The Good...The Bad...& The Sad

...not necessarily in that order.

First, the bad, I guess...though it's not 'the end of the world' bad.

I don't know if I have mentioned this before...probably not. Tag has been having seizures...not your typical grand mal seizure, but he does exhibit ataxia, stiffness, & disorientation. He actually had one grand mal seizure back when he was 2 years old, but nothing since...at least, as far as I know. Until December 19. And December 25. And January 23. I finally had blood drawn for a serum chemistry to rule out metabolic causes. Of course, everything was normal. Claire (vet & friend) and I have been keeping track of this together. Diagnosis: Idiopathic Epilepsy (seizure disorder that has no identifiable cause).

I knew I would have to put him on drugs...but was in a bit of denial, methinks. Until the other night when he had another seizure & fell off the bed. If you've never watched an animal seizure, consider yourself lucky...it's very difficult to watch. Bad enough when I worked in CCU, but watching your own dog is something else. Gives a whole new meaning to the word, 'helpless'. Once he's back to normal, he is completely normal..."Mama, where's my warthog?" Anyway. Started him on phenobarbital last night...he's at the low end of the therapeutic dose.

Side effects are polydipsia (excessive thirst), polyuria (excessive urination) & polyphagia (excessive eating). Claire said that in this first week (especially), it could make him DOPEY.

Or SLEEPY...

Tag has had 2 doses now and so far, no drastic changes. We shall see how the next several days progress.

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On to the good...perhaps amusing is a better word.

I was chatting with Kim the other day and mentioned someone she had never heard me mention before. How can that be???? I guess I had never told her that I was once engaged to Dwayne, from Canada! So, I dug through boxes to find these...for your viewing pleasure! I hope you enjoy them!!! I was almost 21 years old in January of 1973 when these were taken!!! I cannot believe that I was ever that young...{sigh}
I met Dwayne at a local nightclub...he was a roadie for a band. I think it was their last night there. We talked a lot and decided that we wanted to keep in touch. So, we called (remember, back then, long distance was very expensive!) & wrote letters. Sometime after that, Dwayne (with a friend) drove to WI to spend time with me and meet my family. Here's Dwayne...I always thought he looked a bit like Neil Young.


Here we are with my niece, Jody (Toots). Dwayne and Jody were totally enamored with each other!

And, here we are with my Mom & Dad...who, by the way, thought he was pretty special! But, they were concerned, because I would be moving to Calgary, Alberta - Canada.

So, that's all for now on that!

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And, now for the sad...
It is one year ago today that I said good-bye to Cruiser.


He is forever in my heart...