Thursday, September 1, 2005
The boys are generally well behaved, model pug citizens. Sometimes, so well behaved that I feel bad, like they never get to have any of that “I know I’m being bad, but this is just too much fun” kind of bad.
So last Saturday morning, after I was finished reading the newspaper the boys were pretty playful so I decided to let them shred the paper. Shredding paper was one of their favorite things, that I never really let them do while they were pups, so I thought that I would let them go to town ripping the paper to bits. At first the boys were reluctant to get started, but after I started ripping some pages myself they got into the act and had a good time running around the house with bits of paper flying everywhere.
We all had a blast and the paper wasn’t too hard to get cleaned up. I know, shredding paper isn’t really that “bad”, but the boys were having some of that mischievous fun and that’s all that really matters.
Friday, August 19, 2005
Benjamin
Henry
Here are some shots of the boys when they were around 10 weeks old (they are now 3). Looking back, I just can’t believe they were ever that small. I have a lot of pictures of the boys as puppies, but unfortunately none of them are digital. Some time, when I have some time on my hands, I will have to scan in all of their puppy photos. If only I had a digital camera when they were pups!
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Benjamin & Henry took some time today to enjoy the sun on their favorite lounge chair. Sunning themselves is one of their favorite things to do and they make time for it every morning. Henry almost always lays down as soon as he gets on the chair, but Benjamin likes to look around for a little bit. But, as you can see from his big yawn, it’s usually not long until he settles down for a little nap.
Saturday, August 6, 2005
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Weekdays, while on my lunch, I always try to do something fun with the boys to help break up their day and get them some exercise. Ideally, I like to take them for a walk, but since the it has been so hot and humid outside that is really out of the question. But, the other day the weather was nice and I thought that we could go for a small walk. Turns out that Henry had other plans! As soon as we went outside, Henry found a sunny spot in the yard and wouldn’t budge. So instead of walking we just sat in the front yard and soaked up the rays.
Friday, July 15, 2005
Today the boys and I are anxious and nervous. The boys’ sister, Cupid the cat, is having surgery to remove a stone found in her bladder.
The stone was discovered yesterday after we took her to the vet because we noticed blood in her urine. After doing an ultrasound the Dr. found a 7mm, free floating stone in her bladder.
Once the stone is removed, Cupid should be feeling much better. In the meantime, we are sending her positive energy to help her get through the day.
Friday, July 8, 2005
Henry has really been enjoying swimming lately - I would even say that he is enjoying it a bit too much. He is completely confident in his swimming abilities (over confident in my opinion), so he has moved on to other more difficult water related activities. His latest is jumping in the pool. He loves to belly flop into the pool swim to the other end, climb out of the pool and then jump back in.
His other new favorite activity is going underwater! I have no idea why he likes to do this, but while floating on his raft he will just stick his whole head underwater. I think it first started because he was trying bite and fetch the logo that is silkscreened onto his raft (you know he has a fascination with fetching everything in the water). Ever since then, it seems like he enjoys sticking his head under the water.
I don’t really think that him going under the water is that good of an idea. I fuss at him whenever he does it, but I don’t really think I have gotten my point across to him yet. And I guess if it scared him or if it hurt, he wouldn’t do it so much!
Regardless, it is safe to say that Henry is definitely an odd bird!
(Oh, and incase you can’t tell that orange blob in the picture is Henry in his lifevest completely under the water)
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
It is hard to believe that last week was the two year anniversary of Henry’s knee surgery. When Henry was about six months old and went in to be fixed, the vet discovered that he had hip dysplasia. While hip dysplasia can be debilatating for larger breeds the vet assured us that if we keep Henry at a trim weight that he would never need any type of hip replacement surgery. It was at that point that we became fanatical about watching what both the boys ate because we knew the heavier Henry was the less comfortable he would be and the less he would be able to exercise.
The six months following Henry’s diagnosis were great. He was a happy puppy that loved to run around, go for walks and go to the dog park. Shortly after his first birthday, we went to Florida on a little vacation. While in Florida the boys had so much fun going on walks to new and exciting places, going to the beach and running around the pool. Henry was just as active as usual, but towards the end of the trip he kept holding his left hind leg up. We were very alarmed knowing that he had hip dysplasia. We called our regular vet from Florida and scheduled an appointment for the day after we returned from our trip. The vet examined Henry and quickly determined that he had luxating patella, which basically means that his knee cap was sliding in and out of place. The luxating patella was likely caused by the extra pressure put on his knee from his hip dysplasia. The vet recommended that we take him to a specialist and we were able to get an appointment for the very next day.
The specialist confirmed what our regular vet had diagnosed and recommended that Henry have surgery on his knee as soon as possible. We agreed to have the surgery and talked with the specialist on when the appointment would be. After looking over his calendar the specialist said that he had one spot open for surgery the next day and then after that he did not have a spot open for at least another month. We couldn’t imagine Henry suffering and limping around the house for another month, so we decided to schedule surgery for the very next day.
The specialist was about 40 miles away from home and Henry needed to be back in his office by 7am the next day. It was already 3pm when we finished his appointment and the specialist said that we could leave Henry at his office to save us a trip in the morning. I thanked the specialist for his offer, but politely told him that my boy was going to be home with his family the night before his big surgery.
On the car ride home, I think we were in shock. We had been home from our vacation for less than two days and our baby boy was going into surgery the very next day. It was all happening too quickly.
Surgery day came and we dropped him off at the office with tears in our eyes. We went home to be with Benjamin who was extremely nervous (this was the first time, since he was a pup, that he was not with his brother). Later that evening the specialist finally called and let us know that everything went well with Henry’s surgery and that we could pick him up tomorrow afternoon after a short meeting to discuss his physical therapy requirements.
When we picked up Henry that next day, nothing could prepare me for how he would look. The vet tech walked him into the room and his left leg and thigh was completely shaved. He was holding his leg up and the incision on his knee looked puffy and very sore. His eyes were watery and his nose was runny, I could tell right away that he was in a lot of pain. Despite his pain, he was very happy to see us and gave us a very warm greeting.
The specialist came into the room and then showed us his physical therapy exercises which basically consisted of bending his knee. He hated these exercises and whined the whole time they were performed, but the specialist insisted that they must be done.
When we arrived back home Benjamin was very happy to see his brother and very curious to find out what happened to his leg. We precisely followed the doctor’s orders to make sure Henry would have a complete recovery. It took about ten days for Henry to begin to put weight on his leg. Those ten days were very nerve wracking because the specialist said that many dogs learn how to get along on three legs so well that they never want to put weight on their sore leg again (that is why it was so important to do his physical therapy). After he started putting weight on his leg he was able to go up and down steps again and he was even anxious to go for small walks. Little by little he got back to being his normal self.
Now, two years later, he is completely recovered and never favors his left hind leg. His surgery scar has faded, but is still pretty noticeable and while he sits a little funny due to his hip dysplasia he doesn’t let it slow him down. He is a healthy, happy little boy!
