Sadie on the Mend

Dear readers of Six Inches High and Rising,

Sadie is out of surgery! She did have a ruptured disk, right in the middle of her back, that had traumatized the nerve root and there was a lot of compression. The surgeon said he was surprised she was walking as normally as she was and the extent of the damage led him to believe she has been living with this for a while as it continued to build up.

That being said, she came through the surgery fine and is in recovery now. Her Pa and I can go see her tomorrow (the vet requests owners not come see the pet on the day of surgery, to give them time to recover a bit).

Thank you for all your good wishes and prayers for Sadie...she is a well-loved little girl!

Before too long, she'll be running and playing.

Nancy

Say a Little Prayer for Sadie

Hello, regular readers of Six Inches High and Rising. Sadie's mom here. Many of you know that Little Miss Sadie May has not been feeling very well lately. Several weeks ago, she would yelp out in pain when being lifted and did not act as peppy as usual. As her Ma, I knew something was really wrong when she wasn't that interested in S-U-P-P-E-R. She went to see her friends at Case, and they prescribed an anti-inflammatory medicine. She had a full blood screen (results looked "great," according to Dr. Knight) and she even had acupuncture. Despite our best efforts, Sadie epitomized the poky little puppy.

My friends who know me well know that patience is not one of my virtues, and my four-legged babies are my everything. I neither have nor want human babies and I make no apologies for that inclination or for spoiling Sadie with three beds throughout the house, long walks around the park, expensive gourmet dog treats and a basket full of toys. She's my friend and constant companion.

So seeing her not feeling well, not being her perky little self, really had me worried. Her Uncle Jeremy opined that perhaps she had lost her mojo. And it did seem that way. Although she is five and no longer a high-energy puppy, she is the equivalent of 36 human years, not exactly over the hill. And a mama just knows when something is not right.

So yesterday, I took her back to Case, where she saw the compassionate Dr. Knight again, who had examined her previously on March 18. She said, "This is not the same dog as the last one I examined." She was very stiff and tense in her neck and back, exhibiting signs of pain. Dr. Knight immediately suspected degenerative disk disease and referred me to a specialist, a veterinary surgeon who does three to five disk repair surgeries a week.

The surgeon, Dr. Paul Shealy, made the same conclusions after examining Sadie. Today she is undergoing a myelogram, a test where dye is injected into her spine to determine if there is a disk problem and, if so, where. If that test shows a disk problem, she will immediately go into surgery. She will have a long recovery - about four weeks - but the good news is that these surgeries have a high rate of success and for the "long-low" dog breeds, bassets have the lowest incidence of recurring issues later on down the road.

While I hate for her to have to go through a back surgery, I am relieved to (hopefully) have a clear diagnosis and I am grateful that such a specialist has a practice right here in Savannah and for the caring folks at Case, who saw to it that Sadie got into see the surgeon as soon as possible yesterday. Their well wishes for "Sadie Girl" along with the good thoughts and prayers of folk all over the world (literally! Hi GrandMum and GrandJohn!) are very much appreciated.

Because those thoughts and prayers aren't just for Sadie - they're for me, too. So do us a favor today when you think of it. Say a little prayer for us.

Meeting Uncle Jeremy

This past weekend, we had a very special guest in our house - my Uncle Jeremy, who lives all the way across some big pond in a place called England. I still was feeling a bit under the weather, but I am a good hostess, if nothing else, so I was sure to wait right by his bedroom door until he woke up on Saturday morning:

On Sunday morning after brunch, my Pa and Uncle Jeremy took me for a ride in my car, the Fiat. It perked me up a bit. I was too busy looking out the window in this picture:

Here's a picture of Uncle and Pa when they lived in Italy. Uncle Jeremy looks like he was about my age:

Thanks for coming to visit me, Uncle Jeremy! You're welcome any time.

xxoo,

Sadie

Vote for My Friends at Case!

My buddies at Case Veterinary Hospital are in the running for Best of Savannah. Would you help them out at cast a vote for them? All you have to do to cast your vote is click on this video:



Good luck, Case friends!

Sadie Turns to Eastern Medicine

Hello, everyone. My ma has made me rest up this weekend and take my medicine so I am continuing to get better. However, my back and neck are still a little sore, so my ma asked her friend, Dr. Patricia Wilfert, to come test out acupuncture on me. Dr. Wilfert, or Miss Patricia as I call her, works as a veterinarian in Kennesaw and has been taking lots of classes in veterinary acupuncture.

Acupuncture is the application of small needles to various points on the body to treat almost any disease or condition, and is especially useful for pain. Acupuncture dates back nearly 7,000 years to India, and Stone Age humans used fishbone needles in China 5,000 years ago. Veterinary acupuncture is almost as old, with one of the earliest records being some 3,000 years ago for the treatment of elephants.

First, Miss Patricia put a couple of needles into points that are supposed to relax me:

I didn't think it would really relax me, but pretty soon, I got kind of sleepy and just sat on down. Then, Miss Patricia put needles into all my trouble spots:

And before I knew it, I was in hog heaven. Miss Patricia even gave me a massage.

Now if you'll please excuse me, I need to go take a nap.

The Poky Little Puppy

Do you remember a book called The Poky Little Puppy? Well, that's what my ma's been calling me all week long. I just plain out don't feel good.


This morning when I sniffed my S-U-P-P-E-R and passed it by, my mom completely FREAKED out and took me to Case Veterinary Hospital. They're pretty nice up there, but someone did stick me with a needle. Until my blood test results come back, I have to take medicine and rest up, so no play dates with Lancaster this weekend. The thought of this depresses me to no end.

I'll see you on the flip side of the weekend, and hopefully I'll be back to my tail-waggin' self.

Éirinn go Brách, Savannah Style

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everybody! Well, while my ma and pa are at work and all our friends are downtown at the parade drinking green beer, I have to make do with a celebration for one. Don't I look festive?

The parade, which started as a Savannah tradition in 1824, began at 10 this morning, and I think I can still hear the bagpipes out here in Ardsley Park. City officials are expecting 400,000 people here for the celebration, which is officially the seventh oldest in America. (New York's is the oldest, having originated in 1762.)

Did you know that originally the color blue was associated with Saint Patrick? Over the years, though, green became the color of choice. Good thing, too, because I wouldn't like blue beer.

Get Well Wishes for My GrandMum!

Even though I am definitely a southern girl, I do have European ties. As you know (or should know), my breed is a French one, with the word basset meaning low to the ground.

But did you know that I also have ties to the United Kingdom? Sawbridgeworth, in particular. That's where my grandparents Mary and John live. Here's a picture of them visiting me last year.

Don't they look nice? That's because they are.

Last month, my ma and pa got word that my GrandMum fell and broke her ankle. She has been recuperating since then and is improving every day, but I wanted to take this opportunity to tell her that I hope she gets better real soon. If I were there, I would do my best to help her out, but I hear that my Grandpa John and Aunt Jane and Uncle Jeremy are pretty good helpers, too.

My GrandMum is so thoughtful, she sent me a card the other day! My very own piece of mail in the shape of doggies, one of whom looks kind of like me! Thanks, GrandMum, and I hope you get to feeling better soon!