2 am with coffee and dogs

Up early getting ready for an ESL class.  Took Zenji to a different vet Friday morning.  We've been to this one before but only for rabies vaccines.  Both the vet and her vet tech are super nice people and really care about animals.  Her rates are low compared to most of the other vets in town but I guess if you're not paying for a brand new building you don't have to overcharge clients.

No new diagnosis from the new vet as of yet.  She requested all of Zenji's medical records from the two previous vets and is going to review the results.  She felt it wasn't necessary to repeat blood work or x-rays and she did give me a new prescription for Zenji's pain meds (carprofen). 

We did discuss the possibility of Zenji's cancer returning.  I told her if it is cancer causing Zenji's discomfort, I'm not going to pursue any type of treatment.  I just want Zen to be happy and pain-free until it is her time to go.

Sometimes a dog can break your heart.

Take care,

Teresa, Zenji and CeeCee

 3 am with coffee and dogs

Up early again getting ready for a 4:30 am ESL class.  Both dogs slept through the night which is good.  I've been worried about Zenji though.  She's had some tenderness with her hips but carprofen seems to help.  The challenge is trying to keep her calm once she starts feeling better.  I've made an appointment with another vet and hopefully this one may have some insight into what is going on with Zenji.  If anything, I should be able to get a prescription for pain meds to help Zen when she needs it.

This morning's student was a no-show which was a little frustrating but I still get paid.  I think however, I would have preferred to sleep in a bit. 

Overall the students have been really good this year, no real behavior issues as of yet.  I think the most challenging student is one that is struggling to read basic three letter words.  He tends to act up a bit when it is his turn to read but I think he only does that because he doesn't know how to sound out the words.  I'm going to start giving him some extra attention and focus on letter sounds and blending.  Hopefully that will give him some confidence.

Take care,

Teresa, Zenji and CeeCee

 5 am with coffee and dogs

Another restless night for Zenji.  Pacing back and forth and possible weakness in her rear legs but she did settle down around 1:30 am.  I'm at a loss as to what to try next with her.  Since the lab work and x-rays were normal, maybe it is something simple, something that can easily be changed.  

I'm going to focus on changing her diet.  She has been on a rice and ground turkey diet mainly due to vomiting.  But since the stomach issues were a result of too much canned pumpkin, I have been slowly switching her over to a dry kibble diet.  I think it is possible that my recipe just didn't have the necessary nutrients that she needs.  She has been losing weight and is hungry all the time and that could be an indicator of an improper diet.

The dry dog food I feed my dogs is Purina Dog Chow and I am going to stick with that for Zenji.  I know there are many people who do not like Purina but my dogs have never had an issue with it.  I have tried Science Diet, Royal Canin, Iams and others but Purina is the one brand the dogs will actually eat.  

CeeCee seems concerned over Zenji and has been following her around as if to keep tabs on her.  Most times when I let them run wild in the backyard they separate and do their own thing but yesterday CeeCee wouldn't leave Zenji's side.  I think it irritated Zenji having CeeCee following her but I found CeeCee's concern for her sister heartwarming.

Update on the rain:  We did get a good soaking yesterday and it continued to rain through the night.  I haven't checked the rain gauge yet and I am curious to see how  much we received.  I do know there is a lake in our front yard.

Take care,

Teresa, Zenji and CeeCee

 

Waiting for rain with coffee and dogs

Another early morning with the girls.  Zenji was a little restless last night but I think she just overexerted herself yesterday.  She thinks she is still a pup.

Southern Arizona was supposed to get rain from both Hurricane Priscilla and Hurricane Raymond and while some parts of Tucson have had a good soaking, here in Three Points, nothing measurable so far.  It is clouding up and the afternoon forecast looks promising but it is just hard to tell.  We're still at 3.79 inches for the year which is about 6 inches or so less than we had last year at this time.  Hopefully, we will get a few inches at least.

Take care,

Teresa, Zenji and CeeCee