Anneliese – Page 3 – The Dackel Princess

My Girl, Anneliese

Looking back, I recall the moment 12 and a half years ago, when, on a cold December morning, Greta had a caesarian section, and I watched as one baby and then the next was lifted from her womb. Their small sleepy bodies, just squirming in this new world.

And the last to emerge was this tiny, squealing baby puppy. From the moment she drew breath, she was feisty and funny and although the smallest in her litter, she was the puppy always ahead of the others.

That’s my Anneliese. Full of spunk and never giving up on anything. Enjoying life to the fullest.

So yesterday, when I got her pathology report on the tumor and teet they removed a week ago, my heart just broke into a million little pieces!

Anneliese has Stage 4 Breast Cancer. There was a lot, and they were not able to get it all.

Some of you recall that I managed Shubi’s rare illness (GME) by doing chemotherapy here at home. The drugs ravaged her body, and in the end, she had no quality of life.

So, I have decided to do palliative care for her during the remainder of her life.

She will go for more car rides, she will get that little piece of bacon she craves, and she will be spoiled rotten.

I’m not sure why all of this is happening to one sweet little doggy. The eyes, and now cancer. It just is not right!

But she is loved deeply, and I will enjoy everything about her in the time we have left.

Anneliese’s Eyes

In the Harry Potter books and movies, during tough times for Harry, when he meets his parent’s friends, they almost all say the same thing.

“I would have known you anywhere, you have her eyes. You have your mother’s eyes.”

Lately, I have noticed that as Anneliese has aged, I look into her eyes, and I see Greta. Anneliese is so much like her mother in so many ways. She is spunky and feisty, and she is also not afraid of anything!

Greta was a wee bit more affectionate than Anneliese is, but Anneliese has her own way of showing her love for us, her owners.

Here is dearest Anneliese. Looking up at me with love in her eyes.

And here is her Mum, Greta, also looking at me. Oh my, how I miss this little pup. She was so devoted to me and I miss her constant presence.

So, when I look at Anneliese, and I see her mother staring back up at me, it is almost like Greta is soothing my broken heart. What a joy it is to see Greta in her daughter’s eyes.

Now I understand what JK Rowling meant when she wrote: “You have her eyes.” about Harry Potter and his mother Lily. It isn’t all about color or shape, rather it is about the soul and sweetness of the person, (or in this case my pup Greta and her daughter, Anneliese).

Life Through Anneliese’s Eyes

We drove down and had Anneliese to the Canine Ophthalmologist on Wednesday. I’d been hoping for good news, but in the end, it really was just okay news.

Things have not gotten any worse, but they haven’t gotten any better either. In fact, the ulcer has not healed at all, and she actually had a new scratch on the eye.

Okay, I asked, I see that she is not moving around the way she once did. She is very careful and has begun to run into things.

He says her vision is like looking through dirty scratched plexiglass. In other words, she isn’t seeing much. The other eye is holding its own, so she has some vision, but not a lot.

So, my baby is slowly going blind. If she is lucky the process will be slow and she will not live to see the end of her sight.

The good news is she is happy and healthy and well loved. She is comfortable in her home, knows her way around here and we are watchful so that she is safe.

Always and forever, my sweet, sweet girl.

Thursday Thoughts

Well, they’re forecasting more snow. In some ways I guess I’m ready. Plenty of food, plenty of fuel for the generator, and plenty of dog food. So, on that front all is well.

Anneliese’s eye is so much better and I can tell she is actually feeling well. She is full of spunk and energy and this makes me happy to see.

We have had one strange thing occur. Arnie and Anneliese have had their own beds since they were born. About two weeks ago Anneliese took possession of Arnie’s bed! No fighting or anything, she just took it over. And he let her!

I’m reading another book on Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. This one, titled “We Two: Victoria and Albert: Rulers, Partners, Rivals” by Gillian Gill is much better written and gives dates and times of events, which has spurred me to look up historical events for clarity. I like that. This book is encouraging me to learn more.

Anneliese’s Eye

Anneliese went to the Vets yesterday for a left eye recheck. I thought her eye looked better, and I was feeling encouraged. Well, I was wrong. Although much of the redness was gone, the ulcer was larger and deeper than it was. So, I made an appointment with the Canine Ophthalmologist for an appointment on Wednesday. Meanwhile, I am to keep Anneliese, quiet, comfortable and continue with her drops. But, darn it all, I thought we’d gotten to it just in time.

A picture of Anneliese from two winters ago.

Two things could happen now. She may need surgery to clean the wound and debride the ulcer. Or she may need to have the eye removed. Crap!

I mean, really, whatever is best for Anneliese. I do not want her in pain. It’s not like she reads the newspaper, or does needlepoint. The loss of that eye, in the grand scheme of things, is not a big deal for her. And I will love her no matter what, but I just hate to think about what she will have to go through.

I’ve suspected for some time that she wasn’t seeing well out of that eye. We knew she had fluid on the cornea that was clouding her vision. And it is probably that low vision in the left eye, that resulted in the injury that led to her ulcer.

So now we wait and get through the next few days until we see Dr. Nick. He is an old family friend, and I know he will do all he can for my girl. Meanwhile, please pray for my pup and her eye.

Nurse Mommy

Friday morning I was looking at Anneliese just before sitting down to eat breakfast. I noticed immediately that she had something very wrong with her eye.

I noticed that she had a pitted area on her cornea. I immediately sat down and called the Vet, and made an appointment.

I feared the worst, and I am not too far off really, she does have an ulcer that has gone through two layers of her eye, but has not reached the inner portion of the eye, which would require immediate surgery.

Currently, we are on 4 medications in an intensive attempt to stop and begin to heal the ulceration on the eye.

I had to make up a chart because one medication is once a day, another is twice a day, one is 4four times a day and the other is every four hours! Eeeek! What is a Nurse Mommy to do!

So now I have made up a work sheet with all the times of the day Anneliese’s meds are scheduled and I am trying to stick to it.

However, it is really nice to be home, and with Jack and the doggies again!

All Better

On Friday both Arnie and Anneliese had to have surgeries. Both needed teeth cleaning, and both had Lipomas that needed removal. Anneliese especially, as she had two large ones on either side of her neck that were growing fast.

Both lost a few teeth, and both had their yearly shots while they were there. I read the bill.

It was nicely itemized and I have to tell you it really was reasonable for all they did. I think if I’d been down in Connecticut where my sister lives, the bill would have been three times what I paid. In fact pet ownership there is only for the rich or people who enjoy going broke.

No, each and every item was reasonably priced, and I will not complain at all. I feel the pups get the best care there, and it is worth my 40-minute drive to their office.

I’m so grateful tonight that the work on them is done, both are doing well, (although Arnie is still a little sleepy from the anesthesia), and their incisions look good. Of course, they also look a little funny with various places shaved and then sewn up.

In 10 days I will bring them back to get their stitches removed. Until then, I will keep them comfortable and babied.

I am so grateful to my Veterinarians for the wonderful job they did and for being so kind to the two pups and to me as well.

When I left them this morning I was quite emotional. Arnie and Anneliese have been my life for the last 12 years. It was so hard to leave them, and so wonderful when I brought them home!

Happy 12th Birthday, Arnie & Anneliese

Twelve years ago, in the early morning hours, Greta went into labor. I was so excited to welcome her first litter of puppies, and I sat with her as she began the long journey to motherhood.

A few hours later, Arnie, Anneliese and three of their sisters made their debut.

This was the start of something neither Jack or I had ever experienced. Having two pups, brother and sister, from the moment of their birth, for their entire life.

It’s pretty amazing. Watching these two grow and emerge as two sweet, yet very different pups.

We knew we were keeping Anneliese. I loved the look of her and felt that she would carry on the Dackel Princess line, in her time.

Arnie, who is so sweet, loving and laid back. Here he is at a month old. A handsome boy then and now.

Arnie was actually sold to a woman from New York State. On the day she was due to pick him up, she called and canceled as her life was falling apart. She explained it all to me on the phone. I listened and gently told her she needed this dog. But she said no.

Arnie was 12 weeks old and I was really crazy about him. So was Jack and so was our young neighbor Emily. He was due to leave on that Saturday and by Monday morning we knew that Arnie was staying with us.

Here they are the first year of their life together. Best friends always.

Below is a short montage of their life together, with us. I feel so blessed to have had these two pups in my life every single day of their life. In many ways, although Greta was their biological Mom, I have been their forever Mom all these years.

They both are one of my life’s greatest blessings. The years of faithful love and companionship are truly priceless.

This & That

Any hope I had of being super productive on Monday went down the drain, as I had a bring Anneliese to the Vets, and then by the time I got back, the temperatures were in the 90’s and quite honestly, I was feeling lazy.

In fact, while I sit here writing, I still have dinner to make, and I really do not feel like cooking anything at all! Let alone, a full meal. It’s one of those nights where I would be happy to eat yogurt and fruit and nothing else, but Jack would never go for that. First, he is a traditional kinda guy, and Second, he doesn’t really like yogurt, and certainly not for dinner. Ah, such is life.

Anneliese has Corneal Edema. Basically is means The normally clear cornea becomes water-logged and swollen. It is common in older dogs. In the picture below you can see the opaque whiteness in her eye. You can also see that it is swollen. So, she is on an ointment to reduce the edema and inflammation and we are to watch her carefully. Needless to say, I am watching her like a Hawk!

I watched a few matches of Wimbledon Tennis. I missed the morning matches due to my drive to the Vet., but I was home in time to watch the end of Nadal’s match, as well as Del Potro, Djokovic, and Anderson’s matches. Of course, Del Potro must finish his match tomorrow as they ran out of sunshine!

I woke in the night because our automatic light was on outside. It was 2 AM and I worried that perhaps Jack had forgotten a dog out there. I counted them all, and sure enough, they were all present and accounted for. So I looked outside and saw my Mama Deer and the baby fawn outside in my yard. That was worth getting out of bed for!

Have a great day, Everyone!

A Wild Boar

Back in February of 2009, I took Anneliese to Berlin, Germany for her first breeding, with a handsome German dackel, named Isagrim. In Boston, the airport workers thought Anneliese was very cute, in her little panties as I carried her through Logan Airport Security. (For those that do not know, when a dog is in heat they wear little panties, so they don’t get messy or make your home messy.) I spent a little over a week with my friend Uschi and her husband, and I was able to breed Anneliese twice before it was time to go home.

Now Anneliese is a very good little traveler. She remained very calm in the airports during transport, and on the aircraft, she was amazing, as she settled herself inside her little bag and fell asleep. She had no accidents in her bag, and when we reached Berlin, and cleared customs, We went right outside and she did her business right where she should.

It amazed me how she knew just what to do with Isagrim, in fact I admonished her to play a little hard to get with him, lest he think she was a loose woman! But the breeding went well, and then she had a few days to rest before we made our trip back to the states.

We left Berlin and headed back home on a direct flight from Berlin to JFK in New York. As we descended into New York, I was filling out the Customs Declaration form for the USA.

The form asks if you are traveling with any animal?

Yes.

What color is the animal?

On all of Anneliese’s papers it states quite clearly…”Wild Boar“. So, I wrote that down.

We landed and I walked through to the Customs Area where I was stopped and directed over to the Animal Import area. The Agent took my card and read it.

“Madam, I will need you to open this bag and show me the animal you are bringing in!” he commanded

And as I reached to unzip the bag, the Agent took three giant steps back! I wish you could have seen his face! He was terrified! Anneliese’s little head popped out and I could actually see the man start to breathe again.

You see the agent thought that “Wild Boar” was what was in the bag, not the actual color of the dog!

This is probably my favorite story about Anneliese, and possibly my best traveling dog story.