not good news, not bad news

after a gruelling week of no sleep and constant worry for pingu and her health, i got a call from the vet. actually, it was a message leaving her cell phone number, so naturally panic set in. however, the news was better than hoped but still not great.
basically, she has an infection in her spine (as suspected) which we've been treating with antibiotics for the past week. she now has to be on those antibiotics for another 6 - 8 weeks with continued low mobility and limited exercise. the poor girl is gettin' bony and losing weight!! after that, her spine needs time to heal which means - you guessed it - more bedrest!
aside from that however, is the risk she faces with her degenerative disk disease, something totally seperate from the infection. the issue is with all the extra boney growth on her spine potentially putting pressure on her spinal chord, thus causing paralysis. i truly hope it won't get to that point and take comfort knowing that the radiologist said dogs can and have lived with this type of condition comfortably. as for her falling over and losing balance, well the good news is that it's not a result of pain but rather a neurological malfunction. i'm relieved to hear she's not in pain and judging by her improved attitude, she isn't showing signs of being uncomfortable. several times i've let her out of her crate and she's completely bananas jumping all over the carpet in excitement of seeing me. it's hard to not encourage her playfulness and keep her sedate when she's in such an excitable state, but it's for her better health. 10 minutes out of the crate anyway and she's sound asleep with the antibiotics and muscle relaxants keeping her drowsy.
so sadly there is no cure for her disease and unfortunately the growth on her spine is there to stay. all we can hope for is to keep her comfortable for as long as possible.
thanks to everyone for their concern and thoughts for pingu and us during this tough time. it looks like they're working so please keep up the hope!
i'll leave you now with another picture of my darling doggy.
when she's sick pingu gets away with murder
and ken even lets her sleep on the bed some-
times cause we're total sucks.

how the tides have changed

it's amazing how you can go from a complete natural high to feeling incredibly low and sad in an instant. i can't remember the last time i cried and in fact, have never seen ken cry - until yesterday.
our drastic mood change was brought on by some sad news - news that will make this next little while rough and challenging.
our dog pingu has been littered with health problems ever since we brought her home - hernias, eye infections, ear infections, face fungus - yet through it all she's persevered and remained a happy puppy. however, within the last week she's been having a hard time holding her back legs up and they seem to give out on her, especially when she goes to the bathroom. thinking (and hoping) it wasn't anything serious we decided to just keep a close eye on it and hope she'd get better.
sadly, that hasn't been the case. her condition has worsened over the week and yesterday i had to bring her to the vet to get it checked out. after leaving her there for xrays, the vet wasn't optimistic about her condition and speculated that it was a form of degenerative disc disease - something that, if not treated immediately could worsen and (worse yet) could reoccur in a more severe form causing paralysis and immediate (and costly) surgery in guelph.
after xraying her, the results were worse than anticipated. the vet said she has never seen a case like this, nor have any of her colleagues. my poor darling has been suffering with many abnormalities on her spine - extra boney growth, compressed discs and several abnormal vertebraes. basically, something that can't be repaired with surgery even if we had the money for it.
at this point we're not sure what to do and it's been rough watching her suffer and really strain to go to the bathroom.
when do you get to that point when enough is enough? how do you make that decision? i've only once ever had to put a dog down with my mom and she was VERY ill and we knew that it was better for everyone at the time.
this case is different. pingu is our first dog together, ken's first dog ever. she is the perfect pet despite all her health problems. and worse yet, she's family.
we never anticipated having to make this difficult decision only a year and a half into her young life. she hasn't had an easy go and by the sounds of it, this spinal issue is something she's grown up with and adapted to.
at the moment we're just trying to keep her comfortable - that's all we can do. her xrays have been sent to a radiologist in guelph who specializes in unique/abnormal cases so hopefully we can get some answers from him next week and go from there.
we're hoping for a miracle....

a few of my favorite things....

i know thanksgiving was like, 4 months ago, but i'm feeling especially greatful right now and wanted to publish a list of my favorites. also inspired by mamlove.blogspot.com to list my faves!

music is a constant favorite and essential in my life. at the momment i'm really into jack johnson (anxiously awaiting his new soundtrack album next tuesday!), MIA (this girl is friggin' innovative and whacked...i love it!), metric (great canadian band...female fronted, bonus!), toots and the maytals (watching too much miami ink reignited my long love for this band), citizen cope (i have mollie mols to thank for that one!)....and probably many many others that i can't think of right now.
since i'm po' i'm diggining through our combined cd collection for some old faves and classics that will never die (think, the clash, elvis costello, beasties) instead of shopping at hmv. the newest cd i got was borrowed cause i'm ghetto. thanks mollie! i will definitely be splurging though next tuesday to pick up jack's new album. can't wait.

television, also a favorite/guilty pleasure (too much of a good thing, y'know?). i'm lovin' miami ink (would love to be tattooed there), the oc, pilot guides - where will they go next!?, ellen (hi-larious) and kenny vs. spenny (random toronto shot show airing on showcase = obscene, graphic, rude and crude...can't get enough)

websites...i'm a blogger now (translate: nerd), so i have to have a few faves. i make a point of checking friends' blogs daily http://molliemunch.blogspot.com/, http://thailisa.blogspot.com/, http://sbegonia.blogspot.com/ and http://mamajade.blogspot.com/ to name a few. also, he's not my friend but i wish he was; pink is the new blog author, trent puts a fabulously hilarious spin on celebrity gossip (or "goss" as he calls it) and updates daily http://pinkisthenewblog.com/
also, let's face it, i couldn't live without www.mail.yahoo.com or hotmail.com gooooooo web based email!

recreation wise, i'm lovin' snowboarding...though not lovin' these conditions. this year has turned out to be a bit of a bust so far and i'm disappointed. nevertheless, getting runs in when i can (the beauty of living 5 mins from blue mtn!). i sort of turn into a bit of a hermit in the winter (if you can even call this weather "winter"!) cause it's cold and dark and unless the sun is out, i'm not comin' out either!

obviously i'm greatful for friends and family too (that goes for the un-blood related family as well). chances are, if you're reading this i think of you often and you inspire me, so thanks!

lastly, here is a my pic o' the week. love it love it love it.