I’m solid, back-to-basics, and down-to-earth, what some might call the “meat and potatoes” type. I like that description, because I really like meat and potatoes. Come to think of it, I’m really fond of all kinds of food.
As far back as I can remember, I’ve loved to run. I’ve chased after runners in Reston, and it always amazes me how slow some of them are, quitting early, hunching over, grabbing their knees and gasping for air. Guys, just a heads up: when a small dog is outrunning you, it’s time to pick up the pace.
When you’re as fast and as hungry as I am, you have to be able to jump onto, over, and off of just about anything to get what you want. And jumping means that you have to be totally comfortable flying through the air, because showing fear isn’t cool. This isn’t something I learned with age. The only way I can explain it is that’s always been there, inside of me. My style fits well with my namesake, the pioneering German glider king.
I know, I know. A few of you are going to say I’m too aggressive, too much of the tough guy. I admit I flash a lot of teeth (hey, us Norfolk Terriers are known for prominent teeth). If push comes to shove and I have to use them, I will. Yes, I’ve had my bitefest with Ernie. And I kept giving it to Ernie until Hank said to stop. But I’m not all tough guy. I can play pattycake like I’m playing with a baby.
My Basics
- Full Name: Prestwick’s Flying Machine (Otto)
- Born: 5/15/05
- Passed: 9/01/15
- Parents:
My Health
I’m not the reflective type, but I suppose if I were to reflect on it, I’ve faced fewer health issues than my buddy Hank. What I’m facing now is more life-threatening than what Hank has faced, but I tend to roll with the punches and not think of things in those terms. Hank tends to worry about things more than I do, so he might think of his health problems as bigger than mine. Many probably consider their own problems are the biggest problems around, but I don’t think like that because thinking about problems that way would be a distraction from thinking about food. The approach that’s gotten me this far: think about food, not problems. I haven’t found a good reason to change my approach.
Anyway, when I was about 1 1/2, I got Lyme disease. I started doxycycline on 12/16/06, and in just a day or so, I was back to my old self. I absolutely do not like probing for the ticks that cause this disease. I’d much prefer to chase the deer that carry ticks around in hopes they learn a lesson and stay away. My deer control efforts must have paid off because this was the only time I got Lyme disease.
In the fall of 2012, I ended up getting the same bladder stones that nipped Hank the year before, and on 10/9/12 I had a cystotomy to remove them. And they ended up being the exact same type as Hank’s stones – non-struvite (calcium oxalate) stones. I followed his lead and started on the Hill’s u/d diet and switched to the Royal Canin Weight Control Small Dog diet when he did. After all, why not take advantage of him worrying so much about what would be best for us? Fortunately for me, I just needed surgery one time for these stones, but they’d play a role in my next trip to the surgeon.
By the spring of 2014, I was keeping my legendary quickness under tight wraps, so I figured it was time for a visit to the vet to see why I might be slowing down. By 5/6/14, that led to a couple of discoveries. After an echocardiogram, my vet came back with a diagnosis of “mild compensated degenerative valvular disease” with “mild mitral and tricuspid valve regurgitation.” That’s a mouthful, but I liked the “mild” part of it, so I took my biscuit and was ready to head home.
But that wasn’t the whole story. I also had mild pancreatitis. Again, I’m loving the “mild” theme. And an ultrasound revealed I also those pesky stones again, or as my vet put it, “uretheroliths also within urinary bladder and prostatic urethra.” In simple terms, I had stones in several places, and if I had them treated by surgery, it would have to be multiple surgeries. Ouch! However, as bad as all that sounded, the stones were pretty small and were not likely to present a problem for urination. Whew. I avoided surgery and could continue marking the planet as I see fit. Let me just say that I celebrated that news with a few biscuits.
The really bad news, which I completely did not pick up on at the time, were these words from my vet: “small, 4mm nodule in the spleen was also noted, likely not malignant.” That small nodule would play a role in the news I’d get before I put 2014 to bed: I have hemangiosarcoma, or a really nasty cancer. I don’t like to talk about my troubles, but cancer is such an important topic that we decided to write a series of posts about my hemangiosarcoma diagnosis and treatments.
My cancer treatment gets all of my attention right now, and the other ups and downs of my health seem minor in comparison.
Some of My Favorite Pics
Here are a few of my favorite pics, arranged from most recent to oldest. My best pics show that I have good teeth, and I’m not shy about showing them.
