Would You Give Us a Vote? Please?

Have you entered any of the Valentine's Day doggy photo contests this year?  There seems to be quite a few good ones going on this year, and we have decided to enter a couple of them.

We realize this is a bit shameless, but would you mind giving my girls your vote in these two contests...

First, Lola (and I) are entered in PetGuide.com's "True Love" photo contest.  This photo will forever be extra special to me and when I read the description for this contest, I knew I had to enter my sweet girl.  I miss her so very, very much and it would mean the world to me if she placed in the Top 5.  It only takes a second to vote, but you do need to be logged into Facebook.  Just click on this link and then "like" our photo.  Thank you.

Second, Sophie is entered in Chewy's Valentines Day photo contest.  The prize is a year's worth of free food... which we could really use!  Same as above, you need to be logged into Facebook, then click on this link and hit the blue "like" box to vote.  Thank you.

We appreciate your votes more than you know!

Black & White Sunday: Enough Already

Dear Mother Nature / Old Man Winter / Whoever the Heck is Shaking the Darn Snow Globe,

Enough already.

Woof,
Zeus

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When It Rains, It Pours #PowerofThePaw #CancerSucks

They say when it rains, it pours.  Well, if you live in New England, when it snows, it really friggin' SNOWS.  I feel like we're living in a snow globe and some bratty little kid keeps shaking it with all his might. We're expecting over another foot between Sunday and Tuesday. 

They also say bad things come in 3's... and this is one myth I truly want to debunk! 2015 sure is off to a sucky start around here, and now Zeus is in need of your crossed paws and good vibes once again.

It's no secret that my happy old man has been through more than his fair share of health issues.  It's also no secret that he's surprised everyone with his stubbornness and amazing will to live.  We're one month shy of his 14th birthday and that nasty c-word is at it again.

Zeus had a couple of rough nights with what we thought might have been his mega esophagus over the weekend.  However, after a trip to see Dr. C on Tuesday, she confirmed my fears in that what we were seeing probably wasn't mega-e related, but cancer.  He has a soft tissue sarcoma on his front leg that has grown quite large over the past year and a half.  We never pursued removing it because the risks far outweighed letting it be, and Dr. C never thought we'd reach a point where it would factor into his quality of life.  She now feels that it may be spreading to his lymph nodes, as they seemed a little enlarge.  During the exam, she also felt a mass in his abdomen, and got another vet to take a look as well.  We discussed doing an ultrasound with a specialist, but since the other vet is handy with the low-level ultrasound machine they have in the office, we decided to have her take a look.  She saw what she believes to be a 10-15 cm mass on Zeus' liver, but the machine is now powerful enough to see much more.  We also have no idea whether it is cancer, or a benign growth. 

Have you ever seen a happier sick dog?  He made a new friend at the vet.
She was going on and on about how handsome he was, and when she
asked his name, I said "Zeus" and she replied, "of course it is."

We decided to continue with his current medications, and add in an anti nausea pill.  We also ran blood work, which came back yesterday.  It wasn't much different than what we ran in November and there were no red flags.  His liver levels are still floating around where they have been, his kidney function looks good and there were no signs of anemia.  I suppose that's a good thing, right?  He had two really good days/nights... and then last night, the vomiting was back.  sigh

Now we have to make a decision on whether or not to go ahead and do an ultrasound with a specialist or not.  While it's a non-invasive test, it is a bit pricey and it won't change our treatment options at all.  It would simply be to look for tumors and to tell us what may be going on with him.  Normally, I'd just say yes and run the tests.  However, with what seems to be never ending vet bills over the past year, we had decided to not pursue any tests that would not change our course of treatment going forward.  While I'd eat pb&j three times a day to get my kids what they need, sometimes reality has to take over (and not to mention, my poor Teutul is waiting on a dental procedure and biopsy of a small lump on his leg, which is going to be upwards of $1,000).  So, I'm not sure we've come to a final decision on the ultrasound just yet.  The "normal" blood work was a good sign, but with Zeus back to another night of intermittent vomiting, I'm not sure what's going on.  And, I'm not sure I really want to know. 

Throw Back Friday?  Best Friends: Lola & Zeus 2007
way before autoimmune issues, cancer, mega esophagus & arthritis

Please keep my big guy in your thoughts.  While we know we will be faced with tough decisions with him this year, I'm not ready for this just yet.  The pain and heartbreak of losing Lola is so raw. 

Throwback Thursday: Snow

I can't believe a week has passed already.  In honor of "Throw Back Thursday," I posted one of my favorite shots of Lola on Instagram this morning.  It seemed rather appropriate for this, yet another, snowy day.  I love how cozy she looks, and she was such a beautiful model for my hand knits (always so cooperative for her crazy Mama).

Lola absolutely loved the snow.  I'm not sure if this is her doing or not, but if it is... baby girl, we've got enough. 

I'll continue the "Throw Back Thursday" theme with some favorite snow shots of my baby girl.  I'm not kidding when I said she really did love snow!

Not a second goes by that I don't miss by baby girl.  She brought so much happiness and joy into our lives, and taught me so very, very much about unconditional love. 

Wordless Wednesday: Two Things

There are two things that seem to keep falling around here... snow and tears.   

Lola loved the snow.  Although she wasn't able to romp around in it as she'd prefer, she did get to enjoy the big Blizzard of 2015... and it gave both of her humans an extra day off to spend at home with her last week.  It was the best snow day ever!

While the temps weren't the best over the past few weeks (bitterly cold would be one way to put it), we made it a point to get Lola out and about for a little photo shoot... and I am so glad we did.  I shared some of those precious pictures last week, but here's a few more.

 

With all the snow, I actually hadn't been out of the house since we said goodbye Thursday evening.  I'd like to think my baby girl had something to do with this vibrant, bright blue sky I saw on my way to work yesterday morning.

Black & White Sunday: Broken Hearts

Our house is so very quiet, as we continue to try and mend our broken hearts.  We all miss Lola tremendously.  I'd give anything to turn back time... and I wish she were here to snuggle on the couch while cheering for the Patriots tonight.  She loved watching football (and hockey) with her humans.