Dewey's Thread: Updated: 9/6/12 He's Very Sick

I received Dewey on 1/13/10. After having him for a couple of days I officially decided to name him Dewey. Since he now has a name I thought I should make a thread dedicated to him so I can share our journey and his growth with all of you.

Being my first beardie, Dewey will always have a very special place in my heart. He's been a pure joy to have so far. Especially now that he's starting to come out of his shell little by little every day. I'm truly excited to see how he will develop in the months to come.

So, enough babble... here are the first set of pictures which I took tonight.

Hanging out on his vine. I wasn't expecting Dewey to be as small as he is. Yesterday was the first time he was seen up on his vine and he was up there again today. He seems to be a pro with navigating it!

Here's Dewey all wrapped up just before bed time.

 

[DeweysMom]

I really wish it was that simple Christine. Unfortunately, his recheck involves another ECG which means they'd have to cart out their big machine and somehow figure out a way to climb into the truck with him. It just wouldn't work unfortunately.

 

[TheAnthropologist]

Sorry to hear about your dog. I lost three of my four dogs this year and so I know all too well about going to the emergency and what that is like. My dog Lucy (a cavalier) had spinalmyalgia and was in and out of the hospital 6 times this year and my dog Chester (a English Setter) suddenly could not breathe and had to be rushed there as well, making it seven visits. I wish your dog a speedy way back to stability. Just stay strong for him and let him know you are there for him as they sense that (which I am sure you already know and sounds like you are doing :wink: )

 

[DeweysMom]

Sorry to hear about your dog. I lost three of my four dogs this year and so I know all too well about going to the emergency and what that is like. My dog Lucy (a cavalier) had spinalmyalgia and was in and out of the hospital 6 times this year and my dog Chester (a English Setter) suddenly could not breathe and had to be rushed there as well, making it seven visits. I wish your dog a speedy way back to stability. Just stay strong for him and let him know you are there for him as they sense that (which I am sure you already know and sounds like you are doing :wink: )

I'm so sorry you lost three this year! I can't imagine going through that. I'm having a hard enough time coping with what's going on with Riley.

I don't see Riley completely getting stable. He has cardiomyopathy where there's no cure, just management. He's still having great days and enjoying life so letting him go hasn't really been a real concern of mine until I actually saw him collapse at the hospital Friday. Thankfully we were there when it happened, but at the same time I think it happened BECAUSE we were there. I still don't understand how he had a nearly perfect ECG and then not 5 minutes later he was being rush to ER.

I am trying to be strong for him, but it is very difficult. Especially right now because he's in the recovery phase of his ordeal. He still seems a little off, but in a few days I'm hoping he'll be back to normal. The last time this happened it took him a few days to recover. I'll keep you all posted.

 

[DeweysMom]

Another Riley update! Today he had a pretty good day. For the most part I left him alone as much as possible so he could rest. He got a lot of sleep today. He's starting to get back to normal. He asked for the door less and less which is good. I don't know if I shared this detail or not, but Riley's had urinary issues in the past and for some reason when he's on the leash and/or at the hospital he doesn't go to the bathroom as much as he should. So, when he comes home it's like he has to make up for lost time and he constantly has to go. I don't know where he stores it all, but somehow he does. So, last night he got me up several times to go outside, today he finally seems to be back to normal in that regard. His appetite is as strong as it ever has been. I don't think anything will ever effect his appetite and when/if it does then I'll know something is REALLY wrong. Late this afternoon he did try to play a little bit, but we kept that short and sweet so he wouldn't overdue it to fast. So overall, he's coming around, but I think it'll be another day or so before he's back to where he was.

Here are a couple of pics of him tonight.

This was Riley's idea of playing. He loves shoving his head under the pillows with his butt up in the air. I didn't quite catch that pose, but you get the idea. You can see a large lump on his left hip. It's benign as far as they can tell. They did several aspirates on it and none of them showed any signs of cancer. It's not bothering him in the least so we're leaving it alone for now. Considering his heart issues putting him under for cosmetic surgery is not worth the risk.

Here he is before he fell asleep again.

As for Dewey since this is HIS thread afterall, he's still doing great. He's having good, active days and lazy days. Today was a good day. I woke up to a destroyed viv with his roach bowl tipped over and salad all over the floor. After I straightened it up he got a nice bath. Tonight, he decided to crash in a very unusual position. I couldn't help but get some pics to share.

A close up of Dewey's sleeping position.

A full shot of his sleeping position. He was literally hanging on to his cave. I don't know how he could be comfy, but he appeared to be. I didn't want him to fall so I moved him over to his blankie after we had some cuddle time.

 

[beardie osk]

Just love the pics especially the last one of Riley, handsome boy...........glad he's getting better each day........always look forward to your updates.

 

[DeweysMom]

Thanks Christine. I left work early yesterday and took today off, my mother will be staying with him tomorrow and my father is trying for Thursday. So at least he won't be alone for most of the week. He's pretty much back to normal now. Late yesterday he wanted to run around the yard so I let him run a little bit. I want to be cautious with him, but at the same time I feel that if it makes him happy to run, he should run - at least a little bit. If something happened, I'd rather he be doing what he wants to do as opposed to being forced to lay down when he doesn't want to if that makes sense. Right now as I type, he's in dream land on my bed. He looks oh so peacful. :love5: :love5: :love5:

 

[beardie osk]

Right now as I type, he's in dream land on my bed. He looks oh so peacful. :love5: :love5: :love5:

Awwwwwwwwwwwww, content baby boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Claudiusx]

I love sleeping beardies! They are so cute!

-Brandon

 

[HaleyMaree]

What a cute baby!!


~Haley

 

[TheAnthropologist]

Dewey is soo cute! I love his eyes. Glad to hear that Riley is feeling more stable.

 

[DeweysMom]

Thanks guys! Boy I'm horrible with posting my thanks. Just went to post some new pics of Dewey and an update and saw I had 3 unanswered posts. Thanks again, sorry for the delay!

I have updates on Riley and Dewey today.

First Riley, he's been doing great on his new meds, but unfortunately the 24 hour holter monitor this past Saturday showed that he's still having abnormal double and triple beats. So, the cardiologist wants to start him on Atenolol. She said that this medication is a lot like Sotalol which he was responding well too and that it won't cause any internal side effects to his organs so we're giving it a shot. Next month he'll be going back for another recheck. He's been pretty spunky lately now that we're getting into cooler weather. It's so nice to see him enjoying life!

Riley playing a couple of weeks ago.

Wearing the holter monitor this past Saturday.

Riley being frisky this afternoon.

Watching the chipmunks in our yard.

With all this talk about Dewey and Riley, I feel that my other dog Mason is kind of getting left out. So, here are a couple of pictures of him. He's a little over year younger than Riley. They are half brothers (same mom, different dad). They are complete opposites from each other in just about every way. He's such a handful!

I loved how his fur looks in the sunlight.

This is his idea of fun. You almost always see him playing with a toy. He's not one to sit still.

Now for Dewey!

He's still doing great. Having mostly up and awake days, but he has slowed down. He's going through another difficult shed right now. His face is just starting to peel and he has a patch on the left side of his back that's discolored so that should hopefully be shedding off soon as well. His appetite has dropped some, but that's his routine when he's in shed.

Here are some pics from today's bath. I had to move his "tub" into our washer room with the sink right next to the washer because I hurt my wrist and can't carry that tub from room to room anymore. I like how the pics came out better in here though so all's good there.

Such a cutie!

Looking proud!

An extreme close up of his beard. Do these colors look normal? He seems to be getting more white as time goes on. Maybe it's shed related?

He's such a cool little dude!

I LOVE this one! Little stink eye.

I love the reflection in this one.

Starting to swim! He loves his baths!

Another one of my favorites.

More swimming.

 

[FranktheTank]

All of your animals are cutie pies! Dewey definitely loves his bath time, so adorable, and you're right he's a cool little dude for sure!

-Kaleen

 

[MALIBUSMOM]

OMG...dewey has grown so much!very handsome boy!

 

[athenacp]

I just love Dewey :love10: :love10: :love10:

 

[TheAnthropologist]

your dogs and beardies are very adorable. I really like Dewey's black eyes.