It's been a while since we've blogged! My how time flies when you're busy-- this holiday season has been crazy for us!
I moved desks at work so Ellie no longer sits by her best friend Sadie. Unfortunately, she is very antsy and bored at work now that she has no buddy so I have to leave her home during the day instead. However, Sadie's mom said that we should still have play dates so that's what we did this weekend!
Sadie's mom came and picked Ellie up and took her over to their house where they have a fenced back yard. Not only did Ellie get to spend time with her best bud, but she got to explore the outdoors without a leash! It definitely made me very happy!
Ellie has been on a diet lately what with her latest charades and also putting on some weight due to her eye condition. So when I received the offer to sample dog treats from Chewy.com, I was a bit hesitant. I let them know that she is on a diet, and was delightfully surprised when the treats arrived: Fromm Cranberry Liver Recipe
I've been into healthier eating lately, and that means cutting out processed foods and ingredients we can't pronounce. I feel very good about treating Ellie with these little biscuits because the only ingredients listed on the label are wheat flour, cranberries, chicken liver, salt, and garlic powder! Nothing crazy and unpronounceable.
Needless to say, she chomped them right down, but I must also mention that Chris tried them too. I would never do it because dog snacks aren't my cup of tea, but he said they were not bad!
Yesterday, Ellie stayed home from work with Chris because he doesn't work Mondays. He ran a couple of errands so wasn't with her the whole day which is normal.
We just got a new fan in the bedroom, so I took the old box fan and set it up against the wall for now, like so:
But when I came home from work yesterday, I noticed it was all the way over by the bed, like this:
We thought nothing of it and put it back up against the wall.
But a few hours later, Chris came up to me with some tiny pieces of broken metal he found on the floor and asked if I knew what they were. I said no and he threw them away.
Later that night, I was petting Ellie and I noticed her dog tags were missing. Oh no! Then it hit me... I put all the clues together and figured her tags must have gotten caught in the fan (and she probably had quite a freak out-- that thing is as big as her!) and dragged it across the room until the metal ring finally broke and set her free.
We later found the tags inside the fan and had to shake them loose!
Yesterday was the 14th annual Furry5K to raise money for Seattle Animal Shelter, and it was our third time going! I've been running and training for a half marathon in August and for-sure wanted to run this one. Ellie is no longer a runner since she can't see, but fortunately Chris was able to join me and walk with her.
My personal goal was to run an average of under 8 minute miles and I did it! I would have been even faster but there was a huuuge hill in the middle that seemed to go on forever!
Anyway, we collected lots of loot-- treat and food samples galore, plus a few for us humans and brought it home. Ellie had a great time bumping noses with all the other dogs and was SO well behaved. She must have figured that dog noses would keep bumping her unexpectedly (because she can't see them coming) and to just go with the flow.
However... after we got home and she crashed out, we had to run to the store to prepare for dinner. We returned to crumbs and treat wrappers spread all over the floor. Some of those samples were freeze-dried meals so Ellie had 3-4 meals worth of food in a very short period of time! My bad for leaving them on the counter where she could reach. :(
We've been busy enjoying the sunny weather and haven't posted in a while! Last weekend, Chris and I took a prolonged weekend trip to the Oregon coast. While the hotels we stayed in were pet-friendly, we opted not to bring Ellie because we knew that leaving her alone at the hotel while we go out would be no good. Because she is unfamiliar with new surroundings, I could foresee her crashing into everything and stressing herself out majorly.
So we headed over to Rover.com! I found a grad student dog sitter who was willing to stay at our apartment while we were away and it worked out well! Ellie didn't miss a beat and probably didn't really realize we ever left which was great!
Some pics from our trip:
The beach at Cape Kiwanda
MASSIVE mussels attached to a big rock when the tide was out
We drove 20 miles into town (Pacific City) to get salt water taffy and found this at one of the candy shops!
And one pic of Ellie from our most recent sunny day walk when she just had to crash out in the shade for a minute before we could continue. ;)
Our new apartment doesn't get much sun since we're in the city and sandwiched between other tall buildings, but Ellie still manages to find sun puddles!
Lately, Ellie's been a crazy bed fluffer. I don't know if her bed has gotten less comfy or if she's just going crazy, but she will fluff it so much that it will fold in half or flip all the way over and then she can't figure out how to get in it. Or she'll still try anyway, like this:
Sleeping on the side of the bed
Well because of all of her crazy fluffing, I decided to get the second dog bed out (that we don't use) and stack them together. She LOVED that idea.
Yesterday I got a notice that there was a package for me at the front office of our apartment building. The strange thing was, I was not expecting anything. Wonder what it could be!
When I got to the office after work, she went back and grabbed a box and returned saying "Ellie?" I accepted the box and wondered if Ellie had a shopping spree with my credit card.
What could it be?
Turns out, it was some gifts from my sister!
The giant ball is called a Jolly Ball and it's scented. The soccer ball has a jingle bell inside. Great toys for a dog who can't see! And Ellie loves them both!
Ellie Update: As for Ellie's condition, it was diagnosed that she does in fact have SARDS. There is nothing that can be done, and all we can do now is hope that she keeps what little vision she has. She may go completely blind, but only time will tell.
The title of this post might sound metaphorical, but it is literal. Over the past week or two, we have been noticing Ellie's strange reactions to her ball when we bounce it off the floor. She loses it very easily and gets confused as to where it went, even if it's right next to her. As time passed [and the condition potentially worsened] we realized that she is going blind.
On Friday, I made a vet appointment for the following Tuesday (tomorrow) but on Saturday I was so worried (if it's glaucoma then it needs to be treated right away) so I immediately got out the phone book and called 7-8 nearby vet clinics until I found one who was willing to let us come in at closing time.
I'm amazed by the veterinary community due to my experiences this weekend. The veterinarian gladly stayed after hours to help us out, called the animal eye specialist who was willing to see us that day and the eye clinic was closed so it was just us and the vet!
He determined that she either has brain inflammation/tumors or SARDS (retinal degeneration). Her eyes look perfect, she is only 6 years old and this is not an age-related condition.
We got steroids to reduce inflammation, but her vision has not changed the last few days, so it is most likely SARDS (we will schedule another test this week).
Ellie is handling things just fine, but it's me who is heartbroken. She has a hard time finding her ball when we throw it, she can't catch treats anymore, it startles her when we pat her head, she trips over things, and we will never again get to throw the ball in the field and see her sprint at a million miles an hour chasing after it.
Here is a video that we took to potentially show the vets:
This weekend, I took Ellie for a walk. Well, we were at the end of the walk and close to home when I notice a guy and his leashed dog just standing on the side of the path. I held Ellie's leash close as I usually do, but he was holding the end of his 5-foot leash and (of course) allowed his dog to play pounce at Ellie while we walked by.
Well I don't know how I was holding the leash, but Ellie jumped right back at the dog and my legs got completely tangled up in the leash and I fell down, banging my knee. :(
The other dog owner only muttered "are you alright?" and I said yes. I sat there on the ground for a minute, rubbing my knee and trying to gather my wits while this guy continued to allow his dog to approach Ellie. I had to try and yank her back while I'm still on the ground, injured! What was this guy's deal?!
I finally make my way up to standing so I can walk away and the only other thing the guy says is "got tangled up in the leash or something?"
No offers to help up a fallen female. How rude!
Today I learned just how much the average pet owner despises prong collars. Pet owners have gone so far as to call them "cruel" and "punishment".
Now, I must admit. I use a prong collar on Ellie. She likes to dart off toward another dog when she sees one, and the collar prevents her from doing this, reminding her to walk nicely by my side otherwise she'll get a little 'nip' by the collar. It makes a vast difference in our walks versus a normal soft collar.
I do have a Halti and it works, for the most part. What I don't like is that Ellie hates it. She stops every few feet to paw at her face or rub her face on my legs trying to remove the thing. Could I train her to get used to it? Sure.
However, that brings me to my second point. Most people are not familiar with face halters on dogs. Most assume that it is a muzzle because it's wrapped around her muzzle. Thus, the assumption leads to the expectation that she is an aggressive, mean dog. I do not get these kinds of reactions when Ellie is wearing her prong collar.
So that leaves me stuck. Do I please the dog-loving population and use the Halti? Or do I save mine (and Ellie's) reputations and please the general population by not using the Halti?
I was a bad mom and Ellie was a bad dog. I left my basket of mini cornbread muffins on the counter and then we left Ellie home alone with them for a few hours. When we returned, I found a bed full of crumbs, and an empty basket on the floor. Ellie ate about 40 mini muffins!
I didn't get a photo of the crime scene, but I will leave you with this fabulous photo of a spit bubble that she blew from her own mouth.
