The Mystery of the Blue Paw

Not too long ago, something very strange was going on...everywhere I went, a sinister blue madman was behind me.  It was a hot, summer night and I began to think, "Who better to find this intruder than the super-snoops, Agnies of Pississi and Bob Barker, Beagle and Basset Extraordinaire.

We began our search in the garden--it was dark and damp and smelled of rotting wood and overly-sweet hibiscus.  The grass had a strange odor...Mr. Lift-a-Leg had already staked out his territory.  Blue Man Beware!

Agnies led the way but our trail turned cold.  Who was this evil that lurked within?  Where was our path leading to?


Suddenly, in the darkness, a wolf-like presence appeared.  She was striking in the moonlight.  A real beauty.  Who's reflection in the cold, dark water was I seeing?  I should bark.  I should bark a lot.  I feel as though I know this girl...

As the evening went on, more and more blue blood appeared.  What was it?  Where did it come from?  Could we be saved?
Was it aliens?  Was Mom planting flowers on the sidewalk?  Was the porch growing some type of blue fungus?  The fear grew to immense proportions...UNTIL

Well, what the heck is that blue stuff on my paw?  Honestly, I have no idea where that came from?  That gallon of paint by the garage?  What gallon of paint?  The blue puddle, by the gallon of paint?  Oh, right...I thought you wanted the lid off being that you humans left it there.  It's a very nice color especially on the black concrete.

Well, such a relief.

Hmm...blue paw...BLUE PAW SHILOHS...where canine genius is born.

No Dog, Dog Show

I know, I'm beautiful.  Here's the deal--I'm blowing my coat and skinny so I brought my humans to this Oklahoma City Dog Show to see all my cousins.  They all won Best in Breed, Best in Everything--except for some stinking Corgi that's 3rd in the nation, but who cares--he's short like Bob Barker and it doesn't count.  Anyway, it was only about 100 degrees IN THE SHADE and all my dog relatives had to go run around in this ring and some lady poked and prodded on them.  Yeah, looked like a lot of fun to me if you don't mind a dental/rectal exam.  They got ribbons and their humans were real happy about it.


We hung out most of the day and I minded my own business.  I heard we might be going to Texas next for a Pet Expo so hopefully, I'll fatten up a little and my hair won't look like Britney Spears after a nervous breakdown.

The Hobo Dogs

Charles P. Eisenmann, the owner of London and the Hobo Dogs, passed away recently.  These are my distant cousins and they gave me and my fellow ISSR Shiloh Shepherds great intelligence and beauty.  Thank you, sir for everything you accomplished. 

Drop Box

GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN!
Well, I turned one year old on Saturday and of course, out comes the party props...ribbons, tiaras, candles and balloons. I told Mom you only get one shot at this and that's it. So, here it is. Now give me my food!

I've been feeling a lot better lately (except when Mom gives me too much food or something new that my enzymes don't seem to mush up). I got spayed and something called gastropexy which left a really, big scar on my gorgeous belly. But you can hardly see it now so I'll give the humans a thank you for taking the extra step in trying to prevent bloat. I don't seem to be gaining any weight but I'm feeling so much better and I'm growing really tall so maybe I'll fatten up when that slows down. Anyway, Bob Barker keeps barking and Agnies keeps us all in line and CC Cat is still the most fun to chase.

Heading to Oklahoma City next weekend for the dog show. Can't wait to see my cousins.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

I just had my 10 month birthday.  I got special food (see earlier post) and Bob Barker didn't. 

Dad thinks he's a strong man.  Doesn't it look like I'm having fun?  Ya think?

EPI--CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?

It's been awhile but a lot's been going on around here.

Well, everyone, I've got some bad news and some good news.  It seems that all that bitchina stuff was worse than I thought.  There's a disease out there called EPI (Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency) that can be triggered by stress and I'm tellin' ya, being on your period for three freaking weeks is pretty darned stressful.  Come to find out, all that cow-patty poop was being caused from my pancreas not producing enough enzymes to digest my food.  Warning--this is gross--I was literally starving to death so being a dog (even Shilohs act like dogs occasionally), I was eating that nasty stuff and dirt and mulch and anything I could put in my mouth.  I lost about ten pounds while this was going on--made me cranky and tired and that Basset, Bob Barker, was as useful as a fur coat in summer with my needin' a stud--really, what dog (fixed or not) could resist my beauty and twitching tail?  Like I've said in the past, he's not the smartest wiener on the stick. 

Well, anyhows, my human Mom and Dad knew something wasn't right and after some e-mails and talking to my first Mom, Laura Kathryn, off to the vet we go to start some tests.  First, we needed to rule out Giardia--negative.  Then, Laura recommended a fasting TLI test.  My wonderful vet sent my blood off to Texas A&M University.  (Clemson University has taken over research but TAMU still tests for EPI.)  Normal ranges for the test are 5.7-45.2 pg/L and mine was <1.0!  Mom and Dad were just about as sick as I was when they got the news because they were afraid I wasn't going to make it.  They just didn't realize what a determined girl I am!  EPI dogs have to have enzymes added to all their food and the food has to 'incubate' for 20-30 minutes before it's ready. Up until now, I've been eating Canidae All Life Stages so we switched to Canidae Grain-free kibble (grains are a no-no with EPI).  Mom and Dad grind it up in the blender, add the enzymes, some coconut oil which is a MCT (medium chain triglyceride) and top it off with some good ole' smelly tuna and I'm happy as Lindsey Lohan with a Martini.  EPI, according to the experts, occurs in 52% of German Shepherd dogs...unfortunately, there are a few of us Shilohs that have it, too but with all the information we have from the forum, all of us are being very well taken care of and expect to live very long, normal lives.

The bad news about this is I will have this forever and I can't breed as planned.  The good news is, EPI is manageable and doesn't have to break the bank.  I weigh 75 lbs again (I gained back 8 lbs) and I'm full of energy, my coat is gorgeous and you'd never know anything is going on in that pancreas thing.  Some other important things Mom and Dad were talking about is how glad they were that they took everyone's advice on the ISSR forum and bought pet insurance when they got me back in October.  It has paid for itself and it even covers my enzymes and they're not cheap. 

So, please everyone--keep me in your thoughts.  I'm one lucky girl to have all these smart humans around...Bob Barker's  another story.

Bitchina Monologues

Well, something weird is going on down there.  I'm not even going to tell you the bloody details, but I've never felt quite like this before and I'm not so sure I like it.  The Humans are all sweet and mushy about  'their little girl growing up' but Dad is all protective saying there had better not be any big (or little) studs sniffing around.  Just a reminder that the only stud anywhere in this vicinity is that numbnuts-I-don't-have-any, Bob Barker, the Basset and the only sniffing he would do is in a bowl-full of food.  I sure don't feel normal...not  hungry, tired and pretty darned disgusted with whatever this is.  I overheard discussion about me breeding next year and puppies which I think would be a lot of fun having little puppies around but I'm not sure where I come into the picture.   I sure hope I get to go to the Oklahoma City dog show but I might have to wait until the fall to see my cousins and other Shiloh friends.  I'm pretty tired so I'm heading upstairs for a nap.