Finally It's the Weekend

(Claire making a new friend

at a pumpkin patch within
a month of joining the family, Oct 2006)

Getting the denial letter from UAN yesterday took the wind out of my sails. They basically said Claire's surgery is too big for them to help. Don't they realize that if everyone did just a little Claire would have the help she needs to be all better?

I spent some time blogging yesterday and keeping up with simple housework. Sick dogs on all kinds of meds mean lots of dishes!

This morning Chance and I went to puppy school. For a couple weeks I didn't really have to worry about latching Claire's crate because she had no motivation to move anyway. Now she's distressed at being left behind when I go out with Chance, so I have been locking her into the crate, for fear she'll jump around at the baby gate and do some harm to herself. It's so hard to leave her but I know she likely settles down as soon as we are gone. I do my best to just ignore her and not play into her insecurity.

At puppy school, I gave our trainer Jacquie Hanson of Practical Dog Training, a copy of the DVD about Intervertebral Disc Disease from Doddgerslist. I hope she shares it with all her clients. Knowing what to do in case of a potential spinal injury can really minimize the damage should one occur. I wish I'd been more familiar with this disease and recognized the signs in Claire a lot sooner.

Chance and I also checked out a local thrift store in search of a doggy stroller for Claire, but no luck yet.

At PetCo today I wandered their homeopathic section. I was looking for Rescue Remedy, which they apparently don't carry. Found something similar--Claire gobbled up the pill, which had chamomile and ginger in it, then gobbled up the one Chance spit out onto the floor! Guess she likes it. At dinner we tried adding a 1/4 teaspoon of fish oil too.

I went to a friend's to print out applications for the Prince Chunk Foundation and Help-A-Pet, and sat at home this evening filling them out. I also added several affiliates to the sidebar of Claire's blog, so please check them out! If you shop after clicking through from the blog, Claire will get a portion of the sales. Even Caesar Millan is supporting Claire's surgery!

This evening Claire got all rambunctious and tried to really play with a toy for the first time since this happened. It wasn't till 1130 at night--I think sleeping the day away in the heat of summer has her sleep patterns completely messed up. And of course, I had to take the toy away immediately so that she doesn't hurt her back playing tug of war while on her strict crate rest. But it felt great to see a flash of my best girl back! It's just still really by-the-moment; for most of the day I thought she was acting like she felt pretty miserable. I'll take what we can get and end the day on a high note. Hope you're having a great weekend too ~ Claire thanks you with tail wags for all your support!

Dodgerslist ~ IVDD Support & Education

After the second BBQ of the weekend, I had a chance last evening to do some quiet research on Claire's physical diagnosis. I've been so overwhelmed by the financial need that I've focused on getting the word out about that for the last week and a half. It was time to educate myself.

I stumbled upon the group Dodgerslist about a minute before someone posted it to Claire's facebook page. They seem to be the only organization out there offering support & education on intervertebral disc disease. The information is staggering, and it's scary to read worst-case scenarios of paralysis and loss of feeling. But I know they'll be a great source of support if/when we do go through the process of surgery for Claire.

Claire seems to be lucky in that she can still walk and feel even though she's in a great deal of pain. That said, I am seeing why we need to do something for Claire now, before she loses all chance of nerve regeneration. In that sense Dodgerslist reinforced the neurologist's recommendation that surgery is necessary for Claire.