Cold White Stuff Everywhere

Hi Friends!  It has been a long, long, long, long time since I last reported on my life.  That is what happens when you get a SECOND tiny human you have to protect.  Still, I had to make time to tell you about the crazy, crazy week just a little bit ago.

Life seemed pretty normal, when suddenly, the outdoors got very, very, very cold.  I have to remind you that on very hot days, I love to lay in the sun.  When it gets just a little cooler and my people put on their thin coats, I think it's a bit too cold to go outside.  (They do convince me to go outside eventually because I hate to make messes in the house.)

Still, on this day, it was much too cold to go outside for any reason.  I was not going to go outside willingly.  It was colder than I ever felt!  

My people then got out my walking outfit, and I got excited.  Before I realized what happened, I let them put on my walking clothes and went outside.  The door locked behind me, and it was too late!

The upside-downTo make matters worse, there was cold, white stuff everywhere.  It was cold in the air, and it was cold on my feet, and it was cold everywhere.  I'm not sure what terrible thing had happened to do this to our home.  I was scared and felt a bit helpless.    I was able to take my walk, though, and was very glad to get home.

The next morning, I thought things would get better.  The sun was shining, so I looked forward to getting back outside. Little did I know that it would be even worse!!

The air was even colder than the day before, which didn't seem possible, and the white stuff grew!  However, I couldn't just walk on top of the white stuff, I kept sinking in to the ground!  Not only were my feet cold, now, my legs, and even my chest, were in the white stuff and it felt terrible.  It felt so terrible, in fact, that I sat down and cried after about 5 minutes and my person picked me up and took me inside.

Deep into the terrible cold stuff

Later that day, my person carried me out, and we found a trail through the white stuff.  It was not great, but at least the cold stuff only touched my feet I not my whole legs!

A path just for me!Friends, believe me when I tell you this was awful.  However, what was even more difficult was that each day, I woke up, and nothing got better.  Nothing.  It was this terrible world over and over again!

The only good part was that when I got back, I had the warmest spot in the house to recover!

Warming up after a miserable walkI truly thought that we'd never be warm again.  I saw a show with my little people recently where the queen froze the whole land, and I was sure that was what happened.  However, after what felt like a lifetime, the spell was broken and weather is normal again....Woof. Woof , Woof!!!

Justice for Nano

My friend Nano and her person are being unfairly attacked by the postal service.  There's a reason why dogs don't trust mail carriers, and this story just confirms all of my worst fears! Read the whole scary, sad, Kafkaesque story here: http://justicefornano.blogspot.com/

My "Scary" friend Nano

Blankets and Pillows

I am very thankful for blankets and pillows.  There's no place that I feel more safe and warm than under a blanket or pillow.  (It's even better if I'm on a lap under a blanket.)

Five years ago, when I arrived at my new home, one of the first things I did was jump on the couch, knock a pillow over, and slip under it.  I looked so young back then!

Safe and warm in my new home

Soon afterwards, I found that it also felt nice to be under a blanket.

Under a blanket - so comfortable

After much experimentation, I found that I could combine pillows with blankets for an amazing level of comfort.

Does it get better than this?My people are well aware of my love for pillows and blankets, so they've given me a variety of blankets over the years.  One of my favorite is my dachshund blanket.

Doxie wrapped in a doxie :-)I know that I couldn't have made it through my kennel rest without the comfort of my favorite blankie.

My comforting blankie

There wasn't much good about kennel rest, but I did get to combine two of my favorite things while on rest: eating and blankets!

Sorry for droning on and on about pillows and blankets.  When I get on a topic that I love, it's difficult for me to stop.  I have a lot more to say on the topic, but I'll save that for later!  Let me know if you need any advice on how to best use blankets and pillows.

Rehab - Yes, Yes, Yes!

After my IVDD surgery and 6 weeks of kennel rest, I was able to move my back legs.  I couldn't control them well, and I got tired quickly, but they worked! The told me that if I went to rehab I could walk better, so I said yes, yes, yes!

I don't have any pictures or videos of myself in rehab, but I went once a week for 6 weeks.  We did a number of things, but the strangest thing was a machine for walking in the water.  They would put me in a glass box, and then water would start coming in from the floor.  This scared me at first, but a person named Thai made me feel more comfortable.  Thai said everything would be OK, and I believed it.

Then, the floor started moving, and I started walking.  It was very strange, but it felt like my legs didn't have to carry my weight.  It felt like I was flying or something.  It felt great and strange.

Here's a video showing something like what I did:

The rehab helped me walk at home as well.  As part of my therapy, I got to finally go on short walks again.  Here's a video of my walking.  You can see that all my fur didn't grow back yet.  I am limping a bit and having trouble lifting my toes, but you can't tell much in the video.

After months of rehab and hard work, I am back to being healthy and active!  I'm also looking pretty good if I do say so myself.

Looking good

Having IVDD was a scary experience for sure.  However, if any other puppies out there get IVDD, please know that it can be overcome.  I hope that my story helps some other pups get better and not give up hope.  There were times when I almost did, but I pushed myself, and it all paid off.

I heard that some person with a strange name of Winston once said, "If you're going through hell, keep going."  I agree, but I like the musical version better.

Puppy New Year!

Happy 2013 everybody!  I've been doing a lot of thinking about 2012 and what, if anything, I want to change for 2013.

In deep thought

I'm very grateful that I've recovered so well from my IVDD surgery.  That was scary, but it taught me that some scary things can be overcome even if there's a lot of hardship.  I'm very grateful for my home and my family.

However, I have been having trouble with one new family member.  I have alluded to her in the past, but since she is the focus of my 2013 goal, I will finally write about her.  A tiny human moved into my house quite a while ago.  

First, I was very protective of her.  She was so helpless (and noisy).

Checking on the little one

However, as time has passed, this tiny human has gotten bigger and moves around without help.  She seems to like me... a lot... a little too much.  I want to sleep under my blanket, but she pulls the covers off of me and pats me on the head... a little too hard sometimes.  One minute, I want to love and protect her, but the next minute she's bothering me or chasing me!

So, for 2013, I will try to be nice to this little, important pack member as much as I can.  I think I expressed my feelings best in this card that I gave to her for Christmas.

Christmas card to littlest pack memberInside, I wrote:

What a year!

Some days, I didn't know what to think.

Other days, I just needed a drink.

It helps when I have my morning jog,

To deal with the fact that I'm no longer top dog.

Most days, I love that little girl.

I'll try to treat her like a precious pearl.

I do have to say that there are some new fringe benefits.  This little person has been eating real food, and unlike the big people, she throws some food to the floor for me.  (I had some roasted pork on Christmas thanks to this sweetie!)

AnticipationHave a Puppy New Year everyone!