i heart tripods

Retail Therapy

Wanted to give a shout out to Red Lipstick in Brooklyn. This amazing store on Vanderbilt b/t Bergen and Dean is selling Tripod shirts and totes. If you live in Brooklyn please go visit the shop to not only see the Tripod goodies, but to see all the amazing clothing, accessories, and cute tchotchkes Stacyjoy has stocked in her wonderful store. I dare you to walk out of there without a purchase! It's impossible I tell ya! 

 *Sorry for the bad photo. I took it at 6 AM the morning I flew out for my vacation.*

Winter Wonderland

 

It snowed last night which made me wonder how Lulu, now on three legs, was going to handle the neighborhood's icy streets. Taking a scene out of A Christmas Story, I wrapped Lulu up in her winter layers -- red jacket and booties -- only to have her refuse to get up. 

With some coaxing she finally stood up and walked to the door, making exaggerated steps on the way. By the time we got out of the door she had gotten used to her booties, only three were on this year, and pranced through the snow like a little deer. She only had a few close calls with the ice, rescuing herself before getting embarrassed.

Thankfully, despite all my anxiety about going out of town and leaving Lulu with a friend, she did great. Our only main concern these days is a bout of diarrhea that keeps coming and going. We went to the vet before I left coming home with some meds that only half worked, so now I went to Whiskers in the city for some holistic remedies. 

I was told to get some supplements to increase the good bacteria in her stomach that may have gotten killed off during chemo. Her water's been doused with Acidophilus+, her food has a sprinkling of Pet Flora, as well as ProZyme an enzyme that supposedly allows your dog to absorb more vital nutrients from his/her food. So far it's half worked, just like the doc's meds. I'd hate to have to take her to the vet again for more testing. The lady's been through enough. 

Here's a photo of the little monkey after I gave her a bath yesterday. Little chicken needed two blankets on her to stay warm!

Getting Political

I just read about a New York City Resolution that if passed could be a major bummer. Resoultion 156 comes from New York City Councilmember Peter F. Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria). It's been on the books for a year, but it's recently gained traction as Vallone recently began campaigning for it. The resolution calls for the reversal of a New York State law that prohibits localities from passing breed specific laws. While I agree that there is a huge problem with pitbulls and other breeds being bred to be aggressive, I don't agree with this resolution. If this thing passes NY lawmakers would be able to create laws banning specific breeds meaning if you own a well-mannered pittbull, rottweier, or any other breed lawmakers deamed as dangerous city officials could come to your house, take your animal away, and have it killed. This is not a solution to the citywide problem of dangerous dogs. Dogs, like people, are not born dangerous. They are raised to be so. We need laws that protect animals and require that PEOPLE take responsibillity for their actions. Owning a dog should be like owning a firearm or having a drivers license. It's a priviledge not a right that can be abused. If the city really wants to deal with its problem of dangerous dogs it shouldn't erradicate entire breeds, but it should police how people raise these breeds. Owning or breeding volatile breeds should require background checks and extensive education. But maybe that's just me. If you don't want this resolution to pass write your council person an email. You can find out who that is by going here.

It Took Me Longer Than Most...

Ok, so it took me three days to watch the finale of Grey's Anatomy's 2nd season. I kept starting and stopping because I knew the inevitable was going to happen -- Doc was going to be put to sleep. His cancer had moved to his brain so Meredith and McDreamy made the decision to put the poor guy down. Thank god the whole euthenasia sequence was overshadowed by the sexual tension between Mer and McDreamy, otherwise I would have slit my wrists.

I've watched so many movies where animals are put down, and have had two family cats put to sleep but I just can't get used to the idea that one day it'll be Lulu.

I know I should be happy that so far Lulu's check ups have been good but I can't stop feeling like our time together is on a timer and sooner rather than later the alarm will go off and I'll have to make a decision that will forever change our lives. How do you live the rest of your life without your best friend? I've been through heartache before, and believe me I'm barely surviving that, but this seems so much worse. When you break up with your best friend at least they're still around. They still exist. They're just a painful phone call away, but when you lose your best friend to nature, well that's just so final. 

I'm being a total Debbie Downer because I'm leaving on a much needed vacation next week. Lulu is staying with a friend and while I should be excited about my trip all I can keep thinking is, "what if something happens when I'm gone?" I know nothing will, but it's a thought I can't get out of my head. I now know how my mom felt when our last family cat was still around, kicking until the ripe old age of 20! Every vacation she took towards the end of his life she was convinced she'd come home and he'd be gone. It's a horrible feeling to think that your friend will go without you by his/her side. Horrible, but at the same time what are you supposed to do? Put your life on hold for however many months or years your pet is still around?

$$$

So I did some accounting today and this is what I found out.

The tripod fund has so far made a profit of a little over $5K! So amazing. The bad news is that I also calculated that I've spent $9K on this whole ordeal...

Well, that just means that come February I'll be making another push for the shirts. This time I'm going to try and get these bad boys in some stores and continue harassing friends who own blogs to post about the project. It would be wicked to pay for Lulu's surgery and chemo in full with shirts and totes.

Osteosarcoma Goes Primetime

I'm a bit behind the times with shows, catching them as they make it to DVD, so this may be old news to some of you.

I was watching an episode from the second season of Grey's Anatomy and was surprised to find out that Doc, the dog Meredith Grey shares with McDreamy, is diagnosed with osteosarcoma.

I was excited that they were spotlighting this disease until they gave it such a dire plotline... Maybe it's because it touched upon something I've been so in denial of -- the probability that Lulu's cancer will spread to her lungs -- but the show really bummed me out. Two characters on the show, a human surgeon and a vet, both had little hope regarding osteosarcoma. The surgeon showed Meredith x-rays of a human with the disease who later died from it and the vet said that in a best case scenario Doc would have a year (and that Doc wasn't the best case).

Ugh. I always hope that Lulu is that rare case that goes into remission despite the odds. This episode put a small dent in my hope...

fan fotos

more tripod shirt models

Lulu's former roomie and current BFF, Sarah Han.  

 

Sean asked me to mask his identity. Oh, wait... should I have not just said his name?

 

Can you spot all of Allister's cats? *hint: there are two

 

Lulu's arch nemesis Tank... Or is it Seth?

Confirmed

The radiologist confirmed Dr. Turner's diagnosis and Lulu is in the clear for the next two months! Her blood also came back without anything to report. Now I need to break the news to Lulu that she really can't play the "but I have cancer" card when trying to get biscuits from me. The "but I have three legs" and "but I'm so damn cute" cards are still valid.

Some Quick Updates

I'm about to fall on my face so I'm going to make this quick and easy.

Lulu went in for her first post chemo check-up today. She got some blood work done and x-rays to see if the cancer has spread. The film looked clean according to the oncologist, but she's sending it off to a radiologist to be sure. I'll know in a day or so if the oncologist's diagnosis rings true. If it does, Lulu will go in for x-rays and blood work every two months until her 1-year anniversary. After that she'll get check-ups every four. I'm beyond happy that Lulu's doing so well, but with all these check-ups it's hard not to think that once diagnosed with cancer, always diagnosed with cancer. Even in remission the fucker squats on your psyche. 

In other news, shirts went out in the mail today for those who've already paid. A few didn't because I ran out of CDs and needed to con my friends Sean and Andrew to make some more. Hopefully those will be ready in the next few days. Thank you all for your patience. I wish I could dedicate all my time to making and shipping shirts, tanks, totes, and CDs but work keeps getting in the way!