Monday, April 20, 2009

13 Days is bad luck!

13 days since my last surgery. Is that bad luck? You decide, I know I have my opinion!

I only have time for a short note tonight but let me start by showing you Cassidy up to her old tricks!

Here she is playing with Mia again in the park. Mia is now 5 months old and Cassidy acts like a mom to her. Mia just plays it up by licking her face and jumping all around Cassidy like she's all that. Lucky dog!

Now here is a picture of me playing with Mia. Just as you can see, I never did get out to play with her. So much for being fair.





I had to go to the vet today for my latest checkup. I really don't mind it anymore. They are very nice to me and I always get some good treats there. I am also still the biggest loser. I only weigh 68 pounds now. That is 10 pounds less than my fighting weight. The best thing about being so skinny is that the Treat Lady feels sorry for me every time I get weighed which gets me more treats that day. I think it is also because I look so skinny without any fur on my hips. I keep telling Cassidy that if she would shave her thighs she would get more treats too. She growls at me when I say that.

There is one thing I don't like at the vet. This is when the nice, smiley girl pulls out the thermometer. I know exactly what it is for and I go hide behind the Boss when I see it. It is not the kind of thermometer that they let me hold under my tongue.

The vet said I was doing great. My knee is healing well even though I have a bit of swelling. The bad thing is that both the vet and my rehab doctor say I am too active. If I don't stop walking around so much I might end up more bowlegged than I already am. They told the Boss to keep me locked up and on a leash forever! At least that's what I heard.

So here I am back at home trapped in the family room. At least they make Cassidy stay with me. We usually take turns pretending we're in jail. The doors are open on the crate and we just walk in, lie down and look as sad as possible. It was my turn tonight.
Tomorrow I get to go to my first therapy session Part Deux. I hope I can bring my camera.

Well I'm off to get a late night treat and then take a nap.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

9 Days PS Part Deux


Well the Treat Lady says to me that I just have to write, but that is easier said than done. When the Boss leaves town he takes his computer with him. I can barely type. How the heck am I supposed to use a pencil. Every time I pick one up I end up eating it by mistake.

There are some good things about when the Boss is gone. Last night, Cassidy and I got to sleep on the the big, high, soft bed. The Treat Lady fell for the staring trick again. Both of us stood next to the bed and just stared at it. We did it for two nights in a row. Then when the Treat lady started to soften, we put our paws up on the bed. We had her at the paws and she had to help us up. As a reward we let her sleep later in the morning before stepping on her to get her to take us out.

I am able to walk much better now. I have the wobbly knee thing going on with my right leg now just like before. I'm sure it will stop doing that in a couple more weeks. I just have to be careful because it flops out and I tend to slip if where I'm walking is even a little smooth.

I can also go up and down the stairs again. Going down is easy. Going up I walk like the Boss after his Sunday soccer games. I can do it and that allows me to sleep upstairs again. No more camping in the family room.

I have a little bit of swelling in my knee too. I think I'm going to the vet tomorrow to have them look at it. I hope I get to go in the swimming tub again. Maybe I'll make another video.

Lastly, I had some good dreams while I was on my pain treats the last week. I am having trouble remembering everything so I will work on it and tell you about it soon. Maybe this weekend.

Well better see if I can get outside before going up to bed. With the Boss here the staring trick doesn't work. It will be the floor for us again. At least he can't stop the treats!

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Day Two PS Part Deux


Before I tell you how Rooney is today I have to answer a question that has been asked multiple times about the picture of Cassidy from yesterday. "Was Old Pooh posed for the picture with Cassidy by the window?" The answer is no. While Cassidy was sitting on the stairs or anywhere else in the house on Tuesday waiting for her brother to come back, she had one of his Poohs with her. Above you can see her with New Pooh on the back stairs. She put Old Pooh down as she was looking out the window and he happened to land as you see him. Cassidy doesn't get to hold any Poohs for long when Rooney is home. It was interesting to see her carry one around the entire time that Rooney was gone.

Rooney today is feeling a little better. He seems to be coming back a bit slower from this surgery than his first. He barely touches his paw to the ground and has more trouble walking. His appetite is good and he is drinking lots of water. He doesn't seem to be in much pain. Just very tentative with his leg so far.

Cassidy of course was really happy to see Rooney come home yesterday. She would not leave his side. Here you can see her in the family room with her brother. She didn't mind at all being locked up with him for the day.


The Girl came home today and Rooney was really excited to see her. He then proceeded to get a really long neck and head rub from the Girl. No wonder he likes her so much.

Rooney had his Physical Therapy sessions at home today working on his range of motion. His knee moves smoothly and he has a pretty good range of motion when forced. He just doesn't seem to want to do it himself yet. We'll see how he does over the next couple of days.

The Girl wouldn't let me post any pictures of his knee or any video of him limping around the yard. She says it is too sad to watch. As he gets better I'm sure we'll see more of him.

Now he is resting nicely in his locked down family room. I'll bet he's hoping the Treat Lady sleeps in there with him again tonight.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Surgery Day Deux


Well we got a call from the Vet about 30 minutes ago and Rooney's surgery went fine. He is again resting on his cot with his heater and doing well. His second knee had a little less acute damage and a bit more long term damage than his left. The meniscus was torn again and there was a bit of scar tissue and arthritis. Pretty impressive for guy who is only about three years old. His knee tightened up nicely with the "tightrope" procedure according to Dr. Jeff. We'll see how he feels when he comes home tomorrow.

The one this surgery seems to be taking the biggest toll on right now is his sister Cassidy. Here she is waiting on the steps for him to come home.

I was able to work at home today and she had been on this step (she can see the back door and side door from here) for more than 4 hours before I made her come into my office. After a while in my office she disappeared again. I tracked her down and this is where I found her.

I'm sure when the Treat Lady gets home Cassidy will be all fine again. She'll get to go for a long walk in the woods and get some banana. Lucky dog.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Back to Surgery

Well, we start all over again tomorrow. Rooney goes in to the vet at around 7 AM and will come home on Wednesday morning. He is having his right knee fixed this time. Hopefully all goes well.

Rooney was unusually rambunctious today. First thing he did going outside was to pick up a tennis ball and ask me to throw it. He hasn't done that in a long time. It pains us to put him through the rehab again, but you can tell he needs his leg fixed. He limps on it going upstairs most of the time and favors it when he is pretending he is fine.

His left leg seems to be healing very well. We'll find out how good it is on Wednesday when it is all he'll have to walk on.


We'll keep you posted.

BD

Friday, April 3, 2009

Yep, It's me again. Just want to get a quick hit in on my brother before our walk tonight. Remember when Rooney was all "look how naughty Cassidy is, she eats the toilet paper roll"? Well the truth came out the other night. Take a look at this.
The toilet paper roll got all messed up again. Somebody took a few bites. Of course they tried to blame me for this but take a look at what Rooney was doing while the Boss was talking to me.
That's right! He was hiding behind the Boss' leg trying to make sure nobody looked at him. We all figured it out though. Now look at what Rooney was doing when the Boss was asking him about the toilet paper.
He wouldn't even look at the Boss when he was talking. Everybody knows that is an obvious sign of guilt. Rooney, you are busted! You're a big baby too.

I guess we can feel a little sorry for him though. He has his other knee surgery on Tuesday. I think I'll make him a card. IN OPPOSITE WORLD!

With Rooney having to stay in the house or on his leash, I've been out learning how to fetch the ball. It is much easier when Rooney is not knocking me down when I pick it up. I like to play fetch now!

When it snowed last week, Rooney got to go off his leash a little bit. He did what he always does. Rolling in the snow. Too bad the snow is all gone.




Just lots of good old mud left now. The only problem with that is the wash tub in the laundry room. I hate having to stand in the tub after my walks. I won't look at anyone when they make me do that.

Well it's time for me to go get my walk in the woods. I wonder if the Treat Lady will let Rooney come too. If he doesn't get to go he'll act like a baby again. Boo hoo Rooney.

See ya on the blog, puppy dog!

They're not going to let me write again, are they.