Rocky’s Health Saga: Heart worm prevention and Treatment.

We knew Rocky was heart worm positive from the people who owned him previously. When they took him for his initial checkup he was positive, he also had hookworm. They had him long enough to treat him for the hook worm. What we didn’t know is the poor guy had gotten into rat poisoning at some point before we got him back. We learned from the vet that rat poisoning can take 2 to 4 weeks to show any symptoms in a dog. We had only had Rocky back in our lives for about 16 hours, when he started coughing up blood. We took him to the emergency vet immediately and they kept him overnight. This started the first round of treatment for the rat poison and heart worm.

Rocky the afternoon of his emergency vet visit.

It was 28 days of antibiotics, vitamins and a steroid to get him healthy enough to even think about the start of heart worm treatment. After the 28 days, Rocky would receive the first shot of heart worm treatment and another 2 weeks of antibiotics and steroids. During the heart worm treatment, Rocky was on a strict leash walking regimen. He couldn’t run or raise his heartrate because that would make the heart worms more active and could cause more issues. After the first treatment there is a 30 day waiting period before the second treatment.

The first shot was on May 10^th, exactly 30 days later we drop Rocky off for his second treatment. This time it was on my birthday. He was required to stay overnight for this treatment because 24 hours later they give a booster shot. We were going out of town for my birthday and had already planned to board him but this was good timing for a little extra TLC at the vet.

Little Reese and Rocky, she's about the size of his meat head.

When my friend, Ashley, and I picked up all the dogs from the vet on Monday morning, Rocky seemed to be doing pretty well. He seemed a little tired but otherwise nothing out of the ordinary. After this shot there was no extra antibiotics or steroids. It wasn’t until the next few days that we noticed Rocky seemed very sore. He was whimpering quite a bit when he was lying down and if you patted a certain spot on his hips he would yelp. This was very unusual for him because he is an 80lb dog that thinks he is a 12lb lapdog.

Rocky and I like our time in the recliner together. Cody gets jealous of my 82lb baby dog.

It wasn’t until Thursday after that treatment that we knew something was definitely wrong. Rocky and Missy get 2 treats in the morning before we leave for work. Cody gives them one right after they go out in the morning and then I give them one right before we leave for work. Rocky is a food driven animal, if you are letting him eat it he will eat it. Rocky didn’t even get up off the floor for the second treat. When the vet opened that morning, my husband called to see what we should do. They had us bring him in right away and kept him overnight. The vet said this second round of the treatment shot is pretty brutal on a dog’s body because they are really trying to absorb the adult heart worms now.

When I picked Rocky up from the vet the next day he seemed like his old self again, chipper and happy to get home. This came with another 2 weeks of antibiotics and steroids. After this second shot, there is a 4 month waiting period before testing the dog for heart worm again. The goal, on October 10^th, is that Rocky is heart worm negative and all we will have to continue is prevention. (With moving, I have not found a vet yet to get Rocky checked but we are still hoping for a clean bill of health.)

My husband and I learned that it is important to continue to give Rocky heart worm prevention during the treatment of the adult heart worms. The prevention helps kill adolescent heart worms and prevents new ones. The shots are for treatment of the adult heart worms, so the heart is able to absorb them.

I think the biggest thing we have learned so far, is that heart worm prevention maybe pricey every year to keep your dog healthy, but the prevention is a lot less expensive than the treatment.

These two have been cuddling quite a bit lately, I think Missy really likes of him (most of the time.)

Here are some extra pictures of the adorable meat head, although he knows exactly how to press my buttons to get what he wants, I could not imagine our lives without him. Even Missy likes him, most of the time.

At the beginning of his journey, you can tell the difference in the size of his body compared to that meat head.

Cody came back from a week away at work during the move, Rocky was determined that his dad was not going to leave him again.

One thing is for sure about this loveable meat head, he has a way of understanding emotions from people. It’s like he can sense what you are feeling and he won’t leave your side if he thinks you need him.

I was laying in bed with this the other night and it melted my heart a little. Such cute, snugly puppies.

The adventure continues…to a healthy pup….

Current Makeup Favorites

If you see me in makeup these days, this is most likely what you will see on my face! Quick and easy go to for these busy days.

Bare Minerals bareSkin Pure Brightening Serum Foundation - 07 Bare Natural –  An old favorite, looks great but isn’t heavy.

http://www.ulta.com/bareskin-pure-brightening-serum-foundation-broad-spectrum-spf-20?productId=xlsImpprod10111980#

Bare Minerals bareSkin Complete Coverage Serum Concealer -  Light – pairs great with bareSkin foundation. It can crease so it needs to be set. I use it for under eyes and highlighting on my face.

http://www.ulta.com/bareskin-complete-coverage-serum-concealer?productId=xlsImpprod12991091#

Bare Minerals Invisible Light Translucent Duo – Great matte translucent setting powder. Doesn’t feel heavy at all. Not in love with the highlighter but it’s good for inner corner of the eye and brow highlight.

http://www.ulta.com/invisible-light-translucent-powder-duo?productId=xlsImpprod13971109

Laura Geller Minis that Move travel Size Blush and Bronzer – Baked Bronze-n-Brighten in Medium, Baked Blush-n-Brighten in Tropic Hues - Perfect travel and testing size. Bronzer gives skin natural glow, buildable for darker skin tones. Blush is that perfect for everyone glowy coral.

http://www.ulta.com/minis-that-move-travel-size-blush-bronzer?productId=xlsImpprod14171077

Laura Geller Baked Gelato Swirl Illuminator – Peach Glow – Great for fair skin tones, warm peachy glow. I use it for highlighter and for eye shadow. It makes me feel bright and awake. It’s pretty soft though, mine became detached from the pot, it hasn’t broken yet and I’m hoping it won’t.

http://www.ulta.com/minis-that-move-travel-size-blush-bronzer?productId=xlsImpprod14171077

Inglot Pallet – 08 Champagne Gold, 357 Matte Brown, and 353 Matte Cream – I made this Inglot Freedom System Pallet at the store in Las Vegas, last January. I love it! I customized it myself, picked out every color. I knew these would be colors I reach for every single day. The have great lasting power and are a great price. I just wish Inglot was more accessible, I really like to see colors in person when buying makeup.

https://www.inglotusa.com/eye-shadow

Rimmel ScandalEyes Waterproof Kohl Eyeliner in Nude – My go-to eyeliner for my water line. Makes eyes look bigger, brighter and more awake. Nude liner is less harsh than white in the waterline.

http://www.ulta.com/scandaleyes-waterproof-kohl-eyeliner?productId=xlsImpprod4950053#

NYX Micro Brow Pencil in Blonde – I was using a similar high end brow pencil for a while and then I heard that these were likely made in the same place, with less mark up. I decided to give it a try. I love it! It work just as well at the high end and saves me a few dollars along the way. I have used this brow pencil through my hair color changes. I have used the taupe, auburn and ash brown as well.

http://www.ulta.com/micro-brow-pencil?productId=xlsImpprod12011193#

L’Oréal Brow Stylist Plumper Brow Gel Mascara in Light to Medium – Love this stuff! I started using it when my hair was dark to give my brows a little boost. I use the lighter shade now to lighten my brows a little for my blonde hair. I often use this just by itself when I can’t be bothered using the pencil.

http://www.ulta.com/brow-stylist-plumper-brow-gel-mascara?productId=xlsImpprod11861077&_requestid=2750646#

Benefit Roller Lash Super Curling & Lifting Mascara – I bounce back and forth between mascaras a lot, high end or drug store. I like trying new mascaras, to see if they make my lashes look bigger and better. I keep coming back to this one. I have repurchased it 4 times. That never happens with mascara for me! And it’s actually because I ran out of it. I usually have to throw them away because they are old. Definitely something I recommend to everyone!

http://www.ulta.com/roller-lash-super-curling-lifting-mascara?productId=xlsImpprod11951085

Jordana Easyliner for Lips in Tawny – I love these lip liners! I think I have them in 4 different colors. They are only $2.49. Tawny matches my natural lip color best; I wear it with all different shades. It’s the one I always keep in my purse no matter what lip color I am wearing. They can be hard to find in store though; I always get Jordana Cosmetics at Walgreens. While I was taking pictures for this blog post, I went to wind up the liner and I am at the very end of it. I don't think I have ever finished a lip liner, thats a good sign from a makeup hobbyist like myself.

https://www.jordanacosmetics.com/Easyliner-For-Lips.html

Bare Minerals Gen Nude Matte Liquid Lip Color – Boss (Dirty Pink Beige) – I am not going to lie, part of me just wanted to buy this for the color description but I absolutely love it. It feels great on the lips, doesn’t dry them out. It smells like chocolate! I pretty much make everyone try it!

http://www.ulta.com/gen-nude-matte-liquid-lipcolor?productId=xlsImpprod14301045#

Favorite Lashes – Salon Perfect 615 – If I am wearing lashes, you can almost bet these are the ones I am wearing. I make my friends watch for them at their local Walmart because they are hard to come by. They look a little crazy in the pack but when they are on its what I like to call a “natural glam effect”. Just enough punch but totally over the top.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Salon-Perfect-Perfectly-Natural-Multi-Pack-Eyelashes-615-Black-4-pr/46575467?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&adid=22222222227039926831&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=90994643312&wl4=pla-184880116352&wl5=9012192&wl6=&wl7=9012169&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=46575467&wl13=&veh=sem

September was a crazy month, we travelled all over the country, at least it seemed that way. We are getting in a more normal routine these days with a new house, new city and new project. 

Since I wrote this post I have been trying and testing many new things, check back at the beginning of November for more beauty favorites!!!

The adventure continues….

Mr. Rocky, The Newest Addition to the family

Many of you have followed Mr. Rocky’s journey along with us, but some of you may just be meeting him for the first time. So I thought I would share how this lovable, sometimes obnoxious, pup came into our lives and what we have dealt with since he joined the family.

He's an emoji!

One early morning before work, Cody let our dog, Missy, outside to do her thing. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until Missy came back inside with a friend, enter Rocky. I am getting dressed for work when I hear from the kitchen, “Shanna, I found another dog!” My response, “You aren’t serious? Are you?” Sure enough here is this blond haired dog that runs right up to me.

Now if anyone knows anything about Mississippi, it rains and when it rains, it rains a lot. The day before Rocky showed up it had poured all day, but Rocky showed up at our house clean and smelling fresh. We knew Rocky had to be someone’s pet. We went to work with Rocky hanging out at the house. I left work during the day to see if Rocky was microchipped or if maybe I could find his owner. Rocky isn’t microchipped, but I saw the neighbor outside when I had him in the car. I asked if they recognized him and they told me that it was the other neighbors' dog. So I went back to work. When I got home that night the neighbor was home and I took him back.

The day Rocky showed up at only 66lbs maybe even less.

Skip forward a few days and the neighbor is knocking on our door asking if we wanted to keep the dog or else they were going to return him to the pound. And everyone knows Cody and I have a special place in our hearts for rescue dogs and we couldn’t stand to know we didn’t save this sweet dog. We were hoping to find Rocky a new home. And we thought we had. Someone took him for a few months but they were unable to give him the love and attention he truly deserves. So he came back to us to stay.

After Rocky had been back in our lives for about 16 hours, we had our first ever trip to the emergency vet. This would open a whole new can of health issues and problems he has. We have learned a lot from Rocky about preventable health issues for dogs. And we are working towards getting this lovable meathead healthy. He is definitely already happy!

Also, Missy and Rocky get along great! They are a couple of weirdos together but we are happy that she likes him so much.

Rocky is up to 82lbs now, right where he should be.

Check back for a glimpse into Rocky's health journey! We are a few months in but so far we are working towards the best health for Missy and Rocky.

The adventure continues….now with 2 fur kids….