we got lucky on that one

I took Bugsy to the vet the other day for a few vaccines and for a blood draw to check his thyroid levels, while there I had the vet check his knee, he detected nothing unusual. Whew.
Make that
WHEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then the vet checked Bugsy out completely. And asked, "how old is he now?"
4.5 years old
"wow he looks great"

Now don't get me wrong I think Bugsy is in decent shape (he was in better shape prior to surgery) but I got the impression that at 4.5 he should be a mess.
Again I know that big dogs age quickly but wow 4.5 seems young to me.
I feel kind of freaked out that his condition would merit that comment. I feel for the other dogs out there who apparently have nasty coats and bad teeth.

So readers take care of your pooches. Check their teeth and give them some nice raw bones to chew to keep their teeth nice and clean. Walk them as much as you can and no fatty treats. Just because your dog is cute when they beg doesn't mean they should get something to eat and it definitely doesn't mean they are starving despite how desperate they look LOL.
Keep your pets lean and fit, check their teeth, keep their nails short. Brush them regularly and make sure you feed them a healthy food.
I'm glad Bugsy 'looks great' but I don't think it should be the exception

we've had a setback

It happened. I suppose it was rather incredulous that the wild and crazy Bugsy would have a straight run at healing but we were. For over 10 weeks.
And then it happened.
I'll try to leave out some of the unnecessary details.
Basically DH was playing with Bugsy and Bugsy got very excited and ran down the hardwood floor hallway and into the tiled kitchen, upon seeing DH he attempted to make a quick 180* turn and it happened.
His bad leg splayed out at the worst angle imaginable.
I was furious and sick to my stomach all at once. DH was oblivious and thought I was being ridiculous when I punched the granite countertop. I didn't know what else to do.
Bugsy clearly was in pain and thought he was in trouble at the same time.
DH - well I could have strangled him.
At this time we are unsure of what damage has been done. Damage has been done though.
He is limping as badly as he did in about week 2. He is reluctant to stand on the leg and was generally morose all yesterday and much of today.
I gave him some Traumeel yesterday and last night.
I don't see or feel swelling but I can see that my poor boy can't walk the 1.25 miles that we were doing. Never mind the extra .5
He labors up the stairs and is flat as a pancake.
I am heartbroken. We were getting so close to earning a little freedom.
I am going to take him to the rehab vet early this week and hopefully they will be able to assess if he did serious damage or it is just a minor setback.
Send us some good thoughts - especially my poor boy.
He has cooperated through all of this. All he wants is to run free and be joyful and pain free.
I promise Bugsy we are going to get there

Beets. Really?

last night in a culinary adventure I decided to make fresh beets. Oye what a mess.
For us I mixed them with toasted walnuts, feta cheese, fresh dill, olive oil, cider vinegar and seasoning. They were good.
What I totally didn't expect was to have a dog sitting next to me drooling in the hopes of getting some beets.
Really Bugs? You think you are going to like beets???
When he has new things he usually takes them to the living room and plays with it before decided whether it is edible or not. Because of this habit I was quite concerned about giving him a piece.
No worries
I took a small piece and let him sniff it. Gulp. Gone.
Then the boring eyes and drool started.
You like beets?
"I wuv dem. need more"
OK
gulp
"more"
gulp

I was really shocked, still am. He behaved as if this was the very bestest thing he had ever had.

Beets. Who wouldn't guessed.

The one that got away

Well it has been looming for weeks and weeks now.
Today it couldn't be stopped.
You may be wondering, what is this I am referencing?
A zoomie

Yup a ZOOMIE!!

Good gracious me we know the tank is overflowing.
We have barely prevented zoomies on countless occasions now, usually after the last of the night business, where I feel like I'm trying to tame a wild stallion as I hold the rope and he would tuck his tail and start to fly and give me this look like;

LET GO OF THE ROPE LADY!!

And there were the inside frolics that occurred after the above attempted looney runs were squelched.

But this morning I gave him too much room outside, too much rope.
Literally.
And off he went........................
and went






and went..................gulp and went.

Now I can't lie to you.
Watching Bugsy run a zoomie is as entertaining as a dog can get. His legs suddenly seem so very long as they all go in different directions.
The look of pure madness on his face = priceless
The tail tucked unless needed to work as a rudder,
Its all just FUN


Let's hope that his minutes of lunacy don't equal a setback for him. We are getting close to having regular off leash time.
I can see what that is going to look like now

oh happy day!

I took Bugsy down near the lake for his walk today and we met a nice couple with a pretty dog named Sammi. Bugsy and Sammi got to say hi and play a bit in the icy lake. He was so happy to be able to interact with a dog and with new humans.
Joy oozed from every cell of his body.
He has been less confident around some dogs and people so I was thrilled to see 'the old' Bugs wiggling and waggling with reckless abandon.
Good boy Bugsy!
He was also very impressed with being able to break the ice on the lake - sigh.

And today we also discovered he really, really likes turnips - who knew?

baby its cold outside...........

but Bugsy doesn't seem to mind. We are now doing 1 mile a day walks (really we have been doing just over a mile) and he is loving it. He even got to walk with his girlfriend Izzy today :-)
They were both exceptionally happy and difficult to contain LOL
I have written before about how he seems to have forgotten some training well interestingly as we allow him to return to his previous freedom, let's say roaming the ground floor of the house, he suddenly remembers things........... hmmmmmmmm something seems fishy here.
One new habit he has developed is moving the curtains so he can see out the window. It is really cold out so I have had them closed to keep the cold out, only to find they have been opened again.
Silly Bugsy.
OK off to put the fire on......
soon he'll be chomping away on his elk antler enjoying some classical music in front of the fire.
It's not a bad life

Happy 2010!!

Bugsy wishes all of you many reasons to zoom in the year ahead!

He woke me up with oodles of slobbery kisses and much tail wagging - did he think I had disappeared??
Good thing I love him as I was looking forward to a long lie in!
I got a great picture of him today


This evening I took down the ex-pen and he had free roam of the ground floor. It was so cute. He clearly has missed cleaning the kitchen floor, had his head in the pantry, rediscovered his favorite spying window, etc. Apparently water tastes much better if your bowl is in the kitchen, who knew??