Thank you much to the four people who responded already to my message in
Saturday's e-mail about my poor Squeek.  And Thank You, Thank You, Bill G.,
for waiving the length requirement and posting my message right up top; that
meant a lot to me.  For those of you (vets?) who didn't read my previous
(long) message, it was posted in Saturday's fml.  I got the beginning of
your phone message, Kelleen, but then you were cut off :(.  I got the part
about prayers, though, and thank you so very much for thinking of us.  Thank
you Les, Tom, and Shelly for your personal messages.  Shelly, your letter
about Pug is the most uplifting thing I've read yet, though I'm sorry Pug
isn't still with you.  I'll be in contact you can bet!
 
VETS: Just a few corrections to Fridays post.  He's getting 50 UNITS (not
ml) prednisone.  Other blood tests not mentioned were normal.  Fecal,
negative.  Urinalysis, slightly alkaline (8/7).  And, kidneys are
functioning fine, according to blood test.
 
It was a very long weekend, full of roller-coaster emotions.  If only
Squeek's happy personality would begin coming back, I'd ask no more.  He
used to be the happiest, squeakingest little guy, just in love with life and
everyone and everything around him... *sigh*
 
Squeek still can't stand and needs help going the bathroom and eating.  But
he's put on an ounce of weight (he had lost one), so he's back up to
one-and-one-half ounces!  And his coat is bushy and eyes big, if bored and
sparkless, mostly, though he obviously enjoyed going outside in the sunshine
and smelling the grass and flowers yesterday.  If only he would roll over on
his back and play his favorite tickle game with me, I'd be sure he was on
the road to recovery.
 
He did give me two long kisses yesterday, and it's been a long time since he
did that!  And he's crawling (rolling, pulling and pushing himself) to his
favorite stuffed animal, Duke, on who's leg he drapes his little head and
sleeps.  He still pulls/crawls in to paper bags, and especially toward and
into plastic bags.
 
We bought him a 4" PVC tube, which he travels through occasionally, and
built him a walking track.  We're working on a physical therapy harness.  He
can get around pretty well on his walking track, but it isn't carpeted and I
worry about his little head, as his balance is nil.  He does a lot of body
curving.  If he tries to crawl on his own, he ends up flopping around and
falling over, though he struggles to pull forward with his front paws, then
arches high with his back, and pushes from behind in an awkward way.  But
he's trying!  We know he can hear and see, though he doesn't respond to toys
(yet!).
 
His mom is still lovingly mothering, which I think is a good sign, and she's
obviously worried (scratching at our thighs when we're sitting down),
snuggling onto our laps, when he's already there, cleaning his chin and
body.  I made him three, snow-white flannel blankets this weekend, and am
going to work on a better physical therapy harness, and another sleeping bag
with high edges, which he likes to track around and then scratch.
 
Thank you all for your prayers and please, please keep them coming.
 
Lynn Mc.
[Posted in FML issue 1561]