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Yearly Update?

It has been ten months since I wrote something here.  Not sure where all that time went.  It really does fly when you get older.  Can’t imagine what it is like in dog or cat years.  Yikes!

To catch up: Casey did not manage to lose much weight after I put her on the last diet.  We tried walking but it was so buggy that staying in the woods long was less then enjoyable.   Casey was also having problems with energy and stamina.  There was one morning I thought I would have to pick her up and carry her back to the Jeep.  She made it, but it was a long slow process.

No matter what I did she seemed to be gaining weight and becoming more and more lethargic.  When I went back to work in the fall I called a holistic vet.  I really did love our old vet and they were very very good to Casey, but it was hard to schedule appointments and it really was not cost-effective for her to have to come all the way here. 

The first vet visit was very traumatic for both of us.  Casey’s blood pressure sky rocketed and they couldn’t do a full exam because they thought she was going to have a heart attack.  Instead we had to schedule an appointment with Tufts .  A very good clinic, but a very expensive one also.

One thousand dollars later we learned Casey has a stage one heart murmur and hypothyroidism.  That explains almost everything about the poor baby girl.   She was put on a strict diet and has to take a pill 2x a day for the rest of her life.  It made her a brand new beagle.  She is almost at her correct weight, has a ton of energy, and her attitude has gotten 99% better.   Simply amazing.

As for the cat trio.  They are all still going strong.  Ashes still has bouts of bloody urine, but has become very cuddly.  Sometimes sleeping in the bed with me.  Moose’s internal clock is off by an hour and he has been waking my every morning at 3:00 a.m.  Hopefully turning the clocks in the spring will cure that.  Jordan is still clawing apart the woodwork all over the house.  We have tried everything and we can still hear her in the middle of the night and see the damage in the morning.

Indy bird is still naked most of the time.  She has a smaller cage in my room (office) but doesn’t come out even if I open the door.  Crazy bird.

Not much else to update.   At least on this blog.  I have been writing more on my personal blog, Ramblinann if you want to pop over there.  I will make a conscious effort to keep writing here too.  After all my pets are my kids now.

It is another rainy day and Casey is being lazy.  Ssshhhh I have nothing to do with it. I know she would probably go out for a walk if I forced her to, but what fun is that.  None for me anyway. I was looking forward to walking trails this week. Now they are nothing but mud bogs again. Guess the hiking will have to wait.

This is all part of Casey’s weight loss program.  I measure out her whole days worth of food and put it in one container. From there she gets breakfast, lunch, supper, and good girl treats.  It seems very unfair and it feels like I am starving her, but I know in my head that I am doing no such thing.  She will be a much healthier happier girl without the extra pounds.

Following the directions I should see change in a week or so.  The key is to lose the fat gradually. The food is formulated so that she will use stored fat without losing muscle. If I can just get her out walking again she might even gain some muscle.  Beagles are such compact dogs that the extra fat really shows up fast. It has to go.

She has already been transitioned over to the food, Life’s Abundance Weight Loss Formula, so she has no digestive upset, but man is she poopin.  Her system is doing a whole clean out.  Getting rid of all the bad build up from snacking and treats.

She won’t step on a scale and the only one I have available is mine, so I will take pictures to document her healthy weight loss journey.  Hopefully she won’t be too embarrassed with the before and will pose pretty for the after.

Yes I have belly fat, and yes I am actually sitting ON the table