A Note From The J-Man

Joey, Autumn 2008 

Dear Gentle Readers,

We'll be on vacation for a few days, but we'll be back later in the week.  Have fun in the archives while we're gone. 

Yours in Dachshund Love,

Joey.....

Fond Remembrances: Itty Bitty Paintings for Joey and Maggie

'Joey' and 'Maggie' on canvas in front of Frankenmuth Dachshund

Continuing on with yesterday's theme of being taken back by the kindness of people, one day last April we got a package in the mail from our good pals 'Turbo' and 'Lily,' two long dogs who work closely with and volunteer a lot of their time for MidWest Dachshund Rescue.  We had no idea a package was coming from them, and when we opened it, we were absolutely shocked at the beauty inside:  itty bitty paintings of your 'Long and Short of it All' hosts 'Joey' and 'Maggie,' complete with itty bitty easels to display them on.  Apparently Turbo and Lily had a relative (we apologize that we can't read the artist's name on the back), paint several small paintings to be sold at MWDR's big "Cross Town Bark Around" Fundraiser in May.  In the process, two special paintings were created for Joey and Maggie, and they are just beautiful.  Joey's is great, and Maggie's is just awesome - the artist really captured Maggie's "look" - that wonderful "glare" that she gave Dad when she was tired of getting her photo taken, or any time her dinner was a few minutes late.  Again, these will be something we will treasure for the rest of our lives.  Thank you so much Turbo and Lily! 

The Whirr of the Tail

Anxiety - Maggie giving Dad that glaring look

Fond Remembrances: The Wiener Wagon for Maggie and Joey

Sometimes we're a bit taken back by the kindness of people.  Take for example this awesome "Wiener Wagon."  We got a note in January from a reader of the blog, Grace Liesa, who asked us for our address and said she had something special to send us.  And boy, did she!  It was Maggie and Joey's very own Wiener Wagon!   Grace hand-crafted and sent this to us solely out of the kindness of her heart, in honor of Joey making it through his surgery last year, and Maggie and Joey's birthday, which was last December 23rd.  We tried to get photos of Maggie and Joey beside it to post on the blog, but we could never get a good photo of both of them that also detailed this wonderful sculpture.  As time moves along so quickly, we never got the chance to post it to the blog, even after several more photo session attempts with Maggie and Joey.

We would like to rectify that situation, as something so special, especially after Maggie's passing, must be shared with everyone.  It means more now than it ever did, and will be something we will treasure for the rest of our lives.  Thank you so much Grace.

Grace noted to us:  I know you all had a rough one in 2010 (I realize that was an understatement), so I hope this cheery sculpture will bring smile to your face. May Joey and Maggie have a much smoother ride in their Wiener Wagon in 2011.  Take care, and send our doxie kisses to Joey and Maggie, and tell them although we've never met in person, we surely love them in our hearts, and think loving thoughts of them all the time. That was how this special sculpture was created.

Get your very own Wiener Wagon in Grace Liesa's etsy shop:  CJ Doxie Custom Sculptures.

Thank You

Living the High Life with a Good Looking Man About Town

Thank you for all the wonderful comments, emails, photos, cards and remembrances in the loss of our beloved Maggie, your Long and Short of it All hostess.  Each was read, appreciated, and loved.  Such kind words mean more than you could know.  It's been two weeks now since we lost her, the house is incredibly lonely, but each day gets better, at least that is what they say.  And it does...somewhat. 

Maggie had such an extraordinary presence - when she walked into a room, heads would turn - and it was no different than the large yet calming presence she had in her own home.  So it's a bit empty, and you think that you keep seeing her here and there (and everywhere!).

Having Joey, Maggie's littermate brother, around has provided great comfort.  He's doing OK.  He seems to sniff around for Maggie sometimes, but he's mostly adjusted.   For several days after Maggie was gone, Joey would come to the head of the big bed (which he hates, he'd rather be at the foot or in the center), and would just stand there while staring at the wall while dad would pet and talk to him.  He seemed to want and need the consolation, standing there still in silence for a good ten minutes or so each night for several nights.

Joey did get to go out for lunch with friends at a local restaurant a few days after Maggie's passing (see photo above) and provided great comic relief with his sly smile and clever ways.  He was such a good boy sitting in his own chair and waiting patiently for little bites of BBQ and sweet potato fries.   He also got to have a playdate with 8 of his Dachshund friends which he greatly enjoyed. 

There's a message on the answering machine we haven't checked yet, but coming from the vet's office, it most likely means that Maggie's ashes are back.  We still have to order her permanent urn, which will come from atpeace.com and will be similar to Louie's, which we got there some 11 years ago.  They provided the urn, and the beautiful white Dachshund statue came from a little antique shop in Amsterdam.  We were happy to find that the website was still in business after all these years.  A fine vintage bronze longhair Dachshund will sit proudly atop Maggie's urn. 

There are rumors that another Dachshund may soon come into our lives.  We weren't searching for another, but there he was, we fell in love with his eyes, he can help fill this hole in our heart, and we can give him a great home.  It seems incredibly soon after Maggie's passing, which we are really struggling with.  When is too soon?  Days, weeks, months, years?  How soon is now?  We've learned after Louie's passing that it can take many years to fully come to terms with the passing of a beloved furry friend.  But that furry friend will never leave your heart, and would never want you to be sad, crying, and moping around the house.  Dogs live in the present as they say, and they want you to as well.  So, as you never know what life is going to send your way, there may be a new Dachshund in our lives in the next few weeks.  Joey needs another buddy.  So does Dad.

As far as the "state of the blog," Dad has always said that if anything ever happened to Joey or Maggie, that the blog would cease to exist - it's their blog after all.  We're not so sure of that at the moment, maybe we'll be back soon - there have been some great Dachshund stories recently that we felt an urgent need to post.  Whatever would we do without this site and our wonderful friends here?

Thanks so much again.

Yours in Dachshund Love,

Joey and his Dad......

Get Up, Get Up, Get Out Of Bed

Looks like someone's got a case of the Mondays and overslept 2.5 hours this morning!  Joey!  So much for any blogging today.  But Joey and Maggie will be back tomorrow, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. 

Smile!

Sing it Dean.

Joey's Big Checkup

We had no update yesterday because it was time for your Long and Short of it All host 'Joey' to have his 6-month checkup at the Veterinary Referral Center.  Regular readers will recall the tough times Joey had last fall.  Almost a year ago, on August 17th, 2010, Joey underwent a risky surgery to have both of his adrenal glands removed.  He had a tumor in each gland that was giving him Cushing's disease, and one of the tumors was so large that it was growing into his vena cava, and would have blocked it completely in about 3 months, and Joey would have passed. 
Although he had about a 60% chance of making it through this risky surgery, he sailed through.  They also removed his spleen, as they saw a nodule on there which could burst over time.  It was the surgical complications which almost did Joey in - a blood clot lodged in one of his lungs the day after surgery, and the second day after surgery, he developed severe pancreatitis as a result of the procedures.  Either of these events could have taken Joey over the bridge.
Every day was touch-n-go for him, but we continued to treat the blood clot, and he wasn't allowed to eat for almost a week because of the pancreatitis.  He started to eat a little again after a week, but the pancreatitis was just too much, and he was fasted for another week, and started on Parenteral Nutrition.  At this point, he simply had to eat and to be able to keep it down, or it would have been all over for him. 
But thanks to all the prayers and support he received from readers here, and from top-notch medical care in the ICU for 2 weeks, he's still with us today.  Dad is still paying off his medical bills, which totaled a nice new mid-size car, but it's priceless to still have Joey around today.
His checkup went very well.  His internest was happy to see how much muscle mass he has gained.  He actually needs to lose a few pounds, weighing in at 25 pounds, when he should be 22 or 23.  Dad isn't feeding him any more, but he is getting older, now that he's 10.5 years old, and could use a reduction in calories.  All his bloodwork came back great.  His alk phos is a little high, pointing to some liver failure, but the internest is not too concerned about it.  His Na/K ratio is good, a sign that his medicine for his Addison's disease (because he has no adrenal glands) is working well (he gets a monthly shot of a drug called DOCP). 
He is fairly stable on his daily prednisone dose, but about once every 4 - 6 weeks he seems to bottom out - he'll start vomiting in the middle of the night, and vomit up all his food and become very lethargic.  A boost in his prednisone seems to help him through the event.  Then we tinker with his dose by increasing it, but then he starts drinking too much water, so we decrease it again.  It's a catch-22.  Humans and animals generate internal steroids via their adrenal glands during times of stress - a fight or flight situation, an illness, or even a nail trim for an Addison's dog, can cause them to have such an event when the body needs more steroids. 
Joey will also continue on his ursodiol for his gallbladder sludge that he developed during the pancreatitis attack.  The vet asked if we wanted to do an ultrasound to look at his gallbladder, but at $350 for the procedure, not sure what we would gain. 
His heart murmur seems to have slightly increased to a 3.5 or 4.  We asked about a cardiology consult, but again, at $500 for the consult, we are going to wait a little longer, or perhaps until he shows some signs of CHF like coughing. 
So, all in all, Joey got a good bill of health yesterday.  If you saw him, you wouldn't know that he had any medical complications at all, he's such a happy boy, tail always wagging.  The bill came to a little over $500, but that included a vial of his DOCP ($160, which will last 4 months), and we had 2 new tumors aspirated, and they are both fatty, so nothing to be concerned about there. 
We just wish Maggie was doing as well in her treatment for Cushing's disease.  Our little girl just isn't happy, and seems to be losing that spark in her eye that we love so well.

Mmmmm.....Strawberries!

Ssssshhhhh......Don't tell Dad.  He has no idea why his ever-bearing strawberries aren't ever-bearing.  I don't even wait for them to completely ripen. 

Where in the Heck are Joey and Maggie?

Please accept our apologies for the scant posting as of late.  Work is a bit out of control, Dad is in the middle of refinancing our home, we got hit with a major hail storm last week which destroyed our garden and our car, and something is up with your Long and Short of it All hostess 'Maggie,' - her anal infection is back, and while she is still eating, her appetite is definitely down for some reason.  For now, she's still swaddled in her Thundershirt after a weekend of big booms, but it's off to the vets again this morning to at least get her some antibiotics for her infection.  We'll see if her appetite improves over the next few days.  We're hoping to get back up to posting regularly real soon.

Yours in Dachshund Love,
Joey and Maggie..... 

'The Long and Short of it All' Turns Four Years Old

Prost!  It's our fourth anniversary and we're gonna party like it's 1929.  We had no idea that four years after our very first post on May 28, 2007 that we'd still be blogging about Dachshunds - day in - day out - ad nauseum for even some of the most ardent Dachshundists.  Still, we move forward, documenting all the Dachshund news, art, history, and popular culture that we can get our stubby little paws on. 
Every year at this time we examine where we are, where we've been, and where we're going with the site by looking at our "About" statement to see if we are still on course:

As the internet's first daily Dachshund news magazine, we're hoping to update this blog almost every day with Dachshund news from around the world, Dachshund stories, videos, famous Dachshunds, photos, art, and history. We hope to keep everything stress free and ad free....just a fun place for Dachshund lovers to kick back, relax, (with your doxie on your lap!) and read all about these lovable little dogs that bring such joy to our lives.

Reading over this again, we seem to be on course, but it's a pretty diverse statement - as diverse as the long dogs and their humans that we document it would seem.  So, while we may get a little off topic at times, we do of course try to focus on the dogs that bring us all together on this site.  We garner special attention to those stories which invoke some sort of deep emotion - happiness, sadness, passion, hope, despair - so that when you come here in the middle of your day, taking a break from adding up those facts and figures at the office, or dusting the collectibles on the mantel, that you at least feel......something.   
Thanks to all our loyal readers and commentors for sticking with us over the years - it's been a fun ride.  Your submissions are always the best - we've gotten great story tips, and we love to see your handsome Dachshunds and to read all about them and their antics.  Each and every dog is so unique and so special and so loved.  We also would like to apologize to all the good folks who have sent us submissions that didn't make it on the site - there are probably 3 or 4 submissions to every one posted, and we just wish we had more hours in the day to get more done. 
And so, we wrap up Long and Short of it All post number 2,428.  Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts.

Yours in Dachshund Love,
Joey and Maggie.....

A Note From Joey and Maggie: We're Back! And We Visited The Wienermobile!

The Mothership landed directly behind your Long and Short of it All hosts 'Joey' and 'Maggie'

Greetings fellow Dachshund Lovers.  We're back from vacation, and boy did we need it.  We visited our grandparents for Mother's Day, and they are two of our favorite humans, so we had a great time.  We also visited with our Dachshund country-cousin 'Rudy,' and his young pain-in-the-neck brother 'Baxter,' a Havanese who is just getting out of puppyhood.  We had a fun time though.

We headed back to Chicago for MidWest Dachshund Rescue's 3rd Annual Cross Town Bark Around Fundraiser on Saturday - and WOW!  What an event!  There were over 500 humans in attendance, and a good 300 or so Dachshunds.  Between the wiener races, free hot dogs, Wienermobile, cake walk, raffle prizes, silent auctions, and Doxie store, we sure kept ourselves busy.  What an awesome event.  If you live in the MidWest, make sure to plan on attending next year.

On the home front, Joey and Maggie were in good health for the vacation.  Maggie has to spend a day at the vet's today to get an ACTH stimulation test to see how her trilostane is helping her for her Cushing's.  Joey won't like being left home alone.  We're hoping to schedule Maggie's surgery for next Tuesday to remove her anal tumor.  It's starting to bug her more, but she should be far enough away from her pancreatitis attack to go ahead with surgery (surgery can induce pancreatitis).  It's going to be a risky surgery for her with her heart murmur, Cushing's, and pancreatitis, but she's feeling really good right now - running around outside like a puppy - so hopefully all will be OK. 

Here are some fun photos that we took from MWDR's event.

A Note From Maggie and Joey: Please Stand By

Your Long and Short of it All hostess and host, Maggie and Joey

Dear fellow Dachshundists,

We're taking a few days off for a much-needed vacation, but we'll be back real soon.  There's lots of good stuff in the works, so please stay tuned. 
And make sure to give your Mommas a big wet sloppy kiss for Mother's Day. 

Yours in Dachshund Love,
Joey and Maggie.....

A Note From Joey and Maggie: Please Stand By

Dear Gentle Readers,

We just wanted to let you know that like your 'Long and Short of it All' host 'Joey,' updates will be a bit spotty this week.  We're hoping that we may be able to squeeze in just a few as the week progresses, but we're unsure at this point.  We should be back to speed next week. 

Everything is OK on the home front - Joey is doing amazingly well as we continue to treat him for Addison's Disease after his surgery last fall for adrenal-dependent Cushing's Disease and spleenectomy.  He got his monthly DOCP shot yesterday (OUCH!)  and continues to get oral prednisone and ursodiol every day.  He's a happy boy.

We wish that we had such good news to report for 'Maggie.'  We're still having trouble getting her meds stablized for her pituitary-dependent Cushing's Disease.  We took her in for levels a few weeks ago, and her cortisol level is 5-10 times where it should be.  So, we doubled her dose of trilostane, and will do follow-up levels this coming Saturday.  To top things off, she has developed a nasty tumor on her anus.  It was aspirated, and is "most likely" benign, so we are thankful for that.  She will have to have surgery to have it removed soon, but we've got to get her Cushing's under control before such a procedure.  We'll know more after Saturday's visit to the vet.  She spends a lot of time sleeping and trying to get comfortable because her big belly from her Cushing's really gets in the way.  We can't tell if she's a happy girl because she doesn't wag her tail anymore - she's embarrassed about her tumor and keeps her tail tucked in at all times.  Hoping Saturday's vet visit goes well and we can schedule to get her tumor removed.  We miss her wagging tail.

Yours in Dachshund Love,

Joey and Maggie....

A Note From Joey and Maggie: Please Stand By

You can lead a Dachshund to his potty spot, but you can't make him go.

Joey says "Hey thanks Dad for spending an hour to clear out a path and spot for me to potty after the blizzard, but you better think again if you really think I'm gonna go here.  Are you crazy?  You know it's not my regular spot."  It's a battle of wills in Chicago, world headquarters of the Long and Short of it All.  Of course Maggie knew exactly what to do - she's good like that.  Twenty four hours and no BM for the Joe-meister though.  Hopefully soon.  

We've got to take a few days off, our Dad's Dad is very ill, but we'll be back some time next week.  Keep bundled up in the meantime.  And kiss all your Grandmas and Grandpas.

Yours in Dachshund Love,

Joey and Maggie.....

A Birthday Note from Joey and Maggie: We Turn Ten Years Old Today

Maggie and Joey, December 23, 2010

Honestly, we weren't quite sure that we would both make our 10th Birthday today.  2010 was a really tough year for both of us littermates, especially 'Joey,' as regular readers of The Long and Short of it All know.  This is a special day.  Thanks again for all your love and support, and here's to turning 11 in 2011!

A Note From Joey and Maggie: Santa!

Santa took time out of his busy schedule to visit us at our local Chicago Dachshund meetup on Sunday!  We were thrilled.   There were over 40 Dachshunds in attendance!

Your 'Long and Short of it All' hostess 'Maggie' generally does her best to avoid both people and dogs at meetups.

But Joey will ask for a good scratchin' from anyone who comes down to his level.

A Note From Joey and Maggie: Vet Time

Maybe if I lay perfectly still Dad won't lift me out of bed this morning.

We apologize for no update yesterday, but Dad had to take your 'Long and Short of it All' host 'Joey' to the veterinary specialty center for his monthly DOCP shot for his Addison's Disease before Dad went to work. 'Maggie' came along for the ride. Joey has been having issues with his anal glands for about a week as well, so had those looked at - even though his groomer expressed them a few days before Thanksgiving, they were still bugging him.
Everyone at the veterinary specialty center was happy to see Joey back and that he is doing so well after his troubling surgery. All the girls came out from behind the front desk on his arrival to get down on the floor and say hello to him. He loved the attention.  Maggie did her best to hide under the waiting room chairs.
Joey got weighed in and is maintaining his weight quite well at 20.5 pounds for the last several months.  They didn't take his temp because of his anal gland issues.  They drew blood to check his sodium and potassium, and the levels looked right on target so he got his monthly shot.  Ouch! 
The good doctor commented that Joey looked fantastic - he noticed how well Joey's coat is growing back, which is a good sign that things are going well for him.  He also commented that Joey didn't seem so afraid of him this visit and was happy to see him - he had commented before that Joey seems to like everyone in the hospital but him, and he wanted to get on Joey's good side.  It probably didn't help that the anal gland expression was next though.
Sure enough, his left gland is impacted and infected.  The good doctor tried to express it, and Joey yelped out in pain.  They ran a culture of some of the stinky discharge to find that there is an infection which will worsen if they don't clean the glands out.  Joey was going to be sedated to have the procedure done - a tube would be inserted through his anus and into his glands, and an antibiotic solution would be used to flush the glands out several times.  This is a more routine procedure that the veterinary specialty center doesn't normally do though, and sure enough, they didn't have the antibiotic solution in stock.  Joey was given the gift of time.
So, he will be seeing his regular veterinarian tonight for the procedure.  Poor little guy is still in pain today, as he continues to chase his nether-region in circles.  Hoping all goes well tonight.

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

Presenting Complaint
Joey was presented on 12/1/2010 at 10:32 AM for recheck. 

History
Joey is a 9 yr m/n Dachshund.  He has a history of splenectomy, bilateral adrenalectomy, pulmonary thromboembolism and pancreatitis.  Joey is currently doing very well at home.  Joey is on Prednisone 0.75 mg daily, Ursodiol 100 mg daily, and DOCP 21 mg IM every 28 days.  He has been scooting for the past 2 weeks after a grooming and anal gland expression.

Physical Examination
Temperature: na,  Pulse na/na, Respiration:  na
Weight:  9.318 kg, 20.5 lbs, 0.44 m2
Appearance:  normal
Eyes:  normal
Ears:  normal
Nose:  normal
Oral Cavity:  normal
Heart/Lungs:  normal
Abdomen:  normal
Musculoskeletal:  normal
Neurological:  normal
Skin:  normal
Lymph nodes:  normal
Other Comments:  WE LOVE JOEY!!!

Diagnosis
Bilateral adrenalectomy
Splenectomy
Biliary sludge
Infected and impacted left anal gland

Hospital Services
Joey was admitted into the hospital.
Blood was drawn for an I-Stat:  I Stat EC8+

Joey's anal glands were checked and expressed.  An in-house cytology was performed due to suspected infected anal gland.  TNTC (too numerous to count) cocci, no neutrophils noted.
DOCP 21 mg IM

Prognosis
Joey's prognosis is good.

Instructions to Owner
Recheck appointment in 28 days to ultrasound Joey's abdomen.  Recommend follow up appointment with regular veterinarian for anal gland expression, flush, injection, and antibiotics.

Thank you for bringing Joey to VSC.  It was great seeing you both and Maggie. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Piebald Pride

A candid conversation with your 'Long and Short of it All' host 'Joey' on a beautiful fall afternoon: 

You know, it's been a solid 2 or 3 years since I've had a white-tipped tail?!  There wasn't a single white hair left.  Dad figured that with my age (I'm almost 10!), and Dachshund pattern baldness, it was gone for good.  He joked the last several years that I'm so lazy that I can't even grow hair.  Hhmmpf.
Guess I showed him today when he was blinded (and excited!) by the whirr of my white-tipped tail in the autumn sun.  Who knows how or why it grew back, maybe the removal of my adrenal glands, as Cushing's disease does cause baldness, but I haven't had Cushing's for 3 years.  Or maybe it's one of the medications I'm on, but all I know is I'm back baby, I'm whole, I'm Joey, and I'm PIEBALD.  It's a great day.

A Note From Joey and Maggie: Vacation Photos

While our Dad was off galavanting around on a business trip last week, we had a great time staying with our pals Sampson, Tommy Lee, and Gina Marie.  We even got to go practice some agility runs!  Chasing handfuls of treats through an obstacle course?  Sign us up.  These aren't the best photos in the world, but you get the general idea.

Maggie is doing well after starting on trilostane for her Cushing's disease last Sunday.  She has already started to drink less water, and has had no notable side effects from the medication.  She will have her cortisol levels checked at the vets some time this week. 

No Joey, you're supposed to jump OVER the bar, not go around it.

Here comes trouble - Maggie, Joey, Sampson, Tommy Lee, and Gina Marie

A Note From Joey and Maggie: Please Stand By

Your 'Long and Short of it All' hosts Joey 'n Maggie, Fall, 2008

We're going on vacation, but we'll be back in a few days with more breaking Dachshund news, pop culture, vintage fun, awesome reader features and great videos.  Speaking of great Dachshund videos, you won't want to miss the return of 'Gauis' in the follow-up video to his smash hit Play?  Stay tuned!
On the home front, we've got some great news!  Well, it's bad news which could be much, much worse, so we'll call it great news!   If you remember in one of the first posts about Joey and his Cushing's disease, we stated that Maggie had some unresolved issues as well - drinking a lot, pot-bellied appearance, etc, like Joey, but Joey's off-the-charts liver values led us to start surgery on him right away.  It turns out that after a urine specific gravity test, urine cortisol test, ACTH stimulation test, and Ultrasound, that Maggie does indeed have Cushing's disease as well, just like her littermate brother.  That's the bad news.
However, the great news is that she does NOT have tumors on her adrenal glands the way Joey did, so her Cushing's is pituitary dependent, and surgery is NOT required for her.  Even our vet said that he wouldn't be surprised if Maggie had the adrenal tumors like Joey since they were littermates. 
Honestly, Joey's vet bills were so astronomically insane - like the price of a brand new mid-size car - that we had no idea where the money was going to come from if Maggie needed to have surgery.  It is such a relief to know that she can be treated with medications instead of surgery - you have no idea.  The guilt of being able to provide surgery for one dog and not the other was too much to handle.  But she is starting on trilostane to treat her Cushing's disease today - the sweet little girl. Hoping all goes well.  2010 has been quite the year for us.
So, we'll be back soon, and give your furry friends a BIG GIANT HUG.  In the meantime, enjoy the archives, and also we've got something really special for you if you haven't already seen it - our dear friends at Dachshund Delights have penned a beautiful poem in honor of Joey and his trials this year.  Don't miss it over at Dachshund Delights in their Newsletter Feature of the Month.

Yours in Dachshund Love,
Joey and Maggie

Dachshund Relaxation: Piebed

A bed fit for a Piebald

We can't thank our MidWest Dachshund Rescue friend Alison enough for surprising your Long and Short of it All host 'Joey' with this new bed to help in his recovery after surgery.  He LOVES it.  Joey was so excited when Dad removed it from the packaging, and it complements his piebaldism perfectly.  He rolled around in it immediately, tail wagging at full speed.  "It's a big giant ME!," he must have thought.  Alison made this herself!

Joey continues to recover well after his long ordeal.  He's still getting adjusted on his medications for Addison's Disease.  The daily prednisone he takes is causing him to drink and pee a lot, but we're hoping to reduce his dose some to alleviate this.  He had electrolytes drawn last Saturday to check and make sure they are OK, as his monthly DOCP injections control them.  They are looking good, but he is probably going to need a dose reduction of his DOCP as well.  Otherwise, he is a happy, hungry, and active little guy.  We're so thankful.

UPDATE 12 NOON:  Thanks to ISewNBake for leaving a comment: Alison has some on ebay right now and she regularly donates them to MWDR for raffles. Here is the link to the 2 she's got for sale right now:  eBay.  Hurry up, they are Buy It Now!

Sweet photo included with Joey's bed.