Hi There!
I should start by saying that my mom is doing fairly well considering...she seems to be following the same course everyone goes through. She has rough mornings, the mucous is so much better now that she is taking the tussionex, some of the biotene products, her meds and aquaphor. She is scheduled to be done on Aug. 21st. I hope there are no delays. If all goes well she will get a few wks off and then on to brachetherapy. So this is all great news...
I came home today and noticed the door jambs, they really need to be wiped down. I have two dogs and a cat. My golden retriever is shedding wildly, my cat is fine and then my best buddy, my 15 yr old bischon came running through. His name is Martini Rossi, aka, Marty. We inherited him as a young pup from a friend who was suffering from bone cancer. What a gift this little guy has been. I looked at him tonight for the first time in months. I feel sick, he has been so neglected. Anyone familiar with the breed understands the amount of time grooming can take. I usually brush him out and have my mom clip him, she is so much better than a groomer. Tonight he came over to me and I noticed how deep his mats are. I gave up my free night out and started to comb him out. I spent 2 hrs on his head area alone, it's a mess. He has mats all over his body. I can't use a razor on him, it makes him nuts afterward. I sat pulling at him and clipping some and he just looked at me with his kind brown eyes, as if to say thanks for helping me. I can really appreciate that quote, "I hope to become the person my dog thinks I am."
While I was feeling really bad about everything being neglected, especially Marty, he stood up on his hind legs and starting doing his "paw dance" as my kids call it! Mom came down because she heard him barking and making noises and she said that was his way of saying thank you to me. Leave it to a cute little dog, (though mine is mutant, pure breed, but on the larger size), to make you smile and think, ya' know this isn't so bad, it's going to be ok.
Oh terrific, it's 12:34am and he just brought me his leash, now both dogs are barking! Guess I'm going for walk before they wake everyone.
Hope you all are finding peace.

Hi Donna,
I have three Bichons and it can be quite a task when they are matted. The pros use a special tool that combs and cuts the mats at the same time with sharp blades called a dematting comb
see: http://www.progroom.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=170_171&sort=1a&page=2

Sometimes I just pull the mats out a little at a time but I typically have them groomed every 6 weeks and keep their coats a little shorter than the AKC standard.

Once upon a time I had 4 but we lost Angel 2 years ago to colorectal cancer (at 16). Peaches, my first Bichon is over 17 and failing very fast. I have 2 boys, Edwin and Max Jr., from the same litter, who were a gift from Angel. I wouldn't have survived my cancer adventure without them (well ok, I guess that my wife helped a little ;-) Some of my puppies (I was a breeder for a while) have done the "paw dance" but not these two. They're more into being Velcro dogs. They are the perfect companion dog (except for the constant grooming thing)

I have a Jack Russell named Lucy and she is such a part of the family. We just learned that she's "expecting" so we're excited about that! When we bought her, we also bought a Jack Russell (male) for my oldest daughter and her family, his name is Leo................Leo is the proud daddy!
I only wish I had had Lucy during treatment, I know she would have been a comfort to me.

Oh Minnie i want one !!! Robin and i have Amber a 5 year old Jack Russell he bought for me when she was 7 weeks old.She went to visit him in the hospice many times and she misses him so much and he idolsed her.I have been thinking i might get another and call i Robin.

Too funny....Bischons and Jack Russell's.....
anyone out there with a golden retriever? I have a gorgeous girl named Casey. She was born in Belgium, on my older daughters birthdate! Casey has been mom's angel. She is always climbing onto her bed, all 90 lbs of her, I know she's heavy...we BOTH need to start walking and losing some weight. Anyway, whenever mom cries Casey comes running over and cries with her. It's funny and sad at the same time. We adopted Casey two yrs ago from my nephew's teacher. When they moved here from Europe they had to constantly crate her. Casey was having 'panic attacks'. They decided as much as they loved her, she needed a new family. My sister brought her over to see if we knew anyone who would want to adopt her....she knew we would! When it was time for her to take Casey back the dog would not get in the car! I don't know if it's because she experienced Vicki's driving (haha! just kidding she's a great driver) or if she just wanted to stay. Well, she ended up spending the night, and has been with us since. She's crazy. She jumps on the trampoline with the kids, I'll have to see if I can get her on tape and somehow share it with anyone who wants to watch.
I have to run, time to go see the ortho at Jerry's office. I have been thinking about asking Jerry to use the VELscope on me...I want to but am scared to death if he saw something. I know, better now than later. Just a big chicken sh*t!
By the way, I also have a Norwegian Forest cat who likes to play with balls and swim in a kiddie pool! She's also 15.
Also, Gary, my Martini, 15yrs, has a hx of bladder stones. He's had surgery twice...not going to put him through it again if they come back, he almost died second time.
If anyone has a male dog and cats who eat kibble make sure your dog doesn't get the cat kibble! We are almost certain that is how my bischon developed his stones.

Gary,
Thanks for the info on the tools-we have them. I used it last night, I was up till 4am working on him. I will give him a break today, then get to his legs, hind and tail.
Do your older dogs ever get the brain stain from tears? Marty has recently, probably from neglect. Anything you can recommend that is gentle to clean them with?
Thanks,
Donna

oops....
I meant to say brown stains above....

Donna, my German Shepherds don't need it, but friends swear by this product:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...l&Np=1&pc=1&N=2001&Nty=1

It is called Show Eyes and completely removes the stains.

Thanks Joanna!
I like that it has aloe vera in it.

I must brag on our Boston Terriers, "Emmylou's Jack Winston" (Jack, for short) and "Captain Bruce Holt Jackson" (Buster)....These boys are the absolute lights of our lives! Our children are all grown and gone, but Jack and Buster are likely treated as well, if not better, than some children here in Montgomery County!
Before Buzz went in for surgery, his daughter made a pic of him with both his 'boys', had it enlarged and framed...Buzz put it on his bedside table at the hospital and looked at it several times a day! They now cry every night because they can no longer sleep with their 'daddy' while he is recuperating...
Pet therapy - it's a fantastic idea!