These two are doing very well…although they miss their morning view of Sandy and Arny’s sliding glass door because they know as soon as the curtains are open, it was Uncle Arny time! Sorry kids, but it will be a few more months before you see that view again. Arny and Sandy were very good about not giving treats to Skruffy, but making her think she was getting a treat. Each morning, Arny would give her about 1 oz of cook pork loin that I provided to him, while Bubba got a special treat that they provided. At 4, when Sandy got home, she traditionally has given them both a treat...so she would give Skruffy about 1/2 oz of pork, while Bubba got his afternoon treat. Around 7 pm, they would give Bubba his last treat, which Skruffy never saw and never knew about. It all worked out great!
Bubba was overdue for a haircut, and I had enough on my plate, so I took him to Petco on Thursday. Al, who has worked there for a couple years now and has cut Bubba at least four times now, did another wonderful job. Here Bubba is hiding behind his cousins Ouzo and Pixie. Bubba stays at his Uncle Mike and Aunt Sandy’s house since the Condo does not allow pets. At Mike and Sandy’s (two Aunt Sandys …one in California and one in Florida), Bubba lives with his two cousins, Pixie and Ouzo. Ouzo is about a year old, and is a “puppy” still, though in an adult body as far as Bubba can tell.
Ouzo wants to play and play and can’t understand why Bubba (who is nearly 12 years old) doesn’t want to play too. In fact, Bubba might need to be neutered again…he seems to have been showing his teeth and even nipping at the jumping around Ouzo…which is just not like Bubba to show aggression. Here (above) Ouzo won’t sit still for a picture, which I was lucky to get this slightly blurry shot here. I think he wanted to sniff and lick the camera.
Pixie is a very active dog, though mellowed out now compared to two years ago. Here she is standing on the arm of the couch. She “LOVES” to run along the top of the couches, along the arms, jumping from one piece of furniture to another. Off to the far left is Bubba still sitting there with the seemingly “uninterested” look on his face…but he knows all that is going on, and Ouzo is learning that Bubba does not want to be bothered.
Skruffy, of course, is a Service Dog for Marcia and stays in the Condo with us, despite the feelings of the Condo Association. She has kept her weight down, sitting right at 14.2 pounds. Above she is showing off her Service Vest, which we attach a cellphone (in the pink holder) to when I leave Marcia alone in the Condo. The vest is so loose the cell phone does not sit comfortably on her as it did before. So far Marcia has not fallen while I have been away, but if so, Skruffy will be right there by her with the Cell Phone for Marcia to call me, or call 911 depending upon the severity of the fall.
Skruffy is trying a different food mixture. Since her sickness in Alaska she has been eating a mixture of ground Turkey or ground Chicken cooked up, with Hill’s Prescription ID and WD canned food, a bit of pure pumpkin, and brown rice all mixed together. Up until last week, I would make a batch of food which would last for six meals (3 days). Now I have replaced the ground chicken/turkey and the brown rice with WD dry food. I now mix a can each of WD and ID with a good tablespoon of Pumpkin, and at meal time, I put 3 oz of dry food in her bowl, add 3 oz of the canned food mixture, and at breakfast I also add an ounce of cooked pork loin broken up into many pieces. I mix it all up in her bowl, and she eats it all down. Even without Bubba here as competition, she just gobbles all her food down…always has. I have to adjusted her insulin just a bit, and things seem to be going well with her. The food passes through her real quick, which is key to her not absorbing too much sugar. At least we don’t have to worry about her sneaking over to Bubba’s food dish while we are here at the Condo.
Back in Alaska we ordered the AlphaTrak 2 testing kit with extra test strips and “pokers” from Amazon, and had it delivered to the Vet’s office in Soldotna. I have been testing Skruffy at least twice per week, after getting the initial curve test back in July. A curve test requires testing her about six times through the day from right when she eats, and every 60-90 minutes after until I get her curve of when her blood sugars stop going down and start to rise. It takes her 5-6 hours to bottom out, so when I do check her, I typically check her about 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 hours after she has eaten to see how low she is at. Most of the time she checks out in the 120 to 220 range, which is good. A few times she has been under 100, two or three times it has been under 60, which is too low. If she is under 100, I give her some Enercal high calorie gel, about as much as I put toothpaste on my toothbrush, and this raises her blood sugars back up. Sometimes she is in the 300 to 500 range, which is too high. When ever she is too high, I test her the next day and she normally comes back to the 200-300 range, or lower. When there is a change in her food, as we are going through now, I test her more often, and make slight adjustments to her insulin if needed. Currently I am giving her 2 1/2 units at breakfast, and 2 units at dinner, which is were she was a week ago before the change was made. She has handled this food change real good.
As you can see, Skruffy is doing real well. And so far she has been real good staying at the Condo alone when we go to church on Sunday and Wednesday. Her fear of staying alone is starting to go away. She does not like it when we leave, but when we return she is not barking and barking, even when we open the front door. She is excited to see us, and with that excitement she will give out a few little barks, but that is it.
