Friday, October 06, 2006

Happy 9th Birthday Kishi.

In a way it's bittersweet that Kishi is celebrating number 9. She has struggled with her health since she was 3 years old. Going from a vibrant, outgoing little dog to being miserable with chronic allergies. The past few years have been horrible battling the allergies and the yeast problems associated with the allergies. In the past 17 weeks, with diet and using the Nzyme treatment, I have seen an improvement in her overall itchiness. The redness is gone. The sores are gone. The smell is not nearly as bad as it was. She doesn't chew on herself anymore. And because of that she was able to lose the plastic cone that she wore around her neck. Her attitude that everyone knows as "kishi-tude" is back in full force. The skin on her stomach is back to a pretty pink color instead of the - disqusting to touch and even worse to smell - bright red that it used to be.

I'd like to say she's all better. But I can't. The years have taken a toll on my beautiful little girl. She doesn't look anything like she did before all the problems. Her skin is black in places and the hair doesn't seem to be regrowing in those areas very fast. I suspect that she has some blindness and possibly cataracts. And her hips are very weak and unstable. But I'll take what I can get - whether it's a month of seeing her feel better, six months, or another 5 years. I'm just glad that my special girl has a little bit of relief when she can get it.

So, as I promised, here are updated photos of my 9 year old. It seems like almost a life ago that she was a puppy jumping around at my feet.

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Happy Birthday my Kishi.

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