Muellers Home » Bailey… the Dog

R.I.P. Bailey

Dean — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 00:22:01 +0000

Our wonderful Bailey died today. Her battle with cancer is over and she is at peace. More details later.

Bailey Loses Her Favorite Activity

Dean — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 02:57:52 +0000

Our wonderful dog Bailey’s absolute favorite activity is taking a walk. After work, we’d come home and after dinner take a walk in the spectacular weather we’ve been having in the Memphis area (although admittedly hot and humid for a Sheltie). Bailey likes walks so much we’d have to spell the work W-A-L-K, because when we said that word, she would get all excited and would find her leash.

Unfortunately, in a really heart wrenching change, Bailey does still get excited if you ask her to if she wants to go on a walk. The bad thing is that at best, she makes it to the end of the patio or driveway. Then, she just looks up at us with sad eyes as if to say, “Mom, Dad, the thing I want most in this world is to go on this walk with you. But I just can’t. I hope you understand, and I’m glad you asked.” We still take walks, but somehow there is a serious void without Bailey.

Our only consolation is that Bailey’s next favorite thing to do is go on a family road trip with us. When it’s time to stop for fuel and a rest room break, she is the first to get out and absolutely pulls you back to the vehicle. No way is she being left behind! We have an upcoming trip to Minneapolis for our nephew’s wedding and Dean’s parents 50th wedding anniversary in central Iowa. We are looking forward to taking Bailey on that trip, with the knowledge it will likely be her last as the cancer appears to be advancing once again.

The other thing that has signaled a change is that Bailey often is walking and her legs simply give out. The phone rings, or the door bell rings, and in the past she could just run up a storm. Now, it is common where she gets excited and starts running, then her legs give out and she desperately tries to regain normalcy. While her past youthful spring is gone, we continue to be grateful that overall her quality of life seems to be good. She does have difficulty breathing, yet she is a happy dog and a happy part of our family. What more can we ask?

I can’t help thinking that while she is just a dog, Bailey could teach humans a thing or two about loyalty, unconditional love, and doing the best with what you’ve got. Seems to me, the world could be a better place if we’d learn some canine tricks.

Spring Break in Pensacola!

Dean — Thu, 10 May 2007 00:00:13 +0000

We spent our spring break in our friends’ condo (THANKS Randy & Melissa) at Pensacola Beach, FL.

Since Bailey gets around a little slower these days, she rode the luggage cart up the elevator. She was pretty funny!

We were treated to some phenomenal sunrises. This photo doesn’t begin to do it justice, but I drank a lot of Starbucks coffee while taking photos and video.

The views from the balcony were excellent. If you haven’t experienced the soft sugar white sand beaches in Destin and Pensacola, you are really missing out. The area got hit hard by hurricanes a couple of years ago and still show significant infrastructure deficiencies. It is difficult to imagine how horrible it was after the storms.

Welcome to March

Dean — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 12:37:08 +0000

As March marks a new beginning, it seems Bailey begins her downward health spiral. Once she started on Prednisone in December 2006, her appetite has generally been good. Voracious even. My last blog entry indicated Bailey began to show symptoms of slowing down. Continuing that, her appetite is decreasing. She no longer eats all of her food in a day. On the bright side, she continues to be a happy dog that just loves to be around us.

The Miracle Dog

Dean — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 02:46:24 +0000

Lynette talked to our vet the other day so we could get a refill on the Prednisone for Bailey. During the conversation, the vet told Lynette that Bailey is a miracle dog since she is still alive and doing reasonably well. Bailey really hadn’t changed much between Christmas and mid-February. As of last week, she seems to have taken a turn for the worse. Bailey is still alert and doesn’t appear to be pain. However, she is slower and her legs have just given out a few times in the past few days. The other noticeable change is that Bailey doesn’t follow us around like she had previously.

Still, she seems pretty happy. With the weather becoming warmer in the mid-south, we have taken Bailey on a few short walks, which is one of Bailey’s most favorite activities. We will continue those walks as she is able. We are grateful for each additional day Bailey is alive.

Bailey Defies Statistics!

Dean — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 01:34:29 +0000

Our vet and oncologist both said Bailey had 4-6 weeks to live. That was the first week in December, 2006. It’s been 8 weeks and Bailey seems to be doing pretty well. Yes, her breathing is laborious, and she is clearly not as quick as she used to be. However, despite it being a little more difficult to breathe, she doesn’t seem to have deteriorated much. We are really grateful that her quality of life still seems pretty good.

We have already had more time with her than we thought we would — and quality time at that. While we don’t know what is in store next, everyday she is alive and able to get around reasonably well is a great day.

The photo is a snapshot of Nick, Bailey and Danielle in early January 2007. Hard to believe Danielle just turned 21. Click on the thumbnail to see a larger photo.

Bailey is Basically Unchanged

Dean — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 13:28:58 +0000

After a holiday hiatus, I’m back with updates on our dog Bailey. She made it through Christmas and New Year’s in fine fashion. Bailey does seem to find it gradually more difficult to breath. Yesterday, she started up the stairs to be with the kids playing the Nintendo Wii, and she got stuck half way up. Danielle carried her the rest of the way upstairs. For now, Bailey seems to still enjoy being around us, never wanting to leave our side.

I have some photos of Bailey at Christmas; I’ll get them posted in the next few days. Happy New Year!

Wag the tail

Dean — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 12:44:59 +0000

As I write this on Christmas Eve, we made another observation about Bailey’s condition. She is normally seen wagging her tail a lot; over the past week or so, she has almost completely stopped wagging her tail. Other than that, she has her good days and her bad days. Bailey still likes to follow us around like she always has–albeit not as agile as in the past.

This photo was taken a few days ago and shows Bailey with Nick. Bailey had been sleeping in Nick’s room. She still likes going up and hanging out with Nick.

Bailey weakens…

Dean — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 03:38:22 +0000

Bailey had a noticeably worse day. Her breathing seems to be labored a bit and she continues to slow down. In the past, she would run up and down the steps after Nicholas–she still tries to do that, but just can’t keep up to her old self. She specifically had difficulty a couple times coming down the steps today; the first time, she let out a yelp when she went down the steps, which she had never down before. The second time, Bailey went down the steps a tad slower than normal, but when she got to the bottom, her legs just gave out. Clearly her strength is reduced.

Another sad milestone; Bailey normally sleeps with Nicholas and due to her weakened state, she cannot do that anymore. Nicholas is not at all happy about that, but does understand.

The good news is that Nicholas is done with finals tomorrow (good luck!) and Danielle finished her finals last week, so they can spend more time with Bailey over the Christmas break.

A Christmas past in New Hampshire

Dean — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 11:49:43 +0000

In the spirit of Christmas, I found some past photos and came across this one of Lynette & Bailey. This photo was taken in our Bedford, New Hampshire home in December 1999. This was Bailey’s first Christmas. We are pretty hopeful that she will make it through Christmas 2006!

As of today, Bailey continues to eat and drink fairly well, but a couple more lumps on her back have been noticed.