Sunday, March 10, 2013

The Shady Wedding

Vanity first:





Date: March 08, 2013
Theme: Wedding Carnivale
Church: Calruega Chapel, Nasugbu Batangas
Reception: Alfonso Farm, Cavite.

All photos from: Shutterhound and Tita L!


Friday, March 1, 2013

More On Mochi's Balls

Am I taking this too far? No.

So it's the Friday after Mochi's neutering (which was done last Monday) and while the pup seems alert, he is also a wee bit melodramatic.

The latest update on Mochi post-op is that he is currently refusing to walk nor to stand; he just sits there or lays down. Normally I'd be at wit's end trying to find ways to comfort my dog but after a lot of conversations with 2 of his vets and countless internet research, I've found some anecdotes that has helped put my mind at ease and heart at rest.

As is my luck, smaller breeds of male dogs are known to be quite the divas and drama queens. A concerned pet parent such as myself was kind enough to post online some of his concerns regarding his pet's post-op recovery. He has been just as vigilant as I in medicating the pup and experienced many of the things I am currently experiencing now:

I took Rocky to get neutered last Monday morning and they had him finished by the afternoon and kept him overnight to monitor him. He came home with an e-cone and two external stitches and some meds. From the day he he came home he refused to walk which was normal but now a week has past and I've administered all his medications on time ( Metacam for inflammation, Tramadol for pain and Panolog cream for help with irritation) and the swelling has gone down significantly and everything on his scrotum looks much better and healed. Still he won't walk very much, he did start to try and walk a lot but he squats while he walks. I took him back to the vet and they said everything looks fine and he can just be taking a little longer to get over it but from what I read most peoples dogs were back to normal in about 2 or 3 days.

A number of other owners have responded to him that as long as there is no infection (yellow or green pus-like discharge) or wound break (it will contain a cheese-like white or yellow necrotic tissue inside), the dog is more likely showing signs of drama than anything else. As with people, there are different thresholds of pain when it comes to dogs. Some dogs balk at the slightest discomfort or foreign feeling while other dogs can ignore this and go on their merry-way.

Having read that, I pat myself in the back as all is fine.

Rubbing the Panolog Cream on the incision site, however, is a whole different story.

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Drug Lord

It's official. My dog is just as (medicinal)drug-dependent as his mother.


After a stressful morning for both me and the pup, I've decided to rush him to the vet for his post-op check-up. I noticed that he wasn't feeling quite as boisterous as he was yesterday, he can not stand nor walk for long periods of time (meaning 5 seconds or 5 steps long), his whimpering is back in full force (though not as forceful as his first night), and his urine and feces were nowhere to be seen. The findings? Itchiness and SEVERELY low pain tolerance. Euck. This means more chemicals for my boy.

A current listing of the drugs I am plying my dog with:
Amoxycilin (Antibiotic) 2x a day for 10-14 days
Immunisin (Immune booster) 2x a day for 15-30 days
Hemostan (Anti-inflammatory) 2x a day for 3-4 days
Tramadol (Painkiller) 2x a day for 3 days
Panolog Cream (For irritation and anti-inflammatory) 2x a day for 3 days

I am now heavier of heart and lighter of pocket.

But for this little guy? Anything.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Losing His Marbles

So as many of you know, I acquired myself a pup a couple of months back. It has been one hell of an experiencing parenting him -- and not in a notice-him-whenever-it-suits-me way. I've been dealt with the financial responsibilities, cleaning-up duties, and giving him the notice and affection he needs even when time can not permit. That's a hell load of dough, poop, pee, showering, taking him to meetings, not going to the mall or seeing my friends because I can't bring Mochi, and play than most of you will ever know. I really have gone mommy mode.


Exactly 2 weeks ago, right after his 6th month, I took him to the vet to get neutered. Unfortunately, even the best laid plans go awry and we have had to postpone his surgery due to the unavailability of his vet. We scheduled it for the Monday after and Mochi left balls intact. That following Monday, we headed to the vet gung-ho on getting this over with. As it is customary for dogs to have a blood test done before going under the knife, we had one issued for our boy. As (un)luck would have it, even if Mochi's blood test came up (pretty)good, his vet did not want to operate as Mochi was severely stressed. We were recommended to put him on antibiotics (amoxycilin and immunisin) and to re-schedule him for the next week. You can not know the frustration I felt then. Even if I would have never risked Mochi's life for anything, I was beginning to feel anxious.

The Monday of his surgery came and we were all thunderbirds-a-go. We entrusted Mochi to the vet and left him for his neutering. To say that I was anxious would not really encompass the nerves that were forming knots in my stomach -- to put it bluntly, I was a wreck. A volcano waiting to erupt. A man so far in the precipice that I would have jumped at the slightest taunt.

The surgery was a success, thank God. It's been 2 days since and Mochi is slowly adjusting. His recovery is going smoothly. Milestone! Now I'm up to my knees in bills, medicine, monitoring, and working but I have to stick this out for 8 days more. Who knew a parent's life was so difficult?

So, my friends, if there is anything I ask of you  it is this: Please pray that no more difficulty come my boy (and me!) For this, I will be eternally grateful.

Photo c/o Blu Salangsang. (:

So...

Did you miss me?

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Lost

Time check: 4:00am

I don't think I'll ever get over my sister, niece, and brother in law leaving.

 Even now, as I look around the room, I can smell traces of them in the air. It is gut wrenching. I'm thankful they left at such an ungodly hour. In a way, everyone is still groggy from sleep and can't really process this much heartache. Still, the parting was painful. It was shorter than usual, but the downpour and onslaught of tears was overwhelming. It is difficult to breathe with the pain weighing my heart down.

 Mom is showing strength, but she can't rest so she's playing with Mochi. I know she feels the loss. Everyone does. I do.

 Dad is awake and looking for conversation. He misses the noise. Kuya Jap woke to an empty house. He is lonely.

 I can't sleep now. I can't go on as usual, not with traces of them still littered around the house. Toiletries left behind, candies untouched, paperbags strewn all over chairs. I can't rest. So I'll clean.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Made With Honor

As a younger sister, it's difficult to give advice to your older siblings. When you have an ate or kuya, you almost always expect them to just know more, in general, than you do. They've been through more, seen through worst, have lived longer. Their wisdom and knowledge is guaranteed. You expect them to have all of the answers.

So when my older sister asked me to be her maid of honor,I had one thought in my mind: How do I deliver a beautiful and honest speech? The end result was a speech far from the original draft I had wrote. It took months of revising and editing. Still, I thought that the speech I came up with perfectly captured the relationship I had with my siblings.


For everyone who is curious, this was the mandatory Maid Of Honor speech I delivered during my sister's wedding.