An impossible goodbye

I can’t believe I am here today writing this post.. It’s with the heaviest heart that I must share with you all the passing of my dear friend of 11 years, Oslo.

Out of nowhere in the wee hours of the morning of August 23, 2019, Oslo started having violent seizures. One particularly bad seizure lasted over an hour. It was horrible.

He was seen by his amazing veterinary team within hours. After ruling out any other undying medical conditions, it was determined that (due to his age and breed and the extremely sudden onset of symptoms) he was most likely suffering from a brain tumour.

I made the very hard decision to say goodbye to him that morning, while he was still bright and himself, and still had some dignity left. Our vet team was incredible throughout and let us do it on the lawn of the clinic– with birds in the trees, and the sun shining warmly. I laid down with him while he passed, whispering into his ear the whole time how good of a boy he was and how loved he is.

His tense body relaxed, he laid his sweet head down, and went to sleep.

Oslo.

My boy.

I thought we had more time. I have loved you since the first time I laid eyes on you. Being your mama and #1 advocate over all these years has been one of the greatest joys of my life.

I’m sorry for all the times I was impatient, or didn’t give you as many carrots as you wanted. There are so many things I wish I could go back to do differently. Thank you for being such a wonderful boy, for loving and being kind to my son, for your loyalty, and for your trust.

I hope that I did the right thing for you. And I hope that you are now on the other side of the rainbow bridge with full use of those silly back legs of yours— doing the French 500 like never before.

I love you. I love you. I love you. I hope the life I gave you was enough.

To all of our loyal readers, I hope that sharing Oslo’s story and journey with IVDD has helped you all overcome your own struggles. Oslo was diagnosed with IVDD at the age of 3… and he went on to live well into a normal life expectancy for a French Bulldog. In the end, it was a brain tumour that took him from us at 11 years old.

If there is one take away from Oslo’s story, it is this: There is life after and with IVDD.

I will continue to share photos of my boy Jersey on our Instagram at @OsloandJersey. Please join us there.

Instagram

I have started an Instagram account for Oslo and Jersey. I find Instagram to be a much easier platform to stay on top of and post frequently to. I do hope to continue updating here on occasion,  but if you’d like to follow along with Oslo & JB on a more daily basis, please head over here::

https://www.instagram.com/osloandjersey/

corneal ulcer

Hey everyone.

I am so sorry for not keeping up to date with this blog. I cannot believe it’s been 4 months since I was last here! We had a wonderful summer, followed by an even better fall.

Well, except for a run in with an eye-ulcer that was a real doozy for poor Oslo!

For the month of October Oslo was on all sorts of eye drops and in a cone, while we tried to get a gnarly corneal ulcer under control. Ultimately with a little help from the eye specialist in Spokane, WA we were able to beat it.

I’ve come away from that experience learning that eyes are finicky beasts, and if your dog is ever squinting even the littlest bit, you should get them seen ASAP. Eyes go from bad to HORRIBLE very, very quickly.

Oslo is on the mend now and doing great. We do have a high chance of reoccurrence though, so I will be on ‘ulcer watch’ for the rest of time.

morning walk

Just a few photos from our absolutely perfect morning walk today.

Oslo turns ten

Yesterday Oslo turned 10 years old. 

When Oslo first came home to me, I was 24 years old and living it up in a 1 bedroom apartment in downtown Vancouver. To say my life has changed since then would be an understatement. One thing, however, has not changed– and that’s how much I love this little fella.

I started this blog for Oslo just before his 3rd birthday when he was in the hospital having emergency spinal surgery. I’ve kept it up since then as a means of updating all of Oslo’s supporters and also educating others on IVDD.

At 10 years old, Oslo is greyer, lazier, and wobblier than ever, but he has the same joie de vivre that he has always had in his heart. He loves all people, hates all puppies (grown-up dogs are ok), and will consume any and all food. His passions in life include snuggles on the sofa, nibbling strawberries off the bush, sunbathing, and barking at dogs that he sees on TV.

He is obsessive about balls that roll under the sofa, and can’t stand to have his back feet touched. He pees when he gets too excited. He loves chewing nylabones and sticks. And if you take a fresh blanket out of the dryer he absolutely can never wait to crawl up inside it.

As I look at Oslo’s ever-greying face I am constantly reminded that I will not have forever with this sweet boy of mine. There will come a time, much too soon, when we will have to say goodbye. Even typing those words brings tears burning to my eyes. My #1 wish with both of my boys is that they never doubt how loved and precious they are to me.

So, Oslo, on this 10th birthday, I wish you health and comfort. I wish that when you go to sleep at night you feel safe and secure in my unwavering commitment to and love for you. You are so special and so loved.

Bleu the french pig

If have ever wanted to be inspired by a ‘handicapped’ dog, please go check out @Bleuthefrenchpig on Instagram. Bleu became paralyzed after a bout of IVDD left her without the use of her rear legs…. But she has never let it stop her from living her best life.

When your dog is in the midst of IVDD it’s easy to think that your only options are surgery and a full recovery, or euthanasia… But the fact of the matter is that usually dogs fall into some sort of grey area in-between– never quite recovering fully. Recovery looks different for every dog, of course.

Bleu is on the far end of the spectrum in that she never regained any sort of use of her rear legs… But I think her instagram (run by her amazing, and devoted mama) is a wonderful reminder that paralyzed dogs can still have a great quality of life.

Many, many, many dogs live perfectly wonderful, fulfilling lives this way– it just takes a bit (ok, a lot) of getting used to. In fact, I think that we, as their humans, have a harder time adjusting to life with a paralyzed dog than the dogs to do adjusting to life with 2 legs.

Bleu is full of joy, and her life is absolutely one worth living. I hope she inspires you as much as she inspires us.

Boring and Well

I feel like this blog has been so boring lately.

The fact of the matter is that when the dogs are healthy and well, I really don’t have much to blog about. We go about our daily routine, and one day fades into the next, and nothing remarkable really happens. But isn’t that a good thing?

Oslo turns 10 years old in just shy of two weeks. Unbelievable.

mowing the grass

Oslo and Jersey are very happy to be seeing these warmer temperatures. They would spend all day ‘mowing’ the grass in the front yard if we let them– nibbling grass, gagging, occasionally puking, nibbling some more. Charming.

Fresh Air

walking in the spring

Today was absolutely gorgeous. Not too hot, not too cold. We gotta get our walks in while we can before the days are too warm for the Pigs to go further than a block or two.