Sunday, July 4, 2010

Update on Annie the Schnauzer

I have received a comment or two asking about our Furry Kid….Annie, the Schnauzer.  Long time blog readers will remember that Annie was diagnosed with severe heart disease last August.  At that time, things were really touch-and-go for her.  I’m pleased to announce that she is still with us and among the living.  That does not mean that she is well by any means.  It only means that she is alive and enjoying the life of an RV traveler when we are away from Tumwater.

These days her life is lived as she wants it.  We make no demands on her and pretty much let her call the shots on how much she wants to walk and how much she wants to eat.  When we got back to Tumwater we made an appointment with the vet to have her looked at.  We like to have her checked out every few months.  We don’t want her living in pain, plus we like to have the doctor listen to her heart and lungs and see how things are going inside there.  Her latest check indicated that her heart rate was good and her lungs seemed clear.  Of course she is on 3 different heart meds so that helps the heart to function as best as it can.

She also has to have eye drops twice a day, every day of her life, due to a dry eye problem that will cause blindness if left untreated.  Annie sees an animal eye specialist for that.  Here are her meds and the pill organizer we had to get to keep things straight!  Can we all say:  cha-ching, cha-ching every time we get them refilled.

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Annie spends a good deal of her day flat out on the floor somewhere.  She sleeps a lot these days.  Saturday it was time to take her out for a little potty-walk and Bruce called her and called her.  The Grands were here making their usual racket and she wasn’t bothered by it at all.  Slept through the whole thing.  I finally had to go over to her on the floor and gently shake her awake for her walk.  She doesn’t go far on her walks most of the time, but we need to get her out to the grass to go potty.

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Annie doesn’t seem to be bothered by the girls presence at all.  She doesn’t get nervous with them around or seem stressed out.  Quite the contrary.  She loves to see them and gets excited when we go over to their house on babysitting mornings.  Last night during their sleep over she jumped up on the sofa bed and slept between them.

We’ll find her in our bedroom sometimes during the day sleeping up on the step gently snoring away.  Even while I took this photo of her, she kept her eyes closed and was sleeping deeply.

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For the past 3 days her appetite has really been off.  She did this while we were away on our last trip and then she began eating more food again.  Now she is in another phase where we cannot get her to eat much.  We coax her by putting a few plain Cheerios on top of her dog food.  She’ll go over and pick the Cheerios out and leave the dog food.  If she gets hungry and feels like eating, then I guess she will. 

We worry about her, but at this point there is nothing more we can really do to help her.  Some days we think she is on death’s door again.  The next day she’ll be perky and want a longer walk around the row of RV’s or something.   Her time will come when she’s ready for it.  In the meantime, we just keep loving her and try to care for her in all the ways we know how. 

She’s got a great life, this little Annie.  She has been an RV traveler since she was 6 months old.  She’s been from Alaska to Nova Scotia.  She’s gone to Walt Disney World 4 times and has been to at least 30 states.  I have to say she really prefers the cool weather states over the hot weather states.  She enjoys her summers here in Tumwater a lot more than being in the South during the summer months. 

Hopefully, she’ll get to enjoy a few more trips before she has to cross the Rainbow Bridge!   We want to take her to Pismo Beach, California in September.  She LOVES to go there.

Until next time…..so long for now!

16 comments:

Rick said...

Annie is so lucky to have such a great home with such loving parents! But, then again, I know you'll agree that you and Bruce probably feel more lucky to have such a wonderful, loving pet like Annie.

Your description of Annie sounds much like our little Mo who passed on at age 14 just a few years ago - he loved RV'ing too. Sure hope Annie stays well and has a great time in Pismo Beach this September.

Thanks for the update on Annie!

ThE MidLiFe CrUiSeR said...

Awww....Annie!! She's a sweetie, I can tell. It's great to see a dog so loved. She's lucky to have such considerate parents. I'm sad to hear about her health problems. With all the care you guys are giving her, I'm sure she's happy to stay right where she is...on your step :)

-Nellie

Happytrails said...

What a beautiful post! Annie is special and she is so lucky to have you guys. I know she has brought much love and happiness! My Molly, 18 year old Shih Tzu, was on many meds at the end of her life. I used to carry her outside each time she would go because she was blind and deaf. She crossed the Rainbow Bridge just before we started to full-time so she never was able to travel with us.
I hope Annie has lots of fun when you all go to Pismo Beach! She is indeed a sweetie!

Take care and give Annie a hug!
Mike & Gerri (happytrails)
http://freedom2roll.blogspot.com

Vera said...

I too wish all the best for Annie. It is heartbreaking to lose a pet. Hopefully she will be with you for a lot longer.

Sue and Doug said...

what a great post ..just for Annie!!!..she is a very lucky dog to have travelled to all those places and back again..here's to many more states that Annie can add to her list!!! Cheers Annie..you are one lucky dog!!!

The Gypsy G-Mas said...

Annie is a cutie and I hope she has many more months in front of her. It's always so hard to know how much pain they're in or what the right decision is, but they have ways of letting us know. She is obviously very well loved and it sounds like she has had a wonderful life. She is indeed a lucky dog and I'm sure she's doing everything in her power to make it to Pismo Beach too. In the meantime, enjoy every moment with her.

Carol K said...

I'm not a dog person, and we are among the very few RVers who don't have a pet, but it's obvious that you two care a lot about Annie and vice versa. You have a good attitude about her remaining days. Enjoy your time with her!

Al Bossence said...

What a great traveling life little Annie has had & it's not over yet. What absolute treasure's our pets are. Annie is fortunate to have you folks & vice versa. May her remaining doggy days, months, & years, be filled with blissfull snoozes, quiet walks, & mounds of Cheerios...........

Sam&Donna Weibel said...

Marge what a wonderful post, filled with yours & Bruce's love for Annie and her's for you guys, As the get older they seem to share all their time being close or laying by you. We hope you still have many more days left with her. Be safe out there, Sam & Donna.

Karen and Al said...

Annie is a lucky little dog. It's difficult when they get old and have health issues. It's so hard to figure out what their problems are. If only they could talk.

Kenny And Angela's Adventure said...

What can I say that has'nt all ready been said.

We get so attached to our dog's and cat's its hard to watch them get old.

I had one just like her for sixteen years.

Phyllis said...

What a lovely story.

We have Sparky, a black lab who is almost 15. That is really old for this breed of dog. He has always been an outside dog. Since my daughter is buying our house, we didn't have to worry about him once we started fulltiming.

Once we sold our horses, we moved him to the fenced in pasture and his dogbox is in the stable. He has lots of room to roam.

We can tell he is deaf. It takes him a while to get to his feet. He has lost a lot of mass in his rear and seems to get thinner by the day. But he has a huge heart and it not ready to leave us yet. He is also on meds for pain and arthritis.

Our vet says as long as he can get up and is eating, we can continue as we are. Some days he is better than others. We keep thinking this extreme heat (90's-100) will be too much for him but he finds a shady spot and claims him.

So Margie and Bruce - we all can enjoy our dear friends for whatever time we have left with them and then look back on that time with love.

Dennis and Donna said...

Sweet little Annie...treasure her days with you and make a few more memories....I still miss our black Lab, Gypsy, who crossed that heavenly bridge at age 13...We thought about another lab, but have never done it...Give Annie a big wetdoglips smooch from the Cave Dwellers...

Jerry and Suzy said...

You are good and loving pet pals! A dog like Annie is a true family member and adds a lot to your life. You two and Annie are good for each other!

K and D in the RV said...

We think of Annie often and how she is doing - she is just a year or so older than our beloved Gatorgirl, who has also slowed down and now snores and whimpers that bedtime has moved up to 8:00 pm. Thank you for loving Annie and providing her with a rich, happy life.

KarenInTheWoods said...

(please relay to Annie)

RUFF RUFF BARK BARK BARK GROWWWLLL ROWF WHIMPER WHIMPER WHIMPER YAPP YAPP YAPPITY YAPP

==from Duke and Duchess

(I have no idea what they said, but I am sure Annie would know)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Karen and Steve
(Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/