A Note From Joey and Maggie: Vet Time

Maybe if I lay perfectly still Dad won't lift me out of bed this morning.

We apologize for no update yesterday, but Dad had to take your 'Long and Short of it All' host 'Joey' to the veterinary specialty center for his monthly DOCP shot for his Addison's Disease before Dad went to work. 'Maggie' came along for the ride. Joey has been having issues with his anal glands for about a week as well, so had those looked at - even though his groomer expressed them a few days before Thanksgiving, they were still bugging him.
Everyone at the veterinary specialty center was happy to see Joey back and that he is doing so well after his troubling surgery. All the girls came out from behind the front desk on his arrival to get down on the floor and say hello to him. He loved the attention.  Maggie did her best to hide under the waiting room chairs.
Joey got weighed in and is maintaining his weight quite well at 20.5 pounds for the last several months.  They didn't take his temp because of his anal gland issues.  They drew blood to check his sodium and potassium, and the levels looked right on target so he got his monthly shot.  Ouch! 
The good doctor commented that Joey looked fantastic - he noticed how well Joey's coat is growing back, which is a good sign that things are going well for him.  He also commented that Joey didn't seem so afraid of him this visit and was happy to see him - he had commented before that Joey seems to like everyone in the hospital but him, and he wanted to get on Joey's good side.  It probably didn't help that the anal gland expression was next though.
Sure enough, his left gland is impacted and infected.  The good doctor tried to express it, and Joey yelped out in pain.  They ran a culture of some of the stinky discharge to find that there is an infection which will worsen if they don't clean the glands out.  Joey was going to be sedated to have the procedure done - a tube would be inserted through his anus and into his glands, and an antibiotic solution would be used to flush the glands out several times.  This is a more routine procedure that the veterinary specialty center doesn't normally do though, and sure enough, they didn't have the antibiotic solution in stock.  Joey was given the gift of time.
So, he will be seeing his regular veterinarian tonight for the procedure.  Poor little guy is still in pain today, as he continues to chase his nether-region in circles.  Hoping all goes well tonight.

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

Presenting Complaint
Joey was presented on 12/1/2010 at 10:32 AM for recheck. 

History
Joey is a 9 yr m/n Dachshund.  He has a history of splenectomy, bilateral adrenalectomy, pulmonary thromboembolism and pancreatitis.  Joey is currently doing very well at home.  Joey is on Prednisone 0.75 mg daily, Ursodiol 100 mg daily, and DOCP 21 mg IM every 28 days.  He has been scooting for the past 2 weeks after a grooming and anal gland expression.

Physical Examination
Temperature: na,  Pulse na/na, Respiration:  na
Weight:  9.318 kg, 20.5 lbs, 0.44 m2
Appearance:  normal
Eyes:  normal
Ears:  normal
Nose:  normal
Oral Cavity:  normal
Heart/Lungs:  normal
Abdomen:  normal
Musculoskeletal:  normal
Neurological:  normal
Skin:  normal
Lymph nodes:  normal
Other Comments:  WE LOVE JOEY!!!

Diagnosis
Bilateral adrenalectomy
Splenectomy
Biliary sludge
Infected and impacted left anal gland

Hospital Services
Joey was admitted into the hospital.
Blood was drawn for an I-Stat:  I Stat EC8+

Joey's anal glands were checked and expressed.  An in-house cytology was performed due to suspected infected anal gland.  TNTC (too numerous to count) cocci, no neutrophils noted.
DOCP 21 mg IM

Prognosis
Joey's prognosis is good.

Instructions to Owner
Recheck appointment in 28 days to ultrasound Joey's abdomen.  Recommend follow up appointment with regular veterinarian for anal gland expression, flush, injection, and antibiotics.

Thank you for bringing Joey to VSC.  It was great seeing you both and Maggie. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Shout Out From Adele

We love moody English pop stars around these parts, and were surprised and honored to find out that singer Adele might like us too - at least she gave us nice linkage on her official website.  Danke Schön!

After a little research, we can't find that she has her own Dachshund, but seems to have a beautiful Bulldog!? 

UPDATE 11/30 1 PM:  Thanks to Mollie for sniffing out a photo of Adele with her Dachshund!  Like Molly says, this red smooth is tiny and cute!  Photo Source.  By all means, if you have any more info, please leave a comment.

Adele is set to release her second studio album, 21, on 24 January 2011 in the UK and 22 February in the U.S.  'Rolling In The Deep,' seen here, is the first single.  Bark on.  We are a bit mesmerized by her voice.

Adele was the first recipient of the BRIT Awards Critics' Choice and was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2008 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2008. She is a multi-Grammy Awards nominee who has won two awards, Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 2009. Source.

Vintage Dachshund Comfort

For Immediate Release:  Los Angeles, California:  To prevent the pets from fighting over one pillow....11-3-1939.

RuRu Finds His Home

Thanks to Bludog for leaving a comment and letting us know that RuRu, the disabled Florida Dachshund who gained national attention after being featured on CNN a few weeks ago, has found his forever home.  According to NBC2, his new owners are from Venice, and will pick him up from the Naples Humane Society later this week.  Congrats to both RuRu and his new humans!

Related:  RuRu Searches for his Home (with video)

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A Drifter, His Horse, and His Dachshund

Meet Jeremiah Brinkley, a self-described drifter, with his trusty companions 'Anna Belle' and 'Dexter' the 4-year-old Dachshund, who might just hail near you at some point in time, but are seen here in rural Nevada on Thanksgiving Day.  The trio are heading to Peculiar, Missouri to bed down for the winter after traveling from New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.

"I love to ride," said Brinkley; "I go to bed when I want, get up when I want and find work when I need money." He also said that he has no family, only the friends he has made over the years.
"Most of all," he said, "It keeps me from that silly TV." Then he added, "TV ruined me."

We hope to Dog he doesn't know about the Internet.  Read all about this unlikely trio at the Nevada Daily Mail.

Giving Thanks To An Unlikely Hero

Meet Loretta Birchett and her heroine:  pretty red smooth 'Toots.'  The Baltimore, Maryland duo are seen here enjoying a Thanksgiving dinner organized by the city of Baltimore and the American Red Cross after a tornado destroyed their home on November 17th.  Ms. Birchett has nothing but gratitude for her brave little girl:

Loretta Birchett said she was most thankful for her Dachshund, Toots, whom she credits with pulling her to safety from the storm.

Birchett said the dog's ears stood straight up in the air and she started pulling Birchett by the shirt to nudge her off the bed in the Mount Pleasant Heights apartment. The dog then jumped off the bed. As Birchett went to get her, the ceiling started "peeling back like a can."

"We got everybody out and everybody's OK. That's the most important thing," Birchett said.

She usually has Thanksgiving dinner with her two brothers. This year, they dined together at the high school. Her brother, Ronnie Askew, said the dog repaid a favor in saving Birchett.

"Somebody gave her the dog. She saved the dog's life and the dog returned the gift," Askew said.

Way to go Toots!  Read more about the dinner for tornado victims at The Baltimore Sun.

Queen For A Day

We're pretty sure that beautiful dappled black and tan smooth 'Milla' is a queen every day of the year, but she actually got to wear a crown to prove it on her first birthday, which was on Thanksgiving Day.  Hope you had a great birthday Milla!  Her mom, Melissa Hawkins, says "I am so blessed and thankful for all three of our Dachshunds." 

Crown via Young Urban Puppy at Etsy.

Milla at 1 month.  See more of her puppy photos:  Dachshund Love Just In Time For Valentine's Day

Festive Thanksgiving Wishes

..and special people like you.

We're hoping that everyone has a grand Thanksgiving!  Thanks so much to our pals 'Sampson,' 'Tommy Lee,' and 'Gina Marie' for sending us this nice Dachshund Hallmark card in the mail.  And there's some truth there - "It's all about the thanks." 

We're incredibly thankful this year that your 'Long and Short of it All' host 'Joey' is still with us to celebrate this holiday season.  It was so touch and go with him and his medical issues this year - a virtual rollercoaster of emotions - as regular readers of this site know.  And thanks so much to everyone for all your support during those troubling times.  It was all your well wishes and prayers that helped pull him through to recovery - we honestly believe that, and are forever grateful.  And also thanks to our local friends who helped out with Joey or offered support - again, we are eternally grateful.

Thanks to all of our regular readers who have stuck with us over the years, and those who share the site with other folks; thanks for all the comments on the posts, and thanks for all the reader submissions.  We're incredibly behind with submissions - there are probably 40 or 50 in line for posting - we're hoping to get to each and every one in the near future.  We're also incredibly behind on hundreds of e-mail replies for the site - but appreciate every letter that we get.  Joey and Maggie need an Administrative Assistant sometimes! 

And finally, thanks so much to the lovable Dachshunds who fill our lives with such pleasure and joy.  Remember to keep those chairs pushed in at the dining room table tomorrow to avoid any jumping up of the little beasts who would love to take their turn at that turkey!  But surely the little ones deserve just a little sample (or two!) at some point during the festivities. 

Have a great Thanksgiving - may you and yours be healthy and happy.  What are you thankful for? 

The Vintage November Dachshund

Thanksgiving Wishes - Dachshund Style.

Calling All Girls, November, 1960

Stolen Senior Sausage Dog Back Home With Humans

Meet pretty 15-year-old 'Polly' and her human Annabel Dobson, who hail from Darras Hall, Ponteland, England.  Thieves thought Polly was a puppy and stole her along with her crate from the kitchen.  The criminals must have realized their mistake when they noticed that she was deaf and almost blind, so they dumped her in an alleyway miles from her home.  Excerpt from Journal Live:

When Dawn [Annabel' Mother] came home she didn’t realise at first they had been burgled, and seeing Polly’s cage missing she assumed Annabel, a pre-school teacher in Ponteland, had moved her.

But seeing a smashed window and all the family’s flat screen televisions missing, she feared the worst. All her jewellery was missing, including her mother’s, who died over a year ago.
Housewife Dawn said: “My Staffie Heidi was running around and I couldn’t understand it, but then I saw the TV had gone. They’d taken all my jewellery and all my mum’s jewellery, but I was more worried about the dog.”
With the family in tears, distraught daughter Annabel began ringing every veterinary surgery and dog shelter in the area.
Her hard work paid off as, the next morning, Westway Veterinary Group in Fenham, Newcastle, phoned up and said they had the dachshund. A dog walker had spotted her shivering in an alleyway off Wingrove Road and took her to the vets.
Dawn said: “We were crying we were so happy, but she was subdued. She never goes out of the house because she gets frightened, so it must have been very traumatic for her. In all her 15 years she has never experienced anything like that.

Welcome Home Polly!  Read the rest of this troubling but heartwarming story at Journal Live.

Life With Dachshunds

LIFE WITH DACHSHUNDS
by breeder, exhibitor and judge, George C. Spradling of Wichita, Kansas, for the American Dachshund magazine, January, 1966.

We do not know why we prefer certain people, dogs or things.  We like Dachshunds better than any other breed.  How do we justify it?  It's easy to sling out a long list of adjectives describing all of the good qualities (forgetting the bad) we attribute to them, but the same identical words could be used by another to justify preference for the breed that he loves.
We have owned Dachshunds for 30 years.  During this time we have also owned, in succession, Afghans, Collies, German Shepherds, Giant Schnauzers, Weimaraners, Labrador Retrievers, Border Collies, and all three varieties of Poodles.  Our preference for Dachshunds is not based on deficiencies in these other breeds.  On the contrary, they were all superior to Dachshunds in some characteristics - and vice versa.
Certainly it is not based on the abilities of Dachshunds to win dog shows, because they are on the lower end of the totem pole in that respect.  In all-breed shows our Poodles, especially, have run away from the Dachshunds.
In a period of five months we started a Poodle bitch, a Poodle male and a Dachshund male in the classes.  The bitch won five Best in Shows, the male three and the Dachshund one.  The Dachshund male was better in anatomy and structure than either Poodle.  He consistently won Groups, but only the one time did he go over either Poodle for Best in Show.  Most people and judges deem the large, especially the long-coated dogs, more handsome and, hence, more entitled to wins.
We really do not know why we prefer Dachshunds, but if we look at our life with a few favorite Dachshunds we will at least disclose their character and charm.

END.

Unrelated Photo:  American & Canadian Champion JOLLY DACHS GEORGE by Mr. & Mrs. Michael Gordon (Ravenridge Kennels); cover photo of the February, 1966, issue of the American Dachshund magazine.

More by George C. Spradling:  Badgers and Badgering

Not really related but always worth a second look if only for that Jimmy Stewart poem:  Life With Dachshunds

Dachshunds To Watch Out For: Tug, the No.1 Smooth Dachshund in the United States

Swoon!  Did someone say handsome?  This is 'Tractor Tug,' or just 'Tug' for short.  He was born and bred in Washington Island, Wisconsin, and is the No. 1 all-breed smooth Dachshund in the US.  He will be heading to the next Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in February.  We're rootin' for ya Tug, it's time for a Dachshund Best in Show!  Read all about this big guy at the Green Bay Press Gazette. 

Tip For Making Your Home A Cozy Zone This Fall: Get A Dachshund

Accessories are an easy way to up the coziness factor of a room. Pillows, blankets and rugs can all create that nice, warm feeling we crave after coming in from a winter’s day. Of course company like 'Oliver,' a wirehair Dachshund, doesn't hurt either.  Read more tips to make your home cozy at The Lawrence Journal, out of Lawrence, Kansas.

hmmm....is it over?

hmmm....is it over?
Originally uploaded by Thiago.Peraça

Thanks to an Anonymous Dachshundist for sending in the link to this fine photo over at flickr. Be sure and check out more photos by Thiago Peraca, you'll be happy you did!

Win Your Very Own My Pet Lamp, DACHSHUND

You can win not just one, but two My Pet Lamp Dachshunds by OFFI & CO at Babble.  That's one for you, and one to donate to your local Dachshund Rescue so they can raffle it off!  The lamps are being offered by Clever Tomato, but the contest is at Babble.  Giveaway ends Friday, November 26th. 

Related:  The Modern Dachshund

Dachshund Sandwich

photo by Sacha Goldberger

HA!  Apprently this Superhero Grandma eats Dachshunds for breakfast!  Thanks so much to Erin Ozmat for writing in with this grand photo:

Hello Joey and Maggie,

I came across an amazing photo series of a Hungarian Grandmother as a superhero in crazy poses that was orchestrated by her grandson in order to cheer her up.   The photo that caught my eye is of the superhero grandma eating a Dachshund sandwich.

Erin Ozmat
Owner of two very sweet long haired dachsies, who I would never make into sandwiches--although their barking does make me threaten it ;)

Read all about the photos and see a whole spread by French photographer Sacha Goldberger at My Modern Met.

Friday Dachshund Funnies: Fry & Laurie - Mr. Burmie

It's always good to laugh at yourself, right?  We recently stumbled across this Fry & Laurie skit and had never seen it before - hope you haven't either, cause it'll make your Friday.  By youtuber hazel72 who notes:  I swear this is the funniest thing I've ever seen.

Vintage Dachshund Moms

They were quite the homemakers.

Mid-century photo source unknown.

Get Your Very Own Kackel Dackel

This would make a great gift for a youngster this holiday season.  We wish our nephew was still 5 - instead of 25!  Thanks again to Maria Adams for writing in:

Hi Again Joey & Maggie,

It's Maria from DRNA. Back in September you wrote about a Kackel Dackel Game that was available in Germany. Well, Dachshund Rescue of North America was lucky enough to get their hands on one. We are auctioning it off on eBay to raise money for our Medical Fund. It would make an excellent present for a Dachshund collector!

Here is the link in case any one is interested.