Saturday Smiler - Grin

That grin gets me every time.

Saturday Smiler - Casual male

He should have been a model.

Saturday Smiler - A lovely stand-in

Gimli and Merida in the back, with a new corgi friend - Sandy in the front

A couple weeks ago, the four of us went to a local museum to celebrate Her Majesty's 90th birthday.

As luck would have it, they had a... flat Queen Elizabeth II!

Of course, we had to get a picture of the corgis with this stand in.

Yum!

Saturday Smiler - Here's Gimli!

Saturday Smiler - Extra feathering

It's the first real humid day we've had so far, and it shows in Gimli's hair. I never thought my dog's hair would be more humid than mine.

It was worse this morning - we had fog and mist droplets in the air. So after our walk, his hair was a mess.

I wonder if there's a leave in dog conditioner that I could use to tame his locks? :)

Saturday Smiler - Can I go in now?

The days have finally started to warm up and Gimli's enjoying the outside. He rolls in the grass, sits in the shade, and lets the breeze blow through his fluff.

Merida does none of these things. She goes outside to use the washroom, then promptly sits at the door to go back inside.

Saturday Smiler - Behind

She's behind me isn't she?

Saturday Smiler - Lord of Mischief

Surely she's not referring to me?

The stony truth

Why is Merida smiling?

Because she's home and finally has a diagnosis.

To backtrack a little:

1. Back in November, we took her to the vet for a suspected UTI.  A urinalysis was performed and it was confirmed that there was bacteria etc. She was on antibiotics for 7 days and at the end of the course, the UTI seemed to clear up.

2. Fast forward to the end of February. On a surprisingly warm day, I took her for a walk and saw blood in her urine. Back to the vet we went and this time she received a 14 day course of antibiotics.

The course finished, another urinalysis was performed, but with different results.

There was no bacteria, but there was the presence of other foreign matter. An xray showed a small blob/lump/something in her bladder.

3. So, this past Monday, she spent a day and night at the vet's office where they cleaned/drained her bladder and scoped it. She had 3 small stones banging around in the bladder, causing irritation and bloody urine. The stones are currently in the lab and we're waiting for the results on their composition. This will determine her dietary needs for the rest of her life.

4. Right now, she's on Royal Canin Urinary SO dog food. She cannot have anything else because we don't know what caused the stones in the first place. This dog food will a) make her thirsty and force her to drink more water, which will cause increased urination. This is good to keep the bladder flushed. And b) it will inhibit the growth of future stones.

Temperament and behavior wise, she's back to normal. When we brought her home on Tuesday, she seemed glad to be home with us. It's always different when you come home, isn't it? She has shaved patches on her front legs where the IV was placed, but other than that, you wouldn't know she had a procedure done. She has one more day of anti-inflammatory meds - Metacalm, and about 8 or 9 days left of antibiotics. In a couple months she has to go back for another urinalysis test.

We are grateful it wasn't anything more serious with her kidneys and with this diagnosis, we have an action plan for the short and long term.

More to come once we have an update on the stones themselves.

Saturday Smiler - Snow girl

This is Merida after racing around the yard in the snow tracks, chasing/wrestling Gimli, and digging her head into the snow.

We are in her favorite season and if she didn't get snow stuck in her paws or worry about the deathly temperatures, she'd be outside all day.

Saturday Smiler - Clean feet

Our feet are clean from romping in the snow!

The Dalmatian blanket is a fixture at the back door now that winter is upon us.

Saturday Smiler - Look what I got!

Gimli adores his Wubbas, to the point where we have 4 in total. 2 are outside only Wubbas and 2 for inside. The "old" one has been partially chewed by Merida and the squeaker is dead, but he still loves to play fetch with it.

This new purple one still has a squeaker, but I won't be surprised if it's dead in a few weeks.

Saturday Smiler - To a T

This sums up their personalities so well.

Saturday Smiler - Spoonful of cream cheese?

Nevermind what Mary Poppins says about a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down, my dogs like a spoonful of cream cheese to help the heartworm medicine go down.

Anytime the cream cheese comes out, they come running because they know they get a large drop of it.

Saturday Smiler - Pretty girl

:)

Saturday Smiler - Those little sisters!

Our household has been gloomy the past couple days, so here's a cheery picture for you.

I do love Gimli's grin and Merida's no nonsense face behind.

Saturday Smiler - Friendly

Ohana

I missed the Flat Corgis segment for yesterday and because today is Saturday, I've decided to combine the two.

I hope you like it.

Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind — or forgotten...

Especially not those Flat Corgis.

Saturday Smiler - Turn it up to 11

You get brownie points if you can get the reference: "Turn it up to 11".

Saturday Smiler - Happy faces

Sorry for the blurry Merida. After this picture was taken, she promptly collapsed into a play bow and the game was on again!