Category Archives: Melvin and Jake

Melvin’s Project Joy: April 2016

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Time for more giving! As we come up on the year anniversary of losing Melvin, and as Jake and I move together on his journey, this month we celebrate our cancer dogs.

As a reminder, each month, we do a giveaway that celebrates the unique nature of our furry friends. There are monthly categories (so far we have done: seeing impaired, hearing impaired, less than four legs, anxiety stricken and senior dogs).

Here is how it works…

This goes beyond just a giveaway (but yes, there is of course some loot!). Our goal is to remind each other that we are all in this crazy life together. That through these giveaways, we can all bring empathy into play. As you share stories of your cancer dogs, read the stories of others. You may nod, and realize just how much we all have in common. You can message others and share your experiences and advice. Friendships will form. Support can be shared. Joy will be spread!

Share your cancer dog (or dogs) (their name, a photo. and the story about their awesomeness) on either our Facebook page containing this post, on Sirius Republic’s Facebook page when they share this post. If you are not of the Facebook world, you can email your info to ohmelvinyojake@gmail.com. No matter how you submit your info, you will be entered to win. You can nominate your dog if they are still with you or if you have lost them.

READ ALONG AS OTHERS POST. DON’T FORGET TO REACH OUT.

In celebration of the blog turning five, we will pick five winners at the end of this month! Five dogs will win a Sirius Republic gift cert!

 

Storm Prep.

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We have food. We have adult beverages.  We have a snowblower and a generator.  I am a planner.  We were good to go on Tuesday.

Melvin loved the snow.  LOVED.  He would bounce and bound through it and eat it up! There were a few storms that I had to dig a path for him, but he worked really hard at forging forward in it no matter what the height of the drift. Some of our favorite walks were at night after a snow when the streets were empty and all was quiet and white!

Jake is the polar opposite. See what I did there with ‘polar’?  If I open the back door for potty and Jake hears dew forming on the grass during Spring, he won’t go out.  He has some internal dampness gauge and if it senses moisture, he about faces and ‘runs’ and hides.

If you see Jake in any snow photos, it’s because I picked him up inside and literally set him into the snow.  There is no leading him with food, no dragging.  He is not falling for it.  Being tossed is the only chance of his body making contact with snow.

Thus, the biggest preparation for Jake and the blizzard is to be sure his diapers and his cloth diaper inserts are clean. Check!

It is 12:50 in Northern Virginia and the snow has started! Stay tuned for Jake versus the elements!

Some past snow photos…

Tossed into it! (safely!) 3 19 14a

He may have been part St. Bernard. 3 19 14

Back in the day when Jake could go on walks and I was big on them wearing matching jackets and snoods! photo[3]

Pro(zac) and Cons.

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Jake suffered grief after Melvin died.  In addition to opting for solitary existence, he would sit at the door that Melvin was taken out of, and howl-cry.  I did everything I could to help him, but like me, he had to learn to carry his loss.  Our vet recommended Prozac.  I was willing to try anything to help him, and make the crying stop.

We started the Prozac and after a few weeks he was doing better.  I’m not sure if it was all the Prozac or not but it didn’t matter, my boy was headed in the right direction.  He stayed on it and once we started seeing the behaviorist (after he tried to dismember every dog we met), she suggested that Prozac might help him with future meetings (dosage adjustments might be needed).  The theory – that it would lower his desire to kill anxiety when confronted with a dog that was not Melvin. (Melvin was his natural Prozac).

Well in terms of how he did with other dogs, I think we all know how well that went. Craptastic.

So I decided that Jake has learned to carry his grief and that he no longer needs Prozac.  I weaned him off for a few reasons (aside from the grief fading). One, I don’t like to throw medications at something when it’s just not needed.  If he comes off of it and starts to spaz out in a new direction, we can discuss options (medication and training) but right now, my gut says he will be ok.  Two, there are some theories that dogs on Prozac don’t always do better with behavioral issues (like meeting new dogs) because it suppresses their natural ability to react and respond.  (I’m not a medical professional or a behaviorists, that is my dumb’d down version of what I’ve learned).  So in Jake’s case, the Prozac MIGHT have kept him from being able to react differently when presented with other dogs because it made him ‘unaware’ of other natural responses he could have, like calming the bleep down.

Since coming off the Prozac, his energy level has doubled as has his perceived idea of how strong he is.  (Not sure either of these will help with adding a dog to the family!). He now thinks he can leap onto the couch.  Which he cannot.  I may need Prozac to deal with a Jakie that ‘leaps’ head first into objects he thinks he can hurdle (the momma helps him fly whenever she is close by!).  But if my little wonky chicken thinks he can fly now, coming off Prozac was the right thing to do.

This is a photo hanging in my closet. I think Jake has adopted this sentiment.

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Lessons.

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I was recently interviewed by Lessons From a Paralyzed Dog.  It’s funny, when they asked me if they could interview me my first thought was ‘but why?’.  Jake has been ‘wonky’ for a few years now.  In fact, Facebook just reminded me last week that it’s been exactly two years now. I slowly got to become an ‘expert’ on some things, so to be honest, I don’t really think of myself as able to add too much content.  But I guess I have learned a thing or fifty over the past few years!

When I was being interviewed, the questions made me smile.  Why did you start the blog? Melvin’s face popped into my head, three-year-old Melvin who had blood-red skin, very little hair and more energy than a power plant.  The blog started off to chronicle life with the world’s most allergic dog.  To share our crazy antics and our trials and failures and successes. To laugh at our crazy life and to let those who might read our little blog know, health issues are what you make of them.

Melvin provided constant content!  Allergies, infections, tail injury and amputation.  Behavioral challenges, separation anxiety, more allergies, so many more allergies. Colitis, countless ER visits, ear infections, giardia, mange, diarrhea, constipation and cancer. And loss. Oh, Melvin, indeed!

Please stop including my name and diarrhea in the same sentence. 9 18 13e

Jake has also never failed me in the content space.  From his punk start in the family to the decline of his mobility, from his eyes to his meatballs, dude continues to teach me so much about perseverance.

The days of him being diaper-less are long gone. 9 18 13a

A few things came up during the interview. Things that have stayed true to who I am and to what my life with the dogs has been about.

  • When something comes up, seek a solution.  Otherwise, it’s going to become a problem and problems add up and can overwhelm life.
  • There is laughter and joy, even in the worst moments.
  • This is life.  This is our life.  It’s gorgeous and complicated and I wouldn’t change a single thing.

We were excited to be featured and to giveaway one of our favorite solutions, a Sirius Republic Belly Band.  And to celebrate his new-found fame, Jake did something extraordinary.  Something he has not done in well over a year.  Something that made this dog mom so proud and so happy and so shocked.  He pooped in the yard! It was so incredibly shocking that I didn’t even know what to do and I had no idea where the poop bags were since I have not needed them since Melvin was here! I even left the tied-up-bag outside as a reminder that MIRACLES HAPPEN! That’s right, sometimes crap can be a miracle!

Celebrate everything!  Life is too sweet not too!

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Merry, merry. Happy, happy. Joy, joy.

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I have always said that on Christmas, what is under the tree, is never as remarkable as who is on the couch.  The people and dogs on the couch, they are my gifts.

Our Christmas was delightful, although the couch was a lot empty without Melvin. I’ve been trudging through the holiday season trying to think of anything but him. I’m in that odd place that is…grey? safe? Where I can handle the reality but I keep memories at arms reach. I know I can’t keep the two separate forever. I’m working on bridging that gap, but it’s hard to force myself to sit down to look at photos and videos. I can be very stubborn. I got a Christmas gift that is a reminder to keep working on that. My SIL (sister-in-love) got two of my core beliefs made into prints and framed.  The moment I opened them, I knew exactly where they would go. Also, I think it goes without saying that my heart filled with joy and I started crying!

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The year is ending, a new one will begin. While I don’t want to stay in any year, we are meant to move forward, this year feels harder to move out of.  It was the worst of all the years (this from someone who almost died twice in 2007), but it’s also the last year that Melvin was here.  And that makes it a spectacular year in so many ways! He was only here for four months of 2015, but his beautiful spirit has filled each and every day with his everlasting presence in my heart. Something I’m so thankful for!

Keep chasing joy.  Love lives on.

So, I shall bid farewell to 2015, knowing that moments of it are now a part of the core of who I am. A year of love and grief and joy and heartache. And I will say hello to 2016, a year that has nothing but opportunity for more happy and love. And I thank YOU, for being a part of all our years, no matter what they bring.

Happy New Year!! We hope that you make some beautiful, soul-rocking memories, that you opt to give before you get, and that you find your joy!

Love, Tracey

Here is Jake’s note:

Send food. Diets are incredibly painful. Seriously, send food, I’m really suffering.

Love, Ja…(he passed out from hunger)

And here is our Christmas card!  I meant to post it earlier than AFTER CHRISTMAS!

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