Visit to Santa Paws 2012

Dumdadum - that time of year again.

Last year's Santa Paws visit was a bit hurried to say the least. And, while Bella felt quite important to be at the mall, she was not happy to see the beast man.  It is a bit to ask of our dogs - to sit next to a huge creature that looks like prey but smells like person. We are lucky they they love us so much.

This year, the humane society had pictures with Santa Paws. They do this every year.  The proceeds from the mall event went to the Humane Society.

Last year Bella was kind of scooped up and dropped into the big man's lap. This year, my goal was to have a calmer visit with Santa.

We went later in the afternoon so i had time to prep her. All that day she was handed treats accompanied by the words "Santa Paws!" said in a happy excited higher pitched voice. We played tug to the mantra of "Santa Paws! Santa Paws! Going to see Santa Paws," followed by more treats. Ear massages, belly rubs, butt scratches were all given while talking about visiting the big guy.

And then the time came. As i said, we went later in the day. In fact ours was the last visit. So, that helped to keep her nervousness down a bit. The visit was better than in the past. As we entered the room she got treats. Santa Paws gave her treats. She jumped up next to him when asked, and stoically sat until told she could leave. As you can see, she also let Santa cozy up a bit.  So..... all in all, not bad.

The biggest drama was the wait. There were cages holding cats on either side of the line. This caused quite a bit of tail tucking and bolting for the exit until i took a seat on a bench and had her sit between my feet. I can only assume that if dogs made horror movies, at least one would entail a room filled with cats in some way.

Whether Bella is just mellowing or whether my word association exercise worked, i don't really know. Next year i will remember to incorporate the words "cages of cats" into the treating, & will see what happens then.

Happy Howlidays everyone!

P.S - Remember that the United States Humane Society has absolutely nothing to do with your local humane society. Nor do they receive money from the USHS. If you want to donate, please donate locally.

Peace

doggy bootcamp

Here  is  a story about exercising with your dog.

People think that if you have a dog and you walk the dog, you are getting exercise, yes? However, while it's true that some walking is better than no walking, if you allow your dog to be a dog and enjoy her walk in a doggy way, then you are often agreeing to take many sniff breaks on your walk. Bella can find  the tip of 1 fallen leaf to be the most interesting thing in the universe - until she gets to the most interesting blade of grass just a mere 10 feet from the leaf. Often our walks are simply short bursts of movement in between reading very long pee-mails. But, this is how she explores her world. So, so be it.

But, the truth of the matter is, while i can rock the yoga and walk at a moderate pace for miles and miles, i need cardio. Not that i want it. But i do need it. & i am not the type to go to a gym or "out for a run." & i really do enjoy spending my limited free time with my 4-footed friend (honestly, Target would get so much more of my money if i were allowed to bring my dog shopping.). So, what's a lazy girl to do?

Hubby and i first learned about doggy boot camp on an episode of Cesar Millan (Yes, i watch Cesar. & i would watch all the other dog training shows too if they were available on Hulu). We looked at each other and said - "how cool. but it will never come to Cleveland."

But - Ta daaaa - it did. Right around the time that i promised myself to shape up and not become a old flabby fat woman, I met the boot camp ladies, Heidi and Lisa.

Really, i am a cardio wimp. Just don't like it. Never really have. When i run i kind of feel (& probably look) like a flopping fish desperately trying to get back to water. But, i must say the class is doable and participants are encouraged to go at their own pace. So, that's nice.

The class consists of cardio and resistance. About 10-15 minute intervals. So, my dog gets to rest while i "pump it up" with Heidi's instruction.

I say that my dog is resting. The fact of the matter is that she is working in a different way. She has to exercise self control and stay in one spot while i work the resistance. If the dog has a problem with this, then Lisa steps in to help give the dog and owner obedience training tips.

All in all, i am very happy that this type of class is available in my area.

Now, if someone wants to offer doga?

Yep. This about sums it up....

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/dog_paradox

dogs in cars

in the morning.

So, Bella is now allowed to go potty in the backyard by herself. This is both a relief and a bit confusing to her.  Sometimes she stops and looks back at us as if to say "are you coming? Did you forget? Are you sure this is o.k.?"  But she has adapted to the new/old routine of "checking her acreage" on her own quite easily.

 I and J. are happy that we know longer have to suit up for night-night potties, middle of the night "think I gotta potty" potties, first thing in the morning potties, & "just said I had to potty so I could see if the squirrel was out". Luckily this has been a mild winter.

Of course there were good parts to taking Bella outside on her every whim -

Me - "but you just went out"
Bella - big puppy eyes
Me - big sigh - "Oookay"

We discovered that it was actually the animals dropping food into our back yard - bread, peanuts, chunks of fruitcake. And we have just decided to believe that the whole piece of pizza we found was dropped by a traveling raccoon. This is much easier to accept than thinking that someone would fling an entire piece of pizza over our fence.

And I discovered why some people not only drag themselves out of bed before daybreak but also out of the house and jog or whatnot.  As I age, I am becoming an earlier riser but would've never thought to actually step outside before the skies lightened.

What a beautiful time between worlds - as night transitions into day. There is a kind of misty look that the trees have - as if the wind made a blanket out of itself and wrapped itself around the arboreal trunks. And the darkness of the sky just hovers a bit  - loitering like an indecisive teenager while the light begins to work around it.

Of course, I mean.... I wasn't wearing my glasses. The world always looks more interesting when corrective eyewear is not involved. So if the above is not your take on early early morning - try taking off your glasses or squint so your vision is slightly blurred. It just may help.

And the birds waking up - what beautiful songs! And the air is still and fresh - refreshed from time without human activity.

Standing with Bella - breathing deeply while she sniffed quickly. Both of us quiet, curious. It was nice.
So nice, in fact that this morning I accompanied her - just for the heck of it.

The below pictures do not describe the time of day I was referring to. But they were taken on a foggy morning. Of course by the time I went into the house for my camera and got back out, much of the fog had lifted.

Getting There

Bella is about 4 weeks into recovery from her ACL surgery. She continues to help me to smile and laugh even as she recovers.

The morning of the surgery, she was not allowed any breakfast. This obviously confused her as evidenced by the way she followed me around and gave long looks at her food bowl whenever we passed by. In the car on the hour drive to the surgeon, the poor girl was drooling. Remember this is a dog who has never missed a meal or an opportunity for a treat of any kind.

The Animal Clinic Northview is a huge building situated in a park like setting. Bella lost no time in figuring out why she was there. She was there to hunt her own breakfast of course. As soon as she was out of the car she was using her nose and pulling me behind her as she ran this way and that on her 3 good legs tracking rabbit ... or kibble ... or whatever she felt she was tracking. I was probably quite a sight  being pulled around like the guy in the Marmaduke cartoon by my 3 legged dog.

____

After a 24 hour stay at the hospital, Miss Bella came home. She greeted me at the vet cautiously using her bad leg for balance. Even though she had just been through ACL surgery, all was well in her world. She wriggled, wiggled and wagged when she saw me. And the small contented way her lips curled into a smile as she curled up on the couch to rest touched my heart.

____________

Even though they would probably never admit it, the cats were glad that Bella was home. After all, with her around the attention is off of them. 

We call our female cat, Frances, the nurse kitty. When my husband is not feeling well, Franny rarely leaves his side.  On the first night of Bella's injury, Franny showed her the same compassion. Frances made sure that she was near Bella almost the whole night. My husband had lifted Bells up onto the couch. And Frances laid just above her - in her line of vision. At one point in the night Bella woke up and whined a little. Frances jumped down and went over to the dog and rubbed her chin on Bella's sore knee, then went back to her post and continued to watch her friend intently. 

And they have been sleeping closer and closer together during Bella's convalescence. 

________________

We go back in the beginning of March for 6 week x-rays. Hopefully at that time some restrictions will be lifted and she will be able to start getting back to her active ways. She is being a very good sport through all of this, but I am sure she will be happy when she can go potty on her own again. We have had a few water therapy sessions & we plan on continuing with rehab. 

 1st water therapy treatment

Basically, water treatment is a treadmill in a water tank. 3 sessions were included in the price of the the surgery at Animal Clinic. We will continue treatments at Dancing Paws with Dr. Sivula. He is a bit closer & a much more holistic. We had our first appointment with him this week. He is the first vet to broach the subject of nutrition before I did & knew more than to just sell whatever product he has on the shelf. He recommended a hip and joint supplement that is sold at Petsmart and recommended that I increase her fish oil. Apparently dogs need much more than humans.  Oh! And get this - I was told that Bella, being a sleek 80 pounds, falls into the "ideal weight" category. HaHA! Don't think I've ever heard that before.

Dr. Sivula also gave Bella a chiropractic adjustment. This was the best part of her day. She was one happy dog. She walked around and around the back yard when we got home swishing her tail from side to side and even had it going so fast it was spinning in a complete circle.

As I said, Bella is being a very good sport about not doing anything and being crated when we aren't home.  As she feels better we are doing a bit more obedience work and playing games like "find it." But, she is starting to go a bit stir crazy. We are both looking forward to long walks in the park again. Soon ..... hopefully soon.

OUCH!

There is nothing most dogs love more than playing in the snow. My dog is no exception. She will run and bound and jump and roll until the cows come home.

& this is what she was doing a week ago Sunday when her ACL snapped.

Bounding, running, playing with another friendly dog when.... yelp! .... then hopping on 3 legs to me.

AARRRGH!

I extend my utmost gratitude to the other dog couple who waited with her for me while I ran to my car and drove to a closer entrance of the park. There was no way she was walking that far and no way I could carry her.

The emergency vet diagnosed a ruptured/torn/whatever ACL and a torn meniscus based on the x-rays and the popping noises her knee was making. My vet confirmed this diagnosis the following day. Surgery was  the only option.

Pure craziness. You know when you don't know too much about something there is nothing to do but trust that the people who do are going to guide you in the right direction. Unfortunately, I am not that good at trusting. I sent out emails to other dog people. I researched ACL's, dog menisci, operations, conservative treatment. But I felt as informed as I was before Bella's injury - nil.

We had decided to simply go to the surgeon that the vet suggested. But, you know, there was just something about that decision that wasn't resonating. & I guess that is what it's all about when you don't know jack - the intuition has to take over.

My husband talked to his cousin, a vet on the west side. She recommended the Animal Clinic Northview. Yeah, she works there, but she is also very objective - per my husband. & the way the facility was described seemed right to me. And after meeting with Dr. Knox, my mind was a bit more at ease.

So, a week after the injury, Bella is on the mend. She was placing weight on her leg the day after the surgery. And she now thinks that she can do pretty much anything. Of course, for a very long while she will have to be quiet and contained. & this is the biggest challenge.

If anyone has any ideas of how to keep her mentally active without too much movement I would greatly appreciate them.

Happy Belated

Bella's first birthday

Well, even though the vet sent her an e-card at the start of the month & my calendar is marked, & I was thinking of it the week before, I would've completely forgotten Bella's birthday on January 5th had Dogster not sent a birthday greeting and "25 bones" on the day of.

Funny how things change, ay?  Her first birthday was celebrated with a party for her and her siblings complete with party hats and cupcakes. She even wrote about it in her diary. (Unfortunately, most of those pics were lost in the  "great computer crash" of 2008. But here is Bella and 2 of her brothers at the party. )

This year, it was "maybe this weekend we'll take a ride to the store & get you a birthday toy." But somehow I don't think she minded too much. 

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