Recuperating?

Guinness is on a somewhat complicated regimen of medications. We wrote it all down so that we won't forget anything.

Today, my great nephew got married near my hometown. Before surgery, we thought we could leave him in his pet hotel, but, once we realized the gravity of his condition, we could not do that. He needed peace and quiet and the love of a parent. So Daddy stayed home with him while I enjoyed the lovely ceremony.

As I began my trip home this evening, I called Grant. He was eager for me to be home, because he was worried about Guinness's leg. When I arrived home, there were large red blotches all over his leg and the incision was beginning to ooze. We put him in the car and went to the Emergency Animal Clinic. It was infected, and he is now on anti-biotics as well as his other meds.

Here he is being a good boy while we waited at the animal clinic. Cha-ching, cha-ching.

Coming Home Day

Guinness's intern called this morning to say that he was doing well and could be released at noon. She showed me his post-operative x-rays. If you enlarge this photo, you can see a dark curved line at the top of his tibia bone. They rotated that bone forward to create a somewhat flat surface at the top, instead of a sloped surface, to keep the ball of the femur from sliding off the tibia. If you look closely, you can see the cut portion of the fibia turned forward of the tibia. Then the joint is stabilized with a plate that is screwed in to the two pieces of bone. Ouch!

Dr. Sarah had left me temporarily at the cashier's window in the background. I turned away from Guinness to speak to the cashier, and wouldn't you know, he jumped placing his front paws on the shelf at the window. Another client offered to hold him while I concluded business, and he jumped with her holding him too. Not good!

Here he is ready to go home with his surgeon assisting to porter him to my car.

At home, he was sedated enough to relax for a minute and show off his leg which had surgery.

Surgery Day

I thought it best for Guinness to sleep in the den last night on his bed rather than navigate the stairs, which he is not supposed to do, to sleep with me, as is the norm. In the middle of the night, he barked and barked. I know I am not supposed to give in, but my night was going to be short enough as it was, so I went downstairs and attempted to sleep on the living room sofa next to him. It didn't work, so I went back to bed for a few more winks before the alarm rang at 5:30 AM. I was to leave Guinness at the Veterinary College Hospital at 7:30 AM. It was a very foggy morning, I saw a deer beside the road. She walked onto the road and stared at me, while I slowed down, then she scaled a high fence and gracefully flew into the woods. After dropping him off, I witnessed an accident right in front of me. Scary.

The intern assisting the orthopedic surgeon called mid-afternoon to say that the surgery went well. The crutiate ligaments were completely torn and were trimmed back. The meniscus had been damaged and needed to be trimmed and "released." A complete explanation, with diagrams, of the TPLO surgery can be found at http://www.thespaw.ca/pdfs/cruciate-tplo.pdf. The stabilization of the joint was completed, and he was resting comfortably. She said she would call me in the morning to give me a pickup time which would probably be Friday evening.

Why is My Life a 3-Ring Circus?

I am such a ditz! Yesterday, I painstakingly figured out where the veterinary college is, where to park, the route to take from home (since Grant has the GPS with him),etc. Google indicated it would take 45 min. from door to door, so I decided to leave at 8:30 to arrive by 9:30. But my confused brain, upon awaking this morning, interpreted that to be that I needed to BE there at 8:30. I awoke at 6:50, and realized I didn't have time for a shower. I pulled some clothes on, made myself decent, and took off, arriving at 8:15!

Somehow, Guinness knew that this was a vet's office. He was SOOOOO excited to be there! He isn't supposed to be jumping, so I have Hershey's ramp in the car for Guinness to get in and out of our SUV without further strain on his knee. The only way to keep him in the car when I open the back, is to attach the loop of the leash to the driver's armrest. I set up the ramp, unhooked his leash while holding his collar to guide him down the ramp. He was far too excited and jumped with me holding him, almost dragging me to the ground. After retrieving the leash from the armrest, I held him while putting the ramp away.

The next excitement was to enter the waiting room, full of people and animals. Guinness made a grand entrance barking and leaping at the end of the leash. Everyone thinks he is a crazy dog (which he is) and grabs their pets to protect them. At the registration desk, the lady had me sign forms while Guinness danced around jerking me as I tried to write, then she asked for his papers from our vet. I assumed they would take Guinness away while I fetched the vet's packet from the car. I said, "They are in the car. I couldn't bring them in and Guinness." She said she needed them, so I stood there wondering what to do with Guinness. A client, whose dog was being seen, offered to hold his leash. What a nice man! Soon we were ushered into an examination room. At 8:45, someone came in confused about why we were there. I said that Guinness was to have surgery. She checked the schedule and saw that he was on the docket for 9:30! She suggested that I go out for a coffee and return at 9:30.

I had not had breakfast, so that sounded like a good idea. I found a Tim Hortons, but it was only a drive through. I could not eat in the car with a fasting Guinness without giving him a Timbit. I bought a TH coffee, then drove around the corner to a McDonald's. I walked in with my TH coffee and ordered a McMuffin. Just before 9:30, we returned to the clinic, entering the building through a drenching rain. Both of us dripped on the floor while Guinness barked and danced around as we waited to be ushered to an exam room. As I tried to keep him from sniffing every dog we passed, I commented, "He passed Advanced Obedience!" And someone chortled, "I'd like to see that."

A young female doctor came and invited me to be seated. I told her I preferred to drip dry while standing. She explained that they needed more detailed x-rays of the knee for the surgery, thus he would only have x-rays today and the surgery would be tomorrow. I had a choice of waiting for him today or leaving him overnight at an $80 fee. I chose the overnight option. She wanted a brief exam of his knee, asking me to get on the floor with her, hold his two right legs to the ground with my right elbow pressing on his neck to keep his head down while she manipulated his left hind knee. She went into great detail on what has happened to Guinness's knee, how they will repair it, the potential problems, and about his recuperation. He must stay off stairs for EIGHT weeks, only 5 min. walks on level ground, and must remain calm. If we have smooth floors, they need to have carpeting on them to keep him from skidding. We recently removed our carpeting and had hardwood put in! She discovered that imaging could take him immediately, and he would be ready to go home by noon.

Off I went to the corner university coffee shop -- one with nice atmosphere and seating. I bought yogurt, an enticing but tasteless cookie, and a cup of their icky, warm, brown drink. If I had known all the waiting I would do, I would have brought a book, so my Blackberry sufficed as my pastime.

Back at the clinic, I asked when he could have food and water. They said that detailed instructions would be given to me. They called a porter to come. He asked me where my dog was. I said, "I don't know. You're supposed to bring him to me."
He replied, "When you find him, let me know." Can this get any crazier??! The young man at the desk called to him that Guinness was in the back and he was to bring him out.
The man guided groggy Guinness out. He had a tough time walking to the car. Once I had the ramp in place, he refused to go up it. I was not sure what to do. After considering walking all the way back into the building to ask for help, I held his collar, and shepherded him up the ramp. They obviously had manipulated his knee so that it was uncomfortable for him. He had trouble sitting, then going down into a lying position.

At that point, I realized I had no care instructions or discharge papers. Returning to the registration desk, they were very confused. The intern was in surgery, so they found a clinician who advised he could drink, but not eat until 8 PM.

Once we were home, he came down the ramp, had difficulty walking up the short, but deep steps around our house to the front where he was then faced with 3 stone steps to the porch. They were a real obstacle and are going to need a ramp. Our condo townhouse neighbors are not going to enjoy a ramp on our steps all summer. After coming in the house, he disappeared. I looked all over the main level of the house and finally found him on the sofa. I wonder how he managed to get up there!

Then I pulled out throw rugs which I have kept in case they were ever needed (hurray!) and littered our floors with them.

Unhappy

Guinness is not a happy boy with his hurt leg. He is being very quiet and not requesting exercise.

The Happy Devil

That is what Dr. C. called Guinness today. He always has quirky nicknames for him. Dr. C. determined yesterday that he does have a torn crutiate ligament(s). He wanted to x-ray him today to see how bad the damage is.

I left him at the vet's at 8:00 this morning to be sedated for his x-rays, then I returned this afternoon for the results and to take an eager boy home. The x-ray showed that his thigh muscle has atrophied, so he has had this knee problem for a long time without any visible difficulty. It certainly has not slowed him down from being crazy! It also revealed some damage which has happened to the joint. He needs surgery to stabilize his knee. Our vet had two recommendations for an orthopedic surgeon. When we decide which way to go, he will book an appointment for us.

It is going to be very difficult to keep him off flights of stairs. There are stairs to the garage on the lower level, stairs from the deck to the yard, and stairs to the bedrooms. Thank goodness we have the ramp Hershey used to get into the back of the SUV. Getting Guinness to wait for me to set up the ramp before he jumps out is going to take some practice...

At least, now we know the problem and are moving towards a resolution, though it will not be quick and easy or cheap!

Poor Guinny

Note he is holding his left hind foot up. Grant noticed him limping on the weekend, though I never saw it. After racing at high speed at doggie park, he could not walk on it and came home on three legs. I called my vet nephew to see if I should take him to the vet today or wait a few days before going. He suggested waiting, and not letting him go up and down stairs, no jumping, no walks, etc. If he isn't better in a couple of days, he needs to go in. He probably has a pulled cruciate ligament like football players get. If it is that, he will need surgery.

Guinness is a BAD Boy!

I heard the clanging of pots and pans and ran to the kitchen. See these muffin pans?

They used to have freshly baked muffins in them. The banana oatmeal chocolate chip muffins were tipped on their sides and the baking papers removed for cooling. But... Guinness got a taste of delicious birthday cake last week in NC. So he decided to try Mommy's baking. Apparently, he liked it. A lot. At 4 years old, we have entered a new phase -- stealing baked goods.

Goofy Guinness

Coming home from NC, I stopped overnight at a college friend's house in WV. We had talked on the phone, so she knew I was about to arrive any minute and left the front door wide open. I pulled into the driveway, opened the car, Guinness galloped out before I could grab his leash, ran straight through the front door, down the hall, through the kitchen, and THROUGH the screen to the deck!!!! By the time I caught up with him, I saw the broken screen door and commented, "I'm glad one of your grandchildren broke the door before Guinness did." The response was, "Guinness did it." :-0 Oh, my...

He was pretty crazy all evening, so I had to keep him on leash to keep him with me and not tearing through their house. By Friday morning, he was much more calm, and was even a bit gentlemanly. (Is that possible???)

I had to blog the door episode, so before we left Friday morning, Ruth took him outside so that he could demonstrate the doggie door he had created for himself.

Guinness, My Hero!

On the way home a week later, I was headed to an college friend's house in the panhandle of West Virginia sandwiched between Ohio and Pennsylvania. My GPS guided me off the Interstate in Ohio and onto a small, scenic river road. At first, it was only two lanes, but it eventually became four lanes. Cruising my usual ten miles over the speed limit, I passed an ugly, old black car with three guys in it. The driver pulled out of the right lane and started tagging me. I assumed that he perferred that I be stopped for speeding instead of him. After a while, he was not just following me, but was tailing me. I considered touching my brakes to make him back off, but didn't which may have been fortuitous. I was becoming annoyed with his tailgating, when Guinness awakened and stood up. Immediately, the car passed me, not to be seen again.

When I told Grant the story, he thinks the car was stalking me. These red necks saw a Lexus from Canada with an older woman -- an easy target and one who likely had money. The usual technique is to bump a vehicle, causing it to stop, giving them the opportunity to rob or worse. After he planted that idea, I remembered that the car had passed me at one point, then pulled into the right lane allowing me to pass them again. They were probably getting a good look at their prey. Thank God for Guinness!!!

Guinness's Last Day in NC

Spunky is not afraid of Guinness and wanders into the house at will! They were nose to nose, but I didn't have my camera. This was their position by the time I snapped a shot.

We tied Guinness to a tree and planted two marigolds and a bean plant that came home from Preschool and a baby oak tree that we started from an acorn given to us by Laura, Mom's hairstylist, as something living to remind us of Mommy. During a break from work, Kevin tried climbing this tree and swung from a branch upside down!

Guinness is a Good Boy

Guinness trying to get Mommy's attention with a shoe. He has been phenomenally good with the cats! He could easily become their buddy if he lived with them long enough. The cats themselves have reacted the opposite of what I expected. I thought that James would warm up to Guinness rather quickly. He tried once, and that was the end. He has remained in the sunroom since. Spunky, the one who hid in the box springs for two days several years ago when Hershey came to visit, has decided to take back her house and tolerate the big brown creature.

Helping to walk Guinness.

Cats Rule; Dogs Drool

Guinness found access to a prize: Karin's leftover birthday cake! :-0 When we returned after being out, the large Tupperware container was on the floor, licked clean. Not a crumb to be found. It had been left on the counter. He had neatly knocked the lid to the side (on top of the range) while taking the container to the floor for better access. Karin would NOT be happy!!! But the top layer is still in the freezer, so all is not lost.


Spunky also had an exciting day! Spunky, who is VERY shy, wandered into the house from the sunroom THREE times today!



First, this morning, she shocked us by appearing on the kitchen table!



This afternoon, she materialized behind the puppet theater with only an eye peeking out.



Tonight, she was ON the puppet theater.

Each time, Guinness came within two feet for a better look, but gave her her space and never tried to invade her territory or to scare her.

Mother's Day

After church, we changed our clothes, packed our picnic lunch, and brought Guinness with us to the park. On the way, Kevin informed me that he could scratch his ear with his foot just like Guinness!

It was a perfect day -- sunny, mid 70's, and we found the perfect spot for our picnic -- a table in the shade with a tree perfect for tying up Guinness.

We met up with two church families at the park -- one by accident and one by plan. Guinness enjoyed watching the kids play.

Guinness would really LOVE to have a bath with Kevin!

A Guinny Day

Kevin has awakened me from a sound sleep at 6:15 for two mornings! He got in bed with me, but a 75 pound dog wanted to cuddle on TOP of a 44 pound boy. In fact, he insisted!!! So, we gave Guinness his breakfast and took him outside.

Guinness was getting antsy, so we took him outside again with Kevin holding the leash. We walked around the yard, then Kevin ventured into the woods behind their house ending up in the meadow. I had no camera to capture the adorable boy with his straight, blonde hair flopping up and down with each step holding Guinness's leash and running through the field. The proverbial scene of a boy and his dog!

As we sat down for lunch, we noted that James was sitting in the middle of the family room floor while Guinness, lying beside the kitchen table, seemed to be unaware of him. Ever since we arrived, the cats have stayed in the sunroom glaring at Guinness who would bark at them through the door wanting to meet them. After lunch, we all went into the family room. James arched his back and hissed at Guinness. Guinness honored James' request for space. James settled on the sofa while Guinness sat on the floor eyeing this cute fluffy creature.



When Guinness would move, he would walk behind the rocking chair to keep as much space as possible between himself and James. James had managed to eek out a place for himself in his own house which had been interloped by this big dog.

Since arriving, Guinness has been playing his normal game of reverse retrieves. His specialty in Kevin's house is grabbing one of the stuffed animals. He swiped a tubular neck pillow intended for a tiny tot, but it made a great tug toy. Kevin had great fun pulling Guinness around the house with that neck pillow as a tug toy.

Loving Kevin

Guinness gave Kevin repeated kisses as he bathed! Guinny was just helping to scrub Kevin!

Take Time to Smell the Flowers!

Doggie Park

On our way to doggie park, we stopped to check out our neighbor raccoon. This is the tree with the hole in the crook.


He was watching us too!


Since coming home in February, we never have more than one or two friends at the park, if that! Mattie, Riley are regular, but at different times. Today, we had a total of SEVEN dogs, though not all at once. First Mattie, then Riley, then Marley. Soon Holly, that we have not seen since last summer as she winters in FL, appeared along with a new dog, Molly. Molly (the white one) kept everyone running! Good girl! Smartie finally showed up too.


The four dogs were having a grand time together...


While Guinness grazed, eating the freshly mown grass.



The motlely crew of five:

Babies from Heaven

Saturday, April 18, Guinness and I exited our garage at the same time as our neighbors walked out of theirs. Guinness made a dash towards them, but stopped short to sniff something on the ground. It was a gray baby animal which looked like a giant baby mouse, bigger than an adult mouse. We immediately thought rat!

Behind our townhouses is conservation land with a creek and park. The creek has been “under construction” for the past months. They removed a dam among other things. So the likelihood of rats coming up from the creek is plausible. We also considered that a hawk could have flown over and dropped it accidentally.

The neighbor scooped up the baby with a shovel and threw it over the fence to the conservation wildlands. As we stood there pondering the situation, another baby plopped at our feet! I took a picture of this one to show our pest control company, plus the neighbors saved this one in a can.




We examined our roofs from the ground, but could see nothing unusual except we discovered three active wasp nests on the neighbor’s roof line.

I went inside to look out our bedroom dormer window which overlooks the roof and eave over our den. There was a black baby curled up on our leaf guard.



At first, I was confused about the different colors, yet they had to be from the same litter. Assuming that gray and black squirrels intermarry, their offspring could be multiple colors within a litter. After looking up baby rats, baby squirrels, and baby opossums on the Web, it seemed evident that they were squirrels. The long, slender “fingers” were the defining feature.

The pest control people came Monday morning the 20th in the pouring rain and confirmed that they were indeed squirrels. Then they scanned our roofs for a likely place to find a nest and found two places, one on their roof and one on ours, where the juncture of soffit and roof leaves a space large enough for a squirrel to get inside, plus they had eaten away some stucco to get inside. Since there are usually four or more babies in a squirrel litter, they suspected that there still was another baby and that the mother was up there as well. They could not climb up the steep roof on a wet day, so they returned later in the week and installed a one-way door for the squirrels to exit, but then not be able to reenter. Finally, yesterday, a roofing man came to remove the one-way door and seal off the hole with metal. Once they know there is a nice place for a nest, they will gnaw through anything their teeth can puncture to get back in there. We had the same problem years ago in St. Louis and had to cover the area with unsightly tin to keep them out of our attic. I have often wondered what the next owners thought of that unsightly tin! Fortunately, this tin is nearly invisible on the stucco.

Our new wildlife adventure is a large raccoon that has taken up residence in a tree behind our house. What an adorable face!