Author: gfox (old content)

Fetch Spin

It’s been a couple weeks, and I still think about Yoshi a lot. This is going to be my first of many posts about funny/interesting stories about Yoshi.

One thing that most people know about him is that he loved to play fetch. He was pretty good at it too, and was fast. He was obsessive about playing fetch too.

This story isn’t about me playing fetch with him (though there will be a few of those), but rather about Yoshi playing with other people.

Whenever Yoshi saw a Chuck-It he would get excited. Quite often he would race over to whomever was playing fetch with their dog and join in. Yoshi was good though, and would actually return to the thrower with their ball, and not bring it back to me.

More than one person was impressed with this.

The only time it became a problem was if Yoshi didn’t get the ball. He would get all excited and do his spin around, annoying whiney actions. It was usually at this point that I would head over and retrieve him. Calling him never did any good, it was always necessary to walk over and put a leash on him.

He always loved a good session of fetch.

Young Refreshments

Tonight I had donation 46 at Canadian Blood Services. One of the volunteers commented that I must have started donating as a young child. 🙂

Getting to the donation was pretty easy, as was making the donation. Afterwards, the stopping of the bleeding was the hard part. This had never happened to me before, but my arm did not want to stop. They iced me up, bandaged me up, and taped me down. Eventually I had stopped enough to let me head over to the refreshments.

Drink boxes? Really? What about the environment? Please let’s get back to the containers of juice.

If I keep to my schedule, I could hit 50 donations this year. 47 in June, 48 in August, 49 in October, and 50 in December.

When I got home Sprout was asking me questions about my bandages. I took the opportunity to tell him about what I do, and why I do it.

Storm Bunny

On the weekend we had a huge wind storm that wreaked havoc with some travellers. Thankfully Sox’s family was able to all make it to the Island without incident. Although, one plane trip almost turned around after attempting to land at the Victoria airport.

Saturday I was looking out into the back yard and saw that a huge branch had broken off the cherry tree. Thankfully Sox’s dad was in town visiting. He borrowed our neighbours chainsaw and cleaned up the mess (sort of). He took down the hanging branch, bucked up the bigger pieces, and lopped all the branches into small pieces. Those small pieces still need to be hauled away.

Meanwhile my son grabbed a couple branches and walked around like this for a while saying “I’m an Easter Bunny”. 🙂 Priceless.


RIP Yoshi 1998 – 2010

I am still torn up about this but on Monday morning Yoshi passed away. The last couple weeks his condition had been deteriorating. Over this past weekend he began getting very crippled, very quickly and on Sunday Sue and I booked an appointment with a vet to come to our house on Monday afternoon. Early Monday morning it was apparent to us Yoshi could not wait, so we met with a veterinarian at their office and we said our goodbye.

We love Yoshi a lot and miss him terribly. There are noises I hear that remind me of him. When I walk into the kitchen I still look over to where his bed used to be to see if he is watching me. I know these will fade, but they still hurt now.

I don’t want this to be a depressing post though. I want to remember Yoshi as the happy, athletic, and energetic dog he used to be. When I am up to it I will be posting some of my fond memories of Yoshi. For now a few pictures.

We’ve had these antlers for a while and Yoshi actually didn’t mind wearing them. He got a great reaction wherever we went with them.

Yoshi loved to have a toy in his mouth. Rope toys, balls, chew toys. Quite often when we got home he would rush to the door to say hi, then we could see him looking about trying to find something for his mouth.

Running “all out” at Macaulay Point Park. His ears really flapped a lot as he ran. Very endearing.

He was quite a handsome dog. We took part in the SPCA Paws for a Cause several times and this was taken at one of them when it was down by the breakwater.

Running at a dog park with one of his buddies.

Taking a break at Macaulay Point Park. This was a great park we frequented a lot when we lived closer to it.

Galloping up the trail at Thetis Lake.

Yoshi loved sleeping in sunbeams. Even better was full on flaking out in the sun. At our old house he loved the sun deck because it got so hot. At our current house he loved to lay out back on the cement pad. Not quite as hot, but it did the trick.

The State of the Dog 2

This past Friday Yoshi had an Xray of his neck. It wasn’t the news we were hoping for. His spondylosis has progressed up his neck and the vet is thinking that his current condition isn’t likely due to an injury, but rather his degenrating spine.

For now he is off one of the drugs he was taking, and when we next talk to the vet we will see about upping the dose on something else. Right now he isn’t any worse nor any better than last week.

I really want Yoshi to be able to enjoy life. Every time I get him to go lay down in his corner I feel a little guilty and quite sad. This is no life for him. I hope that some time in the next month we can hit on some combination of medications that can help him out and allow him to enjoy life again.

There is more from Sox here.

The State of the Dog

Yoshi has been part of our family for a long time. Sox and I love him very much so it was very saddening a few years ago when we learned he had some spinal arthritis issues.

We got him on some medication, modified his exercise routines, and kept him happy. For a long time this was fine.

Recently we started noticing changes in Yoshi. He was having a harder time walking and occasionally on walks he would fall over. This tended to happen when he tried turning around or backing up. A few times he slipped down the stairs too.

A vet trip later and our vet thought a change in medication might be in order. We tried some cartrophen (sp?) shots, but they didn’t seem to do anything. Next up was some steroids, prednisone (sp?). For a couple weeks this seemed to be working.

The side effects are that prednisone makes you thirsty. More drinking makes him pee more. A lot more. Since I was not working, this wasn’t a problem.

This all changed on the weekend. Yoshi was acting funny, whining a bunch, and wasn’t himself. He was panting more too. Sunday morning I went to let him out for his pre breakfast pee he had a hard time getting up and whined loudly. Whining from pain is something Yoshi has never done. This was not a good sign.

Sox got Yoshi in to the vet for another exam and she was immediately concerned. Her thinking is that he has a cervical injury. It may be a lesion on a disc. This is devastating to us. Another indication that he is getting old and that he won’t be around forever.

The treatment is a larger dose of prednisone, and another couple meds. He also is not supposed to move for a month. No walks, no stairs, no running. More pills, more thirst, more peeing. We have to create a gulag for him so he can’t roam around. The pills right now have a sedatory effect so this is a great help, but it is still very sad to see.

The stress level in our household is so high right now. Three of us were diagnosed with strep and are taking meds. I started a new job so I am not able to help with the kids as much as I have been. Now Yoshi needs more care and attention, and agian since I started a new job I can’t help with the extra care.

If all this had happened a month ago, this wouldn’t be a problem. Having it happen now is just killer.

I am just a mess mentally. I’m trying to learn as much as I can for work, but any time I walk in the door all I can think about is Yoshi. He’s 11 years old and has lead a good life, but I am not ready to be without him. I love him to bits and am terrified that soon Sox and I will have to make a decision about whether he will have to be put down because of his failing body. I can’t stand seeing Yoshi in pain, and I firmly believe in quality of life, but that won’t make the actual decision any easier.

I have also thought about the kids. Elliot may have some memories of Yoshi when he is older, but it is unlikely Amy every will. It is hard to fathom that as important and loved as Yoshi is, Amy may not remember him later in life.

And I wish I could do more to help Sox out. That is stronger more than anything else. I want to step in, help out, and make things better. I’ve been so involved in house stuff for the past few months and not having that ability is leaving me feeling a little out of sorts.

Mistake Horn

If I make a mistake I tend to acknowledge that mistake.

Same for driving. If I make a bonehead move, I indicate I am sorry.

Not everyone is like this.

Yesterday I was driving along Catherine St heading towards Esquimalt Ave. As I approached where Bay St intersects, the car that came to a stop at the stop sign on Bay, suddenly left the line. I jammed the brakes and layed on the horn, but the lady driving kept going and never slowed down.

At Esquimalt Ave red light she sort of shrugged in the rear view mirror. Maybe she was indicating she was sorry, but it felt like she wasn’t sure why I honked at her. Yaarggh. Pay attention please.

Strep Hours

Well, the diagnosis was strep throat. I got the call this morning about 24 hours from when the test was taken. Strangely they only had results for me, and not for Elliot. Still, we started him on the antibiotics as well. He needs to be on meds 24 hours before he is allowed back and daycare to alleviate concerns over reactions. He also needs to not be contagious. Best we start early to avoid disrupting our lives too much.