HARVEY AND IRMA: NOT A NICE COUPLE

Please remember to pray for those in Hurricane Irma's path as she barrels down on Florida Sunday or Monday. Speculations on her path change almost hourly, but there will be much destruction and flooding. The states of GA, SC, and NC are also hunkering down. We are located north of metro Atlanta, and at this writing, will mostly be facing high winds of 60 mph.

In any case, FEMA and volunteer organizations now allow pets to come along when rescuing people. That is definitely a step in the right direction, because beloved pets ARE FAMILY MEMBERS and deserve to be taken care of like the rest of the family.

Also remember those states out west fighting a multitude of forest fires, as well as those in TX/LA recovering from the onslaught of Hurricane Harvey.

I don't know if we will be without power here in North Georgia--only time will tell. But I'll see you on the other side of the hurricane. Stay safe if you are in one of those areas mentioned above. Let's pray for each other. God is in control.

AWAITING DUKE'S PLATELET COUNT

UPDATE on Duke 07/27/17, 12:55 p.m.:

UGA checked his platelet levels this morning, and there is no change YET. The vet said we need to give it another full day, as the med often doesn't kick in for three or four days.

The internal bleeding (stomach/GI tract) is worrisome, and until his platelet levels come up, there's no way of stopping it--but it isn't heavy, thankfully.

I posted last night that they had given him a red cell transfusion, as his levels had gone down due to loss of blood (also found in his stool).

So . . . we wait. Honestly, I was fine yesterday, not fine today. I miss my dawg and his dogginess. You fellow doxie lovers know where I am coming from!

Finally, whatever happens with Duke, I will NEVER forget the love and prayers shown to us by doxie lovers from everywhere. I have felt your prayers, your love, and your concern for Duke and his welfare. People I don't even know have private messaged me, offering prayer and commiseration! People have asked pertinent questions, not "canned" comments. God is in control, and you have been His ambassadors to our family, from my hubby and me down to the grandchildren, who love Duke so much. They had lost their doxie Shadow in February, who was 16.

LOVE to all of you, many who are also going through difficult times. I offer my prayers back to you, that God will comfort and sustain you, just as He's doing for us through you, friends, and family.

Duke is holding his own--he's not better, but he's certainly not worse at this writing. I'll take that for now <3 span="">.

MY DOXIE DUKE: HE'S VERY SICK

Duke began throwing up last Wednesday, so by Friday, we took him to the vet. She noticed some bruising on his belly as well as pinpoint bruising in his ears, a sign that all was not well. A blood test confirmed that he had extremely low platelets, 18K--the range should be 117K to 450K +. Needless to say, we were very concerned. She put him on prednisone and three other meds to build up his system.

Friday 3 a.m. he started throwing up a good amount of blood, so we ended up taking him back to the UGA Veterinary Hospital ER; by then, he was in much pain, lethargic, and obviously suffering.  Last night they gave him platelets, but he was having a lot of trouble with that, so they also gave him a regular blood transfusion, which seemed to perk him up a bit. Today, he is stabilized, but is not in very good shape. Their job is to determine what is causing his low blood platelet count. Likely not the bone marrow, since his other blood elements are fine; could be an autoimmune response, where his body is devouring the platelets; could be some form of cancer.

Being completely honest, I vacillate from "everything is going to be okay" to "I'll never see my sweet fur baby again." I have to accept whatever comes. If it means he has to be on autoimmune meds the rest of his life, we are willing to do that. We do want him to have a good quality of life, though.

This situation is very difficult to accept. We've had Duke since he was eight weeks old, and he's just turned ten. He's been a wonderful pet and companion, even a nurse when I had my knee surgeries--he stayed right by my side to make sure I was okay.

Your prayers would be greatly appreciated. I know he's "just a dog," but for those of us who think of our fur babies as family members, we go through about the same things as we do for humans. If that sounds weird or freaky, so be it. It is what it is.

God is in control, and if His eye is on a sparrow in a tree, He's watching over Duke right now.

Dachshunds . . . you gotta love 'em.