Second puppyhood

When doctors removed the pin in my mini Lab, Asta’s leg (that’s her with me in my sidebar), it did more than relieve what must have been incredible pain, it also apparently unleashed her second puppyhood. She seems happier, livelier and eager to play.

Once her activity restrictions were relaxed a little, all she wanted to do was wrassle with Big Sis Hershey and chase squirrels. (She couldn’t get far on her leash, but she wanted to run.)

From her initial homecoming, I tried to find her toys to enjoy. She’d have none of it. Asta was even timid about taking treats from us. But, now… apparently she has puppy stuff to make up, time lost while injured and attempting to heal. Without the burden of pain, she is free to do all those things she missed out doing.

Like chewing on things she shouldn’t.

You’d think, with all that I’ve done to improve her quality of life, of all the love I’ve heaped on her, she’d leave my stuff alone. And, it’s not like the menfolk don’t leave out tempting, gnaw-worthy paraphernalia.

Saturday, after my photo hike, while sitting on the couch downloading and editing my pix, Asta was peacefully asleep on her bed in the living room. Or so I thought. Looking up from my laptop, I see that she is actually busy destroying my shoe. My favorite, most comfortable pair of Rainbow sandals. Those lovely leather phenoms that mold to your foot, and have a lifetime materials guarantee.

I don’t expect “stupid dog” falls into the “normal wear” caveat.

It wasn’t as if she didn’t have toys for the specific purpose of chewing, or even less beloved shoes…

You might also think, that the menfolk would be sympathetic. Apparently I was wrong about that too. I’m going to rub  beef bouillon on their shoes.

Backyard garden: flora edition

A combination of intermittent rain, traveling menfolk and unpredictable dogs, kept me close to home again this weekend. When a break in the weather gave me a small window of opportunity, I snuck out and took some pix of the shower drenched flora in my yard. The Girls, Hershey and Asta, followed me around, helping me decide what to photograph. They have a good eye…

You can click on any image to see a larger photo, or the series as a slideshow.

(Photos shot with a Nikon D60, using an 18-55mm, 55-200mm, 20mm f/2.8 wide-angle, 50mm f/1.8 prime lens, Nikon CoolPix S205 and/or iPhone4)

For more photos, please visit my Flickr photostream.

Submitted to Unknown Mami’s Sundays in My City

Taking it to the streets

In lieu of a photo hike Saturday, Mister went with me to the Big City to take our little Asta to see a specialist about her injured hip. Our vet sent us with a referral to an orthopedic doc to get a second option about whether the pin holding the break together could be removed.

With her last X-ray, and surgery notes in hand, we went into this appointment with trepidation. There was no telling what this doctor would recommend.

Asta wasn’t too sure about the car ride, wandering over the back seat of our car, and me, for most of the hour drive. Finally at one point she did try to relax a bit, giving my sore legs a break from her little paws digging into my thighs while standing to look out the car window.

She was very relaxed at the vet’s, waiting patiently to be called back for her exam. The doctor was gentle with his manipulations of her legs and paws, even squeezing her toes to make sure she had sensation in her feet. We found out that at some point her right scapula had also been broken, but it wasn’t clear if that was also from the car hitting her, or from before that.

After checking her out, the doctor said he wasn’t recommending surgery at this time. The break was in fact not knitting as well as he expected after this long (two months). He suggested physical therapy, something I had asked our vet about before and was told there was nothing like that I could do.

I’m not going to be doing any deep tissue massages, rather he wants us to walk Asta… a lot. The idea is to fatigue her good back leg enough that she is forced to use her injured leg. Initially we were told to keep her off the leg to let it heal, now she needs to start putting weight on it again. Walking we can do.

After four weeks, if she’s not using her leg more, then we have two options. One: remove the pin and do nothing else. She can get around pretty well using only three legs, and the doc said it would NOT be inhumane to leave her alone; or Two: remove the pin and redo the surgery, using a plate instead of pinning. I’m not excited about that second option.

My hope is that since she was using the leg before, that she will again. It’s just a matter of time. We’ve already gone on our first walk around the block, and now, I can take her with me on some of my photo hikes. I am excited about that.

(Photos shot with a Nikon D60, using an 18-55mm, 55-200mm, 20mm f/2.8 wide-angle, 50mm f/1.8 prime lens, Nikon CoolPix S205 and/or iPhone4)

For more photos, please visit my Flickr photostream.

Submitted to Unknown Mami’s Sundays in My City

Spring haz-mat cleaning: scoop the poop

Tuesday was a beautiful day! The sun was out, temps were climbing back into bearable ranges, and I was actually motivated to DO something.

I headed outside to prep my raised planters. Recent monsoons rains, made the backyard a smidge marshy, but other than feeling like I was walking on wet sponges, the prep work went really quickly. Now, I have two plots ready for peppers, herbs, and maybe zucchini.

The warm weather was also an impetus to clear out the mine field in our backyard.

Take two Labs, mix in long months of cold and wet weather, pour into one large yard, stir in Mother Nature, and it makes for a lot of dog poop. A LOT OF POOP. I got out shovels, gloves and a 10 gallon bucket, which I quickly filled.

The haz-mat clean-up took on a sort of scavenger hunt mystic. I discovered that The Girls really do have a strange menu of things they will ingest ~ batting from an old stuffed toy, styrofoam packing peanuts from Christmas, and cat litter.

Yes, we also have a cat. And, yes we’ve had to install barricades and a moat around the litter box… nuff said ’bout that.

To all my northern friends, those who still have a few feet of snow in their yards, I don’t envy your jobs once all that ice melts.

To all those other pet owners without yards, those who must take twice daily walks for your beloved pets to ‘do their duty’ ~ remember to scoop the poop. I cannot tell you how nasty it is to have to clean some other dog’s crap out of my yard. It’s bad enough when it belongs my own pets.

*From the Vault of IMSO: originally published Feb. 26, 2010. Edited and updated.

The good, the bad and the meh: the continuing Asta saga

Today, we had a sort of “good news/bad news, but mostly meh news” appointment at the vet’s with our fur kid Asta. After a two-week wait, we hoped that she healed to the point where the pin in her hip could be removed.

The bad news is her vet wasn’t satisfied with the progress of her recovery, and wanted to wait a little longer. The good news is that he’s writing us a referral to an orthopedic vet for a second opinion. The bad news is an appointment for this other doc to review her X-rays and examine her is about $125, whereas our vet is providing his services free-of-charge since Asta is a shelter rescue.

The good news is the specialist’s office is within driving distance and we can get an appointment sometime next week. More good news is that an additional week’s wait isn’t an issue in Asta’s recovery. The bad news is that our vet said he felt some “crepitness” in her hip that he didn’t like, and more bad news is that in the interim, there is nothing we can do to improve her prognosis – no “doggy physical therapy.”

The good news is that our vet thinks we can save her leg, the bad news is that additional surgery may be required. The good news is that if more work is necessary, and our vet is qualified to perform the surgery, he said he’d do it free of charge. The bad news is if he isn’t comfortable doing what the specialist recommends, we have to decide whether we can afford for the orthopedist to perform the surgery.

Unless an additional operation is crazy, “sell-an-extra-kidney” expensive, we’ll opt for paying for the procedure, but I was hoping the little fur baby wouldn’t have to go through anymore trauma. She’s already had a rough time of it lately.

Broken bones

It’s been two full days, and our new fur kid, Asta, is assimilating nicely. She’s not as shy, coming to us when we call, and letting us pet and hold her.  She’s playfully interacting with our older dog, Hershey, and seems comfortable in her new home.

One reason we were so charmed by her, is that she is physically challenged. She will have a pin in her hip, a remanent from her surgery, for another month. Her injured leg appears shorter now, and the prognosis is that she’ll always have a limp.

For older dogs, imperfect dogs, it’s much harder to find Forever Homes. We sought out such a dog, mainly on the expressed wish of our son. Being a bit different himself, he can empathize and wanted to give a loving home to a needy pet.

Watching Asta peacefully sleeping this morning, the Mister mentioned how much happier she seems, and asked if I was still glad we adopted her.

“Do you still like your smelly, broken Valentine gift?”

I told him about the Japanese tradition of repairing broken pottery with gold-filled resin. The art of Kintsugi, “golden joinery,”  mends shattered vessels so that they are considered better and more beautiful.  I said I thought of Asta like that. She was broken, but with all the love we can offer, her wounds would mend and be made more beautiful.

“I don’t know, I don’t think we should spray paint her gold,” he said.

“Don’t worry, I have gold nail polish.”

“I feel the same way about your appendix.”

I love you too, Hon.

When the Japanese mend broken objects, they aggrandize the damage by filling the cracks with gold. They believe that when something’s suffered damage and has a history, it becomes more beautiful.” ~ Barbara Bloom

This week’s Studio30 Plus theme is “that was awkward,” and/or “broken bones“

Welcome home, Asta

She’s home!

After an interminable two-week wait, our newest fur kid, Asta is finally home.

She is the sweetest little, Lab-mix, and Asta’s older ‘sister’ Hershey is accepting her adopted sibling as if she was always a member of our family.  Po isn’t quite sure about Asta, but I think she’s warming up to her.

Our little girl is recovery from surgery and still limps, but can get around pretty well.

We found out that before she came to the rescue refuge where we met her, she had been seriously injured in a hit-and-run accident. She underwent reconstructive surgery to repair a broken hip. The pin can be removed in another month, and she should walk better after that.

Asta must have grown accustom to being outside, it a took a while before she would come in the house, but soon she made herself comfortable on her new bed.

We all have some adjusting to do, but I think she is fitting in perfectly into her Forever Home.