How Do I Love Thee....

Okay, enough to drive you to ISU in GOD awful weather, sit with you, never leaving the waiting room from 8:45 - 2:45 until you were ready to go. Just to find out you have a very athletic heart, but yes, you do have a murmur. No meds, no change in lifestyle, you can recheck in a year if you'd like. Where's your credit card and that will be $502 please. G What the heck, it's only money!! and I'm OBVIOUSLY NOT taking it with me....of course, I'm not leaving much behind either!

When Kruz had a couple fatty tumors removed in October our Vet said that he had a slight heart murmur, but nothing to be concerned about. Well, that's like telling me there's some chocolate in the fridge, but just forget about it. NOT!!! So I stewed a while and then I started looking for things. Imagine that! I thought he slept more than he should and was that a cough? Why isn't he doing......(take your pick)

Okay, let's face it. Kruz has ALWAYS been amazingly easy to live with. He would play whenever you wanted to and would go lay down when we were done. He is on the move 23 hrs of the day like some other little BC in our household.

Anyway, long story short, I decided I'd feel better if I took him to ISU for a complete cardiac work up. EKG, Ultrasound, the whole 9 yards. I made the appointment for today, and of course we have crappy weather on Sunday and Monday. So the big decision was whether I go this am or not. Finally I decided I needed to go because I think Kruz was getting sick of me accessing his every move.

So we head out on the gravel at 6:55 after being shut in for 2 days. Lucky for us Alan has a big tractor with an even bigger snow thrower and knows how to use it!!



I'd checked the road conditions multiple times throughout the morning and they all said the same thing. Travel not advised until Tama and then 100% covered to Ames. Not sounding good at all!!! But I'm packed to the gills with my coveralls (both pair), snow boots, gloves, hat, a sleepover bag (I don't leave my dogs), pillows and a sleeping bag. Honestly, I'd pretty much set myself up to be perfectly SAFE. Oh, two PB&Js, 3-25 ounce Diet Pepsi's, water and a book.

Our gravel is 100% covered and 60% of what's showing it ice. LOVELY!!! Bill tells me to head East up the gravel, cut over on 201/Norway blacktop and then the 30 back West. It sounds like a plan to me. He also warns me that Alan had to spend a lot of time on the corner getting onto 201 as it was totally plowed shut. Thank you Benton County Maintainers! HELLO!!! Anyway, I was able to creep around the 10' pile of snow and was lucky enough to make it onto the highway in one piece.

It was slow going for most of the way, although I really wonder what the DOT means about 100% snow covered. HONESTLY!! They were not!! Sure, in some areas they were and in a couple areas you had drifts in your side of the road, but they really need to tell you the facts and not make up this stuff. Was it crappy? Yes! Was it slow going? YES! But 100% my eye!

Along the way we saw some very pretty scenery......I had my trusty camera (Meme taught me this!!!) So with Camera in one hand, Coffee in the other and knees on the wheel I took some pretty pictures. So they are not as good as Meme's, but you get the idea.



I had a couple highlights on the way there. One, I passed a HUMMER!!! Yep, I was driving "IT". Imagine the embarrassment of a Hummer getting passed by a Dodge Grand Caravan!! VBG The second will make us ALL proud to be Pepsi or Dew Drinkers. Boy, I almost didn't get the camera out in time! G



It was rather sad to see all the cars in the ditch. Abandoned with no one to look after them. Some had been there so long that grass and dirt was starting to get tossed on them by the plows. Poor things.......

Needless to say we arrived at our destination. Let the games begin, or the waiting! OMG!! Our appointment was at 9:30 and I don't think we got into a room until 10:30. During that time OMG!! The noise!! There's this couple with two Short hairs, they are champions you know. JL, could the freaking shut up! I took that as a NO!!! It was utter chaos and I was so glad when we finally got into a room.

Of course then the dreaded diet questions.....I'm going to be a brief as possible and will keep my thoughts to myself. That's good news, because I had a lot of them during this time. What kind of dog food do you feed. (I toyed with saying 'Ol Roy', but didn't) raw. "oh". Did you have a nutritionist review your diet to see if it is nutritionally balanced? No. (I'm thinking - and I'm pretty sure Mr. Wolf doesn't read the label on everything he eats either - and myself could live on circus peanuts and Pepsi - next question). Do you feed the bones? Yes. "um" I think they must be hearing more of this, because it was rather brief and fairly painless.

So then the actual DVM comes in, not who I'm suppose to see BTW, to do a very brief exam and indicts that she can hear a murmur. Gee, I came in knowing that much. She is very nice however, so she get kind points from me. She would like to do an EKG, maybe an ultrasound and some blood work. Fine. I ask if they can do the blood work fairly soon as the poor guy is kind of hungry. She said they could take him back and find a kennel for him and I could come back in the afternoon. Um, no, I don't leave my dogs. They were very nice about that and said they would try to work it so they could just take him once and bring him back. I said that was fine.

So Lori (the cardio tech) came out to get Kruz. She was very nice and told me where the pop machine and cafeteria were located. I thanked her and said I'd just wait right here. At this point I think I'm at Martyr status with them as I'm not even leaving for lunch and it's 11:30!! Little do the know, that I have 2 PB&Js in my bag and a couple sodas. G That dog has barely left the room and I'm ripping off the wrappers! Hey, I couldn't eat in front of the poor guy.

He comes back about 45 minutes later and my bladder is about popping. Of course I'm not leaving because about the time that I do they will want me. So Lori returns and tells me that everything looks good and Kruz has a good athletic heart. He does have a murmur, but the type is not something we need to worry about at this point. She said that they will have the blood work and write up in another hour or two. I told her we'd just hang out. She commented how nice it was to work with a well trained and willing dog. (Gee, YA THINK!!!) Of course Seeker was NO where to be seen. G

Then she asked if we'd had another dog come in with cardic problems. I told her we did about 3 years ago, a Bichon with an 3rd degree AV block. She said she remembered the name, so I get it pays to be "strange"..G

So, we ran to the bathroom, to the van to get Kruz's breakfast - it's now 12:30 and grab another soda. Back to our post we go. We had back to sit, drink and read. What a long wait. More loud dogs come and go, although they did NOT go nearly fast enough.

We finally got our blood results and walking papers at 2:30. Everything looks good...so we're out of here. The trip home wasn't nearly as eventful as the way there. Roads were much better until you got to Benton County. Go figure!!

We did take a detour into Marshalltown to the DQ, Kruz agreed we could not hold out until Toledo. So I had a blizzard and he had a kiddie's cup. YUMMY!!!

So, life it good. I no longer have to stare at Kruz and wonder if it's the "BIG ONE". Bill doesn't have to listen to me say, did he just cough. I can sleep better at night, as can everyone else. All in all, it was probably a wasted trip, but I feel better and we have a base line should we ever need to go back.