Pineapple Express

It was with heavy hearts that we bid farewell to our Runie cat on Saturday. Through tearful sobs and moist kisses, we hugged her close to our hearts and buried our faces in her soft fur, never saying goodbye but just simply, until we meet again. As you can imagine, our weekend was hard. It helped being surrounded by our family and friends and enjoying each other's company. Easter morning was a nice distraction, but it wasn't enough for our son. We watched with sadness as our Bug struggled, crying softly to himself and wearing her collar around his wrist. He seemed so lost. While it is always hard to lose a pet, the impact affects everyone differently and, for our son, it was like a crushing blow to his little heart. The loss is palpable in every action and word. He seemed lost. It was then we had an idea.

On Monday, as we closed one chapter, we cracked open another. This chapter of our life has the makings for a thriller and a comedy. It is only fitting that the title of the story is "Pineapple."

You see, our Bug was really struggling to cope with his loss and we thought perhaps we would get him something to focus his efforts on. As I drove him across town, I gingerly asked what kind of an animal he might like for his own again someday. He replied a rat! Well, that is not going to happen, I thought. As we walked around the pet store, we stopped and looked at all the animals. It was only then that he asked for a bird. I agreed to this adventure and we began to watch the little creatures hopping about their enclosures. He settled on a little yellow and green parakeet, with rings all the way to his beak, indicating he was still young. We watched as the very nice man attempted to catch the little bird and then get repeatedly bitten. I was already re-thinking my plan, as the man set our new feathered adventure into the the travel box. It was then it occurred to me I would need to try and take it out when we got home. Perhaps a detour to Lowe's for garden gloves was also in order. We walked around the store, collecting all the items needed to set up an enclosure for the Bug's new companion. The Bug selected fun little toys to hang in the enclosure for him and mirror so he didn't feel lonely away from all his friends. We read the labels on the food and treats we bought. We made sure to get a cuttle bone for him to scratch his beak on and after several minutes of shopping for his new pet, we proceeded to the check stand.

There was, of course, some paperwork to fill out, with us agreeing to take care of the bird and take it to the vet..... should it need care. The man at the register then proceeded to make sure I had the number for a vet and gave us our competitor's number. As I was standing there in scrubs and my jacket that clearly says Keauhou Veterinary Hospital, I had to wonder....really? It was only after the man told me that, should the bird get sick in the next 15 days, we could bring it in and they would take it to the vet, that I struggled to bite my cheek (this may require stitches). As I tried to figure out why they would recommend one veterinarian over the other 5 clinics in town or 30 veterinarians island-wide (a list of every one would seem to make better sense), the Bug was trying to come up with a name.

By the time we arrived at home, our new little friend was very ready to get out of his 4x6 container. We set up his new two-story cage complete with swing, mirror, a hanging set of dice with bells on the bottom (in case he felt like going to Vegas for the night) and a lattice ball thing that looks like it could be right out of Circus Circus. We carefully opened the box and tried to get the bird out when it decided to take its one-clip-winged chance and make a break for it. He found himself perched on the edge of the trash can. Oh dear god I thought, this is not a good omen. After a few seconds, we were able to get him into his cage. I managed to only get bitten once and all was well. We watched him for about 15 minutes, talking to him and hoping we didn't scare him too much. As I got up to leave, I stood in the doorway of my son's room. He was studying his new little friend. Then, I watched as the Bug turned on his ipod with a little Jack Johnson playing to soothe his new pet. The bird seem to settle into the room nicely as long as you didn't attempt to touch him. I then watched my son take his phone from his pocket and as he looked at the screen saver with a picture of his Runie, I saw the tears in his eyes well up and softly fall onto his cheeks. He looked into the cage and said quietly to himself, "Runie, this is Pineapple". 

While I am sure there will be many stories to tell of our adventure with the new feathered member of our family, it is this first chapter that I will always remember. As we close one chapter of our lives, this was a good reminder that the sun will rise again and we will be there to greet it. Here is to a new day!
 

Oops I did it again!

                                    

History has a way of repeating itself and, as a dog, I guess I am not immune to this phenomenon. You see, I have been back at work the last couple days and I was behaving so well, thanks to my battery operated, gentle correcting, accessory my parents purchased for me, they thought I was better.  Nope, I am not. I tried but just can not seem to catch myself before I open my mouth and my teeth just kind of spring out.  With my collar on, I am an angel so I guess that means I now have a constant reminder to be good or I have to go home. 

At home, I am also having a few issues. Well mainly food issues, you see, I love fruit- watermelon in particular. I never eat grapes since they are toxic to dogs but mango, papaya, pineapple- all of these things are so very good that I.... I just couldn't help myself and I helped myself to my sister's plate... on the counter. My mom chased me out of the kitchen like she was on fire, screaming, "bad dog Pike, bad dog!" Oddly, for a minute I did hang my head but then I heard the blender come out and I was back in the kitchen in hopes that out of all that fruit Mom was putting in the blender, a piece would find its way into my belly. Mom gave me and Captain Slow (Rome) each a carrot and told us both to GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN.  I heard her just fine when she said it in a regular voice; there really is no need yell. 

I went into the living room climbed up on the sofa and laid down to enjoy my carrot and my dad came out of no where yelling, "PIKE OFF!!!!" Meanwhile, Captain Slow was laying in the sun by the backdoor like the golden child...suck up!

Then last night I made another error in judgement, as my sister was eating a plate of cheesy chips. Ok, now let me just say that again, not all of it, just the CHEESY CHIPS part. Let's be honest, unless you are allergic to dairy (sorry Mom) or have broken your taste buds, chips with hot, melted, ooey, gooey cheese is as close to Heaven on Earth as you can get. Next to a grilled cheese sandwich, honestly there is nothing better. In fact, if you asked my Dad what his favorite food on the planet is, he will tell you cheese. This includes all cheese: cheese cake, cheese bread, cheese dip (warm, melted Blue cheese with bacon crumbles and chives in cream cheese). Oh yes, let's face it, there are so many to choose from and well, as far as dogs are concerned, the stinkier the better. 

Anyway, I decided, since my sister was wasting time eating her plate of chips with cheese, I would help her again. Only this time, it made her cry and then Mom locked me in a kennel until I could remember not to help myself to the people food.  I hope you read that line correctly- LOCKED ME IN A KENNEL! Oh yes, she did. I whined to her loudly saying, "I am so sorry Mom and I heard my sister in the kitchen wanting a new plate because Pike "ruined" her other one." Me... I ruined her meal? I was only trying to share the moment with her and help her clean her plate. Ruined her meal? If anything, she should thank me for helping... but no, ruined her meal is what I get. To make matters worse, my mom then threw the first plate of chips and cheese away. I have decided my mother is a hypocrite. She is always talking about not wasting anything and only taking as much as you can eat, that way you don't throw food away. Then what does she do? She throws food away! Maybe she needs to spend some time in her kennel. Better yet, maybe she should eat the same boring dog food everyday, every meal for the rest of her life. I know people food is bad for pets and I understand I have seen all my friends coming in and out of the Hospital due to dietary indiscretion. I know how important maintaining a healthy weight is... I hear about it all day long at work, but seriously.

Well, this whole weekend got me to thinking. In fact, I did a lot of thinking last night and I decided to start the week off with a fresh approach to my stomach and my attitude. First, I will be at work, collar on at all times. Second, if I am still hungry after eating my meal and drinking water I will just wait until Captain Slow forgets what he is doing while eating and gets up and gets his ball, leaving his food unattended.Then I will simply eat it , we wouldn't want it to get stale. I put this into practice this morning and well, I got chased down the hall by my brother while he screamed at me, "BAD DOG PIKE," locked me in my kennel and made me stay home from work to think about my behavior. Lucky for me, my behave collar is at work or I may have spent the day under serious house arrest instead of an hour. My parents let me out since I had a deadline to keep. Oh well, I guess some things never change. We are doomed to repeat our failures. Perhaps I just need to get a little more stealth. Maybe I just need to adapt to my environment, evolve to become better then before. Maybe I need to learn how to open the fridge while everyone is at work. Now we are on to something. Let me see... Mom keeps the carrots in the bottom drawer, right? JACKPOT!!!! 

RUFF!

Dear Friends

                                    

Dear Friends, 

March came and went and April seems to be flying by. We have had so much going on here, as you all know, with baby kittens and our Runie cat, it feels like we have not stopped moving. There have been numerous surgeries the last few weeks and all sorts of calamity...I am not sure where to even begin.

  Let’s start with the Kittens. “ChiSai” aka Franklin and Bigfoot are almost 5 weeks old now; they are eating solids and sometimes each other. In fact they had become so crazy with each other they have gone to live at different homes. Bigfoot is now living with Meg and her other cat, Lucy. He is eating solid food, drinking water and doing all things kitten.

Franklin is now living with Andrea and Jason, and their cat, Timothy, who seems to think his sole purpose in life is to give Franklin tongue baths and lay with him and sleep. Both Meg and Andrea are excited to be getting some sleep and we are excited to see our little box kittens have happy forever homes.

Runie is still in hospital as a patient and not just a resident. Her kidney values were much better at the last blood test and her appetite is a bit better. Over all we can’t believe she is still with us and we are very glad. While we know the day will come sooner than later that we will need to bid her farewell, we are enjoying her every minute she is here with us. She is letting us know her opinion on everything and will not be quiet.....Shhh Runie.... where did I put those noise canceling head phones? All kidding aside, we are really thankful that our beloved Rune is still here talking up a storm and allowing us to pet her to lower our blood pressure. Our “Bug” is the happiest 10 year old in Kona.

We have been so busy at the hospital, and I have to say we really do have the most amazing clients. Thank you all for bringing in your pets and taking such good care of them. It always helps when you have such a good bunch a people to work with and laugh with. We feel like our clients have become part of our extended OHANA . Thank you all for your kind words about Runie and for all your amazing referrals. You allow us to keep doing what we do and provide exceptional care to your furry family members. We have had some tough cases the last few weeks and some very interesting ones. I have to say I have never been more proud of my amazing staff. Our staff has been putting in long hours to help our patients get well, some of them working around the clock, to be here for their furry charges.

One very interesting surgical case the last few days was a very sick dog. After hospitalization, blood tests and ultrasound the only option for this very ill little dog was surgery. It was a Gall Bladder obstruction that came over to us from a referring veterinarian in Hilo. Dr. Head went in and flushed out the bile duct and the Gall Bladder on this poor little dog. She was a real trooper and after 5 days in the hospital she went home Tuesday. We see referrals from all over the island and we are so thankful to be able to help out and get these furry family members back to their families. To all the referring vets that send us cases, thank you for trusting us with your patients. To the families that put their faith in a doctor and Hospital you have never met or been to, thank you for letting us assist you pets.

We have also had lots of emergency surgery lately. And our surgery on Monday on a labrador who thought socks were good to eat was no exception. Unfortunately, for the dog the sock had bunched up his poor intestines and he needed surgery. After four enterotomies (small incisions in the intestine) Dr. Head was able to remove the whole sock and after a night in the hospital, this young chap went home. Hopefully for his family he will stop trying to help out with the laundry. Please remember that dogs and cats can be indiscriminate eaters; socks, rocks, plastic frogs, you name it they eat it. We seem to see these things more this time of the year. We will chalk it up to spring fever.

As we wind down this week, and gear up for another crazy week next week, we are looking forward to all sorts of fun events. The HIHS Tropical Paws fundraiser is coming up, May 6th. Our staff can’t wait! Make sure you get tickets, as it sells out. The Kona Marathon is just around the corner in June. Pike’s Bad Dog Crew will be out in full force as always. Pike is already training us up for the races. I predict at least a 10K in Dr. Head’s and my very near future. Until then keep bringing your pets in to visit us, and not just when they need to see the doctor, but just to say “Hi.” We love to see them when they are healthy and happy. We will keep you updated on the kittens and on our Runie. Keep sending her happy thoughts and we will make sure she gets them. Until next week...

Aloha, 

Jolene

P. S. To the great guys at Light house Deli in Hawi, thank you for the delicious pretzels. This may become a weekly event. Yummy!

Our Runie Girl

My cat sister is very sick. I just found out Sunday when I over-heard Mom and Dad talking about it and it made me very sad. Of the two cats in our family, Rune or Runie, as we call her, is my favorite. She is very chatty and, despite that time when she hijacked my column, she is very easy to get along with. She has the most beautiful coat, it is a rich brown, and you can do anything to her. My parents have taken her into schools because she will let you open her mouth and pet her tongue. Which, for kids and admittedly some adults, is a very cool thing. She lays on the table at lunch upstairs in the Hospital break room and talks to the staff or she curls up in their laps as if to say, “Since you’re just sitting here, you should pet me”.

Anyway, I over-heard my dad saying that she was in kidney failure and that her numbers are not getting better. She has been in the Hospital for 6 days with an IV catheter in-place and on numerous medications and fluids. She is not getting better. Unfortunately for Rune, she was born with a congenital defect. One of her kidneys is huge and the other is non-functioning and about 1/6th of the size of a normal kidney. Basically it is as if she really only has one right now doing the work for two and it is struggling. Rune will be nine years-old in a couple of days and this was not the birthday present my parents were hoping for. She had been very sick a few years ago and my dad was able to save her and her body started to manage itself again but this time is different. I was at work on Saturday and she just looked so sad I didn’t know then what was wrong. Her brother Jenner is missing her and my little human brother “the bug” is very, very sad. She is his cat and while, in this line of work, all of my family has had to see other people’s animals sick, it is much different when they are your own.

Knowing what the outcome will be makes it even harder to think about.

I heard my mom talking to “The Bug” about it last night. I heard her tell him Daddy was doing everything he could to make her better. As he choked back tears, I licked his hand and Mom said, “we will do everything we can, okay buddy?” He said, “no, it was not okay.” You see, this was the first pet “The Bug” ever had. My mom brought them home (Rune and Jenner) when their eyes were still shut and hand fed them and raised them. Rune was his and being only two years old when he got her, he has had her as long as he can remember. He used to carry her all over the house and stuff her in his backpack and lay for hours with her in his lap. She used to lie in his bed every night until two years ago when she came to live at the Hospital when she got sick. She was in the Hospital for several months last time, with medications and repeat blood work. “The Bug” would come see her after school and on weekends.

He loves her more than anything. Mom and Dad didn’t even tell him right away, hoping she would get better, but the reality of it is, she is not going to ever really get better.

I know that “The Bug” prefers cats, but I am going to try my best to be a good friend to him through this and maybe with a little luck and the best medicine available, we can get her well enough to see at least one more birthday. Until we know for sure how long she has with us, we are going to do our very best to make sure she has everything she needs- lots of love and hugs from our family and staff. We will be sending her happy thoughts. RUFF!!!