There we fixed it!

after destroying the 2nd lamp shade, mom is forced to buy new ones. until she finds what she wants, here's her home made jobby. you have to admit, the lamp looks better already. a simply thank you to Baxter will do!

I love lamp

This

came from this

which used to look like this

until it met this

Update:  Baxter has since destroyed the remaining lamp shade. obviously he feels that the shade is not properly sized for the lamp. Mom is now in search of new shades....with B's approval.

Old Dog Best Dog

a wonderful article forwarded to us by Todd.

http://theweek.com/article/index/89914/the-last-word-why-old-dogs-are-the-best-dogs

Dody

pronounced DohDee cuz it looks like a Dodo bird.  do  not ask us to explain it but B is completely in LOVE with this thing. he takes it everywhere he goes. tonight that included the bathroom. and he cries over this thing. it must be a guy thing cuz Butterz was just as crazy about it.

Morning Watch

Bday girl
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wishing sis a Happy Bday

this is Baxter and just wanted to take a second to wish Miss Cookie a Happy Bday.  she is 9 years young today. mom is not home to help me with pics so i'll just post this one for now.

new desktop background

for mom's pc

Testing a post from android

Testing a post from android

BentleyBarneyBaxter

well, we've been waiting a couple weeks now for the official word from the rescue program, but it must have gotten lost in the mail. MNBR confirmed that all our paperwork was good on their end, it was just a matter of the check clearing. mom was so afraid of jinxing anything that she refused to post. but paw checked online and it cleared a few weeks ago. but we just didn't think we could make it official without this:

everyone meet the new trouble at Playa del Nacho: Baxter!

yesterday marked 6 weeks that we've had him. mom found him through a great rescue group in Minnesota. and get this...he came from Chillicothe, MO. how crazy is that? i think Butterz is looking out for us all. Baxter is so much like him but different too in his own way.

that reminds me, better tell you about the name change. sometimes we call him BentleyBarneyBaxter. he came to MNBR officially as Bentley, but they already had a Bentley in their group so they called him Barney. mom liked either. but then our good friend Barry accidentally called him Baxter, and wouldn't you know it, that just happens to be the dog's name in one of paw's favorite movies, Anchorman. so Baxter it has become. mom just calls him B for short. i'm sure she'll come up with another nickname in time. remember Butterz was not Butterz at first!

so this is his first photo when ma and paw drove to Madison, WI on July 17 to meet one of the many transporters that helped get him to us!

and you can tell he's trying really hard to adjust here but somehow making do.

oh, and notice that little circle on his back leg? he brought a friend with him. Mr Ring as in Ring Worm. and B is a giver, cuz now i have it. you can see how much i'm enjoying the bathing treatments. thanks B, yer the best!

but enough about me. it's not all sad stories and this will pass. there have been swimming and kayaking lessons.

and i think he's finally learning to relax. what do you think?

big news

we've got something big coming soon. promise. and Butterz would love it. heck we think he had something to do with it!

Bye Boo

Posted by Mom:

well, i have put this off as long as i could. every week i kept thinking i'd get up the courage to post something and each time i sat down to type, i'd back out. well, if i wait until i can type without crying then nothing will ever get done, and not posting it doesn't bring him back, so here goes.

when i last posted, we were taking Butterz home to say goodbye. on May 24th we did just that. but what happened in between? the short of it, we found out he had a brain tumor and it was cancer - glioblastoma to be precise. given the option to put him through radiation and send him home with "meds for comfort", we chose to let him go with dignity. i cannot possibly express how hard that decision was to make or how hard it has been ever since. barely a day has gone by that nacho and i have have not mourned in some form or fashion. i've cried more in the past 2 months than i thought possible. it's been a long time since i had to put a dog to sleep but that feeling of slipping away never ceases to amaze me. i know we made the right decision but it has not made the last several weeks any easier.

a little history about Butterz. of course his given name was Matrix. our dear friend Korby hooked us up with him. we'd heard about him since we'd gotten Cookie. Matrix was her brother. a kid in town had gotten a boxer from the same litter and it turned out to be Butterz. we'd heard all the stories about how big he was. anyone who'd seen both he and Cookie said "you gotta see this dog!" as misfortune or luck would have it, his owner was not able to keep him. so at just under 4 we (ME) offered to foster him to help the owner out. nacho was against this at first. when i went for my first meet and greet, i was taken back by his size and demeanor. this dog clearly had a lot to say! that never changed! but within a couple of weeks we both knew (1) we'd made the right decision and (2) he'd be with us permanently. it was quite the complement 6 months later when his owner said "you guys keep him. i could never give him what you give him." do not get me wrong, this guy was not a bad person, just bad timing.

we never looked back. Butterz challenged everything i knew about patience. but the last 2 years, he taught us more about working with what you've got! if he were a person, you'd say "he had such a zest for life!". on a scale of 1-10, Butterz was a 17. and it was with that perspective that we knew the right thing to do was to let him go when he still seemed like himself. i'd rather say he was a 13 when he left than a 2.

since we've said goodbye, i realized he taught me one HUGE thing: how much of my life he took up. his was the BIG head you saw in the window coming down the drive. he was the one sitting at the top of the steps staring at the driveway. he was the one that cleaned out the shower when you were done. he was the one that cuddled with me every night. he was the one that snored. he was the one that would jump head-even with you when he got excited about going somehwere. he was the one that made the most noise when you came home. he was the one that slobbered on everything. i know these things now because over the last few weeks i've missed all of them and more. Butterz was my stuffed animal come to life.

so it's been a terribly difficult 2 months. we all three have felt the loss. even more surprising though are the friends who've felt it with us. i cannot begin to describe the outpouring of support we got through all of this.

• our vet and their staff were amazing! they supported us by continuing to test everything they possibly could and reminding us we were not crazy for insisting they do so.
• the staff at U of I Veterinary Hospital. i cannot say enough about Dr Kubier. she called me a couple days after we had to let him go just to say she was thinking about me. in the midst of our ordeal she said "i believe there are pet soul mates and i believe Matrix is yours." yes he was. and she has no idea how much those words meant to me!
• the staff at Purdue University Veterinary Teaching Hospital. Dr's Moore and the student vet that helped him (whose name i cannot recall) were awesome. they understood what a tough decision it was for us to make and completely supported us! as Dr Moore said "that's the most selfless decision you can make." thanks Dr Moore!
• our good friends Sarvers. as Donna said later, they just kept bothering us so we'd get ourselves and Cookie out of the house. when we didn't or wouldn't talk to anyone, they'd come down and make us talk to them. Barry, your offer about Butterz ashes is one of the most moving things anyone has ever said to me. thank you!
• and countless friends and family that really seemed to feel this with us. people contacted us and said things that i never would have imagined. i mean to some people, "it's just a dog" but it was clear to those around us, he was not! he was a lot of things, but he was never just a dog! thank you all!

i consider my time with Butterz a true gift. i know this is a hard road to travel. and i know it is not supposed to be easy. i have a hard time looking forward because i know he's not in front of me. but every time i look back, there he is, in the middle of the road, encouraging me to keep walking, knowing with every step i take, his image gets more and more fuzzy, smaller and smaller. he should be here. and if he could, he'd come running up that road to me, ears and slobber flailing.

love you, miss you Boo!

the short of it

We are taking him home to say goodbye

not looking good

Try 2 keep this short. He has brain pressure & they r afraid it will hemorage. No vision n lft eye. Waiting for mri as soon as they can get him n. Even that could cause hemorage. Mom and paw r a mess. Paw made it here a little while ago. We r at Purdue Univ. Met some nice people who really care. Prayers pls

Butterz update

mom is back at U of I vet (it's 10p now) waiting to see if they are taking brother to neurologist in aurora or in purdue, in. he has "an absent menace in the left eye and papilledema of the left eye. These findings are suggestive of a right cortex lesion." so they are concerned about the right side of his brain. does he have swelling? is there a cancer issue? these are the things we need to see neuro for. we do know he has lost vision in his left eye cuz of what they said above.
big thanks to Dr Kubier. she has been so awesome and thinks brother is "so sweet and special." look at him picking up chicks!

slumber party

well, brother is attending his first slumber party and mom forgot to take PJ's for him. he's spending the night at U of I Vet clinic. it was a long day for both brother and mom. they are gonna run a bunch more test and we hope to have him back home tomorrow. mom said the vets were very nice and brother really liked the first vet (of course she can't remember her name) and the 2nd vet, Dr Kubier, was very nice.

mom did get the cytology report back from our local vet this morning and everything came back good. they didn't find anything. they are gonna run another one while at U of I just cuz it doesn't hurt.

a HUGE shout out to everyone that emailed, texted, or called mom today to make sure she was okay too. she really appreciates that! and keep up the good thoughts for butters cuz we miss him already!

mom is really concerned now

as much as we'd like to look on the bright side, mom is having a really hard time after last night and this morning. brother is the most "out of it" she's seen him this whole time. his eyes aren't droopy but he's just out of it. he threw up all his dinner last night so mom made him some white rice to settle his tummy. he slept on the floor all night. he's never done that in the 6 years we've had him. so mom didn't sleep at all. mom had to actually carry him down the stairs to go to the bathroom this morning cuz he just stood there. wouldn't move. and you know mom has a bad back! and he's drooling a lot again. this is simply killing her.

we called the vet yesterday to see what was up with the blood work but they reminded mom that cytology tests can take a week or more to come back. she had to explain to me that cytology was testing for cancer. please pray for brother and mom!

ButterzMeter

mom asked me to add a Butterz Meter for daily monitoring since so many people have asked and have been nice enough to check in on him each day.

the last 2 days have been pretty good for him. mom says he was more of a 4-5. he trotted out to the yard for "business" and did the "burn out" after. he even played a little keep away with mom on Sunday. this morning he was a little slow, but we're not gonna worry too much, just give him plenty of rest and happy thoughts!

oh, and at my Tweet said, we talked to Miss Donna this morning (along with Rupert & Kelso) and she's gonna check into a masseuse for brother. get him some PT. lucky dog!

butterz - vet visit #5

first off, let me apologize for taking so long to post and update about brother. ma and paw were super busy this weekend and ma wanted me to hold off posting anything so she could stop being such a nervous wreck. the short of it, brother is fine but we still have no answers.

so they're getting to know brother better than ever at the vet. he's now visited their 2nd location. if he makes it to their 3rd office i think he gets a free wash! mom took him in Friday for his ultrasound. they didn't find anything which of course is good news. some things the vet said:

• no tumors, cysts, etc
• liver looks fine - a little small for his size but they are not worried
• kidneys look good - although 1 was hard to see cuz he'd eaten that morning (mom didn't know she wasn't s'pose to feed him)
• blood work is being sent off for testing and they'll have that back Mon or Tues (mom can't remember what all they're testing for - she's old)
• range of motion is good - the vet did notice the "wincing" but they could find nothing causing it and he doesn't seem to be experiencing any pain
• everything else looked good. they ran a bunch of test that they told ma about but she couldn't remember all of those either - she's not a medical-type person

BUT, ma was relived to know from all medical standpoints he seems to be fine and there doesn't seem to be any "terminal" issue going on. so she said she would try and relax and just let him be his slow self for now. maybe he just needs a vaca. she is giving us a multi-vitamin at night now and we still get our cosamine each morning.

paw said brother looked like he was better yesterday but ma wouldn't comment. she doesn't want to jinx it. but today, she admitted he seemed better. still more sleepy than normal in the morning BUUUUUT, he actually played a small game of chase with ma this afternoon and she even got him to chase a rock (brother LOVES chasing rocks). he was slow but he got excited about it; something he hasn't done this whole time. and when Miss Katie said "rock" earlier, he actually perked his ears up! so keep those positive thoughts coming. they are helping!!!!

to top things off, and ma thinks maybe it's all part of the turn around, when brother was at the vet getting poked and prodded Friday, ma ran into Stubby (brother's 1st dad). and Stubby said "i have some pictures for you out the truck". he'd been carrying them around for a while. he didn't even know brother was feeling down. and it turns out ma had been wanting a puppy picture all this time. see ma adopted brother when we were 3 so she doesn't have those pics. we'll here's brother as a pup. you can see he had a lot of ears to grow into.

thanks again everyone for the positive thoughts, and ma will keep you posted when she hears something Mon or Tues. our next step, if we decide to take it and/or brother needs it, is to go down to U of I and visit with a specialist. let's all pray we don't have to go that far and whatever this is, will pass! ma will settle for that at this point!

Butterz - day 13

we got the thyroid test back from the vet yesterday and it came back neg/good/clean whatever you want to say. they don't think brother's test needs any additional picking/poking at so i guess they are not gonna send it on to Michigan State. i think mom is gonna ask about that today when she talks to them. she is trying to get him in for an ultrasound tomorrow morning. they can do it Tues here in Chilli, but if she can get him in tomorrow, she can take him to the Peoria office.

he was still "tired" last night but eating and bathroom all seem normal. still drinking more than normal - mom thinks. mom got a little worried at one point cuz he went in and laid on the bathroom floor and wouldn't come out. mom thinks it was cuz of the heated floor. but she was so concerned that she went in 3 times to take his pulse to make sure it was normal. he did finally come out and watched tv with me an mom (actually he watched the inside of his eyelids). but mom didn't have a problem getting him moving to go for bathroom breaks later in the night.

at bed time he decided for the first time ever to sleep on the floor at the foot of the bed. mom was pretty busted up about this but let him do it and didn't try to force him up into the bed. i liked having all that extra room but i missed him. he must have missed us too cuz he did get up and get in the bed some time during the night - we found out he left paw asleep on the floor though (see paw is concerned).

so we're still waiting it out and hoping it gets better and thanking everyone for checking in on us. mom isn't really talking about it much anymore cuz she so worried. so if she seems like she's avoiding it, she is kinda. don't be offended.

Update: Butterz has a 110p appointment tomorrow for his ultrasound

Vet Visit #4

Today's Guest Speaker: Ma

so this makes the 4th visit to the vet in just over a week. so far, nothing has changed. Butterz is still lethargic - most notable in the evening. but he is still eating & pooping normally. no vomiting. he does seem to be drinking more than normal.

when the vet called yesterday to check on him i told them all that. also told them about the particularly bad Reverse Sneezing episode Sat/Sun and really pushed the whole allergy angle. they said i could give him Benedryl twice a day and see if it helps but they still don't think it's allergies mostly because he's not showing other signs like redness in the ears, scratching, sneezing, coughing, etc. i'm trying not to panic and question too much, cuz (1) they do this for a living and know what they are doing and (2) they know my dog and care what happens to him. so i'm holding off on Benedryl for now. he finished his Rimadyl Sun night so we're off that and we decided to stop the muscle relaxer at the same time - we just don't think that was helping anything. so, for now, he's just on antibiotics.

last night was the best he's acted in over a week. actually trotted out to the yard and back for "business". but, as usual, later in the evening, same lethargy and drooping eyes. i'm just trying not to get to worked up about that.

so i took him in to the vet today and they drew blood. they did reiterate that from the blood draw Monday of last week that his white blood cell count was good, no heart worm, no anemia. basically everything looked good. they suspect it will be the same today but they will compare last Monday to today to see if there are any changes in any of the numbers. they also did a draw for thyroid. that test should be back tomorrow and they suspect it will come back normal at which time they will send it to Michigan State for more intense testing just in case. i did ask them to test for Lyme disease as well - i'm grasping - and they are keeping diabetes in mind but i don't think we're testing for that just yet. we're then planning on running an ultrasound either Friday or Tues of next week just to look deeper in case there is something we're missing.

and as usual, they are encouraging me to focus on the fact that he is eating normally and no vomiting or diarrhea. it was encouraging as well, that they felt like we are doing all the things we can in terms of paying attention to any behavior stuff and doing our homework, without overdoing it and freaking out! that's not been easy.

so i'll keep posting and am open (to a degree cuz i can't get all freaked out) to ideas anyone has.

Butterz update

so talked to the vet a little while ago and we're changing the focus. first, mom took Butterz off Rimadyl & muscle relaxer as of last night. we don't think it's helping and it's probably making him more lethargic. he had terrible Reverse Sneezing fits yesterday so mom did a little more searching and it can be caused "by irritants and even some dog allergies". mom is really hoping this whole thing turns out to be allergies. so we're off to get brother some Benedryl today and start him on that. we are going to leave him on the antibiotic in case there is something viral lurking. but, most importantly, mom is gonna take brother in first thing tomorrow for thyroid check. doc said it's easy to do and easy to treat if there is an issue. so keep the positive thoughts coming and we'll let you know what we find out on Wed!

update: big thanks to Miss Laura. she tipped us off to get children's benedryl.

Putting in the dock

helping paw get the dock put in yesterday!

mystery illness

well things are not necessarily better with brother. mom is no pinning hopes on his problem being allergies. the vet called yesterday and to check in on us and brother had a little more pep but not much. mom is gonna continue the meds until they run out which will probably be Wed or no later than the end of the week. but we don't think they are doing any good. the vet will call her again tomorrow for an update so she'll tell them nothings changed then and they may say just take him off.

for anyone who hasn't seen the post on BoxerForums, brother is just very lethargic. as Ms T noticed, you can see it in his eyes. they just don't look "normal". mom took a pic just now and this is what they look like when he's at his worst and you wake him up.

once you get him up and moving they look more normal, not as much pink but something still doesn't look right. brother is like me and normally has a ton of energy and he's quite the talker. but not much of that is happening this week. he's eating normally and no vomiting. bathroom breaks are normal. ma and paw think he's drinking more water than normal but he's a big drinker so it's hard to tell. the vet did take blood last Monday and they didn't find anything. so all we can do is wait it out at this point and hope whatever this is passes. happy thoughts for us please cuz mom needs it almost as much as brother!

welcome to the forum

mom wanted to give a big shout out to BoxerForums.org to thank everyone for the comments and suggestions while brother has been sick this week. we're still not sure exactly what is going on, but her post to this site was met with lots of well wishes and helpful suggestions. we plan to hang out there as much as possible!

HappyFeet

Spring Dreaming

getting ready for swimsuit season!

Nesting

this is how brother makes the bed for ma and paw!

Trax

Eye of the Tiger

Build a better mouse trap

not when you have a boxer! no more mice! problem solved!

Cookie Say Relax

focus