Friday, May 13, 2016

Keeper had a rough night. She is struggling to breathe and at night it seems worse for her. She was up wanting a drink of water every hour. She has trouble standing on her own while she drinks. Heidi and I are exhausted being up with her.

We went to the Vet again and he told us that the medicine is causing her dizziness. She is also very hot. He explained that is because her heart is beating so fast trying to deliver oxygenated blood, she is generating extra heat. He told us that the medicine will take 3-4 weeks before we see an improvement, and he fully expects her to improve. I hope we do see an improvement soon because it is hard to watch her struggle so much.

I’m also wondering if we should go back to the coast for at least a week and see how she does. The Vet didn’t seem to think that would change things much. I’m not so sure. She may have heart failure but at a lower altitude she may be able to function much better with more oxygen in the air…like she was before we got here.

It isn’t easy to go to the coast from here. There is a bus that runs to Guayaquil, but it doesn’t allow dogs. It requires us lining up a private driver to take us the 5 or 6 hours to Salinas, which would  be the first city we hit where we would want to stay on the coast. Then we need to find lodging that takes pets. This is all worth doing, it’s just not something that we can do without preparations first.

Paul and Janet told us about a 3 bedroom, 2 bath condo that was for rent. We went and checked it out. The rooms were very small and it is located on the fifth floor of a 5 floor building without an elevator. That presents a problem easily getting our dogs in and out to go to the bathroom. Still, I’m always glad to look and get an idea of what rentals are like here. This place was $475 per month, furnished. It didn’t have a washer or dryer. If the owner provided a washer it would be $500 per month. There was a clothes line in the enclosed laundry area to dry clothes.

We met up with Paul and Janet for coffee today. They are headed out of Ecuador the first week of June, to eventually end up in Mexico. They have been in Ecuador for two years now and are ready for a new experience. I can understand that…it is a big world with lots to see.

The two bedroom apartment below us in our “single family” house was shown today. We could hear every word that was spoken by the people looking at it. There is a “common” ventilation area, about 10 x 10, that runs up the house and is covered by a skylight.

We have a sun room, bathroom, and laundry room with windows that open into it. The unit below has sliding glass doors from their bedroom that open into it. The area could be used by them as a sitting area. While they were inside the bedrooms talking, their voices carried right into our place; you would have thought they were in the room with us, not downstairs. I don’t think living here is going to work. We knew this was a potential problem, but until now had no idea it would sound as it did.

We walked around a bit this evening exploring our neighborhood and its surroundings. It is a nice neighborhood with Tiendas, Panderias, and small restaurants serving almuerzos  and small dinners around us. I like living across from the Yanuncay river and its parks. Regardless of the house, this is a nice spot in Cuenca to be.

Chau.