And she meets her doggy maker

Unfortunately my last post as Marley has met her maker. If you follow me on Facebook, this might look familiar:

June 1st:
Marley woke up today and decided it was her time. She didn't move much, only to just look at us as though saying "I give up". She started her downward spiral a few days ago and we had been doing whatever we could to keep her happy; we fed her whatever she wanted, took short slow walks, played in the water, and slept. We knew this was coming and we didn't want her to suffer. I carried her into the vets, said goodbye and watched her last breath as we pet her head. She exhaled and we knew she was gone.

In the end this is something every dog owner has to deal with. Your dog trusts you will make the best decision for it, in return you have a loyal companion. The hardest part of it all is wanting them to stay around longer but realizing it's only for your own benefit. You have to force yourself to do what is best, that was part of the deal. I imagine I have a number of rough days ahead. I'm sure everything will remind me of her. I'm really happy she was able to make it to California and spend her last days with us. She came into Corinna and my life stayed for a short stint, and I hope it was as rewarding for her as it was for us.

And the fun begins

with my new website: MyDogHatesTechnology.com. As I'm sure you'll figure out, the name "MyDogHatesTechnology" was inspired by my little destructive animal. Speaking of which, since getting back from the hospital, she seems to have learned a new trick! What she does is drink a ton of water, then walk over to you, look really goofy, and then tosses her cookies all over your lap. Yeah, she's pretty awesome like that. So, we've started to control her intake of water. Only a cup or so at a time, and we wait at least a half-hour between waterings.

Thanks Old Lyme CT, you can have your Lyme back

Marley spent a little over a month on Martha's Vineyard with Corinna's family while we vacationed in Kauai. Marley ended up with Lyme disease, but it wasn't detected because she didn't show signs of it until she had near kidney/liver failure and couldn't move due to a sudden onset of arthritis. After a few days of IV fluids at the vet, she was admitted to VESCONE. I was in New York with Corinna at the time so her sister Casey took care of her while this all unfolded.

Marley doesn't like being away from family, so she was miserable at the hospital with poor spirits and pretty afraid of people. When I finally came to visit on the 2nd day, she sulked out of the doorway until she saw Corinna and I, and suddenly came to life. It was pretty amazing, I've never see her that happy. I sat down on the chairs and she jumped up, threw herself on me and almost immediately passed out. I don't think she slept much before we came. Corinna and I sat for about two and a half hours petting our sleeping, finally happy, dog. She took a few pictures:




She has finished her antibiotics, and seems back to normal. Through all this she also had a UTI. So she was miserable, in pain, and peeing herself. I hope she doesn't ever have to go through this again!

I really should get better at this

Yeah I keep forgetting to update, hopefully I'll get better. Here are a few pictures for your amusement :) Some Martha's Vineyard time and also a more recent photo of Corinna and I.

Not much to report really, Marley has finally gotten over her anxiety so I can leave her alone in the house for the work day without destroying stuff or chewing. It's really quite ideal. Most times when I come home she's sleeping on the couch. We're waiting for the spring so we can spend more time at the dog parks and Fresh Pond walking. Corinna is still trying to convince me to rename the dog because Marley has gotten to be quite popular for obvious reasons.

A recap of the last year? Wow.

It's been a while since my last update, but Marley has proven to have quite a personality. Since she is determined to destroy all electronics as punishment for leaving her to go to work, I have gotten her adjusted to being "crated". This is a touchy subject as most people are of the mind that a dog hates to be crated. I wont get into the details but consider this: Dogs are den animals when they aren't in packs hunting.

Marley has calmed down mostly, and she has gotten more or less to my driving (Bonine helps for that too). I used to socialize her with my buddy Ed's dogs, but since he moved to MI Marley hasn't been able to socialize as much this last winter. She now has this little routine she does when she walks by another dog. She approaches, her ears perk up, her hair raises, as soon as the other dog goes in for a sniff she tucks her tail, squeaks and runs like a C.H.U.D. were chasing her.
Now that it's summer, it gets the hose again (no lotion this time). She LOVES water! I will post a picture soon of her in the water, but it is probably the funniest thing I've seen in a while.

Official UpToDate QE Mascot

Continuing with the theme of "testing" my various possessions for ruggedness, Marley has been adopted by my Quality Engineering team's lead, Anna, as the mascot for our team. Here is the picture that inspired that.

Another picture for your amusement

Corinna started working on a post while she was sick, so in due time it will be up. For now, here's another picture of the Marles and I: