I’ve always had a difficult time forging friendships that last. If you were to look back over the years, my set of friends has changed as frequently as some people replace their toothbrushes. Boyfriends have been few and far between, and they have only stuck around for a few months at best. Months and even years have passed between visits with my own family members. My dogs have been the only constant. And though I love Molly and Roxy very much, no one will ever be able to hold a candle to Miss Cruella. She was my “heart dog” – the greatest blessing I have ever known. And though I always loved her with my whole heart, our bond became so much stronger during the last three years of her life. She developed several very serious health conditions that required a lot of care. And like any good parent, I did everything that I possibly could for her – until the moment she took her last breath. I always knew the day would come, but it came way too soon. Eight years with her was just not enough.

I have never known such love, companionship, and loyalty as that which Cruella showed me during our time together. And though the pain of losing her has been immense, I would endure it all again just to be able to see her one more time. The joy of having her in my life far outweighed the tragedy of losing her.

It is with tear stained eyes that I recount my fondest memories of her. She was always at my side. Even when I took a bath, she patiently waited by the tub. And on the occasions that I’d fall asleep while soaking, I would awaken to a lick on the nose. There were the many games of hide and seek. It was hard to control my laughter as I listened to her run from room to room searching for me. She was so persistent, never giving up until she had finally found me! Miss Cruella was something else!

I have often prayed that God would take away the pain of losing my best friend. But upon careful consideration, that’s not really what I want at all. I now realize that I have felt pain because I have loved. And because I have loved, I have lived.

©2012 The Kat House. All Rights Reserved.

After suffering the loss of Cruella seven weeks ago, I was heartbroken, and my life felt empty. Adopting another dog was the furthest thing from my mind – until I realized that Molly was grieving perhaps more than I was. While I was at work, she was spending her hours all alone. She needed a companion.

After making a couple of unsuccessful trips to the shelters here in town, I found Roxy through PetFinder.com. I adopted her from a wonderful woman named Libby who was in the process of moving and wouldn’t be able to take Roxy with her. It worked out well for all involved. Roxy has a wonderful home with me. Molly has a new sister to play with. I have a new baby to love. And Libby can rest assured that Roxy is in good hands!

I am still incredibly sad that Cruella is no longer here with us, but it gets easier with each passing day. Whereas my thoughts of her were previously focused almost entirely on her final moments, I have begun to remember her as the amazing dog that she was – so loving and loyal until the very end.

I will never stop loving Cruella, but I am so happy to have Molly and Roxy in my life. I pray that they will be with me for many years to come.

©2012 The Kat House. All Rights Reserved.

Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t leave my life to chance. So, in true Tish fashion, I made a choice to find another job right away. And find another job I did. Despite a struggling economy, I had a great offer from a rapidly growing professional employer organization within two weeks. I gave a two week notice to my old employer and did my best to finish up as much work as I could before leaving.

A week after turning in my notice, I lost my sweet Cruella. It was by far the most traumatizing event I have experienced. God had entrusted me with her care for nearly eight years, and I never took that responsibility lightly. The last three years of her life had been tough – full of surgeries, medications, and numerous hospital stays. But I did all I could to keep her healthy and happy. And she did all she could to be there for her loving mommy. She was the greatest blessing I have ever known, and I will grieve her loss always.

I just finished my first week of work at the new company. Though I’m still in the same field, my position is much different from the last. I am enjoying it very much so far, but there is still so much to learn! I do hope that I’ll be able to contribute much to the company’s future success.

Molly is doing well, and I am so thankful to have her. She and I don’t have as close a bond as Cruella and I had, but I still love her very much. She is a good girl, and she misses her sister like crazy.

I feel like my entire life has changed over the course of the last five weeks – almost like one life has ended and another has begun. A guy in church told me that I’m writing the next chapter of my life, and I like that explanation much better. May this next chapter be full of life, love, and happiness!

©2012 The Kat House. All Rights Reserved.

I truly believe that she was sent to me directly from Heaven. She was my best friend, my loyal companion, my angel. The nearly eight years that we spent together were the best of my life, and I can’t imagine my days without her in them. Miss Cruella was a blessing in every way.

The past three years were difficult for us. Cruella battled and defeated cancer, peritonitis, Cushing’s Disease, and Addison’s Disease. She stayed strong and endured much. She valued the close bond that we shared, and she fought hard to preserve it.

A new and sudden illness presented itself on Tuesday. Cruella’s doctors worked feverishly to cure her, but in the end, there were no medical options. I went to the hospital on Thursday to pick her up and take her home, hopeful that we would have a few more days together. By that time, she had taken a turn for the worst. My heart was broken. I knew that she was clinging to life just to be able to see me one more time. So with a heart overflowing with love, and in the most selfless act of my life, I chose to let her go.

I have never known such a feeling of loss. My heart is empty, my eyes full of tears, and my world is forever changed. I pray that one day we will be together again. Until then, rest in peace my sweet, beautiful angel. If love could have saved you, you would have lived forever.

©2012 The Kat House. All Rights Reserved.

I transferred a few prescriptions to Doctors Foster and Smith late last year, and I saved a bundle when I did. I later transferred the others.

You may recall that Cruella requires an injection of Percorten every 25 days. I was paying $133 per injection at the vet’s office. By ordering the medication from Doctors Foster and Smith, I was able to save $18 per injection. Now I’m saving even more.

I belong to a Yahoo Group for owners of dogs with Addison’s Disease. The other members informed me that they are paying even less for their injections by ordering from 1-800-PetMeds. I checked into it, and sure enough. The cost of Cruella’s injection has now gone from $115 to $89!

My online pharmacy experience is limited to Doctors Foster and Smith and 1-800-PetMeds. The service has been great with both, but there are some pretty big differences between the pharmacies.

Doctors Foster and Smith has free shipping on all prescription items, no matter how small the order. My orders usually arrive within 3-4 days. Every order includes a fact sheet about each medication. Doctors Foster and Smith will not price match another pharmacy.

1-800-PetMeds offers free shipping for all orders over $39. I’ve ordered from them three times already, and each order arrived in only 2 days. They do not send a fact sheet with each medication, but they do include some sort of freebie with every order. Two of my orders included a huge dog biscuit, and the other included a sample of Greenies Pill Pockets. 1-800-PetMeds will price match any other online pharmacy. They offer automatic discounts upon checkout, and they send very generous coupon codes to you by email.

As I mentioned, my experience with both companies has been fantastic, but I’ve been relying more on 1-800-PetMeds lately due to the price match feature. I am saving $616 per year on just the Percorten! When you add the other medications, it’s probably $1,000 or more!

If you have pets and are purchasing their meds through a local veterinarian, you owe it to yourself and your pocketbook to look at the alternatives.

©2012 The Kat House. All Rights Reserved.

Today I asked the vet to write a prescription for the Percorten injection that Cruella currently receives every 24 days. I’ve been paying $133 per injection at the vet’s office. By ordering through Doctors Foster and Smith, I will be paying $93.49 per injection. I can give the shots myself and save almost $600 annually. Or I can have the vet to administer the injection for a fee of $18 each. That would drop the annual savings to about $322. I think I’ll have the vet to give a few more injections, and then I may take over the responsibility.

I just recently got refills on Cruella’s Thyrozine and Prednisone, but I’m going to start getting those from Doctors Foster and Smith when it comes time to reorder. I will save over $169 annually on those two medications.

I wish I had started ordering these meds online sooner. I can save almost $900 per year! If you have pets, be sure to do a price comparison to see if you can save money too. And for added savings, my buddy Andrew has some great Doctors Foster and Smith coupon codes.

©2012 The Kat House. All Rights Reserved.

Today I did the same thing, and I took my camera outside with me. This is what I saw.

I wonder what else she does when she thinks I’m not watching?

Sorry for the smudges on the glass. I have to clean those doors every day due to doggy nose prints! I guess it’s a good thing I clean the table every day too!

©2012 The Kat House. All Rights Reserved.

You may recall that among the many other afflictions she is currently dealing with, Cruella was recently diagnosed with MegaColon, an abnormal enlargement of the colon caused by its inability to empty properly. She is now on a high fiber diet and takes a stool softener twice per day. This new regimen has been keeping her regular for a few weeks now, and I haven’t noticed any ill effects – until today.

As I was walking Cruella toward the vet’s office, she suddenly assumed position to take a dump. I tried to rush her to the grass, but it didn’t work. She dropped a turd right there on the sidewalk! I assumed she was finished. Big mistake! While we were waiting for the doctor in the treatment room, she hunched over and dropped another one in the floor! Beyond embarrassed, I opened the door and told one of the girls what had happened. While she cleaned up the mess, I took Cruella outside. She couldn’t even make it to the grassy area behind the building. She just let loose in the middle of the parking lot.

Convinced that she surely must have an empty colon by now, I took her back inside. Just as the doctor and a tech walked into the room, Cruella took the biggest shit in recorded history. I’m telling you, folks. Somebody should have called Guinness. We all just stood there in total shock until the doctor finally broke the silence. “My gosh! That is the biggest I’ve ever seen!”

The sight of such a thing was bad enough, but the smell was even worse. I won’t even attempt to describe it, as I don’t think there are words in the English language that can do it justice. Let’s just say it sure as hell didn’t smell like Christmas cookies! The tech brought in an odor absorbing candle, and by the sheer grace of God, we all lived to tell the tale.

And speaking of the tale, it doesn’t end there. When I finally got back to the house, I took Cruella for another walk. She did it again!

At the beginning of today’s vet visit, Cruella weighed 59.5 pounds. The doctor told me that she should weigh 55 pounds, and that I need to limit her food intake until she loses a little weight. I should have weighed her again on the way out the door. I’m betting that she needs to gain weight now!

©2012 The Kat House. All Rights Reserved.

Molly has been on a diet for a while now, and she’s not handling it well at all.  She gets plenty to eat, but she’s never satisfied.  She is constantly trying to breaking into the garbage can or steal Cruella’s food – and sometimes she tries to steal mine too!  On Wednesday night, I had been munching on sunflower seeds while sitting at the computer.  I got up to get ready for bed, and I made the mistake of leaving the bag of sunflower seeds unattended.  I walked out of the room for just a second, and Molly took the opportunity to grab it.

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it here before, but Cruella is my shadow.  She goes everywhere I go.  When I walk from one room to another, so does she.  I started to walk back into my computer room to turn out the light, and that’s when I saw Molly with the sunflower seeds.  She growled and snarled her teeth at me, and before I could even react, Cruella jumped her.  The two got into a terrible fight, and I had to pull them apart.  Once I got them separated, I guarded Cruella and rushed her into another room.  That’s when I saw a large gash just below her left eye – the same eye being treated for a corneal ulcer!  There was blood all around the eyeball too, but I couldn’t tell if it was also injured.  So I called the Pet ER to tell them I was on my way, and then I rushed out there.

Cruella was very lucky.  The doctor closed her wound with surgical glue and stained the eyeball.  The corneal ulcer was back, but there were no new injuries.  I am continuing to treat the ulcer with an antibiotic and pain medication.  Hopefully it will be healed in a few more days.  As for Molly, I am still upset with her.  The only “treats” she will be receiving in the near future are appetite suppressants!

©2012 The Kat House. All Rights Reserved.

Keep in mind that these new conditions are in addition to the Addison’s Disease and Hypothyroidism she was already being treated for! Drug treatment was prescribed to manage the new conditions, and you cannot imagine how difficult it has been to keep up with the many medications. Take a look at all the prescriptions she has been taking on a daily basis.

She also requires an injection of Percorten approximately every 28 days for the Addison’s Disease, and Frontline Plus and Interceptor each month to prevent fleas and heartworms. Once some of these meds are taken out of Cruella’s regular routine, I may have to check her into a drug treatment center to help with the withdrawal symptoms!

I took Cruella back to UT today, and I am very happy to say that she got a great report! The abdominal incision has completely healed, and her stitches were removed. The corneal ulcer has also healed, leaving only a cloudy spot behind – and that should be gone in a few days. Her white blood cell count is still elevated but has dropped significantly from what it was on Monday. The doctors have no idea where the infection is, but her body is doing a great job of fighting it off. As for the abdominal mass, it was diagnosed as a gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) just like the one that was removed last year. UT is currently doing additional staining to determine whether it is malignant or benign. The doctors feel confident that all of it was removed, so they don’t think she will require any further treatments other than just regular oncology checkups.

Cruella, Molly, and I appreciate the many kind words, thoughts, and prayers that we received. Things are now looking up, and hopefully Cruella will feel continue to feel well going forward! As for Molly, she is still doing great. Her Atypical Cushing’s Disease is responding very well to the all natural treatment she is receiving.

Thanks again for all the thoughts and prayers!

©2012 The Kat House. All Rights Reserved.