Bodhi Blog - Blind Dogs - 2011 Archive
- December 16, 2011 - I preface this with saying I love Bodhi and would never hesitate to have adopted him again even if I knew what I know now. I usually do not mention sacrifices for Bodhi, but this is a first. I was unable to go to my grandmother's funeral. Taking care of a dog like Bodhi takes more than compassion. It also takes dedication and commitment. I am unable to travel, no matter the reason. Bodhi did badly during the move, so I could not drive. I downplay the hard parts usually because I have a positive attitude and believe things will be fine. His happiness is worth it.
- December 13, 2011 - For the first time since I have had Bodhi, he climbed into bed this morning and snuggled up against me. This may not sound like much to most people, but Bodhi is protective of food and his beds. He cannot be touched when he is lying down since it can scare him and he will attempt to bite if not left alone. To have him come into the bed and snuggle with me was such a normal thing for a dog to do, but Bodhi has never done it before in his seven and a half years.
He is still hesitating coming up the stairs at the front deck, so I encourage him each time and he comes up with my assistance. I am thinking he slipped and fell one morning, when I was not watching, after there was ice on the deck in November. His coordination is not good, so he might have had difficulty standing back up.
- December 5, 2011 - 7:18 p.m. - A few weeks ago Bodhi stopped climbing up the stairs on the front deck that he uses everyday. There are only two steps, but I am assuming something happened when I was not watching and maybe he was hurt. I don't remember him limping or anything like that, so he might have just been scared very badly. Yesterday he finally came up the stairs on his own, with me calling him through the door. Today, not as lucky, but he still comes up the stairs when I stand at the top and touch his head and verbally encourage him. Also a possibility he had a seizure and forgot how to come up the stairs. He lost learning before when he was young, but hopefully that is not the case.
- November 14, 2011 - 6:42 p.m. - I am feeling stupid. Bodhi occasionally will not eat in the morning and I finally noticed that it definitely happens every time the morning after I have had pizza. I would give Bodhi pieces of the crust. I just realized that the crust pieces were too long, causing Bodhi to bite his tongue while trying to eat (his coordination is not good). I changed to small pieces of crust and he ate normally the next morning. He still does not eat at first once in a while, but it occurs less often.
- October 18, 2011 - Bodhi has been acting a little strange, hard to describe. He is possibly about to have a seizure or he had a bad one. He is suddenly having difficulty hearing when there is background noise. He cannot detect the direction a sound is coming from. Sounds like old age, but it has happened too suddenly. He has also not been eating everything presented with the past few days. If symptoms continue I will take him to the regular vet and possibly need to take him down towards for Seattle for a neurological exam. Overall Bodhi has been doing better the past couple months. He took about 3-4 weeks to realize Raudi was not around anymore. Bodhi has also seemed to not want to wait until being left outside during rainy days to urinate. I have found spots on the floors during the rainy days over the past month. I need to make sure he goes out more often during rainy days, whether he wants to or not. Poor boy hates rain, like most dogs. Bodhi just does not understand where it is coming from.
- July 12, 2011 - 4:35 a.m. - Raudi, the big beautiful boy I adopted in 2008, unexpectedly died today. He was the youngest of my three boxers and the primary reason Bodhi had stopped having seizures over the past 3 years. I am so heartbroken. My dogs were threatened by neighbors only a few months ago. The autopsy indicates he did not die from natural causes..
- June 30, 2011 - This was the first morning since the seizure on Saturday (5 days ago) that Bodhi came into the bedroom before I woke up. He normally would do this 5 or more times per week. The seizure seems to have had more lasting effects.
- June 26, 2011 - 1:26 p.m. - Bodhi finally ate. He came inside just after 1:00 p.m. and was acting "Bodhi-normal" for the first time since the probable (really bad) seizure that I did not witness. He wanted to play and was acting very well so I offered food and he took it. I gave him an extra half dose of seizure medicine with that meal.
- June 25, 2011 - 4:29 p.m. - Bodhi has been acting strange for the past 15-20 minutes. Would not eat, panting, will not lay down. He keeps circling then getting distracted and moving some then circling again. If he does lay down he is
back up almost immediately. His tail is down, but if I pet him it wiggles, but he seems detached, out of it. I think he had a seizure or is about to have one.
- June 17, 2011 - Bodhi MIGHT have had a seizure at 7:15 p.m. I saw him on the floor. I think he was shaking but he appeared to be trying to reach a piece of milk bone under the dryer. He has never searched for something laying on
his side before, so he either fell over and decided to wiggle all four legs or he had a seizure. Probably a seizure.