This past weekend, I pushed the envelope with Riley's rehab. I took the dogs to Stonehurst and parked at the far end of the parking lot where a less popular trail head was. We, dog-park people, call this the Anti-Social trail. So I took a few deep breaths and let Riley off leash for the first time in almost 3 months.
In total, I only let him off leash for maybe 6-7 minutes. Sabrina was so excited to be trotting side-by-side with her big brother. She kept picking up sticks and shoving them into his face. The poor guy could barely enjoy his first off leash walk. At one point he did a little blast off into a quick trot and my heart nearly lept out of my chest. That was about all I could handle. I put him back on a short lead and we turned around to head home. I told myself that if he came up lame later at home that we would go right back to restricted exercise.
But lo and behold, my boy continues to use his leg better than ever. So each day, I have allowed him to walk a little longer off leash as long as there is no running, no wrestling, no pouncing, and no quick turning involved. I keep a pouch of treats on me to keep Riley close. He is a very good boy and if I didn't have to bring Sabrina with me, I think things would go much more smoothly, but who can keep that lil ball of flying black fur at home?! No doubt she'd probably destroy our house if I ever did that!
So here we go into Phase 3 of rehab - when Riley can begin to get back into shape, rebuild his muscle tone, and relieve some of that mental madness built up from almost 3 months of cabin fever. I am so happy for my brave boy.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Feasting
So my "Peking" duck wasn't so smashing. It was just a roast duck. At least it was edible. The rest of Thanksgiving was...let's just say, it was another memorable, non-traditional Thanksgiving. But then again, maybe our tradition is to just be non-traditional!
One tradition we do keep is feeding our furkids their own special Thanksgiving feast. The cats all got their own can of Thanksgiving Day Feast by Merrick. Riley and Sabrina each got their own 4.5 lb free range chicken. Riley finished off his in just 10 minutes. Sabrina put in a really good effort but only got about 2.5 pounds in. I wasn't sure if she would even shut herself off or if she would just gorge until she passed out or popped, whichever came first. But luckily she did have full gauge. It was pure crunching happiness in our home!
One tradition we do keep is feeding our furkids their own special Thanksgiving feast. The cats all got their own can of Thanksgiving Day Feast by Merrick. Riley and Sabrina each got their own 4.5 lb free range chicken. Riley finished off his in just 10 minutes. Sabrina put in a really good effort but only got about 2.5 pounds in. I wasn't sure if she would even shut herself off or if she would just gorge until she passed out or popped, whichever came first. But luckily she did have full gauge. It was pure crunching happiness in our home!
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Getting the word out there- YAY!
Every now and then I happen to pick up a free issue of pets! magazine. It's usually at the groomer's, Dr. Doolittle's office, or this time, at the rehab clinic in Natick. It's a pretty fun paper to read as it has short articles on a lot of different topics, lots of pictures, and good resources. That's where we saw the ad for Paws in Motion.
The recent issue (November) was awesome. The cover story was about service dogs being trained by incarcerated individuals - a topic that is always fascinating to me. But there were two articles in particular that I delighted to see... one was on reading dog food labels and the other was on raw feeding. I am so happy that this type of information is getting out there to the community. Read your dog food labels! Know what the 4Ds are and you'll never want to feed that crap to your family members again! Here is a link to the entire issue: Happy reading!
pets! local news for pets & their people
The recent issue (November) was awesome. The cover story was about service dogs being trained by incarcerated individuals - a topic that is always fascinating to me. But there were two articles in particular that I delighted to see... one was on reading dog food labels and the other was on raw feeding. I am so happy that this type of information is getting out there to the community. Read your dog food labels! Know what the 4Ds are and you'll never want to feed that crap to your family members again! Here is a link to the entire issue: Happy reading!
pets! local news for pets & their people
Quality time with my BernerBoy
Yesterday, Jeffrey took Sabrina to Sawyer Pond in NH. It's somewhere along the Kancamagus Highway. Jeffrey's been there several times and I believe we've all gone up once before to hike. I've never stayed there overnight. Jeffrey has, several times. This is the first time he's stayed with a furkid, though. It's also the latest into the colder season that he's gone out. He bought Sabrina a coat- oye. When she gets back, I'll post a photo of her.
So my BernerBuddy and I got to spend some quality alone time together. As much as I miss Jeffrey and my lil girl, it was extra special to just have Riley to focus on. I didn't have to split my affections with anyone and we could enjoy each other's company uninterrupted. And I was estactic to sleep in this morning until 8am!! I can't remember the last time I was able to do that!
So my BernerBuddy and I got to spend some quality alone time together. As much as I miss Jeffrey and my lil girl, it was extra special to just have Riley to focus on. I didn't have to split my affections with anyone and we could enjoy each other's company uninterrupted. And I was estactic to sleep in this morning until 8am!! I can't remember the last time I was able to do that!
Monday, November 20, 2006
4 weeks post TPLO: Rehab Phase 2
I feel like we've gotten through the first phase of Riley's ordeal. 4 weeks of strict confinement and limited activity has paid off. He is doing great. These past two days, things have changed around here. Riley is allowed a 15-20 minute walk with me and Sabrina in the morning at the park. No one is really around that early in the morning so it's perfect. I think Riley is beginning to understand that he is not allowed to run or jump. Even when Sabrina comes charging at him, he calmly stops and braces himself. I have been trying hard to teach her that she cannot go barreling into him. She loves to stalk him from across the field, then charge at him, and ending up crashing into him. I can sometimes stop her before she gets into that "zone" but, like I said, I've been trying hard and she's just a puppy. I think she is just so thrilled that her brother is out walking with her again! I have chosen some open space where there are gentle hills so that we can work on using those hind legs equally to walk up hills. I haven't yet started the figure 8's but I think I will tomorrow.
So in addition to the longer walks, Riley is also going upstairs with us every night to sleep in the bedroom again. He is still carried upstairs as the floors are too slippery for him and I don't think he feels safe on them yet. But in the bedroom, he can crawl under the bed and boy was he thrilled the first night we brought him up! He trotted right over to his usual spot under my side of the bed and poked his head under there, as if just to check that his spot was still there. Last night was the second night we brought him up and this morning we found Riley and Sabrina sleeping together in the dog bed. It was precious.
Additional exercises include sit to stand exercises, which I have to keep to a minimum because it requires me giving out treats and it's been so hard to keep his weight down. The poor dog is willing to eat anything now: cantalope, honey dew, green beans, carrots, bananas, even garlic! Things that if I used to offer him, he would just glance at before he looked at me as if to say, "are ya kidding me? What else ya got?" Now he's eating everything. Anyways, this is an exercise that is easy to do with him and I can see his progress. He is better able to get into a square sit now. That means his leg is no longer exstended staight out to the side in a lazy sitting position, meaning he's more comfortable with his knee in flexion. Yay!
In 5 more weeks, we will be taking Riley and Sabrina to a cabin in Maine for the holiday week. Wouldn't it be wonderful if he could play off leash in the snow by then?
So in addition to the longer walks, Riley is also going upstairs with us every night to sleep in the bedroom again. He is still carried upstairs as the floors are too slippery for him and I don't think he feels safe on them yet. But in the bedroom, he can crawl under the bed and boy was he thrilled the first night we brought him up! He trotted right over to his usual spot under my side of the bed and poked his head under there, as if just to check that his spot was still there. Last night was the second night we brought him up and this morning we found Riley and Sabrina sleeping together in the dog bed. It was precious.
Additional exercises include sit to stand exercises, which I have to keep to a minimum because it requires me giving out treats and it's been so hard to keep his weight down. The poor dog is willing to eat anything now: cantalope, honey dew, green beans, carrots, bananas, even garlic! Things that if I used to offer him, he would just glance at before he looked at me as if to say, "are ya kidding me? What else ya got?" Now he's eating everything. Anyways, this is an exercise that is easy to do with him and I can see his progress. He is better able to get into a square sit now. That means his leg is no longer exstended staight out to the side in a lazy sitting position, meaning he's more comfortable with his knee in flexion. Yay!
In 5 more weeks, we will be taking Riley and Sabrina to a cabin in Maine for the holiday week. Wouldn't it be wonderful if he could play off leash in the snow by then?
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Getting ready to Gobble
In four days it will be Thanksgiving...one of my favorite holidays. I generally have fond memories of Thanksgiving. Even though my family is Chinese-American, we always celebrated Thanksgiving with lots of friends and family. Who doesn't like a day dedicated to being with loved ones and eating yourself silly?
Jeffrey and I cooked our first Thanksgiving dinner together 4 years ago (2002) when we lived in Allston. It was just the two of us but we made all the fixin's. It was really an obscene amount of food, but making it together was an experience to remember. And the bacon, bleu cheese, and chive mashed potatoes were hard to forget too. Since we've been in our new house, we've had one Thanksgiving dinner, but we didn't cook it all ourselves. We bought a lot of premade stuff from Whole Foods. That was the year we had a house guest. I cannot say that Thanksgiving dinner was that memorable. That was also Riley's first year with us. He got his own 2.5 pound roasting chicken for his Thanksgiving Dinner. He finished the entire thing and his gut looked like it was about to pop. It actually had me a little concerned but he survived it just fine.
Last year, Jeffrey and I spent Thanksgiving in Las Vegas. The dinner at the hotel wasn't anything to get to excited about (it was a buffet) but the trip was quite memorable. Riley stayed with Auntie Dory. No family Thanksgiving feast last year.
This year, we had planned to go away but when Riley's knee gave out, we decided to go ahead with surgery and cancel any plans we had. We just didn't know how Riley would be and couldn't bear to leave him with anyone while he was still in the acute phase of recovery. So this year, Jeffrey and I are making Thanksgiving dinner in our home-with our family-Little Li, Mei-Mei, Riley, Ming, and Sabrina. I went to the market today to buy us a duck. That's right, a duck, to make Peking duck (or at least my closest rendition of it). I had to call my mom in Taiwan this morning to figure out how to cook this bird. She thinks I can't possibly cook a bad tasting bird. I am a bit skeptical. I also got Riley and Sabrina each their own Thanksgiving Day chickens. They are HUGE, like 4 lbs each. They were only $1.99 a pound, whereas the smaller cornish hens were over $4 a pound. I figured since we would be gorging, let them too! I still have to stop by Especially for Pets to pick up something for MeiMei and Ming. Merrick has a canned cat food flavor called Thanksgiving Day Feast. They both love it. And Little Li, I'm sure she'll love all the Peking Duck.
Along with Peking Duck, I will be making a Chinese rice stuffing with Shitake Mushrooms and shrimp. For appetizers, Chinese dumplings and smoked trout. For side dishes, traditional cornbread stuffing (Jeffery's making that), asparagus, and rolls. Then I am making my first blueberry pie. I'm cheating a little bit by buying a premade pie crust. I got it from Whole Foods today-it's whole wheat! But I'll be making the pie from fresh blueberries and all organic ingredients. This is the recipe I'm using:
Blueberry Pie
I'll post pictures of the final product whether it's good or not!
Jeffrey and I cooked our first Thanksgiving dinner together 4 years ago (2002) when we lived in Allston. It was just the two of us but we made all the fixin's. It was really an obscene amount of food, but making it together was an experience to remember. And the bacon, bleu cheese, and chive mashed potatoes were hard to forget too. Since we've been in our new house, we've had one Thanksgiving dinner, but we didn't cook it all ourselves. We bought a lot of premade stuff from Whole Foods. That was the year we had a house guest. I cannot say that Thanksgiving dinner was that memorable. That was also Riley's first year with us. He got his own 2.5 pound roasting chicken for his Thanksgiving Dinner. He finished the entire thing and his gut looked like it was about to pop. It actually had me a little concerned but he survived it just fine.
Last year, Jeffrey and I spent Thanksgiving in Las Vegas. The dinner at the hotel wasn't anything to get to excited about (it was a buffet) but the trip was quite memorable. Riley stayed with Auntie Dory. No family Thanksgiving feast last year.
This year, we had planned to go away but when Riley's knee gave out, we decided to go ahead with surgery and cancel any plans we had. We just didn't know how Riley would be and couldn't bear to leave him with anyone while he was still in the acute phase of recovery. So this year, Jeffrey and I are making Thanksgiving dinner in our home-with our family-Little Li, Mei-Mei, Riley, Ming, and Sabrina. I went to the market today to buy us a duck. That's right, a duck, to make Peking duck (or at least my closest rendition of it). I had to call my mom in Taiwan this morning to figure out how to cook this bird. She thinks I can't possibly cook a bad tasting bird. I am a bit skeptical. I also got Riley and Sabrina each their own Thanksgiving Day chickens. They are HUGE, like 4 lbs each. They were only $1.99 a pound, whereas the smaller cornish hens were over $4 a pound. I figured since we would be gorging, let them too! I still have to stop by Especially for Pets to pick up something for MeiMei and Ming. Merrick has a canned cat food flavor called Thanksgiving Day Feast. They both love it. And Little Li, I'm sure she'll love all the Peking Duck.
Along with Peking Duck, I will be making a Chinese rice stuffing with Shitake Mushrooms and shrimp. For appetizers, Chinese dumplings and smoked trout. For side dishes, traditional cornbread stuffing (Jeffery's making that), asparagus, and rolls. Then I am making my first blueberry pie. I'm cheating a little bit by buying a premade pie crust. I got it from Whole Foods today-it's whole wheat! But I'll be making the pie from fresh blueberries and all organic ingredients. This is the recipe I'm using:
Blueberry Pie
I'll post pictures of the final product whether it's good or not!
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Kindness, at last
On Tuesday, I met a prospective new vet. I've always known that this place existed, but their name is a little cheesy. I just never bought into it and thought we would be better off at a place that was more "professional." Well, I was wrong. I loved this place.
The veterinary clinic we have been going to is a pretty big practice. Three veterinarians and they are quite busy. In fact, the front desk staff are always too busy to ever greet you when you enter their waiting room and the vet is always too busy to greet you when they enter the exam room. Incident after incident of less than pleasant experiences with them has made me look for a new vet. Not only do they lack the ability to speak the words, "hello" or even a single syllable, "hi," they are very business-like, trying to sell all sorts of stuff to me whenever I'm there. One time, a young man whom I assume was a vet tech who hadn't gotten enough sleep, grumbled that he was going to take Riley into the back to have him weighed and before even finishing his garbled sentence, grabbed Riley's leash right out of my hand! I was very upset about that incident and that may have been the only time I have ever said anything about their service.
We have brought all five of our pets to this place at one time or another, you think they'd know who I am, right? The lady who feeds raw food, doesn't want any flea or tick prevention, and resists medications. Nope. Each time I go there it's like reintroducing myself again. You'd think they'd learn to stop lecturing to me about the stupid Lyme vaccination or how dangerous heartworms are. I've done my research, thank you very much. I'd much rather have an educated conversation about healthcare options than have to sit around and wait for you to stop yapping at me. I'm so sick of their bad patient management.
But enough about them. We're leaving them.
This new place, on the other hand, like our holistc vet in RI, greets us happily and knows exactly who is here for their appointment.
"Is this Little Li?!" they exclaim as they coo and aah over my sweet little girl in her crate. Who doesn't like people to ooh and aah over their child?
The vet actually walked over to me and introduced herself (amazing concept huh? ....take notes old vet clinic). She took her time getting to know who Little Li is, whom our other family members are, and what kind of care I am looking for. You see, Little Li's rabies vaccination is expired by law. And I say, by law, because the state has arbitrarily decided when my cat is no longer immune to rabies. I have full confidence that my cat still has immunity to rabies from the vaccination she received 4 years ago and was hoping not to have to have her vaccinated this time around since she has been vomiting blood. As I understand it, only healthy animals should be vaccinated. I was hoping Little Li would be exempt due to her recent problems. The vet understood this entirely and never pushed the issue. She was so respectful of my decision as a "parent" and really presented herself as someone whom is available to help me if I wanted it. She realized quite quickly that I was no ignorant, follow the crowd, type of person, but rather someone who has done her homework and didn't want to be lectured. I thoroughly enjoyed our visit. I don't think Little Li would say the same though. They had to draw some blood to do some tests in order to figure out what's wrong with her. She did NOT like that. My little sweet girl got all fiesty and they ended up having to put her in this bag contraption-thingy in order to get some blood. Poor thing.
So diagnosis? We don't really know. But at least we're pretty sure she doesn't have a tumor or ulcers down in her stomach. She could have hyperthyriodism, which is causing her to each a lot, poop a lot, but lose weight. She's only 6 pounds! The hyperthyriodism could also be causing the excessive vomiting which is causing her esophagus to bleed, thus the pinky-colored vomit we've been seeing. Hopefully we'll hear back from the vet in a few days and she'll have found something. Oh, another thing I liked about this vet, she was willing to do some investigating about this problem and didn't just label Little Li with that stupid wastebasket term: Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and prescribe some suppressive drug. Yay! I think I like her! Good, cuz Sabrina is going in to see her on Tuesday and will hopefull get spayed there too.
The veterinary clinic we have been going to is a pretty big practice. Three veterinarians and they are quite busy. In fact, the front desk staff are always too busy to ever greet you when you enter their waiting room and the vet is always too busy to greet you when they enter the exam room. Incident after incident of less than pleasant experiences with them has made me look for a new vet. Not only do they lack the ability to speak the words, "hello" or even a single syllable, "hi," they are very business-like, trying to sell all sorts of stuff to me whenever I'm there. One time, a young man whom I assume was a vet tech who hadn't gotten enough sleep, grumbled that he was going to take Riley into the back to have him weighed and before even finishing his garbled sentence, grabbed Riley's leash right out of my hand! I was very upset about that incident and that may have been the only time I have ever said anything about their service.
We have brought all five of our pets to this place at one time or another, you think they'd know who I am, right? The lady who feeds raw food, doesn't want any flea or tick prevention, and resists medications. Nope. Each time I go there it's like reintroducing myself again. You'd think they'd learn to stop lecturing to me about the stupid Lyme vaccination or how dangerous heartworms are. I've done my research, thank you very much. I'd much rather have an educated conversation about healthcare options than have to sit around and wait for you to stop yapping at me. I'm so sick of their bad patient management.
But enough about them. We're leaving them.
This new place, on the other hand, like our holistc vet in RI, greets us happily and knows exactly who is here for their appointment.
"Is this Little Li?!" they exclaim as they coo and aah over my sweet little girl in her crate. Who doesn't like people to ooh and aah over their child?
The vet actually walked over to me and introduced herself (amazing concept huh? ....take notes old vet clinic). She took her time getting to know who Little Li is, whom our other family members are, and what kind of care I am looking for. You see, Little Li's rabies vaccination is expired by law. And I say, by law, because the state has arbitrarily decided when my cat is no longer immune to rabies. I have full confidence that my cat still has immunity to rabies from the vaccination she received 4 years ago and was hoping not to have to have her vaccinated this time around since she has been vomiting blood. As I understand it, only healthy animals should be vaccinated. I was hoping Little Li would be exempt due to her recent problems. The vet understood this entirely and never pushed the issue. She was so respectful of my decision as a "parent" and really presented herself as someone whom is available to help me if I wanted it. She realized quite quickly that I was no ignorant, follow the crowd, type of person, but rather someone who has done her homework and didn't want to be lectured. I thoroughly enjoyed our visit. I don't think Little Li would say the same though. They had to draw some blood to do some tests in order to figure out what's wrong with her. She did NOT like that. My little sweet girl got all fiesty and they ended up having to put her in this bag contraption-thingy in order to get some blood. Poor thing.
So diagnosis? We don't really know. But at least we're pretty sure she doesn't have a tumor or ulcers down in her stomach. She could have hyperthyriodism, which is causing her to each a lot, poop a lot, but lose weight. She's only 6 pounds! The hyperthyriodism could also be causing the excessive vomiting which is causing her esophagus to bleed, thus the pinky-colored vomit we've been seeing. Hopefully we'll hear back from the vet in a few days and she'll have found something. Oh, another thing I liked about this vet, she was willing to do some investigating about this problem and didn't just label Little Li with that stupid wastebasket term: Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and prescribe some suppressive drug. Yay! I think I like her! Good, cuz Sabrina is going in to see her on Tuesday and will hopefull get spayed there too.
Lookin' good
Today we took Riley to Paws in Motion, a veterinary rehabilitation center in Natick. We met Suzanne Starr, the owner. The visit lasted an hour and consisted of a quick background interview, an exam, and then recommended exercises. We were very pleased to hear that Riley is recovering far better than most 4 week post TPLO patients she has seen- and Riley is still 2 days shy of 4 weeks! That was great news. She felt he was doing quite well and we wouldn't even need to bring him back to do any walking on the underwater treadmill, range-of-motion exercises (ROM), or anything like that. She showed me how to do some weight transfer exercises and suggestions on helping him rebuild all the muscle he has lost. She suggested walking up a small hill, doing figure 8's, sit-down stand-up exercises, and helping him shift his weight from his good hind leg to the weaker one. She was very nice and Riley really liked her. Sabrina even got to come in near the end and grace everyone with her crazy face licking. They were very amuzed by Sabrina's silly play antics (pulling on Riley's leash, looking at herself in the mirror, etc). The visit only cost $85, which I thought was very reasonable. We were recommended to return in 2 weeks for a check-up. I haven't decided yet if I think it is necessary. We'll see.
I'm really excited about starting a new exercise program for Riley. As of yesterday, we were up to two, 10-15 minutes walks a day. I'd really like to get him up to 30 minute walks in the next two weeks. Perhaps tomorrow we will try a 20 minute walk. This is such good news!
I'm really excited about starting a new exercise program for Riley. As of yesterday, we were up to two, 10-15 minutes walks a day. I'd really like to get him up to 30 minute walks in the next two weeks. Perhaps tomorrow we will try a 20 minute walk. This is such good news!
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Rainy day blues
The rain makes me want to hibernate. I've been trying to get Sabrina out as much as I can when it's just drizzling out. I hate being cold and wet!
And unfortunate accident happened during morning's rainy walk. I never knew when it actually happened but I'm sure it happened at the park, now looking back. Sabrina must have gotten her toenail caught on something as she was chasing a ball. I didn't even notice until we had gotten home and there was blood coming off her paw. She had been acting strangely at the park, doing a lot of low to the ground sniffing, carrying her tail low, and then jumped right into the car when I opened the door. She *never* does that. She always wants to stay and play more. Or she wants me to pick her up. At first I had thought that coyotes or wolves had been around the night before as I have known that to happen before with Riley. In fact, Riley would be quite skittish and refuse to enter the park entirely. So I attributed that to Sabrina's behavior. After all, she was still happy enough to retrieve her ball.
Upon close inspection at home, I saw that only a bloody red stump remained where her right, front, left toenail one was. Eeew. She did not seem to be in excessive pain. I recalled times when Sabrina got her toes stepped on or caught under the door jam and she cried far more pitifully. This time, there was no crying. She seemed just a bit more freaked out by the smell of blood. As she left blood prints all over the house, she was also "tracking" the scent of blood with her nose and the smell was driving her crazy. I tried to keep her still and ice it with a bag of corn, but she wanted nothing to do with it. Feeling like I was going to do more harm than good, I just left her alone and hoped her bleeding would subside. And it did. I left for work figuring I would try to clean it when I got home and eventually the nail would just grow back.
The internet can be a scary thing. When I finally got a chance at work to get on the computer and Google, "my dog ripped her toenail out" what I read put me into a panic. People talked about the paw getting infected, dogs losing an entire paw, the toenail ripping out at the base of the toe, dogs bleeding to death, oye. I immediately got on the phone and called the vet. Since we are in the process of changing vets and Sabrina's visit isn't until next week, we have to go to our old vet. That's okay. I just want them to take a look at it, tell me she hasn't lost a toe, that the nail will grow back, maybe get some antibiotics, and that's it. I'm grateful they gave me an appointment for this afternoon. We go in at 4pm.
Meanwhile, I rushed home to make sure my puppy did not bleed to death and try to help her feel better. After all, if you ripped your nail off, wouldn't you be feeling pretty bad? I made up some yummy kong filled treats for Riley and Sabrina to enjoy. This is what I put in them:
1/2 can of Merrick's Campfire Trout
1 TB of peanut butter
1 diced package of string cheese
6 diced Zukes dog treats
a few small pieces of dried beef liver treats
a few small pieces of Merrick's dried lamb lung
a few small pieces of dried chicken liver
6 Jungle Greens wafers, crumbled
1 small carrot, chopped
1 tsp of fish oil
1 tsp of Raw apple cider vinegar
and I dug about a TB of marrow out of one of their beef marrow bones and added it to the mix.
I was able to fill 3 kongs and the centers of two marrow bones. They each got a marrow bone and all are content. I'll let you know how the appointment goes. It will be a tight squeeze as the only appointment they had was 4pm and Sabrina's older sister Little Li has an appointment at 4:30 at another vet's office. (we're trying out a new vet) Eeek.
And unfortunate accident happened during morning's rainy walk. I never knew when it actually happened but I'm sure it happened at the park, now looking back. Sabrina must have gotten her toenail caught on something as she was chasing a ball. I didn't even notice until we had gotten home and there was blood coming off her paw. She had been acting strangely at the park, doing a lot of low to the ground sniffing, carrying her tail low, and then jumped right into the car when I opened the door. She *never* does that. She always wants to stay and play more. Or she wants me to pick her up. At first I had thought that coyotes or wolves had been around the night before as I have known that to happen before with Riley. In fact, Riley would be quite skittish and refuse to enter the park entirely. So I attributed that to Sabrina's behavior. After all, she was still happy enough to retrieve her ball.
Upon close inspection at home, I saw that only a bloody red stump remained where her right, front, left toenail one was. Eeew. She did not seem to be in excessive pain. I recalled times when Sabrina got her toes stepped on or caught under the door jam and she cried far more pitifully. This time, there was no crying. She seemed just a bit more freaked out by the smell of blood. As she left blood prints all over the house, she was also "tracking" the scent of blood with her nose and the smell was driving her crazy. I tried to keep her still and ice it with a bag of corn, but she wanted nothing to do with it. Feeling like I was going to do more harm than good, I just left her alone and hoped her bleeding would subside. And it did. I left for work figuring I would try to clean it when I got home and eventually the nail would just grow back.
The internet can be a scary thing. When I finally got a chance at work to get on the computer and Google, "my dog ripped her toenail out" what I read put me into a panic. People talked about the paw getting infected, dogs losing an entire paw, the toenail ripping out at the base of the toe, dogs bleeding to death, oye. I immediately got on the phone and called the vet. Since we are in the process of changing vets and Sabrina's visit isn't until next week, we have to go to our old vet. That's okay. I just want them to take a look at it, tell me she hasn't lost a toe, that the nail will grow back, maybe get some antibiotics, and that's it. I'm grateful they gave me an appointment for this afternoon. We go in at 4pm.
Meanwhile, I rushed home to make sure my puppy did not bleed to death and try to help her feel better. After all, if you ripped your nail off, wouldn't you be feeling pretty bad? I made up some yummy kong filled treats for Riley and Sabrina to enjoy. This is what I put in them:
1/2 can of Merrick's Campfire Trout
1 TB of peanut butter
1 diced package of string cheese
6 diced Zukes dog treats
a few small pieces of dried beef liver treats
a few small pieces of Merrick's dried lamb lung
a few small pieces of dried chicken liver
6 Jungle Greens wafers, crumbled
1 small carrot, chopped
1 tsp of fish oil
1 tsp of Raw apple cider vinegar
and I dug about a TB of marrow out of one of their beef marrow bones and added it to the mix.
I was able to fill 3 kongs and the centers of two marrow bones. They each got a marrow bone and all are content. I'll let you know how the appointment goes. It will be a tight squeeze as the only appointment they had was 4pm and Sabrina's older sister Little Li has an appointment at 4:30 at another vet's office. (we're trying out a new vet) Eeek.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Rainy day visit
On Wednesday, I took both Riley and Sabrina to see Dr. Doolittle. The rain was brutal. Because I was driving south, I was driving right into the storm. As I gripped the stearing wheel with white knuckles, I could see Riley's head up in the back, his eyes on me the entire way. I think he was nervous for me. Our little dear Sabrina slept the entire car ride. When we finally arrived, my arms were shaking and my legs could barely hold me as I lifted Riley out of the car. But we had made it, and we were only 6 minutes late.
Dr. Doolittle was pleased to see that Riley is recovering well from his TPLO. Her initial advice to us was not to go with surgery. Her opinion was probably greatly influenced by the fact that she recently knew a client who lost their German Shepard to complications related to an ACL surgery. But there is risk in everything we do, right? Nothing is a guarantee. Surgery seemed like the best option for us and we can only hope for the best. Unfortunately, the narcotics used for anesthetising him and then the NSAID prescribed for post-op care did a number on his organs. I have heard that Metacam (what Riley was given) can cause liver problems, even though it is thought to be "safer" than Rimadyl. Never-the-less, Riley's body had undergone a trauma and needed some help. She prescribed several natural supplements including toxin removes, digestive aids, and anti-inflammatories. Sabrina got to have her little visit too. She was so squirmy it took the Vet and an assistance to hold her while I distracted her with a treat for the evaluation. We go back in 6-8 weeks for follow-up.
I hope it won't be raining.
Regarding his recovery, he seems to be doing very well. We were supposed to have an appointment with Sterling Impression Animal Rebahabilition Center on Tuesday but I decided not to go with them. They were originally recommended to us by Dr. Doolittle. However, I really do not see how I am going to be able to get him to Walpole for his appointments on a regular basis. Recently, it's been hard enough just to get home in time to get a good run in for Sabrina. So I found someone closer in Natick: Paws In Motion. Suzanne Starr is a veterinarian there and her rehab facility has been open since April of 2004. She hasn't been around as long as Sterling, but I don't doubt she could still be good. We have an initial consult with her next Sat. I am beginning to rethink this whole rehab idea though. Many people on the OrthoDogs list have rehabilitated their dogs without formal therapy. Dogs *can* recuperate without hydrotherapy, massage and accupressure. But formal rehab certainly may increase the likelihood that Riley recuperates faster. That's the trade off: money for a faster recuperated Riley, maybe in time to enjoy some of the snow?
Dr. Doolittle was pleased to see that Riley is recovering well from his TPLO. Her initial advice to us was not to go with surgery. Her opinion was probably greatly influenced by the fact that she recently knew a client who lost their German Shepard to complications related to an ACL surgery. But there is risk in everything we do, right? Nothing is a guarantee. Surgery seemed like the best option for us and we can only hope for the best. Unfortunately, the narcotics used for anesthetising him and then the NSAID prescribed for post-op care did a number on his organs. I have heard that Metacam (what Riley was given) can cause liver problems, even though it is thought to be "safer" than Rimadyl. Never-the-less, Riley's body had undergone a trauma and needed some help. She prescribed several natural supplements including toxin removes, digestive aids, and anti-inflammatories. Sabrina got to have her little visit too. She was so squirmy it took the Vet and an assistance to hold her while I distracted her with a treat for the evaluation. We go back in 6-8 weeks for follow-up.
I hope it won't be raining.
Regarding his recovery, he seems to be doing very well. We were supposed to have an appointment with Sterling Impression Animal Rebahabilition Center on Tuesday but I decided not to go with them. They were originally recommended to us by Dr. Doolittle. However, I really do not see how I am going to be able to get him to Walpole for his appointments on a regular basis. Recently, it's been hard enough just to get home in time to get a good run in for Sabrina. So I found someone closer in Natick: Paws In Motion. Suzanne Starr is a veterinarian there and her rehab facility has been open since April of 2004. She hasn't been around as long as Sterling, but I don't doubt she could still be good. We have an initial consult with her next Sat. I am beginning to rethink this whole rehab idea though. Many people on the OrthoDogs list have rehabilitated their dogs without formal therapy. Dogs *can* recuperate without hydrotherapy, massage and accupressure. But formal rehab certainly may increase the likelihood that Riley recuperates faster. That's the trade off: money for a faster recuperated Riley, maybe in time to enjoy some of the snow?
Friday, November 10, 2006
Where's Riley?
I take Sabrina to the same parks I used to take Riley to. Over the past three years, I have gotten to know several dozen dog owners and dogs that frequent the same parks. We have our own little dog community. For the most part, we all just know the names of the dogs. I know the first names of maybe a handful of the owners. I see these people more than I see my family-almost everyday, if not twice! Given each park trip lasts anywhere from 20 minues to 45 minutes, I see these people a lot!
When we first got Sabrina, I would bring both Riley and her to the park. People would see me and Riley and never realize that the little black girl was with us. After a few weeks, Riley was restricted from park romps, so I began to show up with just Sabrina. This really confused people. Some people would say hello to me, talk to me for a few minutes, then look around and realize that my usual tri-colored companion was missing. They would even hesitate for several minutes to ask. I think many of them were doing quick memory checks in their head to make sure they were talking to whom they thought they were talking to and didn't mistaken me for somebody else. Then they may ask with great apprehension, "Where's Riley?" The first few times I was asked, I felt a horrible sense of guilt. Having Riley with me for the past 3 years defined who I was. Much of my daily life revolved around him. And now I show up one day at the park with a new puppy. I feel like I traded in my baby boy for a new puppy. Now, most of the regulars I see everyday know of Riley's situation and frequently ask for updates. It is very difficult to comprehend that they will not see him for many many more months.
When we first got Sabrina, I would bring both Riley and her to the park. People would see me and Riley and never realize that the little black girl was with us. After a few weeks, Riley was restricted from park romps, so I began to show up with just Sabrina. This really confused people. Some people would say hello to me, talk to me for a few minutes, then look around and realize that my usual tri-colored companion was missing. They would even hesitate for several minutes to ask. I think many of them were doing quick memory checks in their head to make sure they were talking to whom they thought they were talking to and didn't mistaken me for somebody else. Then they may ask with great apprehension, "Where's Riley?" The first few times I was asked, I felt a horrible sense of guilt. Having Riley with me for the past 3 years defined who I was. Much of my daily life revolved around him. And now I show up one day at the park with a new puppy. I feel like I traded in my baby boy for a new puppy. Now, most of the regulars I see everyday know of Riley's situation and frequently ask for updates. It is very difficult to comprehend that they will not see him for many many more months.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
2 weeks post TPLO
Yesterday we rearranged the living room. YAY! Let's say that again..YAAAAY! I get really psyched about moving furniture around. It feels like we've revitalized our most common living space. I feel refreshed. There is more air, more energy, and better Feng Shui in the room now. I'm very pleased. I think all the furkids thought it was a good change too. There is more room for Riley to lay down and though the X-Pen is still set up in the room, Riley now has a window view. All of Sabrina and Riley's toys have been reorganized in a basket and this morning, Sabrina has been very busy taking them all out to explore. It's funny what a little reorganization can do.
Riley is doing pretty well. We had an Oops moment yesterday though. This isn't our first oops moment. I had a mini one with him one of the first days post TPLO when he came in from the rain and slipped on the floor on his way into his pen. He didn't seem to have injured himself there. Just gave me a mini heartattack. Since then, I've been sure to wipe down his paws after he comes in if it's wet outside. Like this morning, when out steps were slippery with frost...eek! But yesterday morning upon our return from Yoga, Riley got a little too excited. I came around the kitchen to say hello to him and calm him down and I saw his head popping up over the pen. The pen is 3.5 feet high. Riley was jumping up on his back legs in excitement. Before I could get him to calm down, I heard him yelp. By the time I got to him, he was holding his leg up high in the air. He just doesn't realized that he is still healing. He is obviously feeling great. I keeping saying...8 more weeks...
The leg seems fine today. I have been massaging it. I have now added the mesh top to his x-pen. It is advertised as a sun shade. I originally purchased it to ensure that Sabrina would not be getting into the pen. Now it works well to keep Riley from letting his paws leave the floor. He seems to still like his "den" and will retreat into his pen when Sabrina gets too roudy.
His fur is growing back thicker and his incision seems like it has healed. The staples will be removed tomorrow by our local vet. I think once the staples come out he will stop bothering with his leg so much.
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