Animals

In September of 2011, my husband and I welcomed a pair of Cairn terrier rescues, named Nutmeg and Nora, into our home. We knew little of their background, except their owner had died, they had been in a kennel for two months, and they were no longer house-trained. It seemed like this would be a good…

We said farewell to our cairn terrier, Nutmeg, on July 8, 2022, and although she was 13 years old, we were completely taken by surprise when she was diagnosed with bone cancer a few weeks ago and given one to three months to live. Each time we adopt a pet, our rational minds know we…

On Thursday, November 9, 2017, we said a final goodbye to Nora. She was almost nine years old and died of kidney failure after living with Cushing’s Disease and blindness for more than two years. Even with these health challenges, her quality of life was quite good until she became sick a few weeks ago and declined like a roller-coaster…

Nutmeg and Nora, Cairn Terrier sisters, joined our family about five years ago. We have had our ups and downs but we eventually settled into a comfortable companionship, occasionally marked by complications caused from the Cushing’s syndrome and then the blindness that Nora developed a couple of years ago. We call Nora our special-needs dog, while Nutmeg is sometimes overlooked, sometimes referred to as the…

Presque Isle State Park, in northwestern Pennsylvania, provides quiet refuge for clearing one’s head and connecting with nature. The trails that wind throughout this Lake Erie peninsula offer many opportunities for such soothing sojourns. William E. Dimorier (1871-1951) educator and servant leader, spent many idle hours at Presque Isle. In April of 1941, retired from the…

Several months ago, our Cairn terrier rescue, Nora, went blind rather quickly. This condition came shortly after her diagnosis of Cushing’s disease. We’re not sure if there’s a correlation between the blindness and the disease, the blindness and the medication, or if it’s completely unrelated to either. It’s not feasible for us to travel 100 miles to a veterinary…

Little Nora, the feisty, sweet, and sometimes surly Cairn terrier we rescued nearly four years ago, who was diagnosed with canine Cushing’s disease a couple of months ago, has a new challenge. Blindness. This newest malady might be related to Nora’s Cushing’s. The vets don’t know. They ruled out obvious causes, such as high-blood pressure, diabetes, and glaucoma. While…

Our Cairn Terrier rescue, Nora, went blind in July of 2015. At the time, she had just been diagnosed with Cushing’s Disease. She was in such bad shape that it didn’t seem feasible to take her to a veterinary ophthalmologist in Pittsburgh, when we didn’t think she’d be with us for much longer. A year later, Nora is still…

On Monday, I took Nora for another ACTH Stimulation blood test and fully anticipated a good report. Nora’s been almost back to normal after a pretty rough few weeks following her diagnosis of Cushing’s disease. Things got so bad at one point, I didn’t know if she would survive long enough for the Vetoryl to work. The recent increase…

Crossing my fingers, but Nora has had some good days since her meds for Cushing’s disease were increased. She almost seems like she’s back to normal. It’s weird to think that this isn’t a medication that we’ll be done with at some point. She supposed to take it for the rest of her life. And if she…