happy face

Several people have asked me how Jinks is doing. He's doing really well. He's holding his own, he's active, he's pugnacious and his appetite hasn't slowed one jot. That's all wonderful but what I'm hoping for is what I see in this picture I took in September of this year. This is Jinksy's "happy face" when he's out in the field chasing, running, barking, flopping through snow and rushing back to me for treats. This is the face he has when he doesn't hurt, when he isn't tired, when he isn't anxious, when he doesn't have a care in the world. This is the face which is impossible to frown or mope around, this is the joyous Corgi smile, full of laughter, full of hope, full of fun. We're looking for the "happy face" which is different from the "dinner time" face of the "snuggle time" face or the "let's go home" face. Paws and fingers crossed that he will feel this good again.

Mr. Innocent

I'd say Jinksy's eyesight and speed are getting better. Yes, that is Puli fuzz dripping from his lips.... Please refer the the Dr. Jekyll post for previous attempts at mayhem.


Butthead. I'm certain a lot of this is dealing with his low vision and the fact that he's not feeling well. After all the top dog isn't supposed to show any sign of weakness. Well, he isn't. That doesn't make lunging at puppies okay and it can be a struggle to get butthead to back off. However, come bedtime, they're all curled up in a pile of brown and black fuzz snoring away like Soccer fans home from the pub.

all clear on the western front

Well, it's been a busy 2 days. I started out yesterday to the Vets only to discover a dead battery in my truck. It was -17 F Thursday night so that's not a surprise but it still wasn't fun. By the time I'd gotten the truck going it was too late for the Vets. After a lot of phone calls and maneuvering things were rescheduled for this morning.

Jinks' bloodwork is good, his x-rays show clear lungs (yeah! no more pneumonia) and the ultrasound was clean. I am a happy dog mom. He's not back 100% but he's better. Now I just need to cut back on the rations- he's up to 31 pounds!

This is the moon on Friday morning looking west over the driveway.

Paws crossed

Jinks is certainly feeling better today. The pneumonia is a lot better and he's got a lot more energy. I think the only radical change I've seen is now that I'm feeding him more raw protein - that's all he wants. The boy wants meat. What a surprise.

Tomorrow we go back to the vet for another check up. Fingers and paws crossed.

Christmas Eve

Our morning walk up the hill... Jinks is definitely having more trouble making that walk. As you can see Ginny is sticking to him like glue.



This doesn't slow down the morning romp for the hellboyz.

Shadow warrior

Jinks is on some new herbal meds. He's a little slower going up the drive in the mornings but not much.



He still has a little congestion from the pneumonia but you sure couldn't tell it the way he's vocalizing.

Dr Jekyll

and Mr. Hyde.



Jinks had major surgery on Thanksgiving, he had a transfusion, who knows how many pints of plasma, his white blood cell count was practically non-existent, he was bleeding in his lungs, he lost sight completely in his left eye and almost completely in his right and no one was sure he would make it. No one, except Jinks.

Almost three weeks later- he's a complete butthead. Jinks aka "Zatoichi puli punisher" is snippy snarling dominant butthead again and I'm back to commands like "Don't kill the puppy!, butthead."

Don't worry, the pulik are fine. Luverboy stays clear as much as he can and BB- well BB is a bit of a butthead himself and I'm convinced he just plays the game of "let's tease the Jinkster".

vegetarians?

I'm the only vegetarian in the house.



Since Jinks' cancer diagnosis I've made an effort to increase the amount of protein in his diet. The pet store had a 20 oz. bucket of dried chicken breasts on sale for $25 (made in China). I broke out the dehydrator and sliced up some chicken.



Because of the pneumonia Jinks is on a spectrum of antibiotics which is killing off just about every type of bacteria in his system. Bacteria are pretty important for digestion- so he gets a little yogurt. slippery elm and mashed banana to help out.



Omega 3 - fish oil- everybody is nuts about it. Well, the whole pack is nuts about sardines in oil. It does take doggie breathe to a new level however...

Barking pneumonia

Jinks has a congested left lung. He's on a whole mess of antibiotics



But this morning he was looking pretty spry. His coughing was a lot less didn't sound as bad as it did yesterday.



He's decided he hates the little snow coat.



Mostly because it restricts his movement when he's being a PITB to BB. So, I guess he's feeling better, and being a stubborn short barking snippy butthead.

That's our boy.

swchette

Here's Jinksy with his new look



He seems to have pneumonia- it's difficult to tell from the x-rays. Now he's on more antibiotics and I'm trying to limit his time out in the cold. The coat used to belong to Chiffon (Puli de Paris) can I tell you what a bad idea a velcro seam is for a puli? It fits Jinks without too much difficulty except I need to roll up the sleeves a bit for his legs.



He's not too thrilled with it though. He wants to run and this is definitely hampering his style.

He confused the Pulis a bit- they thought there was another black dog- not Jinks masquerading as a black dog....

puffy lips

This is Jinks' look when I say "Wanna go outside?" It hasn't changed much. His vision isn't too good, he's moving slower, his breathing is labored at night- but say "Wanna go outside?" and this is what I get- ears up- bright eyes.



Outside today means whiteout. Did I mention it's cold- very cold?




You can see him getting just a little "puffy lipped" here- he does that when he's feeling especially fierce. I've seen him charge a backhoe with puffy lips and raised hackles barking up a storm. He also tried to challenge a young buck once (4 point). The deer tend to laugh at him but they eventually trot off which reinforces the image of the stalwart Corgi line of defense.




A cough developed yesterday, which is not a good sign. It's not too bad yet. He's obviously enjoying the daily walks and the extra rations. He's a stubborn little corgi.

Barking is better...

Jinks must be feeling better because he's feeling fiesty. Here he's decided to be a "Puli Punisher" That's BB and BB just puts Jinks' panties in a twist. I've seen them snuggle side by side and cuddle but if bossy little BB tries to go through the door first, or gets too close to Jinks' food bowl, or tries to be top puppy in any way- whammoo- Puli Punisher.



He woke up barky this morning and he's staying that way (although it's quiet right now, probably just a post lunch snooze).



You will notice that Jinks is out front now. I don't know if his eyesight is better or not but his attitude of being in the lead is certainly back.

Home is where the heart is....

Jinksy is home.

He's made a pretty remarkable recovery from surgery. It looked pretty bleak there for awhile. He went in for some blood work today and everything is within normal range. This stubborn little boy wants to stick around awhile.

His eyesight is pretty bad so I need to guide him by sounds and smells.



Ginny is doing a fantastic job as "seeing eye" corgi- or I should say
"barking directional corgi" She barks like a maniac- he sticks to her side
like glue.



There's an exception to that- when he's taking a lunge at one of
the puli pups. For this maneuver I want to nick name him "Zatoichi". He
really does look like the blind samurai- waiting with his head down for an
unsuspecting puppy to frolic by and then he gives forth with a truly
impressive growl and snap. King Jinks is still very much "King".

So elkbutt is still here for awhile longer and he will be spoiled rotten as long as he chooses to stay. I think he's heard me talking about the Christmas party- and the menu.