In Memory of Comet

I write this with a heavy heart. Our girl is gone. Comet passed away during the night. She went to sleep knowing that she was much loved.

This picture of Comet in her taxi was taken during the last week of her life when she was doing her best to recover from her back injury. Even when she is scruffy looking, she is a sweetie pie!

Comet had a wonderful life and brought us joy. There is a hole in our house and in our hearts, and we will miss our girl.

Rest in peace, Comet the Ter pup. We love you.

Your 'rents,

Marlene and Dan

Lawn Mowage and More

Hey! I am moving around a little better today. My Mom is very happy.

She stopped by Heart River Animal Hospital after work to get more predisone for me. And ... this is the best thing ... she also got me two cans of Hill's Prescription Diet i/d canine food. I love that stuff!

After she got home, my Mom decided to mow the lawn 'cuz it was such a nice day and it needed to be done at least one more time before winter hits. I got to go outside, too! Of course, she made me stay in my pet taxi, but it was still fun to be out there on a beautiful October afternoon.

Now I am tired. The days are just packed!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my birthday and I am 14 years old!


My back is still hurting so I will spend the day riding in my pet taxi. My Mom made me a good breakfast -- Gerber baby rice cereal mixed with some of my dry food and hamburger. I love it!

BTW, this is not my cake nor is it me in the photo. Some other lucky dog named Oliver got this birthday cake. Maybe my Mom will be inspired to make me something special, too!

Since I am the birthday girl, I am at least hoping I will get a treat from Tricia's Bakery.

Beware the stairs!

This morning I decided I was well enough to go down the stairs by myself. Bad idea! I got stuck in the pet door going from the garage to the backyard. My back is all "stove up" again.

My Mom heard me going down the steps so she came down to check on me. It was a good thing 'cuz I couldn't go ahead or back. She got me out of that fix and back into my taxi and gave me some medicine and some rice cereal. Still, I was all wound up and not feeling good and it was hard to settle down. I was making the pet taxi rock!

After my Dad left for work, I rocked that taxi some more and I got the door open and I dragged myself out of there and went downstairs again and ended up in the garage. It was my second bad idea of the day. My Mom came home at noon to check on me and she was very surprised to find me in the garage. I was cold and worn out. She took me upstairs again and gave me water and food and put me in my taxi. I went to sleep.

Mom says we are back at square one! She called Dr. Espy, too. Looks like I will be taking taxi rides for a while to come. No more stairs!

My Mom hopes I learned not to do too much too soon.

I feel good ....

Between TLC and some good drugs, I am feeling good. My back is healing and I can stand and walk again. In fact, Dr. Espy gave me my walking papers and said that I don't have to stay in my pet taxi all the time. I get to be out and about and have returned to my plate-licking duties. I do have arthritis so that makes me kinda stiff and I sorta lurch and stagger sometimes. I can also get tired fast. Yesterday I was outside with Dad in the garden. It was a long way back to the house!

There is one thing Dr. Espy said no to and that's the stairs. Going up and down is too hard on my back, so my 'rents carry me downstairs when I need to go outside and back up again. They also put me in my taxi for the night and I stay there during the day when they are gone. They leave the tv on for me and I take naps.

My 'rents say I'm pretty spry for a senior!

My Best Friend

Here is a picture of me and my best friend, Tig. Tig has been gone for a long time now, but we were best buds!

It Isn't Easy Being a Senior

Tuesday, the last day of September, wasn't so good for me. At about 11 a.m., when my Mom was leaving to get her hair cut and go to work, I went down the stairs and outside to enjoy a Goldilocks kind of day. When my Mom came home a little after 9 p.m., I wasn't in the house so she started looking for me outside. I was close by in my private spot by a bush next to the house where I can be cozy and comfortable and safe.

I was glad she was home 'cuz I was in a fix! Something happened to my back that day and my back legs wouldn't work right. I started to crawl out from under the bush and my Mom helped me get all the way out. She felt so sorry for me and brought me into the house and gave me some water (I was thirsty!) and petted me and held me. My Dad came home from rehearsal about an hour after that. They called the vet and left a message. Dr. Espy from Heart River Animal Hospital called back right away and my 'rents gave her my symptoms. She said to put me in my pet taxi to keep me from moving around and to bring me to the hospital in the morning.

SO ... my Dad took me in and they examined me and decided I should stay for the day. I have feeling in my back feet, which is a good thing, but there is something wrong. The verdict is probably arthritis in my spine or maybe a problem with a disc. They gave me some medicine so I was relaxed and quiet and sleepy all day. My Mom picked me up late in the afternoon and took me home.

This is the deal ... I have to stay in my pet taxi for the next several days or even weeks. I will take a bunch of medicine and hopefully, things will heal. A girl's gotta move!

I guess after 13, it's just patch, patch, patch.

Comet & Mom

Here is a picture of me & my Mom. It was taken by Kaitlin in July 2008 in our family room.

I am looking good!

Westie Slideshow

We needed some photos on my blog, so my Mom explored Blogger tools and added a cool Westie slideshow. What I want her to do next is snap some pictures of me with a digital camera and post them. That will give my blog a personal touch!

My Stitches Are Out!

Yesterday my Mom took me to Heart River Animal Hospital to have my sutures removed. It was exciting to go on a car trip and see my friends at Heart River.

The first thing I did was step on the scale to get weighed. It is so hard to stand still! Really, I cannot do it. I am not a stand-still kind of girl. Everyone's best guess about my weight was 17.4 pounds. I lost some pounds when I was sick. Now I can eat more to make up for it!

My Heart River friends took me in the back room to take my stitches out. It only took a couple of minutes and then we were on our way home again.

My Mom says that the next thing on the list is making an appointment for a bath and a haircut. I wasn't supposed to have a bath until after the stitches were out. My Mom says I stink! And, you know, it's true. I need a bath!

I Love IAMS

I love IAMS canned food. I got to eat it when I was recovering from my surgery and it was GOOOOOD!!!! Now my 'rents are giving me my regular dry, brown food again. I can't go back! I won't!

Give me IAMS. Please. If you love me, you would.

Westie Walk

Last night my 'rents took me for my first real walk since I got home from the hospital. We went down the sidewalk that goes along the south side of our backyard to the corner. The backyard neighbor dog, Josie, barked and barked and barked at me. She always does that. My Mom told Josie to be quiet, but she can't help it.

We turned the corner and walked past the front of the backyard neighbor's house, then turned around and went back home again. I wanted to go farther (further?), but my 'rents said no. They don't want me to overdo it!

Westie Rollyo

My Mom made me a Westie Rollyo today. Cool. It is an easy way to search my favorite Westie sites without also getting a bunch of stuff about Beagles and Doxies.

My Mom's best friends are partial to Beagles and Doxies, but I like to stick with my own kind.

It Is Hard to Keep a Good Pup Down

I am getting better and stronger every day. It is good to feel good again! My 'rents give me four kinds of pills -- Rimadyl, Famotidine, Ampicillin, and my usual thyroid pill. I get half tabs of the first two and my thyroid pill. My Mom usually puts those in the hole of a Cheerio. I like Cheerios. The Ampicillin is big and doesn't taste very good. The best way to have that is rolled up in a slice of shaved turkey.

I am eating a bland diet (stuff like hamburger with a little pasta or rice or potatoes), too. On Saturday, I can also start having some IAMS soft canned food mixed with my regular food. In about 3 days, I can start having my regular brown dog food all by itself.

I'm not supposed to do the stairs, but my Mom says it is hard to keep a good pup down. She tries to make me wait for her so she can carry me up and down, but I'm in a hurry. A girl's gotta move!

This is what my horoscope for today said: "Restless and free-spirited, you feel like you have to loosen up and break free from restrictive situations at this time. You seek freedom and spontaneity and have little patience with dry, tedious situations."

Sounds right to me!

My Mom put a link to my sign (Libra) on my blog.

My Wordle

My Mom made a Wordle for me. You can make one, too. It's easy!

'Dem Bones!

My Mom hasn't written anything for me for a while 'cuz I've been sick! Let me tell you the tale ...

Wednesday, August 6, 2008, was much like any other summer day. I guarded while my 'rents were at work and did some sniffing and some napping. When my 'rents got home, they grilled spare ribs and veggie packets made of potatoes, zucchini from the garden, carrots, and onions. It smelled really, really good and I looked my cutest in hopes that I would get to lick the plates and chew on some bones. My 'rents don't give me bones as a rule -- I'm pretty much limited to one cup of dry, brown food a day plus some plates to lick. Well, cuteness ruled the day and my Mom gave me those bones to chew on. What a surprise!

I took full advantage and ate them all up. When she came back to check on me a little later, she was surprised to find that the bones were gone. They were in my stomach.

A little later, Dad was playing online chess and Mom was downstairs watching TV and reading the paper and doing puzzles. I was laying in the living room upstairs, starting to feel bad. Major tummy ache! I moaned and my Mom came upstairs to see what was going on. She gave me a few pets and went back downstairs. A few minutes later, I just had to moan again. My tummy hurt! She came up and petted me again and I could tell she was a little bit concerned. I decided to go downstairs with her and went to sleep on the floor and stayed there the rest of the night.

Well ... the next morning, I wasn't very perky and my Mom could tell that things weren't quite right. She could tell that even more when she got home from work that night. I was sick. The next morning it was even worse and my Mom told my Dad that she thought I needed to go to the vet. He took me to Heart River Animal Hospital, told them about my spare rib bone meal, and they checked things out. They knew that bones, especially for a little dog my age, were not a good thing. They said my color was good (my Dad thought to himself, black & white?), but that I didn't seem bloated or gassy. They said I was having a little trouble digesting those bones, but that things would likely resolve themselves naturally. Still, they gave my Dad their emergency number and said to call if I didn't get better.

On Saturday morning, I was in rough shape. Really. I had gone outside the night before and ended up staying out all night 'cuz I was too sick to come in. My Dad went outside to check on me and brought me in the house. I was wet and muddy. It had rained a little and I just couldn't manage to come in out of the rain on my own. I felt bad! My 'rents were really worried. My Mom had to go to Plentywood that day to see her Mom so she couldn't stay with me, but my Dad did. I was lethargic and then I started to have a panic attack and then my right leg wasn't working right so he called the vet and took me to the hospital. And that's where I stayed for the next several days!

To make a long story a little shorter, the bones were stuck in my tummy and weren't going anywhere. Surgery was an option and my 'rents decided that's what we needed to do. My Mom came to the hospital on Wednesday morning (August 13 -- an inauspicious date!) at 7 a.m. to see me and wish me well. We were both so happy to see each other. She petted me and said she was sorry she gave me those bones and said that I was a good dog and that she wanted me to get better. When she was starting to leave, I got up to go with her, but she said I had to stay. The doctors kept my 'rents posted about the surgery. Everyone was very glad when I came through it all just fine! They pulled a lot of bones out of my stomach and saved them for my 'rents to see.

After my operation, I had to stay in the hospital for a couple more days. I wanted to go home! My Dad came to pick me up late in the morning on Friday, August 15. I was still pretty wobbly, but it was good to be home. Every day since then, I have been getting better and stronger. My 'rents had to feed me rice cereal through a syringe a few times, but now I am starting to eat on my own. They have to give me lots of meds (usually in a piece of turkey or a cheerio), too.

Today I resumed my plate licking duties! I'm back, Baby! I'm back!

A Walk to Remember

My Mom took me for a walk tonight and let me sniff lots. When I sniff, my 'rents always say that I must be adding to my life list. They keep life lists for birding and figure I must have a list of all the kinds of dogs that have left their mark where I am sniffing.

I got a treat tonight, too. A kitty shaped milk & honey treat from Tricia's Bakery. Tricia makes good things for both animals and people.

The Days Are Just Packed!

I was up early with my Mom today to help her get ready for work. I got my thyroid pill in a cheerio and licked her breakfast dishes, then jumped on the bed to keep my Dad company while he slept. Sniffage and nappage took up most of the rest of my time. I greeted my Mom when she came home and we went outside and I got a belly rub on the patio. It doesn't get much better than that!

Comet's Trading Card

A real collecTER's item!

Today my Mom was playing around with Flickr and we decided that I should have my very own trading card.

My Horoscope

Today my horoscope said that "the value of properly placed priorities cannot be underestimated now." After some pondering and musing about my priorities, I decided to take a nap.

Hello World

This blog is all about me -- Comet the Ter Pup.

I don't have thumbs so my Mom will do the typing.