Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Bruno and Bear needed to donate essential blood for Twinkle

Before receiving the call that Both Bruno and I are needed urgently, we knew that Twinkle was in need of some urgent help. When we got the 2nd call... that the blood was now urgently needed, we went down immediately after dragging Pa out of the office and into the car.
But we did realise just how painful the entire procedure was... It was just about donating blood. First, a sample was taken from us... to see what blood type we were.Then... the put PINK pressure bandages on us! PINK!... Actually we didn't mind lah.. but the doctors and nurses were making such a big deal.
Next they started to smear our blood on a card... spreading it with some other reactive chemical... and spread round round round... and the same time muttering and chanting to themselves... I think they were really very tired.
It was interesting to see just how careful they were typing us. Apparently the other place where Twinkle had her first failed transfusion was really fast. A lady with two golden retrievers reacted to the call first... and she "donated" her dog's blood... for $1 for every ml.
That's like over $850 for two bags of doggie blood... and it FAILED. the procedure was also very fast... like 15 mins... as if the dogs were really used to the abuse. Even though we were pretty mild mannered, we were still sedated slightly.
Here is Bruno looking over and guarding a pretty ill-feeling Twinkle. That's Josh... Twinkle's Papa.
Twinkle has an needle stuck up her paw... and she limps around pretty painfully. Feeling terrible, she doesn't move much. Twinkle's half brother wasn't so lucky... he died after 6 hours of ingesting possibly Rat poison that was placed around housing estates... Please please please train your dogs not to pick up foreign food like things on the floor.
The results are OUT! Both Bruno and me are a perfect match for Twinkle!
The next thing was to have Pa sign a Permission Form... explaining the dangers of having us sedated etc. The fact that we might die suddenly dawn upon us.
After that the doctors and nurses refused to allow cameras inside... Pa wanted to take some pictures during our heroic moment! We were also put on drip to replace the valuable blood we just DONATED... not SOLD hor... I cannot imagine people selling their dog's blood.
We were full of energy when we came in... excited about the midnight trip. But being sedated knocked us out completely. We even got little nice white cards....
As happy as we were helping to save another life...
And making Twinkle's Papa so happy he kept giving us tummy rubs...
We had a bald spot to show for it....
You see... the had to take the blood out from the Jugular Vein. That means shaving a place on the neck, and sticking a needle down my neck. Somehow, they felt that most Doggie Owners wouldn't be able to stomach that i suppose.

At least this time I got a blue bandage.
Here is Bruno having his IV removed.
Twinkle later had a couple of rejections from the blood... and some injections were used to help counter that... Right now... she is still feeling pretty ill and hopefully our blood would help her get back on her feet soon.
Good Luck Twinkle! Its ALL up to you now.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Some updates on Bruno's health

Pa got lazy (I was busy lah.) and we didn't have any real bone meal for quite a while. Not to mention the big freezer broke down and space for storing our food was compromised. So we were on dry doggie food for a period of about 2 weeks.
In just two weeks, Bruno's pristine white teeth had a very thick obvious layer of Tartar on his rear molars. His breath also stank. That was when Pa discovered it. Suitably shocked... and then dismayed... Pa quickly went back to the Bone diet... and the Tartar significantly lessened after a week.
Here you can see the same tooth but with less tartar... almost all gone.
And a little more time passed and Bruno's teeth went back to normal. If this isn't conclusive evidence that dog food is NOT really that great for dogs... then I dun know what is.
sometimes... I really do not know what humans can come up with... Dog food not good for dogs? What else can they come up with!
And this little brat... dun know what is good for him at all. Ass itchy... bite bite bite
Then after that... suffer the consequences.
Bruno and me lives out in the open... so unknown to Pa, he had a small infection that didn't turn out to be that small afterall. This picture was taken AFTER the wound had been cleaned and disinfected.
Its still healing... but he will be fine... Not to mention how Pa had to slowly remove the maggots one by one that were hiding inside that tiny hole. Or how Pa couldn't believe his eyes when he soaked the wound in alcohol... and the wound started moving.

Yucks.

Saturday, August 01, 2009

A dear family friend lost today...

This is Grandma... she went over to Japan for a holiday... for the first time in her life... alone... She never traveled alone anywhere. We the family were really proud of her.
Of course she would meet really nice kind friends there! This is Masako san. She is the wife of Deguchi san... dearest friend and business partner to the family.
They... are THE most loving couple ever. They were seldom apart... and always keeping each other company. They never had kids... but it looked as if each other were all they needed.
They lived just right next door to where we are... but we never really often saw each other. I remember meeting them a few times... but I am surprised I NEVER took a picture with them... But grandma did.

Masako san simply vomitted and passed away quickly last night. It was simply... too fast... too fast to even say goodbye. Leaving her husband behind. We are all so terribly sad.

Without fail... they would always join us for big family dinners. She is a expert flower/plant arranger. She would always send a potted plant, exquisitely arranged to the home in Yishun... every single year.

She was always with a kind word... and very patient with everything. She will be missed... but not more than her husband... whom she is everything to him.
Sometimes its really not about what you do... and how hard you do it... but rather... who is there with you till the end. A simple family dinner during Pa's 2009 birthday was simply the best. Nothing beats a home cooked meal, quirky candles and a seriously doubtful cake to make Pa's day.

Pa is very upset.

And he looked into my eyes and said... Do not ask me to love you forever. I will hate you the day you die. I will hate that you left me behind. I will hate that you went on without me.

I will hate you the day you die.

I guess... we will hate the person we love the most eventually. Today, life isn't simple.