It's me - not mum - just me !!!!!!

Hey buddies,

Finally, I get my blog back ! You all know what that means, right ? Yep, it means that Charlie is doing good and is almost back to his usual knuckle-headed self. He still needs the meds and all that jazz - which he will need forever - but he is doing much better. Thank you all SO much for all your love and support over the past few weeks - it really helped us all to cope with Charlie's situation.

Look at Charlie's arm - it is from his operation, but I secretly think it is where they put his circuit board in - just like Terminator :-)

Anyway, enough about Charlie !

Poor me, Poor me - I have been very neglected whilst mum and dad have been fussing over Charlie - so, I thought that I would milk it and make mum and dad feel really guilty. Look at this face - how gruff am I ????

It did the trick though, as mum and dad are now freaking that I am gruff, and have vowed that this weekend will be all about ME :-) And rightly so !!!!!

First up - I have a tasty bone to chew - so I had best get into that before stupid Charlie steals it !!!!

Who knows what the rest of the weekend will bring ? Lots of treats and pats, I expect :-)

Love
Opy
the gruffpuppy who loves making the hoomans feel guilty :-)

Back to normality - whatever that is :-)

Please be advised that normal blogging will resume on MY blog over the weekend - stay tuned........

Love

Opy
the gruffpuppy who is glad Charlie is feeling better

****Charlie Update - the Diagnosis**** plus DWB Polls

Hi again everyone,

Well, the diagnosis is in - Charlie has Congestive Heart Failure.

At least now we know what it is, and he has started treatment for it. It is something that will never go away - but it can be controlled with medication, and already he is doing much better than he has over the past week.

Greg and I could not believe our eyes when we saw his chest xray - his heart was the size of a football - it was absolutely huge. There was that much fluid in his lungs, and his heart was that swollen - that we are so very lucky that he is still with us. He was literally drowning in fluid - no wonder he was so sick, poor baby. We always said that he was "full of heart" as he has such a sweet disposition - but we never new it would be so true !

So, he is now on tablets for the fluid - 6 a day, but may be able to be reduced down the track - and also tablets to help his heart twice a day - he will be on these always now. He is so much better at the moment - last night was the first time in over a week that he has been able to lay on his side without coughing and choking.

I guess the diagnosis is a serious one - but Greg and I are just thankful that we now know what is wrong with him and at least medication can help. He is no "spring chicken", but we sure would love for him to be around for awhile longer :-)

We have to look at his diet, and keep it low sodium - plus no exertion etc, not really hard as he is pretty lazy :-) We will also be taking him to a Specialist for an ultrasound just to rule out any heart tumours etc.

We all slept well last night - I shared the blow up bed with both Charlie & Opy - needless to say I pretty much ended up on the floor :-) It is nice to see Charlie resting comfortably.

I will probably hand Opy's blog back to her now - thank you all for your concern and kind wishes, it really has been appreciated. I am way behind in blogging and replying to emails - so I will try and get to it all over the weekend.

If anyone out there has any experience with Congestive Heart Failure - please email me - I want to make sure that we are doing everything we can for Charlie, so any help or info would be greatly received. Email to brookeatgruffpuppydotcomdotau (without the "bits")

Also, Opy asked me to let you all know that the DWB's Polls are open - please head on over to the Bone Zone and cast your vote for Awesome Blog, Post of the Month & Photo of the Month- if you are not a member of the Bone Zone and would like to be, please email Opy on the following address -

opyatgruffpuppydotcomdotau (without the "bits")

Please also head on over and see the Sweepy's - Pica of their clan has gone to the Bridge. I am sure they could do with some kind words.

Thanks again everypup and hooman - your support and love means more than I can put into words.

Cheers,

Brooke

****And so it continues.......Charlie update****

Hello my friends,

Sorry to hijack Opy's blog again - but I am sure she doesn't mind.

We thought Charlie was doing better - but he had another seizure/collapse on Wednesday night.

The blood work he had done the other day was all okay - except his glucose level was alittle low. After he had the latest seizure, Greg rang the emergency vet (thankfully, there was a different one on than last time !), and they suggested to give him some honey. Greg did and he perked up immediately - Greg did some research and we thought that maybe he was diabetic - many of the symptoms matched.

Anyway, Greg took him back to Dr Nick yesterday afternoon - after speaking with him in the morning - and they did more blood tests - but his glucose levels were fine, ruling out diabeties.

Dr Nick wanted Greg to bring him back this morning for chest xrays and to put a camera down his throat. Greg was working today (unfortunately, with what Greg now does - he can't just take the day off) - I was still in Sydney - so I finished my conference at 6.30pm last night, packed my bags up and hit the road at 7.30pm - arrived back here in Melbourne at 7am. I drove straight through, I am exhausted - and so is Greg - I think he has been too afraid to sleep for the past two nights.

I have just dropped Charlie off for his tests - they really don't know what is wrong with him, he has said some suggestions, but I just don't know - and if the investigation doesn't show up anything, he will be referred to a specialist. I think Greg and I would look at taking him back to our old Vet for a second opinion before we went down that path.

I have to call them at around 3pm to see how things are going - so I will try and update again later. Sorry for being so vague - but apart from the complete exhaustion that is making my head fuzzy, I really don't have anything else to tell you all - apart from that we know that there is something wrong, but we don't know what.

This rollercoaster sucks - I want to get off !

I am spending some quality time with Opy today - poor gruffy has been so good, but I think she is feeling alittle neglected :-(

Please keep Charlie in your thoughts - we need all the good vibes we can get.

Thanks everyone,

Brooke

PS - my test results were okay - I need to have a recheck in 2 months - but that is the least of our worries.

****Charlie update - longer version****

Thanks to everyone for your continuing support - it has been a very rough 24 hours, and I am feeling very tired and emotional at the moment - but also very thankful that Charlie is still with us, and that we have such wonderful friends looking out for us.

Okay, Charlie is doing well. We took him to our regular Vet today and he definately has kennel cough - but is much brighter today than he was yesterday. Fingers crossed he has turned a corner and will continue to improve.

Timeline of events -

Thursday night - started coughing. I thought that he had something caught in his throat. After reading Jackson's blog post about the rawhide, I was feeling alittle paranoid and went into panic mode that that was what was wrong with him.

Friday - still coughing, but it has settled somewhat. He was still eating, drinking etc - and seemed fairly normal. I was keeping an eye on him and keeping him quiet.

Saturday morning - really coughing badly. Dry, honking cough - bringing up mucus, and generally looking miserable. I rang our vet to see if I could make an appointment for that morning. After telling them the symptoms (I still thought he had something caught in his throat), they seemed to think it was a mild case of kennel cough - as he had been vaccinated previously, it would only be mild. The Vet had a few emergencies at that time - and after talking to them, we agreed that if he was no better by Monday - to bring him in. In hindsight, maybe not the best decision - but he didn't seem too bad on Saturday - apart from his cough, he was pretty normal.

Sunday - wasn't too bad in the morning, things fell apart in the late afternoon. He wasn't coughing as much as Saturday, but when he was coughing it was longer and harsher. He went downhill very quickly. Was very lethargic and unresponsive - he also seemed very confused. About 9pm his breathing became very laboured, and very shallow. Around 10pm he had a seizure and that lasted for about 15 seconds - he has never had anything like this before. Greg and I were beside ourselves.

We stayed with him and really didn't know what to do. It was horrible. He then tried to get up a few times and kept collapsing. He couldn't lift his head up - and was barely breathing. His gums were white and he looked grey in the face.

We then made the decision to take him to the 24hr Emergency Vet about 30 minutes away. Greg had to carry him to the car - and he just laid on the back seat with his head on Greg's lap - he couldn't move. Our hearts were breaking - we honestly thought that his time had come.

We had to wait a while at the Vet's - and Charlie seemed to brighten alittle whilst we were waiting. I won't go too much into the Vet's prognosis, but by 4am when she suggested we leave him there for xrays and bloodwork - we made the decision to take him home and wait for our Vet appointment at 10am. That should tell you the rest of that story - and fill in the blanks ! If Charlie hadn't of perked up alittle - we wouldn't have taken him home. It was a very tense wait at home - but we felt like we made the right decision.

Our Vet's prognosis ? Definately kennel cough, but he is concerned about the seizure. Took some blood and checked him over very thoroughly. He thinks that the seizure could have been caused by his windpipe being inflamed from the cough - and that it has closed up whilst he was trying to sleep and cut off his oxygen - causing the seizure. Sounds plausible - but scary as heck, as you can imagine !

I had to leave to go to Sydney today - and won't be back with Greg and the pups until Friday. This time last night I would have done anything to get out of it - it was really that bad - but after visiting our vet today - I still didn't want to leave - but felt more able to leave after what he said.

I have spoken to Greg several times today, and Charlie is resting comfortably - hopefully he will continue to improve and is on the road to recovery.

It is so bizarre how things can change in the space of 24 hours - both ways. It went from okay, to very serious, and now (hopefully) we are getting back onto an even keel.

Just as an aside - when we pulled in the driveway at 4am, Opy was sitting on the front porch. I felt terrible because I thought that I didn't lock the gate to their little yard when Greg carried Charlie to the car. I thanked dOG that I had taken the time to close the front gate to the property. When we got around the back on the house - Opy had completely demolished the gate and let herself out. We couldn't believe it. I guess she was worried about Charlie as well.

I also want to thank Asta(Down Under's) mum and Snowball's jie jie for being there when I was falling apart. It wasn't pretty and I do apologise - but I am grateful for your kind words. I am grateful for all our DWB's friends. Thank you all.

Please continue to send Charlie positive vibes - I am sure it helps.

I won't be around until Friday - but we will let you all know if there are any further developments.

A very tired and emotional,
Brooke

****Charlie update - quick version****

Hi everyone,

Charlie's mum, Brooke here.

Charlie made it through the night - I honestly thought we were going to lose him.

We rushed him to the emergency Vet at 1am this morning - and bought him home around 4am. That experience is a whole other story that I just don't have the strength for right now.

He is alittle brighter this morning, and will be going to see our Vet this morning.

We really do not know what is wrong with him - the E.R Vet doubted it was kennel cough, but I don't know how much faith I have in her diagnosis.

Anyway, will keep you all posted. Thank you so much for caring - I don't know if we are "out of the woods" yet, but he is still with us this morning, and that is a huge relief.

Will write more later and fill you all in on the events of the past 3 days.

Thank you all.

Brooke

Please keep Charlie in your thoughts, he is not doing too good at the moment.

Even though he is vaccinated, he has picked up Kennel Cough.

We are all very worried about him, please say a prayer for the Big Dog.

Love
Opy
the very worried gruffpuppy

Hey everypup,

Since today is the day to be saying "Sorry" out here in Australia - I need to say "sorry" to all my friends who have been concerned about my mum.

This is my "sorry" face -
You see, when I made my last post about mum and the CAT scan and the Lab results - I thought I was making a really funny joke, but mum roused on me as she said that it made people worry about her.

Anyway, I best give you a short update.....

Mum had the CAT scan - and just as I thought, we should never have trusted those CATS to do a good job - as the results were "inconclusive". Now, she has to go back on Friday and have ANOTHER ultrasound - I say ANOTHER because she had an ultrasound last week which led to her having a CAT scan cause the ultrasound said that more investigation was needed. Seems that she is going around in a circle here and she is feeling pretty frustrated !!!!! If she doesn't get to the bottom of it on Friday - she will demand a biopsy and be done with it !!!!

Don't mess with my mumma when she gets gruff !!!!!!

So, to all my friends out there - thank you all for your concern for my mum, we really appreciate it and hope to give you some good news soon.

Love

Opy
the gruffpuppy who is sorry for worrying everyone.

I'm Back......

Okay, so maybe not as greatly anticipated as Michael Jordan's "I'm back" announcement from 1995, but hopefully, some pups may be excited by my return :-)

Well....what a week it has been ! Can you imagine having NO phone, NO internet, NO email, NO fax for a whole 6 days - and not by choice ? It is different when you are on holidays, or "taking a break" - but when it is not your choosing, it is brutal !!!!!! You don't realise how much you rely on all this technology stuff.

On the positive side, our gardens look really good as mum and dad spent lots of time doing "stuff", and Charlie & I had lots of play time :-)

Apparently, the problem was that some rats had built a nest in the pipe that carries the phone lines and knocked out the lines ???? Hmmmm, sounds alittle far fetched to me - but what do I know ???

Anyway, all I know is that we are ALL alittle relieved to have everything back to normal.

However, I am mighty peeved that I missed SO much over the past week :-(

** Happy Barkday (belated) to my dear friends Hammer & Beau

** Happy Barkday (belated) to sweet Gaucho - and so sorry we missed your party :-(

** Happy Barkday (belated) to my buddy Tucker

** Happy Barkday (belated) to dear Aramis

** Happy Barkday (belated) to sweet Abby

I am so terribly sorry that I missed all your very important days :-(

I also missed Gussie's Superbowl party, and Joey & Tanners after party - and for that I am VERY gruff !!!!!! Our team (sorry, Dory !) won and everything !!!! It looked like you all had such a great time and I am SO VERY GRUFF that I missed it !!!!!! GRRRRRRR !!!!!

In other news - I will have to think of some, not much going on here......

Lots of love

Opy
the gruffpuppy who is glad to be back !!!!!!

PS - I am alittle worried as mum has to have a C.A.T scan - how can you trust a C.A.T with something so important ? I will feel much better once we get the LAB results back :-)
Hehe, I am SOOOOO funny sometimes :-)