Jake Gets Elk

Santa Paws brought Jake more than one thing.  Santa Paws brought Jake elk treats.

Sniff Sniff...

What's this?

Is it for Me?

Silly question.

Yes.  Just put the nice juicy Elk in my mouth.

Yes.  Yes.  Yum.

Chomp Chomp Chomp

Why Yes

I do believe I will have another piece.

Look What Santa Brought Me!!

I was a very good basset boy this year! Santa Paws brought me goodies!!!!

For Me?  Really?  I'll just take this.

Hmmm To Hide or To Eat?

Decisions, Decisions.

Where to Hide, Where to Hide

All my hidey-holes are full

You know what?

I'll just eat it. :)

Merry Christmas!

Jake and I hope Santa Paws brings you everything you wanted!

Jake's Video Entry for Free Food

Okay
Here's the latest version. I killed the background noise and added music. I've fixed the jumpy area and I've lengthened the first text box.

A Present? For Me??

Yesterday Jake got his first Christmas present.  As you can see, he was very happy!

Nom Nom Nom

I'm busy hiding a cookie....

All I Want for Christmas!

Jake's working on his Christmas List!  He's all excited about Santa Paws coming.  He hopes he's been a good little basset!  (I think he's been *wink*)

Jake's Christmas List

1.  A heated bed
2.  Cookies
3.  Mommy to stop trying to put pills in everything.
4.  Jerky
5.  Chewies
6.  More walks
7.  More car rides.
8.  More belly rubs.
9.  Mommy to shop chasing me around with eye medicine.

Here I am from last Christmas!

Mommy took the candy cane away.

It makes my gums bleed.

Mommy's mean like that.

Thursday Update

Hello all
Sorry for the light posting.  Jake is being somewhat difficult.  He's gone on a hunger strike.  I've tried just about everything to get him to eat and to take his meds.  It's been very difficult.

Today Jake had his stitches taken out!!!! YAY!!! His ears are healing nicely.  However, it looks like there could be some permanent facial nerve damage as Jake still can't blink properly.  Also, Jake is having some trouble eating on his right side.  It could be facial nerve damage or it could be some underlying jaw issue.  In other words, although the surgery solved his ear issues, it may not have solved his jaw problem.  The latest on the jaw problem is that it could be arthritis in his jaw.  We are going to try metacam for a week to see if that helps.

I really feel like Jake needs House.

As Jake and I were discussing his medication problems, I ran into his dermatologist, Dr. Metry, who is totally awesome and she gave me a big hug telling me that it was great news.  I'm like, yeah, Jake got his stitches removed.  She's like they didn't tell you?  Tell me what?  The final biopsy results came back.  The mass in Jake's ear is not cancer!!!!!!  It apparently was something that became a necropsis in his ear and became surrounded by pus and other goo.  Because his ear was so calcified, the medications could never get to the mass.

Here is Jake in the exam room!

He's got Christmas collar cover on!

Doesn't he look awesome!

Snoods!

Basset hounds are low to the ground with very long ears that can drag along the ground, getting all icky and ooky. In the winter, when there is snow on the ground, it is really important to keep basset ears out of the snow as the ears can become frostbitten. Now that Jake is bald and with shaved ears, it is even more important to keep his ears warm.

Over the summer I bought him a tie-dyed cotton snood. Unfortunately, the temperatures in St. Louis nosedived this week and the tie-dyed snood wasn't warm enough for de-furred ears.

I had my snack.  Now it is time for a walk!

I decided to get Jake a fleece snood.  I contacted the same person who made his tie-dyed snood, Howlin'  Hounds, and ordered a fleece snood.  

However, Jake doesn't like it.  It's too hot I think for him and uhm, his mommy ordered the wrong size..so it's a little big.

Lucky for Jake, he has a friend the crochets and made him a crocheted snood!

How many of these things do I have to hide before mommy gives up?

You can see about getting one from Joy!

He seems to like this one a little bit better.  It's got air holes, so it doesn't get as hot.  Jake's mommy isn't so bright and mis-measured Jake's head.  Luckily, I can tighten it by just retying the elastic!

Dreaming Jake

Here's Jake sleeping or dancing.

Preliminary Biopsy Results

Good Friday to you all!

The surgeon called this morning with the preliminary biopsy results. So far, it is excellent news. The mass in Jake's ear appears to be infection and inflammation. NO CANCER! The full biopsy isn't completed as they have to de-calcify his ear to check the deeper parts.

The cultures of the infection came back as well. Our favorite bacteria, psuedomonas, was present. And, unsurprisingly, resistant to the free antibiotics they hand out at the grocery store. But don't worry, it is susceptible (sorry it was a mistake earlier) to an antibiotic that is $7.50 a dose. yay?

Tuesday Jake Update

Hi all!
Jake is doing really well.  Sometimes he seems a little confused, but I think it is because he's still adjusting to being totally deaf.  For the most part, he has been taking his medicine like a good little basset.  It involves baby food, cheese, and the peanut butter from a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.  There was some damage to Jake's facial nerves, so he was having trouble blinking, but it seems to be getting better.  This requires Jake to get eye ointment.  Jake's been really good about leaving his ears alone, so he only has to wear the cone when he's unsupervised or at night cause I can't keep an eye on him, cause I'm sleeping.  He's licking his paws more so I guess I have to wash them with the medicated wash.  That's always fun!

His stitches are scheduled to be removed Thursday, December 17.

That bald spot on his butt is where his opiate patch was.

It came off today.

I Do Not Like the Cone of Shame

Happy St. Nick's Day!  Jake is home and currently eating rice and hamburger, he had baby food appetizer laced with pills :).  He's doing really well, although there was some facial nerve damage, as Jake can't blink really well yet.  He gets eyedrops until he can blink!

Jake gets to wear a cone!  So far it hasn't been all that great.  Jake keeps running into stuff.

Here's Jake the Flower.

This is the cone they gave him at the hospital.

He steps on it.

Here's Jake modeling his new cone.

It's soft and padded.

It also folds so that he doesn't step on it.

Thanks for all your special prayers and wishes as Jake was sick and in the hospital!

UPDATE: Jake's special bud Mike composed a poem for Jake:

I would not wear it in the shower

it makes me look just like a flower

I would not wear it in the park

I would not wear it in the dark

I would not wear it in the yard

I can not walk it is too hard

I would not wear it on a walk

I look so silly folks will gawk

I do not like this cone of shame

I do not like things that are lame

Update on Jake 12/5/09

I visited Jake this morning in the vet hospital.  He's doing really great! He's not really eating well, but that is to be expected given the stress of the surgery and the opiates.  Jake won't take his medicine (shocked, I'm shocked not at all) so he has to stay until Sunday so they can give him shots.  They wanted me to try and give him pills while I visited...yea, right.  The vet student also said he kept trying to escape...

They shaved his butt for a pain patch.  They also shaved his head and his actual ear flaps.  Walks are going to be very, very cold.

His paw has lots of band-aids and the IV.

He's bald!

You can see the base of his ears are swollen.

JAKE IS OK!!!!!

Hi
I just got off the phone with the surgeon. Jake is out of surgery and recovering.  The surgeon isn't convinced it is actually cancer but we won't know for sure until the biopsies come back.  She seemed to think it the mass actually maybe chronic otitis.

Basset Sphinx

Before recorded history, before they worshipped cats, the Ancient Egyptians worshiped basset hounds.  They made many monuments to the bassets and the earliest sphinx were not lions, but rather bassets.  Sadly, all of the quantifiable evidence of this has been lost to time (or to someone's lack of organization).  However, the basset hound still retains his noble bearing and sphinx-like appearance, to share with us his past (and still) total awesomeness.  The basset hound (Jake in particular) is to be worshipped and adored.  One day, they will reclaim their place of pride.  Until then, the noble basset practices his pose for that day of adoration.

You must worship and leave offerings.

Jake's New Duds!

Hello all,
Jake is feeling almost normal!  Some kind soul sent Jake an early St. Nick's Day and Christmas Present, a new collar, harness and leash!!! Doesn't Jake look so bright and cheery?