Harvey – The Hermits' Rest

Good Day for Horsing, Less Good Day for Dogs

This is yesterday’s blog that I didn’t feel like writing last night. One reason may be that I’m so tired and lacking energy. I really have to push myself to get moving and do things that I was eager to do not that long ago, like walks, long horse rides, chores, etc. I’m guessing it’s my brain, not my body that’s the problem. I got lots of tests done recently, so I know it’s not my thyroid. I just may be in a slow cycle.

But I did drag myself out of the house to attend the most recent horse show for my discipline. I’m just not up for participating (Not Apache’s problem, it’s mine). I helped Tarrin out as the scribe while she was judging the show. I’d never done that before.

It was lots of fun to help out. I’m glad I got a chance to write down Tarrin’s comments on each horse and rider pair. It helps me understand the comments I get. Plus it was interesting to see how each pair had strengths and weaknesses.

One horse was a bit nerved out and spooky, but his rider did a wonderful job coping and getting him back on track. These skills take work!

And the little kids were both fun to walk. The tiny one just bounced around on an older horse celebrating his last show. But her mom did a great job keeping her focused, mostly. One time her mom told her to look up, and she obeyed literally, looking to the sky.

All she wanted were her ribbons and her prize (that she chose). She declared that it is for her breakfast. Aww.

The other young one I’ve been enjoying for a few years, and she’s really developing as a rider on her upgraded horse. I also enjoyed how well both she and the horse coped when George the teen kitten jumped up to try to share her snack.

I’m glad I got to go. That was good horse time.

I have no clue why this didn’t format right.

The dog stuff last night was hard on us. Harvey just isn’t the dog he used to be, but he remains grumpy when messed with. Apparently Penney messed with him (under my chair in tight quarters) and when he snapped at her face, she chomped on his front leg. Poor Carlton just fled as fast as he could.

Her right eye has a cut right next to it. Eek.

In the end, while Penney has a cut near her eye, Harvey has a sad looking leg and is still limping today. Lee has some antibiotics for him, thankfully.

You can see one cut of three on his left leg, which he is favoring.

I just hate to see them hurting each other even if I know it happens occasionally with dogs. Harvey just always starts it and ends up injured. Sigh.

Goldie’s Still Trying

Sigh. Goldie has new lumps around her right shoulder. Dr Amy removed one that wasn’t attached to anything, and got a sample of the others. We will get those results in a week or two.

We knew this was coming, but had hoped for more time with her. As it is, she’s acting cheerful and dealing with her many staples just fine. We just can’t let this wound get infected. At least it’s smaller.

Not thrilled to be demonstrating her latest wound.

She can’t catch a break. Her hair had just finished growing in from the last surgery. As long as she is living a good life, we’ll keep pampering her. Such a good girl; she deserves all the love we can give her.

Meanwhile Harvey got blood tests to check in his liver and it was determined all his lumps are lipomas, which aren’t too bothersome. He also had the classic swollen anal gland, everyone’s favorite dog malady. He was pretty sad when his anesthesia was wearing off, weaving and wobbling around, but soon was his regular self, with shorter toenails (yay).

The wound is smaller than it looks. It has salve on it.

I love the dogs so much, but I warn you to consider veterinary costs if you get giant dogs or have a lot of them. The team that works on the dogs are kind and competent, but not inexpensive. Having the mobile service IS really convenient, though.

At least the horses are currently ok, though huddling up in the cold appears to have led to some bickering. Apache is a real hoot vacuuming up his medication in the senior feed. Meds time is now his favorite time of day.

I don’t want my healthy food and supplements.

Next up? Figuring out if we still get to go camping or not. I’d feel a lot better if someone was home this weekend. of course, bad weather may make the decision for us! I hope it’s not too cold for the farrier tomorrow, too.

Yep. Time Passed.

Or we passed time. You can view time as going by while you stay still, or you can view yourself moving along through it. it’s all fine, because no one understands time.

Quiz time. Can you find four butterflies? The big one is a variegated fritillary.

Today was hard on Goldie. She mostly didn’t move, which is good for healing. But she’s in a hard part of her recovery. Mostly she stayed in her crate other than a little time in the sun. She is eating, though! That’s good.

Harvey seems to be having trouble with his front legs and maybe his vision. He still seems in good spirits and eats well.

Apache will not touch his food, even solid sweet feed (bad for him). However, when I opened his own, he marched over and finished Fiona’s food, which is probiotics and some rice-based stuff. Tomorrow I’ll try putting a random food dish out nowhere near where he gets medicine and see if he eats that. I’m also trying to medicate him in the morning if I catch him.

Leopard frog. Not sure why it wasn’t closer to the pond.

Tomorrow I have to go to the dentist so I will work at the office when I am done. Maybe I can have Dell cafeteria food! It will be a long day.

Could I be more dull? Every day it’s a sick animal report. Tomorrow is a new day!

Overwhelmed

That’s today’s word: overwhelmed. That’s what happens when too many intense events happen at once. I think I was holding myself together to get through Goldie’s surgery, then it all got to me today. I felt all oogey in my brain.

Naturally, or coincidentally perhaps, more little things kept piling up. I couldn’t sit outside to work, because my laptop screen has stopped working. And changes, questions, and challenges started piling up so I was stuck at my desk, where my chair has decided it won’t stay up. Just little things. But, ugh.

Maybe I need new ones. Photo from Pexels.

I did get a few minutes to sit with Lee as we supervised Goldie laying in the sun. We managed to keep her from running anywhere. And later, when I finished all my tasks, including training in my new department, I got to just sit with Goldie and keep her calm and happy.

Meanwhile, Harvey is having more trouble. His eye now looks like it’s messed up. I hope he hasn’t abraded his eye like Scrunchy the pug used to. And his balance is work. Two sickly dogs can be overwhelming, but I just loved on them a lot.

Plus I was concerned about Apache, who has stopped eating his dinner. He just stares at the wall. And I was worried about his feet, because he hasn’t been running like the others when they come up for food. (Mabel, on the other hand, now runs like the racehorse she may have once been.)

So. It wasn’t Tarrin’s best day either. She also has a dog who had cancerous growths removed, then surgery on her intestines that had gotten messed up by medication. Eek. We are monitoring Goldie for that.

Ekho is recovering well and enjoying her favorite rolling in the grass activity. She’s hiding her bandaged foot.

Then this morning, Tarrin found her beautiful stallion had died overnight with no signs of struggle. That was overwhelming. Just awful. Sudden losses are so unexpected; you sorta go into shock.

So, since we both felt like crap, I skipped my lessons. Horses can tell when you aren’t at your best. However, Lee was nice enough to bring Apache over to Tarrin’s so we could talk about his food, medication, and feet. Secretly I also went so I could support her like she’s been supporting me with all the dog stuff.

It was very helpful to have a friend to talk to about how I was feeling, and it also felt good to be an empathetic listener. No doubt we will both be fine later, but today we were both sad.

Apache was probably wondering why he wasn’t being saddled and ridden, but he didn’t complain about just getting a trim. His soles are shedding, so Tarrin trimmed them and put his boots on.

Wearing his boots and making his sleepy face.

She helped me come up with a feeding plan and decided we need to switch his medication. He has too many side effects still, after a year. He should not be ignoring food and standing like a zombie. The powder medicine should be more palatable and have fewer side effects. Plus it costs less!

His plan is to convince me to take him out for grass that needs trimming every day.

Now I just have to try to return the 6-month supply of Prascend that just arrived. I sure hope I can. It’s expensive. But I’m glad to have a plan for Apache! He’s doing so well in training that I want him as happy as possible.

Long story, sorry about that. But I feel better thanks to good friends (online and in person) who care. I even got surprise presents from Kathleen, who did a stealth visit, meal, and present drop-off all while we were off with Apache.

Better times are coming! Or, I’ll be back to coping well with challenging times!

Savor the Highlights

I admit it. I’m spending some time feeling sad about how my dogs are feeling. Goldie is limping more, and Harvey has gone downhill since he couldn’t get downstairs yesterday. He seems confused about why his legs aren’t acting correctly right now. We are, too.

We still don’t know if the lump on his leg, a back injury, a stroke, or his liver issues that are causing his problems, but we are medicating him as hard as we can.

Goldie’s lump is bothering her more, so her meds haven’t done much. Tomorrow we are taking her to a facility in College Station to get X-rays and scans to see what they find. I hope that will help us figure out how to proceed. I’m thankful Tarrin is advising us, since she knows many veterinarians, and is dealing with her own dog challenges.

It was darn good to have some positive work things to balance this out with. I solved a thorny problem in a project that made me feel smart. Then a package arrived that contained my gift from my employer for being a good contractor last quarter. They wrapped it all fancy and festively, and I appreciated it. Being acknowledged for hard work is rare in contract work, so I’m not all cynical like I might be if it was more common. This was a real highlight.

Other than that, I just did my best to enjoy my animal buddies and breathe. They always make my daily highlight reel.

Morning horses and Fiona. Apache is filthy from rolling in mud.

You can’t help but smile when you have hummingbirds and calves to look at and every flycatcher in the area to listen to. Hooray for fewer flies!

Having a balance in life can help you get through challenges. I know so many of you readers are also facing challenges. This time of year seems to bring illnesses, loss of loved ones (humans and animals), and financial woes. Noticing beauty, kindness, and generosity can go a long way toward negotiating change and challenge and bring highlights to a low time.

Vlassic took a nice dip in the pool this afternoon.

Self-care-a-rama

Worrying about my sick dogs won’t help, so after getting them both to eat their medicine (Harvey eats anything and Goldie finally ate hers with chicken breast), I figured I’d better work on my own well being.

Work was a good distraction, especially if you enjoy rolling reorganizations. But I really leaned into (ooh, I finally used “lean in” on purpose) making a comfortable environment for myself. I haven’t been able to swim due to being on antibiotics and wanting to stay out of the sun, but I worked on making the pool area better by getting rid of two volunteer trees and more annoying nutsedge and spotted spurge. It was too windy to use herbicide, and besides, it doesn’t work on sedges.

The biggest improvement I made was to set up my outdoor workstation where I can keep my laptop and phone charged. My household member got us a bartered table with two chairs that’s perfect for my needs. The chairs are comfy and easy to clean.

Lee helped me get it perfectly in the middle of the back porch, where it’s always shady and there’s usually a pleasant breeze. It will get more sun in winter, I hope. At least I’ll be able to use it in three seasons.

Watching horses, birds, and cattle are really soothing for me and keep me centered. I’ll need that for the foreseeable future.

Apache points out that petting him is self care

Self care also means looking around and enjoying life around me. That was helped by discovering this beautiful new (to me) butterfly, the Common Mestra (Mestra amymone). It’s pretty on both sides. I got to watch it feeding on frog fruit for quite some time. I just found out from my friend Linda Jo that this butterfly hasn’t been recorded on iNaturalist since 2016!

There were also the usual flowers, fungi, and insects. I’m so glad there’s always something new.

One kind of self care I engaged in was getting the heck out of a potentially dangerous situation. I went to pick up a package from by the front gate, and heard a droning noise. Oh my gosh, it was another swarm of bees, only these weren’t all massed together. They were everywhere. I couldn’t tell what kind of bees they were nor if they were angry. I left after taking this picture. Zoom in and you’ll see all the insects!

Maybe Lee disturbed them when he mowed the roadside.

I also tried to take a nice walk in the woods to see the pond on the other side of the fence, but tiny and zippy mosquitoes chased me off. I understand why the cow that was glaring at me went swimming.

Between all the outdoor pampering and some great conversations with friends, I’m not too bad. At least the Covid symptoms are about gone.

Make That TWO Canine Concerns

It’s a pretty sad day over at the Hermits’ Rest. This morning I noticed Goldie was limping. Soon after, Lee pointed out a huge lump on her left front leg. What the heck?

Well, Lee was already planning to take Harvey in for his lump and official diagnosis, but he went over to Dr. Amy’s mobile clinic and asked them to come by when they were done in Cameron (not cheap, but better than trying to transport the two big dogs).

So, they showed up and the challenges of looking at our dogs commenced. Looking at Goldie was easy. She loves Kelly the vet tech and volunteered to be looked at, poked, and prodded by Amy, too. Then she happily trotted off to the truck to get weighed. We need more Goldies.

The bad news is that the lump is probably a mast-cell tumor. Yes, they can pop up that fast. Those are the bad ones. Dammit. She has some heavy-duty steroids and antibiotics to take to see if that will shrink it. She’s getting the treatment for anthrax. Intense. Of course she won’t eat it. Lee is working on her.

I’m picky. But I need to live, because Suna loves me.

It was harder to treat Harvey. He was all shivery and snappy. But with patience, Kelly got him muzzled and Amy was able to palpate his lump. Thankfully, it felt full of fluid, not bad things. It is the least of his worries.

We’re never coming back down (the toilet paper is used to block off the stairs).

The blood work on Harvey came back really bad. All his liver levels are awful, which means liver cancer. That’s the last thing our family needs, more of that. His abdomen is swelling, too. We discussed options and decided to try a medication that can help in dogs, Denamarin. It’s helped Pickle, Anita’s dog. I don’t know that it can do much, but it will be less traumatic than taking him somewhere to get scanned, which would just tell us what we already know. Sniff.

I’m still happy, other than when vet people are around.

A funny thing or two. We were all concerned he was losing hair. Well, he isn’t. Harvey had been shaved last week to remove a cyst, and the other smooth patch was from something else they did last week that Lee didn’t remember or know about. Also, Carlton was hilarious. He ran to greet them when they came in, but when he saw who it was, his tail went between his legs and his hair stood on end. Whoa, he is not fond of veterinarians.

I’ll just stay back here behind Harvey. He’ll protect me.

Were we done yet? No. Lee’s brother had asked if Dr. Amy had come to trim Vlassic’s toenails. No, she had not. No one wants to trim his toenails. He has gotten worse and worse about it as he ages, but the nails hurt Jim. So, they said they’d give it a try, as the rain began to pour.

This went very badly. Kelly tried to just hold Vlassic, but he acted like he was being murdered. It was horrific. He bit and screamed until Amy was able to stick a needle in him. They covered him in a towel until he settled. I don’t think we will let them try without sedation again, to save on potential human injuries. What an embarrassment.

Oh, and I forgot the icing on the cake: when Vlassic was squealing, Penney ran out through the gate and tried to take matters into her own hands. She started biting his butt! So we had to remove her and Goldie both. They were upset, of course.

Was I a good dog? Well, at least I was a wet dog!

We are just going to take things one day at a time now. At least horses are doing ok at the moment. I spent a lot of time after the rain stopped just walking around and breathing. I’m glad I have some centering tools to help me deal with this stuff.

And to top it all off there was another school shooting murder spree. Why do we keep giving unstable people access to assault weapons?

Canine Concern

Life has its ups and downs, and while I don’t talk about my family other than Lee anymore, I could use some good thoughts for our dog, Harvey. Note: I’m not asking for armchair veterinary advice, just sharing concerns.

I’m fine, thanks for asking, says Penney.

Harvey is our oldest dog now, and he’s about 9. I’m bad with dates, but he was a puppy on our first Thanksgiving in this house, which Facebook tells me was 2015. He had a very hard time when young, culminating with being dumped and shot at the house where our friend Mandi now lives. His name was Starvey Harvey because he was skin and bones with cuts and the hole in him. His ribs are still funny.

He’s a strange but lovable guy with short wiry hair and stocky build. He looks like a Doberman or Rottweiler mix, but not a fancy one. He’s grumpy, too, and uses his growl to express displeasure at anything, often for no good reason. It’s just how he talks.

He’s been our good buddy through thick and thin, though, and really loves his people. In return, we pay his vet bills from getting into scrapes, especially the one time he made Goldie mad. He no longer tries to boss her around, though if he snarks too much at another dog, she’ll stop him. She has a large jaw.

Anyway, recently something has gone wrong with him. I noticed he was having trouble going down the stairs and was acting uncoordinated. I noticed his ear m, eye, and jowl were drooping on the right side. I thought maybe he had a stroke.

Lee took him to the vet (he did not enjoy the car ride to Mexia, where the vet was that day. She gave him medicine to see if it was an inner ear issue or he’d hurt his back.

When he didn’t improve (causing Lee to sleep downstairs when I was away, to prevent him from coming upstairs), she did bloodwork. The idea was maybe it was his thyroid. The results came back yesterday to reveal liver issues instead.

Bald spot on his neck. There’s also one behind the droopy ear.

In the meantime, Harvey has lost a couple of big patches of hair. He didn’t rub it off; it just fell out. And yesterday we saw a big bump on his leg that made it hard to walk. Geez, poor guy.

So, back to the vet he goes tomorrow. Lee will have her look at the new symptoms, but she will probably refer him to a specialist in College Station (that’s the name of the town where Texas A&M University is, for non-local readers).

We hope he has something treatable! He’s still a happy dude with his characteristic immense appetite. He is doing better with stairs the past day or two, but we still just let him up at night, then block the stairs off once he gets down. That will minimize the strain.

All other dogs are fine. It’s Alfred’s shedding season, so I’m doing a lot of plucking. Penney and Carlton are playing a lot, and Goldie is guarding me from those pesky cows and calves.

Results of a few minutes of Alfred plucking.

I’ll update on Harvey tomorrow! No matter what, he knows he is loved.

If I Could Talk to the Animals

If you could make your pet understand one thing, what would it be?

Actually, I think I communicate pretty well with my animals. But, if I could fix one thing it would be to convince Harvey, who doesn’t move unless he truly must, that he can bark all he wants to…outside. Dang, that dog watches all the other ones to dash out and bark their heads of at cattle, coyotes, or deer that dare to get too close to the fence, and he just sits on the couch and bellows his lungs out.

Lee then yells, “Outside, Harvey!” over and over, adding to the cacophony. It gets oh so tiresome.

Ha ha, I’m never bad. (Not true, Carlton)

Today I wished I could communicate with my horses and let them know it was me walking up to them under a giant umbrella. They shot out of their shelter like little four-legged rockets when they saw me.

It was really wet. I needed the rain gear. Poor horses. Then I had the nerve to scare them again when I walked down the road to inspect the drainage. They all stood there with their ears pricked, ready to flee the demon who sounded like me, but looked very scary.

Since the ground is pretty saturated, 2.5” made for a lot of standing water, as well as a lot of flowing water. The creek was extra wide and came close to going over the road.

I should’ve gotten closer, but I was wet.

There were 6 calves and a cow separated from the rest of the herd by the property line fence, and they were NOT happy. My Merlin recording today could also be a tutorial on the variety of sounds a cow can make. Eventually the cow led most of the calves through the water to their friends, but two didn’t follow. They yelled and yelled and ran around randomly, disturbing the sparrows.

The mama and the calves, mostly staring at me like I can fix things.

One finally realized the barbed wire is loose and escaped. The other one came up to me and said MOO twice. So I telepathically communicated with her that the could go through water or the fence. After more running around in circles, she made it. Whew. My ears were sore.

At last the app “heard” the mallard and wren the cattle had drowned out. Yeah, that was my excitement for the day!

Oh, and I made chickpea “pasta” Mac and cheese and it was fine. Healthy eating, here we come.

Pork loin in that covered stoneware baker thing is sooo good.

All right, your turn. What would you say to an animal if you could?

Harvey, He Loves Babies

Yesterday my friend Mandi visited. She recently gave birth to a tiny boy named Cuyler. Yes, she’s got a 22-year-old son. But also has this surprise gift.

We sat and talked with her in the rocking chair that I sat in when my kids were born (which reminds me that I gave birth for the last time 29 years ago today).

Declan being rocked to sleep by the dryer.

Anyway. I enjoyed meeting the baby, and I guess I wasn’t the only one. Harvey was fascinated. I’m told he also loved a visiting toddler that came when we were out of town, too.

What warmed our hearts, though, was that Harvey went over, got a toy, squeaked it a couple of times, and then tried to put it in Mandi’s lap, for the baby to play with. Isn’t that sweet?

I’m enjoying all the new life around here. I wish them peace and safety throughout their lives.