Truthful Tuesday: The one with P's story

 

If you follow my socials, you already know the sad news, but if you don't, I'll tell you now. I said goodbye to Pia on Sunday evening. I swear, she held on through her birthday because she knew how badly I wanted to celebrate that milestone with her. But on Sunday morning, she was struggling with her vestibular disease. When I left for the barn in the morning she was resting comfortably, but I was thinking it might be time to see the vet on Monday. When I got home Sunday afternoon, P was still resting comfortably, but she wasn't terribly responsive. She knew I was home, and opened her eyes to acknowledge me, but she didn't want to get up. And after acknowledging me, she didn't want to even hold her eyes open. While her breathing was relaxed and steady, I knew she wasn't well. So I brought her to the ER half hoping she had an ear infection that we could treat, but also knowing it was probably time. It was a bit of a wait there, but she rested in my arms while we waited. The vets checked her over and noted that all of her vitals were okay, but she was delayed in her responses. While she was able to stand, she could only walk in a circle, and eventually would lose her balance and fall over. We've been dealing with that, but on this day, the spark was gone. I knew it was time, and the vets agreed. There was nothing to really be done to help her anymore. And so I let her go to be with her brother Artie over the rainbow bridge. But this isn't going to be a sad post. This post is her life story. And what a life she lived! 17 years!

Funny story about how I found Pia... I have always loved Pugs. There was a pet store near me back in 2006 that did NOT sell puppies, but somehow had wound up with a rescue Pug puppy that they were trying to find a home for. My boyfriend at the time and I went over to see the pup, but I wasn't convinced he was meant to be my dog. We decided to go grab some ice cream and think about. I really wanted a girl dog, and also I really wanted a puppy that was just weaning from mom. (Way back then I thought differently than I do now, and wanted to raise the puppy right from the start. Now I'm just as satisfied to find a rescue that's already housebroken and done teething...) The dog at the store was a little bit older (not much, I think 6 months old) and was a boy pup. Well. BF and I get to Dairy Queen for our ice cream, and what do we see? A flier for pug puppies! Guys, it was fate. I called the number and it was a family that wanted to breed their pug one time. They planned to keep a puppy and sell the others. Or keep them if no interest, but honestly finding homes for pug puppies is pretty easy. (Another aside: I now rescue my dogs. Please don't attack me or this family for back yard breeding. They fixed their dog after this one litter, and responsibly homed all the puppies.) ANYWAY, when we called, they had two females left, and we were welcome to come meet them the next evening. And so we did, and this is the lil girly that I picked:

The day I met P! Just a fresh little nugget!

The puppies weren't ready for weaning just yet. Which was fine since I needed to get supplies and puppy proof the house. I was still living with my mom at this point, but I would buy my house a few months later. I met P in early May and she was ready to come home on Father's Day. The family that bred her was actually coming to my little town for Father's Day brunch at a local resort, so we met at the commuter lot and I was able to bring P to meet her Grandpa on Father's Day. Here she is having a snooze in his arm:

I know. Nothing cuter than that. Seriously. Look how tiny!

Anyway, we lived with my mom and stayed with the BF a fair amount the first few months. And then in September of that year I moved into the house I live in now. P "helped" me paint the house and move in. The funniest story... When Pia was still with her OG family they trained the puppies with pee pads. She was really easy to house train, and we didn't need to use the pads for very long. But you know what is very similar to doggy pee pad? Disposable drop cloths that you use when painting. Hahaha! P would use them as a restroom. At first I was concerned that she was regressing with her potty training due to the move. But then I realized she thought she was doing the right thing. Once the painting was done and the cloths were gone she stopped having accidents. 

She was such a fun puppy. She was never destructive, but she did get the zoomies sometimes. She would tear around like she was coked up or something... it was pretty crazy. And hilarious. She LOVED to squeak toys, but was gentle with them. We would have to invite doggo friends over from time to time to destroy a few toys because her collection was quite large and she never destroyed anything. 

P was an only dog for many years, but I did wonder if she'd like to have a friend. I mean, I was working full time, plus had the horses so she was alone quite a lot during the day. But I didn't want to rush into it. I was really worried I'd never find another dog as well behaved and easy as P. We had one dog that we did a trial overnight with, but they weren't the right match. A friend of mine wound up adopting her though, so I didn't feel too guilty about it. Some more time passed, and then we met Artie. They hit it off right from the start, and were pretty inseparable. Artie let P be in charge and in return she let him snuggle with her. I really hope they're together where ever they are now. 

While Pia was the perfect dog in every way and was super easy to raise, she did have some challenges. As a young pup she would occasionally have seizures that we never fully figured out, but she did seem to outgrow. Over her (many) years, she had a few health scares. Her liver counts were always not great, and she frequently had UTI's and ear infections. She was a frequent flier at the vet hospital, and even had to have surgery on her lady parts to remove some of the skin back there. It helped a lot with the UTI's thankfully and she stopped getting them for awhile until she was quite old when they resurfaced. Her ears we helped with diet. She couldn't eat most meat proteins so she lived on prescription kibble that was fish based. Thankfully she liked it. We never did figure out the liver issues. Her counts were always kind of bad, and I don't know how many times I left the vet in tears thinking she had cancer. But she never did, and she always bounced back. I swear this dog had nine lives. 

Her face got grayer and grayer as she aged, but she was always the cutest girl. She regularly looked tired of my shit, but I know deep down she was just laughing along with me. When Rita joined the family, I'm not sure P was thrilled. But she was tolerant and allowed Rita to integrate just fine. I even caught them snuggling once or twice. Not on camera though. Heaven forbid! 

It was hard to watch her get old. The last few months especially. But boy did I love that dog. She was by my side through nearly every adult milestone. Relationships and breakups. Buying horses and losing horses. Always there. Always by my side. Or in my lap. Especially on the hard days. I'm not quite sure how I'll tackle the hard things without her here. But I like to think she's still with me. At least a little bit. There will never be another dog like Pia, but how lucky am I to have had her companionship and love for seventeen years? 

So here's to Pia! 

I'll miss you sweet girl. I will love you forever and miss you even longer. 

Pia
2006-2023

Truthful Tuesday

 

On this eve of Pia's 17th birthday, I have to confess something. Some days I find it hard to have a geriatric doggo. The truth is, this will be her last birthday. She's starting to have the less good days more often, and I always promise my older dogs that we aim for no bad days. And so I know that time is coming. But not yet. Not today. And I'm grateful for every day that we get to enjoy each other. 

And while I'm forever thankful to have her with me each and every day. I have to admit that sometimes it's hard. I got home pretty late from the barn today, and my springtime allergies are going crazy this week. So I was tired. And when I walked in the door, I was welcomed by dog poo... dog poo that had been walked in. And dog poo footprints. It was a scene. So obviously, before I could shower and eat dinner, that had to be cleaned up. And the dog too. And then she and Rita needed their dinners. 

Finally I got to shower. And then made dinner. As I was bringing it to the table, I see P pooping again. On my carpet. Sigh. Cleaned that up. Told P it was okay. Finally got to dinner at 8:30. Mood drastically improved. (Nobody tells you that you have to eat pretty regularly when you get old, or you get tired and cranky. It's a real thing guys! And I had skipped lunch today.)

So now it's 9:45 and P is having a bit of a senility episode. When this happens, she just barks. Constantly. It can go on for hours. Sometimes all night. Nothing is wrong, she's just confused. If you check on her and snuggle her she stops for awhile. But usually it starts up again unless she falls asleep. So Rita and I are watching tv and listening to P bark. And it's hard. Because you know that this means the time is coming. But not today. And for that I'm still grateful. 

Truthful Tuesday

 

I swear, it's a miracle I successfully get anything done ever... Last week both my pups had vet appointments, a day apart. Sometime after I had made the appointments I got a reminder notice that P is due for some shots. Rita's appointment was the first one, so while I was there I asked if P could get get her shots during her recheck appointment the next day. They said as long as everything was looking good in her ear, that shouldn't be a problem. Always nice to get two things accomplished in one visit ya know? 

So P's appointment was bright and early Thursday morning. There was a bit of a commotion with another dog who was VERY EXCITED to be at the vet, so they ushered that one into a room right away. My vet apologized (unnecessary, clearly, P was perfectly under control in the waiting room unlike the other larger dog!) and asked if it was okay if they just brought P back to check her ears. I said sure, not a problem. You know what I didn't say? I didn't remember to ask about the shots! Can you believe it? Doc didn't remember either. I didn't realize it until the weekend when I was cleaning up my email inbox. So I had to call for another appointment. Sheesh. Is this early onset senility? Or was it just that my coffee hadn't kicked in yet? I'm hoping the second one...

What's Up Wednesday

 

What a week! Sheesh... Last week we enjoyed fake spring, and it was GLORIOUS! Eros and Shiny rode outside nearly every day and Al even went out a few times too! The ring at the boarding barn is ENORMOUS, so I do worry some the first few times out there about potentially dying. Or you know, getting run away with. Fortunately, none of them offered up such nonsense, and it was SO AMAZING to be outside again! Pammon got to walk outside a little, but for now we're still trotting indoors. 

Alas, this week it's been cold again. Highs only in the 40's and Tuesday the wind was absolutely insane. So for the most part, we're back inside this week. I did take Eros out today when the sun peaked out for a bit though. Tomorrow is supposed to be a total rainy washout and then more cold weather through the weekend. Hopefully spring comes back again soon!

Eros was a superstar in his lesson last week! The course that was set was mostly single jumps, which honestly is better for Eros. He just gets ridiculously excited about related distances. I'm not sure why really... He won't say. Anyway, the single fences were great for him, and we were able to string a whole bunch of them together without him dragging me around. Baby steps! We'll see what tomorrow brings. I have a feeling with the weather Torpedo Eros might make an appearance. But maybe not! You just never know with him. 

The most awkward Al photo to ever have been snapped...
Why does he look so little?

Al was AMAZING this week in our lessons! For both, we did the flat part outside, then went in to jump. (No jumps in the outdoor just yet, but probably soon!) I think warming up outside was really helpful in getting us more forward thinking. Because when we came in to jump, he was right there for me. I didn't feel as much like I needed a nap mid course as I usually do. I'm still pinching myself that this is my horse. He's just exactly what I would pick if I could punch my wants into a computer program and print out a horse. I mean, I might have made him a LITTLE less spooky, but hey. You can't have everything. 

In other Al news, I finally contacted the Butet rep to see about finding him a better fitting saddle. She requested a bunch of photos of two of my current ones on him and now we're trying to figure out a time and day for her to come out. 

Eros' saddle. Not great.

Pammon's Saddle. Better in some places
but too narrow.

The tricky part is that the boarding barn is a CWD barn. The owner said I could have the Butet rep out, but on a Monday when the other clients won't be there. Of course, this rep doesn't work on Monday... so I'm not sure how this is going to work out any time very soon. Might have to wait until I have some horses home, and then bring him here for the appointment. But I'd really like to have a saddle sooner than later. Nothing is ever easy! I would expect a saddle rep to have a somewhat flexible schedule, but who knows. Maybe this is just a side gig for her. 

Shiny had a great riding week. She's still protesting picking up the canter the first time. And by protesting I mean first refusing to do it, then kicking out, and then finally sighing heavily and just doing it. Once she gets going, her canter feels amazing. So I'm not entirely sure what the dramatics are about. I did let her have a relaxed bareback meander outside on Sunday, hoping that might reset the grumpy pony for next week. Unfortunately, she decided she wanted a longer reset as you read about yesterday. Her foot is doing as well as can be expected. She's on a broad spectrum antibiotic for now and we're flushing and re-bandaging daily. Once she seems more comfortable we can hand walk and even turn out (with a boot on the affected foot, so waiting for that to arrive). She's been a very good patient though, so hopefully this time it will resolve a little more quickly than the last time. 

Pammon was supposed to start rigging this week, but selfishly I decided to wait. I'm down a pony to ride so I don't want to give up another! Even though it will just be once a week for now. I'm also a little nervous about him being on a lunge circle still... I may hold off until his next recheck. We've upped our trotting to 12 minutes this week though! So things are getting pretty serious. When we get to 15, he'll have a recheck and see what the next step will be. 

Last week when the weather was so incredible, I made sure to get the pups out in the yard for a wander around. 

Rita isn't the biggest fan of being on a leash, but she's getting better. Her recall is pretty good MOST of the time, but she's already been hit by a car (before she was mine!) so I'm just really nervous about letting her off leash. My property isn't fully fenced for doggos, so I worry. I'm so glad the rope harness I had gotten for Artie adjusts enough to fit her though! She's so tiny!

I didn't hang on to P the whole time because she doesn't get around so fast anyway. I could surely catch her before she got herself into trouble! Plus, she can't walk as much as Rita. We still managed to over do it out there, and she needed her overnight pain meds a little earlier in the evening. Noted. Will definitely not let her walk as much next time! It's tough with these old pups. They don't realize how much they can and can't do. On the positive side (for me anyway) she slept the WHOLE night that night! I got 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep! It was glorious. 

That's about it from here. How was your week? Is spring really happening where you are? 

What's Up Wednesday

 

We're just over here riding this weather roller coaster like everyone else. It was AMAZING today. 65 degrees! And we even saw the sun! Ending soon though, snow coming Friday. Of course. Oh New England...

This week's edition of waiting for the drag
to finish: Hanging with Merlin the super 
fat goat.

I still have no media, but plenty to catch up on! We'll catch up alphabetically and start with Al. Guys, I just love this horse! We're certainly FAR from perfect together, but we're absolutely improving each week. The flatwork has come pretty far. He still likes to pop up out of the contact, but I can get him back a lot more quickly. For the most part it's due to his curiosity about his surroundings and not really that it's too hard for him to stay round. I don't think he struggles with that at all. He's just so nosy! If he comes up out of the contact, he can is able to see out the windows in the indoor. And apparently there is a LOT to see out there. Maybe this will all be easier when we get outside and he can see from any head level. He's wonderful to jump though. All business when there's stuff to jump over! Our biggest struggle right now is mostly my fault. Unless I really keep pushing through the turns, he will fall behind my leg and then my only option is the chip. But when I remember to keep my leg actively on the horse (you know, remember to ride the horse...) everything comes up perfectly out of stride. 

All is going well with Eros too. He was a star in last week's lesson and didn't really run off with me at all. It helped that the course that week had no related distances... Those straight lines just get him so excited! Ha! He's feeling pretty sound (knock on wood) especially on days like today when it's warm out. I'm thinking he's almost ready to bump back up to jumping twice a week. Will just have to find another lesson we fit into. 

Pammon had a recheck on Monday with the vet and (BIG NEWS!) we get to start trotting! We're doing five minutes to start this whole week and next we can bump up to ten as long as the leg looks good still. He has to wear his Equibands every day for right now though as he's still only minimally using his core. Tough to learn new tricks as a teenager! But he's trying. 

Apparently I take a lot more photos of Shiny
than anyone else. Don't tell the others!

Per the vets orders on his last visit, Shiny needs to eat from a hay net to slow down her intake. Because she has some neck issues and since she's barefoot, I chose to try the hay pillow for her. So far, it's working out great. She really seems to actually like it. She had some loose hay in the stall the other day, and she opted to pluck from the pillow over that. 

My vet was surprised (pleasantly) that despite her obesity (his words...) her bloodwork all looked good. Since she was negative for lyme we decided to ahead with some injections. We've done Pro Stride with her before in her neck with good results, but this time we decided to try something different. I'm not in any hurry to put steroids in her body (given her age and weight) so we opted for Alpha-2 instead. These injections use her own plasma protein (ultra concentrated) rather than a steroid. She's on vacation until Friday, so I'm not sure how well it worked yet. But I'm optimistic. We did hocks and shoulders based on her work up from last time. Interestingly, despite her flexing well on the hocks, the lower was very tight on the right side. So I'm hopeful we will see a big difference, at least there if no place else. That is the leg that seems to struggle the most. Fingers crossed!

The neat thing about the Alpha-2 is that we actually had leftover plasma. If you keep it frozen it's good for awhile, so we can do more joints with what we already have if need be. I mean... everyone has some pony plasma in their freezer right?

I keep mine under the Eggos. 

The short kids are still challenging me every day in new and different ways... Pia's latest fun party trick is to bark ALL. NIGHT. LONG. So I don't really sleep anymore. We're experimenting with giving her Gabbapentin at different times, so hopefully a later dose will result in a nice sleepy pug come night time. I hope. Hope so hard. 

Rita is doing better. She is mostly peeing outside, and she only has to wear her diaper at night now. Pooping on the other hand... She just prefers to do that in my house I guess. It's a little frustrating. But what can you do? She's so sweet and good otherwise. We'll keep working on it. 

Family photo!

And that's it! We're all caught up! How's your week going?

Truthful Tuesday

Today's confession is that I'm really kind of enjoying my one on one time with Pia. I miss Artie terribly. My house and life is definitely not the same as before. No one greets me at the door anymore. That's the worst part. Well that and he was always on my lap if I was sitting. P isn't quite as snuggly. But she's been a little perkier now that it's just the two of us. And it's easier to take her places (not that I really go anwhere...) as a single dog than trying to keep track of two of them wanting to go different directions all the time. 

We had a little bbq at the barn on Sunday as a send off for one of the juniors heading to college.  (The barn property is an old quarry, so it's a really fun place for a party!) If I still had both dogs, I likely would not have brought them. But with only P, I decided to take her along. She had so much fun! She's not particularly interested in the other dogs, though she and one other shy one seemed to semi make friends. The part she liked most was the little kids fawning all over her. She's always loved kiddos. It was fun to see her out and about enjoying herself. At 15, who knows how much more time we'll get together, but I'm going to try my best to make it fun for the both of us! 

Quarry sunset was pretty spectacular Sunday

What's Up Wednesday

 

There's honestly not too much going on around here this week. My trial horse left on Saturday morning. But otherwise Shiny and Eros have been going well. 

They had an extra day off this week since Sunday was really rainy. I had planned a Sunday funday for them anyway so it wasn't a big deal. I did get a ride in though, because I got to ride Fefe!

She was a good girl until I tried to take her for a walk outside after we were done working. There was a pause in the rain, so I thought she'd like it. I was incorrect. She started jigging and hopping up and down. She was so busy having this tantrum, my friend I was walking with had to hop off her horse and hold Fefe so I could dismount. Mares! Lol. I temporarily forgot that she is done when work time is over. My bad. 

We only fit in one jump school this past week, since I had been busy with the trial horse. But they were both great for it! Hopefully this week we'll be back on our regular schedule. 

Eros is jumping around at 2'6" consistently these days, so that's exciting. Getting closer to a show height anyway. I've decided to keep Shiny at 2'3" this year since we have lots to work on still. She's been so quiet that I haven't really been able to work on keeping her shape when we're jumping. I don't seem to have enough leg to add the amount of hand I need for contact. There's no hurry though. We'll keep plugging along!

In other news, P seems to be doing just fine without her brother. It's been hot for her outside, so we've been spending a lot of time watching the olympics together. She really likes swimming:

I do bring her out to feed dinner to the horses sometimes. She seems to enjoy it, but I think she's looking forward to fall. Humidity is hard on these brachycephalic pups! I wish she liked the stroller though. It would be nice to take her for a real walk. 

That's really about it from here for now. Have you all been up to fun things?

What's Up Wednesday

 

What. A. Week. I'm not going to harp on the worst day ever since we've covered that plenty. I'll just share the other stuff since life happens all the time. 
I've been a little inconsistent with my horses this past (and current) week. I didn't get to ride last Friday because tropical storm Elsa stopped by to drop a ton of a rain. So that interfered with our second jumping day again. Both Shiny and Eros did get to pop over some fences on Thursday though, so at least we got to jump once last week! They were mostly fine I think. I can't remember, honestly... Here are some cute photos though:

Fortunately, it rained so hard on Friday that the water just kind of ran right off the ring. So the footing was okay to ride. And I rode A LOT. I did Fifi and Bellino over at the other barn first. Then came home and did Shiny and Eros. I was pooped after. Definitely not four horses fit right now! But I made sure to load Artie boy up and take him for a walk in his stroller. Which I've already mentioned was the best thing ever. I didn't take any photos or video from that walk, but I do have this very short clip from the first day we tried it out. I've never seen him so happy (peep that tail)!

This week started out bumpy with Eros springing a shoe on Tuesday so he had a bonus day off. Shiny had to work though. Today was a little crazy... The farrier was here bright and early to shoe Eros (he was due anyway, so good timing I guess) and trim Shiny. Then, I finally had my long awaited hair appointment (it's been two and a half YEARS since my last professional hair appointment). Gray hair is gone!

I got home only to have to leave again because my car was ready to be picked up. (It was in the shop for all kinds of frightening lights being on.) Finally back home again to ride, but only had time for Eros due to having to meet a friend followed by family dinner. It was a long day. One of many really. In between everything with Artie and all of the regular horse stuff, I've also been dealing with the cable company, the pool guy, the electrician, and the mechanic for my car. Always everything at once. Hopefully things are starting to come together with all that extra stuff. 

I don't have too much extra happening the rest of the week so hopefully I can get the horses back on their schedule. I really like having a schedule. I really dislike not having one. I find it very chaotic! 

With the exception of today, I do visit Pammon daily to stuff cookies in his face. A few times a week I'll pull his fly sheet and boots off and give him a nice grooming. He's generally happy to see me, though it's probably more about the cookies I bring. But whatever, I'll take it however I can get it!

He's pretty attached to the girls in the paddock next to him. They came in to work on Saturday and he called very sadly for them until they got back. Poor Pammon. 

P actually seems to be doing pretty well on her own. Today she wanted to play with some toys which she doesn't really do much anymore generally. And she's been looking more spry that normal. So hopefully that means she's happy as an only dog. I'll get her a friend if she wants one, but I think P may prefer to be an only pug for a bit. 

That's about it from here I think. Sorry this post is kind of all over the place. I should have my shit back together next week... Lol! Hopefully!