Tag: love

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.

Panic Attack

by Alfredsson Jane, posted in Alfie Stories

Do you know what a panic attack is? I’ve never had one personally but Mom and Zuc do. Have you ever been the one on the outside of a panic attack? They’re terrifying- for everyone involved. Mom says  she used to have them all the time. In 7th grade, she used to lock herself in the car in the school parking lot until she had to throw up. Then she’d crack the door enough to not get upchuck inside and her mom or guidance counselor would have to pull the door from her before she could close it again. This happened every single day for almost the entire school year.  It was bad. Now she doesn’t have them as often because she learned ways to prevent and control it. It doesn’t always work. She had one the other day. I didn’t know what to do it was so bad! Normally Zuc and I can make it better but this one was consuming her. Then she started talking about putting an end to her misery. 

How about depression? Do you know what it is? Do you know how it feels? Have you ever been the one looking in at a person who feels like a shell? It is not a good feeling. Mom’s been seeming to do better lately. I can see her trying. She’s also been sleeping a ton more than usual. I guess she’s been through this before too but she doesn’t talk about the depression like she talks about anxiety and panic attacks. Depression scares me. Mom was saying really bad things until Brooke called and made her calm down. I still keep watching her and hoping she doesn’t say things like or feel like that inside anymore. Zuc won’t leave her heels. He had a really bad life before he went to the shelter and Mom and Dad saved him. I think he understands what Mom is going through more than I do. If Zuc is worried, I’m worried. 

This weekend we went back to Grandmom and Grandpup’s. They don’t know about what happened but I think Mom needed a break. 

FIREWORKS ON MY HEAD!

by Alfredsson Jane, posted in Alfie Stories

Indepence Day is an important day, I know this. My mom and dad make a big deal out of it. There are people everywhere and the smells of delicious food. Mom loves to decorate and set up the patio. We play games and drink and its all fun.

But then there are the loud bangs that come from nowhere and the crazy lights in the sky that show up after the noise or even with the noise sometimes! CRACK and then these shiny weird colors show up CRACK, SIZZLE, BOOM and there’s more! Then they’re raining down toward us and what seems like at the last second they fizzle away into nothing! INTO NOTHING! How do I know they won’t show up next to me and I’ll go boom! How can I make sure the next one won’t show up on mom’s head and then she’s gone forever. And where in the world is that BOOM noise even coming from? And why? And why does it have to be so loud!?

These past few days have been horrifying for me. I’m losing fur all over the place and my body won’t stop shaking sometimes. The only place I feel safe is in the bathroom because there are no windows! Mom wraps me in blankets and sits with me so I feel a little bit better but it’s still terrifying. I get these treats that taste kinda strange a few hours before it gets dark. Mom says they have chamomile and melatonin in them, they taste like fake beef. After a while I start to get kind of tired. If I fall asleep before the fireworks and other noisy things start I can sleep right through them. I like when that happens. If I don’t fall asleep before they start, it’s worse! I fight sleeping and stay awake but I’m even more scared and tired out. Zuc looks at me like I’m crazy, sometimes I wonder if his senses work very well. He’s a good sniffer but when it comes to sight and sound I’m just not sure about him.

IMG_1848

On July 4th, Mom went to bed early with me. She gave me some of those treats and then we snuggled up in bed. I snuggled into my bed next to her. She pet me until I fell asleep. When the fireworks started the treats didn’t work all the way because they were so loud. I would wake up scared and then fall back asleep only to have nightmares and wake up again to more loud noises. Mom laid in bed while everyone else watched them. She held my paw and talked to me in her sweet voice to help me stay calm. I love my mom.

I’m curious, what are some ways others cope with fireworks? Mom has tried all kinds of things but none of them seem to completely work. I also do this with thunderstorms so any ideas could help us a ton!