Thank You Cards

 Hi Everybody,

Ruby and I have sent these cards to the people who cared for her while she was very sick last weekend .

One will go to the emergency A&E Vet Hospital in Bispham who took her in straight away for treatment when I rushed her there .

 Without them my Ruby would have died of that I have no doubt.

Their quick treatment saved her life so that we will be able to go walking again together once she is fully recovered. 

The other is to the "Vets Now Hospital" in Manchester who took her in for specialised procedures and treated her for four days for severe pancreatitis.

To both of these I am eternally grateful for what they did and because of their intervention I still have my beautiful dog.

The butterflies signify new life and new beginnings and Ruby has a second chance now to enjoy her time.

She will never be a healthy dog due to the Cushing's Disease that she already was diagnosed with two years ago now.

But at least she can sniff about and bark at the postman and snore on my videos as she lies in her bed. 

Thanks to everybody for all your messages and your concern and I will be sure to keep you updated on her progress.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Ruby Update ….

 Hi Everybody,

Thank you for all the comments and concern for Ruby 

who has been one very sick little dog.

This time last week she was fighting for her life and diagnosed as having severe pancreatitis. She was in the Veterinary Hospital in Manchester for four days and had  all sorts of treatments.

They said she could come home on Monday and she has a feeding tube in her neck. Here she is lying on the sofa with the bandage around her neck and her tummy looks very swollen.

She has been on a specialist diet since I bought her home and will need to be on this for at least a year. 

I cannot exercise her as yet.  She has been back to see a new vet and they removed the tube from her neck last Friday. I changed vets as soon as I could and I have written to complain about the treatment she received with the old vet.

She needs to be watched carefully especially in what she eats and as they put it she is “dietary indiscreet” which basically means  ….. your dog is a dustbin and will eat any thing it can find.

And that is definitely my Ruby, she vacuums that area looking for food, you would think she is starved.

But for now she is home and starting the long road to complete recovery even if it is with life.long medication.

More tomorrow…

Hugs xx

Ruby Update

Hi Everybody,

This has been a dreadful week for me as my beautiful Ruby is dangerously ill and is in hospital fighting for her life at present. 

She already has Cushing's Disease and is on life long medication for that. but she started to be be poorly on Monday.

 Lethargic, vomiting, panting and very restless. I took her to the vets and they gave her an injection to stop the sickness and antibiotics and sent her home.

She stayed quiet and lethargic and on Thursday I took her back as she was a lot worse.
They admitted her and did blood tests and put her on a drip as she was dehydrated.

They did other tests and told me she was a very sick dog and in a lot of pain with pancreatitis.

And then they told me to pick her up at 6.50 !!!!! What ?????
 My dog is desperately ill and you are sending her home.  My daughters came with me and it took us ten minutes to drive home from the vets and in that short drive home Ruby collapsed.

She had been on a drip all day and they took it out to send her home.  I rang back immediately to tell them what state she was in and was told it was now out of hours.  I couldn't believe it ... my dog is dying and I don't know what to do. 

They gave me an out of hours number (A&E animal surgery)  to ring in Bispham and they at that surgery told me to take her straight in. She was very very sick and everybody was worried and scared for her. 

Bispham A&E kept her overnight and did scans and X-Rays on her as well as more blood tests, and confirmed she has severe pancreatitis and is very very sick.

From there we took her to the Animal Hospital in Manchester and that is where she is at present.

 Poor Ruby has had to have many more tests and treatment. Scans, X-Rays,  drips, samples taken from her and monitored very carefully. 

They have told me she is anaemic as the pancreas is bleeding internally. She is on strong painkillers and is sedated. They have inserted a feeding peg through her neck into her stomach as she is not eating.

I am praying that she will be ok and that I will have her back home again soon.

Please keep her in your thoughts and pray she will pull through this as she is not yet eight.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Ruby Update

 Hi Everybody,

Thank you so much for all your emails and concern over my beautiful Ruby. 

She is on medication to help her with the diagnosis of Cushing Disease and she seems to be responding to the treatment at the moment. 

The vet tells me it will take a while for her to completely respond but at least we are making progress in the right direction.

Here she is lying on her cool mat with Ella at her side but she is not taking any notice of the kitten and walks away when she has had enough.

She seems to like being left alone when she isn't feeling well and so that is what I do until she comes to me for a cuddle 

I hope she continues to get better as the weeks go by but it is incurable and so she will be on medication for the rest of her life now.

I will of course let you all know how she is progressing

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Ruby Update ...

Hi Everybody,

This has been a very stressful week for me and Ruby who has been very poorly for most of it. I took her to the vets as I was very worried when she was being sick, and they kept her in to run some tests.

 

Yesterday I got the results back from blood tests and her scan. The blood test shows that her thyroid is working correctly but the scan has shown that she has Cushing Disease

I had never heard of this complaint but I sure have done some research since. It is a condition where her body cannot regulate the amount of Cortisol it produces. 

Some of the symptoms are lethargy, vomiting, excessive panting, muscle weakness, extended belly, eye/ear/skin infections  and skin problems too.

Over the last few months she has had her fair share of them and been treated for them, and I added it to the blog post when she was having problems with her eye just a few months ago.

But it wasn't until this week that we have had a definite diagnosis. She has been really poorly, and sadly the disease is incurable. She is not in danger but she will be on medication for the rest of her life.

 I am hoping that the medication will give her some quality of life back again and give her the strength to run around and bark at everything again with her pal Dougal.  Please keep your fingers crossed for a good recovery for her and I will of course keep you posted as to her progress.

Thank you all so much for the personal messages that have come to me and for your comments on the blog.

Hugs xx

Ruby Update

Hi Everybody,

My poor Ruby has been admitted to doggy hospital this morning and she is having different tests ,
more blood taken and a scan done. 
She is not well and is so lethargic.

 She doesn't want to eat, go for walks, bark at the postman or growl at the cat. She looks really miserable and can't get comfortable at all. 

The scan they are doing is to check her pancreas and  hopefully they will find out what is making her so poorly. 

The blood tests will check her thyroid and liver again. I am not a vet and I don't know what is wrong but I know my dog and I do know that she is not well, and none of the treatment that she has had has made her any better.

Please keep her in your thoughts and hope she gets better soon.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Ruby Update

Hi Everybody,

Thank you all so much for your messages and concern for Ruby and here is an update on her progress.

She has had a blood test and it has shown that her liver is not working properly. It is not cleaning the toxins from her body and it is this that is making her sick. She has an infection in the folds in her lips and it is not getting any better because of this problem. So now she is on antibiotics and other stuff to help her and she seems to be responding to the treatment. She is not back to her old self yet and I will let you know how we go on over the next few weeks.

Thank you again for your kindness

More tomorrow …

Hugs xx

Ruby Update

Hi Everybody,

It's me Ruby and I am really well and going out into the sunshine later with my mum for a lovely walk. Maybe we will go to the beach or even the woods. I love sniffing about in the woods and looking for squirrels. 

Today I wanted to introduce you to my new sister and this is Ella.  She is a tortoiseshell kitten and she is eight weeks old.

She is very tiny, not quite as big as my head,  but she is weaned and house trained. 

I have tried to steal her food several times but my mum won't let me.

Ella is a bit strange to me and I am not ready to play with her yet. But I have had a good sniff of her and she smells ok so I suppose I will get used to her. 

I must admit though that she is nearly as pretty as me .... nearly !!

I barked at her when she first came and she spit at me and then ran away. She may be tiny but I am frightened of her to tell the truth.

My mum told me to be quiet and not to frighten her. So when I am nice to her I get a treat for being a good girl. I suppose being nice to her will be lovely in the long run.

I will let you know how we get along and my mum is hoping that we will be good friends as we get used to each other.

See you soon

Love Ruby XX

 

Ruby Update

Hi Everybody,

Just to let you know that Ruby has had her operation and is now back at home. Here she has sneaked into the bed and is now having a snooze.

We can't go out to walk yet as the wound is still open and I don't want to get it infected. Next week she goes back for a check up to make sure everything is doing ok.

Then we need to wait patiently for the results from the biopsy and then hopefully we will be back to normal.

At present she has a surgical vest on to protect the neck area as it is far too handy to scratch at it.
So fingers crossed and we will be back on the beach and the woods, and more of her favourite walks within the next two weeks 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

 

Ruby Update

Hello Everyone,

It's me Ruby and it's ages since I was here for a chat.  This is me sat in my favourite spot on the back of the sofa looking through the window.

I do, of course, bark at any body that dares to walk past my house. Just to let them know how fierce I am and dangerous to strangers.  Don't I look it ???

I have been enjoying walks with my mum but just recently I have developed a lump on my shoulder. 

My mum has had me to the vet and she said she doesn't think it is serious but as a precautionary measure it would be best to have it removed and checked.

So I will need an operation and then it will be sent to a laboratory for testing. We will have to wait for the results.

 I feel fine and it doesn't stop me going out and running around or barking but I will let you know how I go on and the results. Wish me luck for the end of the month and my op.

Lots of love 

Ruby xx

 

Ruby Update

 Hello Everyone,

It's me Ruby and I promised I would show you all my new raincoat. Well over the weekend we went out and it was raining so here it is  .... and don't I look stunning.

I didn't like it at first and tried to shake my legs out of it but after a while I was ok and now I run around in it and it keeps me lovely and dry and warm.

We went to Freeport yesterday and I got a lot of attention from people loving my coat. many wanted to know where my mum got it from.

I am waiting patiently here to go out and  I had a lovely day with my best friend Dougal. He also has a new coat but it's not quite the same as mine. 

My mum got them from Doggie Coats of Lytham ... just in case you wanted your mum to get you one and they have lots of sizes and colours if you don't like the red one.

I think I look really swish in my new coat and I am glad not to be soaked when we go walking.

That's all for now so see you again soon.

Ruby xx 

 

Ruby Update

Hi Everybody,

Well what a lovely day we had last weekend when my mum and I went to St Annes. 

We walked along the prom and I saw all these things flying up in the air.

My Mum told me they were kites and they looked really big, but as long as they stayed up there I was OK with them. 

It was the Kite Festival and it was very busy with lots of people everywhere.

We went later in the day, once it had gone cooler. There were lots of doggy folks to say hello too and I had a wonderful time sniffing about. 

It was much quieter this week when we went to look at my duck friends. And they have really grown since the last time I saw them.

This week I went to the groomers to get my hair cut and as soon as it is done it will rain and I will be cold with short hair. Still when it does get cold and wet again I have a lovely new raincoat to wear and I will be sure to show you when I put it on.

But last night Dougal and I went with our mums to see the Firework Competition . The loud noises didn't scare us. There will be a different country giving a display each week for the next four weeks, and at the end a winner is chosen. This week it is Russia ... I think ... and that too gets very busy

Bye for now

Love Ruby XX

Ruby Update

Hello Everyone,

I hope you are enjoying your Bank Holiday as mush as I am. The weather has been very kind and not too hot for me.

 I don't like it when it gets too hot especially with having a thick coat. But I am at the groomer's next week to have my hair done so that will be a little cooler for me. 

This was my walk through the big park her and it is called Stanley Park.  It has some lovely paths for us to follow that go through wooded areas as well as this beautiful fountain.

I would have loved to jump in for a little swim, and there was another dog already in the water, but no matter how much I barked my mum just wouldn't'  let me. When I was a baby though I did once step onto what I thought was green grass and it turned out to be just the algae floating on the top  of the lake in Stanley Park, and I went straight under.

My mum was calling me from the side, and that was when I first learned that I could swim, so I came straight back to her. I was about four months old and my mum nearly had a heart attack. Vickie and Dougal where with us too and it turned out to be quite funny once we all got over the shock.

Ever since then I have loved jumping in the water and I don't care if it is muddy either. My mum is not always happy when I am smelly though.

There is a lovely big café in there as well that gets very busy.  My mum had some coffee and we shared a piece of toast, and they always leave water out for any dogs that ned it.

So enjoy the rest of the week and I will see you again soon. 

Love Ruby 

.

 

Ruby is Five Today

Hi Everybody,

Today my beautiful girl Ruby is five years old, and I have no idea where those five years have gone.

She was a nine week old puppy when we bought her home and both Griff and I fell in love with her straight away.

She was so small she could walk underneath the bottom tread of the staircase.

Once she could go out Griff would take her walking twice every day to the park or the beach and they enjoyed each other so much.

She must have been really confused when he died, but since then she has been my saviour. 

We go out together every day and she suits my personality perfectly. 

We can have more adventures in the woods looking for squirrels, or off to the beach and a paddle in the sea.

We can have lots of days out with Dougal who was five on the 4th August.

So here's to the next five years Ruby and we will both be old ladies by then. 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Ruby Update

 Hello Everyone,

Are you enjoying all this hot weather ??  I can't say that I am, it is far too hot for me. 

But my mum takes me out early in the day or later  to avoid the heat and that is much better for me.

 We always take lots of water with us so that I can have a little drink every so often

The other week when we went to Lytham we saw a family of ducks on the water and I was really quiet so as not to frighten them. 

Well today we saw a family of  Teddy Bears in their rowing boat and they where having a lovely time cruising around on the water.

Lots of people where stood around watching them row along and every so often the little one at the back would wave. I barked to say hello, and everybody laughed at my greeting. 

I really wanted to get into the water with them,  coz you know I love to swim. But my mum wouldn't let me  jump in. There was another little black fella there and he wanted to get in as well and his mum wouldn't let him either.

Anyway once we get home I can have a snooze. I have a Cool Mat and it is lovely to lie on that for a while until tea time and then I can go for another little jaunt with my mum.

Bye for now

Love Ruby xx

More from Ruby ...

 Hello Everyone,

Thank you so much for all the lovely messages I got from you on my last update. I am glad that you like to read my stories.

This is me waiting for my mum to get her shoes on .... again !! She's always running late and keeping me waiting when all I want to do is go and sniff about somewhere. 

This as s lovely morning and we are going to go to St Annes for a walk along the prom,

While we where there we met a lady and her dog sitting on a bench, in the sunshine,  and they sharing some toast. The lady gave me a little piece of it too.

My mum chatted to the lady for a while and then off we went. I looked for my duck friends but they weren't there today. 

Now here I am having a bit of a rest near one of the lakes we pass. There are no ducks on this one but there are sometimes swans.

They are very big and they frighten me  because they "Hiss" at me as I walk past. I like to do a large detour around them in case they chase me. 

I'm not frightened of water but I am frightened of swans.

It was home for breakfast after this and then later on we will go out again before we have tea. But only if it is not raining as my mum is a fair weather walker.  

Bye for now ...

Ruby xx

Ruby Update

   Hi Everybody

This is a quick update on Ruby and I am happy to say that her eyes are now so much better.

The top photo shows how they where a few weeks ago when I took her to the vets. Very red, very weepy and must have been very painful for her.

She could barely open them and she was very out of character. 

But after a few weeks of bathing and drops and regular visits to the vets she is now recovered and I can see those beautiful eyes again.

What a worry it was but now she is back to her gobby self  barking at all and sundry who dare to walk past her house.

Once I am back to normal with my knee surgery I am hoping to go on a good long walk with her maybe along the beach or to the country park that is nearby.

That has a stream running through it and Ruby loves to swim. Typical Spaniel always looking for water and mud.

Someone once told me that a dirty Spaniel is a happy one and that is so true as she loves finding the messiest puddle she can and get in it.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Ruby and Christina Update

 Hi Everybody,

First of all I want to wish  a really special greeting to my beautiful Cocker Spaniel Ruby who is celebrating being four years old today. She has been wonderful while I have been out of action

She has willingly gone for walks with Vickie and Dougal and been such a good girl. I would be lost without her especially since Griff died

Happy Birthday Ruby !!!
My little furry treasure

Thank you for staying with me during the past few weeks when I have been unable to blog every day. It has been very difficult to get up to the craft room to work.

To bring you up to date with what has been happening to me and where I am up to now. As you know I have had problems with right knee and left hip.

I had X-ray on left hip and my doctors surgery told me there was nothing that they could find.

I also had scan on right knee. I went through a private scheme, that I have been with since I went out to work, and they sent me to see a consultant, who had the scan pictures there in front of him.

He took the time to explain to me exactly what was wrong with my knee and he told me that I had arthritis and that I had also damaged the cartilage.
(That's what you get when you climb on chairs)

When I told him about the hip he sent me straight away for another X-ray and then told me what he had found in that picture too.  That too has arthritis in it and is causing the pain when I walk.

He said that before diving in to surgery he wanted to try injecting steroids into the joint of my knee and see if that helped, and he did that straight away. That was well over a week ago and now that it has had time to settle down it does feel less painful. I still hurts to weight bear  when I stand still for any length of time but at least I can walk around better

If this is OK then when I go back to see  him again he will discuss the same procedure into the hip, but that is more invasive. Then if the injections don't work, we can discuss surgery.

At the moment I am feeling more cheerful and positive about the outcome.
I am having a "Perching Stool" delivered which, will allows you to sort of perch on the edge, to help with support while standing, and will be very helpful if I have pain in the knee. And with this I am hoping to get back to work and doing some videos again.

Fingers Crossed Everybody 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Walk In The Woods

Hello Everyone,

Yesterday my mum and I went to the beach and I had a really good run around and got full of sand.

My mum washes my feet when we get home to get rid of the salt and that is nice with the warm water. I usually settle down for a little nap when we are home again

But today we went to Witch Wood and this has to be my very favourite walk. There are all sorts of things to sniff at. 

My mum likes it too and she says it is very peaceful, until I bark at something, and that is usually a squirrel.

But I am a good girl and I don't chase them I just look at them really and they look back at me

Here I am rummaging around the tress and plants to see what I can find.

My mum carries on walking but I never let her get far away and then I race after her.

Some times she hides behind a big tree and I have to find her. I always do though and then she makes a big fuss and gives me a cuddle

I sat down in the sun here for a little rest in amongst the blue bells but my mum said that although they are lovely flowers I am the most beautiful one ... and I believe her.

We have a lovely time in there and can spend a good hour or so wondering through the trees. 

Sometimes we take Dougal with us and he loves it in the woods too. But today he is busy and couldn't come

Any way soon it as time to go home and I was getting ready for my dinner too.

On Thursday all my lovely food from Butternut Box was delivered and because it is frozen it has to go straight in the freezer.

But I need to check it all first to make sure they have sent me the flavours that I like ... and yep! everything seems to be in order. So now I have to decide what I would like for my lunch and then I will have my nap.

See you all again soon

Lots of Love Ruby xx

Ruby - how she has grown ...

Hi Everyone,

It's me Ruby and I haven't been to talk to you all for a little while but a lot has happened in my life in the past year. 

I was born on the 17th August 2016 and this is me at nine weeks old ... now you must admit that I am rather cute and my dad decided to call me Ruby.

I have been so happy here and grown up into a really rather special dog. Well my mum tells me that I am.

I have a very special friend too called Dougal and he is only two weeks older than me and he is a Cockapoo.

We love playing together and we spend al lot of time with each other. He is bigger than me BUT I am the boss and he always lets me win whatever we do. 

Well nearly always !!

This is me in my new jacket getting ready to go for my first walk, after having all my injections. 

I was only 12 weeks old here and so excited to be going out into the big wide world.

There are a lot of scary things out there, but my mum and dad took care of me and I really enjoyed myself.

Now as I am older I love going for walks. and I sit and stare at my mum to make her feel guilty, so that she takes me out 

This is Dougal and me all dressed up and ready for our very first Christmas. I have wings on but you cant' see them in this photo.

Then after that came our fist birthday and we had doggy cake between us.It was lovely and we ate it all. 

I love Dougal and he is such good fun to be with whenever we go out. 

And each week we both go to Doggy Day Care and we love our "Aunty"  Sally who takes care of us while our mums are working.

Now this is me at One Year Old and haven't I grown up into a beautiful puppy.

This is the look I give my mum that makes her feel guilty to take me out. It never fails and she always gives in ... even if it's raining a little.

I haven't seen snow yet but I would like to, and then I can run around and roll in it and see how it feels.

So maybe this winter we will get a little bit and then I can tell you how it feels to me. 

This is Dougal and I at two years old. Isn't he such a handsome boy

We both go to the groomers regularly to have a bath and a haircut that keep us neat and tidy 

I like having a bath and I love going swimming and will take that chance whenever I can.

And that brings us up to present day, Here I am just turned three years old on the 17th August and I look so pretty.

I have lots of fun with my family and Dougal and I went on the walk up Snowdon with them all last weekend.

Today I am going for my first lesson at agility training, and that will be another adventure that I can share with you later.

My mum will have to run around with me as I am taught what to do. But when I went for trial run it was lovely and I enjoyed it very much.

I was tired and hungry when we had finished but I can't wait to go again

I will be back to tell you all about it 

See you soon

Love Ruby xxx