Sydney's Year in Hawaii

If you follow me on Instagram (k_diblasi), you know that I post lots of pictures of our yellow lab, Sydney. We're obviously biased, but we think she's the best dog ever. I mean her personality alone...have you seen her eyes?! She's a person. 

Anyways, this year has been a big year for her, too, so I thought it was time for a Sydney post. 

I think it's safe to say that Sydney loves Hawaii - she loves the beach, she loves swimming in the ocean, and she loves to hike. She even went on her first boat ride this year. It really is paradise for her here! Since Sydney's first beach outing, she has grown to love the beach even more, and she's visited several beaches around the island. Now, if we pick up her leash a certain way, or fill a certain water bottle, she immediately knows we're headed to the beach! She's too smart for her own good.

Kailua Beach

Makapu'u Lighthouse Trail

First boat ride. Kaneohe Bay Sandbar. 

We thought for sure, by the end of the day, she would have learned to climb the ladder!

Getting ready for the hike...

Mariner's Ridge Hike

Maunawili Falls Hike

Just last weekend, we went to a dog beach at Hickam Air Force Base with our good friends Kelly and Andy (and their black lab, Sadie). It was probably the coolest place for dogs we'd ever been to. The entire beach was like one giant sandbar so the dogs could run and play in this amazing wide open space. 

Sydney also loves her weekly social outings - aka Doggie Play Dates. Earlier in the year, when I went home for my cousin's wedding, Dan had to stay here and work. We didn't need to board her, but because of Dan's long hours, we needed to find someone to come and let Sydney out/walk her at least once during the middle of the day. We remembered seeing vans around town for "A Happy Tail Pet Service," so we looked into the company, and we learned about their amazing Play Dates. Since then, every Tuesday, Sydney gets picked up in the Play Date shuttle, and goes to a large fenced in area with all of her dog friends. So. Great. The best part - after Sydney gets get dropped off back home, she's completely exhausted for the rest of the day! We're seriously going to miss Happy Tail!

Yet, while Sydney loves Hawaii, Hawaii did not exactly return the love to Sydney. It's been a rough year for Sydney health-wise. Dan attributes his grey hairs (the few that he's spotted thus far) to me and Sydney (but mostly Sydney). This dog has cost us a lot of money, BUT she's totally worth every penny! Let's recap...

Sydney's allergies (Part 1):

Back in Erie, we found out that Sydney had allergies. I guess it's pretty common for labs, especially yellow labs. We didn't know exactly what she was allergic to, but we exhausted several options with our vet in Erie. We tried special hypoallergenic food. We tried over-the-counter antihistamines like Benadryl, Allegra, etc. We tried a prescription medicines. And finally, we resorted to steroids. We knew the prednisone was not good for Sydney long-term, but it was the only thing that alleviated her symptoms. We got her down to a low dose and hoped she would outgrow the allergies. Better yet, we had hoped that her allergies were environmental and when we moved to Hawaii, she'd miraculously be better. 

We were wrong. Right away, we noticed Sydney continued to have symptoms when we arrived in Hawaii. One of the doctors at our new vet in Hawaii, recommended a newer allergy medicine for dogs, Atopica, because she was concerned about the long-term effects of the prednisone. Foolishly, we took her advice. The problem was - this medicine cost $100/box. Each box lasted two weeks. She wanted us to try the medicine for 6-8 weeks before stopping. You do the math. Unfortunately, the medicine didn't remotely touch her allergy symptoms, either. AND later, we found out you could get a generic form of the same medicine for a fraction of the cost!!! Needless to say, we didn't return to that doctor again. Instead, we saw a different vet at the same practice, and we went back to steroids. Again, we knew it was a temporary solution, but it was the best option we had. 

Sydney's spot scare:

Back in January or February of this year, we noticed a dark spot on Sydney's elbow. It was just a scab that seemed to be easily irritated. At first, we thought nothing of it. We thought it was a place she often scratched and so it would bleed and then re-scab over itself. Seemed fine. After a few weeks, though, the scab wasn't going away. Dan looked at the spot a little more closely, and we decided to take her to the vet to get it checked out. Our vet was not concerned at all, but because it seemed to be bothering Sydney, she said we should have it removed. And to be safe, we should have it biopsied. So we left Syd at the vet, and picked her up a few hours later that same night. 

A few days later, the vet called me with the results (Dan was away in Texas for training...this was in March). Turns out the spot that was removed was actually a form of skin cancer! We were shocked! I immediately panicked and didn't know if I should wait and tell Dan once he got back, but the vet was very optimistic and reassuring. Apparently the kind of cancer Sydney had was solar-induced (crazy!) The good news is that this specific cancer rarely spreads and we caught it very early - the entire tumor was removed with clear margins.  However, because Sydney had this tumor, she may be prone to develop future tumors and we need to keep a close eye on her skin. We also need to monitor her sun exposure more closely...limit extended periods of time in the sun to early morning or evening when the sun isn't as strong. In addition, we need to put sunscreen on her.  Who knew?! 

Sydney's allergies (Part 2):

Fast forward to May. In addition to March's spot scare, Sydney quickly became a frequent visitor to the local vet. Throughout the year, she's had various skin infections, ear infections, and even an overnight ER stay complete with IV fluids. However, all of these infections were secondary to Sydney's allergies. Time and again we were reminded that steroids were a temporary solution to her underlying problem. After some thought, we decided to take our vet's recommendation and get Sydney allergy-tested. A specialized animal dermatologist (again, who knew?!) from CA visits the island a few times every year, so our vet scheduled an appointment with him at the end of May. The plan: skin testing to determine what Sydney is allergic to. From there, allergy shots would be made up and administered to Sydney (just like with humans!) $$$... 

On top of the financial investment, in order to see the dermatologist, Sydney had to be completely off steroids for the entire month before her appointment. Talk about torture. Sydney was miserable, and we felt helpless. She lost most of her hair, she was constantly scratching, and her skin developed nasty red sores. I felt horrible for taking the pictures, but I wanted to remember how bad it was to compare future allergic reactions. 

After everything, the results of the skin testing were almost comical. Sydney is literally allergic to just about every environmental factor - grass, trees, mosquitoes, dusts, molds, the very yeast her own body produces - everything! 

Hopefully, the worst is over and the testing was worth the investment. We just started Sydney's allergy-shot routine, so we'll see how it goes! Who knows...maybe she'll miraculously be healed when we move to Colorado...haha! We're not holding our breath.

Seriously, this dog...

But in the end, we love Sydney very much, and still think she's the best dog in the world! She and I had a lot of quality time together this year since I wasn't working full-time, and she definitely made daily routines more fun. Her companionship is a blessing. 

In other news, we FINALLY got our military orders on June 6 so the past few weeks have been crazy as we're making travel plans and figuring out all of the logistics for the upcoming summer. Slowly but surely, every detail is falling into place. God is good!

The movers come to pack us up TOMORROW! So yesterday on my birthday, we took a break from the packing and spent some time at the beach. And we realized it may be the last time Sydney goes to the beach in Hawaii. Bittersweet for sure...

Keep smiling...