It's a Tripawds Life

My sister Gretchen does not, I said NOT have the nasty C word!!! That was cause for a small celebration here, so mom got out the chicken jerky and we each got 2 pieces. Unfortunately we had already drank all the Bowser Beer, so we didn’t have anything to wash down the jerky with except water.

The vet is still trying to figure out what is going on with Gretchens blood work though. The next step is to wait 3 months and do another round of testing and see what happens. 3 months?! Oh my!! In the meantime, we just keep an eye on her, (guess we’ll have to use one of Anka’s, cuz i’m not giving up mine) and make sure she’s doing o.k.

I on the other hand am doing Grrrrreat! My friend RaRa the Husky from Laramie, WY put me on his website! I’m getting famous all over the internet. RaRa met Calpurnia at a sled dog race last year. He thought she was as awesome as she was beautiful. He even has pictures of her on his MySpace page.

Well, just wanted to update you all on my sister mostly. Mom is still worried about her, but not as much as she was before.

Husky hugs, Newfie nuzzles and Chow Chow licks to all!

Where to start?  Mom took me to Barktoberfest! First I got a massage.  The lady was real nice to me,

I wanted to kiss her, but mom said no.  Geez, I just wanted a small kiss…..

Me getting a massage

After my massage, mom got me a Bowser Beer.  They had beef or chicken flavored,

I chose chicken as poultry is the preferred flavor at home.

Bowser Beer! Yummy!!!

My friend Erica was going to give me some of the Bowser beer but mom said “No drinking and hopping Chuy”,

what a buzz kill mom!  I got her back though, I peed…right on mom’s foot!  Now I usually pee on my own foot, due to the

balance thing, but this time, I got mom!  Bwahahahahaha!  That will teach her to keep me from my Bowser Beer!

Things were so exciting, we walked around the park, people offered us free stuff, I got lots  of pets and treats and attention.

Been keeping busy here at home too, keeping an eye on my sisters Anka and Gretchen.  Mom has been running them back and forth to the vet alot.  Anka got x-rayed on her hips and has mild dysplasia.  She started a regimen of 500 mg. glucosamine, with chondrotin and MSM.  Mom has to be careful that there is no omega fatty acids in it because Anka has colitis and the omegas make the colitis act up.  That gets kinda oookey!

Anka the Brat "Rat" Dog

As for Gretchen, she went to the vet for a dental and her blood work came back kind of off.  The vet went ahead with the dental and put her on a two week regimen of anti-biotics afterward.  Gretchen’s bilirubin was elevated as were the WBC and a couple other things.  They also tested her for Valley Fever (common to the SW desert) at that time.  Last Tues (10/25) mom took Gretchen back in for another blood test to be run, this time it came back with the Bilirubin even higher, the WBC had dropped a little, but the other stuff was all the same.  they are now doing a test to see if it is some type of ………I hate this word…….Cancer.

Gretchen 6 1/2 yr. old husky/borzoi/grt dane/shep/poodle/yorkie? mix

We don’t know what to think…mom is lost…she reads alot on Tripawds, but really all we can do is wait for the results of the tests to know for sure.  Gretchen does sleep alot, doesn’t play like normal, but yet she doesn’t limp or show any signs of being in pain of any kind.  Guess we just have to wait, pray and wait some more.  We should have results by next Wed., then it will be on to ultrasound or x-ray…….

Well, of all the nerve!  Mom says I’m a slacker because I haven’t updated my blog lately.  She’s right, but still!

I’ve been spending a lot of time in my pool as of  late.  The weather is starting to get real hot here and I’m glad we still have the pool set up.  My sisters don’t like to swim, but I just hop in (with a little help from mom or dad) and cool off in the water for a while.  The best part is when I get out and chase my sisters.  They hate getting wet and I shake all over them.  Last week, I put my foot up on the edge and hopped onto the ramp all by myself!  Mom was shocked (bol), I like to shock her once in a while.  I just hopped down the ramp and chased my sisters around.

I get to go to PetSmart every weekend now.  Mom takes me to visit the shelter she adopted me from.  It’s great to see them all and let them know I’m doing fine.  I can’t wait to see them this weekend, I’ll show them my new trick.  Mom taught me to sit up pretty in just 3 days!  She never thought she would see me do it, especially after the FHO surgery, but I showed her!  Now I try to sit up pretty (shouldn’t that be Handsome?) every time she offers me a treat.

Anka wants my treat!

We’re gonna take a trip this summer for a couple days.  Mom says Dad is staying home and we’re going to the high country.  I sure hope it’s not too high, but heard it’s cooler there too.  Mom’s sister is renting a cabin and invited us to come stay for a few.  I can’t wait to meet my cousins Simone’ (a std. poodle) and Bailey (a lab mix).  I’m also looking forward to lots of long walks in the woods and maybe just laying on the porch for a while enjoying nature at it’s best.

Life is good!

Mom’s been furry busy lately with fund raising for a friend in Chile that runs a cat rescue. It took everything mom’s friend had to fix her house after the earthquake, so mom did an online auction on Gretchen’s MySpace page. She raised $665!

I got to go see my friends at San Felipe Animal Rescue (they saved my life and helped me find my forever home). The nice lady there gave mom a picture of my leg before it was taken away from me.

Before Amputation:

It’s pretty gross, but it had no pulse and never would have healed. I’m glad they took it off, could you imagine trying to walk on that? I think I run much better without having it dangle from my shoulder.

After Amputation:

We went to visit a new friend here in Mesa. Debbie has 6 Chihuahuas. They are furry cute, but were afraid of me cuz I’m so much bigger than them. I really liked meeting them and Debbie’s husband is the best! He gave me cookies!!

Dad filled my pool up! I can’t wait to go swimming in it again. Dad & Mom say I have to wait until the water warms up, but I don’t want to. They won’t put the ramp up until it’s warm enough. I’m hoping that maybe by the time Wyatt Ray gets here, it will be ready to swim in. Wyatt and I can have lots of fun in the water.

I am still going for walks around the block and taking swim therapy with my friend Jeff once a month. I did miss it last week though. Mom had a stiff neck for 4 days and couldn’t drive. Seems like forever, but I know I’ll be going back again soon.

ARoooooo!!! In 2 weeks, I get to meet Wyatt Ray Dawg, Dixie and hopefully Tasha too. It’s going to be so much fun. I just have to remind mom to charge up the batteries on the video camera so we can get lots of action shots. We’re going to meet at the dogpark in Phoenix. I am soooooo looking forward to that. Come on April 3rd!!!

Today I went swimming again! This time mom put me on the lift, lowered me in and I took off like a fish. I’ve been swimming now for almost 10 months and every time I go, I get stronger. Even Jeffrey Flocker my therapist says I’m doing wonderfully! I swam 4 laps in his pool before he even got there to help. All in all, I swam for a total of 25 min. with about 5 min. in rest periods. It’s so much fun, I chase a rabbit on a stick and if it hits the water with a splash, I lunge for it. Love chasing those rabbits!

My sister Gretchen is doing better. She limps once in a while, but the vet doctor says she just strains herself. She’s tall and lean and loves to run circles around me in the yard. Sometimes, she slips on the grass a little because she gets going too fast.

Baby Anka weighs about 45 pounds now and is only 6 months old. She is still in training, but does well on her leash. Mom puts her on a coupler with Gretchen and walks them together. Ha! Ha! I get my own leash and private walks with mom.

So life here in Arizona is pretty much the same except that it’s getting warm here now. I know the walks will be fewer as the sidewalks get too hot and so does the weather. Guess I’ll have to try and run circles around my sisters this summer.

I still had the best Christmas a dog could ask for. All the critters here got presents from our MySpace furriends. The kitties got meeces and a squoosh ball. We doggies, well just take a look!
That Barney you see in there? Well, he’s MINE!!! All mine!!!

Mom says I’m supposed to rip his head off, but I kinda like chewing on him better.

We had a quiet day on Christmas, went for a long walk and got to play with some of the kids down the street for a little while. It was lots of fun.

Gretchen started limping again today. Mom can’t figure out what’s going on so tomorrow the vet will take a look at her. She holds her foot up in the air and is real antsy when she lays down. Mom gave her 1/2 of one of my Tramadol tablets to settle her down today. Gretchen is 10lbs. heavier than me, so mom figured it wouldn’t hurt her. It did help because she is walking on the foot now. Mom is scared…this isn’t the first time Gretchen has limped on that leg and after all the stuff she’s read about OSC it’s making her scared. I say, let’s see what the vet says.

Anka is getting bigger every day. She’s over 30 pounds now and just about 4 months old. She’s gonna be a big one, that girl is. Smart too! Tell her something once and she never forgets. She’s got a stubborn streak in her though. Likes to make Mom & Dad chase her around the yard to get her in the house at night. Good for her! I say they need the exercise anyway.

I found out that the news article is actually a sort of contest. There is no voting by the public on this. PetSmart asked 600 of their charities to submit a story about one of their dogs finding a home for Christmas.

San Felipe Animal Rescue submitted Chuy’s and asked me to contact PetSmart with more of his story, so I did. I then asked the lady when it will be in the paper. She said whoever they decide on will have their story told on December 24th. in the USA Today.

We’re not sure if Chuy’s story will be the one, but we are going to get a paper that day, just to see. Let’s hope he makes it!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted here and I really do feel bad about it. We’ve been doing a fundraiser for a cat rescue on myspace. We did raise over $300 dollars and did a gift exchange for all the dogs and cats that participated.

Mom thinks it’s funny, Gretchen, Anka and I are getting more Christmas packages and cards than she and Dad are. I think it’s neat! We didn’t know that so many of our PetSpace (MySpace) friends loved us so much.

Anka and I are getting along real good now. We chase each other around the yard alot and play with our toys in the living room. She actually just leaps into the air and lands on me and we wrestle. It’s so much fun. Anka goes to school on Saturdays and Doggy daycamp on Wednesdays. Thank goodness! I need a break once in a while.

Swimming is still in my plans every 3 weeks. Jeff says I’m getting too strong. heehee! I like swimming, just hope the weather warms up a little bit. It’s chilly getting out of that pool all wet.

Wow! I got an e-mail today from San Felipe Animal Rescue. A lady from the PetSmart Charities asked them to submit a story about one of their adopted dogs and they chose Chuy! They said that since we adopted Chuy at Christmas time last year and he has quite the story to tell with the amp., Legg-Calve Perthes, FHO surgery, therapy and a new sister, he would make a great story for them. It’s going to be in the USA Today!

So now there is a celebrity among the Tripawds website! LOL, I’m just way too excited, can’t wait to find out when they are going to print it.

Chuy & Anka with Santa Paws 12/09