LIFE'S BETTER IN THE MOUNTAINS

Friday, June 4, 2010

Fridays are Golden

Rarely do we take only one dog anywhere in the car. However, Lucy needed to see our veterinarian. She's been having some digestive problems which didn't resolve with medications last week.

Ellie was totally shocked to find herself left behind.
Wait! You forgot my leash.


She plopped down in the bed, still wondering why she didn't get to go for a ride.


She moved from place to place, but her expression and demeanor did not change. She was down-hearted for sure.


Periodically she went to the window to look out at the driveway.



At last she heard my husband's car and ran to the garage door.





Hi, Mom. I'm home! Lucy is delighted to be back. Ellie checks her out. Perhaps she smells like the veterinarian's office.



Well Mom, I checked her out and it is indeed Lucy. No switcheroo here. But she does smell a little funny.




Both dogs were exhausted for the remainder of the day. Ellie because she had fretted about being left behind, and Lucy because of the visit to the doctor. They slept side-by-side for most of the afternoon.


The doctor is fairly convinced that Lucy has picked up whip worms. They are notoriously difficult to detect and treat and apparently the eggs can lie dormant in the soil for years. In fact, our veterinarian said that if your dog gets whip worms, you shouldn't blame it on your neighbor's dog; you should blame it on his grandfather's dog. A specimen sent to the lab will confirm the diagnosis or give us another one. Lucy has always been the dog that picks up all sorts of things...clumps of dead leaves, moss, pine cones, acorns, and even rocks.


Both dogs are being treated. You may recall that these dogs get nothing but dry dog food and the occasional carrot or two. Imagine their total delight when they found a bit of canned dog food (with the medicine stirred in it) on top of their kibble this morning. The bowls were licked until the dishes spun around in the holders. Lucy is also taking Flagyl. We spread half a slice of bread with a small amount of Laughing Cow cheese, wrap the pills inside and they think it is the best thing since, well, sliced bread. (We have to give Ellie a small piece of bread sans medicine.) They have no idea the origin of their newfound wonderous snacks, but it is marvelous indeed. It's going to be hard for them to realize that in a week, there will be no more bread and cheese for them.


Fortunately, both girls seem to feel fine and the only real problem is that Lucy sometimes awakens us in the middle of the night to go potty. On the one hand we are getting far too old to quickly fall back to sleep. On the other hand, we are retired and seldom have an early appointment.


I think all of us remain very anxious about the Gulf oil disaster. I do not have the words to tell you how much this affects me, and I live far from the coast. It's hard to imagine the future of the wetlands involved and what this is doing to the people along the Gulf coast. Our thoughts are with them as we approach yet another weekend since this disaster.


Have a wonderful weekend, everyone. Hold your friends and family near and do at least one nice thing for someone else.

21 comments:

robin andrea said...

Hope Lucy's health is completely restored. I wonder if Ellie was at least somewhat relieved to smell the vet's office on Lucy and realize that she had been lucky to stay home.

Some of the photos of the gulf oil disaster over at the Huffington Post are absolutely unbearable. What we have done to this planet is truly unconscionable.

Karin said...

Such beautiful dogs you have! Glad the meds will help and Lucy will be well again soon! Just love seeing that beautiful bond between them!

The Gulf oil disaster is truly heart-wrenching!

Cheryl said...

Such a lovely post......Ellie and Lucy are such wonderful friends. True companions.

Do hope the problem with whipworms is soon sorted.

I can only say to you how truly horrified I am about the gulf oil disaster. I cannot watch it anymore as I find it truly distressing. My heart goes out to the people affected and to all the wildlife suffering.

YD, sometimes with ♥June and ♥Angel Samantha said...

I do hope that Lucy gets well soon.
My girls will go absolutely crazy if one of them gets to go for a ride and not the other. Unfortunately there is usually nobody at home(hubby's at work)when I have to take them. So I often have to take both and then take both off the truck, go for a short walk at the vet's, put one back in the truck and take one into the vet's office. Sigh...things that I do for my dogs...

YD

How Sam Sees It said...

We wish Lucy a very speedy recovery. I need to check if we get whip worms in our area - it is not something I have ever thought of before!

I hope you all enjoy your weekend!

Sam

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Enjoyed your Friday post, Carolyn, like I always do. Glad you (hopefully) have found out what Lucy has--and hopefully, it can be treated easily. I loved seeing Ellie's face when Lucy was gone. I could hear her say: "How dare Daddy take Lucy on a ride ---and not me????" ha ha ....

BUT--I'm sure that both doggies LOVE the new treats... They both will have sad faces when Lucy no longer has to take the medicine!!!!!

I'm very concerned about the oil spill too... Makes me cry to see the birds with their oil-covered bodies... How very very sad.
Hugs,
Betsy

Busy Bee Suz said...

I have never heard of this type of worm. Poor baby.
I think I felt more pain for Ellie and her worried little heart than for Lucy and her Dr. Visit.
I often have to do this and always wonder what the 'other' dog left at home is doing.
Cocoa is just getting over a UTI and I have been giving her the capsules wrapped in a corner of bread. Of course fair is fair; we give Ozzie a little piece as well. They are in heaven.

I am sick to my stomach about the damage this oil spill is causing and what it will cause in the future. What a mess.
Have a good weekend, Suz

D.K. Wall said...

Best wishes for a quick recovery, Lucy, from The Herd just over the ridge (or 2).

NanaNor's said...

Hi there, I hope the treatment completely rids Lucy of any worms and keeps Ellie free as well. Are both girls from the same litter? When we had our two dogs(we lost one of Christmas)they would be upset if one went for a ride and the other didn't. Loved seeing them sleeping next to each other!
Like you, I hope the oil disaster is cleaned up soon and no more damage done.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Noreen

KGMom said...

So glad Lucy is ok.
Sadly we had to take our sweet Tipper to the vet, and leave her there (where she still is).

I still just love ANY pic of your dear girls.

Vicki Lane said...

Such expressive faces!

re oil spill -- I've always believed that Man is the greatest natural disaster of all.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
kks said...

such beautiful girls! my neighbor just got a Dichi...a returned 1.5yr old female...very stocky and beautiful...i tease Tahoe that she is not the most beautiful girl in the neighborhood anymore!
a peaceful weekend to you!
xoxo

troutbirder said...

I do hope all is soon well. Whip worms are something new to me. At least you were able to deal with the problem.

KB said...

I'm sure that the girls will get better quickly, especially now that medicine is on board. We've had a similar week - one dog has tapeworms and the other has giardia. I've never been one who can fall straight back to sleep after a midnight walk with the mountain lions :)

I agree about the gulf oil disaster. I find myself unable to even look at the TV when they're showing the most awful images.

amarkonmywall said...

I feel so close to the girls now! I hope Lucy is 100% soon- love the series of photos. Those two are a solid pair, so different from cats who sort of look up, notice one is not there, go "meh" and drift back to sleep. Dogs are better at friendship all the way around. I've been looking at google earth today and thinking where you might be, specifically. ;-)

JeanMac said...

Your dogs are definitely "little people". The gulf disaster is beyond imaging as we watch the news.

Rudee said...

I hope Lucy feels better, soon!

The photos and stories from the Gulf are heartbreaking. I love the Gulf beaches in Florida and I wish all of them well.

Once the flow has been stopped, it'll be time to take a hard look at BP's dismal safety record and cost cutting history. This self proclaimed "green" company is anything but. In the meantime, I'll buy my gas from more responsible companies.

Anonymous said...

The BP leak is simply incredible. I was amazed how bad they were/are. There is a ton of background most people don't know. I just finished writing a pretty comprehensive background on the players involved on my blog. Check it out if you like.

NCmountainwoman said...

Thanks for your comments, everyone.

Robin - I also check HuffPo every day.

Cheryl - I try not to watch as well. Such a tragedy.

YD - Oh, yes...what we do for our dogs.

Suz - Hope the UTI clears up soon. And, yes, Ellie gets a bit of bread when Lucy gets her pills. Fair is fair.

NanaNor - The girls are not from the same litter but they are from the same breeder. Ellie is two years older.

Donna - Fingers and paws crossed for Tipper. Hope you have a good outcome.

kks - Tahoe is a girl? I always thought she was a male.

KB - When you take the girls out in the woods, drinking from streams and the like, they are certain to get infected every now and then. Hope both are better.

markonmywall - Welcome to NC! We are in Connestee Falls, a gated community off US276 near Cedar Mountain.

scienceguy - I love your in-depth informative blog. I'll definitely check this one out.

Barb said...

The waiting is as bad as the doctoring as far as Goldens are concerned! Hope both girls are A-OK after there week of treatment.