Introducing our 4 legged family!

LONG POST, But if you like animals you will enjoy reading this.

Maria and I have been parents for over eight years now. Yes, I consider ourselves parents because we have our two little four legged babies.  They are Bichon Frise’s JJ and Mia, but they are more than just our dogs they are our kids.  Maria and I would do anything for our dogs/kids.  They have become a part of our family from the day we brought them home.  They love us more than anything and we love them just like our own kids. One of my favorite things about our dogs is when I come home from work the first thing that is waiting by the door is JJ and Mia. 

Our first dog that came into our life is our son JJ.  He was so adorable the day that we saw him at his parents’ home.   He looked like a little fur ball as a puppy and was so happy to see us.  JJ even has his own little trademark and he started doing that the first day we met him.  He sat on his back legs and would sit up like a squirrel would do. In fact, that was how we fell in love with him.  Maria said I want that one he is so adorable!!  JJ still does this today and he knows how to use it to his benefit.  For example when he wants a treat or human food he will sit on his little butt.   

We had JJ for a few months and we wanted to complete our four legged family with another Bichon.  So we looked through the newspaper and found a breeder that had a female Bichon.  We brought JJ with us to meet his new playmate and he found his life companion that day.  We brought our little girl Mia home that day.  Mia was really from a puppy mill and we actually turned the breeder into animal services but never found out what happened to them.   I told Maria that we had to take Mia home that day because there was no way we were going to let her live one more minute at that home.  I think Mia would agree that she found the best home any dog could ever ask for.  She is loved unconditionally every day just like JJ. 

Both JJ and Mia have very different personalities.  JJ is the mellow laid back little guy.  He mostly never plays ever.  He doesn’t play fetch but when his sister Mia play’s ball he thinks it’s time to tackle her like football.   JJ is the most attached to Maria he follows her wherever she goes bathroom, downstairs, kitchen, just about everywhere she goes he has to go. 

Mia is definitely a little diva girl.  She is full of energy even at eight years old.  She loves attention and loves to be petted.  One of her favorite things is her little pink ball.  If you ask her to get her ball she will search and find that pink ball wherever it is in the house.  When she does find it you will be playing with her till she passes out.

 Mia is also a lover and she loves her JJ.  When JJ will be lying on the floor she will walk over to him and bath his face and lay by him.  These two dogs are inseparable even at the groomers they have to be bathed together and caged together.   Talk about true love and best friends forever.

That’s the background on our little four legged kids but I want to talk about their health.   Mia is super healthy.  She has been to the vet for numerous things.  She knows how to knock over my in laws trash can when she grew up there for the first couple years of her life.  She ate corn on the cobs, meat package wrappers and she has even eaten pills.  Yes all these events were scary but she lived through every single one of them. 

JJ he is our little warrior dog!!! He has been a trooper that’s for sure.  About 2 years ago, around mid December he was acting funny. (My timeline maybe off as it has been over 2 years)  We knew something was bothering him because he isn’t the type of dog to just beg for attention or show us he is in pain.  He went to his first Vet checkup of many that month and they told us that he was fine nothing was wrong with him.  He was just limping and holding his leg up.  Another day went by and he was doing more of the same acting like something was bothering him when he walked.  So back to the Vet he went and they said oh maybe he has a sprained leg or just pulled a muscle.  We went home that day with pain pills and steroids for him. 

We administered his medicines for the next few days and we noticed he didn’t want to hold his tail up?!?!  Mind you this little guy loves wagging his tail around even when you yell at him for something.  We knew in our hearts that something was still wrong.  Back to the Vet he went and we finally were able to see our regular Vet after he took a vacation for a week.  Of course something like this happens when the Vet you use is gone for a week.  JJ had many tests done and everything checked out so we gave him more pain medicines and steroids but we were told if he doesn’t improve in the next few days we had to see the Vet specialists.  We had enough pain pills to get JJ through Christmas and the next day his body told us the pain pills were not working. 

I took JJ outside and as soon as he came back in he ran into his bed and stared at the wall crying in pain.  We knew it was time to take him to the specialists.  That night we packed him up in the car and admitted him to the doggie emergency room.  They kept him overnight and they told us to come back in the morning to talk to the surgeon about his back!!! We spoke with the surgeon the next morning and he informed us JJ would need an MRI and if the MRI showed anything wrong with his vertebrates he would be having surgery. 

JJ had surgery that day to repair his slipped disc and was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease.   He made it through the surgery just fine but the surgeon told us he was surprised JJ was even walking when we brought him in to the emergency room.  The surgeon explained to us that his spinal cord was almost severed in half!!! WOW really!!!  We brought him home the following day and Maria and I lived in our living room for the next two months.   We did this to confine JJ so he could rest and recover properly. 

After the surgery, JJ was like his old self except he lost control of his peeing and his pooing.  He can no longer pee on his own and poo will fall out of him just like when u take a dog on a walk.  I know many of you will say ewwww gross. But really it isn’t bad at all.  JJ wears a diaper around his waist so he doesn’t dribble all over the place and sometimes there will be poo on the carpet and I just pick it up and throw it in the toilet.  In order for JJ to go pee, Maria and I have to manual express his bladder.  To do this we just squeeze on his abdomen on a puppy pad four times a day.  He doesn’t mind it all in fact when you tell him to go to the bathroom he goes to his room and waits for you to drain him.  He is such a good little boy. Through his surgery JJ has returned to 100% minus his other two issues. 

But this past week and half ago JJ was acting the way he did two years ago before his surgery.  He was in pain not wanting to get up and walk.  So we took him back to the Vet specialists and they assured us it wasn’t it his back.  He had no pain or any discomfort.  But we didn’t believe them.  So they ran a bunch of tests to check all his functions liver, kidneys, urine test, etc. and everything came back normal.  JJ is currently on pain medicines and he seems to be acting like his old self.  They have given us instructions to keep him rested so if it is his back it can hopefully heal on its own.  But again during this episode the surgeon that operated on JJ was on vacation for a week.  We have an appointment with him this coming Thursday and we hope our little son will be ok. 

This of course is the worst possible time to be having a flare up of JJ ‘s back because Alayna will be here any day now.  But if he has to have another surgery we will be doing whatever it takes to get him back to his normal health.  I think that we are some pretty awesome parents and we have demonstrated that through our four legged family already.  So with this I think Alayna will be born into a household that will never give up on their children!!!

 

Beautiful Mia!

 

Handsome JJ! 

 

 JJ and his diaper.

 

Best friends forever!!!