Boscoe's Bailey Chair

Well today was a very exciting day for Boscoe. Kevin worked on his bailey chair. For those of you who dont know the Bailey chair was designed by a husband/wife who had a dog named Bailey who had ME. They designed this chair type contraption to keep their dog eating elevated and keep him sitting up for a period of time after he eats.
For me I dont mind the snuggle time with Boscoe after he eats but we are now at 2 full meals a day with 30 minutes after each of elevation which is currently one of us holding him. In the evening when we arent so rushed the 30 minutes is fine but in the morning trying to get a 15 year old, 3 year old and both me and Kevin out the door 30 minutes is a long time.
Now with the Bailey chair Boscoe can eat while we eat and sit and socialize with us while he enjoys the comfort of his new Bailey chair.
Kevin is an engineer and it shows. He carefully crafted a chair that would fit Boscoe perfectly and still mesh with our house decor ;-)

This is Kevin hard at work building Boscoe's custom furniture.
There are alot of measurements involved and you have to adapt for your dogs special needs.







Voila the chair is complete. Now we will test it to ensure it works perfectly for him before we finish it.

 Boscoe's first meal in his Bailey Chair was a success. Once he realized it wasnt an doggie torture device. He sat down and enjoyed his first meal. May I add it was plated beautifully with peanut butter drizzled over the top. Fine doggie dinning for sure.
I used some towels to make it more comfortable since it is not 100% finished.
He didnt seem to mind. And at one point started to fall asleep in it. I think he likes it.

 Tomorrow we will stain it espresso to match our kitchen colors so it looks more like a permanent piece of furniture rather than a weird wooden coffee table for a toddler.I have great faux leather which I will cover the padding all  along the inside with (which will also match my kitchen table set) see a theme? ;-) and a great butt pillow with some color to funk it up! He will 100% be the envy of all other ME dogs with his stylish new BOSCOE CHAIR!

Finally something positive

Yesterday was the day I flew out of town for work. I was very worried about leaving my dog not because my husband and children arent capable but because I just worry that I am going to miss something or not be here for Boscoe. But after a long day of travel I was thrilled to come home to find both my dog and my family doing great! Boscoe had a little regurgitation after his dinner but otherwise had a great day.

Even better news was that there was a message on the phone from the vet - Boscoes tests for Myasthenia gravis was Negative..This is a disease which interrupts the way nerves communicate with muscles. MG dogs almost always (from what I have read) develop cancer within a short period of time.

Having a negative result gives me more hope that this will be a manageable disease for Boscoe. I weighed him today and he was up to 22.8 which is almost a full pound of weight gain. He is still experiencing some diarrhea but I am sure that is due to the drastic diet changes.


And onward we march..
This weekend we are making Boscoe's bailey chair which should make a significant difference in managing our little guy.

Knox Blocks

So a dog with ME can have issues drinking water. Last night Boscoe decided he wanted to drink some water after two days of barely any. He lapped up some water and then immediatley threw his head back and started snorting and mouth breathing. You could tell it was caught in his nose.
So today I took away his water dish! I made knox block (recipe in previous post)

Once they were ready I was eager to try them as today was a work from home day which meant I could observe Boscoe and his tolerance to the knox blocks.
Well much to my dismay he looked at them, smelt them and then turned his head as if to say "mediocure at best woman"

I had read that honey might help.. I drizzled some honey and tried again. He looked slighly more interested however when he lapped one of the giggly squares up he just as quickly spit it out at me.
If this wasnt a matter of hydration I would have been offended. Next I tried drizzling some peanut butter on them and cut them smaller and put them on a plate on his step stool and voila! He ate them all up.
And licked the plate clean.
I held him for 10 minutes and knock on wood he has kept them down.














 (Boscoe enjoying his first Knox blocks)


I modified his dinner slightly today:

• 1 can food
• 1 tablespoon water
• 2 tablespoons of chicken/beef broth
• 1 teaspoon of olive oil
• 4 knoxx blocks mashed up into small small chunks (think smaller than a pencil top)
• 1 table spoon of Peanut butter ( are you seeing a theme :-)) drizzled over the top of the mixture once plated. Yes Boscoe likes his food plated nicely.. He knows good presentation when he sees it.

I made sure to make the mixture as smooth as possible. Held him for 30 minutes and so far that has also stayed down! WOOHOOO

Heard from the vet! Tests are still not in.. so onward we march.
Today was a good day! I feel like he has good nutrition in him.

Also made contact with Ryan my blog inspiration an ME dog owner from the states. He forwarded me plans for a travel bailey chair. Guess what our weekend plans will be. I believe the bailey chair will be a huge help especially in the mornings.
I will post pictures once we have it made. I am making modifications to the design to fit Boscoes needs and discerning taste :-)


Tomorrow I fly out of town for the day for work. Its not that I don't trust my family its that I have been predominately the care giver over the past 2 weeks and I am in tune with the importance of Boscoes special needs. I am a little nervous....

1 good day + 1good night = no regurg = no tears. I will take it.