Look at my brave girl! She was much peppier this evening when we went to see her. She sat up and whimpered the whole time, and downed two sticks of Puperoni, like a champ. She was not into her canned dog food, but took two bites for us. I wish I had taken her some chicken, but she was so uninterested in food last night that I thought I'd be lucky if she took the Puperoni. She is still in her oxygen cage, but they are decreasing the oxygen, and soon she'll be on air. There's a possibility that she'll be coming home tomorrow. If she does, I'll have some chicken waiting for her. Go Sophie!!
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Sophie did well with her surgery, and she is still recovering in the ICU at OSU. She's in an oxygen cage while her body adjusts to breathing with considerably less lung space than before. I got to visit her last night for a little while. (The photo at left is her in her oxygen cage with the doors open. I caught her with her eyes open, so she looks a little more alert in the picture than she did most of the time I was there. Art wanted me to take a picture for him since he couldn't go last night.) She was pretty sleepy with pain meds, but I think she knew I was there. Who else would be rubbing her ears for twenty minutes and kissing the top of her head and her nose all the time? She probably couldn't hear me talking to her because her oxygen cage makes some noise and she's a little hard of hearing, but I still told her how much I love her and how brave she has been. Art and I will go back tonight to see her again. I miss her so much.... Well, we did make a decision, and we opted for surgery. Sophie is just too spunky and well-loved to give up on her, and it became apparent that not doing the surgery would mean saying goodbye much earlier than we originally thought it would, as her coughing increased dramatically in the last week or so. As a result, my little girl is headed to the operating table at OSU tomorrow morning to have the mass and a part of her lung removed. So, if you're saying a prayer tonight, think about my scruffy little poodle-doodle, and wish her well.
If you're wondering why I haven't posted much about my jewelry or painting lately, it's because my energy (or what's left of it....) has been focused on Sophie and my dad, who recently underwent knee replacement surgery and had some complications with it. He's doing better, but there hasn't been a lot of time to do what I usually do. Here's hoping that tomorrow is a new beginning. Sophie is spending the night in the ICU at The Ohio State Univeristy Veterinary Hospital following a needle biopsy of a mass in her lung. During the process she developed a pneumothorax, meaning that air escaped her lung and entered her chest cavity. They have aspirated the air from her chest twice, and I am told that she is resting comfortably, but they would like to keep her overnight for observation. As much as I hate the idea of her staying overnight, I think it's a good idea. Otherwise, I would probably hover over her all night long to monitor her breathing. The pneumothorax is just the beginning of the story, as we are also waiting to hear more about the mass that was biopsied. It can't be good news, but there is some news that would be worse than other news, so we are still hopeful. Please be hopeful with us, and if you're reading this, consider whispering a little prayer that she gets to come home soon. Thanks. Sophie and Teddy share some frozen custard (with sprinkles, of course.)
First, the good news: Teddy got a haircut. That may not seem like much news to you, but if you've ever lived with a fully-furred Golden Retriever, you will appreciate the impact such an event can have on your life. I think I've only vacuumed twice this week. You can't really tell from his photo here, but his coat is much shorter all over, and look at his neat little paws and tail! The groomer said she spent six hours working on him. He looked a little naked to me at first, but I've gotten used to his new look. He was groomed only a week ago, and I can tell that his fur is already growing back. It's a force that can't be stopped!! Now the better news: Sophie had her first post-treatment oncology recheck (three months) at OSU and there was not a bit of cancer to be found. The x-rays were clear and her bloodwork was normal. Yeah!! She is feeling well, bossing Teddy around, and acting like she owns every room she enters and every sidewalk she walks on. She also looks amazing (both from a medical standpoint and because she has always been --in my unbiased opinion--the Cutest Poodle Ever). I know--she's not entirely poodle, but based on her innate ability to perform circus-like maneuvers in her early years with us, she earned the title "Circus Poodle" and a variety of offshoots. Whatever she is, she's a very special dog, and I do believe that she will make it to 16. Lately, I have been working on a portrait of Katie, my brother and sister-in-law's Jack Russell terrier, as well as a picture of a dwarf Netherland rabbit. They are both pretty much finished...probably just a few more touches, and the rabbit needs some whiskers. By the way...anyone wanting to clarify the Jack Russell/Parson Russell business is encouraged to comment! What's up with that? I work on a drafting table, not an easel. I find it more comfortable, but that means that I have to get up frequently and step back so that I can check my work from a distance. You can't really judge what you're doing as a whole if you are hovering right over top of it. I also look at my work from different angles and directions, including upside-down, to see if everything, like eyes and noses, are in the right place. For some reason, viewing a painting upside-down can reveal if something is going wrong I have a table next to my work table so that I can have lots of pastels within reach. It can get messy fast, but I do reorganize after every couple of pictures. The funny thing is, even in its current state, I know exactly where every pastel and piece of pastel that I want to use is located. And yes, that's Sophie curled up in a bed underneath the table. She's never far away. Teddy is lying on the floor in front of my work table, but you can't see him in these photos. I think they both like painting days better than jewelry-making days because it's much quieter--no hammering, drilling or sawing! Meet Sophie. She is 15 and 1/2 years old, probably a poodle/terrier mix, and, if you ask my vet, some dachshund, too (ok....she is pretty long...) I found her on Petfinder.com at the Richland County Dog Warden's in Mansfield, OH when she was 8 years old. I tell her that it took me eight years to find her. It was worth the wait, as she is a TERRIFIC dog. Apparently, she was dropped off at the dog warden's, and her name was originally FeeFee. My husband couldn't deal with that, and I didn't really like it, but I felt bad changing it after eight years. We decided that "Sophie" was kind of close to "FeeFee" (yes, that's the way it was spelled, too...probably some foreshadowing of the vet bills to come...) and it suited her, so we called her "Sophie." She is super smart, gets along with other dogs, does pretty much whatever you want her to whenever you want her to do it, and is ridiculously cute. She does snore, even when not actually sleeping, and in her later years she has taken to raiding the pantry whenever the door is left ajar. She doesn't eat much when that happens, but she does hide throughout the house anything she can carry. She will do anything for food, and she will go to great lengths to find it. She loves car rides and walks, and she could find the best pillow in a warehouse full of pillows, and then claim it for hers. She is the only dog that I've ever really "dressed" because I honestly thinks she likes it. No one can rock a bee costume or an Ohio State hoodie like Sophie. Most recently, Sophie battled cancer. Thanks to the good people at Annhurst Veterinary Hospital (especially Dr. Mark Harris) in Westerville, OH and at the Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Sophie is winning her battle. She had two surgeries to remove the tumor (a squamous cell carcinoma on her mouth), fifteen months apart. After the second surgery, she had a three-week course of radiation. We started her on chemo, too, but had to stop due to some negative effects. She finished her radiation last November and so far, so good. She is a very special dog, and I hope to have her with me for quite a while yet. I will introduce you to my other dog, Teddy, in the next entry. I hope you'll come back to meet him!
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All images and designs are copyrighted and the property of Dana Keating Marziale and may not be used or reproduced without express written permission. Copyright 2011