Marlee Update Nov. 13

This month I took Marlee for some more lab work to see if her thyroid medication is doing the trick. Poor girl--her thyroid levels are still way low, so for this month we are going to double the medication and see if that helps. However, the vet said that for as low as her levels are, he suspects that we will have to quadruple the original dosage. Which means,of course, quadrupling the cost of that particular medication.

Oh..and did I mention that we will have to do lab work again at the end of this month to figure this out?

Sigh....

This is an expensive undertaking so any help we can get is sure appreciated. However, we're happy to see Marlee all filled out and doing well.

Our next challenge is that we need to build some sort of handicap ramp for Marlee to get off our deck this winter. once the steps get slippery she will be totally unable to get herself into the yard. (it's only 3 steps, but she is really nervous about it and a lot of times we just lift her down to the ground)

We also need to get a dog house of some sort for her. She isn't able to control her bladder very well all the time, so we can't leave her alone in the house for longer periods of time when we have to be gone. So she is going to need a cozy shelter out there. Thankfully, KY winters aren't generally severe, but they are quite rainy. Marlee really hates to go into small spaces. She still resists going into her crate (though we continue to use it and encourage her to get more comfortable with it). I have my doubts that she would even use a dog house if he got her one. I am seriously wondering if it would work better for her if we made a straw bale dog house for her. I'm thinking it would be more cozy, we could change the size of it if we needed to, and in the spring we could use the straw in the garden. Sort of a thrifty, earth-friendly, clutter-free doggie habitat. What do you think?

Lastly, I want to thank Michele, who was kind enough to send me some coupons for free dog food and several dollars off dog food. I am happy to receive coupons for dog products, so if that is a way you want to help out, just let me know! :)

Thanks for your kind support.

Til next time
Erica