it didn't get better...and the dog got sick.

 so not a very good day today.  ended up calling out for Friday.   i was really hoping...i mean 12 hours, i can do it, right.  i was hacking my hole off though, snot, chills, muscle aches and yes, still had that sore throat.  that is Lions head above.  a few from other hikes around town and then more from the trip across Denali Highway.

 seems like Blossom woke me a few times last night.  i got up to feed the dogs and Blossom showed zero interest in the food this morning.  i returned to bed and when i woke she had pooped in the office here.  there was some normal looking stuff and then a big pool of watery/bloody stuff.  sorry for the details but it was pretty bad.  got her outside and she had more...so i tossed on clothes and headed for the vets before they closed.

 they didn't actually seem overly concerned.  no emesis there until they gave her a pill then she puked...no blood in the puke though but at this we were sent to the Emergency vet clinic since they were closing.  they didn't charge me though so that was nice.

 a bit of a wait at the Emergency vets.  not sure they comprehend triage there.  no rush at all.  when Blossom puked up a few piles of bloody vomit i made little effort to move her out of the waiting room.  the workers behind the counter showed little interest in helping or getting help.  they pointed to where the paper towels were.  the other pet owners in the lobby with me seemed much more concerned about my dog than the folks at the desk.  they were helping me.  the girl behind the counter did then come out with a mop.

 i think we waited nearly 2 hours to be seen.  the vet seemed nice and reasonable.  labs were bad and not bad.  could be worse, but there are some really out of whack ones.  very worrisome.  the liver in general looked ok as did the kidney.  the hct was up so they gave sub q fluids and also an antiemetic.  her lipase was elevated and so was her alk phos.  that one is odd.  not sure what is up with that.  did talk to a friend in CA who is a vet which helped me feel like i have more of a plan.

 Blossom threw up again after we got home and has been pretty lethargic all afternoon.  she does seem a wee bit more perky now...after midnight.no vomit or diarrhea since about 4pm so that is hopeful.  got a pepcid down her at midnight.  she has some ice chips to lick if she gets interested.  she has taken a few sips of the outdoor water a few times and has kept that down.  i did some cooking...the doggie bland diet which we can hopefully start sometime tomorrow if all is well.

 a dog in alaska gets cooked salmon and halibut for a bland diet along with rice.

 oh me...just my usual respiratory crud that comes with any cold type bug...well, really i can get a respiratory flare up with any virus.  if i'm lucky it won't last long.  pretty miserable these past few days though.  not much sleep.

 watched "Still Alice" last night.  i'd read the book quite awhile ago.  i think they did a pretty good job with the movie.  though i thought the end was a bit abrupt.  always difficult to watch something like this and realize how vulnerable we all are to losing those things that we take so for granted...our memories....

 just so scary.

 these are a few from the local beaches in Anchorage

 back on the road again.

 had tickets to join friends at Mad Myrna's tonight for the Rocky Horror Picture Show.  bummed that i had to miss it...looks like they all had a good time.  between me being sick and Blossom feeling so sick...no way i could make that one.  my hacking would have annoyed everyone.  too early...don't want to spread the bug.

 these are from Tangle Lakes Campground.  we enjoyed a chilly but lovely evening out there.  their tent was the perfect color for the environment.

 of course we had to have a fire and make s'mores!!

 Boddhi was enjoying getting out of the truck..found his sweet spot out there.

 the O'C family!!

 kind of nervous to fall asleep...will Blossom be able to wake me if she needs to.  of course, the longer i put it off, the more sleepy i get and the more difficult it will be for her to wake me.

 Rio is the dog that gets sick. i'm not ready for Blossom to age and get sick. she does turn 10 in a few weeks which is not really young for a middle sized dog...but she is still my puppy and always will be i guess.  really hate that dogs age so fast. it's so not fair.

 a man and his dog!

 just loved the colors in this one below.

 Boddhi is one handsome dog...don't you think?

 my sweet puppy...feeling better.  just a bit ago she actually wagged and when i put the ice down she almost looked like she hoped it was some kind of real food treat so hopefully that means she is feeling a bit better and her stomach is calming down.  just so sad when they don't feel well.  dogs aren't generally complainers so when they show they are feeling poorly, they are really feeling poorly.

 i took some cough meds but i'm still barking.  sorry...feel free to ignore all my rambling. i have a one track mind today.  it was all about miss Blossom.  Rio was most upset that Blossom chose to lay down in the path that Rio takes to jump on the couch.  she didn't want to disturb Blossom but she really wanted to get on her couch.  eventually she just went for it.  such a funny girl.  it's usually Rio with the bloody poop stuff.  still can't believe this happened to Blossom today.

 views out my car windows as i bedded down for the night.  of course, stupidly, i thought i could just sleep in my sleeping bag liner and not the bag with the liner.  by 2 am i really had to pee and i was so chilly.  finally climbed out of the car to do my business and then put the liner in the sleeping bag...once i was warm and had an empty bladder i slept well for the remainder of the night.

 the rest are some amazing colors out there on the Denali Highway.

 always amazing.

 i did manage to get the next few calendars mailed off and put another deposit in our WARIS account.  that wore me out completely.

 my body has always had it's sick days.  it seems to know it needs a break and so it takes me out for a few days so that i can't overwork myself.  i used to work through many sick days that i really should not have worked through at all.

 thinking of the movie again...was listening to a ted talks not too long ago about Alzheimers.  the numbers of folks that are impacted by a certain age are really pretty high.  frightening.

 so often you forget a word here or there and you take a moment to wonder are these signs in me of failing memory...or am i just forgetting a word because we all forget words on occasion.  in the movie they were saying that often highly intelligent people seem to deteriorate very rapidly...mostly because they are able to hide their memory losses for longer due to their intellect.  so i guess it really just seems like a more rapid decline.

 more people are living longer lives which i think also means more people will have issues with dementia and alzheimers type diseases.

 these colors are all gone now...many of these places already have snow on them.

 i am getting sleepy.  will have to check on Blossom one more time and see if she wants to go outside one more time.  it's been raining off and on.

 loved this one of the view that lay out ahead

 tonight there was a "law and order" marathon...always entertaining when you want to just lay down by your dog and make sure they are ok.

 these views are amazing, right?!

 crazy colors...i shall head out in the rain once more if that is what Blossom wants and then i shall try to get a few hours sleep.

thankful for: A.  to have Blossom home.  hoping she continues to improve and her labs do as well.  B.  overall good health...always great to be able to enjoy that...you appreciate it more on those days when you get sick  C.  that i'm off the next few days and can focus on my furs