Sick Weener

So sick

Picnic at the hospital

Ahi spent 2 days in the hospital really, really sick.  She had been struggling with occasional barfing and diarrhea for three days but it had been up and down - not terrible.  But then at 3 am on Saturday, she was crying in her bed with barely any noise coming out of her mouth.  We brought her down to emergency and admitted her thinking she had HGE again.  But after blood work, an ultrasound and a biopsy, she was diagnosed with cholangiohepatitis.  This is basically an infection in the liver and gallbladder caused by bacteria from the gut traveling up the bile ducts.

There are two types of this disease - chronic and acute.  Based on the symptoms, the vet thinks she has the chronic type - which is the least desirable of the two.  The treatment is antibiotics for a minimum of two weeks while we monitor her liver enzymes.  She could need antibiotics for up to 4 months and other meds the rest of her life.  I am ok with meds the rest of her life - I just don't want her to be that sick again and don't want her to be in the hospital.

 I went to try to get her to eat in the hospital but she wouldn't eat and slept instead.

She has been home for about 36 hours and when she first came home, she wouldn't eat or drink but slowly she has started eating.  And this morning she scarfed down her bland diet and wanted more.  And she is now drinking on her own!

Next step is blood work next week to see how her liver is.  Until then, we continue giving her 6 different types of medication twice a day!

The bad news - no fancy vacation for me this summer because I just spent all my money on a vet bill.  The good news - the weener feels better!

TNDC Mission Peak Hike

Went on our first hike (and probably last) to Mission Peak in Fremont today.  It is a 6 mile round trip hike with the first half all up and the second half all down!   Luckily it was a cool day as there are not many trees.

When we were almost at the top, on a really steep and rocky trail, a young gal fell right in front of me and Jim and broke her ankle.  We saw it bend in very unnatural angle!  We helped get her comfortable, covered her with jackets and got another hiker to call 911.  Once she was safe, we continued our hike.  When we were on our way down, the fire department was just responding.  We felt bad for the gal who was obviously in a lot of pain and was going to miss a concert that she had tickets too later that day.

The coolest fire truck ever!

What can I say about this pic?

TNDC at the top!

 It is a tradition to take your picture at the top of the Peak near this pole.  We had to wait 20 minutes in a line of about 60 people to take the pic.

We had a yummy picnic in the parking lot once we made it back down the mountain!

A real tail gater on the Screwtops tail gate!

St Patty's Day

My folks treated TNDC to the traditional Irish dinner of corned beef, cabbage, champ (Irish potatoes) and shepherds pie.   A favorite for all!

 It was the first time Renee was able to make it to a St Patty's TNDC and she did it up big with her spirit!

A good time was had by all!

Making a black and tan

More William Birthday Pics

These pics were so cute that I had to add them to the blog.  

Oakley is Coming Home!

Oakley

We found out last week that we are keeping one of Hops' pups - the female one!  Here name is Oakley and she will be living with Drew in AZ.  Since he is home for spring break, we decided to go visit her and her brother, Palmer, who the breeder is keeping.

Palmer

A boy and his dog

Oakley

Oakley - a true Labrador with water running out of her mouth!

Palmer - Snake in the grass

Happy 3rd Birthday

Last week's TNDC was William's 3rd birthday!  A 3rd birthday is the best because its the first time they really "get it"!  William was so fired up that he got a box of chocolate milk for his birthday! 

Grandma Anna's 80th Birthday

We were finally able to celebrate Grandma Anna's 80th birthday (she had been sick on her real birthday).  We made a trip over the hill on a BEAUTIFUL spring day and had a delicious dinner at the Crow's Nest, a family favorite!

Grandma and her grand kids!

If this is what 80 looks like, sign me up!  Grandma Anna looks amazing!

Pups - 6 weeks

Here are what the pups look like at 6 weeks old!  Porter on the left, Carter on the right.

Awning

Since we had the trees taken down at the cabin, it has become apparent that we will absolutely COOK in the summer!  So we started looking for shade options.  We found two options:  1.  use easy ups like hillbillies or 2.  get a retractable awning.

We decided on the non hillbilly option and will be getting an 18 by 14 foot retractable awning!  The colors will match the cabin paint and should look really good!

Hetch Hetchy

Grace and I took a quick trip to Hetch Hetchy last week.  I had forgotten how beautiful it was there!

Snow day!

The day after our beautiful spring like hike, we got snow at the cabin!  We had an amazing day hanging out watching movies, playing in the snow and putting up the stained glass bird Aunt Nancy gave us!

Resting after playing in the snow

The snow rolled down my windshield!

Table top Mountain Hike

We had a beautiful spring like Saturday and needed a day out in the wilderness so we joined a ranger led hike to Table Top Mountain in Jamestown!  But first we had to do a rescue...this guy was going on the hike too but had gotten himself stuck in mud on the side of the road.  A quick hook up with a strap and we pulled them out in 5 minutes!

Then it was time for the hike.  This is the group that went.  The nicest ranger, Ranger Mike, led the group and taught us all kinds of stuff along the way...such as, the table top mountain was caused by the old Stanislaus River filling up with lava and all the rest of the land around it being washed away.

Table Top Mountain

It was about a 3 mile round trip hike but seemed much longer since we stopped so much.  The tops was stunning with its view and the beginning of the wild flowers.

From the top - New Melones Lake

It was Hops' first big hike after having her puppies and she did great.  In fact, her and Ahi seemed to enjoy listening to Ranger Mike, see pic below!