Thor's time has come....
Thor lost his battle with his tumor. Just after midnight we helped him cross over the bridge. His tumor was bleeding and his heart was weak. We got nearly 20 amazing months with our boy after his first bleed.  He was happy boy up to the end. Last month I had taken him in for a follow up cardiologist visit and asked if they could do a ultrasound to check on the tumor and it was the size of his liver and starting crowd his organs.

He started acting uncomfortable around 10 pm and by 11 was definitely showing signs of pain. I got him to the emergency vet and they did a quick ultrasound and saw the bleed. His heart was only working about half capacity. I went home and got my husband and his "sister", Arabella. Thor went peacefully and is no longer in pain. His sister was not in the room for the injections but came in afterwards and gave her big brother one last kiss.

I am going to miss my boy very much. Run free sweet boy! And give your big sis, Star a kiss for me!

A Quick Update on a sleepy Sunday

Since last posting we have had another long road trip from KS to FL and back. The trip down really took a toll on Thor. He just looked uncomfortable and walked stiffly. I am thinking this may have been his last long trip. He is sleeping a lot, but otherwise is a happy go lucky boy. He has a great appetite, and will work up the energy to chase a chipmunk. He did have a focal seizure while we were gone where his head shook, but some peanut butter stopped it. It was the first time my mom had seen that and it upset her. Thor used to have the frequently before he went on his thyroid medications. Since then he has maybe one or two a year. Giving him a little bit of peanut butter clears them up quickly. I don't know how or why, but am glad it does.

I will be calling Missouri University to set up a follow up appointment for Thor's Holter monitor. His last one was scary and he is on new medication as well as had his old meds increased. Hopefully they have decreased the number of irregular heartbeats. I will update when I have the results.

I know it has been months since I have been on here. I changed computers and lost my info to sign on. We are back now. I am glad to report Thor is still going strong! Since I have last posted he has had his 12th birthday and has been on a road trip to FL! He has his good days and his bad but there are still way more good ones. He has a healthy appetite and will chase a chipmunk.

The only real set back has been his heart. Last year with medication he had only 13 irregular heart beats in 24 hours, this year was astoundingly worse. There were nearly 1600. We up the med he was on. (sotalol) We have also added a new one, mexitletine. So far he has tolerated the changes well. He will be checked again in a few weeks to see how they are working. We will also be taking another road trip to FL.

We did have one scare. When he was being checked over at the cardiologist they found a lump on his neck and the vet mention it could be lymphoma and to keep an eye on it. I didn't see any thing growing or him having any changes in in appetite so I figure I would keep watching  and waiting. Then last week his left rear was swollen. I called the vet and they got me I few hours later. By the time we got there the swelling was almost completely gone. After a thorough check the lump on his neck was gone as well. The consensus was because of his heart issues the swelling may have been caused by laying in the same position for too long and not enough blood flow to pull fluids away. I now make sure he gets up and outside every 4 hours or so and we haven't seen a return of it.

Here are a few photos from our trip.

I am Now Offically One of the Nutso Over Reactive Dog Moms

We got into the vet yesterday and Thor was searched top to bottom, and nose to tail... OK nub. After a "Yes there is a slight bump behind his left shoulder", then came an "actually behind both shoulders". He also tipped the scales 5 lbs heavier. Guess where some of that weight is? You got it. My boy has a couple of fat rolls! Well Back to the bad food. I had tried to get him off Hills Prescription r/d and was trying Blue Buffalo. He was getting gassy but Prozyme fixed that. He Is also ALWAYS hungry on the BB. So now we are doing the switch back. (sigh.) I think this was my last hurrah on trying a new food for him, as it is the 4th one and everything else is higher in fat. So I am going to give up that stress for both our sakes.

I had also switched Arabella hoping to only buy one kind of food for both dogs. She is going to go back to the Wellness now as well. I have noticed her scratching more. Plus she too got gassy and is using Prozyme. I think she needs to go back to a grain free diet. Or maybe I will try the Blue Buffalo new grain free line. It is too high in fat for Thor but I think Arabella could do well on it.

I may have mentioned Thor was just not wanting to play. When we were leaving the vets yesterday there was a beautiful 12 week fawn boxer boy going in. His name was Max and Thor was smitten! He had to go over and play a bit. I think Thor's size intimidated Max's dad, but it didn't phase Max in the least! They were very cute playing together! It was good to see Thor bounce around and doing the play bow. Made my day!

We are all doing well. Actually I don't know about that. Thor sometimes jumps like someone is poking him and he feels a bit swollen just past his left shoulder. Even though our vet's office is open today and tomorrow, my vet doesn't work these days. I really prefer my vet. He understands I educate as much as possible, and he is comfortable with me asking questions and doesn't hesitate referring me to a specialist when needed. I am going to see about getting him in on Monday if things don't get better over the weekend.

Thor has been sleeping quite a bit lately and is less active. Another worrisome thing. I recently had my wisdom teeth out and then had company for a week. So I am just now really paying attention to him after a busy few weeks. I also noticed when Arabella would play he would run from her. At first I blamed it on the extremely hot weather we had but it has cooled down and he still doesn't want to play. I think I have a few long days in front of me.

Boy is it Hot!

We are in the middle of a heat wave and the temps are HOT! We have been over 100 degrees for a few days and have a couple of more to go. Sometimes Thor will go lay in the sun for a few minutes and other times I can't get him out the door to potty.

Yesterday I had an appointment and wanted the dogs out quickly so I could get going. Sometimes to accomplish this I will tell the dogs there is a squirrel or rabbit outside.

I tell the dogs to "go get the bunny!" and they both take off like a shot Arabella does her predictable dash for the bush. Thor on the other hand, got just past the edge of the patio and made a quick u-turn and ran back to the house with a look of "Oh Heck NO!" look. It was the funniest thing I have seen in a while!

I am so glad he still surprise me and I am glad that at 11 he is still willing to go chase a critter!

Vacation Time

I know it has been a while since I have been on. We have been really busy! We took a bit of a road trip vacation. If you told me in February I would be taking Thor along I would have thought you meant his ashes. That was my original plan. I was going to spread them where we spread his sister Star's, at our favorite inlet. Instead Thor went for a dip in the inlet!

Thor generally hates the water. He isn't thrilled with dew on the grass and baths are always a matter of finding the right treat to bribe with. The plan was my husband was going to stand on the shore with Thor while I took his sister Arabella for a swim. My husband called out and when I looked back Thor was right behind us. I was completely amazed! He watched Arabella swimming and tried to copy her. He never really got the hang of it and just did a funny kind of high stepping thing.

We started off in a tidal pool and the later went to the inlet/river where there were waves. Again Thor surprised me by going in! I was so proud and amazed by him. I guess he was a bit jealous of his "fishlike" sister having all the fun!