Sunday, February 22, 2015
Last week it was time for Henry to have a check up at the vet. Overall he is on a once a month schedule. One month he gets a chest xray, the next month he gets a sonogram of his kidney. This is all to make sure that Henry is still cancer free. We also get blood work every few months. And this visit it was time again. His last blood test showed that he was having some struggles with his one remaining kidney and our vet warned that he was probably in the early stages of kidney failure. The silver lining to this was that kidney failure typically takes a little while to get "bad" and in Henry's current state may be a little bit reversible.
We discussed Henry's diet with the vet and our vet wanted to put Henry on a special canned dog food for dogs with kidney issues. For the most part, the pugs have never really been on dog food and after much conversation with our vet, he allowed us to try to modify his current meal plan in hopes of being able to stick to what he eats already but modifying the portions of each product. Basically, Henry needed a low protein meal plan. And actually he needed his protein to be reduced significantly. I am very relieved that our vet gave us the opportunity to try to make the change ourselves rather than move to a dog food option. (We finally just got Henry's IBD under control and we knew that especially introducing a new food could set him back in the tummy troubles department.)
So for the last couple of months, we have been giving Henry his modified meals. Monday was the day where we would either have to concede to our vet that Henry needed his special canned dog food option or that we were victorious in striking a good balance and reducing his protein levels enough that he could stay on his homemade diet as he has always been on. Essentially it was put up or shut up day. 
Hooray for Henry's kidney! We put up, so now our vet has to shut up. LOL. But seriously, Henry's kidney is doing better, bloodwork shows. So, we will continue on his current meal plan and retest again in a few months. Just goes to show once again..... #HENRYSTRONG #HENRYISAGOODBOY #TEAMHENRYWINS
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Henry still loves to bask in the sun, but he has upgraded his outdoor space.
If we are outside, Henry likes to join us. If we are outside for any length of time, we bring out a dog bed so he can hang out and be comfortable. And boy do his ever make himself comfortable
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Spaghetti has always been a favorite dish in the OBP house. Solsey absolutely loved spaghetti. Benny loved any and all food. Luna didn't love spaghetti quite the way she loved chicken or other poultry, but spaghetti was pretty high on her favorites list. And Henry always enjoyed a nice bowl of noodles with a touch of sauce.
Henry does suffer from terrible acid reflux (he has ever since he was a pup) and we have figured out that red sauce really gets his acid reflux going. So, whenever we have spaghetti, Henry gets a nice helping of noodles to enjoy. I think the noodles were always his favorite part anyway.
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
As we work to get solutions to Henry's anxiety, one of the things we have discovered is that he's outgrown his crate. He's not too "big" for it but he's "done" with it. It is no longer the safe place it once was for him. He now feels trapped in there when he's done resting. Rather than staying cozy in there, it is a source of angst. This is likely due to his blindness. (We've had a couple professional opinions on this, so that is not just our take on it.)
So, we have been easing him out of his routine of being crated. This is scary to us mostly from the standpoint of a safety perspective. Henry can navigate the house freely and while there are some little spots where Henry could maybe "get stuck" he's is progressing quite well in his problem solving abilities and getting betting at negotiating his way around the house. The inside is not our biggest concern, though. We are allowing Henry access to the back yard (which means a whole host of other possible worries for us).
We know that Henry (unlike sweet baby Benny) would be distraught if he had to make a potty in the house. So, we know he NEEDS to go out. But with that comes the host of concerns....
Are the gates secure? Is he going to be stolen? Is a lawn treatment guy going to leave a gate open and let him out? Is he going to encounter a snake and in his blindness think its toy? What about squirrels? And not to mention the pool! We had already Henry proofed the pool. Or so we thought. As we were making final safety touches, we discovered that he could indeed navigate beyond the cones and the orange mesh! We almost dropped dead of panic right then! So, we have a temporary (and too ugly for even us to show photos of) fix. But it seems to be working.
So we have been weaning him into a full day at home. Out of the crate. Off the Xanax. And with less company. We are happy to report that he is doing remarkably well. This is extremely relieving. We doubt that we will get to the point where we can leave him for any "fun" reason but now we are almost able to make it to work sans nervous tummies and panic attacks. The best news is that this is helping him to build confidence again. We are seeing a more prideful Henry. So, we will just keep on doing our best to make him comfortable and be well.
#HenryStrong #HenrySmart #HenryHandsome #HenryCalm
Monday, February 16, 2015
Looking forward to your captions in the comments.
Sunday, February 15, 2015
We received a lot of positive (and worried) feedback about Henry and his OBP peeps last week. We wanted to be sure that we clarified some things. First, we wanted to say thank you to everyone who gave us many many kudos. We appreciate all of your positive feedback but we wanted to be sure that the Henry update was not intended to spot light Henry's peeps. We mainly wanted to share Henry's current disposition and needs so everyone can better understand where Henry is right now.
Yes, life is stressful, but we are making the most of Henry's golden years! Granted, they are playing out in a way we never anticipated, but there are so many moments each day I'm glad we get to share with him.
Thank you for your support, prayers, good vibes and most of all thanks for making us all #HenryStrong!
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Tomorrow is Cupid's Gotcha Day! She is turning 17!
We have taken to calling her the "old lady". I think it all started when the vet recommended a special food for her and the label said it was for "Senior Plus". I laughed and quickly informed Cupid that she was no longer just a senior cat, but now she is senior plus!
But mainly I forget how old Cupid is. While she doesn't jump nearly as well as she did in her younger days, she is still pretty spry. We play together every morning before I go to work, right after she gets brushed. She insists on being brushed each morning. Tomorrow, I throw in a few extra strokes and we'll see what we can't do about rounding her up a few bites of chicken
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