New Haircut

Riley got a bath and haircut today. His coat is coming back in pretty good but I had him cut fairly short to make him more comfortable. I am not sure what he was doing with his paws but it is really funny.

Ryan arrived safely in Ireland yesterday, unfortunately the friend that he was going to visit is stranded in Spain due to the volcanic ash. He managed to get himself from Dublin Airport by cab, to the campus where she is living and was able to get into her house. Ryan decided not to waste anytime so he found a bus into Dublin and is in the process of taking a hop on, hop off, 24 hour tour. He decided to bring his laptop with him right before he left, so I was able to find out that he got there safely and had a place to stay. He thinks Jaime might be able to fly back to Dublin tomorrow ( Thurs) and then they will be able to do some sight seeing together until he flies home next Tues. It has been quite an adventure for him to say the least. Ryan was very thankful that they speak English. I am glad Ryan has some prior travel experience to be able to navigate all of this on his own.

Riley is holding his own so far. These rainy days do bother him quite a bit though. We are just going day by day and enjoying every minute.

Good News/ Bad News

I have been waiting very patiently to get the results of the latest blood test to see if Riley has thyroid disease. I was finally able to talk to the vet today. Riley does not have thyroid disease which in itself, is good news. The bad news is that the prednisone is what is causing his thyroid levels to be so low as well as the deterioration of his coat. I asked what we do now and pretty much there is nothing we can do. The side effects of prednisone are bad, but Drs. Glass and Smith feel the benefits outweigh the side effects right now. Dr. Glass feels that Riley's pain is being well managed primarily because of the prednisone and feels that alleviating pain is the most important thing to do. Of course I agree with that, I just wish it did not have so many bad effects on Riley. He has only been on the prednisone for 6 months now so I really worry about the future.

Riley has not been able to walk too far for a while. He is dragging his back paws a little and the last time we walked, it cause one of his toenails to be worn down past the quik which caused it to bleed profusely.

Riley is still the most loving, gentle dog that I have ever owned. I am going to focus on the present, and enjoy the time that we have together.