New Beds

We'd been looking for the pups new beds. The old ones were, well, old. There had been many adventures for the old beds, and they wore well. But, it was just time fore new ones. Here's a picture of one of the new ones.


These are great -- they even have a Disney logo. No, we weren't that concerned with a "branded" dog bed. We couldn't beat the price! These are huge, fluffy, and seem to be enjoyed so far! Missy, seen below, seems to like to have her head on them during the day.


This is Daisy. I think she appreciates them most of all. I think the new beds are actually better than our human bed. Why else would the dogs prefer to sleep in them than with us?

Things Rita Will Eat

This is nothing to be proud of, and she probably shouldn't eat them...but can you believe a dog will eat these things??

Pasta, any kind
White rice
Grapefruit
Pickles
Apples
Bananas
Cotton Candy
Grapes (I quit letting her eat these.)
Alvocado (I don't think these are good for her either.)
Most nuts
Oatmeal
Most Cereal - granola
Granola bars


This little beagle is, well, not so little after eating so well! She's something special!

Surgery Update

Well, Rita has been the usual trooper she is! You wouldn't know she had just had such a big surgery. She's got a great personality! There's no doubt she's a real trooper with whatever is handed her own way.

This weekend we've put ice packs on her leg a couple of times to help with the swelling. Her leg is pretty red, but the swelling has gone down quite a bit. She's on a pain pill and antibiotics. Luckily, she loves treats so we've had no trouble giving her meds.

She goes for 6 laser treatments to aid in the healing process. Tomorrow is her first one. The treatments are pretty quick, but it takes like 45 minutes to get to the vet, so it's a little inconvenient. But, hey, it's just a little ride and she loves to go places! This is why she has such a great bond with HIM, she's used to being his little pal, and they have been inseparable -- and will be for the next 7 or so weeks!

Home from surgery

Well, we opted for Rita to go ahead with the ligament surgery. Now, we've got 6 laser treatments over the next 2 weeks. Can you believe we're scheduling laser treatments for the DOG?

Rita's a special case. She's no doubt the unplanned addition to our pack. When she was found HE swore he would never take care of this dog. Well, 4 years and $5K later, we couldn't imagine our life without her. She's had a rough life, a bad case of heart worms to start with. Once we had the heart worms fixed, we had metal screws put in her leg to fix where it had been broken. Then, when the screws did not stay in place, she went through another surgery to add plates and more screws. This did her so much good! She could walk, run and play and move much easier on all four legs. Around the time of the hurricane, we noticed she was lifting her good rear leg completely off the ground. She would occasionally use it, but not for long. Often I think it would only come close to the ground, without putting complete pressure on it. So, once the hurricane excitement was over, we made it back to the vet. This time he offered a second specialist. We were not happy that the first had to do surgery twice on her broken leg.

We dropped her off yesterday and around 3:30 they called to say she had made it through surgery well. She was very swollen and they would do the first laser treatment this morning. Once that treatment was done, they would determine if she could come home. We were very happy to pick her up at 11 AM today. She was bouncing with energy, as beagles do. It will be a difficult 8 weeks. Her activity should be very limited for the next 6-7 weeks -- outside only on the leash, never allowed to run free or play with her pals.

Her leg is incredibly swollen. The incision is very large. These are the best stitches I've ever seen! The doctor did an awesome job closing up. We have our first fall cool front and that leg must be cold -- they shaved almost her entire leg! She's certainly on her way to recovery, and hopefully this is the last major medical procedure she will undergo. I didn't have the heart to take pictures of her today, but I will soon.

Weekend Fun

This is a picture of the kiddie pool we got for the dogs to play in. It's been so incredibly hot here! We thought maybe they'd spend a little more time outside, if they had somewhere cool to take a dip in...


This is a picture of HIM in the pool. Note Rita, the beagle barking at him to get out of the pool.


This is a picture of Rita and Daisy, hot as can be, but not getting into the pool.



This is a picture of the Water Man. He found the biggest sprinkler he could find and gets such enjoyment out of it. Supposively, the sprinkler should shoot 40 feet. Unfortunately, our water pressure fluctuates ALOT. Sometimes, there's not enough pressure to make it work properly. When we bought the house, he said he'd let the grass die before he ever watered it. I think he may turn into one of those little old men that sits in their lawn chair holding the hose to water their yards! :)



It was dark by the time we finished our walk, but Missy and Rita did get into the pool after the walk. Rita tried to sit down, but didn't like the water all around her. The reason we actually got them a pool? We used to load them up and drive about a half hour to the dog park. There's two ponds for dogs to get into. We'd pack them up, fight the construction/traffic mess, they would run and play, but NEVER get into the water. I don't have the patience or time time go all the way to the dog park --- $5/gallon doesn't help! We took them to a closer park this weekend after they went shopping for their own dog food. This park has a neat little water feature, and Rita seemed to enjoy it. So we decided to pick up a little pool. I don't know if it will get used much, but we tried!

Updates

Ok, seems like I should recount what's been going on -- or lack of progress I should say....

Most importantly is Missy. Her bandage came off last weekend, and this past weekend, her stitches came out. The first couple of days after her bandage came off, her ear seemed very "loose". It just didn't have the same cute little shape it did before the the hematoma. Of course, we did consider puppy plastic surgery -- something we'd consider for our animals, but probably not for ourselves! Thankfully for her (and our checkbook) plastic surgery will not be needed. As her ear has gotten better, the cute little shape has returned.

Here's a picture of Missy's "cone ear" from surgery...



Then, of course, there's the house next door. The one bound for destruction, any day now, I guess??? Plus it had the exciting tree explosion that happened when lightening hit it a few weeks ago.

They were very prompt in removing the tree and the drebis from it. They didn't remove the stump. Here's a picture of the tree stump. It's huge, I still cannot believe how big the tree was, or how close the lightening was!


The orange fence has been up around since the day of the storm. I really thought that since the fence was up, the house would be coming down. WRONG. We're still looking at the orange fence. But, it's really no big deal. I guess the house coming down next door would be exciting, so we're just a little anxious to see it come down.

This is a picture from the front of the house. It's a decent house on the outside. It's actually brick on all 4 sides. I wish our house would have brick all the way around...then we wouldn't be in need of replacing some rotten wood.


This is a picture of the garage. It has a HUGE garage with an attached car port. Really one of the best features of the house according to HIM. But, if I had to guess, it's coming down, too.


These are the lingering things I hadn't followed up on. So, that's what's new. We've been busy. This has been the year of repair..we had been hoping it would be the year of progress, but as we're half way through July, I'm realizing, we're doing good keeping up with things that have broken this year. Somethings have actually broken multiple times...fun!

On a happy note, here's a picture of Rita. She's just loves to have her picture taken. Well, she takes good pictures, I don't know that she likes it, but I like taking them!

Missy

Missy is the red pup pictured at the top of the page. Today she was getting her head petted, and HE noticed her ear was lumpy. She went to the vet this afternoon and will return in the AM for surgery. I was surprised the vet would require anesthesia for a hematoma. Buster, HIS old basset hound had several hematomas, but never was it considered surgery. HE is taking her to the vet. At some point, HE decided that he was more competent to do the vet trips. (Thank goodness we do not have a child --- I don't know if I'd be competent to take a child to the doctor if I cannot take a dog to the vet.)

Missy's surgery is at 7:30 AM. Our vet is quite used to the way we operate. HE will be watching the surgery and staying with Missy until she is released to go home. When Missy was fixed, she did not react well to the medicine. We are all hoping she does not have such a bad reaction. She has gained some weight -- can you believe she's at 70 pounds??? I don't think her workout regimen is working.

I still can't believe her little short ears got a hematoma. Hopefully she will be home before I leave for breakfast with the "girls".