RV Block Party Weekend, Memories of the Longest Day

At Alfred A. Loeb State Park, Brookings, OR

I have sat outside for hours each day we have been at Loeb State Park.  On Thursday I noticed that there were lots and lots of people who seemed to know each other…there were many “locals” in the park, and they stayed all weekend.  The number of children on bicycles increased three fold, and on Friday and Saturday there were few turnovers within the campground.  (It is hard to see, but Bubba is looking down the street at about seven kids and three adults…at this point, most of the kids were down at the river swimming/playing.)  I commented to Marcia Saturday evening that it was like one huge old fashion block party…people talking, laughing, kids playing, everyone having fun.  It was like stepping back in time for me…we lived on a block where kids played outside all the time, football in the street…even baseball if we could get all the parked cars moved, and basketball was always at our house.  It was a time when kids could be kids…as long as we watched for the occasional car coming around the corner, all was well.  The same here at the park…it was nice to see.  By noon today, half the park cleared out…and at 3 pm, there were still 15 sites open.  This afternoon, only two children on bikes.  Amazingly, the noise level over the weekend was very reasonable. 

   

One day I went down to Brookings to get some groceries, check on getting the motorhome oil changed later on, and I decided to get some pictures of the Ocean in the Brookings/Harbor area, including a shot of the boat harbor along the Chetco River.  As you can see, the skies were clear…as they have been nearly every day that we have been here.  In fact, we had to run the A/C three times in the eleven days we have been here…but I never felt hot outside as long as I was in the shade.

I also did another walk…returning to the Redwood Trail that I struggled with on Father’s day.  No, not to walk this trail again…I am not a masochist…I just wanted to get better pictures of the scenic bridge that is at the start of the walk.  So I walked the couple hundred of yards up to and onto the bridge. 

When I went on the walk that Sunday, I turned left away from the bridge to start my walk.  By the time I got to the bridge at the end of the hike, I was just ready to get into the car and some air conditioning.  So Friday I drove back over and got these pictures.  It really is a very scenic, quiet place.

I could not decide which picture I liked the best…so you get to see the top three.  After I got my pictures, I returned to the car and drove over to the start of the Riverview Trail.  I was determined to do this easier walk again, but at a faster pace…so I left the camera in the car, and off I headed with my bottle of water at 12:20.  Made it to where the Riverview and Redwood trails meet by 12:50.  Around 1:05 I headed back to the car, and got to the car at 1:35.  That was about 20 minutes faster than the first time.

Thursday was the 21st, the longest day of the year.  As I sat in my chair outside, I see the moon rising over the trees on the hill to the east.  It reminded me of our night in Alaska…midnight as the calendar turned from the twentieth to the twenty first….camping at the Seward Waterfront RV Park.  The nights in Alaska are long during the summer…and though it was midnight, it looked like it was just dusk, and it had looked that way for a couple of hours already.  I look out the motorhome window, I grab my camera and was out the door.

A full moon just coming over the mountains on the other side of Resurrection Bay.  As I take picture after picture, I see this small fishing boat coming from the left headed out of the bay.  I see that the boat is going to pass right over the reflection of the moon on the water, and I got this shot above.  It is my favorite shot, I even have it as the wallpaper on my computer.

Later that same day, we realize that Skruffy is one sick dog…the Vet in Seward has gone on vacation, and off to Soldotna which was 90 miles away…it took three hours.  That is where the Soldotna Animal Hospital, Dr. Meezie Hermansen in particular, saved Skruffy’s life.  It was then that we found she was diabetic.  Since her recovery, she has been fed twice a day, 12 hours apart, with an insulin shot for dessert (she actually gets it as she eats).  Skruffy is doing GREAT now. That was one long day…a day which could have turned out much differently had it not been for the Soldotna Animal Hospital.

Winnemucca Nevada – Skruffy One Year Later

Heading from Lake Jordanelle, through Salt Lake City, and on across I-80 into Nevada, there are certain sites that you just pass by.  In Wendover Nevada we passed by “Wendover Will”, who use to stand right on the state line of Nevada and Utah along the old highway…it now is about a mile to the west from the state line, still along the old highway.  Wendover Will is the "World's Largest Mechanical Cowboy", according to Guinness Book of Records, standing 63 feet tall.  We filled up at the Pilot with gas.

About 25 miles east of Wendover you pass by the “Metaphor: The Tree of Utah”, also known as the “Utah Pine Tree”, “Utah Christmas Tree”, and “That Awful Waste of Money Tree”.  All of these latter terms I have heard people call it, among some things which I cannot place in this family friendly blog post.  Back in the days of traveling with a “CB”, truckers and fellow travelers would always blast the thing.  Over the past few years (it was built in the early 1980’s) they have had to put the fence around it…but I remember the days before the fence.  Created by and paid for by Swedish artist Karl Momen, it stands 87 feet tall.  The “Tree” contains “100 tons of chrysacolla rock, 4 tons of epoxy, 160 tons of steel, 15 tons of colored cement and sand, 18,000 imported ceramic tiles, 5 tons of welding rods, 7 tons of timber for mold formers, and 20 tons of plaster.  All-in-all the structure ended up weighing 875 tons and had consumed 21,000 man hours of labor.  The project had also cost Momen over $1 million of his own funds, which was more than double what original estimates had indicated.”  (Click here for the website on the tree)

Near Wells, you can see the northern portion of the Ruby Mountains, as the Interstate runs just north of the mountain range.  Ruby Dome, which you can see from the town of Elko, is 11,387 feet tall…but I did not like the picture from Elko due to the haze.  The southern portion of the Ruby Mountains is the known for a B-17 crash back on January 2, 1943.  It took until June 24, 1943 to find the wreck, and it took a week to recover the bodies of the ten fliers, four officers and six enlisted men.  An Accident Review Board concluded that, while on instruments, the pilot had not maintained sufficient drift correction to stay within the airway, and that extreme downdrafts caused the aircraft to descend approximately 1300 feet below assigned altitude, resulting in the crash into the mountain.

I have driven the 380 mile route that we took today at least 50, perhaps 100 times.  In a car, I try to cover it “as fast as I can” from Reno to Salt Lake City.  By motorhome, it is hard to keep it at 62, my normal travel speed…but I did keep it under 65 most of the time, but hard to do on a few hills.  Also, there are a few areas where I had to shift down to second gear…the most notables are just before Elko and near Battle Mountain..and in the 95 degree heat, I turned off the A/C, but did not see any increase in my temperature gage….better safe than sorry.  We got to Winnemucca at 3:30, with a time change of an hour at Wendover, so it took us seven hours.  Hmmm…seems I have made it from Salt Lake City to Reno is seven hours before by car…but now days, who is in a hurry????

   

Last year at this time we were in Alaska.  Spent the “morning” of the longest day in Seward where, at the stroke of midnight, saw the moon come over the mountains on the other side of Resurrection Bay…if you click on the picture left, you will also see a small fishing boat along the reflection of the moon in the water near the mountains on the far side of the bay.  But we awoke the next morning with a very sick little dog.  Skruffy, whom we were watching closely over the weekend, awoke on Tuesday throwing up.  A visit to the local vet found that he had gone on vacation…and a call to the emergency number told us to go to Soldotna or Anchorage…about the same distance away.  Thank God we picked Soldotna Animal Hospital.   The top picture shows Skruffy in the arms of Marcia…the left picture with Skruffy as we traveled to Soldotna (100 miles, about three hour trip), and the picture to the right of Skruffy the next day after Dr. Meezie had started to successfully treat her.  On Tuesday when Meezie told us, “…if she makes it through the night…”, our hearts hit the floor…we had no clue she was that sick.  She turned out to be diabetic, which due to our ignorance, turned into pancreatitis, and she was very anemic.  After two nights in the Soldotna Animal Hospital, and seeing that she was having Separation Anxiety, we were able to bring her to the motorhome on Thursday. When we returned that afternoon with her, she barked at everybody and they said, “Wow, that is an entirely different dog.”  However, it was Meezie’s (click to read our post about Meezie, a GREAT Vet, Fisherman, and person) professional and loving care (with the help of the entire animal hospital) which kept our precious little girl from passing on to the other side of the Rainbow Bridge.  A week later, we took her in for the final appointment, this after a trip to Anchorage to have a ultrasound of her liver.  The tests on July 8th came back with positive results of her liver healing…and off we went.  But it was a very difficult journey for us.  On the night of the 21st (3 am in the morning of the 22nd), I awoke and started to write Skruffy’s obituary.  On the day that we got the test back that she was going to heal, I finished the obituary with a twist…and posted it.  Read “Skruffy’s Last Bark?”, but warning…you will need tissue.

So here is a picture of Skruffy I took yesterday or the day before.  A year later, our little girl is doing very well.  I posted another thank you to the Soldotna Animal Hospital on their facebook, and emailed Dr. Meezie again to say thanks….again.  She is so nice, she answered back within a couple of hours, and said, in part: 

“Glad to see Skruffy is still doing well.  She (and the rest her family) will always hold a special place in my memories of cases I was proud to be a part of.  She is a little trooper.”

Meezie…we just can’t thank you enough….and all the people you work with...

Skruffy’s Last Bark?

Breath in, breath out...
 
I remember that day as if it was yesterday, the day of the rescue. She brings you to me, sets you in my lap. I pet your head, your ears, your collarless neck. My hand roams down to your chest, and to your tummy...you bend and twist giving me access to the lower tummy as if I had been doing this all your life. She comes back to take you from my arms, you give that Skruffy growls of yours. “Oh my!” she exclaims. “What?” I ask. “She has proclaimed it already...in just ten short minutes...she owns you...” Owns me? I wonder...I thought I was rescuing her, not the other way around. She, Skruffy, is right...she owns me now. She owns a part of my heart that only Snoopy had seen before. My cats, no way...yes, they were loved, but the heart strings they never touched. Some people have a special place in their hearts for dogs...some for cats...many don't have it at all. But the dogs and cats know who you are, and they gladly take advantage of taking their own little leash and tie it right to that special place into your heart...as Skruffy had done to me.
 
Again I hear it...breath in, breath out...
 
Those cold, wet, thunder filled nights as you were lost out in that large lot before the rescue, hiding under trucks, took something from your heart girl...you never wanted to be alone again...you never wanted to be away from he, from me, the one you now owned. To work with me you came, out of desperation at first, but within days it became the norm. Eventually I could leave my office without you barking...for 5 minutes first, then ten...I don't think you ever made it to fifteen. But eventually your barking became a single solitary bark, followed by listening for my voice, sniffing to try and find my scent. Staff would come in and say, “It's alright Skruffy girl, he will be back real soon.” The Library would quiet down again, for 5 or 10...then that bark came back, followed by listening, followed by smelling, followed by yet another bark. And when I return the joy is indescribable...it was if I was gone for hours and hours, yet it had only been 20 to 30 minutes. Yes, my little girl, I am back...and quiet again reigned...until the next time I had to step out. Had my office had a hard floor instead of carpet, I would have heard the tap tap tap of your little feet as they move back and forth from excitement. Oh, how I love that sound.
 
There it is, I hear it again...breath in, breath out...
 
You eventually earned my trust, I'd let you go off leash from the car to inside our trailer at the RV Park...unless you saw a squirrel off in the distance, and away you ran despite my pleas. From tree to tree you would go as squirrels would be alerted and shoot up into the trees. Your short little legs would carry you fast and far, your ears flapping in the wind, your bark breaking the silence, except for the chirping of the birds. I followed as quick as I could, I call out to your deafening ears, but eventually your lungs give out, your legs grow tired.  You turn and look at me like, “Why are you breathing so hard, it was I who was running all around? But did you see them, did you?? Squirrel after squirrel, and they all ran up into the trees afraid of little me!” When the library was closed and it was only us there, I would let you go off leash from the car into the Library, or from the Library to the car...until that one Saturday evening when you saw a wedding carriage being pulled by a pair of horses, way across the huge parking lot, heading to the hotel across the street for their reception. Off you ran, barking and barking...I could only imagine how much larger each of those horses started to look as you got within 90 yards, within 70 yards, because around 50 yards you stop...you give them your three Skruffy Barks, you turn and walk triumphantly back to me...wondering why I have my hands up to my brow shaking my head back and forth as you walk, head raised high...but then you stop, look back and give another Skruffy bark. You come to me, stop short looking at me like, “Well, I doubt they will mess with Skruffy again!”
 
And again...breath in, breath out...
 
Then into our lives came two others. “Who is she, and does 'he' have to come with her?” you wondered. “Yes I have found another to share my life with, but don't worry, my dear Skruffy, you still own me. And as for 'he', he is Bubba...your new brother, but don't worry, you are still going to be the queen.” Within a year the Library becomes a retired memory, and now even more travels. Before Marcia and Bubba came into our lives, we had traveled up to Missouri to visit papa and grandma a few times, and you even went with me to Denver for some meetings that I had—remember you went to the Doggie Daycare, where I could watch you over the Internet while listening to speaker after speaker in my meeting talking about Library stuff. After Marcia and I married, there were times she needed to be in Florida while you and I still had to work at the Library. We would travel back and forth to Florida during those times. If we stopped so I could get some rest, you would watch out the window protecting our little car. Oh how I will miss those barks that awoke me so many times. But now we have a motorhome, and the real travels begin. 
 
A bit fainter now...breath in, breath out.
 
Our first trip took all four of us to many fascinating places...the large trees of Sequoia, the wonderful walls and falls of Yosemite, the tall Coastal Redwoods, the deep blues of Glacier Lake, the waves along the Oregon Coast, the aroma of the Roses in Portland, the devastation of Mount St. Helens, the elk and buffalo of Yellowstone, the Mountains of Glacier Park. We saw bears, goats, sheep, deer, elk, buffalo and antelope. Future trips over the next few years included places like Zion and Arches, the balloons of Albuquerque, the homes of Mesa Verde, the deep dark forest of Olympia, names on rock walls along the Oregon Trail, cheese and ice cream from Tillamook. Every time we stopped the motorhome, there were new smells, new places to mark, new adventures for you and Bubba. Of course, there was always your favorite place of all...the backyard of Sandy and Arnys...where the squirrels were so close you could touch them, the grass so green and luscious that you could lay in it, treats so plentiful, and so many family and friends around. You could be trusted completely now, and off leash you would run over to Papa’s and Grandma's since they moved back to California and lived next door to Sandy. Of course, I overlook that time you, off leash, you decide to take off up the hill while visiting the Redwoods...or at that large park in Oregon where you saw some squirrels off in the distance...and into the distance you ran until your little legs got tired and you walk back to me who was in chase.
 
Fainter still...breath in, breath out...a hesitation.
 
You earned your badge in later years, you became a Service Dog for Marcia, to assist with certain needs. There were always those few months where you were needed at the Condo, no brother around, you had us to yourself. Then winter would be over, and off we would travel again. You heard me calling out for a long drive north, to Alaska I say, where there would be so much space, so many things to see, clean air to breath, and so many animals. But it was there that a new frontier opened up. A sore at first, then near death which tore my heart wide open, until we found she, the fisherman of small dogs, who tries to bring you back to us so that we could enjoy more time, more travels, until that last breath, that last hesitation which does not stop, the cold taste of death. And then I will be owned no more... free from your dedication, your love, your barks, your scratches, your walks. Then it will be your time to play with Snoopy, no pain, never fearing to be alone again. 
 
A bit stronger now...breath in, breath out...
 
That fisherman, she is not only a great fisherman, but she is also a great veterinarian. She sits up with you way after hours, she instantly falls for you, just as so many others have. The right dosage of this, the right amount of liquid food to run through your veins. All the while I have put out word onto our blog, on Facebook, through text messages and phone calls (though the calls are few since it is hard for the words to come out)...PRAY for our little Skruffy Girl! A few days later, after many visits to see you, after many prayers too numerous to count, you come home with us. It is struggle, but you are calmer at home, you sleep, you start to eat, you start to recover. Then the set-back hits...it is 4^th of July weekend, but we handle it, and you get stronger yet. Finally the news today...test show you are in full recovery...the cold taste of death will need to wait for another day...many years as far as we are concerned. But the thought of losing you...the thought of being free...why does it hurt so very much? I don't want to break those chains which are connected to that part of my heart. I now have a taste, again, of what it will be like to have that part of my heart empty again, I don't like it – the ache is beyond description. How fortunate we are that we found the Soldotna Animal Hospital, found that fisherman of little dogs who goes by the name of Meezie, and how blessed we are that God has heard and answered those many prayers. My heart is filled with joy...the ache will need to wait for another day...another year...many years I hope.
 
Much stronger now...breath in, breath out...and there it goes, “BARK, BARK, BARK”, yes, the Skruffy bark is back, it is like music to our ears, it warms the heart just so... Last Bark? Nope, many more barks to come!

Yet Another Skruffy Update—Anchorage Ultrasound

Yesterday (Monday) our Soldotna Vet, Dr. Meezie Hermansen, was still concerned about one blood result…Skruffy’s Red Blood Cell count has continued to decline, while everything else leveled out and got better.  For instance, her blood sugar is down to 125+, and we reduced her insulin to 2 units from 3 twice per day.  Her White Blood Cell count is coming down, but still high from the the combination of pancreatitis and her still healing anal gland.  She suggested that Skruffy have a high density ultrasound, and the best machine and the best Vet to do it was up in Anchorage at the Anchorage Veterinary Clinic and Animal Hospital, the Vet is Linda Chang, who just happened to graduate from the same Veterinary College in Colorado as Dr. Hermansen, though a few years before her.  (They have a ultrasound machine in Soldotna, but it is not as good for what was needed.)

We have been staying at the Diamond M Ranch RV Resort (park), and extended Monday morning for two more days.  It is a 300+ mile round trip to Anchorage, a good 3 hours each way.  We left at 10 am for a 2:30 pm appointment, and stopped for gas at Fred Meyer (30 cent discount due to our rewards card, $2.39 a gallon), and then we stopped by Soldotna Animal Hospital to get our Amazon Package for the blood sugar tester for Skruffy, then we got to Anchorage an hour early.  They got is in right on time, and Dr. Chang did a wonderful job explaining Skruffy’s test results.

At left is a typical dog ultrasound.  She showed us Skruffy’s Liver, Gall Bladder, Adrenal Gland, and Spline, and we could barely see the Pancreas…which she said was good, because if you can clearly see it, it is so inflamed that it sticks out more.  She said that what she saw of the Pancreas bore evidence of some problems, but not a chronic condition.  The good news was that there was no sign of any tumors anywhere.  There was no blockage of her digestive tract.  The liver was larger than normal, but that is likely due to pancreatitis, and chronic stage of diabetes that Skruffy was in last week.  She said she could do a biopsy of the liver, but that is dangerous in her condition.  She could do a needle biopsy, but that would only show that small area the needle hit.  She said that there is a rare cancer where the cells spread out in the liver, and capturing one or more of these cells with a needle is like finding a needle in a haystack…and it is a very low probability of Skruffy having that condition.  Her recommendation to Dr. Hermansen is to put Skruffy on a milk thistle type of liver restorer for dogs (prescription), followed up with more blood tests next week.  We hope Dr. Hermansen is in agreement, and if tests next week look better, then we know all we are dealing with is diabetes in the long run.  By Wednesday of next week Skruffy will be done with her antibiotics, and will have been home for 13 days. 

We continually see signs of the “old Skruffy” coming through…like when we were leaving the Clinic in Anchorage today and a Doberman walks in…she gave that Doberman a good barking at.  Now this Doberman could have had Skruffy for lunch…but it just looked at her, she trots out of the place like, “Take That!”  Yep, Skruffy is coming back!

Tomorrow we go back to Fred Meyer for one night, so we can get clothes washed, and groceries bought before we go to Homer on Thursday.  We have reservations for the 1sth through the 5th…but we might check in a day early. 

Skruffy Getting Better – But . . .

Now if this isn’t the look of, “Hey Dad, I want to get the Heck out of Here”, then I am missing something.  It is hard to give a dog back who does not want to go…especially a dog who will start wondering, “What did I do wrong to deserve this…”

The drive over from Seward to Soldotna yesterday was 90 miles, 2 hours, and the poor girl just struggled during most of it.  We stopped twice for her to pee, to upchuck, and to be put back in Marcia’s lap again.  She did sleep for nearly 20 minutes, but she was not comfortable at all.  For the last 45 minutes she was down on the ground, sitting by the water dish…but we decided water was out of the question, and the Vet reaffirmed our decision when we got there.  (She did get about a tablespoon of water to wet her mouth once)

This morning we were there promptly at 8:30, and they finally brought her out.  She was a little better, but a bit groggy.  I took her out for a short walk, where she did her business, the first poop she had done in 48 hours…but not much. 

Back inside she just felt sleepy in Marcia’s arms.  We had little reaction out of her, but we saw that she was a bit better.  The Vet, Meezi Hermansen, told us that her blood sugar had dropped from high 700’s to the low 400’s.  “We can drop it faster, but that is not good for her,” she said.  We need to get more poop out of her, but it was good that she did get what she did out of her.  And we need to run some more blood tests later.

So we said our good byes, and left her there…and frankly, she did not seem to care because she was still not feeling that well.  We went off to breakfast, and back to the motorhome.

    

At 2:15 we returned for nearly a 2 hour stay.  Gotta say…at first the little girl felt stronger, but a bit out of it.  Then I took her outside for another walk, and she got on the grass and did her lady-like squat, and we walked a bit, and she even ran…but the IV bothered her too much for that, and then we heard a dog, and I said, “Go ahead, give them a holler…”  And she did, numerous times…the old Skruffy was coming back.   We go back inside and she is held by mom, and held by dad, and she held by mom, and held by dad.  Other dogs come in and she gives them a few barks.  And then this Bull Dog and her mom come up to the counter…and this was a huge Bull Dog.  Well, it starts talking to Skruffy, and Skruffy talks back, and they are both making a bunch of racket.  And we ask her to settle down as the Bull Dog’s mom is asking her to calm down…and the Bull Dog lets out one more, so Skruffy lets out one more.  I say, “She a girl, they always want the final word…”  The Bull Dog lets out another, and the lady says, “Both females want the last word…don’t know how long this will go on.”

They did another blood test on her around 3:00.  Meezie the Vet comes to see us around 3:45 and has the results.  She said she was able to manipulate her poop out, did not give her an enema, and she went out and emptied the rest on her own. (glad I did not have to pick that on up!)  I asked her about us ordering a Blood Glucose Monitoring System from Amazon and having it delivered to the Animal Hospital in care of her, and readily agrees…the AlphaTrak is what they use, and she is glad that we are taking the testing serious.  We will have the ability to download software which will track the results, hooking the monitor up to the computer.  This can be easily shared with Vets when we need to see one. (Got it ordered before I did the blog, will be in early next week...no later than the 30th)  The medicine will probably be over-the-counter at Walgreens.

Dr. Meezie goes over the test results…many things are looking good, a few of the results shift the wrong way, but she feels that this is the result of the IV fluids.  So she wants to keep Skruffy for another night, run the test again tomorrow afternoon.  The one that worries her the most, but not too much of a worry, is that her White Blood count had climbed slightly…probably because we took Skruffy off her antibiotics with her condition deteriorating…as we should she adds.  She is going to try a different medication, and she is fairly certain Skruffy can go home tomorrow evening.  In the meantime, both Marcia and I are learning more and more about dogs with diabetes.  It is something we will be living with for a long time…we hope.  There is no cure, it is going to be maintenance.  It will not be easy, but we will do it.  I only hope that she doesn’t get tired of me poking her every day…

Thanks to all for their prayers and concern.  It was a close one.  Here are the signs to look for with a dog who is headed down the Diabetes pathway, and information about Doggie Diabetes:  (From pets.webmd.com)

 

What Type of Diabetes Do Most Dogs Get?

Diabetes can be classified as either Type 1 (lack of insulin production) or Type II (impaired insulin production along with an inadequate response to the hormone.)
The most common form of the disease in dogs is Type 1, insulin-dependent diabetes, which occurs when the pancreas is incapable of producing or secreting adequate levels of insulin. Dogs who have Type I require insulin therapy to survive. Type II diabetes is found in cats and is a lack of normal response to insulin.

What Are the Symptoms of Diabetes in Dogs?

The following symptoms should be investigated as they could be indicators that your dog has diabetes:

• Change in appetite
• Excessive thirst/increase in water consumption
• Weight loss
• Increased urination
• Unusually sweet-smelling or fruity breath
• Lethargy
• Dehydration
• Urinary tract infections
• Vomiting
• Cataract formation, blindness
• Chronic skin infections

What Causes Diabetes in Dogs?

The exact cause of diabetes is unknown. However, autoimmune disease, genetics, obesity, chronic pancreatitis, certain medications and abnormal protein deposits in the pancreas can play a major role in the development of the disease.

Which Dogs Are Prone to Diabetes?

It is thought that obese dogs and female dogs may run a greater risk of developing diabetes later in life (6-9 years of age). Some breeds may also run a greater risk, including Australian terriers, standard and miniature schnauzers, dachshunds, poodles, keeshonds and samoyeds. Juvenile diabetes can also be seen and is particularly prevalent in golden retrievers and keeshonds.
 
NOTE:  Before her anal gland problem, Skruffy had exhibited:  a) Excessive thirst/increase in water consumption, b) Weight loss (but our Vet asked us to get her down to under 14 pounds, so we thought this was us), c) Increased urination, d) Unusually sweet-smelling or fruity breath (actually Marcia thought her breath smelled like fish for a few days).   After her anal gland problem, she started to exhibit other symptoms, but we thought it was the result of the medication...we were so wrong.