Day 11

If 30 is the new 20 and dogs are the new kids, why is Lu’s recovery having us thinking about little ones? Babies, that is.

All my closest girlfriends think that the new dynamic in our marriage created from co-caring for Lulu is a comical representation of what might occur should we finally decide to start a family. For example, neither one of us is getting the sleep we need. We take turns sleeping with her and she has a tendency to cry out or thrash around at times, which wakes us up. Even when it’s not my turn, I have trouble sleeping through the night. Last night, I could swear I heard her barking as if in distress. I ran to the guest room where Bill was sleeping with the dogs, woke Bill and asked if she had been barking. He said no but I vow I heard her, poor thing.

On top of the sleepless nights, there have been arguments on who is more sleep deprived. Bill will announce he’s exhausted and out of patience because of it, then I feel slighted because he’s not acknowledging my own fatigue and sacrifice. The result is that we both feel unappreciated and tired, but mostly tired. I was suffering from sleep deprivation Monday and actually went to my parent’s house, which is just down the street from my office, to take a nap during my lunch hour. It’s only been 10 days since we brought Lu home after surgery and I’m already a mess. Leaves one to wonder how or if we could handle a year or more of sleep training an infant.

Feeding time is interesting too. I prepare her meals, lovingly heating the boiled rice/white rice mixture in the microwave and then calling Bill in to do the actual feeding. It’s like bonding time for Daddy and Baby. Lucky for me, I still haven’t been able to get the hang of expressing Lu’s bladder, so Bill’s in charge of potty time too.

We both work on Lu’s therapy. She likes to lie on her back while her legs are stretch. Bill will work on her hind legs while I focus on her front. We both look into her big brown eyes and exclaim how cute she is and tickle her under her chin. And she’s a dog, imagine us with a baby. It would be disgustingly cute, right?

First comes love, then come marriage…you get the drift.

Day 10

That little Lulu is going to be difficult to keep calm. She's showing more signs of returning to her old self, which include wanting to be THE watchdog, obsessive behaviors with food and a propensity to play. I still can't believe she took a step on her own last night. While I'm happy about the improvement, I'm worried about keeping her safe.

Now it's Gus's turn since he seems to be crying out for attention. Up until yesterday, he was doing very well with his jealousy issues. While Gus is a very gentle soul and has the sweetest demeanour, he loves his mama and really doesn't care to share.

I was preparing Lu's dinner, Lu was resting on the sofa and Gus was underfoot, pretty much being ignored. I placed Lu's kennel pad on the kitchen floor, went back to the sofa to get Lu and when I turned around to place her on the pad, there was a large circle of urine on her pad. Gus was no where to be found, little jerk. Later on, Lu was hanging out on a towel because her pad was in the dryer, when here comes Gus. He lays down next to her and then slowly crowds her off the towel. I made him move, put her in the middle of the towel and he proceeds to do it again. The dryer rings, the pad is nice and warm so I put Lu on the pad, letting Gus have the towel. Guess what Gus does...he does it again taking over the pad! He is something else.

Did I mention he weighs 33 pounds and Lulu weighs 28? Gus is a moose of a Frenchie and over 17% larger than Lu. While he's having his way now, he'd better watch out because on most days, Lu's the boss and I have no doubt she will reign again.

Day 9: Lu is improving dramatically. My friend, Mel, came visiting this evening and brought with her famous Swiss steak, yellow roses for me, treats for Lu and Gus and half a chocolate cake. While we chatted away, Lu heard a noise outside, forgot herself and actually got to her feet and took a step on her own while barking and carrying on. Now I see my next worry is going to be how to keep her inactive for the next five weeks. Crate training begins tomorrow.

Day 8.1

We talked to the clinic again. They believe the blood in the stool is due to an irritated GI tract as a result of steroid use. They advised we discontinue the steroid, put her back on a bland diet, give her one half 10mg of Pepcid AC every twelve hours and monitor her condition. Should she experience an increase in frequency/quantity of diarrhea, display increased pain/distressed between bowel movements or should there be a greater volume of blood, we need to bring her into emergency immediately. The vet at the clinic has warned us that because we gave her the steroid this morning, we will likely see blood in the stool for one to two more bowl movements. I feel terrible because Bill and I noticed the presence of blood last night and decided to keep an eye on it rather than call immediately. If we had, she wouldn't have received another dose today.

On a positive note, Lu's behaving more like herself. She has a much easier time getting herself to an upright position and can move her body to some degree while lying, which has proven to make her more comfortable, and in turn has given Bill and I more rest. Her appetite has improved and she even cleaned up after her meal for the first time, searching for and eating up all the little bits of rice that flung out of her bowl. Last night, I sat with her on the bed in the guest room so she could look out the window, a favorite past-time of Lu's. She was alert and vocal, like her old self. It was really nice to see.

Therapy is going well too. She's attempting to move her hind legs, which is a great sign. Frenchies love summer and she really enjoys therapy outside on the grass in the sun. I wish she could enjoy it more; I wish we all could.

P.S. I included the picture of the flowers for Kait and Luke.

Day 8: new call into the clinic. While Lu seems to be more herself, there's blood in her stool.

Day 7: 3AM and Lu's been panting hard for a half hour and trying and succeeding in sitting up on her own. Clearly something is wrong. I took her outside to express her bladder but I still have no luck on my own and Bill's still finishing his shift at Downings.

As I carry her to the kitchen to get the sling, all shit breaks loose, literally. I think the suggestion of adding squash to her diet may have worked too well. What a mess.

Day 6

My goal is to post everyday. I'm exhausted. I should write about the lovely flowers Kait and Luke sent to Lu with love all the way from New Zealand or Lu's new Facebook profile but I'm just not motivated. Lu is very much the same as yesterday. I wish we could flash forward a couple weeks and have some semblance of our Lu back. That's all for now. Maybe I'll try to write some more later or post the pretty picture of the flowers I took earlier while Lu was crying for me from the sofa.

Day 5.1

My brother, Harvey, just saved us another trip to the emergency clinic. Lu hadn't peed in 13.5 hours, Bill was at work and I couldn't figure out how to express her bladder on my own. Harvey came over to hold her sling while I followed the instructions given to me on her release. Up until now, all we had to do was hold her hips and she assumed the position and went. Ajay, my nephew, came with. He gave Lu some much deserved attention, a scrap of chicken and a syringe of water. The picture is of him and Lu chilling on the sofa.

Day 5

It's hard to imagine that only a week ago today this whole thing started. Honestly I would never have guessed her first symptoms were telltale of this very serious condition.

Right now, Lulu is lying next to me breathing heavily. Her pain patch fell off earlier today and she behaving as if she's very uncomfortable. I recently took her out to potty and she refused to place her front feet and then cried out. It's hard not knowing what's she's feeling. All I know is she's scared.

This morning felt more hopeful...Bill found a comfortable way to do therapy. He placed her on our bed and rolled her to her back and took it from there. Before all this, she loved to be on our bed on her back. We'd grab her little chest and roll her playfully back and forth and she'd omit cute little baby noises sounding like "ka, ka, ka."

Gus is still being a trooper. He usually has HUGE jealousy issues but he's been patient with us as we lavish Lu with attention and love. I say this as he's pleading at me with his eyes and vocalizing. Mommy never sat in the office at night and he's not sure what's going on.

I found this adorable video of Lu on our computer. She loves fruit and got a kick out of playing with the melon.

Day 4.1

I'm happy to note Lulu somewhat improved today. She is more interested in sitting though we still have to assist her to the position and then she can only maintain it for a few minutes. She's lifting her head more often and at times, bringing herself to her elbows instead of just lying on her side.

The tech at the clinic indicated that because she continues to show signs of dysphoria, we should stop the oral pain killer entirely. So far, she's still displaying pain but the tech believes this is the leftover heightened behaviors of dysphoria and to try to bare it.

We were instructed to move forward with more substantial foods:the menu for this evening includes a mixture of boiled ground beef, brown rice, beef gravy baby food and a spoonful of pureed pumpkin to help get the bowls working again. While this doesn't sound grommet to me, the smells from the kitchen have Gus very impressed and Lulu as interested as an immobile French Bulldog can reveal. Yum, yum.

Because of the dysphoria, Lulu hasn't tolerated any physical therapy which consists of manipulating her hind legs back and forth and her hip outward and inward, then massaging the joints of the feet, legs and hips. In addition, she has not been able to walk assisted with the sling at all let alone the recommended three times per day, as the dysphoria has rendered her front legs stiff and unpliable. Because all her muscles have been unworked for the past four days, we have to begin therapy on the front legs as well. What we do for love.

Well, Gus is sitting impatiently in front of me making very frustrated little groans so I should go. I'll leave you with a picture of the kids a couple years ago when Gus was still smaller than Lu.

Day 4: 3:40 AM, been up for almost an hour with Lu Monk. She keeps attempting to sit and fails. Took her outside to potty and it seemed like she was trying to squat but it wasn't working. Brought her back inside and sat her on the carpet for a change of pace; she immediately fell to her side. I put her back in bed next to me and gave her a syringe of water. She's still awake and looking at me. What could she want/need?

Day 3

Last night was a rough one...I was up until 2AM with a very needy little bulldog. But today was a new day, it was Bill's turn nursing and things went pretty well. We called the animal hospital to ask questions about Lu's extreme pain reactions and behavior. We were told she is likely experiencing dysphoria, a kind of hyper-reaction to pain killers that manifests in vocalizations (whimpers, yelps, screams), muscle tension, nervousness and increased pain sensation. The people at the clinic related that while this is unusual, when it does occur it is often in bully breeds or rottweilers. The surgeon suggested we decrease the frequency of the oral pain killer to see if we can improve her comfort level.

My good friend Melody informed me today that I was not clear in this blog on Lulu Belle's diagnosis and her prognosis. So here it is; Lu has a disorder most common to Dachshunds called Intervertebral Disc Disease. This article from Dr. Foster & Smith presents the condition in easy-to-read language: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2105&aid=418. Another, somewhat less approachable article I found, indicates that in a Swedish study, Frenchies were discovered to be only second to Dachshunds in the occurrence of the disease: http://www.bulldogfrances.com/discdiseasenglish.html. All articles aside, the most important thing I've learned in the last week is that dogs of certain breeds can be prone to the disorder, but it's the dogs like Lulu who jump and play hard that usually have a disc rupture as a result of the weakened spine. Surgery is only one approach to deal with the issue. Because Lu was deteriorating rapidly, we decided surgical intervention would give her the best possible outcome. The procedure is just the beginning; she still has months of physical therapy and is not expect to walk again for 2 weeks to 6 months. Most dogs recover 80 to 100% of functionality with proper care.

On a less clinical note, life with Lu has been easier than expected. Today, I took her to "the rocks" where she potties, and she lowered her hips and urinated on her own. She has been vigorously eating chicken or turkey baby food from our fingers and even from the jar. She's learning to drink water from a syringe since she can't comfortable support herself to drink from a bowl. We still have a long way to go with therapy. She is having great difficulty sitting due to the stiffness in her front legs which is also characteristic of dysphoria. Walking with the sling seems impossible at the moment but we hope to see improvement in the next coming days. All and all things are more positive than yesterday and I'm in wonder of her ability to cope. Oh, I forgot to mention...when I came home from work this evening, she smiled at me and wagged her nub (what would be considered a tail in another more well-endowed breed).

Day 2.3

August 27, 2006: I'm celebrating my 28th birthday when my cell rings. It's Cari, the breeder...she's got bad news about the dog we selected. She's not well. She vomits after each meal. She told me she planned to separate her from the litter during feeding to determine if vigorous eating/overeating is causing the problem. She said we could reselect. I didn't even know Lulu and I loved her. No way was I reselecting. Two weeks later we took her home with the knowledge that she has a tendency to overfeed when competing with other dogs. Good to know.

Fast forward to this morning; the doctor on duty informs me that Lu had no appetite and had to be force fed.

Yesterday I was happy. I thought, we made a decision to treat her despite the cost. She's in good hands and it's uphill from here. But nothing can prepare you for seeing your loved one, whether it be a parent, kid, friend, dog, or your baby, in pain. I'm sitting next to her now in the office. When I had surgery a few months ago, Bill rigged the LCD TV to act as a computer monitor which is proven to be very helpful now that Lu won't let me walk away from her without making the most pathetic mewing noises. She used to do this when she was a tiny puppy and it forced me to carry her with me everywhere, but that was 22 pounds ago.

Her release from the clinic today was very positive. They said she was doing as expected and it was apparent that she won the heart of the staff. She left with a narcotic pain patch on her back that will remain there for 3 to 5 days. We received more instructions on expressing her bladder since she still cannot urinate on her own. She was sent home with a sling to assist in walking, though it could be two weeks to six months before she does so on her own. She received a complementary ice pack with the clinic's fancy logo printed on the side,a supplementary pain pill that we've already broken into and directions on how to preform physical therapy at home. Most impressively, we left with a whole lot of debt. But it's well worth it. So everything is settled and on track but I wish I could stop worrying about her.

Day 2.2 I'm sitting on the sofa letting Lu lick chicken baby food off my fingers...I haven't had dinner because she won't let me leave her side.

Day 2.1: was doing research on the net when I heard the most heartwrenching cry. I thought for sure Lu fell off the sofa or that Gus stepped on her but I found her on the sofa just where I left her and found Gus asleep across from her. I lightly touched her backside and she repeated the terrible noise. I guess she will need the pain pill in addition to the pain patch. I really thought she was comfortable. This breaks my heart to know she's in such pain.

Day 2

We received an update this morning: Lulu is doing well. She's attempting to urinate on her own though she still needs manipulation to do so. Regardless, it's a very good sign. She's expected to be moved from ICU to the surgical unit sometime this morning. But don't fret, Lu's NOT scheduled for any further procedures; the "surgical unit" is how they refer to the standard level of care. For anyone interested in sending flowers or bones, she's at Veterinary Specialty Center in Buffalo Grove. The staff there has been wonderful. They are truly caring and call to update us regularly. The facility is amazing too. Being there, you would think you were in a human's hospital as it is so modern, clean and free from the usual "pet" smells I associate with animal clinics.

For anyone wondering how our boy Gus is taking this, he's hanging in there but is somewhat lost without his buddy. Lu is of course, the leader so Gus has no one to follow and boss him around. But he's been with us every step of the way. We first took Lulu to Banfield Thursday night because she had vomited a couple times, was lethargic and not acting like herself. Gus was there looking on when the vet said she suspected pancreatitis and ordered blood work and sent us home. Gus accompanied us again on Friday when we took Lulu to Fox Lake Animal hospital where she was properly diagnosed with a disc problem after waiting for 5 hours to see Dr. Marie. Gus was very vocal about the long wait, moaning and sighing like only Gus does. But, he seemed to like Dr. Marie. We were talking about Lu's serious condition when we noticed Gus with his head up Doc's skirt, searching for who knows what. Crazy kid. So like a Frenchie, he's kept us laughing despite the situation.

Day 1

If you don't enjoy being licked in the face by a dog, you probably never loved one and you probably won't "get" my blog.

This is the story of Lulu and what's become of her and what will happen next. Wednesday night, Lulu was an energetic do-or-die type of crazy dog with a lot of heart and a more fans than I can mention in a simple blog. But this past Thursday morning she just wasn't herself; she vomited, had no energy and offered lack-luster interest. We (my husband Bill and I) worried that she ate something amiss at the farmer's market or perhaps pulled a muscle. Anyway, we assumed she'd be fine, but Friday she was walking strangely and behaving even less like herself. By Saturday morning, she had no use of her hind legs and we were rocked by the sharp decline.

Let me back up. I can't start a story like this without you knowing more about my girl. I've been a dog lover since I can remember and my family always had Labs: big black clumsy Labs with swinging tails and slobbery kisses. They were good, faithful family dogs but I longed for the stubby nosed, compactly packaged persona that is the French Bulldog, AKA the Frenchie or Frog Dog. We did our research and Bill was as interested in the breed as me. We found a great local breeder, met her dogs and were in LOVE. We picked Lu from the litter when she was only weeks old. Waiting for the day we could take her home was agony for us, especially Bill because I wouldn't stop talking Lulu this and Lulu that.

That's only the beginning of the story and I plan to fill it in as we go. A little about Lulu herself before I continue, Lulu, despite her name, is first and foremost a willful little beast who will not listen to a word you say should she not agree. But, it's charming because she's Lu. She also very playful, very funny and very cuddly, but typically not at the same time. She's smart, and understands more words that any dog I've met previously. The food words alone she recognizes include but are not limited to: eat, treat, cookie, hungry, breakfast, dinner, bone, food. Which brings me to another point, Lulu is very much food motivated. She tells us when it's mealtime and does a little dance to commemorate the occasion. She loves to sleep as much as she loves to eat and puts herself to bed when she sees fit.

Lu's biggest downfall is that she's a spaz. She jumps off the bed on the bed. She jumps at the door. She pounces when she plays with her little Frog Dog brother, Gus. She leaps and hops and runs and barks and basically goes ballistic when she sees people and dogs on the street. This behavior coupled with the recent diagnosis of disc disease has left our little Lu in very serious condition at a specialized clinic in the area that treats neurological issues. The rupture of her disc has been repaired. She's still in ICU but doing well considering. I hope to document Lulu's journey from maniac to paraplegic and with all luck back to maniac or preferably a calmer version. She's likely coming home tomorrow which means lots of nursing and mothering and worrying. Stay tuned.