Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Luna just started a dose of steroids and she is suffering from a severe case of roid induced hunger pangs. I don't think I have discussed Luna's recent health issues much on the blog - mainly because denial sometimes is wonderful place.
A few months ago, Luna was "unofficially" diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension. I say unofficially because we have not gone through the full battery of tests needed to make the diagnosis official. Essentially, Luna is suffering from many of the symptoms and we have ruled out pretty much all the other possibilities, so we are going to treat her accordingly and see if she improves.
Luna's main symptoms are a nasty cough and labored breathing. We have experienced quite a few different coughs around here with Sol and Benny, but Luna's cough is very different. It's like a cough mixed with a sneeze and a wheeze. Not the same goose type honk that Solsey suffered from.
To treat her condition, Luna went on a pill to help her breathing and a diuretic. That combo of meds worked very well for her the last few months. The frequency of her cough was severely reduced. Her breathing was still labored, but not quite as labored as before. All that changed last week, when Luna's pesky cough came back nastier than ever.
We took Luna in to the vet and had a chest x-ray done in the hopes that it was some sort of upper respiratory infection (not great, but certainly better than the alternative). The chest x-rays showed that Luna's lungs looked clear, so the respiratory infection was ruled out. We started Luna on a round of steroids in hopes that it would clear up her cough. If it does, chances are she will need to remain on the steroids long term. This is not ideal. However, as the vet described things to us, this really is the lesser of two evils.
In addition, Luna has also started on a special prescription food that is meant to be very kidney friendly. Luna's last two blood tests have revealed that her BUN is on the high side and is on the rise. Hopefully, the special diet with help lower her BUN levels to a normal level.
Through all this, Luna has proven time and time again that she is tougher than nails. We have to keep a close eye on her because she never really lets her discomfort show. Our vet explained to us the pulmonary hypertension can be very uncomfortable. It seems like no matter what is stacked against her, little Luna just keeps on trucking.
Friday, April 26, 2013
♫ She's a lady, Whoa whoa whoa, She's a Lady. Talkin about this little lady… ♫
The always classy, Looney Toon!
Have a great weekend!
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Little Luna leading the charge. Their mission: get everyone that passes by to stop and pet them.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
While the boys are looking ever so handsome and posing for the camera, keep an eye on Luna in the background in the next series of photos.
While I am shooting pictures of her brothers, Luna is trying to sneak off into our neighbor's garage. I have no idea why, but Luna has a fascination with garages. She is forever sneaking off and exploring our garage and if she gets a chance she will invite herself into any open garage she can find. She is definitely unique!
Monday, April 1, 2013
Since turning 11, Benny has been having a bit of a mid pug life crisis and has been chewing incessantly. It's like he needs to prove to himself that he can still chew as much as he did when he was a pup. As a result, he has been digging every bone out of the toy box. He even drug out this old knuckle bone and was chewing it for a bit. Which is super surprising because once the pugs work all the good stuff off a knuckle bone they generally have no interest in it.
After Benny finished chewing, he abandoned the bone in one of the dog beds and Luna happily had a turn chewing the ginormous bone. But, in true Luna form, she did it with style!
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Has Luna joined Henry as a lover of the sun? Nope! It seems Luna likes to play the party lines and spends some time with Henry in the sun and then she joins Benny in the shade. At least she gives it a shot. Benny never parts ways with the shade.
It is funny how much Henry loves the sun. We pretty much know that if we take him on a walk or out to potty at high noon he will collapse in the grass. He reminds me of one of those collapsing push puppet dolls. The suns rays beaming down on him push his button and he just falls out. And there is no getting him to move. The only way you will get him back in the house is to pick him up and carry him. Or lure him with a treat. That will work because food trumps everything. Even the sun.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
It took us a while to get Luna on right drop regime, but after years of trying different combinations of medicines we finally worked everything out and Luna's eyes have been the best they can be for her for a few years now. However, the last two weeks Luna's left eye has been super dry. I'm not sure what is going on with it. We have been following her drop schedule and have even increased the frequency at which we give her her lubricant drops, but nothing has seemed to work. The recent cold spell might be to blame, as that seemed to dry everything out, or I suspect the diuretic we just started her on might be the culprit. I'm going to run that one past the vet and see what he thinks. If that is the case, I guess the diuretic is really working if it is even drying her eyes out!
