Goodbye, Dear Sweet Tobi

I'm so sad to say that this is the end, Tobi passed away last evening. It's hard to imagine the hole she will leave behind, for so long she has been the one persistent and reliable body at the center of our changing life. She was comfort and love, and the noisy, smelly atmosphere of our home wherever we were. She felt so constant that we barely began to believe that she might some day be gone, even though we knew she was growing old in bulldog years. Her life spanned 3 continents and was more eventful than most dogs, and more than she probably would have preferred. But she was a happy and playful soul, which her poor bulldog body couldn't keep up with. It's too soon to lose such a friend.

3D Tobi

Still Going 'Round

Round and Round She Goes

One more trip around the sun.

Happy Birthday Tobi!

Foot Surgery

Tobi finally had surgery to remove her gross interdigital cyst. I've lost count of how many different antibiotics she's been on, and none of them have helped it go down. So last week decided to have the vet cut it out. She's sore of course, but she can still walk around on it.

As the vet said though, the problem with wrapping up a bulldog's foot is that it's a bulldog foot. She assures us that the surgery went great and the stitches are healing nicely, but under that dressing it looks like a horrible mess. Graphic photo after the jump!

Tobi Spins

Across the street from our house there's a playground with this little balance board on a spring. Completely on her own, Tobi will jump up on it and spin around, barking and trying to bite it.

Cyst Monster

Remember poor Tobi's interdigital cyst? It's all grown up:

She's back on antibiotics for two weeks, and then the vets will decide whether or not it can be removed.

Goodbye, Nina

I'm sorry to say that Nina died today, after fighting her disease for two years. She was a strong and unique cat, a wonderful pet, and we're very sad to lose her.

Tobi in the New House

Tobi in the New House, originally uploaded by morganloomis.

Poor Tobi, she had to deal with moving to a new house. She doesn't even like it when we move furniture around.

Tobi and Harriet

Chicken in Bed, originally uploaded by morganloomis.

Happy Birthday Tobi!

6 years old.

MilesCam

I'm trying out mounting a GoPro camera on Miles. Need to find a more stable solution, but this is still pretty fun:

MilesCam Test from Morgan Loomis on Vimeo.

Miles' Second Owie

The other weekend I took Miles to the dog park, and after a couple minutes I noticed he was being very submissive and defensive around this one very playful dog, which is a bit out of character. A little later, after we ran down the beach, I saw he had a rip in his side, and so he must have been bit. His skin tears so easily, and it was a thumb sized hole and a flap of skin, so off to the vet for some more staples!

Luckily he heals quickly, too, so we just got the staples out after a week and a half. For a little while everyone was getting pills in the morning: Miles on antibiotics for his cut, Tobi on antibiotics for her cold, and Nina for being Nina.

Tobi has a Cold

Tobi and Miles both got a cold recently, it was a bit sad and a bit funny. Miles was generally confused and frustrated, which is how he usually reacts to any kind of change. He would randomly go into these wheezing fits and stare at you like "How do I stop this?"

Tobi was just a wet mess, constantly sneezing and blowing gobs of snot everywhere. At this point in her life, though, she takes any kind of medical problem in stride.

Meet Hoa

We got another duck, a companion for Ferdinand. His name is Hoa, which means friend in Maori. They're like two peas in a pod.

Poor Nina

What's the Password?, originally uploaded by morganloomis.

Nina's kind of in a bad patch right now. Her red blood cell count is the worst it's been in over a year. Her health is a roller coaster ride, day to day she'll be energetic and then lethargic. She's been going into the vet every couple weeks for blood tests, to try to find the right dosages of the right medicines to keep her stable. Our vet is great, but no one really knows what to do for her, so now we're trying everything at once. Antibiotics twice a day, prednisone and cyclosporine ever day, and leukeran every other day. It's a pretty rough regimin, and we feel bad for her. But yesterday when we brought her home she was out chasing bugs in the back yard, so you never know.

Miles' First Owie

We were warned that the whippets are healthy, except for their proclivity for running into and off of things. So this will undoubtedly be the first of many speed wounds:

3 staples, not bad.

Miles Needs One of These

In addition to calming him down, I'll bet he could significantly lower our power bill if it was hooked up to a generator. You can see a video in action on their website.

Doggy Obedience Graduation

Tobi and Miles are obedient dogs! I can prove it!

Yeah right...