Gracie

Go easy, Gracie Girl. We miss you already.

Love, Auntie Bree

Yappy Hour

So, in the rescue world, we have such a thing as " Yappy Hour"- it consists of a doggie daycare donating their space, someone donating alcohol, and than all of us getting together for a fun evening. Little did we know that there is a specific " Meet Up Group" for just Yappy Hour lovin' people! So, we combined all these aspects and had a great fundraiser on Friday night for our rescue (http://www.bigdogshugepaws.com/)

You know I love to throw a party, so helping organizing this thing was right up my alley. Booze, friends, dogs, good cause and a silent auction is my kind of night! In fact, we had 3 tables of silent auction items! What is even better is that we raised $3250!!!!



That $3250 was greatly needed, so we are all so thankful for all the good people who came to support our gentle giants! I know not everyone loves dogs, but I am glad you love me enough to come! Kari, Regan, Kirby & Me

I am so proud of what BDHPI has become and the nationwide recognition we are getting! This rescue feels good to my soul!

MSA

My mom called today to tell me they were in Denver for a doctor's appt with my Dad's Parkinsons doctor and asked if I wanted to meet them for lunch.

Here is the conversation I was hit with as soon as I sat down:

Dad: "Well, Breezer, good news, I am not dying!"
Me: " That's great news, Dad! Were we worried you were??"
Dad: " Well, I was! The doctor thought I had MSA"
Me: " What the hell is MSA?!!!??"

He and my mom went on to tell me that MSA stands for " Multiple System Atrophy", which is rare and serious side affect of Parkinsons. The explained all of your major organs, like the heart, liver, kidneys begin to atrophy. The prognosis is always death, and an early death at that.

Needless to say my stomach dropped out, and tears came to my eyes. They explained that is why they had been up here for so many tests and MRI's, they of course didn't tell us because they didn't want us to worry.

When I got home, I googeled it. And I can see why the Doc thought Dad had it, the below list continues many, many of his problems.


MSA damages the nervous system, which can cause the following symptoms:

Changes in facial expression
"Mask" appearance to face
May be unable to close mouth
Reduced ability to show facial expressions
Staring
Difficulty chewing or swallowing (occasionally)
Disrupted sleep patterns (especially during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep late at night)
Dizziness or fainting when standing up or after standing still
Frequent falls
Loss of control over bowels or bladder
Loss of fine motor skills
Difficulty eating
Difficulty with any activity that requires small movements
Writing that is small and hard to read
Loss of sweating in any part of the body
Mild decline in mental function (may occur)
Movement difficulties
Loss of balance
Shuffling
Walking pattern (gait) changes
Muscle aches and pains (myalgia)
Muscle rigidity
Difficulty bending arms or legs
Stiffness
Nausea and problems with digestion
Posture difficulties: may be unstable, stooped, or slumped over
Slow movements
Difficulty beginning to walk or starting any voluntary movement
Freezing of movement when the movement is stopped, unable to start moving again
Small steps followed by the need to run to keep balance
Tremors
May become severe enough to interfere with activities
May be worse when tired, excited, or stressed
May occur at rest or at any time
May occur with any action, such as holding a cup or other eating utensils
Finger-thumb rubbing (pill rolling tremor)
Vision changes, decreased or blurred vision
Voice and speech changes
Difficulty speaking
Monotone
Slow speaking
Voice is low volume

Parkinsons is such an ugly disease. I hate that it has forced them to carry this burden for the past two months. I think it is crazy that even though I am 34, and Nik is 32, they still do everytihng they can to protect us...I guess that is what great parents do...protect their babies to the very end...

I love you, Dad!

Top 10 things you didn't know about me:

I thought this was a fun post.....

Did you know this about me?

1. I can wiggle my ears

2. I live in fear, and I mean total fear, of mice and sharks

3. I was part of a Sqaure Dancing club in 6th grade

4. I worked at McDonalds as a teen and ate, everday, a XL fry, 2 hamburgers and a vanilla shake and did not gain one single ounce!

5. I still adore my childhood blankie...go ahead people, admit you do too, you will feel better.

6. I love to look in peoples window as I drive by at night

7. I get mad at myself everyday for having such little patience.

8. I thought I would never, ever, ever, ever get married, and had planned out my single life. Now, I can't imagine Brian not next to me.

9. My Grandpa Dewey only had one eye. I loved it, it terrified all our friends.

10. The best gift I've ever received was a pony, named Andy.

What about you?

Gulp, Gulp

Gulp, Gulp go the fertility meds down my throat...Journey #2 is officially underway...God, give us strength!

Deacon Dew is 2

Baby boy Dew is two years old today!

Zachey Poo

Picture from Colorado Dog Magazine- Dec '07

Zachey Poo is our 5 yr old Great Dane. He is one of the most unique and special dogs I've ever met- which is exactly why I adopted him 4 years ago.

I was single when I adopted him, and only had Bobbie and Sadie- it was just the 3 of us. He had no manners, was not house trained, and not crate trained when I adopted him, but his souful eyes and hilarious personality outweighed all of those negatives.

He slept next to me in bed like another human, went to all of our public events together and rarely, rarely ever left my side. I could trust him 100% in any situation with any other dog or person.

Our lives together have been full of medical ups and down. Surgery for stomach issues, a few bone cancer scares, unexpected and still unexplained seizures, torn ACL, soft tissue injuries..the list goes on and on. All of these things are life threatening to Zach because his has such horrible orthopedic issues and a brain lesion, so surgery is never an option.

Sadly though, in the last 2 years Brian and I have been on the edge of our seats when it comes to Zachey Poo. His behavior is odd at best, we jokingly call him "Rain Man" because if we change his routine he either has a seizure or will rock back and forth until we figure out what it is that is troubling him. "What's wrong, Zachey?" is said often in our home.

Brian and I would do ANYTHING for this dog.

In the last 2 weeks, Zachey has begun pacing outside alot. Again, strange behavior isn't too uncommon from him, but seeing as how he has spent the last year rarely leaving our walk in closet, this is strange. We didn't' give it too much worry until this past weekend when the high was 26, and he was still outside. Last night Brian actually had to go into the yard, leash him, and bring him back inside because there was no way we would have slept knowing he was out there in the cold.

We are going to his vet today to see if there is anything causing this. Of course, we are concerned his pain is high, which is not a good thing. It is also very possible it is some sort of dementia, and if it is, it begs the question "Is he living a good life?". We will never allow Zachey to live with pain if we can't manage it from meds.

All we can do is hope for the best and continue to give Zachey Poo the quality of care he deserves. We adore, adore, adore this sweet boy! I cannot imagine our home without him, so I pray Dr Rob laughs at our worry and send us on our way!