Claire Update # ?*&

(watching the doorway for the vet to come into my exam room on Friday 7/29)

(having trouble staying awake but mom's got my back)

(here she comes--hello, doc!)

(aren't I your favorite patient?)

(relaxing at home--phew! that was taxing! gotta love the shaft of sunlight coming in the bedroom window that just falls on my crate too. yum-my.)

I can't believe it's August already. I had a job that took up the last two and a half weeks, so we've been out of pattern. I think it's been a bit stressful for Claire. She had a bit of a setback where she was yelping once on Friday and once on Saturday. She seemed generally tense again. I've not been able to take her to the vet for acupuncture or laser therapy while I was working, so that didn't help. But we went for both on Friday morning, and it did seem to relax her quite a bit--just not sure how long that effect lasts. She'll go back again tomorrow and we'll re-evaluate once more. The pictures above are from her vet visit Friday.

Claire's had a bumpy two weeks as I had a freelance job, so was gone for the majority of the day. While she's on crate rest, Claire requires close supervision, so the majority of the days she was dropped off at our favorite trainer's house, whom she knows well, and picked up on my way home from work. It's only about ten or fifteen minutes drive each way, and the crate rest was continued there. When we first went to the neurologist, even potholes made Claire shriek with pain. She's not doing that now, but as Claire has a spinal injury, I hate moving her at all. I travel her in a hard-sided crate, but she's so afraid to be left behind she really gets worked up into a state at the mere sight of the carrier. The new environment was exciting, and of course our return home was a big deal too, so it was hard to keep her as calm and quiet as the crate rest necessitates. Thinking practically, I can't stay home from work until Claire is better (I'm single with no other means of support and work in an industry with no vacation time on just a freelance basis), so we're learning to manage.

We also found another resource in our community. There's a dog walking/sitting service staffed entirely by vet techs, which is great for medical cases like ours. They're familiar with a wide variety of issues, and understand the need to follow schedules and instructions to a "T". L.A. Pet Tech is Kathleen Ashe. She gave me updates for each visit, came to my home several times a day, was a calming influence, available short notice ~ I really can't say enough about her.

I did a ton of research over the past few weeks and have added all kinds of links to the sidebar of the blog. Since my lunch period is short, when I found an article that looked relevant or promising from the intro, I bookmarked it by posting the link here, and am able to "read up" now that I have more time. I learned more about the type of laser used at Claire's holistic vet, where she's been getting laser therapy, found a lot of contacts on Facebook over the last few weeks, and have been researching supplements and meds.

Yesterday someone recommended a supplement to me called NZymes. If you use this or have experience with others, please leave a comment on this post!

We've doubled the number of "likes" on Claire's Facebook page in the past few weeks! We welcome the new friends and appreciate the support.

I approached Three Dog Bakery about placing a donation jar for Claire, and was denied, since they're a chain with a national foundation. Unfortunately, the Three Dog Foundation does not give to individuals. I also spoke today to the Zoom Room Hollywood location, and the manager is going to talk to the owner about us.

Some co-workers from my last job are working to set up a comedy fundraiser to benefit Claire's vet costs! The event may even be held at the House of Blues. Their target goal is to raise at least $1,000 which of course will help immensely. I couldn't be more grateful and am just heartened by the support whatever the outcome.

I had a visit from an old friend who lives in Texas but happens to be from Stillwater, OK. Oklahoma State University is at the forefront of treatment for IVDD, and I've been talking to my friend about setting me up as a guest with one of her relatives, if it proves to be best for Claire to fly there for treatment. Since it's a teaching hospital, it may be cheaper even with the cost of a flight, and there's no doubt that they're knowledgable. I still have more research to be done on this plan but it's a real possibility.

I'm sure there's more to report that I'm leaving out. I'll get back to daily updates now that I'm home and will be more thorough.