Noel & Alfie Jane

Featured by Alfredsson Jane, posted in Uncategorized

Hi, my name is Noel. I manage The Dog Lodge LLC, a dog boarding, daycare, grooming, and training facility. My husband and I live together in our second apartment now with two crazy, smart, ridiculous dogs. (They’re like my children if you can’t tell.) Zuccarello was a shelter rescue he’s the big brother. Alfredsson joined our little family when Zuc decided he hates me and I wanted the puppy to begin with. She’s the little sister, like all little sisters Alfie is rambunctious, annoying and cute all at the same time. Life is an adventure and she’s going to stick her nose in all of it!

 

Worry. Vacation. Relief.

by Alfredsson Jane, posted in Alfie Stories

Guys! Mom and Dad left us! Can you even believe your ears? It’s been like 3 days. Zuc and I love our Uncle Luke and his girlfriend Emily but they are not our Mom and Dad. On Sunday when Mom got home she, Dad, grandmom and grandpup packed some bags. Naturally Zuc and I got all hyped up excited because we get to go everywhere but then they said those dreaded words: “you’re staying”. It has never been a good day when we hear that. I started to panic. When I panic I have accidents. Brown puddle accidents. Can’t even help it..

Thank goodness for Emily though. She cleaned it all up so Uncle Luke didn’t puke. Then they stayed with us all night. I even got to snuggle up between them like I do with Mom and Dad. Zuc slept in Mom and Dad’s bed to keep a look out in the chance that they got home during the night.

We went to the park the other day and didn’t even play. It was our personal mission to find a way out for search and rescue Mom and Dad. We didn’t get too far.

And then, they came back! Mom was in high spirits and didn’t seem like she hurt too much. Dad spent the next day with us while Mom was at work. As soon as she got home we ALL got in the car and went for a ride to other grandmom and grandpup’s house!

Work. Exhaustion. Love.

by Alfredsson Jane, posted in Alfie Stories

In my last post I mentioned Mom is working 12 hour nights. Well she works 2 nights in a row and then gets 2 nights off except for sometimes she has to work 3 and then she’s off 3. Sounds great, right? Wrong. All she ever does now is sleep. She comes home at 6am, sleeps. Wakes up around 3pm (when dad gets home) then goes to work at 6pm unless she has the night off. If she has the night off that means she goes back to sleep at 9pm with dad. Zuc told me she wakes up around 2am and goes into the living room until we all wake up!

I sleep too soundly to know when mom wakes up but Zuc knows all so I trust him.

On her weekends Mom tries to stay awake and play with us but she almost always has to take a nap around 11am until who knows when.

She tells Dad all the time how tired she is and apologizes. We can all tell how exhausted she is so we let her sleep as much as we can. She says her medications for narcolepsy don’t really help and is scared about if she can keep doing this job even though she loves it.

Sleep. Bark. Hike.

by Alfredsson Jane, posted in Alfie Stories

I know I haven’t been on in a while but Mom started a new job.. again. This time she’s working 12 hour night shifts. Seriously. The woman is insane. But now either her or dad is home ALL THE TIME! I loooove it. Except when they should be home but go out together without us. Like why, why wouldn’t you bring us every single place you go ever?! I live for walks and car rides!

Speaking of walks and car rides, we got to go on one the other day! We went to this place called the Erie Canal and walked along this awesome long water. So many fish and birds and sticks! I tried to jump in a few times but Mom was seriously against it. I wanted to keep coming back so I listened like a good girl.

And speaking of being a good girl: Mom sleeps during the day now. Like allll day. Well I, being the good girl I am, cuddle right up next to her in bed and sleep my days away. Sometimes I get bored so I’ll go out in the living room and watch the field but I’m always quiet. Zuc on the other hand enjoys barking at stuff and pissing mom off. She gets upset so I bark and then nobody is happy! That’s when we stop and sleep again. It’s a weird life but we’re adjusting!

Summer, Sun, & Sleep

by Alfredsson Jane, posted in Alfie Stories, Dogter Zuc

I love the summertime. I get to play outside and swim! When I get tired out from my shenanigans I flop down on the grass or couch and nap my face off until I’m primed to go again. Usually when that happens, Mom’s ready for one too, so we cuddle up together. Speaking of Mom, she’s doing pretty great right now. A lot more tired than usual but we’ve been going for walks and having a lot of fun. Zuc even seems to be super hyper and loving life! He loves the summer even more than me. His favorite pastime is definitely sunbathing, weird, I know.

Mom is switching jobs yet again. We’re all going to miss The Lodge but things were getting out of hand. Now she works at the same place as Dad! For now they get to go to work together. It’s easier for us since they come home at the same time. Mom says not to get used to it though because pretty soon she’s going to switch to nights.

Uh, Mom, hello? You’re narcoleptic!

Dogter Zuc had to clear this one up for me… Narcolepsy doesn’t just mean Mom falls asleep randomly during the day. It actually means that Mom has no sleep cycle! Can you believe that! She’s sorta like me and can sleep all day or all night or even both sometimes. I do get cranky if I don’t sleep at night though. Anyway, in Mom’s case, the neurotransmitter thingies in her brain that tell her body when to release melatonin and other chemicals like it are being destroyed, most likely by her own body. She falls asleep all the time because her body is crazy confused. So, if she just switches her medications and routines, working the night shift should be a breeze!

Then we just have to watch out for Fibromyalgia. We’re not sure how this is going to fit into it all but we’ll see I guess.

The Demise of Nursing School

by Alfredsson Jane, posted in Alfie Stories

I hated nursing school. Why did mom have to go there and spend forever hours away from me just to come home and ignore me for this stupid computer and books? It was the worst. I guess during Fall semester mom finally saw that too. She was working at both The Dog Lodge and going to school. She looked like crap. I could smell the stress on her. This is mostly why I hated nursing school I think. Mom and dad couldn’t tell but Zuc and I could. She was killing herself. Her stress smells were out of this world. She wasn’t sleeping well because of it. I could sense and smell the pain she was in too. It was worse than normal but she would act like it was nothing.

I made sure to sleep on her every chance I got. It helped to reduce her restlessness when she slept but it also decreased her stress smells.

Then, mom ran out of medicines. She was so busy she didn’t have time to make her yearly appointment with her rheumatologist. He’s like 6 hours away so it’s almost impossible. The panic attacks started but this time they didn’t go away. Then,

Depression.

I wouldn’t leave her side. She would only get out of bed to take us out to go potty. She started to see a therapist thank goodness. I was so scared for her. We all were. The stress smells got worse, along with the bad smells. Grandmom came down to check on her and made her take a shower for the first time in TWO weeks. Grandmom stayed for a couple days and made her get out of bed. Dad was at his wits end. His stress smells were overwhelming. I knew he didn’t know what to do so Zuc and I tried our best to take care of mom for him. After that the therapist appointments were more frequent.

Zuc curling up with Mom.

All of a sudden, mom rearranged the entire apartment. Everything was taken out of the cupboards and all kinds of things were moved! There was so much stuff to get into! We both had fun. I made sure to get into things and look silly so mom would smile at me. I wasn’t sure I’d ever see her smile or show positive body language again! Her break from work was ending and she actually went in! I was so proud of her and so excited for all of the new dog smells that came back on her clothes.

She did not go back to school. She still hasn’t gone back to school. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t want to be a nurse anymore. I know she would still be a great one if it didn’t take so much from her. She’s so happy now. The Dog Lodge fills her up where nursing empties her. This is a better choice for everyone. I get all the smells and a new place to run around sometimes. Plus, she’s learning how to do dog training now and guess who gets to be the guinea pig! SO MUCH MOM AND ALFIE TIME!!!

Let’s Get You Up to Speed

by Alfredsson Jane, posted in Alfie Stories

While I was gone:

  • The Dog Lodge LLC happened
  • Mom changed her last name, and mine.
  • We ditched nursing school

It’s been an interesting few months!

The Dog Lodge

What an amazing place. I’ve only been there a few times but mom brings home all kinds of smells! When I go we mostly stay in the training arenas. I’m going to be an agility competitor!

Last Name Changes

We’re Peets’ now! Mom and Dad got married in October. It was the best time! I got to dress up and be the life of the party. Everyone loved us. I’ll give you more to dig into later.

Nursing School

I’ve decided to dedicate an entire post just to that. It involves a lot of fibromyalgia and mental health so there’s a lot to talk about.

 

I’m Back!

by Alfredsson Jane, posted in Alfie Stories

So I’ve been a mischievous puppy. Mom and dad have been crazy busy so of course I go about my puppy day doing puppy things. Those things include: counter surfing, chewing up the recycling, spreading anything and everything I can find from one end of the apartment to the other!

You may ask, “why are your mom and dad so busy?”. Well, mom is now the MANAGER of The Dog Lodge LLC and dad, well I’m not sure what he does but I know he spends a lot of time there. They’re both working hard to get Zuc and I a yard! I can’t wait! It better be a good one, like Artemis’ yard with lots of trees and squirrels.

Oh. My. Gosh. You don’t even know who Artemis is it’s been so long!

Artemis is my new best friend ever. She’s just like me except she’s a black schnauzer. Her mom is Ana. Mom and Ana both went to nursing school together and now they both work at The Dog Lodge together! (Nursing school was horrible and we just aren’t even going to talk about it. That’ll be a post all it’s own.)

Anyway, I’m back and it’ll be as interesting as ever!

 

Holy. Moly.

by Alfredsson Jane, posted in Alfie Stories

Okay, I haven’t been on in quite a while but mom has been suuuuper busy so I haven’t been allowed to use the computer. We’ve been back and forth to grandmom’s house and home and Aunt Stephenie’s so much! I love car rides but sometimes you just gotta be able to lay on the cool hardwood floor of home.

Mom got me a new headrest.
I’m suuuuper dog!
Sometimes the couch is as good as the floor.

Grandmom is doing great now! There were some complications and its been a long road to recovery but my mom is going to be a great nurse. She goes back to school in a couple weeks so it was good practice for her. I just wish that with her doing such a great job in nursing that she could nurse herself. She had been doing really well for a while but now that things have been crazy she’s been having a lot of migraines and fibro flares. Just this morning another one hit, but it was like a baby flare so she was still able to function all day. Which was a reeeeally good thing since she had a working interview at The Dog Lodge! She came home smelling of all kinds of good stuffs! So many fun pups I wish I could meet. Who knows, maybe someday I will! I haven’t seen mom so happy to leave us and still happy when she got home in a long time. It’ll be good for her. Zuc and I however, we aren’t happy about it one bit.

What’s a hospital?

by Alfredsson Jane, posted in Alfie Stories

Dad came up to his parents’ last night so mom drove us over for the night! She’s been feeling a lot better now that she’s not out of her medicines. She was reeeeeally cranky on our way over though. She just kept making comments about me jumping in the pool on our way out to the car and how I was wet so I couldn’t get on the seats. If dogs could roll their eyes I would. How was I supposed to know that I wasn’t supposed to go swimming before we got in the car?! When we got there she kept telling me to go to anyone but her because she didn’t want to look at me right now. She’s so grumpy sometimes.

This morning we woke up and everyone was happy and talking about the wedding but then mom got a text from her dad that her mom was in the hospital! Dad’s parents’ live in the middle of nowhere so there isn’t any cell reception. Grandpup had texted her last night around 3 in the morning saying the ambulance was coming to get grandmom. Mom freaked out and told Zuc and I that we were staying with dad. I was just sooo in the mood for a car ride! I chased her down the driveway a little bit until dad called me bad and I am not a bad puppy so I stopped right away and went back with him and Zuc.

Mom’s mom had surgery on her gall bladder two days ago. I guess it’s a pretty routine thing and normal people don’t have much to worry about. When they go in laparoscopically they use a camera and tools to take the organ out in a bag through the belly button. So. Freakin’. Cool. When they use the camera they have to fill up her abdomen with gas so they can push other things in there out of the way to see and maneuver their tools. The next few days generally a person passes lots of gas (through flatulence and burping) to get that stuff out of their system. Grandmom was not releasing gas from her body. She was also in immense amounts of pain. When they called the ambulance she could hardly breathe at all she was in so much pain. Guess what. Fibromyalgia sufferers experience the environment around and within them differently than most people. In grandmom’s case she was experiencing intense breakthrough pain even on narcotics because of the hypersensitive nerves in her body. On top of that the natural movement of the muscles in her intestines were still sleeping from the anesthesia. The Cymbalta causes constipation in some people so she may have been starting out with a handicap and then they added the anesthesia and narcotics on top of it and doomed her. The build up of gas plus lack of mobility/motility plus hypersensitive nerves created a cocktail that landed her in the ED.

I haven’t seen mom all day. I hope grandmom is okay.

Medications and their many changes

by Alfredsson Jane, posted in Alfie Stories

If you’ve read any of my other stories you know that my mom takes lots of medications. Well, we came to grandmom and grandpup’s house so she could de-stress after her major anxiety attacks. (She had one here too) We came for the weekend which has extended into the week. Mom did not anticipate this and ran out of her medicine! What will she do?! When she doesn’t take her medicines she gets craaaaazy. Or maybe it seems more like laaaaazy? A little bit of both I suppose. I’m definitely both! All the time! I love being a dog. If I want to run around like a crazy lady and jump into the doggie pool, I can. If I want to curl up on the dog couch and nap for a few hours, I can do that too. All day, any day. Maybe mom should become a dog?

Anyway, I call her craaaazy because she whines a lot. I don’t even do anything and she yells and says I hurt her. I mean sheesh, since when did kisses hurt?! She’s also crazy because one minute she could be super happy and the next she’s crying on me. She claims it’s because the Cymbalta is an SSNRI or something weird thing like that. It messes with her neurotransy-thingys in her head that make her decide how to feel about different things. Humans are just so darn complicated. For her it helps with the anxiety and depression but most of all with the control of her pain that attacks all over her body.

I call her laaaaazy because she doesn’t want to do anything with me. I guess it’s not that she doesn’t want to but more that she can’t. No medicines means no energy. The Provigil helps to keep her awake and keep her brain excited. We all slept for 2 whole hours yesterday! After sleeping all night long we passed out in bed in the afternoon and then went back to bed last night and slept all night again! I’m telling you, laaaaaaazzzzyyyyy.

Good thing I have extra friends here to keep me busy. And we’re still going to be here for at least 4 more days. I guess it’s time to call the doctor!