I took the day off today. Sweetheart was outside on and off during the day and did great. She is moving around good and trying to gnaw on Cleo when they are outside so she is almost back to normal. I sort of like her being subdued :)
I emailed Channel Four last night. They did a story on Sweetheart September 2. I asked them if they wanted to do a follow up to show she is completely healed. I haven't heard back from them and am not getting my hopes up but I thought I would give it a shot. Their website is www.kfor.com if you want to go on there and send them an email if you would like them to do a story. Who knows, maybe they will.
Today was a gorgeous day in Oklahoma. 72 degrees. Tomorrow a bitter cold front is coming through and the weekend is going to be cold. Oh well, at least we had a gorgeous day and I enjoyed it very much. The dogs enjoyed laying around in the sun.
Jess
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Peanut is home
Yes, Peanut. Sweetheart has several nicknames and the one we use the most is Peanut. All of my greys have multiple nicknames. Half the time I wonder if they really will recognize their 'real' name since I am always using nick names. :) Do your greys have nicknames? If so, share them with me in a comment to this post.
Anyhow, Sweetheart is home. Les picked her up about 3 today. He said she was really excited to see him. She ran down the hall (on leash) and bounced all around him in the lobby. That made him pretty happy :) Les got her home with no problems. She is pretty subdued this evening. She has gone outside a few times this evening and is walking around just fine. She is holding herself a little stiffly but not too bad. She isn't having any problems jumping on the couch or leaning against me for hugs. :) Right now she and Cleo are passed out on the couch. I am going to make sure she and Cleo don't play too much outside for the next few days. I do not want her to pull any of her stitches. She doesn't have to be on any antibiotics, I am sure she is disappointed because that means no cheese snacks twice a day. Dr. Kolar cleaned her teeth and Dr.Kindi told Les that the blood work results should be ready tomorrow or early next week at the very latest. I am really really curious to see how much her blood work has changed from August 13th to now.
Sweetheart's stitches will come out in 10 days. If they aren't in too tight I will just take them out myself. However, if they are tight and sunken in any places I will take her to Kolar's.
I am so very relieved that she sailed through this spay. This was the very last thing she had to do to be fully recovered. I cannot believe that it has only been four and a half months since we rescued her and she is almost 100% back to normal. Some days it feels like I have had her for 4 and a half years, not four and a half months. She is so special and I am so thankful I have gotten to experience every step of her recovery. I highly recommend that if any of you ever get the chance to help a neglected or abused animal that you do it. The rewards are worth it a thousand times over.
I plan on enrolling her in obedience class (if there is still a spot) Monday. The vo-tech was closed for the holidays this week so I wasn't able to do it. If I don't get her into this class I will try to get her enrolled at a different vo-tech. Either way, she will be in obedience by April at the very latest.
I will try to get some pictures of her soon. Thank you all for following her spay saga and giving me your encouragement! I was a worried 'mom' for the last few days. :)
Oh, and I haven't checked yet to see if Dr. Kolar lined up her spots after the spay. :)
Jess
Anyhow, Sweetheart is home. Les picked her up about 3 today. He said she was really excited to see him. She ran down the hall (on leash) and bounced all around him in the lobby. That made him pretty happy :) Les got her home with no problems. She is pretty subdued this evening. She has gone outside a few times this evening and is walking around just fine. She is holding herself a little stiffly but not too bad. She isn't having any problems jumping on the couch or leaning against me for hugs. :) Right now she and Cleo are passed out on the couch. I am going to make sure she and Cleo don't play too much outside for the next few days. I do not want her to pull any of her stitches. She doesn't have to be on any antibiotics, I am sure she is disappointed because that means no cheese snacks twice a day. Dr. Kolar cleaned her teeth and Dr.Kindi told Les that the blood work results should be ready tomorrow or early next week at the very latest. I am really really curious to see how much her blood work has changed from August 13th to now.
Sweetheart's stitches will come out in 10 days. If they aren't in too tight I will just take them out myself. However, if they are tight and sunken in any places I will take her to Kolar's.
I am so very relieved that she sailed through this spay. This was the very last thing she had to do to be fully recovered. I cannot believe that it has only been four and a half months since we rescued her and she is almost 100% back to normal. Some days it feels like I have had her for 4 and a half years, not four and a half months. She is so special and I am so thankful I have gotten to experience every step of her recovery. I highly recommend that if any of you ever get the chance to help a neglected or abused animal that you do it. The rewards are worth it a thousand times over.
I plan on enrolling her in obedience class (if there is still a spot) Monday. The vo-tech was closed for the holidays this week so I wasn't able to do it. If I don't get her into this class I will try to get her enrolled at a different vo-tech. Either way, she will be in obedience by April at the very latest.
I will try to get some pictures of her soon. Thank you all for following her spay saga and giving me your encouragement! I was a worried 'mom' for the last few days. :)
Oh, and I haven't checked yet to see if Dr. Kolar lined up her spots after the spay. :)
Jess
The day after
Called Dr. Kolar's and Sweetheart is doing fine this morning. They are going to give her a bath before Les picks her up so she will be nice and clean. I am sure that will last all of an hour or so. Once we let her outside she likes to run around and then dig and lay in the dirt holes.
I really need to take pictures of the landscaping Cleo, Journey and Sweetheart have done to the backyard lately. It is quite impressive. It sort of looks like they are waging trench warfare out there. I gave up on having a nice backyard many years ago. My main goal is not to break an ankle or leg when I walk in the backyard. Ahh, fun with greyhounds. :) I figure mowing this spring should be nice and challenging.
Hope everyone is having a good day. My four day weekend starts at four this afternoon!
Jessica
I really need to take pictures of the landscaping Cleo, Journey and Sweetheart have done to the backyard lately. It is quite impressive. It sort of looks like they are waging trench warfare out there. I gave up on having a nice backyard many years ago. My main goal is not to break an ankle or leg when I walk in the backyard. Ahh, fun with greyhounds. :) I figure mowing this spring should be nice and challenging.
Hope everyone is having a good day. My four day weekend starts at four this afternoon!
Jessica
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Spay Day update
I talked to Lynn at Dr. Kolar's and she said that Sweetheart made it through the spay just fine. She is actually fairly awake and is doing well. They drew blood on her so that we can see how much progress (hopefully) she has made since the first blood work that was done in August right after her rescue.
Dr. Kolar is keeping her overnight. Les will go and pick her up tomorrow, probably late morning or early afternoon. I would much rather her stay there a little bit longer tomorrow just to make sure she is doing well.
Jess
Dr. Kolar is keeping her overnight. Les will go and pick her up tomorrow, probably late morning or early afternoon. I would much rather her stay there a little bit longer tomorrow just to make sure she is doing well.
Jess
Spay Day
Today is finally here. Spay Day. Lester is taking Sweetheart into Dr. Kolar's this morning about 8:30. Dr. Kolar normally keeps them overnight after a spay or neuter to make sure nothing goes wrong.
The house is going to seem kind of odd without her there.
I think I have pretty much made the decision that I am going to adopt her. She has really recovered nicely and her personality is quite darling. She loves to play and has really started to become a snuggle bunny. I suppose I am somewhat selfish in wanting to keep her. I just cannot stand the thought of her going to yet another home where there is no guarantee she wouldn't be hurt again (even though we screen our adopter's thoroughly).
I am going to enroll her in a large dog obdeience class at the local vo tech (if there is still room in the class). The class will start sometime in January or February. I hope she does well in it. My ultimate goal will be to have her certified as a therapy dog so that I can do visits to hospitals, nursing homes and such. I would love to be able to visit a cancer treatment center to be able to cheer up those patients going through such a traumatic experience. I would like to do that in honor of my friend. However, I may get Sweetheart in class and find out she is a total goof and totally untrainable! Who knows. Either way, I will love her no matter what.
Hope everyone is doing good. My Dad continues to do well and for this I am very thankful for! Hope everyone is having a good week. I am treating myself to another four day weekend starting Thursday. What the heck, you only live once. :)
Jess
The house is going to seem kind of odd without her there.
I think I have pretty much made the decision that I am going to adopt her. She has really recovered nicely and her personality is quite darling. She loves to play and has really started to become a snuggle bunny. I suppose I am somewhat selfish in wanting to keep her. I just cannot stand the thought of her going to yet another home where there is no guarantee she wouldn't be hurt again (even though we screen our adopter's thoroughly).
I am going to enroll her in a large dog obdeience class at the local vo tech (if there is still room in the class). The class will start sometime in January or February. I hope she does well in it. My ultimate goal will be to have her certified as a therapy dog so that I can do visits to hospitals, nursing homes and such. I would love to be able to visit a cancer treatment center to be able to cheer up those patients going through such a traumatic experience. I would like to do that in honor of my friend. However, I may get Sweetheart in class and find out she is a total goof and totally untrainable! Who knows. Either way, I will love her no matter what.
Hope everyone is doing good. My Dad continues to do well and for this I am very thankful for! Hope everyone is having a good week. I am treating myself to another four day weekend starting Thursday. What the heck, you only live once. :)
Jess
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Sunday
Thank you to everyone for their thoughts and well wishes for my Dad.
He came home Christmas Eve and is doing well. He is taking it easy and making a real effort to stop smoking (hard for him to do after 50, yes 50 years of smoking). I know he can do it, it will just be difficult. He will go in for another stent within the next 3-4 weeks if all goes well with his recovery from the first one.
I hope everyone had a nice holiday. Mine was nice, especially since my Dad came home.
Sweetheart is doing well. Playing like a wild woman and making us laugh and laugh. As you all know, she goes in for her spay Tuesday. I am trying to give her extra tummy rubs while her tummy is still pristine. :)
I will update everyone on how she does after her spay. I hope all goes well, I am going to be nervous until she comes home.
He came home Christmas Eve and is doing well. He is taking it easy and making a real effort to stop smoking (hard for him to do after 50, yes 50 years of smoking). I know he can do it, it will just be difficult. He will go in for another stent within the next 3-4 weeks if all goes well with his recovery from the first one.
I hope everyone had a nice holiday. Mine was nice, especially since my Dad came home.
Sweetheart is doing well. Playing like a wild woman and making us laugh and laugh. As you all know, she goes in for her spay Tuesday. I am trying to give her extra tummy rubs while her tummy is still pristine. :)
I will update everyone on how she does after her spay. I hope all goes well, I am going to be nervous until she comes home.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Merry Christmas Eve!
All of us at Fasthound would like to wish all of Sweetheart's fans Happy Holidays!
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Matters of the heart
This afternoon my Dad suffered a mild heart attack. They found three blockages and placed a stent in one of these. They will have to place the other two stents separately in the next few months. Barring any set backs, he should be fully recovered within three months. He will be in the hospital for the next two evenings. I am hopeful that all will go well and he will come home Friday.
I wanted to let everyone know about this so you wouldn't wonder why there may not be any new updates for a couple of days. I will be up at the hospital quite a bit of the day tomorrow I would imagine. Keep him in your thoughts just like you have with Sweetheart.
Sweetheart is still doing fine by the way and is on track to be spayed Tuesday. Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and I hope I get my Dad home safe and sound for Christmas.
Love to you all.
Jess
I wanted to let everyone know about this so you wouldn't wonder why there may not be any new updates for a couple of days. I will be up at the hospital quite a bit of the day tomorrow I would imagine. Keep him in your thoughts just like you have with Sweetheart.
Sweetheart is still doing fine by the way and is on track to be spayed Tuesday. Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and I hope I get my Dad home safe and sound for Christmas.
Love to you all.
Jess
Monday, December 20, 2010
Pigpen!
Spay is scheduled for next Tuesday, December 28th. And I am NOT happy about it. Yes, I know, spaying is the right thing to do. Believe me, being in rescue, I know this. However, I HATE having to put her through more pain. Plus I don't want to see a scar on that pretty, spotted tummy :( Oh well, it is better than her having puppies and that is something I DO NOT WANT. :)
I told Les to tell Dr. Kolar to make sure that when he sews her up that all her spots match like before. :)
I will keep everyone posted on her spay surgery. Paws and fingers crossed that it all goes well. I am also going to have him do another full blood panel to see how much her counts have improved from August.
Below is video Les shot this evening. You can see my fat self in it quite a bit. He needs to learn to crop those images out. :) Hope you all enjoy our little pig pen. Cleo and Sweetheart have dug my yard completely up. It looks like war has been waged on our yard.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Wednesday
Mid-way through the work week. I am sitting at work and just finished browsing through all of the blog posts I did in August. Even though I have been dealing with Sweetheart for four months now, it is hard for me to believe she was really that emaciated and that her leg was that bad. I look at Sweetheart today and she just isn't the same dog. She is so healthy looking now and so FULL OF ENERGY. I have always been grateful for her amazing recovery but reading back in the blog to the first weeks makes me appreciate her all the more.
I watch her play and sleep and eat and marvel at her. I must admit, I can't stop patting her little thighs because it is so amazing to me that she regained so much muscle back after not having any. Watching her run is breathtaking and watching her pounce on tennis balls like a puppy is a joy.
I have started to ponder adopting her myself. I do not know if I will do it or not. I know I probably shouldn't adopt her since I already have three of my own but I would love to have a therapy dog and I think she might be able to pass the certification. My first greyhound I ever adopted, Bavarian, is twelve and a half and he is getting raspy in breath and slower in movement. He will not be with me too much longer I fear. While Sweetheart could never replace him in my heart, she would be a good grey to fill some of the void his loss will undoubtably create.
I am going to keep thinking about it and I plan on looking into therapy certification. She still needs to be spayed and that will happen soon. I still have some time to contemplate adoption. If I do adopt, it will be the third failed foster of mine. I guess that isn't too bad after fostering for five years!
I will try and get some pictures of her for you all in the next few days. She looks exactly the same but I know the blog is better when I put pics and video on it!
I watch her play and sleep and eat and marvel at her. I must admit, I can't stop patting her little thighs because it is so amazing to me that she regained so much muscle back after not having any. Watching her run is breathtaking and watching her pounce on tennis balls like a puppy is a joy.
I have started to ponder adopting her myself. I do not know if I will do it or not. I know I probably shouldn't adopt her since I already have three of my own but I would love to have a therapy dog and I think she might be able to pass the certification. My first greyhound I ever adopted, Bavarian, is twelve and a half and he is getting raspy in breath and slower in movement. He will not be with me too much longer I fear. While Sweetheart could never replace him in my heart, she would be a good grey to fill some of the void his loss will undoubtably create.
I am going to keep thinking about it and I plan on looking into therapy certification. She still needs to be spayed and that will happen soon. I still have some time to contemplate adoption. If I do adopt, it will be the third failed foster of mine. I guess that isn't too bad after fostering for five years!
I will try and get some pictures of her for you all in the next few days. She looks exactly the same but I know the blog is better when I put pics and video on it!
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Saturday, December 11, 2010
All I want for Christmas is a fully healed leg!
Yes everyone, that is all I want for Christmas and I just might get it. You be the judge. I took these pictures of Sweetheart (she was quite unwilling as she did not want to stop playing to pose) a few minutes ago.
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| Inside of leg. No you are not seeing things, the inside of her leg is TOTALLY healed!!!! Remember, this was down to the bone not but 4 short months ago. |
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| Outside of leg! |
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| Another closer shot of the outside of the leg. LOOK at all the new fuzzy white hair growing back! |
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| Front view of the leg. |
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| Close up of the fully healed inside portion. |
Monday, December 6, 2010
Monday 12/06
As I write this, I am looking at Sweetheart lying on the floor without a care in the world. I feel so lucky to be able to take care of her and to count all the spots that have popped up on her tummy. :) I really do feel she is a miracle dog. I have never seen a dog heal so quickly when faced with so much adversity.
She continues to do great. Eating wonderfully and playing with Cleo and I like a 2 year old should. She loves to play with toys and to wolf bite me when I 'get her'.
Sweetheart has discovered a new little 'game'. When she comes in from outside, she will jump on the couch and lie down where she lands. Below are a couple of pictures of her lying awkwardly where she landed.
The pictures below are of her passed out on the couch. She crawled up there with me as I was watching TV this weekend.
She continues to do great. Eating wonderfully and playing with Cleo and I like a 2 year old should. She loves to play with toys and to wolf bite me when I 'get her'.
Sweetheart has discovered a new little 'game'. When she comes in from outside, she will jump on the couch and lie down where she lands. Below are a couple of pictures of her lying awkwardly where she landed.
The pictures below are of her passed out on the couch. She crawled up there with me as I was watching TV this weekend.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
Friday!
I am sorry I have been so quiet this week. I am neglecting Sweetheart's fans! I wasn't sure how many of you were still following the blog since some of my recent posts haven't generated too many comments. I defnitely want to keep everyone updated about our little Sweetheart if everyone is still interested in following her story!
Sweetheart's leg still looks about the same *sigh*. The bandage is still off and she is still not fussing with the open wounds too much. She alernates from using three to four legs at various times. Her weight is holding steady. Her energy is phenomenal and she is definitely showing that she is a two year old at times (chewing a few things in the house, bothering the other greys, barking outside like a fool)!
Yesterday when I got home from work I brought her outside by herself. I brought some leather work gloves out with me and she went crazy for them. I wouldn't let her have them, instead I put them on and 'got her' with them. This made her act all goosy and she started running big circles around the yard. When she was running she would act like she was going to run into me and then she would turn really fast when she came to me, almost like she was trying to fake me out and make me think she was going to get me. It was so funny I just laughed and laughed. I ended up kneeling down and she finally finished her sprint and came over to me and leaned on me and let me love on her. It was is so fun to watch her run. She LOVES to run and she runs like a little foal, legs going every which way when she takes off!
So, all in all, Sweetheart is doing great. Her leg is just something that is going to take time. The skin that is there is pretty thin, which is just a part of the side effect of the deep wounds she suffered. Her skin being so new and thin makes it take longer to heal and any nick she may get in the new skin just takes that much longer to heal.
She finishes up her antibiotics tomorrow morning! She likes taking her medicine because it involves a piece of cheese. She can be in a dead sleep but as soon as she hears the rattle of the plastic covering the cheese, into the kitchen she bounces. If I am take too long in giving her the cheese she kind of talks to me and stomps around (making me giggle of course). She will miss her twice daily cheese sessions when the antibiotics are over. :)
I will try to get some pictures of Sweetheart this weekend. She isn't the easiest subject to capture on camera. Every time I try and take a pic of her she moves and ends up looking like a dork in them. :)
Today is Friday!! I am ready for the weekend. Hope everyone has a great weekend. If there is anything you want to know about Sweetheart or about her recovery, let me know. I love all of your comments and questions.
Jess
Sweetheart's leg still looks about the same *sigh*. The bandage is still off and she is still not fussing with the open wounds too much. She alernates from using three to four legs at various times. Her weight is holding steady. Her energy is phenomenal and she is definitely showing that she is a two year old at times (chewing a few things in the house, bothering the other greys, barking outside like a fool)!
Yesterday when I got home from work I brought her outside by herself. I brought some leather work gloves out with me and she went crazy for them. I wouldn't let her have them, instead I put them on and 'got her' with them. This made her act all goosy and she started running big circles around the yard. When she was running she would act like she was going to run into me and then she would turn really fast when she came to me, almost like she was trying to fake me out and make me think she was going to get me. It was so funny I just laughed and laughed. I ended up kneeling down and she finally finished her sprint and came over to me and leaned on me and let me love on her. It was is so fun to watch her run. She LOVES to run and she runs like a little foal, legs going every which way when she takes off!
So, all in all, Sweetheart is doing great. Her leg is just something that is going to take time. The skin that is there is pretty thin, which is just a part of the side effect of the deep wounds she suffered. Her skin being so new and thin makes it take longer to heal and any nick she may get in the new skin just takes that much longer to heal.
She finishes up her antibiotics tomorrow morning! She likes taking her medicine because it involves a piece of cheese. She can be in a dead sleep but as soon as she hears the rattle of the plastic covering the cheese, into the kitchen she bounces. If I am take too long in giving her the cheese she kind of talks to me and stomps around (making me giggle of course). She will miss her twice daily cheese sessions when the antibiotics are over. :)
I will try to get some pictures of Sweetheart this weekend. She isn't the easiest subject to capture on camera. Every time I try and take a pic of her she moves and ends up looking like a dork in them. :)
Today is Friday!! I am ready for the weekend. Hope everyone has a great weekend. If there is anything you want to know about Sweetheart or about her recovery, let me know. I love all of your comments and questions.
Jess
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