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Bright Star

I thought now would be a good time to repeat this post about my little dog, Ama, for she is now 12 and has been quite unwell again.  She recently spent a week in the vet hospital with severe pancreatitis and left with a diagnosis of insulinoma, an aggressive cancer.  She’s been home for two weeks now and is still quite bright.  Not at all like a dog on her last legs.  “Perhaps the diagnosis is wrong?” I entreated the vet on our last visit.  He didn’t think so based on a relevant blood test.  I still hold out hope.  That’s quite strange for me because I am usually such a catastrophiser.  In the meantime, we continue to enjoy her company and deprive her of cheese.  Life is so unfair.

*****

This post is dedicated to my little dog, Ama, who is not well.  So far we know that she has copper storage disease but not how bad it is or whether we can mitigate it.  I’ve not had much time for blogging lately as we’ve had a lot of medical appointments and I’ve been researching treatments, including low copper diets.  It helps to be informed when talking to veterinary specialists.  It also gives me something to do while I worry.

Ama

Ama’s birthday is this Saturday.  She’ll be six.  When I was looking for a pet name for her, I read that Ama meant born on a Saturday (in Ghanaian).  As she was born on a Saturday, and the name had a nice ring to it, we just went with that (plus we like to say Um-ah when she is naughty).  She also has a pedigree name – Eurabbie Taehti.  Taehti means Polar Star in Finnish.  Everything does seem to revolve around the little minx so it is fitting, but more importantly, she lights the way.

Here’s hoping that her star continues to shine.

Regards
Tracy

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24 Stories – II

Earlier in the year, our little Finnish Spitz, Ama, suffered an unpleasant medical episode, or at least we thought she had. One night she wouldn’t settle. She paced and whined, panted and barked constantly. For hours. I thought she was having a heart attack so my True Love rushed her to the overnight emergency vet.

The vet said she was in pain, maybe a back injury, so they gave her some strong pain medication and told us to keep her quiet. It didn’t work. She continued to pace, whine and bark. All night in fact. She also wanted to go outside every five minutes and cried at the back door. We were exhausted. What were we to do? At 6am, we took her to the other emergency vet for the blood tests we had declined the previous evening. The blood tests revealed very little. It was a mystery. The vet gave her a sedative so that we, I mean, she, could get some rest. We slept all day and Ama seemed to improve. As evening approached, she started to get agitated again.

A couple of months later, she saw her regular specialist – special girl that our cherub is. We discussed the possibility of dementia but he could see no evidence of cognitive decline. The verdict? She’s getting old and demanding.

Weeks later it came to pass that the same thing happened again. But this time, the cause of this agitation became abundantly clear.

A possum eating our climbing rose! Ama is now banned from going out at dusk and early evening until we check that the coast is clear. Typical Finnish Spitz. The force (hunting instinct) is strong in them. So is the cheese instinct, but that’s another story.

Ama turned 12 years old in December. She still shines brightly.

Here’s to Ama.

Take care, everyone. May your evenings be free of rose-eating possums.

Kind Regards.
Tracy.

RDP – The Day After

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All My Trials – Triennial Dog Bath

G’day, Readers. I hope you are all well and keeping busy. It seems I have lost the ability and will to blog at 3am. These days, 5pm seems to be my bedtime. It is all a bit strange really. I’m sure I have mentioned this before but it has been a long time between blog posts and I am sure you would have forgotten.

I’ve been watching a doctor show on the tele. The head doc is rude and his offsiders are pretty FITH. But they know their stuff. Amyloidosis, anyone? Since I am a real hypochondriac, it passes the time pleasantly. When I take my long list of ailments to my doctor, I get sent home with a fact sheet on menopause. What a cheek! Despite this, I am happy. A sure sign that I have really lost it.

However, continuing with all things positive, I thought I would overshare my dogs first bath in about three years. I bitch about my phone camera, but it sure does take nice dog photos. Makea had her bath last week when I was sleeping, so it was just Fynnie and Ama that faced today’s particular torture.

Actually, Ama was a little champion. She always is.

Plus, a well placed distraction.

Say cheese.

Excuse me!

Hope your day brings you a little slice of happiness.

Kind Regards.
Tracy.

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Ode to Ama – A Bush Ballad

I am reprising my poem about my little dog, Ama, for the NaPoWriMo prompt about dogs you have known, seen, or heard about.  It is the best poem I’ve ever written (if I do say so myself) so I can’t offer any better.  The poem is written in the style of bush poetry (ie. it’s long) and there’s a nod to Banjo Patterson’s iconic poem, The Man From Snowy River.  In that poem, “the Man” rides his mountain pony down a steep hill after a herd of brumbies (wild horses).  There is some controversy as to whether that poem was a true story.  Unlike Mr Patterson’s poem, I can vouch that Ode to Ama is completely true.  Enjoy. Read more

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All My Trials – Ms Irrepressible

Today, I thought I might do an experiment and try posting a short video of the irrepressible one.  I have no idea whether the file is too big for readers to view, so your feedback would be very much appreciated.  The irrepressible one is of course my little dog, Ama.  When she wants her dinner, she engages in some remarkable attention seeking behaviour.  What do you think?  Should we surrender to her will?

Kind Regards.
Tracy.

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Lead The Way

There is not a lot of leading the way happening in Australia at the moment.  So rather than throw up my hands in disgust, I thought I would participate in this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge — Leading Lines.  I don’t want to lead you astray so I’m going to try to follow the brief and let the lines take you on the journey. Read more

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All My Trials – Ama Barks Again

About this time last year, my niggling concerns about the health of my little dog, Ama, were vindicated.  I knew my girl and I knew the Finnish Spitz breed, so I knew there was something wrong.  I think we should trust our instincts. Read more

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All My Trials – Fynnie Chows Down

Warning:  this post contains many exclamation marks.

It’s hard to be serious about blogging, ladies and gentlemen, when the sun is shining brightly.  So yes, I am still procrastinating.  This is not my promised “dear-to-my heart” post, but rather my “fear-to-my-heart” post.  When my adrenaline levels peak, I have my werewolves in London moment.  I start writing very bad rhyming poetry.  It’s insane.  Thankfully the urge soon passes.  Anyway, here’s the first line –

On a bright and sunny day, Fynnie dog went out to play. Read more

Posted on by Reflections of an Untidy Mind

Bright Star

This post is dedicated to my little dog, Ama, who is not well.  So far we know that she has copper storage disease but not how bad it is or whether we can mitigate it.  I’ve not had much time for blogging lately as we’ve had a lot of medical appointments and I’ve been researching treatments, including low copper diets.  It helps to be informed when talking to veterinary specialists.  It also gives me something to do while I worry. Read more

Posted on by Reflections of an Untidy Mind

Leave It To The Professional

There is one thing certain about Australasian Grebes and that is they are very shy.  Come within 100 metres of them and they quickly dive below the surface of the water or they paddle away at a great pace leaving you in their wake.  Many a time on our holiday, we saw them in the distance and that is where they stayed, so no photographs (not good ones anyway).   It turns out that finding and getting close to these tiny waterbirds is a job for a professional. Read more