RIP Dawnglow Return to Sender

Shawna died today, March 28, 2012.  She was 17 years, six months and 14 days old. 


Shawna was a great dog and I will miss her terribly.  


She has now crossed the rainbow bridge meaning she will be with Mary and Wolfie once again.  


Rest in peace, Red Dog.  


Name         Dawnglow Return to Sender
Sex          Female
Breed        Spaniel (English Cocker)
Color        Red
Birth Date   September 14, 1994
Sire         Hobbithill McMurphys Optimum
Dam          Dawnglow Demoiselle
Breeder      Sandra L LaFlamme


A simple set of pictures of Shawna over the years...

Mary and Shawna in 1997, shortly after Shawna joined us. Shawna was 3 years old. 

Shawna at 8 years old

Shawna at 12 years old.

Easter 2009 with Granddaughters Madelyn and Charlize (14.5 years old)

Dr Wiese recommended I keep a coat on Shawna for warmth (16 years old). 

A recent picture with Pat and Shawna (17.5 years old)

Why don't I just go work for the Vet?

Now that the crisis with Leyla is under control, Shawna (my 17.5 year old) is acting up. 


Unfortunately, in Shawna's case it appears to be an accelerating case of dementia.  Or, it is due to a urinary tract infection. 


The symptoms?  


She seems totally disoriented for long periods of time. Last night on our walk (off leash), she walked up to a tree in the front yard. She stood there looking at it and swinging her head back and forth seeking an exit.  It took her almost three minutes to figure out how to walk around it but only after I helped her.  


She has taken to voiding her bladder where ever she is standing. Today, it was in the feeding area. If you know anything about dogs, this is the last place they void.  She went out to the dog run with me yesterday and ran back into the house to void in the dining room. Today I took her for a walk, nothing happened until 2 minutes after we returned to the house--in the dining room.  


The vet tells me this could be due to a urinary tract infection. Shawna is spending the day at the vets while they try to capture a clean sample of urine to test.  


If there is an infection, taking care of it may reduce the problems with Shawna. 


If there is no infection, then I have a really tough decision to make...although her current lack of house training and her confusion is making it slightly less difficult. 


After all, Shawna is Mary's favorite dog.


p

Canine HGE

Who knew?


Symptoms are depression, lack of appetite, vomiting and fresh bloody bowel output.


One would think this is a possible diagnosis for the old dog. Right? Wrong, its Leyla--again! She managed to come up with canine HGE. Its an unexplained, sudden onset of digestive distress coupled with bloody output.


Monday was a late morning given my late arrival from St. Paul. My morning routine is to drag Shawna out of bed and to the stairs leading to the dog run. She stands there trying to wake up while I release Wiggles from her crate. Wiggles shot by the stationary Shawna as is normal. However, Wiggles back area was all soaked and not pretty as she hopped down the stairs. I carried Shawna down the stairs (something I do if she doesn't follow Wiggles) and then followed both of them into the dog run.


Wiggles then assumed the doggie position and proceded to produce puddles of blood. OMG, Wiggles, what is going on with you?


Shawna, no longer being the focus of my attention, followed me into the dog run and then returned to the dining room to do her morning business...this is getting to be NOT FUN!


Rush to the vet with Wiggles. Initial assessment is canine HGE. Battery of tests, IVs needed, xrays in case of a foreign body in her abdomen, special blood test to confirm (or not) packed red blood cells a typical problem with HGE, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Oh, and a small deposit based on the estimate of the needed medical procedures. Hole in my pocket dawg strikes again!


End of the day call from the Vet, 


"Leyla (aka Wiggles) is showing good signs. You have a choice of taking her home and nursing her or transferring her into the 24-hour doggie hospital."
"Is she likely to produce blood?"
"Probably once or twice more."
"I faint at the sight of blood."
"OK, I'll arranged the transfer."


By happenstance, one of the Farmers, Tom OC, was visiting with his daughter from Minnesota and they were going to borrow my Humette. They were drafted into doggie transfer duty before we had a lovely dinner together and then they took off for the evening.


At 6AM today the doggie hospital called and said that Wiggles could go home. I have since brought her home, fed her her special doggie digestive food and watched her normal looking output (no fresh blood). It seems she is on the way to good health, again. There is a special food routine for the next few days but overall, Wiggles appears to be on to solid ground.


 Ciao,


p

Heading Home (Day 4)

Sunday, March 18:  Again a late start.  I picked up my sister and we went to the nearby rent-a-space place which my cousin Mary Jo had strongly urged us to use. Its new, clean, air conditioned and just a couple of blocks from Maureen's current apartment.  

Maureen had done some counting and measuring of some of the stuff so we rented a 5 x 15 space. This allows her to keep an aisle down the middle and not have to pile things too high to get them into place.  Overall, I think it will work just fine for her.  We didn't bring the ceremonial first box.  But, I am sure Maureen will arrange that soon. 

We had lunch and then I dropped her off at her place.  Around the corner to fill the rental car with gas and then off to the airport.  

Now, you know I fly a lot.  You would think I would have: 

1) checked for messages from United, 

2) used a web browser to check my flight or 

3) used my smart phone and one of several apps to check status. 

OH NO!, I focused on the rental car deal.  The rental car was $25 a day and $19 per hour.  So, if you turn the car in after the 72nd hour, you basically get dinged for the next day.  They weren't going to get another $19 out of me!  No way!  I turned the car in an extra hour before my normal airport arrival time to avoid the $19! 

I turned in the car, went to the counter to pick up my boarding pass, bounced through security and then looked at the board to see what gate I was going to.  United 672 San Francisco Gate E6 5:50 departure DELAYED 7:30PM.  

Here I was a full 3.5 hours ahead of my flight thinking "What have I done to save $19?"

At that point I checked my smart phone. I only had three phone calls and three text messages from United the flight was late.  How did I miss them? I had turned the phone off and forgotten I had done so to save battery...duh. 

Home late and tired.  A good trip overall. 

Ciao

p

Funeral on St. Patrick's for Patrick (Day 3)

March 17, 2012:  I ate breakfast at the hotel because Super 8 does such an outlandish spread for breakfast!  I said goodbye to Sandy and Bernie as they headed off to see her folks. 

I diddled around before finally pointing the car to St John's Abbey.  I arrived late and sat way in the back corner of the large seating area.  Again, the monks had decided to put everyone in the choir so I basically was far behind the celebrants.  One of the Farmers noted that Patrick has the good sense to have his funeral on St. Patrick's day.  

Father J Patrick McDarby OSB, 1927-2012

The celebrants were leading a prayer as I sat.  The emotion of being at a funeral washed over me at that point and the tears started.  Patrick said a mass for Mary during our weekend at St. Johns in the summer of 2010.  Hearing the prayers again, being in that abbey church that Mary loved, and being there because Patrick was gone just hit me like a brick.  

Of course, at the moment I am absolutely in full tear mode, one of the monks approaches me and wants to confirm I am there for Patrick's funeral mass. The tears were flowing profusely as he asked and all I could do was nod my head. He then offers to lead me to the choir area so I can hear the ceremony better.  Still unable to talk, I shake my head no.  With hand signals and a moment or two, I can talk a bit and I told him that Patrick was a favorite of my late wife (a Farmer 68-69) and this was the first funeral I had attended since she died.  As a result, I was having a major emotional meltdown and I'd prefer to simply sit in this far back pew.  He was very gracious and left me alone for the rest of the ceremony. 

The attendees then headed for the cemetery and more prayers and song were done for Patrick.  He was lowered into the ground and we each threw a handful of dirt on the simple pine wood casket.  

I skipped the lunch because I headed to Duluth to visit with Reenie (Mary's sister) and husband, Tom.  We met in Hinkley Minnesota at a place called Tobies.  We had a fine visit, a late lunch and discussed the solution to all the world's problems.  Reenie has had a rough time medically these past few months but she seemed to be in fine condition and was feeling much better.  

I returned to Minneapolis and checked into the Radisson (priceline rocks).  After dumping stuff in my room, I went for a walk up and down Nicollet Mall.  Minneapolis was one of the first cities in the US to take a major street and turn it into a permanent walking mall.  I think it was done in the 60's. The Mary Tyler Moore TV show was 'based' in Minneapolis and it opened with Mary Tyler Moore throwing her hat in the air on the Nicollet Mall. Here is the statue that been put up since that show was done. 

Here is the opening clip from the TV show.  The end of this clip is the moment they are capturing in the statue.  

Mary Tyler Moore Opening Clip

Well, the weather here has been unbelievably warm!  The car thermometer is showing 80, 81, 82 degrees during the day.  Considering that March usually brings a major blizzard--often on St. Pats so its called the St Pat's Blizzard. To have shirt sleeve weather for St Pat's is unheard of.  The mall was full of people and police. I leaned I had just missed the parade, one of the reasons the mall was swarming with people.  After a nice stroll and lots of people watching, I went back to the hotel for a late supper.  Again, a martini to toast Patrick and a brie and spinach salad. It was really good.  

I ate a the bar so I met all sorts of folks.  The most interesting was a St. Ben's grad from the class of 2011.  When I said I was in town for a funeral and the conversation led to "a monk at St John's", she reacted quite strongly.  It turns out she had worked in the monks retirement center while a student. When I showed her his picture, she confirmed that she had known Patrick! Small world!  

Well, I closed the bar at the Radisson. Not hard to do, they only kept it open until midnight. Clearly, it was not party central for St. Pats.  

Ciao, 

p

Day 2, Funeral Trip

Friday, March 16:  Lunch on Friday was with my cousin Mary Jo, her husband Denny, her son Michael and daugher-in-law Angela (my recent visitor in California). Her husband, Paddy, was at work.  The two cousin's twice removed were also at lunch, i.e., the toddlers Paxton and Finnegan.  The temp today hit 82 according to the car thermometer so we ate outdoors at one of the very nice places in St. Paul.  Lunch for six was $82!!!  One can live cheaply here...

Everyone seems to be in good health (within limits of gluten intolerance) and definitely in good spirits.  I was very glad to have time to visit. Paxton and Finnegan were a kick too!  

Its about two hours from St. Paul to St. John's in Collegeville. I arrived at the hotel near the school about 4PM. (A Super 8 hotel in St. Joseph, Minnesota).  The first of the Farmers (Bernie and Sandy) arrived about 20 minutes after me.  We have had our lobby conversation and we headed to an early dinner since the wake started at 7PM. 

The Benedictines have a very formal 'Wake' process.  They held all the visitors in the nave of the Abbey while we mixed, mingled and socialized.  They then brought the casket into the nave, a prayer was said and we all entered the church in a procession following the casket. Interestingly, they put the visitors and family in the procession behind the casket and the celebrants with the rest of the Benedictine community at the end of the procession.  

Because the number of attendees was small, they put us in the choir seats 'behind' the altar.  Patrick was rolled in and the cover removed from the casket.  A ceremony of prayer and song was then performed, and they included handouts for the visitors so we could sing the refrains for each song while the beautiful male cantor voices sang the verses.  

After the ceremony, the monks hold a vigil in the church until the burial mass in the morning.  We talked with Father Hillary who had joined the farmers during our memorial weekend for Mary not quite two years ago.  Father Hillary was also instrumental in making the Farm happen in the 68-69 school year so he is an Uncle to the original program.  

The farmers, Steve, Tom O'C, Bernie, Sandy, myself and Linda who was in the 2nd year of the Farmer program (there were only two years) all assembled at the restaurant near the hotel.  We had a fine visit and toasted Patrick.  I did order a martini, his favorite drink but I cannot, for the life of me, remember the ingredients he preferred.  For one of the Minnesota Farmer visits before Mary died, she and I did the shopping for the fixings for his favorite. Do you think I can remember. Nope, not a clue. 

It was good to see the Farmers and very good to participate in the Vigil with the Benedictines.  All in all, a very good day. 

Ciao, 

Pat

A Quick Funeral Trip

Thursday, March 15:  Father Patrick, mentor to Mary's college group known as "The Farmers" died Tuesday evening.  I decided to attend the funeral activities a St. John's Abbey in Collegeville Minnesota.  Patrick was very, very special to Mary and I feel compelled to be there.  

Father Patrick is in the plaid shirt at the top of the stairs to the right in this 2006 picture taken at Cape Cod. 

Arrived Thursday afternoon and checked into the Hotel Minneapolis and it is wonderful. Its in an old bank building and they left the lobby area in place so you can see the granite columns, decorated walls and ceilings but it is now a hotel, not a bank.  It is a Marriott property and really focused on customer service and satisfaction. The room was very nicely done and appeared very clean.  Down everything on the bed. Nice, but--

I think I might have problems with down.  Woke up in not the best of shape with clogged nasal passages and throat as well.  When I woke up my head was on the mattress without any pillow support.  I had pushed it away while sleeping which is totally unlike me. Thus, my suspicion of a mild down allergy.  At home, my new duvet insert is down. I think I will try the synthetic queen comforter I already own and see if it makes a difference.  Mary had a really big down allergy so she never bought down items.  It makes an easy test using an old comforter.   

Dinner Thursday was with my sister, Sister Maureen, at a sports bar near her apartment on West 7th street.  She needs knee surgery and is planning on it this summer. That triggers another item for her, the possible move into the new Corondolet Village (CV) built as a joint project by the Order and by Presbyterian Homes.  It is a progressive care retirement center for the nuns and general population.  Getting in is a challenge but it may be that Maureen can move in soon.  

My sister is afraid of the move, not because of the new digs, they are great. Rather, she has a rather large collection of 'stuff' from any number of sources and the thought of moving scares her--especially given the knee surgery that will knock her out for 6-8 weeks.  The CV has many types of rooms: 1BR, 1BR+Office, 2BR with 1 or 2 baths.  My sister is a PC/Mac software guru for the Order so at a minimum she will need the 1BR, Bath and Office.  The office for her computer setup.  Maureen is 9 years older than I am so getting set up now for the next part of life is the right thing to do.  

A possible solution I came up with is that I rent a storage place for her.  She then only has to decide what goes directly into CV vs what goes into storage.  I then offered to come up for a couple weeks at a time to help her clear out the storage room.  Why would I do this? Because she has a lot of stuff from my Mom and Dad.  I may or may not want certain items.  She'll get an update on Monday as to availability of an apartment that works for her.   

Back to my wonderful space at the Hotel Minneapolis! 

Ciao

P

Just Two Years Ago

http://pat-los-gatos.blogspot.com/2010/03/nice-and-quiet-birthday.html

Pat

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Mary's Birthday

Wednesday the 7th is Mary's 65th birthday. Remembering the good times is very helpful. But it doesn't make the feelings of loss go away, it only makes them hurt a bit less.

I am moving on in life but I will never let go of the memories and love I have of Mary.

All Ways and Always will I love her.

P


Pat

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Pat

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad