Last week, we took Henry on our nightly walk. (Every weekday starts with a drive to City Center and a short walk and every night ends with a drive to one of our many parks for another walk---but never the same park 2x in a row.) Anyway, since this was a "weekend day" (technically it was Memorial Day but it was a non work day) we did not begin the day with a trip to City Center but we did end the day there. City Center is a park that has many different paths and the paths are generally wide and Henry tends to navigate them very well. Well, the fact that he is getting more confident means we can be a little more relaxed with his abilities. However, it was our recent relaxing from over protection to just moderate protection that brought us to where we are now. Henry plowed into a tree. Now he has a significant abrasion to his cornea. Since he is blind he obviously runs into stuff (and it is our duty to try to prevent this and on this occasion we did not do such a hot job). We usually do an adequate job of helping him avoid crashing and bumping, though and he has been doing a good job on his own of navigating and approaching with caution.
Well, on this day, the OBP peeps simultaneously spied a beautiful young fluffy black chow mix pup. He had the breed classic black tongue and was simply gorgeous. Of course, at that very moment, boom! Smack into a tree went Henry. (Was it Kamikaze style because we were admiring the youth and health of another?! Yikes!) In any event, immediately after he was unable to open his eye and appeared disoriented. We worked with him to walk off what could be walked off and then texted our vet in the mean time to see what could be done about the eye until we could get him to be seen (first thing the next day).
Cut to the following day, after the vet and finally home: Henry is on 5 different meds for his eye (and it is really not good and will be slow healing---not like when Benjamin and Luna have had this same thing when they each had a little scratch at one point or another--this time, with Henry, there is like a little chunk of eye missing). So, we are doing our best to nurse it back to health and he seems a bit more comfortable except when we are actively nursing it (i.e. applying meds).
We had to go back to the vet 48 hours later to see if was healing and did show some minor improvement be we knew it would be slow to heal. We have to go back again early next week and if he is not improving as we need, then we will take Henry to the big dogs an hour away (the eye specialist---where we are debating if we should have gone there first---but the first day from a holiday weekend....we were not sure if they would have been able to squeeze him in, etc). So, we will see what next week holds. In the mean time, he doesn't seem in much discomfort (until we dose him) and he's only a little more clumsy in his navigation, so we are just trying to hang on to hope that this does not turn out bigger than it is already. We will keep you posted but Henry is kind of straddling the side line for now.
We've posted photos and videos of Henry loving car rides. Well, these photos were taken from a slightly more risky angle. The iphone was outside the car window, while the car was moving! We have been trying to capture how the wind lifts Henry's jowls up and gives him a particularly silly (and actually gruesome) face! We have not yet been able to capture this on camera, but we will keep trying.
And for those of you with a very keen eye to detail, yes, the car is red. It was a loaner while the white Subaru Outback was in the shop for some tweaking to some sensors. And if you did catch the color change on the automobile, go you! If you did not notice, do not feel bad. Henry looks good no matter which color car he is framed in.
One of the main things we used to do daily was have "driveway time" with the pugs. This has been something Henry has not really enjoyed again until lately and this is still slow to come back---he barely likes it anymore but this was a rare moment. It was a special day, though, I guess, we had just cut the grass, the wind was blowing just hard enough not to be gusty and the mood hit Henry. So all the stars were in alignment and Henry got busted enjoying driveway time. I guess it is not really fair to say "driveway" since technically he parked himself in the grass. So really it was front yard time. But no matter what you call it, Henry is inching back into a world of happiness. Some days are still, of course, better than others, but overall his spirits are getting high. (Did I just say my dog was getting high?! #NotWhatIMeant)
As spring is in the air and the heat of summer seeps in, we have been trying to get Henry to the dog beach a little more often than we used to go when we had a houseful of pugs. Henry has always been the one to truly appreciate the beach experience and this has continued and is being revitalized (as Henry himself is has begun recharging). While there was nothing particularly noteworthy about his trip, we did get a few photos that were nice. This photo popped out as a special one, though. If you look closely, you can see Henry and his reflection in the damp sand.
There stands a beautiful boy and a great backdrop. #Who'sAHandsomeBoy? #HenryIsABeachBum #GottaLoveThatPug!
We are so pleased to share that Spike, Henry's attempted but unsuccessfulBFF has indeed found his new Forever Home! We are so happy and relieved (and a tad sad that it was not our own). But here is a little update about Spike that his new family has thankfully allowed us to share. Spike has a family full of besties now. He has a canine buddy, Veruca, a French Mastiff, who also happens to have just one eye! The big softy is a bit of worry wart when it comes to thunder boomers so, Spike has already helped her weather a storm. They battened down the hatches, huddled together and made it through together waiting for the skies to clear! There are also a team of kitties (3) in Spike's home and they are all working out those boundaries to which cats and dogs must adhere.
As we had hoped, Spike also has a home where not only furry creatures are his friends, Spike also has a kid friend! Yay! A child sized playmate will make Spike a happy camper, we are sure. Spike's people brother is a 10ish year old guy who is thoroughly enjoying the new arrival! Spike's new people take him and the other pup on 2 walks a day. We are sure this right up Spikes's alley! And he's taking naps and sleeping in a big bed overnight! It is just all working out splendidly. We just cannot be happier!
You will need to turn your volume up for this video to get the full effect. Cupid, sleeping like a sweet little baby, squeaks in her sleep. Without the sound, the video almost just looks like a photograph since you can barely see her moving. But with the volume cranked you can her the little princess making her sleepy noises.
