Petey news

For some reason, my recent post is listed as Monday at 7:30 p.m.! Anyhow, please read the next post for the news about this next phase of our lives.

Petey my brave little soldier...

To me, it's not so much a cone as a halo.

I'll get right to the point. Petey's eye had gotten worse, to the point where we made a visit to the emergency veterinary clinic on Saturday night when he was squinting, unwilling to open it, listless and clearly uncomfortable, hiding under the bed. The initial exam did not look good - there was pressure on his eye that made him feel like he had a 24-hour migraine. The vet on call did an eye exam and said he'd probably lost all vision in his eye. She sent a photo of his eye and her report on his exam to their veterinary opthomologist who said that he may have a tumor causing the problem and would probably need to have his eye removed. I literally felt my blood turn to ice water as she told me this. Petey was given new drops to help control thepressure and it had gone down from 75 to 60 by Sunday afternoon when he went back to our local vet for x-rays and bloodtests to see if there were signs of cancer spreading. (Good news, the x-rays were clean and clear.) He also had new pain pills so he was more comfortable and almost back to his old self. I, on the other hand, was a shattered wreck.

Waiting, waiting, waiting through the long holiday weekend for our appointment on Tuesday morning. On Monday, Petey took me for a long walk in the morning and in the afternoon, we joined his pal Bear for a little walk (and some cookies at his favorite stops). There was a new ice cream cart on the corner called Je + Jo and the girl working there said that her boss was a big "dog lover" and gave us a free cup of vanilla for the dogs. Petey was thrilled and stood with his front paws on my knees so he wouldn't miss a drop. Since he wouldn't be able to have anything to eat after midnight in case he needed surgery on Tuesday, I felt it was perfectly fine to indulge him.

Waiting patiently for his next spoonful of ice cream.

In the pouring rain on Tuesday morning we went back to the NYC Veterinary Specialists (aka the emergency vet) to see the ophthalmologist, a very nice young woman named Dr. Jennifer Welser. As she examined his eye, I babbled about spoiling him with ice cream the day before and showed her a little video on my phone. (I wanted everyone there to love Petey as much as I do so they'd take extra good care of him.) "Where did you take that?" she asked suddenly. I told her and she laughed and said that Je + Jo ice cream was her sideline company! She was the "Je" of Je + Jo - the "dog-loving boss!" I told her that she was already taking good care of Petey before she'd even met him!

Anyhow, there was good news and bad news. The good news was that he does NOT have glaucoma and his right eye is perfectly healthy. His pathology and x-rays were clean and clear. However, a sonogram showed a massive hemorrhage and possible tumor in his eye and it would have to come out. My beautiful boy with those shiny brown eyes that smiled when you entered a room and would follow a tennis ball with laser-like focus would now have a permanently closed lid. (I'm teary just typing these words a day later.) I sat on the floor next to Petey while he dozed in a makeshift bed, just crying and stroking his coat and whispering silly songs and sayings to him. He so often is told that he resembles the dog in the Traveller's Insurance TV spots and the phrase "protect what you love the most" kept ringing in my ears. I carried him into the surgery, covering his head with kisses and more salty tears.

About an hour later the doctor came in and said that everything had gone fine, he was in recovery sleeping off his anesthesia. When the vet tech brought him back into the room, his tail was wagging. She put him on the exam table and his nose went right for the container of liver treats that had been forbidden beforehand. He eagerly ate about a dozen then and there, even giving the vet tech a "high five" before he got one (with the little catheter still taped to his paw!). Then he settled back down on the bed in the corner and I sat pressed next to him for the next hour and a half while he dozed in his big plastic cone, his shaved eyebrow giving his closed eye a bit of an "ah ha!" look. More tears, not so many this time, and many words of reassurance. Angus of http://wilfanddigby.blogspot.com/ wrote poignantly yesterday that "As blind dog owners learn 'to be trusted is an even greater compliment than to be loved.'" And while Petey is definitely not blind, he is disoriented -- as someone eloquently put it, his brain needs a bit of rewiring.

Got home in yet another downpour almost 11 hours after we'd left. Petey wasn't too interested in food, but I got him settled in his bed and ran across the street to the deli to get a roast beef sandwich for my dinner as I too had not eaten all day. I could only face a half a sandwich and since Petey was refusing to eat his own dinner, he proceeded to eat the lion's share of mine. Then allowed himself to be hand-fed another handful of kibble. To bed at 10:30, slept soundly until I insisted he get up this morning at 10:00 AM for a walk around the block which he did quite well. Still not interested in kibble, but more roast beef allowed me to get his antibiotic and pain pill in him. A little snooze in his own bed, then he walked into the kitchen on his own accord and drank some water and finished his kibble. Progress!

He is indeed my brave little soldier, now with a battle scar to prove it. Or as he told me, "Mom, now all the girls will think I'm winking at them!" Once I see him pick up a tennis ball, this ball of ice will finally melt inside of me.

In the meantime, many thanks for your kind words and encouragement. The power of the paw!

Relief efforts

Well, relief is indeed at hand! Sighs of relief that damages in New York seem to be quite minor. And relief for Petey in terms of FINALLY getting outside for a nice long walk. And with plenty of limbs on the street, he had loads of places to leave pee-mails.

This car was swamped down near Asta's home. We were walking with a bunch of our dog run friends and ran into George taking Asta out for some relief of her own. There was some flooding on their street, but it's all receded.

About a block and a half away on Bleecker Street, two trees toppled down in the little park near Magnolia Bakery. (No cupcakes were killed in the Hurricane. Well, at least not by toppled trees.)
One fell over inside the park -- the park is under renovation already!

And this one fell across the street and was cut down by the fire department.

While we were looking at it, I was interviewed by CNN! (Note to self: Never go outside following a national disaster without full makeup, hair and wardrobe...) Told them that the dogs were the real victims, as they'd been housebound for hours and unable to get outdoors to relieve themselves. Yes, hard-hitting news! But the camera man did pan Petey and my friends across the street, so keep your eyes peeled for us!

Again, we're feeling very blessed that we made it through an earthquake and a hurricane without much harm here in New York. Our prayers go out to those not so fortunate.

Goodnight Irene!

Looking south towards the tip of the Island. the fourth building from the right is the new tower,
now under construction.

Well, we've been waiting out the hurricane all day today. The streets are eerily quiet, though we did see a couple with their "Nuevo York" guidebooks trying to get in some sightseeing in the Village this afternoon!

Every time there is the slightest break in the rain, I've taken Petey out to "drain his squirt gun!" The city has either removed or turned the trashcans upside down so they'll be less likely to fly around when the storm really hits. Which means that the few available cans are full of poop bags! When Irene starts to blow, the sh*t could really fly - literally!

Looking north towards the Empire State building.

Around 2:00 p.m., I went up on the roof to see what was going on - hence these photos. Eighth Avenue is usually a ribbon of glowing red taillights up to Central Park and today - nothing. The shops on Bleecker Street are closed, some of them taped up with painters tape or masking tape, which I thought was pretty funny. Clearly these people are not up to date on their Hurricane preparations! The Michael Kors store was boarded up, except for two small windows on the side of the building which still had handbags on display. Figure those are the cheap bags!

"Hmmm, how long is she going to expect me to hold it?"

Petey's not a fan of rain to start off with. even more so as he's gotten older. So I bought some wee-wee pads and opened one in the bathroom and am hoping he'll remember what they're for - that they'll stir up a memory from puppyhood. Of course, every time I take him outside, he'll do a quick pee and then pull to come inside. Where he goes to the kitchen and scratches his bowl for water! Nooooooooooo!

Thank you all for your kind thoughts and words as we face this storm head on. We really appreciate all the goodwill you're sending our way!

In our household, this is EVERYday!

Today is National Dog Day - what's new? - it's Dog Day every day at our house! I often think of Jerry Seinfeld's riff that if aliens came to earth, they'd think dogs ruled the planet, with humans as their servants who carry their waste in little plastic bags!

So celebrate like crazy today, Petey and Pals! Because the rest of the weekend here in NYC may not be so much fun.

My biggest concern is not the windows blowing in or the electricity going off but what to do when it comes to getting Petey outside to relieve himself? I think one of my hurricane supplies is going to be some wee wee pads and just hope that he can think back to his puppyhood and remember what they're used for!

The following image has been all over the internet lately, but it's so beautiful and powerful, I felt it was poignant to share it with you on National Dog Day.

(Not meaning to be disrespectful, but unless there's a tennis ball or a doggie treat on my coffin, I don't think I can expect this from Petey.)

Finally, in the spirit of solidarity on National Dog Day, I thought I'd share this photo with you that was taken of Petey and Lil' Lacie this summer on Hilton Head.

And in case you're thinking that "Hey, Lacie's butt doesn't look THAT big," Petey wants you to know that they are not sitting on a cushion, but a pair of Lacie's shell-printed bikini bottoms.

Have a great and SAFE weekend everyone!

Beware the Devil Dog!

Now, Petey has been a devilish dog in the past. Sometimes literally, and sometimes figurately (like when he decided as a puppy that the only pair of shoes he wanted to chew on were my pink alligator pumps, purchased at the Barneys Warehouse at a significant discount from their original price of $1,350. I know. But how many times do you run into a pink alligator?).

However, last Thursday while walking home from the run with our neighbor and her dog Kali (since Rosie has disappeared from blogland, Kali is Petey's real-life girlfriend. She's a sweet black and white beagle-terrier mix with an alluring beagle bay.) we stopped by a neighborhood store where Petey knows he can always count on getting a dog treat or two or three. I looked down and my sweet boy looked like this:

Okay, I exaggerate. Just his left eye looked like that. Like he was possessed by a demon. He wasn't in any pain and his vision didn't seem impaired, but it looked just awful and glowing red so off we went to the emergency vet.

Several tests later, we ruled out rat poisoning, internal bleeding, cornea scratches, blood infections (can you just hear the cash register ringing up this total?) and it was decided that he had a burst blood vessel behind his eye. So, home we trotted with pain pills (as much to keep him quiet as for pain relief) and gooey ointment to squish into his eye three times a day. He's on to me and when he sees me coming with anything in my hand, he scampers away, tail between his legs. The blood started pooling at the bottom of his eye almost immediately and is s-l-o-w-l-y looking better but it still looks quite red when he's outside in the sunshine.

But here's the worst part. No dog run until it clears up. And the weather? Perfect breezy sunshine in the upper 70's. More late September than August. Oh well, we've got a hurricane headed our way this weekend so he won't miss out too much. (Earthquake, hurricane - what's next? A plague of frogs?)

Guess it's as good an excuse as any to let the little mite have some ice cream at the Cafe Cluny ice cream cart...

Petey meets the Royal Family...on Greenwich Avenue, NYC?

Hello there Ladies and Lords! Petey here. No, I'm not outside the gardens at Buckingham Palace, I'm right across the street! But you may think I'm in Jolly Old Englande for the Royal Wedding!

First off, I've been wearing an Elizabethan collar after a dog bit me on the ear at the run. We both went after my tennis ball and I got there first. Wish I could say "you should see the other guy" but she outweighs me by about 60 lbs. No permanent damage done!

Am I outside Clarence house? No, just a townhouse on West 12th Street.

Here's our favorite tea shop — Tea & Sympathy—and next door is A Salt & Battery, a proper fish and chips shop. The whole block was decorated with Union Jacks and royal bunting for the occasion.

Now that's a flag!

Why look! It's Prince William and Princess Catherine, with the Queen (Nicky, truly the ruling monarch of Greenwich Avenue.)

They look much younger than their photo in the window.

Lots of people got up to watch the wedding over a proper English breakfast at 6:00 am.

Here's Nicky's husband Sean, the Pearly King, chatting with a commoner over a nice cuppa.

Sean confessed he grew this big handlebar mustache "just to bother the wife!"

Don't worry little bridesmaid, Prince Harry's still available! Actually, she was more interested in me - maybe my name should be Prince Hairy?

A fun day for all!

A final shot of the happy couple, getting into their royal carriage!