Monday, September 29, 2014
So, you may recall, that Henry has taken a couple of unauthorized, unexpected dips in the swimming pool recently. Since he has to cut through the pool area to get the backyard to go potty, we realized the urgency that this scenario has presented. There were a few people who suggested a litter box for dogs, letting him just have accidents in the house, putting an alarm in the pool, etc. There were multiple solutions and opinions offered. (Not just by OBP readers but other friends, family and neighbors, too.)
Well, we like to think of ourselves as problem solvers, too. And we had an initial vision of what we wanted. Or maybe what I should say, is what we wanted was for Henry to have his vision! LOL. If ya can't laugh at his missing left eye, you'll cry, right? So, anyway, of course we would want his vision back but we did have a plan in mind.
It entailed making a barrier that prevented him from gaining access to the area where he tends to have troubles and just block his access to the pool, in general. However, we had to be sure that we were still meeting Cupid's squirrel hunting needs! She needs total access! She can't just sit around and not get up close and personal to the squirrel just on the other side of the screen!
So, as you can see, this is what we came up with. It is just sturdy enough that it isn't going to blow over or fall into the pool should a gust of wind come along and the space at the first and last cones allows Cupid wiggle room to get through. Henry is not the type to challenge the barriers and so far he is behaving as though they have been there his whole life.
We were a little bit concerned that in his general clumsiness he may get "tangled" in the orange webbing but after a little bit of use so far, we think that won't happen. Fortunately we are not so house proud that the eye sore of the bright orange warnings that go for 30 feet on the pool deck pose no true design problems for us. It is for sure an ugly solution but it is one that works for Henry (and Cupid) and that is really all we are worried about, their safety and contentment.
Friday, September 26, 2014
Its hard to tell that Fall is coming in Florida, but the calendar is telling us otherwise. We always get mums in the Fall and this year we decided to plant them with Benny and Luna's flags. I can't wait until they are in full bloom!
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Cupid hasn't been quite as glued to my side as Henry has been, but I can't sell her helpfulness in my recovery short. She did give me a most awesome leg massage right above my knee that surprisingly felt good. She has also been crucial in me learning to get around on crutches (which means she has tried to kill me several times). She loves to weave in and out while I am walking and if I take too long of a break, she will continually rub up against my crutches to urge me on. Everyone has been able to help in their own special way.
Side note, notice Henry is photobombing this shot will just the tip of his tail 
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Thank you to everyone for the well wishes for both Henry and myself last week. I apologize that things got way off schedule last week.
The day of my surgery Henry was a bit anxious. He didn't exactly know what was going on, but he knew the routine was off. And when the routine is off, that always makes him a tad nervous. Furthermore, he got breakfast and I did not, so that made him even more nervous. All the pugs know that if you don't eat breakfast, something big is going to happen that day and usually not something fun.
So, when we got home from the surgery center, Henry was excited and nervous at the same time to see me. I went straight from the car to bed and Henry almost beat me to bed. He briefly smelled my leg and then plopped himself right next to my leg. And he has been by my side ever since that moment.
Our normal evening routine is that Henry goes for a walk. The length of the walk varies. Sometimes we make it through the neighborhood, sometimes we only walk around the cul-de-sac at the end of our street. And sometimes we only hang out in the driveway. But, weather permitting you can count on us to get some outside time in. Once I was feeling a bit better, I was more mobile around the house, but I had still not been out and about. It was time for Henry to go out for his nighttime walk and in his excited pacing he kept running over to me on the sofa. I kept telling him to have a nice walk and he would run to the door, then he would run back to me. After a few minutes of me not taking the hint, he finally just started barking at me. He wanted met to go on his walk with him and he deemed me well enough to go. Not wanting to disappoint, I got up and hobbled through half of the cul-de-sac walk with him. He was ever so pleased to have me outside with him and kept stopping to check on me to make sure I was keeping up. I really didn't think I was up for that walk, but once I got back home it was the absolute best I had felt since my surgery.
After a few days of rest, I started working again from home. Sitting in a chair has been difficult, since my knee doesn't bend very well. So, I have mainly been working from bed. Henry was pretty happy to hang with me on the bed the first few days because he has just gotten his chemo. So, we were recovering together. But after a few days, Henry deemed it necessary for us to get out of bed and get back more into the normal swing of things. When I was cleaning up lunch, Henry was pacing between the kitchen and my office, clearly making his point that we needed to work the rest of the afternoon in there. Once again, I followed his lead and worked the rest of the afternoon from my office. It felt good to get back to a more normal routine. It also proved that once again, Henry knew what needed to be done and was going to make sure I pushed my own self during my recovery.
Of course I also had plenty of human care during my recovery. All that TLC has me feeling much better now!
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Looking forward to your captions in the comments.
Monday, September 22, 2014
Today marks one week since Henry had his second dose of chemotherapy. Granted his second dose was only 50% of what his normal does would be, but he handled this round of chemotherapy much better than the first.
He was a bit tired on Tuesday, but we sorta expected that. Going to Jacksonville to get the treatment is a big trip for everyone! His appetite for the first few days after treatment was pretty low. But, he did manage to have dinner every night. In the mornings, he wasn't interested in food at all.
Wednesday night we were most nervous because that was the bewitching time after his first chemo treatment. However, this time he was quite spunky. Nothing like what he was the first time around. He went for a small walk and even took a little swim that night. The rest of the week was uneventful (no diarrhea or throwing up) and Henry got stronger and more and more like his normal spunky self with each day that passed.
We are so relieved that round 2 of chemo looked nothing like round 1. Way to be Hank!
#HenryStrong #HenryStrongAllDayLong
Friday, September 19, 2014
As you all know, Henry lost his left eye earlier this year. This has forever knocked his depth perception out of whack. His right eye isn't that hot, though, either. He can sort of see but there is a small cataract on that eye, as well. He is on drops to hopefully help control any potential sudden inflammation that may occur.
What problems his poor eyesight has caused recently, though, is a doozy. He's fallen into the pool twice now. Once was in broad daylight (while we were cutting the grass and he was trying to stay in our vicinity. The other time was just last night. In the dark.
The pattern seems to be that Henry goes onto the pool deck, peers out the door on the far side of the house and then wonders his way over to the other side of the pool deck (where the doggy door and fenced in yard are). As we swaggers from one side to the next, he loses his sense of how close he is to the pool. Especially since at this point the pool would fall on his blindside. Thus, it just takes one misstep and in he goes. :(
Henry used to love the pool but the older he got the less he enjoys it. Benny & Luna never really loved the pool but both of them were at least good swimmers! Henry has never been a good swimmer. But each time he has fallen into the pool he has done what we had always taught the pugs to do. And that lesson was "swim to the step" and it is obvious that he has remembered his training.
The first time he fell in he swam to the step and got out. Then last night he was swimming to the step when we had to jump in and "rescue" him. This raises many red flags for us since Henry now goes potty much more frequently (minus a kidney, meds that make you drink more/pee more) and this includes in the middle of the night. So we are starting to be paranoid that he may fall into the pool overnight and we could sleep through it.
We have come to a resolve about possible solutions and once that has been implemented and tested we will share how it worked out. Until then, we are making sure that he never goes out alone and he may just have to either "hold it" or have an accident in the overnight. His safety is far more important than any dang old potty accident!
For those still not getting the emails.....this is because there have not been any new featured pug photos. Without the photos, there is no email. OBP is working on getting caught up on those. We apologize for having to come find us when we are usually delivered straight to your inbox. We are doing our best and sadly, that is what is giving right now. Thank you for your patience.
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