Michele, Biscuit & Mo's Blog (21)

The Nelsons would formally like to introduce you to the newest member of our family - Mo, the Goldendoodle!

We've always had an affectionate nickname we've given any runt of the litter, whether we see a litter of puppies, or a bevy of gambel quail in our yard.  The littlest one is always the goofiest and the cutest.  Therefore, Mo.

The only question to my husband was, "How are we going to distinguish 'Mo' from 'NO?"  He doesn't have an answer. But that's her…

Since Penny the WonderDog’s passing in June, this home has been a lonelier place.

It’s been amazing to watch Biscuit mature a rapid pace, as if she realized that it was up to her to be the “big dog” now.  She has enjoyed all of our attention, but has missed having a buddy to romp with and love.

DH began talking about adding to the family last month, saying it would be nice to have a second dog again.

I thought, “Too soon… too soon…”  My heart…

Yesterday morning, Penny told us it was time for her to go.  Her mast cell cancer, which she had fought valiantly for more than a year, just plain wore her out.

We spent the day saying our final thank you's and goodbyes.  In the afternoon, a very special hospice vet came to the house, and Penny went to sleep in her favorite spot, surrounded by more love than the room could hold.  She went peacefully and you could see the relief on her face that she was no longer in…

Ah, me!  It's been so long since I posted here on DoodleKisses!  This last year seems to have gotten away from us, but please don't think we've deserted you.  While I haven't been that active here lately, the pups and I have lurked on a regular basis and stayed in touch with those of you who have been so nice to email and comment on our page.

To give you an update, here's what went on in our lives in 2011:

- My husband was diagnosed with a recurrence of prostate…

When last we left all our DK friends and family, Penny had undergone a very rough time with her cancer treatment (we almost lost her in July) and we made the decision to end all treatments.  Our whole goal was to provide quality of life for Penny, no matter how much time she had left.

As expected, her fever disappeared after about a week, and she started eating and drinking again.  She was still very low energy and just laid around the house, but it IS summer in Arizona,…

Hi Everyone,

Lots of you DK friends and family have been checking in with me to see how Penny is doing with her chemo treatments. I apologize for not getting back to all of you personally, but these last few weeks have been quite a handful.  I have several members of my family fighting cancer, I've been looking after WonderDog, and I've had a few health problems myself to deal with. There are days I feel like I'm the living embodiment of "General Hospital." …

Penny continues to do well and, depending on which day she is in her “chemo cycle,” she can feel great or wiped out.  She’s on the combination of chemo (vinblastine), Palladia, and steroids.

On her fourth weekly visit, her blood cell count was dramatically decreased…

It might be hard to imagine a dog being EXCITED to go to chemo treatments, but Penny is.  Well, not so excited about the chemo, but thrilled to see her technician, Tony, and then Dr. Hillers.  Talk about a stress-free environment!

Tony came out to the waiting room to get us, and Penny started thumping her tail right away.  She has gained back 1 pound of the 5 she had lost.  Today's blood work came back in good shape, and Dr. Hillers said that her lymph nodes are smaller this…

Penny and I went in for her first round of chemo today. 

It's a testament to the stress-free environment of the oncology office that Penny wasn't at all stressed and took it like a champ.

The entire process took about an hour.  First, blood tests to establish a baseline for things like if the cancer has spread, and to measure bone marrow…

Someone up there is looking after us, because our appointment with the oncologist went about as well as it could, under the circumstances.

Everyone at the hospital was awesome to Penny (she is pretty charming, after all), and she had more hugs and kisses than she knew what to do with.  These folks are definitely animal lovers.

The oncologist shoots straight (which I like) but still remains positive and loving - a rare combination.  Penny just loved her from…

I had to take Biscuit in to the vet this morning to have her anal glands expressed (fun, fun, fun!) and while I was there, the biopsy results for Penny mast cell came in.  Dr. Izumi came right into the room to see me.  I knew it wasn't good news by the look on her face.

Penny has Grade 3 mast cell cancer - this is as bad as it gets.  We don't know if or how far it has spread, and are heading to an oncologist tomorrow morning.  I'm sure they'll do more tests to check for…

Just got a call from the vet.  Penny came through surgery (to remove the mast cell tumor) with flying colors.  I go to pick her up in about an hour.  Final biopsy results will be in sometime next week.  Then, we'll know whether or not she has to go through chemo.

Time to go out and buy some new T-shirts for my baby, to protect those stitches.  I don't know HOW I'm going to keep her and Biscuit from conducting their regularly-schedule wrestling smackdowns!

A…

... all 70 pounds of her.

For the last year, she's had three occurrences of sebaceous cysts.  We've learned to live with them and are always on the lookout for more.

Three days ago, I felt a bump on her chest.  Must be a cyst, I thought.  Started rubbing it, hoping it would pop.  No such luck.  Then, Penny started licking at it.  NOT. GOOD.

Two days ago, she stopped eating.  And pooping. (Both of my dogs are pooping MACHINES).  I'd hoped I'd…

It's interesting what you learn from a dog in the first couple of weeks after their arrival. How they eat, their schedules, and most of all, their personality.

We named our new pup Gabby before she even arrived for two reasons:  1) The breeder's name for her was "Gabriella," and 2) she looked like "Gabby" from the photos.

After two weeks with her, we faced the fact that the name just didn't fit.  Not only did it cause confusion between our two dogs ("Penny" and "Gabby" sound…

(A message from Penny the WonderDog, as dictated to her Doodle Mom)



I have been shainghai’d.



Day before yesterday, my doodle mom and dad called me into the garage. I was all excited ‘cuz I figured it meant we were going for a W-A-L-K, but instead, there was this tiny red fuzzball trotting around my feet! I froze, thinking, “Whoa… pull up on the reins there, cowboys. What in heck is THIS? And when is she LEAVING?”



I was informed that, much to my early…