Yeah, we have a 38 year old parrot like that. She’s only one year younger than our marriage. But she’s more than a feathery pal….

I learned an astounding fact about dogs – they just internalize extreme pain. They just accept it as normal.

That lesson was brought home in a rush with our older dog last year who had apparently been walking around with a torn ACL for a few weeks.

Hope Satchmo recovers soon.

Yum, steroids: he’ll be even hungrier than usual. So you have that, Beckham with IBS, and Fenway? Just put up the “gone fishin’” sign and get back to us when you have time . . . . good luck with them.

God bless to you, the Bogg family and the babies.
I spent 4 months sleeping on the couch with my child, Nabila, until 4 in the morning and then crawling into bed after 4 AM to be with Mr. Lilysmom. Those were the last 4 months of her life and I don’t regret a single minute of it. She was and always will be a huge part of my heart.
I don’t like or understand people who don’t love animals.
Big gentle hug for Satchmo.

I was once told by a vet (who was trying to talk me into putting a 9-year-old dog through chemo after removal of a non-metastatic tumor) that “dogs don’t feel chemo the way people do.” I asked if a dog had told him that, and if I could have that dog’s phone number or email address.

Anyway, best wishes for a full recovery to Satchmo (and to Beckham – I’ve never had it, but I bet IBS is a royal pain for all concerned).

It’s been a rough weekend for the entire Tbogg clan. Satchmo joined us about 4 months after we lost the wonderful Cooder and Tbogg was NOT ready to let another one into his heart. Cooder and he were symbiotic. But we went to look at the puppies in Satchmo’s litter and he was the last to come and sit in my lap…and he never left. As soon as I picked him up, he peed on me, and I knew that he was ours. And as was the case with Cooder, he quickly aligned himself with Tbogg, and while he is a little more a “family dog” he still loves the big guy more than the rest of us. With all his bravado, Tbogg is a complete pushover when it comes to his daughter and his dogs. Beckham has had health problems since we got him; kennel cough that turned into pneumonia 3 days after we got him and a diagnosis of acid reflux disease about a year ago. So we expect stomach problems when he is stressed and both the younger dogs really seem to know that Satchmo isn’t feeling well. It will take the steroids a couple of days to reduce the inflammation in Satchmo’s spinal column but the pain meds seems to be keeping the bad stuff away. So we will go on loving them and keeping them as comfortable as possible and slowing down for Satchmo and minimizing the stress for Beckham and keeping Fenway from chewing through walls…and being the best dog family we can be. They bring so much more to the realtionship than we humans can ever return.

I hope this will offer some encouragement to the Tboggs:

Many, many years ago we took in a lab-mix dog that a friend found rummaging through garbage in the street for food. She was distressingly skinny and oozed yucky stuff from every orifice she had. When we took her to the vet he said he could tell from her teeth that she was at least 3 years old, but couldn’t tell how much over 3 she might be.

We got her healthy and had relatively few problems till she was, as far as we know, 12 years old. She had some serious skin problems that were making her miserable. Vet gave her a shot and said that they wouldn’t give additional steroids to a younger dog because it destroys their organs, but it would make her comfortable and it would be our choice. We decided Nancy deserved to be comfortable and not in pain for however long she had remaining.

Six months later when we called for a refill to her prescription they said “She’s still here?” She was not only “still here” but the steroids made her act like a damned puppy again — walking faster than she had in years, smiling, eating well, back to her old self. We continued the steroids and Nancy was fine and healthy till she finally got tired and peacefully left this earth at the ripe old age of, as far as we know, 23.

Here’s hoping that Satchmo, for whom I have a serious fondness, is feeling fit and fine for however much more time he decides the Tbogg family needs him. And we all hope that will be a very long time.

I’m glad Satchmo is feeling a bit better. Take all the time you need, we’ll be here when you get back.

Blessings and good thoughts going out to the Tboggs, canine and primate. Take care of each other–we’ll just have to get our snark fixes at Sadly, No for a while.

Wow, that must have been scary. Hugs to satchmo and to you all.

aimai

I came here expecting the Pink Pie Shot and the perfect as always Shorter. So sorry about your boy. Our 11-yr-old Spinone left the house @ 2:30 this morning, crawled under some shrubbery and wouldn’t come back in. I thought he had gone to die. If I could’ve spooned with him under the azaleas, I would have, but I couldn’t reach him except with a hand. I stroked him and gave him a couple of vanilla wafers. Left the back door open for him. He came back inside @ 6:00 and seems fine. We concluded that the piercing screech of the smoke alarm, as its battery died, had freaked him out. At least that’s what we hope.

Sending good thoughts to the Tboggs.

I hope everything turns out OK — hugs to all of you.

GOOD BOYS.

All of you.

For back problems – anybody suggested traction yet?

I’m right there with you TBogg. As an equally insane dog person, I know exactly what you’re going through. Non-dog people think we’re nuts. But that’s because they’ve never experienced the unconditional love and devotion that these greatest of God’s creatures have for their human companions. I’ve been blessed with their love for most of my life and cannot imagine life without them. I’ve laughed with delight at their antics and been wracked with sobs of pain and sorrow at their loss. I have sworn time and again after I have lost one of my friends that I will not go through it again. But that lasts a day at most. And it’s also why we always have at least two of them. Courage my friend. We know from the very first moment we lift that tiny ball of fur to our lips that someday they will break our heart, but what happens in between is irreplaceable.

Dear TBogg and Mrs. TBogg:

I am glad to hear that Satchmo is doing better. I have always wanted a husky, myself, but Mrs. Cobernicus doesn’t agree.

Anyway, I hope to see your “pie in the face” comment about this piece of drivel.

Best regards!

Rimadyl is a miracle drug for dogs in pain. My lab my parents had from the time I was in high school lived to 16, and for the last two years of his life, Rimadyl was the difference between him being able to get to his favorite sleeping spot upstairs or not.

As for the steroid, I’m assuming they gave you Prednisone. Be warned that it will make him very thirsty, he will put on water weight, and he will have to pee ALOT.

Good Satchmo! Good dog family! You all take care of each other; we’re not going anywhere.

Positive thoughts headed your and Satchmo’s way.

And I agree with others on Rimadyl — it helped our former Eskie (R.I.P.) quite a bit.

Of course, we also paid $1K to replace his ACL and decompress a herniated disc, and used to spend $40 a month on anti-anxiety for our basenji/corgi mix … so we get it.

Again, hoping for the best for your family.

You live in California–there must be a doggy acupuncturist somewhere nearby.

Get well, Satchmo!

I hope that’s not a dig at acupuncture. It does wonders, seriously. (I’ve never had someone try it on my dog, though.)

Get well soon.

poor little guy! Get well Satch!

Not at all, cap’n. We took Mrs. Quaker’s aged kitty for acupuncture when she was having spine problems. (The cat, not the Mrs.)

Just sayin’–Mr. Bogg lives in CA. They probly have pet acupuncturists the way most places have Starbucks.

Poor Satchmo — poor tbogg family generally! Hugs and bones all ’round!

Sending good wishes to Satchmo, the other dogs and the Tboggs. I write this with my Corgi mix puppy at my feet — the puppy I couldn’t resist getting even though I have a 4-year-old, a job, a house that desperately needs cleaning, and weather conditions that make it painful to go outside during daylight hours until October.

They’re worth it.

Oh, damn. What a stupid mistake. Our daughter was 23 at the time. Nancy the wonderdog lived to be 19 years old. My point was that seven years on steroids seemed to suit her.

I’m hoping your dear Satchmo is doing much better today. The younger Boys need his wise counsel.

I concur with the previous endorsement of Rimadyl. It made the last couple of years of life comfortable for Goldie, my much-loved 16-year-old Lab. Many pets and ear scritches going out to Satchmo, Beckham, and all who need them.

In the meantime, if you need something to read until TBogg gets himself figured out, you can check me out here, as I’ve been writing a lot of stuff lately.

Go Satchmo!

re: Acupuncturists for Dogs

I have a friend in SoCal that is an animal acupuncturist (she’s also a vet). Not quite in your area (and she’s at a cat only clinic) but probably has the name of someone in your area if you are interested.

act like a damned puppy again

Satchmo acting like a puppy again? There go the walls.

Please plant a big kiss on Satchmo’s nose for me. Okay, now one for the other boys, in the interest of fairness.

As for Rimadyl, yes, it is a wonder drug. Was so for our Shep who had such profound hip dysplasia that he never sat ever. Stood, ran, laid down, but never could sit. He managed to have 10 great years, in large part due to Rimadyl. But I do question whether a drug that is great for orthopedic woes will necessarily work if the problem is neurological. Our current old guy, Seven, is beginning to move slow in the morning and having trouble leaping up on the bed (Oh noes!) Vet says it’s probably spinal trouble, and has him on Novox. We’re seeing good results.

You get that boy better. We’ll get our blog laughs from SN, Roy Edroso, WOC, and K-Lo.

Sondheim’s “I’m Still Here” highlights:

Good times and bum times,
I’ve seen them all and, my dear,
I’m still here.
Plush velvet sometimes,
Sometimes just pretzels and beer,
But I’m here.

I’ve stood on bread lines
With the best,
Watched while the headlines
Did the rest.
In the Depression was I depressed?
Nowhere near.
I met a big financier
And I’m here.

I’ve gotten through Herbert and J. Edgar Hoover,
Gee, that was fun and a half.
When you’ve been through Herbert and J. Edgar Hoover,
Anything else is a laugh.

I’ve been through Reno.
I’ve been through Beverly Hills,
And I’m here.
Reefers and vino,
Rest cures, religion and pills,
And I’m here

Been called a pinko
Commie tool,
Got through it stinko
By my pool.
I should have gone to an acting school.
That seems clear,
Still, someone said, “She’s sincere,”
So I’m here.

Just a few choice lines. Music heals, you know.
Best to the family.

Best wishes to the distinguished Satchmo, hope he continues to feel better.

Sorry to hear about Satchmo.

psst… you, fate: leave the doggies ALLOOOONNNE!! Hope all works out for the ground hugging side of the tbogg clan.

No apologies needed for spending time taking care of sweet canines…we love the boys, too and wish them well. Give them hugs from my kids.

Mrs.TBogg made me cry. Godspeed to Satchmo.
Best wishes to the bowels of Beckham.

Everyone’s said it so much better than I could…so just let me add my best wishes for Satchmo’s swift recovery and send a few tummy scritches for the youngsters. Y’all take good care, ya hear?

Hugs to the TBoggs and all the animules. Speedy recovery to The Satchmo!

Much love to the dogs and hugs for the Tboggs.

May the Goddess bless yer bassets, TBogg, and may we soon return our attention to sick Republicans.