FFHT - Fractured Friday Hairy Tails

Once again, we're joining Murphy and Stanley for this fun blog hop.

Hi, I'm Chico, and I want to tell you the story of why Shiver and I refuse to turn our backs on pumpkins ever again!

As you know, us Chihuahuas are crazy party animals!  Once we get started, it's hard to slow us down.  We were invited to the big Blogville Howl-o-ween party and couldn't pass up the chance to dance the night away with pretty young girls.  I dressed up as Batman and Shiver was Superman.  The girls were all impressed with our big muscles and stuff, and we flirted the night away.  I don't know when we've ever had such a good time!  Sadly, the party ended way too soon.

Not wanting the night to end completely, Shiver and I decided to take our favorite girls to the Haunted House just down the street.  Because it was Halloween, the Haunted House stayed open really late.  We walked in and were immediately were scared to death!!!  The situation called for us to put our arms around the girls to protect them, but we kind of felt like they were protecting us too!  There was all kinds of scary stuffs goin' on, no matter where we looked.  Goblins poked at us, ghosts hollered at us, ghouls grabbed us -- it was seriously scary!  Just when we thought we couldn't stand another second, we finally reached the end.  Whew, safe at last!  

As we walked out the back door, we held our girls' hands and sighed in relief.  We all agreed that while we enjoyed the experience thoroughly, we never wanted to go through that ever again!  The sidewalk back to our Chihuahuamobile was lined with pumpkins.  Some were cool looking, some were happy, some were sad, some angry, some scary, but all were non-threatening and that's what we needed right at that moment.

When we got about half way back to the Chuhuahuamobile, there was a loud scream.  We thought it came from inside, but I turned around just to be sure.  That's when I saw THIS:

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One of the pumpkins managed to ensnare the dog who walked out right behind us.  OMD, OMD, OMD -- what to do, what to do, what to do???  Since Shiver and I were dressed as superheroes, our girls expected us to save that dog!  We couldn't let them down, even though we were more frightened than we'd ever been before.  The dog was waaaaaaaay larger than Shiver and I put together!  We tried pulling him out as he tried to wiggle  himself free.  That didn't work, so we ran to the neighbor's house for help.  Let me tell you, they were none too happy that we were knocking on their door at 2:30 AM.  They wouldn't even open the door for us at first, they just yelled through it that they didn't have any candy left and that it was past our bedtimes so we should all go home and go to bed.  Hmmmph!  We explained that this was a true emergency.  They didn't believe us at first so I told them to come check it out for themselves, but to hurry before it was too late.  We got there in just the nick of time!  With our help, the neighbor was able to get that dog pulled to safety.  The dog was more shaken up than hurt, so we all decided to leave as quickly as possible.

After that, we never turned our backs on another pumpkin!  To ensure our safety the rest of the way to the Chihuahuamobile we stood back to back with our girls and hooked our arms together, hustling our way out of there as fast as our little legs would take us.  Even now when we see pumpkins at the store, we go the other way.  That was quite the night, and we still talk about it to this day!

Wordless Wednesday

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Chico's Blood Work Results

I copied and pasted this directly from Chico's GoFundMe page last Friday so some of you may have already seen this.  

I couldn't stand it anymore and called the vet's office at 11 AM.  Of course the doctor was busy and I had to wait almost three hours for a call back.  Ugh! 

The oncologist says that Chico's white blood cell count was off the charts.  That tells him that Chico has chronic leukemia.  He reiterated that animals with this condition can live a few weeks up to several more years.  Chico's steroid dosage has been increased and he will remain on it indefinitely, probably for life.  Thankfully this medication isn't expensive.  I think I paid a little less than $20 for 50 pills. 

The oncologist wants Chico to go back in about 4-6 weeks for another blood test.  If the results have not improved, there is the possibility of him taking a cancer medication.  The meds are very expensive though, he'd be on them for quite awhile and he would need to go in for a blood test every single month for an extended period of time. 

The oncologist did not say anything today about doing a biopsy -- I think that's because he's certain of the diagnosis from the blood work. 

While this is most distressing news, at least I have some answers now.

Chico's Oncology Visit

So yesterday was Chico's first oncology visit.  A friend of mine went with me because she knew it would be a difficult day for me.  I told her that I wanted to get pictures of Chico's visit but once the oncologist came in, all thoughts of pictures completely escaped me.  I did manage to get some of the outside though and of their fancy ambulance!

The visit really didn't tell me anything more now than I knew before.  The oncologist said that Chico was in good physical condition other than the last of the sores still healing up.  He thought that maybe Chico might have a mite which had caused the sores so they took some skin scrapings and checked him under some special light.  Those results came back negative.  They also took a blood test and we're waiting on the results of those now.  The oncologist said I should have them by the end of the day yesterday or early today.  They didn't call yesterday so I'll give them until noon to call before calling them today.

The oncologist said that he thinks Chico has chronic leukemia.  I somehow missed this part but my friend said last night that the oncologist thought that Chico might have some kind of autoimmune disease rather than leukemia.  I think once I heard the word leukemia, everything else beyond that was kind of a blur.  The oncologist wanted to see if Chico's blood results were any better now that he's been on medication for awhile.  The sores are almost completely healed now, so I'm hopeful the results are better too.  He suggested that after the blood work results came back that he could do a biopsy, which would be another $400.  I have to fundraise more for that because I don't have an extra $400 in my budget right now.  If it was determined that he does indeed have leukemia, we would discuss treatment options then.  The oncologist wanted to wait until we know for sure just what's wrong before we go over any options, which I totally understand.

So that's where everything stands as of this moment.  He'll remain on the steroid for the time being and we may  increase his dosage after the blood work comes back.  The dose won't be decreased at this point, but may be increased.  Please continue to keep my sweet Chico in your thoughts and prayers.

Lotsa HUGS for Butch and Deb, Lucky's GoFundMe page, and an Award

I don't know Three Little Pugs, but I read about their humans, Butch and Deb, on the POTP website.  Butch was injured in a very bad accident and the grandmother has cancer.  They need all the {{{HUGS}}} and prayers they can get right now, so I'm joining Blogville in lending my support to them.  One can never have too many hugs!

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Earlier this week I learned that Dachshund Nola's mom had found an abandoned dog who was covered in mange, and cuts and scratches.  She was quite emaciated and needed medical attention desperately.  Nola's mom has named her Lucky, which seems fitting in that she was lucky enough to have someone who cared enough to take her in.  Nola's mom has created a GoFundMe page to help cover  the vet bills.  Nola's mom only asked for $150 which has already been raised.  However, Lucky will need lots and lots of medical care and $150 is not going to even begin to cover the bills.  I can't help financially, so I'm doing the next best thing in helping to get the word out.

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Thank you for the continued good vibes, prayers, and donations for Chico.  He has his first oncology appointment this morning and I'll update everyone tomorrow with how everything went.  

I especially want to thank Lynne from Sketching With Dogs.  We've been emailing one another for quite awhile now and I've grown to really cherish her friendship.  She's been endlessly supportive and understanding about Chico, and encouraged me to create my own GoFundMe page to raise money for his treatment.  She also held an auction for one of her amazing Mini-Me's for my baby boy.  I know I'm not the only one she's done such thoughtful things for.  

So I am bestowing this well-deserved award upon her.  She truly is a wonderful person!  There are no rules so she doesn't have to pass it on or even post it to her page if she doesn't want to.  

Wordless Wednesday

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Pupdate

Chico's first appointment with the oncologist is next Thursday, Oct. 22nd.  Apparently the vet's office is quite busy.  Every time I've called they've put me on hold.  The consultation is $125, so I'm really worried about how much his treatment will cost.

Lynne's auction for one of her fabulous Mini-Me's ends Sunday.  As I mentioned previously, she does excellent work and one of these would make an excellent holiday gift!

Thank you so much for all the donations, prayers, and well-wishes.  Thank you also to everyone who has shared his GoFundMe page.  Everyone's generosity makes me realize how truly blessed we are.  The steroid and antibiotic have already done wonders for his sores, so I'm hoping and praying that Chico can be easily treated.

On the job front, I had an interview this past Wednesday and have another one next Wednesday.  I would prefer the second job because it'll include benefits and better pay, but I'm at the point where I just need a job.  Keeping my fingers and toes crossed that I get hired for one or the other.

Wordless Wednesday

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Thank You!

I just want to give a big THANK YOU to everyone.  I knew from past experience that Blogvillians are generous, and I've been on the receiving end of it more than once.  I'm overwhelmed by the number of well wishes, prayers, and contributions for Chico.

I especially want to give huge shoutout to Lynne for encouraging me to ask for help and to create a GoFundMe page for Chico.  As if that wasn't enough, she's also been kind enough to auction off one of her precious Mini-Me's to raise money for his care.  I can attest that she does quality work.  One of her Mini-Me's would make for an excellent Christmas present if you wanted to get started early on your holiday shopping.

Today is my birthday, so I'll be spending it at the Botanical Gardens with my mom.  It'll be good to have something fun to do and to get away from watching Chico like a hawk every second because I worry about him so much. I'll be around on Tuesday for sure, because I've missed Blogville and am happy to be back.

Thank you again!  I'm feeling very blessed and have so much to pay forward.
If you want to share Chico's  Go Fund Me on  your blog sidebar, feel free to copy and paste this code below into a new Javascript widget.  I cannot thank you enough!

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Chico

Poor little Chico has had a rough year.  Earlier this year he had several sores on his head that took forever and a day to heal.  As soon as they did, more came in to take their place.  It got pretty nasty, so off to the vet we went.  They healed quickly with medication, and all seemed to be well.  Only they returned.  They didn't seem nearly as bad this time so I decided to just watch them.  After discovering a mass of sores by his ear, I knew another vet visit was in order.  There's just no way those sores would heal on their own.  This time the vet ordered a blood test and the results were not good!  Chico likely has either lymphoma cancer or leukemia.  That particular vet does not provide any kind of cancer treatments at all, and recommended a vet two towns over.  I've been told by a friend that this vet is very expensive, but that they put vet care above all else.

I hate asking for help, but I feel like I don't have a choice right now.  I'm not asking for help for myself, but for Chico.  I've applied, applied, and applied for jobs but just don't seem to be getting anywhere.  I've networked like crazy, volunteered for experience and more networks, gone to the school career center for resume and cover letter and interview and job finding help, and nothing is working.  Everyone keeps telling me I'm doing all the right things, but no one is hiring me.  I cannot even afford the most basic medical care for Chico and I want to make sure he's taken care of.  He's my priority right now.  If he can be treated easily, I want to be able to give him every chance possible.  If this turns out to be a difficult cancer, then I want to make his last days comfortable.  Quality of life is more important than quantity.

With much encouragement from Lynne, I've created a GoFundMe page in the hopes of raising the money necessary for his care.  Feel free to share his page.  If you can spare even just a dollar or two, I would be forever grateful.  No amount is too small.  Even if you can't contribute anything, please at least keep him in your prayers.  Thank you!

Power of the Paws Please

This is such a difficult post to write.  I don't if anyone has noticed, but I've been MIA the last few weeks.  While August was a bad month, September has been a crazy month.  Sadly, I'm still looking for work so that's not why it's been so crazy.  I've been busy volunteering and interviewing.  I'm currently waiting to hear back on three different jobs that I recently interviewed for.  

While it's been crazy and mostly good, it's not been entirely good.  Earlier this year, Chico had a bunch of sores on the top of his head that took eons to heal.  As soon as those healed up, more would take its place.  I finally took him to the vet and he was given a steriod, an antibiotic, and a cream to put on the sores.  I could see a big difference within 24 hours and Chico seemed to be a whole lot less itchy.  I just noticed recently that some of the sores have come back.  

While cuddling with him one day, I noticed a lump.  At the time I really didn't put too much thought into it.  I'm not sure why I didn't, but I didn't.  It was very small and it didn't seem to bother him.  And now -- he's got several lumps!  This comes at the absolute worst time because I'm completely out of money and am struggling to pay my bills as it is.  I can't pay my mortgage, let alone afford to take him to the vet.  I don't know what to do...  I'm very scared because I don't want Chico to suffer needlessly.  Right now he isn't in any pain, but I can't wait too long to get him treated or he likely will be.

I don't feel comfortable asking for anything but prayers.  Please pray for my boy.  He's nine years old and such a sweetheart.  I've prayed for many of you and it would mean so much if you could pray for Chico in return.  He needs all the prayers he can get right now.  Thank you!

Wordless Wednesday

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August Chewy.com Review

I don't imagine I was missed too terribly much since I don't seem to be getting many comments lately, but I took the past week off from blogging.  August was a rough month for me and I just needed time to sit back and reflect on everything.  Tomorrow is the start of a new month, so hopefully I can put all the craziness of August behind me and start over in a much happier place.  :)

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I meant to post this much sooner, but life seems to have a nasty habit of getting in the way of well laid plans, doesn't it?

My boys love, Love, LOVE getting goodies from Chewy.com, and we couldn't pass up the treats from the August collection.  We chose the Dogswell Vitality Jerky Bars - Chicken and Veggies flavor.

As you can see, it's made up of 85% chicken, 15% fruits and veggies, and 0% bad stuff.  And best of all, it's made in the good ol' USofA.  They contain chicken, tomatoes, cranberries, flaxseed, cane molasses, peas, carrots, spinach, apples, salt, tocopherols, rosemary extract, zinc, prpionate, ascorbate acid, and vitamin A acetate.  See, good stuff!  

I did not notice until after the dogs had sampled several that the expiration date had already come and gone by five months.  By then it was too late to send them back probably, so I didn't follow up with Chewy about that.  If I had paid for them though, I most certainly would have.  Otherwise, the chi's are quite happy with our choice.

They kind of remind me of brownie bites with the size and consistency.  The quarter is for size comparison.  They're very soft, so even Chico can enjoy them with his bad teeth.  These bars help maintain eyes, skin, and coat.

I don't know what I was thinking when I went to take pictures.  The first time I stood there with my iPod in hand watching them chow down while I smiled like a goon at them before I realized that I'd forgotten to take any pictures.  By then, the treats were long gone.  So I tried again tonight and totally forgot to grab my iPod until after they were done eating.  So you get a simulation with the Shiver Chico-minis.  Aren't they cute?

The boys give them seven paws up.  We'd have given them all eight paws if the treats hadn't expired so many months prior to them arriving at our house.  

We were not compensated financially for this post, but were provided free samples of dog treats in return for our honest opinions.

Wordless Wednesday

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Can You Feel the Burn?

Heartburn, that is.

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I've dealt with it from time to time over the past 87 or so years. (No, I'm not really that old.  Just feels like it sometimes.)  Lately I seem to be having a raging case of it.  I think it's from all of the stress that I've had lately.  Studies show that it's not caused by stress, but that seems to be when mine is the worst.  Does anyone have any cheap home remedies to stop it?  I had a particularly bad, bad, bad case of it last night.  

Happy to report that Chico's little head is almost completely healed now.  He's got just a few small scabs left, compared to the one big scab all over the back of his head from a week ago.  The antibiotics and steriod really did the trick for him.

Took my car in last week because I was having trouble starting it.  Cost me $350 just to have the mechanic tell me I should start seriously considering a new car.  Without a job, that won't be happening any time soon.  It works now, but the "check engine" light still comes on and off.  When hooked up to the machine that's supposed to read whatever the code is to say what's wrong with it, nothing comes up.  A new starter, an oil change and two new tires later, I've spent well over $500 of money that I seriously did not have last week.  I need a car to get to job interviews, so there wasn't a lot of choice in the matter.

Speaking of interviews, I went to the school career center last week.  It seems like before I went to school I was getting about an interview or so a week.  Sometimes I'd go a week or two and not have any, then I'd have two in one week.  And now that I graduated with a degree?  NO ONE IS CALLING!!!  The lady I saw was somewhat helpful.  She gave a few suggestions for my resume, like putting my education up at the top rather than the bottom so that employers will immediately see that I'm newly graduated.  She also said that I'm doing all of the right things with networking, informational interviews, volunteering, applying for jobs several times a week, sending out my resume to employers that aren't necessarily hiring right now but will be in the future, etc.  So why is no one interviewing me?  So frustrating!  I thought that I'd get more interviews with a college education, not less!  She said that on average, it takes 6 months to a year to find a job after graduation.  :(  I go back this week for interview tips.  I really feel like this is my downfall area, so hopefully she can offer some great ideas for when I actually do get called in.  

What's new with you?

Wordless Wednesday

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Mo Money Monday

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(This might make a small dent in my bills!)

Mo Money as in, "I need mo money!"  This has been an expensive week.

Poor little Chico had some bumps on his head earlier this year when I took him to the vet for his annual shots.  The vet said that it was nothing to worry about and was likely a result of him rubbing his head against his plastic food bowl.  I told the vet that my boys use porcelin bowls, so that couldn't be it.  But the bumps were small, the vet seemed to think it wasn't a big deal, and I just didn't worry about it too much.  The bumps were slow to heal, but heal they did.

I then noticed several more bumps further down on his little head.  Upon closer inspection, they were actually sores with scabs all in a straight line.  I thought it was weird, but it didn't seem to bother him too much so I decided to just keep an eye on it.  Pretty soon there were even more bumps/scabs and it was really yucky.  He kept scratching at them, so I tried putting some creme on them to help them heal.  Finally I realized that the creme didn't seem to be helping and that a vet visit was in order.  We saw a different vet this time, one I was much more familiar with.  He put Chico on a steriod and an antibiotic.  It's helped a lot already, but the sores still have a ways to go before they're fully healed.  The steriod has taken the itching away for the most part.

This past Saturday I got in the car and had difficulty starting it up.  Finally did, and as I drove to my friend's birthday party, the "service engine" light came on.  When it was time to go home, I got back in the car and had problems getting it started again.  I seriously thought it wasn't going to start up at all!  So I need to call the mechanic this morning and see when I can bring it in.  Why do things like this always happen when I'm so poor?

I had a job interview this past week.  Rather -- I thought it was a job interview!  The job was for campaign work, which I'm really not super interested in, but still...it was a job!  I'd met the candidate previously and had submitted my resume.  We met up in a Starbucks and talked for an hour, after which time he told me that he's not hiring right now, and that he's still figuring out what he's doing since this is all so new for him.  Very disappointing.  I have an appointment later in the week for the school career center, so hopefully they can help me find a job.  

If I can get the car fixed quickly, I'll be volunteering for a few hours too.  The guy who set everything up is funny, so I'm sure it'll be a fun time.

At the party on Saturday, there were two ladies sitting at my table that I'd never met before.  The three of us had a really nice talk.  When we were parting ways, one of them asked if she could have my contact information and said that she knew of a place that might be hiring.  She's going to check with them and get back to me.  So I'm hopeful and keeping my fingers crossed!

Wordless Wednesday

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Christmas in July

AKA Christmas in July

I got an email from Mona, Prissy and Sammie Jean's mom last week asking for a follow up post.  There were seven participants this year.  Clock on their names below to check out their goodies.

Cookie
Finn and Charley
Higgins and Niles
Mona, Prissy, and Sammie Jean
Samantha
Sarge 
Ziggy

Thank you to everyone who played along.  Everything went fairly smoothly this year with only a couple of hiccups.  This has always been a fun event, and I hope to continue it for many more years to come.

FFHT - Fractured Fryday Hairy Tails

I ( Shiver) tend to be on the shy side and even though I can be quite anxious, I can also be a little wild at times!  I know that's hard to believe, but it's true!  Just take this story for instance.

One day Mama got mad at me for chewing up a stuffie.  It wasn't so much that I chewed it up, it was more that I made a mess with the insides.  I got them everywhere!  She said that I should be more careful with my toys and to learn to clean up after myself.  I'm pretty sure she said a few HBO words too, but I quit listening after awhile.  All that yelling was making me anxious.  I really thought she'd appreciate seeing how much fun I had with the stuffie, so I'd made sure to spread it the guts around the house.  Just when Mama thought she had it all cleaned up, she'd go into another room and find a little bit more.  I thought she'd never stop yelling.

After finally getting it all cleaned up, Mama said we should go outside and play in the back yard for awhile.  She let us out and then went back in the house to get dinner started.  Chico and I wandered around the yard for a bit before I discoverd that someone had left the gate open.  FREEDOM!!!

We walked calmly through the gate and down the street.  As we walked, a UPS truck pulled up along side us and we spied the driver going up to a house to deliver a package.  Chico pointed out that the truck was still running, so in we hopped!  Chico insisted that he should be the one to drive since he noticed it first, but he couldn't reach the pedals.

We drove down the street a ways with the UPS guy chasing and yelling at us.  Boy, was he mad!  We drove around town for a bit, then decided to go check what was happening at the local Blogville Bar.  We saw several of our furiends there, so we hung out for awhile drinking, dancing, and having a good time.

Unfortunately, the UPS guy had called the Blogville PD on us.  The cops walked in and Chico and I knew we were in some serious trouble!  We had to call Mama to come bail us out of jail.  Boy, was she mad - even madder than before!  Since it was the first time we ever got into any legal trouble, the cops were kind enough to let us go.  The UPS guy didn't want to press charges since they stop at our house so often delivering our Chewy.com goodies for us to review.  The police said that having to go home with Mama was punishment enough, since she was so furious with us.

As much fun as that evening was, we learned our lesson.  Chico and I had to do lots of chores around the house for a very long time to make up for our misbehavin'.  Mama stays out with us whenever we go out into the back yard now so that we can't escape again.

Wordless Wednesday

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