Intro
This is a fifteen year log blog of both of my dogs' lives. They both lived full lives and Yoshi amazed us all by living 15 years and 4 months and 2 weeks.
It is in reverse order and it's an older style HTML only, but it just worked out that way.
Reverse order means you start with the dog passing away so it's better to just skip around. There are copious links at the bottom of this page and all the other years too. they both had Degenative Myelopathy which is a disease that very slowly takes away the dog's ability to walk. I spend a lot of dog taking care of the and dealing with their disability. Before that they were both involved in dog sports. Both enjoyed herding. Yoshi did goats, and Trek did ducks. They both have Obedience Rally trials and Trek had a go at agility.

[One week later]
Taylor sent me his full report.
It's very thorough as it should be since it's expensive.
Yoshi had kidney disease that did not show up in the tests to be that severe, and some issue with his liver which we knew nothing about, and other old dog issues. His cause of death is from a stroke (rare in dogs) caused by the kidney's no longer controlling the chemicals in his brain. The stroke(s) caused the seizures. This is confusing to me as we saw the seizures first and then on the day after he had come back from the hospital he appeared to have a stroke right as I was looking at him and he slowly sank to the floor. He was alive, but essentially comatose and remained that way during the 45 min trip to the hospital and during all the time we spent with the vet Tracy Harding. I had a long time to consider whether to try one last treatment, but it seemed pointless and so we let him go. I had Terri take a photo on my holding him with his head on my shoulder resting comfortably with me with that look of facing a situation I didn't want to face but knew I had to.

Jan 2
Dr Taylor Spangler called again. He needs to write the full report, but Yoshi's cause of death appears to be from the ammonia levels in his brain not being properly filtered by his kidneys. Unregulated ammonia can cause seizures and clots and other mayhem. It's amazing how fast everything went wrong for Yoshi. 51 hours and he was gone. Probably a blessing, but we're still way thrown off.

[Rest of 2018]
The hospital sent us the preliminary necropsy report which they shouldn't of since it was preliminary and inconclusive.
I called Necropsy Services directly and got a lot of information from Taylor who is working on Yoshi's case.
There is evidence of clots in his brain, so he's going to consult with an associate of his at UC Davis.
More importantly. His kidneys are bad. I mentioned we'd been monitoring them and he basically said that he's looking at a bad kidney. I am annoyed that the test results weren't able to warn me about that. Yoshi told me in no uncertain terms that he hated the kidney diet and he'd lost so much weight on it I was afraid of losing him so I let him have his regular food (though we removed the beef back in June.) If we'd known we could have added subcu fluids, but no one was concerned enough about it to do anything beyond suggesting the diet change.
We're going to stay tuned.

[Much speculation deleted.]

Wed Dec 19
Went over to Canine Rehab to donate a bunch of assistive devices to them and to talk and commiserate. Both Yoshi and Trek were long time clients of theirs and they're just as sad about the sudden change in circumstances.

I keep saying zonisamide incorrectly. It's zoni SAmeyed. Hopefully I won't need to remember that seizure medication. the shorter term valium-like med is clorazepate (clor RAZ e pate.

Tue Dec 18
I wrote SAGE Concord asking what the timetable on Yoshi's necropsy would be.
"Necropsy results usually take 3-4 weeks. Around the holidays, possibly a little longer. "
Just kill me now <sigh>

House is too empty. I can't roll back in my chair without looking behind me and reaching down to pet him since he liked to wrap himself around my chair legs.
I remember what he feels and smells like.

I just finished doing the paperwork for Yoshi's claim at SAGE Concord. The finality is pretty heartbreaking. My brain is still on whether or not I should get him an MRI. I was leaning yes since he has already met his deductible, and coming off of anesthesia was no more difficult than recovering from a seizure. SAGE Concord had even taught me how to cut in line for an MRI. You first go to ER at SAGE Campbell (or Redwood City) and then you pay the $150 "transfer fee". It changes waiting a week to nearly same-day.

Tomorrow we're going to go over to Canine Rehab to donate some exercise equipment back and just to spend a little time since we're all shocked by Yoshi's passing.

Mon Dec 17
People are being so sweet on Facebook about the news of Yoshi's passing.
I am letting others know via email.

This waiting for the necropsy is driving me mad. I keep spinning scenarios that it was a toxin from whatever bit him on the nose since head pressing could be because of a brain tumor or a toxin. I remind myself that they did a blood test as while the blood test wasn't for a toxin, it certainly would have thrown something off. Terri points out that toxins don't let up like seizures do. I'm not convinced yet.

I just went a did Yoshi's and my usual Krusi Park walk without him. Just had to. Took some photos. When I get his ashes back I'll scatter some of them there. For months, everyday around 4pm, we'd drive over and with him wearing a Ruffwear harness, walk across it and back. It's the equivalent of walking four blocks, so good on-grass exercise for a partially disabled dog.

Sun Dec 16
Yoshi had a petit mal seizure 5:30am and another less obvious one 11:30am.
Fortunately Terri put a diaper on him during the morning which saved me a urine bath.
He needs to go back to SAGE, so they can adjust his meds.

Mark and Jan brought a Feel Good Bakery Apricot Tart to see Yoshi and say hello.

Over the morning, Yoshi got less and less responsive. I was able to get him to walk around the hard some, but while visiting with Mark and Jan he appeared to have the 11:30am one. SAGE said they wanted to see him again. When we got him there he was pretty much non-responsive. I have warned his FB fans that this might not go so well. It didn't.

Turns out that his affect was completely different than yesterday. This was not being caused by the medication, but instead the tumor. There was one med we could try but at best it would just buy us hours or maybe days and it wouldn't be good quality times and we'd be back having the same conversation on Mon or Tue.

I'm reeling. 51 hours after he had his first seizure, after being released from the hospital and spending an evening at home, Yoshi became mostly unresponsive after two more minor seizures. He was alive and comfortable [in a photo Terri took], but we think a tumor had attacked an essential part of his brain. We decided to let him go as there was no more dog left. We will be doing a necropsy to get some answers. I had a long time to say goodbye.

With this visit he had met his incident deductible, so we decided to have the insurance company pay for 90% of the necropsy.

Sat Dec 15

We went over to SAGE Concord to bring over his breakfast and dinner and his harness. He's gotten through the night without a seizure but he's really out of it right now (it's the morning). We're going to have to give this whole thing time.

6pm. Spoke with the day doc Tracy Hardin. They're releasing him at 8pm. This seizure cluster is now considered broken which was the goal.

He's back home and subdued. I made him walk around the yard in his chart and it wiped him out.

I'm going to wait a week to see if we get him back from this misadventure. He's survived other things and has been relatively resilient.

Fri Dec 14

[I canceled this later] I'm going to a herding trial tomorrow hosted by Linda at Joyce Shephard's ranchlet. It's going to rain today and Sunday, but Sat should be nice. Joyce is making enchiladas for lunch for people, so I'll bring some tortilla chips and a dip (I think guac or bean dip).

11:30am
Boom everything changes. Yoshi was asleep and instead of dreaming had a seizure that lasted forever which meant 2-3 minutes. Pee, poop, everywhere. It was terrible. We thought he was going to die, but he kept breathing and his heart still beat just fine.
Went to Park Centre and saw Dr. Cathy Wydner one of his regular vets. She put him on Zonisamide. The after he started it at 4pm he had another seizure at 6:15pm and we took him to SAGE Concord. They added Clorazepic. He had another one at 9pm as they were putting the line into his vein but they were able to stop the seizure immediately with IV Valium. That's cool that you can stop seizures just like that.

Now we wait to see if the meds are going to work. 24 hours.

Thu Dec 13

Yoshi Krusi Park
We went right after school had gotten out which meant lots of cars leaving the area, but the place I like to park was wide open. Lots of motion for him to bark at but only one dog in the park. The others show up later in the day. Today I tried using two four foot leashes attached to the main loop and the lowermost loop. This is instead of looping the six foot leash through each. It gave me more control as I could pull each leash in different directions.

Evening walk. This time to put him in his cart I put him on the ground in front of it (instead of lifting him into it) and I backed him into it by lifting only his rear legs. Stil awkward but no weird neck problem.

Another possibility would be to try the lower part of a help em up harness attached to the webmaster which is an rather "off-label" use. I don't think so though. When he can no longer use his rear legs at all, he should just be in a cart.

Wed Dec 12

Yoshi acupuncture with Jorge.

Off to see Ziji.

Yoshi is doing surprisingly well. She thinks his neuro incident was him tensing up when I put him in his cart and it tweaks a nerve in his neck. If he's relaxed when he goes it shouldn't happen.  When we put him in it after his session he was completely fine. She showed us how to take tension out of his spine by putting my hands around his neck/throat (yes, really) and pulling gently up against his head. She showed us and it clearly feels good to him.

Now that Sharon is moving Ziji won't be back until she has another place to come to - negotiations are in progress right now.

Tue Dec 11

Yoshi to see Dr Wydner. His nose is not improving, but it not getting worse. I let them run the bill up today and will start an insurance claim for him. Done. It depends on if they cover his blood test as part of the claim. If so we're almost to $800 right now.
Krusi Park
He's walking fairly well. Less falling over on the left like he was doing. I did try walking on his right side but it didn't help that much.

Tonight I put Yoshi in his cart for an evening walk and his head immediately went to the right like last Saturday's incident. I took him out of the cart and rubbed his neck and he recovered. So it's something about my putting him in that cart that jostles something. It's weird, he's been using the cart for the night walks on the sidewalk for weeks now. His park walks are on grass and I can use his harness then. Walking him on the sidewalk in his harness is no fun for either of us. He usually likes the cart because he can go faster.

Mon Dec 10

We weren't sure if Yoshi had finished pooping, so we just did cold laser today at his PT.

Krusi Park walk. He's tipping over more on the left now so I have to hold him up a little differently than I usually do. I'll have to see if this changes over time. I might need to use two separate leashes instead of one just doubled through two different loops. He did ok. Falling over or dragging a leg doesn't bother him.

Sun Dec 9

I took video of Yoshi at Krusi Park. We first did our usual walk and then I got a tripod and camera out to shoot some video. He's looking so much better.  All the way across the park and back and then various bits of walking around for the video. He's now moving around the house quite well now too.

Yoshi evening walk. In a harness and booties this time. We got a block before I went and got his cart and it went much better. I won't like how his feet drag in the cart now, but he's still trying to use them. In the harness on the sidewalk he just wasn't walking that well and needed a lot of support that he doesn't need on grass.

Sat Dec 8

Yoshi wasn't readily peeing so I put him in his cart and he started spinning around to the right as if I'd put him in incorrectly. (I hadn't). Got some video.

But 3-4 minutes later he was ok:
I'm thinking petite mal seizure vet wants to rule out vestibular syndrome.
Having is clear up so quickly points away from vestibular.

Vet says it could be a mild vestibular episode. We'll just have to keep an eye out.
She said that it is was an actual seizure he would be on his side paddling the air and not in touch with the world.
We can take his blood pressure and do the bloodwork he's due for or we can wait and watch. That works. He did seem to get his head stuck more often when being picked up in his harness, but he went on a park walk and did great all the way across and back. Once he's warmed up he just needed the one leash and was able to move pretty quickly and in a mostly straight line.

Yoshi is mostly ok, even had a great walk across the park, but I'm mentally putting him at condition "yellow" (one up from green) and he's not allowed to travel more than an hour away unless there are emergency services around.

Fri Dec 7

Yoshi Krusi Park

Just one other dog in the park. Kind of a curly coats medium sized dogs named Goldie. She was really paying attention to her two caretakers until we arrived and then she came running right up with that "A Friend!" look. I picked Yoshi up and she paused confused and her parents called her back. We went through this twice until they decided to move over to the side of the park and I explained that we just had to walk across the park and back and we'd be done.
Yoshi did great otherwise. He is struggling more on his right side but I can help him compensate for it on the grass.
Later one we tried his new booties in his cart. The booties are sturdy but that means they're not as flexible so he's having a hard time pulling his left foot  forward. Maybe I should just use the rubber Pawz booties as they are completely flexible. I raised his cart some so that might help too.

Thu Dec 6

Yoshi Krusi Park

Lots of dogs. The Tibetan Terrier was there and started to approach Yoshi and his owner immediate called him and leashed him and they walked over to join the other dogs at the main street entrance. They know that all we do is walk across the park (and back) from the school entrance side at Court and Calhoun.
Yoshi walked ok. Not keeping the same speed and dragging his right foot a lot, but wanted to move at a decent pace, leg be damned. To start the walk, I had the main part of the leash in one hand and the trailing part of it through the handle to "steer" his rear by pulling against the direction that it his haunches are leaning. sort of works when he needs it. all with me walking backwards which make it fun. Coming back I had him walk with one of my legs on each side and just let him bounce off them. This worked for a short distance to get him going them we just moved back to me on his left side on without the leash doubled like I have it before.

Wed Dec 5
Yoshi Krusi Park
Nice and cool, but it didn't rain on us. He did very well.
Walked just a little bit slower but not just a regular walking pace. I had to pull up and to the left but after a while I was able to just use a single lead and dispense with it being double threaded through the handle. when we got back he wanted to turn around so we went back to about the distance of second base and then turned back. I carried him to the trash can by the other close field, and then to the car. Good boy.
He can still sort of hear a whistle sound I think only in one ear.
He can still feel my voice which helps.

Tue Dec 4

Yoshi Krusi Park
We were there just before school let out which was fine until the bell  rang and all these cars appeared to pick children up. Parking was a little tougher with school in session. We are usually there after school has let out. We used the Mound St entrance. The park was completely empty fortunately. We got all the way across and back but he's having more stability issues with his right hip collapsing. It doesn't bother him a bit and he doesn't seem to mind being semi dragged. Going slower only sort of helps. He likes the speed for his front and doesn't seem to care that his back legs don't entirely keep up. We will work on finding a rhythm that works. Sometimes I'll walk on his right side and let him bounce off my leg which seems ludicrous, but it kind of works.

Mon Dec 3

Yoshi PT

He did better than he did last week. Right rear still crosses in but his left leg is able to get past it during a stride mostly.
Dana found a dead flea on him which he might have gotten from the beach but I have to check when he last had advantage. It's not on the calendar for Nov. We have used two in the package and I remember using it on him but I don't remember when that was. We should give him one tomorrow when he's dry.
Filed the claim for this visit.

Yoshi Krusi Park
Technically he didn't need a park walk but he was restless at 4pm, so I took him. There were other dogs playing and he had a fine time barking at them. I picked him up once, but there were no Great Danes to steer around. He got across remarkably fast and on the way back I stopped to let a kid of one of the dog parents say hello to him (while trying to keep our distance from the other dogs.
Two of the dog parents remembered Trek in her cart,  so we had a sweet, heartfelt conversation about her all the while with Yoshi yelling at their playing dogs. Silly boy. I got him to shut up mostly.

Sun Dec 2
Took Yoshi to Pacifica State Beach. I love talking him for walks on that beach as it's nearly no effort to go as the road just goes right by the parking lot and parking is free for 30 min and you can just get another 30 min tag if you like. there is a nearby Taqueria, but I didn't go there this time as I needed to get back to make dinner.

Sat Dec 1

Yoshi Krusi Park

During the day this time. No drama just us trying to walk across the park. He's having a lot more trouble with his right leg. It's difficult getting him going. Once he's going he's better but his right left just collapses often. Sometimes I would stand on his right side and just let him lean on my leg but ultimately it was better to just be on the left and pulling up and to the left.

Fri Nov 30

Yoshi Krusi Park

It was dark in the park which was a little creepy feeling as I couldn't see all the way across it. I think for future nightime walks I'll just use Lincoln Park which I can see across.

Arzo the Great Dane came running up. His owner ineffectively in the distance. I had Yoshi in one arm and using the other one to push on Arlo's neck saying out loud "He bites." His owner (who knows that while Yoshi loves people, he snaps at dogs.) finally got his attention. Rest of the walk was fine though I found myself worrying about not being able to see as well as I wanted to and I was wearing a headlamp.

Thu Nov 29

Yoshi Krusi Park

We were there at 5pm and it was still light outside. This is as worse as it's going to get for the winter. We got across the park and back ok. I'm wondering if I should have two leashes on the harness one on the front and one attached further to the rear. The front one pulls to the left because he lurches to the right and the other could just be a stabilizer. Right now, the leash is just doubled through the loops. It's working ok, but two short ones instead of the longer 6' one might work better.

Wed Nov 28

Yoshi Acupuncture with Jorge.
He was calmer this time about it didn't seem to mind as much and we didn't give him any calming supplements.

Yoshi Krusi Park
As usual after acupuncture, he did great. He had been struggling in the house after we all were restricted because of the smoke from the Camp Fire. Got to the center in what felt like it was just a few seconds. Finished going across shortly. Took a break and then made our way back with a break in the center again. Very encouraging to see. We were there earlier (3:30pm) so no dogs at all.

Tue Nov 27

Yoshi to Cathy Wydner about his nose.

It's not a skin tag, when she took him in to go a needle aspiration, she wound up just cutting off the dead tissue in the bump. He now has a hole in his face that we will clean with hydrogen peroxide. He now has a shot of antibiotics and we should give him Benadryl and hot compresses and wipe the area with hydrogen peroxide. She thinks it could have been a spider bite though it didn't swell up like they can.

Mon Nov 26
Yoshi PT.
We were concerned that he wasn't done pooping this morning and he can't have any more accidents in the tank so it's crucial that not happen. I walked him around on the grass some and then I took him into the waiting area which he finds stressful. Putting a little stress on him does make him poop when I'm carrying him and he didn't. Just to make sure, we did the Cold Laser part of his therapy first. It all went fine. In the treadmill then tech now puts him in a walkabout rear harness that we bring. when walking in the take he can bring his right foot forward, but his left foot strikes the right one and he doesn't always succeed in getting it to move past the right leg. This is new as of two weeks ago.

His walking issues are. Can't move his rear left forward or flip his paw over regularly. And his right rear hip is not stable. When he stands up in the house he uses his left leg to lift himself up and can take 3 steps before the right hip collapses. The right rear leg doesn't track well and can land way to the left or the right which also makes balance a challenge. I wish we can come up with a brace to help him, but anything I try makes standing up more challenging and I want him to keep trying.

I remember Trek was mobile well past when she shouldn't have been able to move her legs. Exercise makes a difference.

Wed Nov 21

The day before we were to leave for 3 days...

Yoshi has a bump on his face over his left canine. I noticed it this morning and didn't think much about it, but it had gotten worse over the day and we took him to ER. Fortunately it's just a skin tag that he's bumped so he should be fine. BAVS very kindly didn't charge us at all for the visit. Stephanie is the nurse that we spoke to.

Tue Nov 20
Yoshi Krusi Park

He did surprisingly well. I threaded the leash through the back loop of the webmaster harness instead of the middle one. Got across with just one stop and same for the return though we paused to allow a couple of dogs to pass by on the sidewalk close to the car. the excitement of the dogs made him walk faster.

Mon Nov 19
Yoshi PT
He is not walking as well as he used to and it's noticeable in the hydro treadmill. Jenn put him in a walkabout rear harness and it helped. Next time I should bring his own walkabout rear harness. I'm trying to figure out a way stabilize his rear hip since it collapses easily now.
I'm trying the walkabout on backwards which seems to fit him ok except he can't poop in it. We would have to undo it for that to work.

Sat Nov 17
Yoshi Krusi Park

5pm and getting dark. The next two weeks are going to be the worst in terms of early sunset (even without all the smoke) and then after Dec 10th it starts to get better. Dec 1-10 the sunset will be at 4:50pm. Today it was at 4:56pm, so it's not going to get much worse. It will be back to 5pm at the end of Dec. By the end of Jan it will be back to 5:30pm.

We got across the park and back fine though I need to concentrate on taking smaller steps.

Bootie measurement
real paw width is 1 5/8.
dogbooties.com
https://dogbooties.com/shop/1000-denier-cordura-booties/
has a 1 3/4 which is XXS. Getting them on could be a challenge. The XS is 2 1/4 width which is more similar to one I have on hand.
I do have a couple of sets from Ultra Paws as well.

Fri Nov 16
Yoshi Krusi Park

Headlamp time in the smoky dusk.

We got across ok and back and had to steer around a couple of dogs and pick him up to avoid Edie a dachshund or min pin (no, something else) who came running up.

Thu Nov 15
Yoshi Krusi Park
Still very smokey from the Camp Fire. Walked him using a facemask.
We got across the park, but he's dragging his rear feet a lot. Sometimes going slower helps to get his feet under him especially his left. Sometimes going faster helps. He doesn't seem to mind either way.

Wed Nov 14
Yoshi acupuncture with Jorge.
He got through it fine. He was able to show Jorge how he walks afterward which was not bad.
We have talked about herbs for him, but we need to do another blood test and I'm waiting on that until I have a job. He did poop right at the beginning. Jorge showed us that if you put a litle pressure on the dog's abdomen then if doggy needs to poop he she will.

I tested the out on our Krusi Park walk and it helped him finish up pooping. We got across slowly. It took a while to get him to consistently stay on his feet, but 3/4 across he did ok and then on the way back we went faster which felt like dragging him but he did better with it and we took a couple of breaks on the way back.

Tue Nov 13
Yoshi Krusi Park
We met Arzo the Great Dane whose head came up to breast level. I couldn't lift Yoshi above his head and Yoshi did snap at him, but it turned out ok as his owner came and collected him.
It made the trip across the park really fast (only one stop) as Yoshi's was full of adrenaline, the return we actually ran briefly as he was barking at something inspecific. He likes to go faster but his rear legs can't fully keep up and I wind up dragging him if I'm not careful.

I was watching Yoshi's rear legs as he walks. His left is a little stronger and the right hip collapses more often. I wish I could figure out a way to wrap his legs to help him with stability but what I've tried so far hasn't helped.

Mon Nov 12
Yoshi PT. It went well though he is crossing his back legs more. His right rear leg will land in between his legs and the left then crosses it, but right now he is able to move the left past the right. It's possible that in the future he won't be able to get the leg past.

Met Mike and Elaine with Pem Dashel. He has DM and is now in a K9 Cart and Terri told them about the front wheels on the K9 cart. I gave them my card and they will likely email me. i told them about the K9 Cart website and Corgi Aid. they loved my car license plate and front. Gods, I need to wash that poor car.

Sun Nov 11
Yoshi Krusi Park
Smoke was bad today and I used a facemask again. We were the only ones there and we got across with only a couple of stops. Going back was about the same and we took some photos with me standing with him with me in the facemask. i worked more on my walking pace to keep him moving will still having his feet under him.

Sat Nov 10
Yoshi Krusi Park
Wow, the smoke from the Camp fire is making it get dark earlier than in usually does. About 15-20 min earlier. We got across though we had to wait for an owner to fetch a Tibetan terrier who wanted to say hi. I explained that all we needed to do was walk across to the fence and back and I told him that Yoshi was disabled and uncomfortable with dogs approaching. then we go to the fence and came back. I'm trying to figure out how fast to walk. When I go too slow he doesn't have momentum and tends to fall over. If I go too fast, his feet don't keep up and I end up dragging him. We did pause in the center.

Fri Nov 9
Yoshi Krusi Park
We have a lot of smoke from the fire in Paradise (Tami C has likely lost her home there. Most of Paradise has been flattened by this fast moving fire).
I walked him wearing an N95 face mask which fit pretty tightly, but allowed me to breath comfortably.
While he's having more trouble staying on his feet he did get across and seems to enjoy the outings. The harness helps a lot and I might add the ginger lead for extra support. We did stop to rest every so often. He doesn't always keep his feet under him.

I raised the back of his cart some to help let his reat feet move better while still getting his feet underneath him. I haven't tried him on concrete yet.

Wed Nov 7

Yoshi Krusi Park
He needs more help to walk now and I have to choose to decide how much to pull up on the harness because I want him to get some actual exercise. We did make it across and back with breaks.

Mon Nov 5
Yoshi PT
He did very well. Still doing 10" of water, for 10 min at 0.9mph.
He holds up his left rear for longer period of time that he used to, but he does better once he warm up.

Yoshi Bay Farm Park
We just went to watch the water and sniff around since he's already had his PT.
It was beautiful and low tide so we went closer to the water but not all the way down since that part of the shore was rocky. We then went back up to the grass and he wanted to walk along it a short ways and back

Sun Nov 4
Yoshi Krusi Park
He did better than the past couple of days. He was easier to get started. We did stop and sit for a moment a few times. He almost does better with just the leash pulling up and to the left rather that also looping it through the handle to get  more pull further back.

Sat Nov 3
Yoshi Krusi Park
Some dogs in the park but they know to just throw in the place where we're not so it works fine. About the same more breaks going across and one or two coming back
His walking in the house is more of a shuffle as he doesn't always get his right foot underneath himself, but he still wants to move so he tries.

Fri Nov 2

Yoshi Krusi Park

He needed more breaks going across the park, but is in good spirits about it and once he was warmed up, he only needed a couple of breaks going back. I tried letting him lean against me with me on his right but he does better with me on the left and pulling upwards and left.

Thu Nov 1

Yoshi Krusi Park

He's needing more breaks, but we still got across and back. His right hip tends to collapse so I pull leftwards on his harness to steady him which worked today.

Wed Oct 31

Yoshi Krusi Park

Had to finish early for Halloween. I was half dragging him across, but when he had is feet under him he did ok. Needs more time than I was able to give him today.

Tue Oct 30

Yoshi Krusi Park

Just a couple of other dogs but their owners kept them away. Had a nice short chat with them as they've seen Yoshi before. We got across the park taking occasional breaks. Then got all the way back just with one break. This is only using the Webmaster harness which is all that he needs in the part. In the backyard it's easier just to use the cart and tow him around some. Eventually I'll probably need to put him in the cart at the park but I have some time before that.

Mon Oct 29

PT for Yoshi went well. He did a full treadmill session and the cold laser too.

Later on I took him to Krusi Park just to let him sniff around and not exercise too much since he already did his PT today. i carried him to the center and just let him look around, but he seemed to want to move. I put upward pressure on his harness and he started to walk. We took the occasional break and we reached the opposite fence in short order. Then we turned around and went all the way back with only one break.

Sun Oct 28

Happy 15.3 birthday to Dyland and Yoshi.

He didn't get a walk today unfortunately, but he seems ok with it.

Sat Oct 27

Yoshi Krusi Park

Park mostly to ourselves again.

I'm just only walking him in the webmaster harness. I get him started walking for a few steps and he'll then sit back down for the first few times, then I can pull up on the harness and he'll walk though he's dragging his left leg more. We did get across and back taking the occasional break.

Thu Oct 25

Yoshi Krusi Park

We had the place to ourselves and the grass was freshly mowed and the park had beautiful sunlight.. It was a really nice time. Using the webmaster harness by itself it working fine - I carried the ginger lead, but didn't use it. I don't think he needs it. I get him started by hold up the handle and he walks a few feet and stops to rest and I do it again. After about 4 repetitions of this he's going well enough that I can just keep upwards pressure on the harness for stability. I try not to drag him. We got all the way across and back and then I carried him part of the way back out to take some photos. Remarkably, he saw something hs wanted to chase after and he semi-ran probably 15-20' with me filming him. I think it was just a bicycle. He's crashed out now.

Wed Oct 24

Yoshi Krusi Park

We went into the Mound St entrance. There were dogs on the opposite side of us so we went to the center, turned right, went across 3/4 of the way and angled back. He takes more breaks and takes longer to get started but he can still walk. I watch him walk around in the house and it's tempting to just let him walk without a harness, but he does better with the extra help with pulling up on the harness, and the harness doesn't impede his movement so it's no harm with him wearing it.

Tue Oct 23

Yoshi Krusi Park

We had two small dogs that ran up to us three times. Each time I would pick up a barking Yoshi and they would get bored and run off. It's much easier to grab him when he had the web master harness on because it has a handle. It's helpful that he's disabled and can't go running after the dogs and I pick him up before they get too close.

This worked fine with a different dog a couple of weeks ago. I was worried about it and now it's no issue at all. You can tell because you can hear the owner calling for their dog once they figure out that Yoshi doesn't want them around.

I'm thinking the Help em Up harness isn't worth it. He's only going to use it for 3 months or so and then he won't be able to hold himself up while using his rear legs without extra support and will be in a cart. the Web Master harness is working ok right now.

Mon Oct 22

Yoshi PT. His feet have healed enough that he was able to go into the hydro treadmill. He did well. The water helps support him so even though his walking on land is not that great, he can still do this the big pain is that we have to make sure he's pooped before hand which takes more time.

We took a close look at a Help em up Harness. It could work. He would need the hop lift with the hole to allow room for his penis. But they don't make an extra-small hip lift. The small appears to work. https://helpemup.com/choosing/

But! it appears to get the hip one with the hole in it I have to buy the pieces separately which is $45 each, plus the $12 shipping and tax makes it over $100 non-returnable.

Sun Oct 21

Yoshi Krusi Park

Mound St Entrance

Used the Harness and Ginger Lead to get him started and then I took the GL off in the center. Then I let him walk on his own to the edge and even a little past it since there's no fence on that side. On the return trip, he did get tired and started dragging his rear just past half way so I just carried him the rest of the way.

Sat Oct 20

Yoshi Krusi Park

We went at 6pm and the park was mostly empty.

I used the webmaster harness and the ginger lead. Again we got all the way across the park taking breaks. I think he will do better with a Help em Up Harness now. He needs an Extra Small. The problem is that it's $75+$12 shipping and it's not returnable. Exchangeable for a different size within 7 days. It's possible that he won't be comfortable in it so I'm quite hesitant He does well enough in the harness with the ginger lead for now but over time that might not be enough. Though at that point in time he can just use a cart.

Fri Oct 19

Yoshi Krusi Park

It's Friday and the park was nearly empty.

I used the webmaster harness and the Ginger Lead. After we got all the way across I took the GL off and just let him go with just pulling up on the harness using a lead. (He was warmed up by then). He is losing function in his left rear but we still got all the way across the park and then back with breaks.

Thu Oct 18

Yoshi Lincoln Park

Krusi Park was too busy so we went over to Lincoln which was 3/4 full of young children practicing soccer. There was a spot near the baseball infield that was open so I carried him to it. He wore the Ruffwear Webmaster harness and I used the Ginger Lead to get him started. Once he was walking ok I was able to stop using the GL and just carry it and let him walk around with just the harness.

Wed Oct 17

Yoshi acupuncture with Jorge.

He worked more on his rear left foot to help with the proprioception.

Tue Oct 16

Yoshi Krusi Park

He's having a harder time getting his left rear leg to work so this time I put him in his light harness and the walkabout rear sling He can walk fine in it for about half the field then just stops. i took him out of the walkabout and just let him struggle with the harness itself but it's not as robust as the Ruffwear Webmaster so it was not an easy time. i finally put him back in the walkabout and we were able to walk out of the park. Not the best time but he did get some exercise.

Mon Oct 15

Yoshi PT.

He had an open sore on his foot so we skipped hydro though he does need it. Just did cold laser today.

I had Dana watch him walk in his cart. She encourages I warm him up more perhaps with a warm compress. That would be hard to do but anything that gets close would be a good thing.

Yoshi Krusi Park.

He's less coordinated so it takes longer to get his going, but with his harness and breaks he can get across the park and on the way back can mostly get his left rear foot underneath him.

Sun Oct 14

Yoshi cart evening walk

He's having more trouble swinging his left rear leg forward in the cart. i need to see if I can get a Dewey's Wheels for him instead of the K9 Kart. He does walk ok in spite of it though he's still much better on grass.

Sat Oct 13

Yoshi did not get a Park walk but his skin between his legs has healed enough that he can now walk in his cart again. He is not getting his left rear pulling forward that well and does better on the lawn outside of the cart once he gets started, but on the sidewalk the cart is much better.

Fri Oct 12
Yoshi Krusi Park
Did better than yesterday, but still having a lot of trouble getting his rear left leg to swing forward. I had to stop often and get that leg moving better. He might need a better harnessing system, but he hasn't liked liked the other one's we've tried.

Thu Oct 11

Yoshi Krusi Park

He wasn't walking well today at all. We did have a dog run up named Bailey, but I picked Yoshi up and he went away. I think he was a Tibetan Terrier. He was bummed that Yoshi didn't want to play. We got to the center and struggled on for a bit sitting fairly often, then we turned around.

Had him on that front lawn later with similar issues. i hope he is healed enough to go back to his cart soon.

Wed Oct 10

Yoshi to see Jorge. The freeway on ramps are all messed up around up due to construction so even though we have finally gotten near the on ramp the traffic was all stopped so we actually went back into Alameda and drove up and dealt with the usually tube traffic. We got there late but he was able to take us. After acupuncture he always seems to walk better.

Yoshi to see Ziji. She's really impressed with his strength in his legs. He is able to push back with his left rear leg strongly. She showed us that we can fully fold up his rear leg to keep his flexibility. Have him seated and then put a treat in front of him and encourage him to push up from his rear legs.

She says he's doing surprisingly well.

Tue Oct 9

Yoshi Krusi Park

We did a slightly different patch. We went across and then in the middle, we went to the side a little and then finished going across. Coming back at the center we turned and walked to the side fence then went back to the center and headed out. While it walks a while to get him going he's still walking no too bad

Mon Oct 8
Yoshi Krusi Park
It took starting and stopping until we were in the center of the park then he was pretty much able to move on his down with me just pulling up on the lead attached to the harness, which helps his get his left rear leg underneath him - that's the leg with the worse proprioception. Got all the way across and back and then we wandered around closer to the center for a while. His moving is much more impaired, but he loves moving. You get him going and he doesn't want to stop.

He has a recovering skin infection between his legs, so I'm not using his cart. Tried the ginger lead which is good only for about 1/2 a block. I think the pressure on his belly gets to him. But he wanted to keep moving without it so we let him wander on the lawn briefly. I think next time i'll just use his webmaster harness.

Sun Oct

Just walked Yoshi around in the yard today. No park walk.

Sat Oct 6

Yoshi Krusi Park
He got all the way across and back and then back to the middle again.
He was just in his webmaster harness with just a lead attached to the middle metal ring. Once he finally got started me was walking pretty well. Canine Rehab tells me the harness gives him more neral input which helps his nerves fire and function better.

Thu Oct 4
Poor Yoshi is having diarrhea. He had a could of accidents in the house and I took him out onto the front yard to walk around and finish up. It was dark which implies some internal bleeding. I think it's from the antibiotics he started for the skin infection between his rear legs. i called Park Centre to get a replacement for the antibiotics. They're going to give him a shot tomorrow that won't have GI issues. I'll donate the meds back to them. the antibiotic was Simplicef 100mg which is something he's never had before. He had one last evening. His infected area is looking better though it's getting dirty on the edges because of cream that we treat the surface with.

He didn't have a walk. At 8pm, I just put his webmaster harness on with a second leash to help hold him up and we walked about 15 loops around the front yard which worked surprisingly well.

Wed Oct 3

Yoshi has a nasty looking, oozing, red rub spot at the base of his penis likely where the cart goes in between his legs. It was probably from being wet and from Chlorine. He is going to see Dr. Scullin at 3:30pm. I have a phone interview at 3pm so Terri will likely have to take him.
She did and I took the Prius when I was done, so she saw the tech for the first part and we both saw Dr. Scullin. He has a pronounced skin infection. They cleaned it up and trimmed back the fur which is better than Terri and I wielding kid's scissors at midnight. they gave us topical and oral antibiotics. the oral one is once a day and the topical is a thin layer on the red spot twice a day or as needed.

I rescheduled his acupuncture to next week at the same time (8:30am).

Ironically, I had to cancel next weeks hydro and make it laser only.

Tue Oct 2

Yoshi has been granted a one time exception for the treadmill. Now we just have to go to the park before his session.

Mon Oct 1

Yoshi didn't finish pooping right before he went into the hydrotreadmill take and had an accident. I'm appealing him being banned from doing it any further.
I should have stopped them the second I saw little bit of poop just before they put him in.

Yoshi Krusi Park
He was very slow to get started. Just wanted to sit there for a while. I would start him by picking up the harness handle and he would take a step and sit back down He had his webmaster harness on so if I were to loop something through the strap that would probably be enough. That would be less invasive to him than the Ginger Lead. We finally got going with fewer sits and after we crossed the center he was able to get the rest of the way across. He also got back without having to stop much. - even added an extra circle at the end.

His evening walk was slower than he usually goes, but this might be the new normal.

Sun Sep 30

Bill and Diane were kind enough to let Yoshi out while we were at Monterey Aquarium. He just went out in his cart and just stood there. Diane got him to walk around using treats but still no pee. He did not have an accident either but he did pee copiously when we got back.

Sat Sep 29

Yoshi Krusi Park

He didn't want to get started - just wanted to sit there. I would pick him up from his midsection which usually gets him started and he would take a step and then site back down. Repeated this a few times. Tried semi-dragging him by the harness (just the lighter one this time). Then he saw a dog to bark at which got him started for a few feet then sat back down. Saw another dog and got going for real until he reached the center and sat back down. We rested for a while and then were able to start again and we reached the fence. The return trip only had one stop.

I'm wondering if a help 'em up harness would help but I think it would just get in his way. He doesn't much like the webmaster harness and that's much less cumbersome.

Fri Sep 28
Yoshi Krusi Park
Park was quiet save for one off leash dog who stayed with his/her people and didn't notice us. Yoshi got across the park with frequent sit breaks. He did want to walk so we just went at a pace he wanted. Coming back was easier probably because he was warmed up.

Evening walk in his cart was tougher. He would move and then stop move and stop. He never got really going though he did the whole block. I had him wearing the webmaster harness which he's ok with, but I think he finds it confining.

Thu Sep 27
Yoshi Krusi Park
Going right after 5pm is awkward as all the fields are in use and I'm not that comfortable cutting through with that much activity. So we walked on the area behind the backstop over where the swings are, and then we went around the tennis courts. it's harder because I have to carry him over the asphalt pathways because I don't want his feet torn up. He's having a harder time walking and it's easier if he's just on an open field. If I went at 6pm it might be easier, but it's starting to get dark sooner but right around 5:50pm might just be fine.

Wed Sep 26
Yoshi Krusi Park
It took awhile to get him started walking and once he finally did, he would sit occasionally, but then he got going and still made it all the way across. There was a dog playing fetch and he didn't want to go near the dog which was fine, but an atypical choice for him. We went to the side to avoid the now two dogs playing in the center and seeing them play did get him moving more. i'm wondering if he should wear his webmaster harness, but it is warmer and heavier and I don't want his movements restricted on the grass.

Tue Sep 25

Yoshi Krusi Park

He's having a harder time holding his rear up, but he got all the way across and we slowly wandered back. He enjoyed it regardless.

Evening walk. He was walking very slowly and didn't seem to enjoy it much but we got through the whole block. Using the webmaster harness and the cart.

Mon Sep 24

Yoshi PT

He got through it ok. I said he seems to get tired more easily, yet when he was home he walked in circles in the yard again and again about 10 times.

I later took him to Krusi Park to see if he wanted to do anything. At first he just sat there for a while until he saw a dog running around and then he wanted to move some. We walked to the center of the park, stopping occasionally. Then we walked back and he seemed to catch a second wind so we turned around and walked part of the way back before turning around and heading back.

Evening walk. He needs more harness support now when on leash so I put him in the Webmaster harness which during the day is usually too hot for him. I can help him walk around the lawn with it at night and it will fit into his cart too. At the park during the day he can still walk on his own for now.

Yoshi was up for over an hour late at night pacing around. I was up late working on the computer and it didn't seem to matter that I was there. I'm usually trying to sleep when he's doing this and it's completely annoying. It's useful to know that my presence doesn't make much of a difference in this compulsion. He did finally crash.

Sun Sep 23
I took him on a walk right at 6pm.

One dog to steer around owner finally carried him away. got across slowly an indirect way.

Fri Sep 21
Yoshi Krusi Park
Except for one dog who soon left and one family playing a little soccer, we had the place to ourselves (typical of Friday afternoon.). Got all the way across with a couple of breaks then walked diagonally towards the tennis court tree, then we turned and angled back to the car. Walked up and down the fence there once jus watching how wobbly his left rear foot is (it rolls to the left) and then we went home. He is a happy tired dog.

Evening walk went well. He kept trying to turn around but I insisted he walk to the corner and then he was fine.

Thu Sep 20
Yoshi Krusi Park. Went just after 5pm and all the fields were in use so we just walked in circles on the lawn in front of the tennis courts. Not that satisfying, but he got some exercise.

Evening cart walk. Evelyn is back and we walked up and down the block partially a couple of times. I let him turn around whenever he chose to.

Wed Sep 19
Yoshi Acupuncture with Jorge. Terri gave him a pet ease tablet and it helped a lot. He didn't shake  his head at all and he got through it fine. He's crash at 2pm but that's his normal nap time.

Mon Sep 17
Yoshi PT appt this morning. I asked about his ankle stiffness when I put him in his cart (I brought it to show them). Dana suggested a warm up with a heating pad. I said this is probably the last thing I want to do at 9:30pm and she suggested the leg massage that I showed her. If I squeeze the area just behind and below his knee that seems to loosen it up. I should do this before I put him in his cart. His session went well.

Yoshi Krusi Park He had already had a PT "walk" so he really didn't need to go, but I took him anyway just to look around and get a few sniffs. I just let him wander to the center (sitting occasionally) and then a little to the side and then we rounded back to the car.

Sun Sep 16
Yoshi Krusi Park

We got to the park late after 7pm, but there was still light out and there was a late evening soccer game going on. No dogs roaming around which was disconcerting as I kept expecting one to suddenly emerge from the evening gloom but it never happened. We got all the way across with only one sit-down break, and all the way back without much issue. I did use a headlamp, but it really wasn't necessary.

Sat Sep 15
Yoshi Krusi Park
Two dogs playing fetch. I asked one if we could cross the park and back and he said he's send his dog in the other direction. the other one was on the edge of the park. Having the dogs around sped Yoshi's crossing up though he did stop to rest about three times. On the way back we V'd over to the side to walk a little more. Stopped to say hello to the first person I spoke to so he could say hi to Yoshi who I was carrying by this point.

Evening walk. Again he decided to stop after we did the 1/2 block out and back. Went a little past our house then turned around.

Fri Sep 14
Yoshi Krusi Park.
We had the place almost entirely to ourselves which was very nice. He got across ok with the occasional sit break. Came back in an S curve. He's doing ok but gets tired more easily.
Evening walk went well.

Thu Sep 13
Yoshi Krusi Park
This time I didn't have a coach hitting softballs to far. This time is was a player but hitting the ball on a stick like in Tee ball. It was still fairly easy to steer around but I had to pay attention. Yoshi seemed to have a good time regardless. He still can get all the way across and back and still has a bounce in his step, but he's coordination is getting worse. His right leg which was the good one is having more trouble holding his weight up. He's ok for now but the clock is ticking. Hopefully it will be a while as he's relatively healthy ironically.
Evening cart walk. He did fine. Not his chariot-like sprint but ok. He stopped after 1/2 a block out and back.

Tue Sep 11
Yoshi was pacing around last night driving me crazy. I got up and put him on his bed and massaged him for 5 min or so. Then he suddenly relaxed and went to sleep. I sat with him for another 5 min to make sure he was settled. He stayed on his bed nearly all night.

Yoshi Krusi Park. We went in a semi diagonal pattern to avoid softball traffic. He was walking slower today but he got all the way across and was able to go back in a sort of S pattern. He was very tired afterward even though before the car he wanted to do more, but I could tell it was time to stop.

Tonight instead of walking him on the sidewalk I'm just going to put him in the backyard with his cart. He does get stuck at times, but other than that he is able to manage ok.

Mon Sep 10

Yoshi PT
Went well. He is having more trouble getting his right leg underneath him because his left leg isn't strong enough to hold himself up long enough to move his right leg fully into position.

Yoshi Krusi Park
He had already had PT today so I wasn't going to ask him to do very much. Sure enough he was very slow and sat often. Then he found some energy and we walked the park in a L out and back pattern.  He seemed to have a nice time.
I did take him out to poop at night and then he definitely didn't want to move even though he needed to.

Sun Sep 9
Yoshi Krusi Park
Had to steer around an overly-enthusiastic coach who was hitting the ball a little far at times, but it was pretty easy to swing wide. We went on a diagnonal and then swung around their field almost all the way over to the side and then headed back to the car and went back and forth along the fence. When we got back to the starting fence, he would get tired and drag his hip and then suddenly would want to go again. Brief rests do help him.

Sat Sep 8
Yoshi Krusi Park.
More activity that yesterday but still quiet. We got all the way across and found a tennis ball so we walked over to the tennis courts to give it to the people on the courts. Then we walked diagonally over to the car. Pretty much a back-and-forth-plus equivalent.

Fri Sep 7
Yoshi Krusi Park
Friday afternoon and we had the place entirely to ourselves except for a leash Shiba Inu who walked across the corner of the park. Yoshi of course barked at them. No other issues. We went all the way across the park then went diagonally to one of the side trees and headed back in the direction of the other side tree but 2/3 of the way there he got tires and started to drag his hip which is a sign that he's too tired to hold himself up. We rested there for a bit and then walked straight back to the car which he was fine about doing. He's collapsed now in a good way.

Thu Sep 6
Yoshi Krusi Park
All four fields were going to it felt enough like a shooting gallery that we went along behind the backstop and into the main part of the part and walked in a large circle there. We considered walking back through the softball fields but decided not to and them went all the way around the backstop again.

Wed Sep 5
Yoshi Krusi Park

Going at 7pm is starting to get dark. Not too bad yet, but I should go at 5 or 6 instead.
He got all the way across the park but he stops more often to rest. Then two small dogs went across the middle of the park and if made him grumpy enough that he was able to charge back across the park then (they did move when I asked them to.)

Tue Sep 4

11am Yoshi has a PT appt.

Mon Sep 3
Yoshi Krusi Park
We had to come in a different entrance, but still make the same length of walk across the park. I was able to get a good video of it.

Did his nails, groomed him, and gave him a bath.

Sat Sep 1
Yoshi Crab Cove
Park was very busy - it's Labor Day Weekend but it was 4:30pm so winding down.
We walked back and forth a couple of times on the grass. No big goals this time just getting him out walking in a different place than Krusi Park.

Fri Aug 31

Yoshi Krusi Park

Yoshi Krusi Park

He's struggling more, but we got all the way across and steered around a dog without incident (They kept their distance.)

Evening walk just did 1/2 block

Later on He settled down which is different from last night when he was struggling to pace, and really frustrated that he couldn't.

Thu Aug 30
Yoshi Krusi Park
It was after 6pm and we're back to softball practices which are easier to steer around. We got across the park and back and then walked back and forth a few times in the area between the fence and the backstop. He does not use a cart for the on grass walks

Evening walk. Terri and Rick joined Evelyn and I. We wound up doing 3 block lengths. Yoshi uses a cart for this walks on the sidewalk.
Even with that Yoshi is restless and seems very frustrated. His legs aren't doing what he wants them to do. I gave him a couple of Pet Ease in hopes that would calm him down.

Wed Aug 29
Yoshi Krusi Park
Baseball practice has begun. We were there at 5:15 which is earlier that we were before but things before were over run with softball and now it's just the baseball team which in time will take over all the space. This time we were able to get across the entire field by giving them a lot of space on their field and on return we actually left the fields and went around the other side of the backstop.

Yoshi did ok, but was noticeably tired. It might have been from his adequan shot today. I'll know more tomorrow as he's usually dramatically better the day after his shot. The supplement is expired by three months, but we've never noticed a difference yet.

He was too tired for me to feel comfortable dragging him out for his usual evening walk (I usually regret this), so I gave him the night off and just let him walk around the backyard. Let's see if he paces all night.


Tue Aug 28
Yoshi Krusi Park. Software practice has begun and we have a lot to steer around now. With effort we got all the way across, but it's not going to be easy now and we might want to go around the tennis courts instead.

Evening walk did 1 1/2 blocks. He had a lot of energy.

Mon Aug 27
Yoshi PT. It went well. He's not showing any degeneration from last week. He's holding stable.
Setn off his PT claim to Trupanion.

His evening walk went well. He had a lot of energy (because he didn't have an evening walk since he had PT today), and did the entire block twice.

Sun Aug 26
Yoshi Krusi Park. Mobbed initially by three small children and then we made it across the park and back without incident.
He was in good spirits for his evening walk.

Sat Aug 25
Yoshi Krusi Park
Some dogs to steer around, but we got all the way across and back without incident. Yoshi is not very fast, so a dog could come right up to him and all he would be able to do is bark really loud. When we got back across, he still had a bounce in his step so we walked in some circles closer to the car and then we headed back.

That evening it took a while to wake him up for his evening walk but when he did get out there he walked the block 1 1/2 times.

Fri Aug 24
Yoshi Krusi Park. He seemed tired today, so I wasn't sure how he'd do, but he got all the way across and back. He did seem to struggle a little so we didn't do anything extra. He certainly wants to do more but his body isn't doing along with the plan. Acupuncture certainly appears to slow the degeneration down, but it can't cure things. He is happy at least.

Evening walk. He had a surprising amount of energy once he got going. I put a bootie on his right foot also because there is a small sore on that foot, but I'm not sure if it helps and his foot placement is much worse.

Thu Aug 23
Yoshi Krusi Park
There were three small dogs in the spot we usually walk towards and another dog to the side. Hmphf. We walked to the left side and then out and around the tennis counts then the dogs had moved on so we walked half of the distance. You can tell he's tired when he can't hold him self up really and drags himself along half sitting.

Evening walk. Started slow and then got moving. Just did the block once.

Wed Aug 2

Yoshi to see Jorge. He was very restless even with a Pet Calm. He go through it and was walking ok afterwards.

Late afternoon: Yoshi Krusi Park
He did great! All the way across and then walked to the right side, and then angled back, and then a little more. He's quite tired now.

Tue Aug 21
Yoshi is not pacing at night I'm concerned it's because walking is too difficult now.

Yoshi Krusi Park

He did great. Charged across the park barking at the occasional crow and then we went back in a gentle S curve. He wanted to do more, but I didn't want him to over-do it. He moves so well on the grass even with his instabilities.

I alternate between worrying about him and then not at all. I figure we have about three months of him walking if we're lucky.

Mon Aug 20

Yoshi PT. He did well. They did notice his weight loss. Dana and Jenn said just feed him normally for a bit before increasing it. I always forget to account for incidental treats throughout the day when I write out his boarding instructions though they did feed him all the cheese we gave them.

Evening walk. He was still revved up to go at 9:30pm. We did 1 1/2 blocks. Hope he sleeps tonight. (He did.)

Ordered more Senilife for Yoshi from Chewy. 27.55.

Sat Aug 18

We are back from the UK and have picked Yoshi up from Park Centre . He seems to have coped pretty well. He's lost weight because I forget to account for incidental treats that he gets and the stress of being kenneled. We paid extra for 15 min of playtime a day which was time in the yard or walking out on the street. I can't decide whether to set up his red soft crate that he had there. He might be looking for it. I set i up and he didn't seem much to care so I put it back in the living room

Yoshi Krusi Park

I wasn't sure how well he'd so, but he sailed across and back with energy to spare. We walked a little more but I didn't want to trash him so we stopped then. He did lose weight when kenneled and this may not have been a bad thing.

---

We were in the UK and Yoshi boarded at Park Centre.


Tue Aug 7
Yoshi Krusi Park Walk
He got all the way across and back without much issue. The occasional pause, but that was about it. There was one dog off-leash who was with his/her people and paid no attention to us at all.

Mon Aug 6
Yoshi PT
He's still doing the 10 min sessions which I like because it gives him a good workout but doesn't thrash him.
Evening: He walked a block. Very slow at first but sped up later.

Sun Aug 5
Yoshi Krusi Park. At 5:30pm, we had the place to ourselves. We walked all the way across with only an occasional pause. Coming back we just cam straight back because I didn't want to exhaust him, but after we got back he still wanted to walk a little more so we walked in a could of small circles at the park entrance. Then I carried him back to the car.
At 9pm he went for a cart walk and walked a block. I had to help him flex his ankle which seemed stuck at first but it seemed to loosen up.

Sat Aug 4
Yoshi Krusi Park
He did great. Walked all the across and then took an arched way back. He did get tired when he reached the final edge of a field and was dragging himself more than walking so I carried him to the car.
9:30pm evening walk. He still had energy for a cart walk. He walked 1 1/2 blocks.

Fri Aug 3
Yoshi slept all night in this small crate, so it's definitely going to Park Centre with him.
Krusi Park 7pm. We went around behind the backstop and when the fields calmed down we went back towards the center steering around an ultimate frisbee game (which looked fun). We got all the way across the park and I walked him on the dirt of a field for a bit so I could see his foot/leg drag which is very pronounced. I was concerned about his foot dragging so much in the dirt, that after a little while I carried him back to the grass and he was able to walk all the way back to the gate on his own. When we get to the sidewalk that leads to the car I carry him.

Thu Aug 2
Yoshi walk. A little earlier at 8:40pm. Used his cart this time as he's better about it than the Ginger Lead.

Wed Aug 1
Yoshi did a lot of pacing and panting last night, so I didn't sleep well. He kept lying down on the cool floor which is very difficult for him to get up from.
Yoshi acupuncture. Went well. Jorge thinks he seems to be doing better with acupuncture and in general (I agree). We talked about herbs to raise his "Yin" which should help his kidneys and pacing and panting. It can cause loose stools so we'll try it after we get back from the UK.

Met with a passel of Park Centre techs to talk about Yoshi and now to put him in his cart and use the Ginger Lead and put his bootie on. They also gave him his Adequan injection. After some demo they felt more comfortable with the Ginger Lead so I think we will be giving them them it and the dremel to do his nails halfway though his stay, and instead of a crate we will just be giving them lots of bedding as the kennels feel like crates - you can't see out the sides. They know to walk him once a day or more .

Yoshi Krusi Park. No wheels this time. Just us. We got all the way across the park without issue steering around a rugby practice and then taking a non-direct route back. I think we won't bring the wheels to the park anymore.

Evening walk. Tried using just the Ginger Lead he has limited patience with it. Got half a block and he wouldn't walk any further with it.

Tue Jul 31
Yoshi Krusi Park
He walk all the way across it with no cart needed at all then walked back just fine. Walking back he didn't want to go straight back so we wanders off to the side and let his lope around in a sort of circle. He really enjoyed himself. He obviously don't need a cart when he's on grass and won't for a while now. Tonight he's tired enough he probably doesn't need an evening walk.

He is walking much better. He seems stronger even though he is less coordinated. I don't know if the cart is helping him, but it's not hurting him. Pt helps too and tomorrow he'll get another acupuncture treatment and we should ask about herbs for pain management.

Mon Jul 31

Yoshi PT. 10 min hydro session which gives him good exercise, but doesn't thrash him like 14 min did. He seems happy this morning. Was walking around enthusiastically before his session.
He slept most of the day and I let him sleep too much in the evening which means he might be up pacing a lot.
He did go on a walk at 9:30pm. Did the full block.

Sat Jul 28
Happy 15th Birthday to Yoshi!!!
It's all been a little amazing.

Yoshi walk 6pm. We went around the block! His knee was hung up on the leg ring at first so I had to bend and unbend his left knee some to get it moving. Then he was great.
Earlier I did his nails. It has only been a week since I last did them, so he was a little sensitive about it, but we go through it using the slow speed at times and not going directly to the end of the nail sometimes, but doing the top of the nail and working around to the end.
9:30 evening walk. 1/2 a block this time.

Fri Jul 27
Yoshi walk. Just the evening walk this time as he crashed most of the day. I didn't take the time to keep him awake in the early evening, so he might start pacing later tonight. We just did the full block walk with the small addition of walking Evelyn back to her house.

Thu Jul 26
Yoshi walk
We went to Krusi Park and slowly walked all the way across and back. He struggles some in the grass and his cart hits his knee some until he gets going. his ankle gets very stiff sometimes. He is tired but will need to go out again for a little while tonight.
Later one got the grooming table out and pulled a lot of undercoat off him. He looks much nicer. I'll have to do his nails again tomorrow.
Evening walk, once he finally woke up again. Surprisingly he walked a block and a half.

Wed Jul 25
4pm took Yoshi on a half block walk. He was moving slowly.
9:45pm took him out again with Evelyn and he did much better in the cool air. Still slow but moving ok though kept going off the sidewalk. Sped right up on his way home. His meds are inside of pill pockets and his Tylenol is in yogurt, so he looks forward to them.

Tue Jul 24
Yoshi evening walk. Off to a slow start, but he started to speed up after a little while.
I need to get him to a park without sidewalks so he can wander off to the side without issue.

Mon Jul 23

Yoshi has PT at 9:30 this morning. this time they shortened his hydro from 14 min to 10 min and we'll see if that thrashes him.

I took him on his evening walk and he was happy enough to walk so I think less worked well.

Sun Jul 22
Did Yoshi's nails. I did them normally then put the pet dremel on low and worked closer to the quick. You have to use indirect angles to get closer and use a lot of treats. I also have to make sure I don't put him on his left side as side pressure on that knee bothers him.

Took him on a walk at 4pm. Moving slowly because it was still warm. Just went to Court and back.
Later on at 9:30pm he was happily moving along because it was nice and cool though barking at ghosts.
Later tonight at 11pm he is stressing out and pacing around acting distressed, but I think it's not physical pain as he had some Tylenol tonight. He keeps getting stuck on slick parts of the floor. I moved the yoga mats some which is helping.

He also likes to sleep directly on the floor or yoga mat instead of one of the many beds which is odd but he may just be warm.

Fri Jul 20

Yoshi walk. I used his cart right at the beginning and it seems to help.

Much later he was panting really hard and would settle only if I put my hands on him. I woke Terri who suggested I feed him a little. I did give him 4 bites of string cheese and he settled down. He did have Tylenol not too long ago so I was worried that it wasn't helping.

On his walk, Amy H and her daughter Audrey came out to talk to Evelyn and I about the Cooper's Hawks who seem to be especially active this year. They are certainly having a good time. They're learning to hunt and they can't help but call out before they go chasing after a bird who just flies away. They're terrible hunters right now. They eventually learn.

Thu Jul 19

Yoshi is pacing and panting. He's obviously in pain and it's killing me. It's 2pm and I called his rehab vet asking what to do because his Tylenol doses are supposed to be spaced 12 hours apart. He had been only getting it at night because it's just not very practical to time 12 hour spacing if you're waiting until he needs the medication. The person (Cynthia) I spoke to said she'd talk to Dr. Troy, but suggested I just give it to him now and then stay up if necessary which works for me. She's going to check to see if the doses can be closer than every 12 hours. [later] Dr. Troy says yes it has to be every 12 hours. So we will be doing it at 9:30am/pm starting tomorrow.

Dr Applegate (his regular vet) will call us on Tues about pain control. i want to ask about Amantadine.

Controlling Yoshi's pain level is our line in the sand above everything else. If we can't control it then we should say goodbye. I think we are going to give him some in the morning now as well as the evening and not wait for incidental need.

In the afternoon I took him on a short cart walk. He wanders off the sidewalk and gets stuck which means that we probably should be in a park or on a bike path. i probably should shift into going to the park mode like I did with Trek.

Wed Jul 18

Yoshi acupuncture at 8:30am

He did ok. He never likes it, but it's not invasive and doesn't hurt him.

Later in the afternoon. Yoshi walk in his cart. He's having a hard enough time walking now that for longer walks, he should use a cart or a ginger lead.

Though I sometimes start him out on his own four feet like I did later in the evening, but I did eventually put him in his cart.

Heard back from Canine Rehab about Yoshi's restless night. They offered to skip the hydro, but because he's already improving I asked that we just have a shorter hydrosession. They said ok.

or course right now he's pacing around. I need to do his nails. Done.

Mon Jul 16

What a difference. Managing Yoshi's pain is paying off. He's not stress panting and sleeping at night. He still gets up in the middle of the night and paces, but he's not doing that "ouch, ouch"  panting. His stool is still a little loose, but not watery. We are adding a spoonful of plain Greek yogurt to see if that helps. I accidentally fed him twice this morning, but he let us pick it up before he completely finished.

Yoshi PT went well. He is less stable so Dana added an inch of water to make it 9". He goes for

just under 15 min.

Evening. He's completely passed out in his crate and needs to take his evening meds. He was in pain earlier and I gave him his evening Rimadyl which helped.

This may have been too much for him. He did wake up and I gave him his evening meds but it didn't stop his stress panting or packing.

Ordered more food for Yoshi via Chewy.

Sun Jul 15

Last night Yoshi work up and 3am and paced till 4:30am Terri took him out I didn't notice. they he settled down and slept till 10am.

He was in good spirits all day but didn't seem to want to go on a walk.

Yoshi evening walk. He didn't need his cart. Home->Court->Gibbons->Home. He lists off the sidewalk, but not too terrible. I carry his cart in case he needs it, though he walked well tonight.

I did order more Senilife which is cheaper via Chewy.

Sat Jul 14

Yoshi kept me up for part of the night pacing and panting. Then he went into the living room and got stuck on a bare path of floor. He couldn't stand up and was biting at his knee. I helped him back to the carpet but we should keep him out of the living room at night.

Took him to the vet for a blood pressure test (normal!), and another Adaquan shot.

They suggested calling Dr Cheryl Schwartz about his chronic pain but are also forwarding to Dr. Applegate my request about Amantadine.

Yoshi Krusi Park

Sort of back to what I did with Trek.

Grass was a little long but we worked our way to the center of the park but Yoshi isn't the fetch fiend that Trek was so we just walked around and played recalls to my hand (nose touch - reward). He had fun and the park was nearly empty at 7pm. He is tired and crashed for the evening and didn't seem to need to go out for another walk at 9:30pm though Terri took him out to pee at 10:30pm.

At 11:45pm he was panting so, I gave him 4ml of children's Tylenol in hopes that it reduces his pain. 30 minutes later he was still panting, but 1 hour later he wasn't. Now we also moved his Rimadyl dosage to later as well.

Thu Jul 12

Yoshi walk. Terri came and helped with using the Ginger Lead which I used the leash. We got all the way to Fountain and turned around. The Ginger Lead helps him get more exercise.

Tue Jul 10

Yoshi kept me up part of the night with his pacing. I crated him and then he just kept panting. I finally kicked him out of the bedroom. Terri is back from vacation and she can deal with him now. His Prairie Salmon came in and he eats it readily. Today he weighs 23.4 pounds and we have to figure out how much to feed him to keep him from losing muscle, but without gaining fat. He is already feeling much better than he was when he was on the K/D.

Mon Jul 9

Yoshi did well during his PT though he got tired easy. He is having more trouble with his right leg which was his good leg.

The trip back had a side adventure.

Facebook:

Can't shoot 'em dept. (I don't like guns anyway.)

Coming back from Yoshi's physical therapy trip (it's a 45 min trip), We were getting closer to home and were stuck in a traffic slowdown. Yoshi started whining, and then he started ratcheting it up in obvious distress. I took the next exit I could and pulled over and let him out. Nothing. No pee. No poop. Able to walk. "Are you ok?" He looks around in that "Where are we?" sense. "Do you need water? Two sips. He gives me that "Can we go now?" look.

I was so relieved that I didn't call him an impatient dwarf twit even though he deserved it.

He had misinterpreted the car slowing down as meaning we were nearly home. Sigh.

Sun Jul 8

Yoshi woke me up at 2am, and then at 6am, then he let me sleep to nearly 10am where I fed him. I gave him 1/4 c of Prairie Salmon and 1/4c of Wellness Chicken. I don't have enough Salmon to last till Tues, but lots of the Wellness. I gave it to him separately to test his appetite. After an initial hesitation, he readily ate both dry. I didn't put in water in case he wouldn't eat it but he usually gets water. The fat in the salmon will have to be cut with pumpkin, but for now I just want him eating. He is 23.2 pounds right now.

I let him pace around the yard. He will come to the base of the stairs, hesitate and then pace around again. He could get a fair amount of exercise this way.

Later on during his evening walk he was moving well. He hasn't needed a cart in a couple of days. He ate his dinner of 1/2 salmon and 1/2 chicken without issue. It's only been two days back on full salmon and chicken and he's already walking much better. Right now he's doing a lot of pacing. He was just out, but he could go out again.

Sat Jul 7

Yoshi is having trouble standing this morning after pacing and pacing last night. I gave him some more food and he settled down last night but he is losing a lot of muscle mass in his hips. The obvious suspect in this is the reduced protein in the Hills K/D. I wrote to his vets saying that I'd like to switch him back to Prairie Salmon and just do his blood retest in 2-3 weeks.

I've ordered a small bag of Prairie Salmon ($21 out the door). Too bad there isn't a canned version, but the form factor of it is small and he has no trouble eating it. I gave him a 1/4 cup of it this morning along with some K/D. I only have about 3/4 c left of the salmon and the bag won't get here till next Tue so I'm going to have to cut it with the wellness chicken (also has 25% protein).

Thu Jul 5

Yoshi walk at 7pm. Went down to Fountain. Put him in his cart at Court.

Walk at 9pm. Just to Court and back on his feet.

Wed Jul 4

Yoshi woke me up at 3am with his panting and kept me awake till 4:30am. I took him outside, then fed him some cheese,and moved him on to bed in the office. He wouldn't go into his crate by the bed. He'd start to walk towards it and then suddenly turn around as best as he could like there was a forcefield around it. I hate that Terri is out of cell range right now though she did call me around noon. so I told her all about Yoshi's X-Ray dental evaluation.

I did his nails. He's more panicky about it because I put him in a position that hurt his leg. I repositioned him and just fed him for a while and then he let me dremel his nails.

Then I took him on a short walk at 7pm. I usually walk him at 9pm but it's going to be noisy tonight, so I'm hoping we can just go in the backyard. At 9:30 I tried to give him his medication but he wouldn't eat. He did have a big dinner

Tue Jul 3

Yoshi Crab Cove walk. The Rimadyl appears to be helping him he was able to walk almost all the way to the duck pond before I put him in his cart. Went over the bridge and then looped back. We mostly stayed on the grass except when we were over at the pond.

Dr Applegate called. She said the dentist saw indications of bone loss in Yoshi's X-Rays and would take out several of his teeth. Given that he didn't really need any immediate extractions during his dental, doesn't have any abscesses, doesn't appear to be in terrible pain, and that he's nearly 15, Dr. Applegate and I have decided to pass on that. We will switch him to mostly canned food. I'm going to try a few flavors to see which one doesn't give him such nasty breath.

He was tired from Crab Cove so he shortened his evening walk all on his own.

Mon Jul 2

Yoshi acupuncture

Yoshi PT

Facebook post

This morning "I chase dogs away" Yoshi couldn't stand up on his own. Once we figured out that's what his thrashing around in his open door crate meant, we got him on his feet and he struggled around the house. After a phone call and some consideration, I took him to his regularly scheduled acupuncture appt where Jorge got him walking decently. Then we went over to his physical therapy appt. They decided to skip the hydro treadmill and just do joint manipulation and cold laser treatment and they counseled he see his regular vet who he had just seen. (Yoshi is pacing all around the office in his usual slightly broken wind-up toy manner.

After talking with Park Centre they decided we would just go ahead with a Rimadyl trial that we were talking about anyway. I pick those up at 3pm

Sun Jul 1

Facebook post

Last night, my idiot dog (who is fine) and who is partially disabled, before I got his leash on, took off and ran all the way across his front lawn (30'-35') and 5' into the street before I could catch him (and I'm not slow.) Yes, there was a dog across the street that neither of us had seen at first. I now carry his cart with us and I was juggling him, leash, and cart and I had just put him on the lawn. Poor other dog's owner had to listen to me yelling "STOP!!" to Yoshi. We are fine and I just have to get used to working the cart into our routine. Argh.

Sat Jun 30
Sad day for a friend who had to make the decision to say goodbye to her dog who was in the hospital. I went along as I'm quite ok with asking hard questions though the lesson was that we needed to ask even more pointed questions. Fortunately the vet eventually volunteered the information on her own. The question is "Is this dog dying? (Yes) Does she have any chance of recovery?" (Almost none). Vet's opinion: If we did nothing she would likely die on her own in a couple of days. That sealed the deal and we said goodbye. The other lesson is that you do need to wait for the vet as the nurse will only talk in generalities.

Yoshi walk. This time for both walks I carried the cart and when he got tired, I put him in the cart, so he could get some real exercise. He had a walk at 7pm and 9:30pm. He actually ate the Hills K/D with a little Prairie Salmon with me just holding the bowl a little higher for him. I didn't have to hand feed him this time.

Fri Jun 29

Yoshi walk. I've started having him walk using the cart. He can poop in it and he gets more exercise though I worry if his gait isn't thrown off from it.

Yoshi's kidney values are elevated so we're trying to switch him to Hill's K/D dry and he won't eat it with out some Prairie Salmon mixed in and hand feeding it to him. He likes the canned K/D better, but it gives him terrible breath and nearly black stools.

Tue Jun 26

Yoshi had his teeth cleaned today. He has gingival hyperplasia, but fortunately didn't need any teeth extracted. Dr. Applegate is consulting with Katrina Hall-Essoe who is a canine dentist in Walnut Creek.

Facebook post

I'm so short-sighted sometimes. I've been putting off getting Yoshi's teeth cleaned for a few years because I don't like putting under anesthesia even though he's never had a problem with it. (One of his brothers passed away during a dental resulting in some significant adjustments in how Yoshi's drugs are handled.)

He just had his teeth cleaned today because he's been having trouble eating and I/we were worried about his teeth. The good news is that no teeth needed to be extracted. The bad news is he has gingival hyperplasia, which is where the tissue in the gums starts to grow and swell in reaction to gingivitis. Cleaning his teeth and antibiotics might not be enough. He might need gum surgery. Our vet is consulting with a nearby canine dentist.

I wrote Trupanion asking if a medically necessary dental cleaning was covered under his policy. Didn't hear back.

We also picked up some dry Hills K/D.

Evening walk at 9:30pm. Didn't want to walk. Then he did. No poop. He's back and panting a lot.

Mon Jun 25

We took Yoshi into therapy early so we could walk around on the Canal Trail so he would poop. He poops a lot on the K/D cans as he pooped even before we drove over.

I'm hoping to buy some dry K/D tomorrow when I pick him up from his dental.

Evening walk. Took a while to get him on his feet. I might want to check into getting a boy Ginger Lead for him.

Sun Jun 24

Yoshi walk at 6:30pm. We got part of the way to Fountain, but he turned around. He was pretty exhausted from yesterday. Terri has him mostly eating the K/D. His breath is terrible, so we need to get the dried kind which should come in a Tuesday.

9:45pm walk. Evelyn and I met up with Judy for a little bit. She was walking back from Christina's where she is taking care of her dog. (He spends the day with her but seems to prefer to sleep in his house.)

Sat Jun 23

Yoshi walk. I walked him over to Jill's house just to see if he could get there. He did and then kept going all the way to the end of that block and we then came all the way around the block and returned via Court. He's pretty exhausted and I had to prod him to wake up enough to eat later on.

Fri Jun 22
Yoshi walk. We left around 9:30. Walked down to Court and we were joined by Evelyn and Officer Jill (off-duty) appeared on a walk too, so she walked with us. They had never met before, so they had a fun conversation. Jill noticed that Yoshi wasn't using a cart like he was yesterday when she saw him and I explained that he uses it as a walker when it's warmer. At night he has plenty of energy and doesn't need it though he kept losing booties. When we returned back to Evelyn's house Yoshi paced and paced around every one. "Does he ever stop?" "Eventually yes if he hasn't had too much sleep.

Thu Jun 21

Walk with Yoshi. i put him in a cart and booties to get some exercise and he got around the block fine. Officer Jill and her 14-year-old daughter were out walking. Her daughter is recovering from ACL surgery, so is on crutches. Her and Yoshi made a pair.

Tue Jun 19

Yoshi to see Dr Applegate. He has some serious gingivitis, so he's going to get a dental next week and I got a lot of assurances that most of their dentals are on senior dogs. He's going to have her do it on Tues next week.

He has the beginnings of kidney disease though he passes the most accurate test. We are going to give him some Hills K/D (which he loves). She also prescribed some Senilife which is intended to help his brain function.

She also suggested that he see Dr. Cheryl Schwartz.

Mon Jun 18

Yoshi walks.

7:00pm I put him in the cart and walked him down the street and part of the way up Court until he wanted to turn around.

At 9:30pm when it was cooler he, Evelyn, and I walked down the street without a cart. He was moving right along and we ended up going up and down twice.

Fri Jun 15

Yoshi is eating very slowly, so Tues next week at 3pm Dr. Applegate is going to have a look at his teeth. I based it up some with a mallet to make it easier on him.

Wed Jun 13

Yoshi acupuncture with Jorge. He got through it ok and he seems to be moving around better new. Can't really tell, but it can't hurt and definitely seems to help.

Yoshi's booties are late, but at least they are in San Francisco. We will definitely keep an eye out for them and I hope they don't come in the middle of my interview.

He walked around the block at 4pm fairly slow.

He had to wear a different bootie since he's really thrashed his older one. This one is stiffer and he doesn't think he can walk in it. Until he saw a cat. Then he was suddenly fine.

Tue Jun 12

Yoshi slept much of the day in his crate he has to stay out in the office with us. Our standing instructions are to pet him every so often to keep him awake.

Cathy loaned us a furminator. He doesn't like it because unlike a comb, the tines are fine enough that they are always pulling on his fur regardless if there is a tangle or not. I groomed him with one of our regular combs and got rid of a lot of his extra fur which is now all over the backyard for the birds.

Mon Jul 11

Yoshi slept all night and has been doing so for a few days now. The Wellness supplements might be helping his sleep better.

Yoshi PT. He did well and he seems to still be moving around better.

While he hasn't gained weight past the 2 pounds overweight, I'd like to see him lose that weight it possible. Terri will make his breakfast 1/4 c Wellness and 1/4 c Nature's Logic Sardine. Then his early dinner can be 1/4 c Wellness and then in the evening a 1/4 c of either Nature's Logic or our leftover Prairie Salmon.

Sun Jun 10

Yoshi walk. Got around the block slowly. No doggles this time. No dog drama either.

Took him back out at 1015pm. He lost a bootie, so we had to repeat the entire walk and he didn't seem to mind at all. I think the joint supplements in the Wellness Complete Health are making a difference.

I wrote this to his vets.

Hi Park Centre,

I was supposed to let you know how Yoshi did on his NuLo Trout food. He didn't like it and was always ravenous.

We've switched him to Wellness Complete Health Chicken which has a bunch of joint supplements and he seems to like it, and is acting a little more spry (which is why Canine Rehab is cc'ed). It's 14% fat which is lower that the Prairie Salmon (16% fat), but still a little high, so I'm trying to cut it with some Nature's Logic Sardine (8% fat).

It that doesn't work then we'll cut it with pumpkin. He is still 2 pounds overweight at 24 pounds.

Sat Jun 9
Yoshi walk. I put doggles on him to see if he would be less reactive. Not much difference and it's just with the "smoke" lenses. The blue mirrored one might be a little darker, but they don't fit him nearly as well as they did with Trek so I'm not sure.

Fri Jun 8

Yoshi walk at 4pm. We went slowly around the block. He's less steady and losing some muscle but Ziji says his hamstrings are in excellent shape.

Took a lot of effort to wake him up for the 10:30pm walk. Cheese helped.

At 10:30pm we went up and down the full block.

I have yet another food for him to try Wellness Chicken. This is also with the Nature Logic and a little bit left of the Prairie Salmon.

Wed Jun 6

Yoshi saw Ziji. His back end is getting weaker. She encouraged us to hold up one of his rear feet and then let it go to exercise his fast twitch response. She also showed us how to uncompress his spine by running our hands down his back in opposite directions.

Tue Jun 5

On our evening walk, Yoshi, Evelyn and I came across Jim (of Christina and Jim) working on Stephanie's car. Apparently her alarm is going off all by itself.

Mon Jun 4
Yoshi doesn't really like the Nulo dog food so we're going to switching him to good old Wellness Chicken and Oatmeal. The regular one at 12% fat. Their
senior one is only 10% fat and he'll gnaw off a leg out of hunger. The Prairie Salmon is 14% fat.

Sun Jun 3

Walked Yoshi around the block at 4pm. It was hot today so he moved slowly but we got all the way through it.

Later on at 10:30pm it was much cooler and he walked the full length of the block, but it took him a while to warm up.

Sat Jun 2

Yoshi evening walk. Took some effort to get him to wake up enough to walk but once he got out into the night air he was fine. Went down to Fountain and back.

Fri Jun 1

Yoshi walk. Went around the block. Allison and a friend said hello to him.

Evening walk. He went down to Court, turned around and went all the way down to Gibbons.

He seems to have more energy these days.

Wed May 30

Yoshi acupuncture with Jorge.

I had a hair appt with Veronica today. She and her twin sister America just had a 40th birthday surprise party in San Francisco, which is admirable that her husband pulled off.

Yoshi walk - all the way around the block with no cart though he did have a boot on his back left foot. That boot is wearing out, so I hope his new ones show up soon.

Sun May 27

Walked Yoshi down the block and back just before our dinner of fajitas and other goodies.

He's going back out again around 9:40pm.

We all went down to Fountain and back this time.

Sat May 26

Yoshi bath. He was smelling pretty rank. The trouble with bathing him is he stays wet for hours even with blow drying, so we have to wait for warmer weather. I actually blew him dry again hours later because he was still damp.

I'm on a campaign to not let him sleep much in the early evenings as he keeps me awake late at night with his pacing. So I keep him out of the bedroom them and let him doze near me where he doesn't sleep as deeply I hope. Of course he's passed out right beside me right now so i'm not sure I'm winning this game. I gave him some extra bits of cheese too hoping that would stay in his tummy longer.

Yoshi walk. At 6pm after a hilarious few moments of trying to put booties on him while he was in a cart we went down Lincoln to Fountain. I didn't think he would get all the way around the block which is why we didn't try it.

This is all ironic as at 10:30pm he was rarin' to go sans cart and with only a boot on his rear back foot. We got down to Court and back and he still wanted to go so we went all the way to Gibbons and then back to Evelyn's house and then back home. He was still bouncing. Maybe he doesn't need the cart so much but it seems to be heavily temperature dependent. The night air agrees with him.

I ordered more Ultra Paws. The boot with traction is listed as a "close out" so I'm glad I did it.

http://www.ultrapaws.com/ultra-paws-traction-dog-boots-close-out-now-25-off/

Order number: 12667  ($18.46)

Wed May 23
Crab Cove First Real Cart Walk
Took him out to Crab Cove for an actual walk in the cart to see if it would help him walk further. It worked better than I hoped for.
While we will keep him on his own feet for as long as possible it's good to see he can get more exercise this way.
We went over to the duck pond, walked over the bumpy wooden path/bridge and nearly ran back.
Bobbie suggested separating the leg rings to see if that helps or hinders his leg movement. I will try that later it's just a velcro strap.
He was so happy.
We started on the grass not in the cart just to let him walk some then we soon switched to the cart on grass, then the path (with booties on).
Later one we lost a bootie that I went back to get on my own (it wasn't far).
Glad this is an option for him.

Tue May 22
Yoshi didn't get Prozac this morning as he's going to get it in the evening, so see if it helps him sleep better. It's not a sedative, but it can help with anxiety some. He keeps moving around as I sit here working at my desk.

Yoshi first time in the cart to try to get more exercise. No problem. Zoom. Walked to Court and Johnson and back. I put some light weigh dog booties on both his rear feet.

10:30pm walk. Just us this time in a light drizzle. I had him walking this time with a good on his left foot (the one that always drags.)

Mon May 21
Yoshi had a re-eval with Dr. Erin Troy the rehab vet. He's stable and not getting any worse which is excellent news and the best we could hope for.

We are going to move his Prozac to the evening to see if it helps with his sleeping.
After his senior blood test, we are going to get a four week supply of Rimadyl to have on hand and try a two week course to see if if makes any difference in his movement.
The Adequan shots (which is officially a drug and not a supplement)  help with rebuilding his joint tissue that he's likely losing from elbow arthritis, but it is not a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID).

In general, he seems quite happy. Dr Troy says that Corgis never seem to give up on life. It's just their personality. It's nice that he's mellowed with age. Other dogs don't mellow as they get older, their behavior gets worse. Let's hear it for small favors.

I did make mention of him wanting to chase two Huskies down the street and after a couple of barks and two seconds of fake running/charging, he gave up on it as not worth the effort. His hearing is not that great, but that's expected. I've been trying to teach him handsignals and to recall to the sound of hands clapping. It works part of the time, but he doesn't always put together that I am asking him to do something. (Some cognitive issues.)

He is going to continue with weekly hydrotreadmill and cold laser sessions. Thankfully Trupanion is paying 90% of that now.

She did say something interesting. We are looking for a way for him to get more exercise because he's gaining weight because he can't walk as far. Apparently a cart where he can still have all four feet on the ground will help (as long as he wears boots on the feet that are dragging (important to avoid infection). His acupuncturist was concerned about him giving up on walking if he started to use a cart and she referred back to Corgis not being the type to give up and she's not that worried about it.

We also discovered quite by accident that if your dog wears a hole in a boot, it's a great diagnostic tool for figuring out exactly what part is dragging.
I could put sturdier boots on him, but he walks better with the less butch ones: the Ultrapaws that do not have the hard plastic covering.

7pm walk. Seeing other dogs gets him excited and he gets more exercise. Hmmm.

10:30pm A neighborhood cat keeps cornering us in the driveway. Not Zachary this time. Yoshi would not move off of the lawn while the cat was staring at him. I finally put him in the backyard to pee, but a few minutes later carried him out to the sidewalk to do our little mini walk. The cat followed us to the sidewalk but stayed out once we move down the walk some. My poor neighborhood. Bark Bark Bar.

Sun May 20
I was out walking Yoshi up and down the street during all this. Met Becky who lives on Lincoln more towards Broadway. She had a Corgi who lived to be 18. I told her I was impressed but she said that he wasn't in the best of shape.
Then we did our evening walk with Evelyn at 10:30pm
He's walking mostly ok though not perfect. He wears a boot on his left rear foot. He has a re-eval with Dr. Troy tomorrow, so I'm uploading a video from 2-26 for comparison.
I uploaded a video from Feb and there's little difference between now and then.

Sat May 19
4pm Yoshi walk. We went around the block on Johnson.  He sped up to bark after a couple of Huskies ahead of us which was entertaining, but it didn't last that long. It did shorten his walk time.

10:30pm evening walk. when I was getting us ready, I stepped on Yoshi's back foot and it didn't seem to bother him much which is a concern.
Evelyn and I paused for a moment to chat with a neighbor Tom who scared me when he emerged from the shadows. I was wearing a headlamp and he said he hoped we'd find the coal mine we were looking for. I usually see Shideh his wife instead, but I see him from time to time.

Fri May 18

Yoshi's sister Ashi has passed away. She was probably past her time. Now there is just Dylan and Yoshi left.

Yoshi is basically okish, but sleeping a bunch. I am concerned about him, but he's not a young man anymore. He is due for a senior blood test in June. We probably should go ahead and do that. When I get him out into the night air, he perks up, so it is partially a temperature thing. he was moving right along at 10pm.

His food claims he can have 1 1/2 cups of food a day which is an insane amount given that he was fine on 2/3 c of food a day of his higher fat food. He will probably be ok with 1 c a day, so tonight he's going to get a full third for his evening snack and then we'll try 1/2 c each meal for a little while. The only issue with the new food is it has more fiber, so he's going to be pooping more. Hope he makes it through the night.

Thu May 17

Yoshi Adequan shot this morning. His calming cap worked great in the vets office. Walked right by another dog.

We are switching Yoshi's food to Nulo Freestyle Senior which is trout and sweet potato with turkey and some chicken and a lot of pea flour. 12% fat as compared to Prairie Salmon's 16%.

Yoshi evening walk did ok. Using a boot on his back left foot.

Wed May 16

Yoshi acupuncture. We tried the calming cap to see if it would make him less nervous but I didn't see any change and took it off. He's generally ok just figity. The calming cap helps with his reactivity when he sees other dogs but probably isn't necessary in this case.

Mon May 14

Yoshi PT. Just me and Tech Jenn working with Yoshi. He actually did quite well.

I recorded it to show Dr. Troy who he's going to see next week. also made on on land one pacing around the therapy room.

Yoshi evening walk. After sleeping all afternoon and through a 3.6 earthquake, we went on a brisk walk up and down the block twice with Evelyn. the only trouble is I forgot his boot.

Just before that he was hanging his head over the side of the snuggler and started gacking and then threw up some. Then got up and peed (my fault as he hadn't been out in a while.) Yoga mat is outside after being hosed off.

Filed Yoshi PT claim. I need to record them in Shared expenses.

Thu May 10
Lori Drouin passed away this morning at 4:30am. Larry told me yesterday that she was mostly unresponsive, so I knew it wouldn't be long, but I'm still pretty torn up about it. She was my obedience trainer since Cali was a puppy. She has helped me teach every one of my dogs. I'm feeling at sea about this. I miss her.

Yoshi walk 5pm. We walked down to Fountain and back. He was moving a little slow, but ok.

Then at his 10:30pm short walk he was moving right along. He knows he gets a treat at the end of that one (it has his medication in it).

Wed May 9

Yoshi peed and pooped in the house because I wasn't paying attention to his pacing with intention. He kept me up part of the night with his pacing which is different, so I was deliberately ignoring him which wasn't a wise choice.

Yoshi walk. At 5pm we were on our way to Bay Farm Seaview park, but I decided to just try walking from Veterans court. The tide was really low so we were able to walk a little bit on the bit of sand that was briefly uncovered which gave him a nice chance to get some good smells in.

Evelyn has been sometimes joining us for our evening walk down the block which makes it much less of a chore at 10pm.

Wed May 2

Yoshi to Jorge for acupuncture. Terri gave him Pet Calm which may have taken the edge off his stress but he still nervously panted the entire 20 minutes with the needles inserted. It doesn't hurt him, but every so often one will zing and how do you explain that to a dog that it's ok and it's not going to get any worse?

Tue May 1

Yoshi Krusi Park. The park was very busy, so we didn't walk in the field area at all but walked past the kids play area and then walked all the way around the tennis courts. He's dragging his left rear foot and has a sort spot on one of his pads so he needs to either wear a boot or walk on grass. I carried him around the asphalt pathways. Walking across on the fields is preferable. For his evening walks, he'll have to wear a boot.

Mon Apr 30

Yoshi PT Appt today at 10:30am.

There is a drag sore on his rear left foot so he needs to wear a boot when on pavement. He can also wear a Pawz bootie.

Of course during his night short walk I completely forgot about the bootie so we only went part of the way and I carried him on the driveway.

Sun Apr 29

Walked Yoshi around the block on Johnson.

Sat Apr 28

We are dropping Yoshi off at Park Centre for the day and evening and racing off to catch a 11am SouthWest flight and then we'll drive to Jack Peterson's stopping at Whole Foods.

Thu Apr 25
Went over Yoshi's PT video of him walking in the hydrotherapy treadmill from Apr 23. He consistently holds his left foot up longer than the right one. They tell me this means that the left leg is weaker than the right and he can't hold the right foot up as long.

I bathed him today finally, and we need to remember to put his flea stuff on tomorrow.

Yoshi walk. We just went all the way down High St. and back. He seems to know where he is more if I just go in a straight line.

Sat Apr 21
Filmed Yoshi frapping in the yard which was a lot of fun and cool to see him moving freely unleashed.

Yoshi Krusi Park. Avoided one shepherd mix who was barking hungrily at a small dog. We went around to the other entrance and didn't go anywhere near the dog, so neither dog saw each other. Remarkably, right as i was taking him out of the car a very small dog walked behind us with their person and I managed to not let Yoshi see the dog until later.

The park itself was really nice. We walked in a loop behind the backstops and then out onto one of the baseball diamonds and then worked out way back to the car. His left rear foot drag is really obvious in the ballfield dirt. It was a relatively longish walk for him, but it didn't tire him out too badly.

Fri Apr 20
Yoshi walk at 8pm. I love that we're getting long days now. We went around the block. No dogs no drama. He's walking slow, but he's ok.

Wed Apr 18
Yoshi acupuncture. He doesn't like it, but if I just hold his collar he'll just sit or stand and even though he's panting the whole time, he doesn't shake his head. Jorge is happy with his condition not worsening. I think we're going back to giving him some Pet Calm as the chamomile in it takes the edge off. I didn't use it today as I wanted to see a comparison. I covered his eyes to get him past the next dog without issue. It's a little scary how well this works. It works in the Muller/Canine Rehab office too. It doesn't matter that he can smell the dog, not knowing where it is makes him not bark.

Yoshi walk. We went around the block and he's walking fine which is so cool to see. He does pause every so often but he's doing remarkably well. He hadn't pooped all day but did on his walk. Which means that he didn't need to during his 10:30pm walk. He kept wanting to turn around early to hurry up and get the rest of his dinner and treats (which are his medicine.) He sleeps better at night with something in his stomach so his dinner is divided into two parts.

Tue Apr 17
Yoshi looks enough like a cartoon dog, I can use his image in a logo, so I am creating a drawing of him happily working on a hydro treadmill and I'm going to use it for my writing logo.

Mon Apr 16

Yoshi PT. It was too close to his hydrotherapy last week so we just did cold laser only this time (There weren't any available appts later this week.)

We actually missed our 11am appt thinking it was 1:45pm (wrote down the wrong time.) so we rescheduled for 2:30 and went over to Sprouts to get some food and headed over to Lakely park which is a really nice park to just sit near and walk Yoshi around some. I tried to take a few photos, but he mostly wouldn't hold still, but I did get one finally.

Sun Apr 15
Yoshi walk. I didn't want to be around the block and get caught in the rain, so we just went all the way down Lincoln to High St and back.

Fri Apr 13
Yoshi PT. He walked 15 minutes in the hydro-treadmill and then paced more around the room before we captured him for his cold laser therapy. Then he got home and crashed on the bed for hours even skipping his dinner until I took him for his evening short walk to take care of the usual bodily functions at 10pm. He seemed to be walking ok even kind of quickly because he realized he hadn't eaten yet.

Thu Apr 12

Yoshi and I went to Crab Cove and had a fabulous time. It was windy and we walked all the duck pond and then we circled back.

Wed Apr 11
Yoshi and I continue to take a late night walk and then has the rest of his dinner with 4 pieces of string cheese. He sleeps through the night for the most part. Sometime he wakes up and paces for a while, but stops after a few trips back and forth. One time a couple of days ago, he didn't stop and we just put him on the bed. He is usually sleeping in one of his snugglers or his crate as he gets too hot when he's on the bed when we're in it with him.

Mon Apr 9
Yoshi walk. We slowly went around the block on Johnson. Barked at a couple of dogs but I was able to get his attention though if I'm too slow he'll go right back to barking. He also barks at people, but he's clearly not being threatening.

Fri Apr 6
Raining all day today. No walk for Yoshi. Fortunately there was a break in the rain at 10pm, so I could get him out to poop without him getting soaked.

Thu Apr 5
Yoshi Krusi Park we had the place mostly to ourselves save for one group, and a Mom and her small kid. Mound St. entrance again and we went all the way across to touch the tree then walked over to a couple of the diamonds to run very briefly on the dirt. He enjoyed it.

Wed Apr 4
Yoshi to Krusi Park.
It was starting  to get cold so he was in good spirits. Went all the way across the park and then on to touch a tree. Then we went back in a short curve. Barked some at the carts used to transport softball gear like the bases.

Tue Apr 3
Yoshi Krusi Park. We walked all the way across it and back. There were a couple of smaller dogs off to the size but he didn't react to them at all. He only briefly growled at a Golden walking by, but then decided that his time was better spent eating treats. Good boy.

Fri Mar 30
Took Yoshi to Crab Cove. It was enjoyable for both of us. Lots of space around him, only the occasional dog. Got his toes on the sand of the beach bluff. I took more duck photos. We walked from the parking lot diagonally to the water and then looped slowly back while taking in the geese coming in for a landing.

Sun Mar 25
Yoshi slept all night and let me sleep in too.
Yoshi walk. We went to Bay Farm because Krusi was too busy. It was windy and cold, I was freezing and Yoshi was in heaven. He even ran part of the way back to the car.

Sat Mar 24
Yoshi slept all night again. I did let him out at midnight right before I went to bed.
I am feeding him 1/3 c kibble twice a day and 3-4 pieces of string cheese. Dinner is split in half, so he gets cheese twice in the evening. That will change to once in the late evening.

Fri Mar 23
I walk Yoshi at night around 9 or 10pm to get him to pee/poop.
Evelyn tells me she would be happy to join Yoshi on our late night walks, so I have her cell phone. It would be fun to have company. It was raining tonight, so I told her to skip it this time.

Yoshi acupuncture. Tried not holding his head and he didn't shake his head.

Sun Mar 17

Finally, finally went back to Guerro's Taqueria in Pacifica off Reina del Mar to get a veggie burrito. I took Terri, and Yoshi went along and we went down to the state beach and walked Yoshi a while there letting him enjoy it, and bark at everything and nothing. The burrito was every bit as good as I remember it. There's nothing exotic about it, just great ingredients.
Pinto beans perfectly cooked, very yummy Mexican Rice, salsa, cilantro, lettuce, sour cream, guacamole.
Yoshi had a lovely time walking on the beach at Pacifica State Beach. Got his feet a little wet.

Thu Mar 15

Yoshi barked and barked again at Rudy the heater guy, then got better when we just put him on the floor.

Mon Mar 12
Yoshi PT at Canine Rehab in Walnut Creek.
He is not showing signs of worsening. It's not clear he has DM at all, though he likely does.
Sent off his Trupanion claim form. They've been so terrific at covering his costs once we met his deductable.

Wed Mar 7
Yoshi Krusi Park.
It was nice there wasn't any baseball practice going on. We walked out on the infield and I could see his right rear foot dragging, but otherwise he was walking ok. We walked all the way across the park in a curving manner. Touched the back fence, and then walked back across. Trek and I used to do this a lot. It would be good to do this with him fairly often too.

Yoshi did ok with Jorge and acupuncture this morning. Terri gave him some Pet Calm which has chamomile and other things which took his nervous edge off a little. He didn't shake and fling off the needles quite as much.

We've been having a heater installed and Rudy the installer had to be in house to work on the inside vents. He used to have a pit bull mix so he wasn't intimidated at all by Yoshi doing his "intruder" growl. "Co'mere you let me rub your neck." It was hilarious. Growl growl growl hmmm mmmm.

Later on we took Yoshi to see Ziji his chiropractor for a tune up. She says that he's doing surprisingly well and says to keep him active and on his feet. She did do a large adjustment in his mid-back.

Tue Mar 6
Yoshi is getting antibiotics for his eye twice a day for 7 days, so until next Monday.

Mon Mar 5

Yoshi's eye look swollen and reddish. He skipped his water treadmill at Canine Rehab and just did cold laser and went to Park Centre to see Dr. Levin. We now have eye antibiotics to put in his eye each day.

Feb 26
Yoshi PT at Canine Rehab in Walnut Creek. Jenn was his therapist today. We have him walking in a hydro-treadmill and then he gets cold laser treatments. He is now walking 15+ minutes which is terrific. Pretty good for a dog that will be 14 years and 7 months on the 28th. He slept for most of the rest of the day, but he kept us company in the evening and took a very short walk in the evening to pee and poop.

Feb 23
Yoshi walk.

We went over to Crab Cove and it was really nice. Almost no dogs around. Some people came by to say hello to him. We went on to the beach bluff for a bit. Maneuvered around some of the local water fowl - mostly geese. Yoshi really isn't a fan of geese, so he doesn't bother them at all.


Feb 19
Yoshi PT this morning. He did well. It's cold this morning and he's loving it while we all shiver.

Feb 18
Yoshi walk. He really didn't get a walk today. Just the 5pm and 10pm one to poop. He just wanted to sleep all day though he did join us to watch Olympics. I try not to let him crash in his crate all day (I want him to sleep at night), but encourage him to join us even if he is mostly just sleeping.
For the past month he has been waking Terri up in the middle of the night because he is hungry. I am trying to add 1/4 cup of rice to his evening snack. He slept through the night yesterday. He was gaining weight but it may have stabilized.

Feb 12

Yoshi PT. He did fine, but he gets tired about 10 minutes in. They have him doing 15 minutes.
He also got his second flu shot so he's done with that. The only thing he's due for is bordetella (kennel cough) and they can give it to him when he goes in for boarding on April 28.

Feb 9
Yoshi has an infection under his arm. Vet (Dr. Wallace) thinks it's a staph infection. She gave us a mousse to try for 5 days which might avoid needing oral antibiotics. He was so not happy to be at the vets. He had an acupuncture appt, so he'd kind of had it with being messed around with. He got his adequan shot today.

Feb 8
Yoshi walk. First time outside in a cart. He did pretty well though I will have to go somewhere where we're not steering around baseball practices.  It seems to help his side to side stability. And he has no issues with the cart which is amazing.

Yoshi evening walk. I've cut his melatonin down from 6mg to 3mg, because if you get too much melatonin you sleep soundly for a little while and then wake up again which is exactly what's happening.

Feb 7
Yoshi walk
Went to Lincoln Park and watched some soccer practice and steered around a couple of dogs (no problem.)
At 10:30pm took him out to poop. I'm always dragging him down the street as he wants his evening treats which are meds. He gets a snack then too.

Feb 6
Yoshi midday walk. He doesn't see as well so he barks at people too, but he's easy enough to manage.

Yoshi evening walk. He met my neighbor Evelyn who was working on her daffodils in her front yard a little, and he greeted her nicely and didn't bark at her. He still is waking Terri up at night so he's getting his meds in pill pockets, a snack of kibble, and a few cubes of sourdough bread.

Feb 5
I've been working a lot and that's changing for a little while so I'll have time to catch up here.

Yoshi treadmill. He does very well in the water. His walking looks much better when he's in it. He went to 14 minutes. Jenn was the tech with Sherrie there doing paperwork.

Feb 3
Yoshi got up at 3am last night. I didn't get back to sleep until daylight.

Yoshi walk. We went to Washington Park but this time we parked closer to the water and not at the dog park. We had a lot of space around us so we slowly wandered around that field and then crossed the path to go over to the next one. I tried to film him walking, but he just looked at me which is what he's trained to do. His walking is very unstable to begin with and then improves with time and usage.

Feb 2

Yoshi walk. I'm off work for a little while, so I get to do a lot of Yoshi's walks again. He is 14 1/2 so his walk are very leisurely but at 4pm we did manage to get all the way out to Santa Clara and around. I also give him a short evening walk around 9:30/10pm for him to poop. He also gets his meds then so he always wants to come home for his treat and evening snack.

The evening snack is that he's been walking Terri up in the middle of the night around 2:30am because he's hungry (she takes him out to pee also.)

Last night I feed him most of his midnight snack at 10pm and he slept till 5:30am.

Tonight I gave him all of his midnight snack at 10pm. His meds also include 6mg of melatonin which stops his night pacing and helps him sleep better at night.

Feb 1

Asked Dr Joan Coates for Trek's DM pathology report results. She sent them.

24 Jan 18:

The spinal cord has severe thickening and fibrosis of the arachnoid, with proliferation of arachnoid cells The entire spinal cord stains poorly with LFB. The white matter appears condensed with a few interspersed dilated axon sheaths. Motor neurons contain scant lipofuscin. Neurofilament stains demonstrate a drastic reduction of axon diameter in all funiculi. There are numerous tiny axons present, even in the ventral white matter, and interspersed axons are enlarged in caliber. There are blank spots in the dorsolateral white matter. There is strongly increased GFAP staining circumferentially in the white matter, particularly the peripheral white matter. Gemistocytes are locally evident.

Severe DM

Yoshi walk. We wandered around Krusi Park which he seemed to enjoy.

Jan 30

Yoshi status

We put him on Melatonin yesterday to hopefully help with his night pacing which is common for senior dogs to do.

His days look pretty similar except for when he goes to Physical Therapy or Acupuncture or to the vet to get an adequan shot (once a month). Terri walks him mid-day.

He is walking Terri up in the middle of the night because he's hungry. She makes him go outside to pee also.

Jan 29

I asked about Yoshi's night pacing and Kathy Carlsen suggests Melatonin and Dr. Applegate agrees suggesting 3-6 mg dosage, so I ran off to Walgreens and after some Prius arguments I have some 3 mg tablets.

Jan 10
We're keeping some of Yoshi's kibble back and feeding it to him at night in hopes he'll stop waking Terri up to go out and pee and come back in wanting a snack. He won't settle down without it.)