Treat, No Trick!!

Hi Eve!!
Great news! This morning Marshal received a clean bill of health from the vet. We had an early morning appointment, for additional radiographs to be taken, to see what progress he's made in healing. The summary from rehab, combined with a thorough going over from the doctor, however, indicated M is so far along that a new set of rads would be excessive. I am unclear whether M's current measurements (that both thighs are now the same size) as well as the extent of our underwater treadmill workouts, or the release from rehab to trot for short durations (30 seconds at a time, maximum 6 times per walk), or the conclusion of our rehab sessions are what convinced Vet that M is well on the way to full recovery? I was so excited to hear the great news, I don't really remember how he reached the conclusion. Here we are, waiting on the decision--Marshal was not nervous--while Momma and Doctor chat about his health. Did I mention he is 71.6lbs:And he gave Doctor several Marshal grins, and many of his gentle little licks. Marshal is such a friendly big boy. I have only seen a few of M's little grins, but he gave them to rehab every time we had a session. I think when I come home or return to M after an absence, there are so many other things going on that I miss the little lip curling. Besides trying to capture Beannie's cuteness, I will ALSO try to capture M's little grins.

So we celebrated a bit, after leaving the vet by going for a walk: We tested our feet (and our balance) walking over some big granite chunks:And we took photos of M's cuteness in the car--he was more interested in hanging out in the sun than he was in going for a car ride: The last thing we did this morning to celebrate is a short romp in the yard with Ansel and Paisle: This one is blurry, but still cute--not sure how Ansel is shaking his head while on the move, but he is! Can you see that M has the Kong in his mouth? Beannie has a tennis ball in her mouth, but its not visible. And so we are off, into the sun (rise, not set!). I did not let him run around freely for very long--we are still in recovery mode! But I am so relieved to know he's doing so well that I wanted to let him celebrate, just a little bit. Happy Halloween, Everett!!

Beannie's Coat

Dear Everett,
I can already tell today I am not going to get to write the blog of the fund raiser. If only writing about the things I want to, ALSO earned a salary!
So instead I took some photos of Paisle in her new coat (cashmere!). Too bad it was 70 degrees today! She was very tolerant, wearing it both inside and outside for me.
There will be many more photos of everyone wearing their coats this winter!
I just love her coat. The blue collar is a demi-collar in that it is only the top half--does not go all the way around her neck. So I can fold it back, giving her more movement when she's wearing a leash. A close-up of the cute detailing--these pieces are the same material as M's coat, so the two match. The deep red piping is also the same as M's, but this rich yummy chocolate color is all Paisle's, and it's cashmere!
Beannie seems to like her coat--or at least she tolerates it. I have never asked her to wear something like this--I think she'll like it much more, once December/January temps arrive! And we finally made it outside, in the coat... Ah, here she is with her boyfriend, Big Boy (Ansel is there too, in the background behind Beannie). Of interest (well, interesting to me at least) is that Beannie's measurements were almost identical to Marshal's. So here are the two pups, side by side. I guess Beannie is so much smaller than M, only because she has short little legs? Her circumference, length from collar to tail, and neck measurements are virtually the same as Marshal's! Oh, and she weighs 25 lbs less than he does. They are both sitting on their respective right hip.

I might ask both of them to wear their coats when we go for our early morning walk tomorrow, so we can see the artistry side by side.

This last photo is super grainy--camera was on the wrong setting--but I have to include it. I have tried and tried and TRIED to capture Paisle's expression, shown here, and not once made a good photo of it. This one is not great, but perhaps gives an idea of how cute the little Bean is, when she's sitting in my lap, as she is here (that is my Levi clad right knee just beyond her shoulder). Right after this photo, she lay down on me and her face was far too close to mine for me to take any more pictures of her. So instead, we lay there in the yard, soaking up the warm fading sunshine, giggling in the late afternoon.

More of October

Dear Eve,
It seems like it rained a lot this month. Ansel has never liked rain. Can you see the rain drop splashes at his feet?Paisle, on the other hand, does not mind rain at all. Here she is on some car trip--maybe going to one of Big Boy's rehab appointments (he likes traveling in the back of the car), or perhaps a visit to the vet? I started bringing her with us, whenever possible. "Possible" means bringing her along to a dog friendly place where I'd be able to handle the two pups together...And Big Boy, with one of the many beef bones we've used to keep him busy during his recovery:Have I mentioned how much Big Boy has grown? His feet don't seem so huge anymore.

Last week M had a really tough day at rehab. When we returned to the house, he seemed really stressed, and struggled with regular movement. So I put his coat on him, and he wore it until we went to bed that night. It really seemed to help! Small reminder--we have a really cold house. Here he is, along with his fellow Squirrel Patrol officer, the Bean:Beannie was taking a nap in that photo--Squirrel Patrol is a tough job! So here they are, back on duty:Isn't this just the cutest face...This brings us up to the 28th of October:And I have another post I'd like to write, about a fund raising event this month, for the maligned breeds we represent in the rescue organization I've joined--the same rescue that brought Marshal to us. I hope to write that blog tomorrow!

Last Day of Rehabilitation

Dear Everett,
I have only put up one post in the month of October, and Friday is Halloween! If only writing earned me a paycheck--but if it did, I might not enjoy it so much.


Big Boy is even bigger. On Satuday, he weighed in at 72.4 lbs. He's almost your size!! I hope he reaches at least 80 HEALTHY lbs, but we love him no matter his size. After all we love the Little Bean, and I doubt she's ever going to be a healthy 50 lbs. Here's the Motley Crew from this morning:I am practicing taking photos. I want to be like Amanda, who's talent with the camera is so obvious. It doesn't hurt that she has beautiful subject, too: Paisley, a long legged beauty with brindle patches and one brown, one blue eye; a whole slew of pittie puppies she's fostered, and of course her cutie pie of a toddler, the Grady Baby.

Who knew black dogs are so hard to photograph! I guess I never noticed, because I started taking a zillion photos of you when all our backdrops were pristine white snow...I just assumed the faulty photos I shot as the snow melted were bad because the shutter speed slowed down so much. I didn't realize I'd lucked out with the natural white backdrop while you were still alive, and the yucky photos were all my fault.

M has been a number of places, since we last posted. We picked up the doggy coat we bought for Charlie, Koren's little Havanese:

We had the scare with the A dog and his beef bone, but I already put up Ansel's photo from that night. We went back to the Guthrie:
And at the Mill City Farmer's Market, we picked up Marshal's coat:
His coat was made by Sydney Holcomb, founder and owner of Climutt (web site should be up soon), pictured here with Big Boy:
And a shot of the detail (Sydney held onto Big Boy while I tried for the best photo of his coat):
Who can pass up posing next to the cobalt blue of the new Guthrie?
Oh, I can't look!
Then back to rehab--this sculpture is visible from Larpenteur as you drive into the Agricultural campus of the University. The rehab lab is located just one double door away from the large animal facility, so we peek in on the horses when we can. M has seen several, but has not yet met one up close.
Later that same day, Beannie and I walked back to the university, to take advantage of some open space and work off some puppy energy.

She's such a good little retriever--see the tennis ball by her right front paw?

Later in the month of October, M went to the Summit Brewing Company:

mmm...yummy....I'll catch up the rest of October tomorrow! Always thinking of you Eve, with good thoughts and great memories.

House Rest Day 25

Hi Eve,

Boy did I fall off the blog posting bandwagon. I apologize so many days have gone by, without an update!

Marshal had rehab today for the first time since Sat. 9/27 because rehab went on vacation. He didn't have a stellar time in the tank on the treadmill, so he only did 20 minutes, down from 24 min. a week ago Saturday. I brought in his radiographs (all of them) so radiology could take a look at them. The rehab interns did not return with the rads before I left, however, so I'll pick them up as well as learn any comments from the radiologist on Thursday, when we go back for Big Boy's next treatment.

And Ansel was rushed to the Emergency room last night because he had something stuck in his throat. Here is Ansel in the car on the way home from the canine ER:

I've been giving all three dogs the large beef marrow bones I've mentioned a few times; last night Ansel apparently lodged a piece somewhere in his mouth from his bone. He didn't appear to be in great pain, but would sporadically open his mouth as wide as possible and paw at it with both front feet, rolling over in the process. He also licked his chops almost constantly, but didn't wretch or start drooling, nor did he whine. Initially I felt around in his mouth in case I could feel something lodged somewhere--nothing. Using a flashlight, I pried his mouth open and tried looking down his throat, but couldn't see much, and I didn't want to add to his stress. He continued to sporadically paw at his mouth. I grabbed the bone, threw both young pups in their respective crates (without their bones), and the bone, Ansel, and I headed to the emergency room. Somewhere during the drive Ansel stopped pawing at his mouth, but I figured better safe than sorry....

The vet could not find anything. Vet commented on Ansel's broken canine and the ensuing root canal (in 2001, I think) but said the rest of his teeth looked great for his age, and found nothing out of place, swollen, or otherwise altered from a possible bone fragment encounter. Since I'd brought the bone the A dog had been chewing, it was really obvious we were not looking for any large chunk or long fracture from the bone--the bone was almost entirely intact. Vet even commented that when he had his Rottie years ago, he used to give the Rot these same bones because they're so great for heavy chewers. Vet said to keep an eye on Ansel's digestion and if he starts showing signs of distress today, to take him our regular vet. So...we rushed to the after hours vet for no apparent reason. Sigh. But if we'd not gone, and something really bad happened to the goofy dog, I'd feel terrible about it forever.

No great pics of Big Boy at rehab today, but here is Beannie after a day of rain:

Big Boy is confined in his crate while Ansel and Paisle have some play time outside. There are pools of water in the yard, but the sun came out briefly between the raindrops while Paisle stopped to look for the neighbor pooch. The tree appears to be the same color as Beannie because it's soaking wet.

Back to work! Things are so busy right now, but here's to hoping tomorrow is a bit less wet, and full of fun doggy adventures.