The Dog Pack Series: Suki

Suki goofing off at the animal hospital with her Daschund pal Mufasa.

Suki, Suki, Suki. What do I say about Suki? Well I should start at the beginning. I met Suki while I was working at Long Beach Animal Hospital in Long Beach California and like everyone else who met her I fell in love with her instantly. Her former owner, Mrs. Catlover (name changed to protect identity) brought her in constantly with skin infections, ear infections and bladder infections due to her bad allergies (most pugs come with this at no extra charge) in addition to her regular puppy visits for shots and spaying. So Suki was there a lot and she happened to be the only pug I liked, as well as the most adorable dog I had ever seen. I always made sure I went up to say hello to her when she came in.

Suki looking adorable as usual, sunbathing on a beautiful Spring day at home.

One day when she was a little over a year old, she came in to see Dr. R because she was limping on her right rear leg. I had already seen her up front, said hello and could not believe she had become so fat (23 pounds)! Shortly after saying hello to Suki she was put in an exam room and the next thing I know Dr. R is handing me a chart and telling me to go get the dog in room three because we are going to euthanize it. I looked down at the chart and it was Suki! I asked him why and he said that Suki had a luxating patella (another one of those “free at no extra charge” pug things) and Mrs. Catlover was tired of spending money on Suki and didn't want her to suffer one minute longer. She refused to let us call a pug rescue because she didn’t believe that they would have her leg fixed and wouldn’t even give her a chance at a shelter…because she was “suffering”. So I asked her if I could have Suki and after promising to have her leg fixed ASAP she gave her up.

I originally planned to find Suki a home after having her leg fixed but Lily fell in love with her right away. In fact the “suffering” Suki was running in and out of my front door up and down 3 steps chasing Lily her first day there. I managed to get her allergies under control; her knee fixed and got her down to a fighting weight of 15 pounds.

Suki and Lily sharing nap time together.

Since then she has been Lily’s constant companion…They share their bed at night, stay in the same kennel when I am gone and are always together. Suki is also quite sure she is a Pit Bull and not a pug. She runs the pack when I am not in charge and sometimes gets them in trouble. She doesn’t mind not being able to have her own little dog, pug things like, cute little stuffed animals or bones that are her size. She has always enjoyed chewing on all of the large and completely indestructible toys you must have when you have a house full of Pit Bulls.

When I had my VW she rode on the back dash every time! I got a lot of honks!

She is quite a clown as anyone who has met her will tell you. She is her own dog and doesn’t really care at all what I think about stuff (good thing she is only 15 pounds). Suki's first love is food…she will do almost anything for food. We must pause here to ponder what Suki thinks is food…most of us would not consider these things as food items but they are among Suki's favorites; cat food, cat vomit, cat poop, dog poop, dog vomit, and of course dog food are her favs. One year at Thanksgiving I took her with me to my sisters and she was caught on the buffet eating the deviled eggs right off of the plate!!! Understandably she is not my sisters favorite. In spite of her naughtiness she is loved by all who meet her.

Have you ever seen anything cuter?

She is really cuddly and cute and I think no less than 50 people have told me they would take her off of my hands if she needed a home. I politely tell them that Suki is Lily's dog and not mine so they have to ask her and not me.

Suki is getting older and it is sad to see her cute little perfect black mask turning grey but she has not slowed down one bit! She is one of the healthiest dogs I own and besides her allergies she has no health problems. As she gets older she snores more and keeps me awake sometimes and I have to fight a little harder to keep weight off of her but other than that Suki is a joyful little clown. She makes me laugh everyday and I love her for that. Here are some extra photos of her that are my favorites. She is quite the ham and loves to have her photo taken!

Hanging out with Wig the desert tortoise in the backyard at home.

Lounging on the chair with Lily on a lazy day.

Looking like a movie star pug.

One of a million funny faces she makes, notice the poo on top of her head...a dining accident I am sure.

Quick Update on Stan Lee

I am sure some of you are wondering about Stan. He is doing well! He has been off of his antibiotics for almost a month now and has not had a relapse. He had repeat xrays and his bones look great. His right front leg is still shorter than the left (I call it the lucky fin) and both front legs are shorter than the back legs. He is adjusting well to life in the Haskins pack and as his personality develops he continues to be really silly and funny. He has reached his terrible twos however and has become a little rebellious but nothing I can't manage. He really has been and continues to be a great puppy especially in light of his terrible beginning. Here are some recent photos. He is getting so big...42 pounds! Enjoy!

Look at the funny look on his face! So cute!

He is a bit of a bone hog, and likes to sleep.

He is getting so grown up!

Dog Pack Series: Lily

Lily is the matriarch of my pack and has been with me since she was six weeks old. She came to me when I was in Long Beach, California working at VCA Lakewood Animal Hospital. Lily was discovered by animal control workers, cruising the gutter in Compton California. I guess that makes her an original gangster, she got to the hospital at about 2 am she had a nasty bite wound on her face and was so dirty you couldn’t tell she was white. We figured she came from someone breeding and fighting pit bulls and once she had been bit they threw her in the street. We cleaned her up and I took her home.

Lily in her younger days hanging out at the beach.

The first time I laid eyes on her I knew three things,

One. Her name was Lily

Two. That she was really special and

Three. She was the ugliest duckling puppy I had ever seen.

She was the first dog that was truly mine and she has turned out to be really special in every way. She is the sweetest dog I know (biased I know) and loves me above all others. She is painfully shy and takes a while to warm up to new people however, once she does you have a friend for life. She is very obedient and just wants to make me happy.

When she was younger her favorite things included, ball, Frisbee, the beach, and swimming in the pool,lake and ocean. She could jump five or more feet off of the ground to catch a Frisbee, run as fast as she could after the ball and was the best belly flopper off the side of the pool you ever laid eyes on. She is also the smartest dog I own by far. She speaks English (anyone who knows her can attest to this). As she looks at me when I am talking to her you can tell she understands. I often wait for her to respond then remember that she is after all, a dog. She loves to go to work with me and does some pretty funny stuff while she is there for example, she knows that when we are taking x-rays she either has to go away from the beam or if she wants to stay in the room she lays down so I can cover her with a lead gown.

Lily in the prime of her life jumping off the side of the pool!

Unfortunately Lils is getting older. She will be eleven in December and has some serious health issues. When she was one year old she took locks off of two gates at my house in Long Beach and got out of the yard while I was at work. She was gone for five days (freaking out I know) and when I found her she had been hit by a car. She suffered a broken pelvis (broken in 3 places) and her tail was badly broken and had to be removed. When she was six years old she ruptured her ACL ligament on her right knee and had surgery only to rupture the left one as soon as the first one healed. She underwent back surgery two years ago and continues to have weakness. She was diagnosed with Degenerative Myelopathy (the same as MS in humans) last year and now she is battling that. She also had a pretty aggressive malignant cancer removed from her leg about 6 months ago.

Lily enjoying her golden years, sunbathing in the yard.

It is really hard watching such a good friend that has been through so much with me getting old. That dog has traveled halfway across the country with me and put up with countless foster pets, pet sitting pets, cats and of course her constant companion Suki. She has helped me break in the three new pups I have and has showed them how to be good members of the pack. She spends most of her time sleeping and laying around in the house like an old lady should, however she still manages to chase the puppies around every once in a while. Her favorite things to do in her old age include; sunbathing, taking dips in the kiddy pool when it’s hot, going to work with me and sleeping under the covers in her bed in the winter. I don’t know what I will do when she is gone I will miss her terribly. I try not to think about that though and just savor every minute I have with her and I always remember she is the greatest.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Lily.

My Own Economic Downturn

I have not been posting any blogs lately because I do not have internet at my house until the end of August. I have been enjoying my own private economic downturn of late and that was the first luxury to go. However, I do need it for school and will be getting it back before school starts. Go figure, now that I have time to write in the blog....there is no internet. I am sure once school starts and the internet is back I won't have any time for the blog again. Sheesh! What a bummer. I hope you guys enjoy what little I am able to post here and there. Hope you are having a great Summer!

An ER Vet Tech's Holiday: 4th of July Edition

So here we are again on our nations birthday. Folks are out watching fire works, eating awesome BBQ, and spending time with family and friends. But not me, I am an emergency Veterinary Technician. I get to be at the animal ER nursing all of the pets that have had a little too much holiday fun.

It always amazes me that relatively normal, seemingly intelligent people find it necessary to do the things they do to their pets on the holidays. I often wonder what would posses a person to give their dog all of the BBQ leftovers from an entire party of 20 people. Then when they get to the hospital and their dog has a whopper of a stomach ache they give you this confused look and are perplexed as to why their pet could possibly be sick. Sometimes I can't even get them to confess what they did, not because they don't want to tell me but, because it doesn't occur to them that feeding their dog rich, fatty ribs is OK when their dog is used to eating the equivalent of meat flavored KIX cereal every day.

Watching the face of your dog as he chows down 20 peoples leftovers: Priceless
Treatment for pancreatitis: $1200.00
Surgery to remove a bone from your dogs intestines: $2500.00 (not including the 2 days of hospitalization)

My other favorite holiday clients are the ones that take "Spike" who has never been socialized, spends every day of his life in his own house or yard and never has contact with other dogs, over to a relatives house where another anti-social dog lives, for a holiday visit. This generally ends in a fight and one or both dogs end up spending their holiday with us getting their wounds sewn up.

A holiday love affair between "Spike" and grandma's poodle: Priceless.
Sewing up the wounds on both dogs at the ER: $1500.00

I have saved my favorite Independence Day folks for last, these guys are my favorite, after a 12 pack of Bud Light(each) they think it is a great idea to let "Fluffy" run around in the front yard (with no fence and no leash) then are completely blown away when "Fluffy" gets smacked by a car in the street. I love it when these folks show up at the ER. The smell of beer, cigarettes and body odor in a closed exam room is really fun in and of itself but, what really makes my holiday great is, they apparently assume there is safety in numbers because there are never less than 5 of them. They all want to tell their version of the story(at the same time), and it is always the fault of the person just trying to drive on the street and definitely not the fault of the owners of the dog with no leash. They are also a little slow on the uptake and as you can imagine it can be pretty frustrating trying to explain medical care to drunk people.

Wondering what the neighbors are going to say about Ted's jiggling beer gut: Priceless
The cost for life saving procedures on your dog that ran in front of a car: $3000.00 (and that is if we can save them)

Now for those of you that are reading this and think I am full of shit....go ahead and do what you want, but just to let you know the average ER bill starts at $600.00 for diagnostic tests and can be as much as $3000.00 for various surgeries depending on what your pet gets into and what they need. Just to walk into the front door it is $120.00 on a holiday.

I will close with a happy 4th to all of you and please, keep you and, infinitely more important to me, your pets safe.

Stay Tuned for the Dog Pack Series!

Hey all I have decided to work on a series of blogs about my dog pack. I have been considering it for some time and have decided to start working on it this weekend. I was going to put all of them in the same blog but once I started writing about Lily and realized that she had an entire page I decided to spare you guys and do them one at a time. It is a funny, sentimental look at my dogs as i see them and I hope the writing is good as sometimes it is really hard to write well about emotional things. Enjoy and please leave comments...They really mean the world to me.

A&P I

So I have been taking an Anatomy and Physiology class (the first of two I have to take) at TCC this Summer session. It started on May 27th and ended today. That was by far the hardest I have ever studied for a class. We fit a lot of information into five and a half weeks. I have been studying, sleeping, working, or eating for the entire session and today I took my last test in the lecture portion. I am so proud of myself I have an A!!! For those of you who are new to my academic goals/plans, this is the best news ever!!! I am applying for the RT program at TCC in November, the program had 233 applicants last year and only 33 of those got in. It is incredibly competitive and only the best get accepted. They take your overall GPA and then the GPA for your science classes and accept you based on those two things. So it is really important to keep a high overall GPA as well as a 4.0 GPA in these science classes. Anyway I am really happy and wanted to share this with the blog followers. I get to relax a little for the second summer session as I am only taking Medical Terminology. Thanks for all of the support form friends and family and understanding why I have turned into a geeky weird hermit type person (I rather like being a nerd). I will keep you posted.