This is a video of Henry. Henry snoring. A passed out Henry. While there is nothing shocking about a pug snoring away, what is different about this, is that this is showing how Henry is getting comfortable again being back on the sofa. It has been ages since Henry has been comfortable enough to relax enough to get into a sleep on the sofa. But here is proof that he is slowly but surely coming back from a depression or whatever funk you want to label it. This is a huge show of progress to the Henry of old. #GoHank! #GetYourSleepOn #BackToTheSofa!
At our last vet appointment we were reflecting on how far Henry has come since he had his kidney removed and how scary the day of the surgery was. As Henry's peeps, we remember being in heightened anxiety that day and just filled to the brim with worry. It is still a vivid recollection about how they called us earlier than expected to come see Henry and take him home. They were worried about how he was doing. He simply was not coming out of anesthesia very well at all. Peep #2 rushed there and saw this first hand. Henry was indeed a hot mess. With that said, as soon as he heard peep 2's voice he immediately got excited. Peep 2 picked up Henry and just held him tightly. Henry instantly began to melt. He was still panting and overall "off" but he knew he was in loving arms and he was starting to settle and relax. It took the entire rest of the night for him to really calm and be restful, but he made it through the surgery and getting through that night was the immediate goal. He had staples across his entire tummy area and looked a bit like a pug Frankenstein, but he was moving forward. That was all we could hope for. Upon pick up, our vet was admittedly nervous about his recovery and while he was truly amazed how fast the love of Henry's person impacted his so positively, he was still concerned about taking Henry home. He knew ultimately, though that he'd be better off at home than in a strange over night medical facility. And our vet also knew that if something were to go awry we would get him to that emergency location with the speed of light.
So, back to our vet's recollection. And how we learned the rest of the story. And I must admit that while it was gut wrenching to hear, I am completely relieved that he waited to share some of the grizzly details with us at this MUCH later date. If he had shared any earlier then I think I would not have been able to take it. And it was kind of crazy how he can speak about now with a chuckle. He was describing the surgery and how when animals are on their back (as they are when they are operated upon) all of their organs and parts fall towards the back leaving the beating heart right there on top. And when he had Henry open and was cutting his kidney out that all kept seeing was his aorta was just pulsing. He was worried that with each move of the scalpel that if he even just nicked the wrong vein that he would bleed out right there. Doc told us that he was literally sweating through this operation. It was nice to hear that he was human and was concerned, but boy was it frightening to hear just how close we were to one small move costing Henry's life. And it wasn't like the doc was tooting his own horn about what a great job he had done (but believe me, we have often praised his work!) it was more like he was also relieved to have made it through that day. We had discussed the possibility of Henry dying on the operating table and that was, of course a huge concern and would have been just awful, but we knew we had to take that risk since the cancer was not removing itself.
We have come to learn a lot in life and one of the most important things we have learned is that perspective is everything. And if you can just shift that even slightly when needed then that is a wonderful gift. In this instance, the perspective of our vet was extremely powerful. We could see from his vantage point the different type of stress and pressure of getting this "just right" because even one small move could have meant everything and not only would Henry no longer be here, but he would have had to TELL US that! We have a great rapport with our vet but I am really not sure just how that would have played out. Fortunately, everything worked out in a winning scenario and we don't have to consider the what if version. Our continued kudos to our vet and his team. We are truly thankful for all his efforts and also his steady skilled hands. So, over a year later, having that perspective puts yet another spin on memories from that day.
Come rain or come shine, Henry must have his nightly car rides. If it is really raining hard, he will be ok if the window is down and he still gets the breeze but if it is raining lightly then he will still risk the wet weather and take the soaking just to get the wind in his face. Well, one recent evening, he did become one soggy pug and even though it was raining harder than a sprinkle but less than a monsoon, he propped himself on the window ledge, half in and half out as he usually does and got a good pelting of raindrops on him.
At a fun stopper (red light) he settled back in the car, we gave him a toweling off and had to snap a photo or 2 of him all bundled in the towel. In one he looks like a little orphan and in another it seems that the towel is a neck brace. After the fun stopper, he was back out the window where he again accepted each drop of water that came his way!
Anyone concerned that the towel was pink? Eh, H didn't care either. He played it cool. #HankIsComfortableWithHisManhood #InHonorOfLuna,HenryWoreAPinkTowel #WetPugsWearPink
It is not uncommon that when we do something that actually needs our true focus, we always have extra "helpers". By this we mean that Henry or Cupid always want to try to chip in their 2 cents. And while less common, it does happen that they actually behave like good boys and girls and stay out of the way. Well, at last, the latter was the case this past weekend when we were hanging the exterior Christmas lights on the house. Who was a good boy? Henry the pug?! You see him passed out and out of the way as his peeps checked to see if the light bulbs worked and then climbed various ladders to get the lights on the gutters just so!
Henry was a good boy the entire time. And that is better than I can say for some of our neighbors! Here's a clue, neighbor, if I am on the rooftop, that is a good time to wave and keep walking! This is not the best time to stop and chat. Maybe it's just us but we did find some of our neighbors rather a nuisance with their desire to stop and ask mundane questions. We were trying to stay on task, beat the rain, beat the dark and hurry in hopes of finishing before the dog woke up! (I didn't want to say beat the sleeping dog! That would have sounded horrible!)
Once again, Henry showed more class than some people! #HernyHasManners #HernyIsAGoodBoy #HenryHelpedForRealThisTime
I think it has been a while since we have given an update on Henry and his health issues. We go for blood work about every 4-6 weeks and sonograms and xrays every over month or so, and I am not sure how recently we have shared the latest results. Well, like most things, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that Henry's remaining kidney continues to be free of cancer and functioning well. The bad news is that he is still not retaining proteins as he should be. We have tried a few different courses of action and now we will be moving to a different steroid. One that is specific to "the gut" and hopefully will be the miracle that we are seeking. We will try for 60 days and re-do blood tests.
We also know that he is not doing well on the protein front as he is starting to get a bit of fluid on lungs/retaining water. Hopefully the new meds will help with this as he will start to keep his proteins. If not, he will go on Lasix. Luna was on this and there were some side effects for her. This concerns me since Luna rarely suffered medication side effects and typically needed larger doses of some meds to get the desired results, if Henry needs to go on this, he will likely have side effects. He has nowhere near the medication tolerance that Luna had. So, we are hoping this new med (Budesonide) will work wonders.
The really good news, though, is that Henry is improving cognitively. He still has good and bad days/moments, of course, but we can link his rough days to days when he is short in the sleep department. As far as social skills, those have also been on the upswing. He has started to show some interest in meeting other dogs, and has been seeking out love and attention. So, Henry of old seems to be creeping back to the surface. We are not sure if it's his depression that is lifting now that it's been over a year since he lost so much and he is finally getting accustomed to being the lone wolf and being able to navigate without sight, etc. No matter what it is, he is in better overall spirits. His anxiety is less and he will not tantrum in the mornings quite as quickly and even when he does tantrum it is not as bad as it once was. Even the doc is impressed. In an upcoming post, I will share a story that the vet shared with us recently about the day Henry had his kidney out. I am glad the vet waited to share some behind the scenes with us until MUCH later. It was a very risky and tricky surgery. Much more than we thought. But Henry is a trooper and he is our little Superman and Underdog all rolled into one!
So, obviously anywhere we go, Henry goes. Anywhere he is allowed to go, that is (and some places he probably should not go). Well the event that we recently attended that brought us back to St. Augustine was an outdoor wedding. A wedding were maybe not all dogs were allowed, but Henry was certainly welcomed! We were sure to dress Henry appropriately for this special occasion. He shouldn't very well attend a wedding in camouflage harness! Even at an outdoor wedding that would not have been good manners. So, we were sure to have Henry be as George Clooney-esque as possible and this meant having him wear a black bow tie. Clooney ain't got nothing on Hank! #WhosAHandsomeBoy?! #HenryIsAHandsomeBoy! #HenryReallyWasTheBestMan
#GoHank! #GetYourSleepOn #BackToTheSofa! 
