Our Entry for Dory's Smiley-Fest

Mom's been slacking (again), but she FINALLY is getting around to getting our entries in for Dory's Smiley-Fest.

Here is my entry:

I am smiling because I just got in from play in the SNOW!!! If you look very closely, I have a chunk of snow between my eyes! And that gives me even more reason to smile! I am a Very Happy Dog here! (Not that I'm not usually a Happy Dog, but this snow stuff? It makes me a Very Happy Dog!) And Mom says I'm looking more like a Retriever. I wonder what she mean by this. Not that it matters. I know that she thinks I'm Very Pretty!

And I have another entry. I think Dory should create a special category for Old Doggies (or Old Beasties, if you prefer). Because while TaiChi's teeth aren't exactly pearly white anymore, she still smiles. In this particular picture (taken last fall), she was smiling at the fact that she was bigger (and on top of) me!!! See that glint in her eye? And the smile on her lips? She's TOTALLY got the Mona Lisa thing going on! (You may have to biggify to really see the Mona Lisa thing.)

Me? I was still suffering for Very Little Dog-itis. Serious Deer-in-the-headlights look! And I still can't believe that I was Ever That Little!!! But TaiChi is Very Pretty.

And since we are speaking about TaiChi? First, thanks for all of your kind wishes for her. Because she is So Old and Venerable, Mom is worried that she is fragile (which, well, she is, because she is Old and Venerable), and so she appreciates all the kind comments.

So, back to TaiChi. Most of the reports have come back, and the good news is that it is Very Unlikely that she has cancer. She does have an infection of some sort, but we won't know more about that until Monday. They've got her on antibiotics for that. The only issue is that the level of nitrogen in her blood is rising, while her creatinine (?) level is remaining pretty steady. Generally if the two rise together, it's a clear indicator that there is something wrong with her kidneys. For the nitrogen to rise while the creatinine doesn't is a bit puzzling, so Mom has collected some of her poop and will take it to the vet tomorrow for him to look at. Heehee. Now I can see the fascination in poop, but I am amazed that there are humans who study poop. Maybe they were dogs in their former lives!

The good news is that TaiChi seems to be feeling okay, is eating fine, pooping fine, is getting fluids to help flush out her bladder/kidneys, and doesn't seem to be having any noticeable issues. In short, even if she is sick with something, she's not acting like she feels sick. Which is a good thing. Mom just wants to make sure that all her plumbing is working okay, because these things seem to break easily when you get old, and she doesn't want to miss something that could get worse.

Oh, and one other thing: Mom took me on a hike today, since the weather was nice (50 degrees and sunny). It was pretty muddy - which suited me just fine - but we had a good time. Except for when the vet called, and Mom stopped and talked to him (she didn't want to keep walking and lose the phone signal) - that part was kind of boring. But the rest of it? Totally fun!!! Mom just didn't bring her camera for some silly reason, so we don't have any pictures. But if we go tomorrow? I'll make sure she's got her camera, because it is still pretty out!