MORE CAR RIDES

Friday, September 23rd, 2011

I can feel it in the air ... Today is the first day of Autumn already and that makes me "ornery!"

Earlier this week, I rolled all the way over in the soft green grass for the very first time.  It felt so good!  I just love "hanging" with the other dogs and I know that one day I will be able to join them running and playing with so much ease.

In the meantime, I am determined to follow my "peeps" everywhere.  The other day Jewel was going to get the pooper scooper and I decided that I was going with her.  So, I got up on my own, got going across the yard and up 2 small steps onto the deck ... in a nano second, before I dropped to the ground to rest.  No keeping this girl down!

This was a busy week!  I got to go for 2 car rides.  Did I mention that I just love riding in the car?  The car rides were great - the destinations "not so much."

First, was a visit to the vet to rule out bladder stones as a possible cause for the reoccurring bladder infections.  They put me on this table that raised up with the push of a button.  Then they rolled me to another room and slid me onto another metal table.  If that wasn't scary enough, they turned me upside down with my paws in the air and took pictures.

The x-rays showed no bladder stones and no major issues with my hips - YAHOO!  They did show a narrowing in my spine which may be pressing on the nerve.  I left loaded up with more pills and stuff for my ears and eyes.  Really?  I might have allergies too?

Today we went for another ride.  As I smelled the air and the familiar scent of the river ... I knew where I was going.  And then there she was - Joy in her "fishing waders!"  I wish I could just come and visit Joy instead of the weekly weigh-in and hydrotherapy tank.

So, I decided it was time to head back to the car to leave.  When that didn't work, I decided to just drop to the ground!  I wasn't going - No way, No how!  I hoped that "maybe" they would give in, give me a belly rub and we could just go home.

Instead, the girls hoisted me up and coaxed me to walk to THAT building.  HA, I showed them.  I tucked up my legs ... YUP, all 4 of them!  (I think I mentioned that I can be really stubborn - like a donkey!)  They were as determined as I was and the 3 of them "carried me" using the harness (huffing and puffing) through the door and onto the scale.  Then they hooked my up so I could go to work.

From there, I spent the next 10 minutes in the water, all 120.4 pounds of me.  I went 4/100 of a mile (or 211 feet) on the treadmill, but it felt like a marathon.

Finally we headed back to the car and the yard with the soft green grass.  As I sniffed the fresh air and took a deep breath, I told myself "good job" and laid my head down for a well deserved nap!

~ Summer

P.S.  Remind me to tell you next time about the cat that I met at the vet, that was like me.

© Summer’s Journey 2011– All Rights Reserved

REALLY?

Friday, September 17th, 2011

Have you ever had a coach or a trainer at a health club that was relentless?  Welcome to my world!  I didn't realize that I was scheduled for TWO hydrotherapy visits this week.  REALLY?  These girls are hard core.

My weight keeps coming off - slowly but safely!  The first visit with Joy this week I weighed 121.8 and then 120.6 on the second.  That means I have lost 7 pounds in just about a month.

Everyone is so proud of me ~ the progress I've made and the weight I've lost.  It is starting to show.  My face is thinner and my skin is getting loose.  I may be a candidate for a tummy tuck down the road ...

Knowing that "big swim" is next, I sing the Little Engine that Could song to myself - knowing that it is only 8 minutes of my life.  Last week it was 6 minutes, what's up with that?  I can hear Joy, Jewel, and Brooke cheering me on - "You can do it," "Go girl, Go girl," and "Way to go Summer, you are AWESOME!"

I really do have angels everywhere.  This week, one of Joy's customers donated three more sessions to ME, in loving memory of her dog, Ravenstroke.  I am so thankful, humbled and lucky ... I will work extra, extra hard!

However, I really struggled this week 'cuz I didn't feel good.  I think I have another one of those nasty bladder infections.  (Unfortunately they are very common with dogs like me who have limited mobility.  It is hard for me to empty out my bladder completely and the risk of bacteria - Sorry, I know ... too much information!)  So Joy suggested we take a break for a week so I could rest, which was A-OK by me.

Speaking of mobility ... now that I am getting up more and more, everyone is worried that I may do too much and possibly hurt myself.  The fact is that my left side of my body is so much weaker than my right (from not being able to get up, exercise, and spending all that time laying on my left side.)

So the girls and the professionals are talking amongst themselves about some other alternatives for my long-term rehab.  (Oh my, one of them involves needles ... called acupuncture and the other one is kinda like "snap, crackle and pop." Nope not the cereal, it's chiropractic treatments.)

Like all humans, they all have their own opinion about what is "right" for me.  (Remember the whole debate just around the kind of food I should have?)  Well, off they went again; analyzing, discussing, agreeing and disagreeing ...

And that's OK, it makes me feel warm and fuzzy knowing that they care so much!

Feeling really punky, so signing off for now.

~ Summer

Copyright - Summer's Journey 2011 - All rights reserved

GONE TO THE DOGS!

Friday, September 9th, 2011

This has been another incredible week!  I got to "walk" down to the house, yard and field!  Did you catch it - WALK?  Get this, I am actually getting up more and more and walking with very little support from my front and rear helpers!  Isn't that just AWESOME?

Every day now I get to hang out with my new 4-legged friends and see "up close and personal" what they bark at and run after.  Usually it is cars driving by, people on their bicycles or "just 'cuz they can."  (It's something that only dogs understand.)

Did you know that there is a TURKEY that lives here at "Foster Farms" Retreat?  Her name is Ms. Valentine and she was rescued too!  The other day, I was really excited when it was time to head down the hill and join the rest of the "black pack."  I stopped to rest (like I usually do) and heard this "cluck" and saw her in her pen.  I was so intrigued by this white, feathery bird that I bulldozed my way over to her and flopped down.  (Yes, you can do that with 120 pounds working for you.)

I found out that Ms. Valentine is really social and had a lot to say to me in "turkey talk."  I was enchanted by her and her clucking, gobbles, cackles, and purrs, I wasn't going anywhere!  We had a long conversation about how lucky we both were, how and why we were rescued and how good our lives were now.  Well, I made another new friend and the dogs in the yard could wait for now.

Since I am such a sucker for car rides, I ended up at visit number TWO at the "water spa" (Not so much) and to see my friend Joy.  No offense, but if I had my way, I'd hang out with my new friends and skip my hydrotherapy workouts all together.  But of course, the girls won't hear of that!

First, the ritual weigh in ... drum roll ... 122.2 pounds.  I know how the contestants feel every week on The Biggest Loser - every pound is an accomplishment and a celebration!

Then on to the hard work.  When the 6 minutes were finally over I got up (on my own) and headed toward the computer where the girls were busy scheduling my next sessions of "PT."  Although it feels like "pain and torture," it will help me heal!

I walked 8 to 10 steps before Jewel raced over to "rescue" me before I made it to the slick cement floor.  Don't tell Jewel but I wasn't coming to help book the next visit - I was actually heading to the door ... to the car ... and back to the yard to hang out with all my new friends.

See Ya!
~ Summer

Copyright - Summer's Journey 2011 - All rights reserved

Sorry FANS ...

If you are "following by email" - it appears that the "format" is getting lost in translation - combining words, leaving out spaces, etc. 

The blog itself seems to be fine.

Don't understand this technology stuff.  I've posed the "issue" to the HELP Forum and awaiting an answer. 

I know I'm a dog ... but my grammar is alittle better than what is coming over the "email" wires. 

~ Summer

MORE NEW ADVENTURES ...

Friday, September 2^nd, 2011

I am such a lucky dog – my life has changed so much in the last several weeks.  This week has been no exception and full of more new adventures.

You know how you perk up when someone asks you if you want to do something you really enjoy?  Like go shopping or out to dinner?  Well, two of mine are – “Want to go for a walk?” and “Want to go for a ride?”

The walk is a three-some.  Usually with Jewell on the side with the front of the harness, I’m in the middle, and Mercy bringing up my rear – literally!  In fact, when I’m excited, I try to run with them … only for a few steps … but hey, it’s progress!

The other day I headed to the car with the open door and got my front half up into the car and Mercy hiked my rear end in and took me for a happy ride.  So today, when the girls asked me if I wanted to go for a ride, I was all over it!

I was going “swimming.”  When we arrived, I was greeted by a lady named Joy and her helper.  Of course, I was so excited to see them I once again spilled out of the car.  Joy works with dogs that have mobility issues or are recovering from surgery in the water.

 
Pool ~ Swimming ~ How COOL!  

While I was busy looking for the outdoor pool, I was guided into a building instead.  Well, it wasn’t really a pool, it was more like a tank and I wasn’t really going swimming.  (Talk about a letdown!)  Instead I was about to have my first experience with “hydrotherapy.” 

First, I weighed in and I have lost almost 3 pounds in a little over two weeks or 124.4 pounds.  (Now that’s what I’m talking about!)  While we were celebrating the good news, Joy put on these “waders.”  My harness was replaced with another and it was hooked to what looked like a “hoist” and up I went. (What? Now I’m flying?)

The next thing I knew, Joy and I were in the “pool” (NOT!) and it started filling up with water.  If matters couldn’t get any worse – the floor started moving.  Not only was I in a tank, I was on a treadmill!  I wasn’t going to just relax and float, I was exercising!

For the next 6 minutes, I huffed and puffed while I walked on the treadmill and Joy worked my back legs (especially the left one).  Finally, the water started going down and I was back on solid ground, where I was rewarded with a good rub down with a towel.  My harness was put on and I was so “out of there,” heading to the car and going home.  Those 6 minutes felt like hours! 

Like it or not, hydrotherapy is a really important part of my being able to walk again.  I can exercise without the pressure of all my body weight and cause any more damage.  I wouldn’t have gone back or scheduled the next two visits, if Dr. B hadn’t recommended it and Mercy generously donating 4 sessions (Thank you!).

Tuckered and Sore!
~ Summer

Copyright - Summer's Journey 2011 - All rights reserved