovering to do. I need to adjust things in the house to make sure it's safe for him to walk around. Probably build a ramp over stairs off the back deck. The Dr. said it could be 3 weeks of recovery if things go well. Mainly his brain needs to recover and heal. Luckily he is a young strong boy. I am just trying to stay positive and focused, but being ready for anything to happen. I am exhausted. We don't know what might have caused this. From the MRI, blood work, etc., the Dr. said it's likely some kind of auto immune response. I'll try to keep updating.

Thanks again for all your support. This week I've been reminded again of the second best thing about having a dog, all of the great friends you make.

Not Good

2011-03-19T19:56:00.000-07:00

I've found out that Zephyr has encephalitis (swelling in the brain). On Thursday I took him to the veterinary neurology center in Phoenix because of symptoms he was showing. It looks like it is not caused by an infection based on MRI, blood work, etc. But she wasn't able to get spinal fluid because of concern about the amount of inflammation, that would confirm an infection. He was given steroids to reduce inflammation. He did really well the first night, but started having seizures about 5 or 6 Friday morning. He had many seizures yesterday. Something had to be done so he started on chemotherapy yesterday about 5:30 p.m. That reduces the inflammation, but it is a risk if he does have some kind of infection. Today the only seizure was about 4 a.m. unless he's had one since I left about 4:30 p.m. Today he could barely wake up and he can't stand. He can take some water and chicken puree when it's squirted on his tongue. And once he got really upset and was barking, howling/crying out, and kicking his front legs. I was holding him then. The Dr. said that's likely from his brain trying to "reboot" and his confusion, maybe from coming out of the sedation and seizure medicine, etc. I don't know how this will turn out. Sorry I can't give more information now, but I just wanted to let you all know. Needless to say I am extremely scared. This is a huge shock. If you would keep Zephyr in your thoughts and prayers I would really appreciate it.

We Are Stylish

2011-03-15T09:52:00.000-07:00

Last week I was awarded the Stylish Blogger Award by This is Lauren (and Greyhounds!). I've seen some of these blog awards but this is the first time my blog has received one, so I'm pretty excited. Thanks to Lauren and Bernie!

To accept the award I have to give eight facts about myself and then pass the award on to eight other blogs. So, here we go.

1. My first dog was a Doberman, Bandit, that we had when I was a kid. I did a lot of hiking/walking with him too. I once told him "sick um" when some kids where bullying me (we were in my fenced yard and the kids on the other side), he scared them away. :-)

2. My first cats were Siamese, Tom and Molly. Tom would sleep with me and sometimes I'd wake up with him laying across my neck.

3. After having short hair for well over 10 years I'm letting it grow and it's a little past my shoulders now.

4. Zephyr was the first dog I had as an adult and the first dog I've trained. Poor boy!

5. I've never been to Europe, but hope I get there one day.

6. I've been to Australia three times, and hope I get to go back someday.

7. I'd like to live somewhere else besides Arizona someday.

8. I really like ice cream.

Here are the eight + 1 blogs that I'm giving the Stylish Blogger Award to.

1. Graceful Greyhounds
2. The 'splorin" Wolfies
3. Aragon Greyhounds
4. Jet's Furkid Palace
5. Never Say Never Greyhounds
6. A Dog's Journey
7. Sweetheart's Story
8. A Dog Blog
9. Tales and Tails

Zephyr Has Been Sick

2011-03-07T21:19:00.000-08:00

Here's Astro comforting poor Zephyr when he was sick this weekend.

Get ready, this is a wordy long one. When I got home from work on Friday Zephyr was sick. He came to greet me but he was hunched over, looked upset, and didn't want Astro to bother him. His eyes definitely didn't look right, a little cloudy and not as open, and he was a little shaky. I let him outside and he went potty but it was obvious that something was wrong. Since Astro was excited and kept wanting to play I decided to take Zephyr for a walk around the roads so I could see what was going on. He was walking okay but mostly a lot more subdued than usual, only few times of picking up the pace. When we got home he again didn't want Astro to bother him and really didn't want him around his face. I took his temperature and it was a high, 102.5 to 103.

So, I called the vet's office. They asked what was going on and I explained. They asked if he was eating, I said he had in the morning. It was late in the afternoon, almost 5, but I said I was going to bring him in. Then while I was getting him ready I decided to see if he would take a chicken treat and he did. So, now the second guessing begins. I called the vet's office back and told them that he seemed to be eating and that I would just wait until the morning to bring him in. I was having a hard time deciding since I knew it was the end of their day and I didn't really know if this was an emergency. After watching him for a little bit more, I decide to call the vet's again. My poor veterinarian and her staff, I'm pretty sure they think I'm a nut sometimes. But, I also think they are used to me because I have been seeing the same veterinarian for almost 20 years and she has always had the same main office manager. This is who I talked to the third time I called and she helped me feel a little more comfortable and also reminded me that I could always call their emergency number if things changed.

Okay, I am just going to admit it right here, I get really, really, really upset when there's something wrong with one of my animals. It's probably fair to say that, although I do well when it comes to taking care of them when they are sick, etc., when I am left to sit and think about what's causing them to be sick and wonder about what's going to happen, I tend to over exaggerate and make myself really upset. So, in the course of the evening I had considered the following as causes of Zephyr's illness. First was antifreeze poisoning and kidney failure because maybe he licked some on the road when we went out for our walk Wednesday. You would think that the fact that he ate his dinner Friday night would make me feel better, but that just made me consider this second option, his eyes and ears were hurting because he had a brain tumor. Third was one of the cats scratched his eyes and that's why they were hurting and not right. That one actually seemed to calm me down because it seemed the worst out of my three main choices. Notice how I don't even consider that maybe he just got into something that has made him sick or that he might have a virus? What a nut.

So, we make it through the night and I actually slept some, but Zephyr is not any better in the morning. He went potty and I was able to get a stool sample. Another good sign was he didn't really have diarrhea, pretty normal with a little soft. And off to the vet's we go. When we get there he has a 103.5 temperature. She presses all over, on his head too, and he only has a little discomfort in his belly. But, he is clearly not feeling well and is shaking some. She gave him an injection of Baytril to get him started on antibiotics right away. While we were waiting for the fecal results I walked him around outside. He did well, but he did have a small amount of diarrhea. After a little while my veterinarian came out and said that his stool had a lot of long chains of bacteria. She didn't say exactly what kind, but that it wasn't the kind that comes from eating dead things. So, this is the suspected cause of the fever and him not feeling well. I asked about his head and she said he could have a headache, maybe from the fever. This all makes sense, and is much better than all of my ideas. So, I am much relieved and with more Baytril and something else that I can't pronounce for possible parasites, we head home.

To give Zephyr a chance to rest I decided to go back to town and take Astro because he was quite full of energy and ready to play. When we got home in the afternoon Zephyr seemed to feel a little better, but he still had a temperature of about 102.5. He did eat when we first came home from the vet's and I fed him again in the afternoon. Things were going well until later that night. Zephyr was sleeping next to me on the couch. When he went to rollover on his back and turn his head upside down he yelped and went back to his side. This got me all upset again. I had also noticed that he was doing more of this snorting, not really sneezing, more like a snorting like something was in his nose. When I pressed all around his head it didn't bother him, but then I noticed that it also hurt him when he tried to shake his head. It occurred to me that his head might hurt because he had a fever. I mean back in December I had a fever of only about 100 for a day and I felt horrible, achy all over, including ears, and a headache. But, of course I also considered other things like the brain tumor and now also the possibility of him having something like a foxtail in nose. He hadn't had any discharge from his eyes or nose though. Later, a friend also mentioned Valley Fever, but he doesn't really seem to show those symptoms either. Valley Fever is common in the more arid desert areas of AZ like Phoenix. We don't go to those types of areas much, but of course he has visited. Needless to say I managed to get myself all worked up again. I ended up giving him a Rimadyl in hope that it might help with his pain.

So, off to bed we went and Zephyr slept with me most of the night. I heard him doing the snorting once during the night. Toward the morning he jumped off the bed and then later he jumped back up. I noticed that he seemed to have good energy when he jumped. When I got up he was sound asleep and I didn't want to bother him. He's not really much of a morning dog anyway. But after awhile I had to see how he was doing so I went and woke him up. He walked down the hall and by the time he got to the back door he was wagging his tail. My heart cheered up a little. When I let him out I could tell he had more energy. Then he saw a raven and chased it and the heavy weight lifted and I was so happy. He was wagging his tail and shaking his head a little without much pain. When he and Astro got back to the deck we had a little celebration play. After going in I took his temperature and it was down to about 101 or less. He ate some breakfast and then went back to sleep. He was definitely feeling better and later when a friend stopped by he was happy to see her and bouncing around.

Astro and I went to agility practice during the day and when we got home Zephyr was doing well. Last night, while he was on the couch, he rolled over on to his back with upside down head with no problems. Today and tonight he is still doing a lot better. I have noticed that his eyes and ears are still a bit sensitive and his temperature is about 101.5, he is also still doing the snorting thing sometimes. His appetite is good. I'm hoping the ears and head sensitivity and snorting will go away as he continues on the antibiotics. But if it's still going on tomorrow night I'll be calling the vet's again on Wednesday. Otherwise, he is feeling so much better, and therefore, so am I. It was rough though. This is the first time one of my dogs has been sick and had a fever. I could just really tell how bad he was feeling and it made me feel horrible. I can't imagine how those with human kids handle it when they get sick with things, especially for the first time.

Woods Canyon Hike

2011-03-03T20:52:00.000-08:00

Hi! Hi! This is Zephyr! And this is Astro! We are so excited to tell you about a hike through Woods Canyon that Mom took us on way back in January on Presidents' Day. Can you believe she didn't share this earlier? We have hijacked her computer in the middle of the night to ensure that you all get to see this great place. You are lucky anyways because, let's face it, everyone knows that the humans' senses are not as keen as the canines'. So, even though she does her best, Mom leaves out some of the best things about our hikes. Look at that nice soft reddish dirt! We loved it because it smelled so good and different types of plants grew here that smelled really good. This was one of our favorite hikes yet!

We just loved this hike in Woods Canyon! It was the first time we had been there, even Mom. Even though it was a holiday we only passed a couple people and that was at the beginning of the hike. The day was warm and dry. Only nice soft fresh smelling dirt under out feet, no cold icy snow. The air was full of fresh new scents. OMG, we were in heaven hunting around all day! And, listen to this, there were cows on the trail!! That's right, Live Loose COWS right on the trail right in front of us!!!! Holy Cow!!! (Hee, Hee, Hee, we are so funny) Unfortunately, Mom had us on leash the whole hike so we was not able to go a-cow-coursin. Yea, this is Zephyr here, I went a-cow-coursin once and it was pretty fun, but cows are slow so I had to run in circles around them. Mom said I was trying to herd them, but that I didn't do a great job. I said I heard them just fine, but they must not have heard me when I told them to run as fast as they can so we could race.

Look at all those bushes and trees. You just know there are bunnies in there, and birds, and COWS!! And, if they weren't there when we checked, they had been there, and we were on their trail the whole day. It was fun because even though Mom wouldn't let us off leash she still let us roam and follow the scent tracks. She said she'd never seen us hunting around so much and she really wants to try tracking with us now. We say, Duh Mom, to be a good hound you have to use your nose too.

Let us tell you a little more about those Cows. We had been on alert for a while because the the cow scent had reached our noses a long time before. Mom had seen some cow pies and hoof prints so she knew cows had been in the area, she just didn't know how close they were to us. We were strolling along the trail in an area that had lots of bushes and trees. The ground was soft and a little damp in some areas. Astro and I were out ahead of Mom on our Flexi's zig-zagging back and forth across the trail investigating everything. All of a sudden as we came around a corner there they were, two COWS standing on the trail about 50 feet in front of us!! At first we froze for a second or two. Then I came to my senses and told Astro that we needed to let our prey drive loose. We started bouncing and pulling and barking. We kept looking at Mom and asking why in the world was she not letting us go? She was not moved and did not let us go a-cow-coursin. :-( She did have to do some rearranging though. The cows were not leaving the trail, they just looked at us. So, Mom put one of us on each side of her and held our collars as we slowly walked toward the cows. Mom had to lean back to help keep us controlled. The cows were stubborn and just walked along the trail in front of us for a while and then they went off in to the trees. We tried to follow them, but Mom wouldn't let us. Big Bummer! We continued on the trail and now we were on hyper-alert, checking every side track, every bush, and every tree. And then, Holy Cow, there were more Cows on the trail! Hee, Hee, Hee, Hee, Hee, it gives us the giggles as we think of them now! OMG, it was so awesome! The cows are so slow and we are so fast, if only we could have chased them! Mom just told us in her Mom Voice, "This is exactly why you two are not allowed off leash in areas that we are not familiar with". "Blah-Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah", Whatever, so lame.

Here I am showing Astro how to hunt using your eyes, ears, and nose. As his big brother I feel that it's my job to make sure he learns how to be a proper hound. If you click on the picture twice you'll be able to see that I was in perfect hunting position. My body was still, my nose was taking in all the scents, my ears were perked to take in all the sounds, and most importantly my eyes were focused on the distant trees and bushes where I knew my prey was hiding. There were birds everywhere here. Quail on the ground, Dove on the ground and in trees, and lots of other little birds. And, of course, COWS! I was so excited I nearly went into a point!

Okay, let's take a break from the Cows. You have to forgive Zephyr he gets really excited about those kinds of things. Now, I, Astro, will demonstrate how all you hounds can get yourselves a lookin and smellin super fine for days to come after your hike. This is especially helpful if there is a special someone you are trying to impress. First, you need to dig up some nice soft fresh dirt. Try digging in a few places to find the best dirt that is full of the most scent and is really sticky. A note on proper digging position, your rear needs to be up high relative to your front to get the best leverage for digging and throwing dirt. Also, try rolling and rubbing in the dirt to see how good it smells and how well it sticks to you.

Once you find some super great dirt you really need to get down in it and rub it all over your body, but especially all over your muzzle, cheeks, neck, and forehead. It's even better if the dirt is mud!! Look closely at the picture above, click twice for an up close view. Notice how my body is positioned to allow me to put lots of pressure on my face as I rub back and forth, back and forth, in this fresh mud that was next to the creek. Also, notice that the dirt is not just on my face, I've rubbed it all down my neck and I've made sure to get it on my chest, front paws and arms, and back feet. And, look very closely at my eyes, this is the best part! While you are doing this rubbing, you will get the most fantastic feeling throughout your body that for a little while you forget everything, just like when you are chasing a bunny.

Here is the fabulous finished product! Isn't it Great!? Notice how I use the two layer method. My first layer appears lighter but is really pressed all through my fur down to my skin. The second layer is heavier and concentrated around my nose and chin. Mmmm, so yummy. I could smell it for days afterward. Heaven!

Strong smells came from all kinds of places along the trail. We take turns investigating the small areas that only one of us can fit in. Hiking is so fun because we get to climb on all kinds of rocks. Here I was checking out a good smell around some rocks and bushes. Luckily, it was January and we didn't have to worry about Rattlesnakes. We have never seen a Rattlesnake and Mom says we probably never will because she won't take us hiking in areas where they live in the summer. Oh, Oh, Zephyr here, that's not true. I did see a Rattlesnake once!! It was a few years ago when Mom and I were hiking in the forest near our house. We were going down the trail and all of a sudden we heard the rattle, "SSHHZZZ"! I was out ahead of Mom about 10ft on my Flexi. We look to the right and see this very angry snake at the bottom of a pine tree. Fast as lightening, Mom pulls me to the left and I was like "No problem I don't want anything to do with that crazy thing!" Mom said that was the first Rattlesnake she had seen here and she's lived here 20 years. Luckily they are Timber Rattlesnakes up here and they are less aggressive and poisonous. But, that one was really angry, and we never even got closer than about 3 or 4 feet.

The creek going through Woods Canyon is called Dry Beaver Creek. It wasn't dry though, it had lots of water because of snow melting up higher. There are cactus here and Astro got one spine in his nose that Mom had to help him get out. Yea, I didn't like it, the spine was right on the tip of my nose and it wouldn't come off when I swiped it with my paw. Well Astro, at least it wasn't like my cactus incident.

The water was really deep and rushing in the creek. It was so loud sometimes that was all we could hear. Mom likes to take lots of pictures of us. She'll pose us and make us do stays and we usually don't mind. Don't I have the cutest look on my face? I was so happy to be out on this hike with Mom and Astro.

We got to play in the water too, climbing on the creek rocks is so fun. The water was nice and cool and fresh. During the summer this creek totally dries up. That was hard to believe since in some places it was really deep and moving fast. Mom wouldn't let us go in the water at some spots because it was so deep and fast and she didn't want us to go out too far and get pushed out by the water. She worries about things like that.

Zephyr was really exploring around the water and I just decided to follow him because he always finds the best stuff. This spot was nice because the creek bottom was soft and only had small rocks under the water so it was easier for us to walk around. We found a couple good sticks, some stinky piles of leaves, and we climbed up and over lots of rocks. It was also good for us to cool off in because we were gettin warm in the balmy temperatures of almost 60.

We went about 6 miles on our hike and we didn't even get to the end. We think we are going to get to go back soon, maybe with our friends Friday and Linus. That will be so fun! When we got back to our car we got to have some special snacks before we drove home. Yummy! And then we slept all the way home.

When we are sleeping after a good hike it is the best. We are so tired and happy that every muscle in our body relaxes. Mom says she can even see it in our faces. Also, we get to dream about the day and it's like we are still there having a grand day out hiking.

We hope you enjoyed our hiking story, it took us over a week to get it finished. We almost got busted one night too. Zephyr got up in the middle of the night once and Mom heard him while he was turning the computer on! Yea, I had to quick jump in the big chair and look all innocent like "Oh, I just want to sleep out here for awhile, he, he". But geesh, someone had to do it, Mom certainly wasn't getting it done.

Beaver Creek Hike

2011-02-17T14:11:00.000-08:00

Along the Beaver Creek Trail

We've had some nice weekends with above normal temperatures in the past month, so I've been able to go on a few nice hikes south of Flagstaff kind of near the Sedona area. The temperatures down there were in the upper 50's to 60's, so it was really nice. The first part of the trail is along a road that is only used by the Forest Service or U.S. Geological Survey to reach a gauging station. The road parallels the creek and there are many spots where you can reach the creek along the road. The boys and I were so happy to be walking on warm dry dirt rather than cold icy snow.

Zephyr cools off in chilly water from snow melt.

After walking about 2.5 miles back there is a nice area with a big pool. There was a lot of water in the creek from snow melt higher up and I thought the water would have been pretty cold. So, I was a little surprised when Zephyr and Astro went right in the water.

Astro is still hesitant about going in deep water, he'll only go up to a few inches past his chest, and he hasn't swam yet. That will be a goal for this coming summer.

After cooling off in the water they tend to get spunky and start zipping through the trees. It seems like most of the time Zephyr chases Astro, and Astro does a great job of keeping Zephyr on his toes with fast turns.

This spot is a favorite because it also has a sandy beach. The trail keeps going for many miles and it's a popular backpacking hike. Further up the canyon gets narrower and there are lots of pools that you have to swim through to keep going. We did this hike back in January, but there have been a few other nice weekends and we've been able to get out since then. We are supposed to get more snow this weekend, so probably no hiking. But, maybe the boys will get to play in some fresh snow?

Wordless Wednesday - Balance Beam - Updated

2011-02-02T08:50:00.000-08:00

Annie needed a little help down. As far as I know this was the first time she was up there. Early in the morning I heard a crash and bang. I just thought "Oh those cats must have knocked something over". When she wasn't there for breakfast I called her and this is where she was. I'm not sure if she was on the "beam" the whole time or if she jumped to the back window sill too. She had to have made a big jump to get up there, I was impressed.

Many years ago, over 15, I woke in the middle of the night to my bed shaking, closet doors rattling, and a rumbling sound. Again, I thought something like "Those cats are crazy, running around shaking the house". Soon I realized it was an earthquake. ;-) I was a geology student after all. It was my first earthquake, a little over a 5, and I was really excited.

Astro's 18 Month Birthday!

2011-01-31T19:58:00.000-08:00

This little guy was 18 months old on January 27! It turns out I had already planned to have a group of friends over that night for dinner and games, so Astro and Zephyr had a fun being loved on all night. Astro is such a great boy. He's very smart and I have to say he is a little more focused during training than Zephyr. I think he has slightly less prey drive than Zephyr and I wonder if that makes the difference. He did great in agility last year and I'm excited to get back to classes and more training in the spring. I'm hoping that I can enter him in some NADAC trials late this summer and fall.

Astro is still full of puppyhood, he is so playful with dogs and people, lots of fun for everyone. When he was a baby he had only a few of the freckles. It was a lot of fun to watch them show up and try to count them as he got older. He can be a little more, shall I say, assertive than Zephyr. For example, when he wants under the covers he doesn't just work the sad eyes or nudge and poke with the nose. He forcefully tries to push his way through me and under the covers. And, the boy doesn't like to take "No" as an answer and often verbalizes his disapproval. He is also a very loving pup who loves to cuddle up with Zephyr, me, or others. Of course he and Zephyr are really close, and I should credit Zephyr with teaching Astro how to be such a good boy.

Astro has also shown signs of maturity. He no longer has the little white lines of healing scratches on the bottom of his nose caused by kitty cats teaching him proper manners. This does not mean he doesn't love his kitties though and he is often checking in on them and seeing if they might want to play. By the way Pablo, the silver tabby on the left, is quite the disciplinarian. Pablo has often been known to have poor Zephyr afraid to pass him in the hall or afraid to get on the couch or big chair and barking for me to come and rescue him.

I'd like to enter Astro in some conformation shows this winter and spring, we'll see how it goes. It's hard for me to show here in Arizona because we're usually the only greyhounds. But, it's fun and I think it's good experience for them being around other dogs and people. Like all kids Astro has quite the imagination, here he is pretending to be a cat on the famed blue cat bed. Everyone loves this bed, cats and dogs, and so, me too. It's cuddled my kittens, elderly cats, and Zephyr loved it when he was a puppy. Time moves way too fast. It seems like yesterday that Astro came home and now he's 18 months old and a big, 75 pounds, handsome guy. I'm sure he has a bright future waiting for him. Happy 18 months Astro!

Zephyr's 4th Birthday

2011-01-14T21:09:00.000-08:00

The Sweetest Face!!!

Zephyr had his 4th Birthday on January 6. It's hard to believe he is four, most of the time it seems like he's still a puppy. He had a fun day. We went for a long walk in the afternoon and after dinner we all had some pumpkin pie. Yum!

Right before the New Year we had a good snow storm so Zephyr and Astro have had a lot of fun playing in the snow. I never get tired of watching them play.

They never seem to get tired of playing in the snow either. One of the funnest things I like to do is to run downhill in deep snow, kind of like glissading, you can jump really far and the landing is so soft. So, I can understand why they think it's a blast too.

I usually don't make them wear their jackets because they stay plenty warm running around. But we had a few days of high temperatures in the teens and low twenties, cold for us.

Laughing Hyena's?

I just want to know what these two are saying to each other?

Astro Catches Some Air!

On the day our high temperature reached a balmy 15 degrees I took the boys out for a walk around the neighborhood. I had them wear their booties, which combined with all the snow made them extra skippy. Wee!

Happy Little Mountaineer!

Happy Big 4 Year Old Mountaineer!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-31T19:50:00.000-08:00

Zephyr, Astro, and I went to Phoenix to my parent's for Christmas. The weather was perfect, upper 60's to low 70's. Zephyr and Astro always get so excited when we visit. They love the nice big grassy yard and pretty much play constantly while we're there.

The Contortionist

Christmas morning was super fun for Zephyr and Astro. They got to tear up wrapping paper! Both boys love paper. Astro even found a box of biscuits after he ripped up some.

Somehow Zephyr managed to get wrapped up in a long piece of packaging paper. I can't imagine how something like that would happen. ;-) Astro had fun chasing him around.

Even Puter had some fun in the pile of paper.

This is PJ, my parent's dog. He has mixed feelings about Zephyr and Astro.

He was an only puppy, so he's not sure what to think about how playful and exuberant Zephyr and Astro are. But he's learning. He runs with them some and plays a little. He gets overwhelmed when both of them try to play with him at the same time. But, he's doing a lot better.

This is Tiger. They have another cat, Mace. Their three cats are brothers and sister whose mom was a stray that my parents took in.

Christmas afternoon we all went to my aunt and uncle's where the boys got to play with Buster, who they love. Buster followed some kids to my aunt's school when he was a puppy. No one responded to all the signs they put up, etc., so my aunt and uncle kept him. That was many years ago. Both Zephyr and Astro have played with Buster since they were puppies.

The house behind had a strange kind of dog that Zephyr wasn't sure about at first. It is a large Pot Bellied Pig. He or she was pretty funny, and would come up to the fence when ever the dogs were playing or talking to each other through the fence. I think I even saw it wag its tail.

The boys were exhausted when we got home. They get so excited when we visit that they don't eat much either, drives me nuts. So, after eating a nice meal when we got home, they fell fast asleep.

Happy New Year!

Happy Winter Solstice and Merry Christmas!

2010-12-23T21:24:00.000-08:00

The past week we have had a lot of rain, it felt like we were living in the northwest. Last Sunday it was really foggy and misty, which doesn't happen too often here, so I took Zephyr and Astro for a run in the forest. The blue tape on Zephyr's back foot was just to keep a scrape clean.

Funny, Zephyr will often not want to go take care of business in the yard when it's raining. Sometimes I have to make him go out and I have to watch to make sure he goes before he immediately runs in. But he had no problems running and checking things out for an hour and a half in the rain while off leash in the forest. Hmm.

Something smelled really good.


Winter is a great time to go places where they don't usually get to run off leash. The Forest Service closes road access so I don't have to worry about vehicles or people camping.

I love how the tree bark turns dark when it's really wet, makes nice contrast. The coats kept the boys nice and dry, as long as you don't count Astro laying down in a mud puddle. :-)

"I wish it would snow."

"Oh my gosh, my wish came true! Santa must have come early!"

"Come on Astro let's go play!"

We woke up to snow this morning. Zephyr has no problem going out in the snow, he loves it.

I love the way snow makes them so goofy.


I have been sick the past few days so we've been watching movies. Today it was "A Dog Year" based on the book by Jon Katz. It was good. Astro was really interested in the dog, Devon, in the movie.


"Time to bust out the movie snacks please!" After the movie I took the boys out for a fun run in the forest.

As much as I like the snow, I always look forward to the days getting longer after Winter Solstice. Zephyr's registered name is even Cebar Winter Solstice Zephyrus. I named him that because he was born soon after the solstice, Jan. 6, and Zephyrus is the Greek god that brings the west wind and spring. Plus I really liked the name Zephyr. :-) I can't believe he will be turning four this year.

I Hope You All Have A Very Merry Christmas!

Couch Compromise?

2010-12-15T20:35:00.000-08:00

Like all good greyhounds Zephyr and Astro love a nice soft cozy couch to lounge upon. They would prefer that our couch be their dedicated bed. They don't mind sharing the couch with me, as long as all three of us can share it at the same time. It turns out that doesn't work so well but it's not because they haven't tried.

When I kick them off the couch this is where Zephyr often goes. Not a bad deal if you ask me. But, let me tell you that I often still hear about how unfair this is, especially if Astro happens to still be on the couch with me. You can see another bed on the floor to the left. That one is nice but it doesn't have much cushioning. It's good for spreading out in front of the fire though.

So, I got them this nice dog bed in hopes that we can come to some sort of a compromise. It's super special because it has 4 inches of foam on the bottom of the bed. Great for svelte greyhounds. It also has soft warm fleece on the inside. At least one of its reviews said the dog preferred it to the couch. I wasn't that naive, but they do seem to like it. In fact right now as I am on the couch with Astro, Zephyr has chosen the bed over the cushy chair. It's from Drs. Foster and Smith if your interested.

Zephyr used to have a bed kind of like this and he really liked it until it wore out. He would get down in it and get all goofy and kick his feet and paw at the side walls. That's what Astro was doing in this picture. At least now when I decide I might like to have the couch to myself for awhile everyone will have a nice place to lay down.

"It's a great bed Mom, but as soon as your off the couch it's mine again."