Casts off!

Well my casts came off last Saturday, and I’m very happy, albeit feeling a bit naked. My back end is a bit cold so I’ve worn this sweater given the Seattle summer weather (it’s in the 60’s today). I have to wear this crazy collar around the house because I don’t know my limitations yet- the mommies keep telling me I can’t jump on the furniture or step down stairs outside so the collar ensures I don’t forget and go for it. I still have to be extra careful, like yesterday morning I was digging in a blanket and screamed out in pain and mommies couldn’t figure out why, so off I went again in the car to the vet who checked me out and gave me a clean bill of health.

But I have had some great fun lately. The fabulous folks at Curly Mommy’s work sent me a really cool basket with toys and natural cookies in them! And the daughter of someone who works with Glasses Mommy drew me a beautiful get-well picture and gave me toys like this ball that I couldn’t keep my hands off of:

Thank you everyone, for being so concerned and supportive. It helps my whole family feel better. Even my sister, who was keeping my back end warm until pictures started being taken…

Violey Emerges!

This is me yesterday. I had to wear this funny collar for a couple of days, because my legs are itchy and I can't help but scratch them. Even though I was wearing the collar, I heard Glasses Mommy tell the vet on the phone that I'd "turned a corner" and was doing much better. I don't know what that means, exactly...but I think it's a good thing.

I know I haven't written since the weekend - basically, things were really, really hard all last week and over the weekend. Curly Mommy stayed home with me alone Monday and Tuesday, and she had it the hardest. I was only sleeping for about 4 hours at a time, and so that's when she would sleep. She took great care of me, though, hand-feeding me and giving me my medicine.

I went back to the vet on Monday because I was crying and flinching so much. The vet upped my medications, and kept me for the rest of the day "under observation" which sounds really scary but really just meant they could watch me. I acted like I felt better so they would let me go home. I was so happy when Glasses Mommy showed up to pick me up at the end of the day.

I could show my real self - the one who cried and didn't feel so good - back at home to my mommies. I know the doctors think they're a little nuts because I pretended to feel better while at the vet. I didn't want to stay there! Thankfully, my mommies' workplaces have been very understanding and flexible and have let them, at various times, "work from home." I have found that working from home means that they balance me on their laps while they look at their computers and type furiously fast, or while they talk on the phone all loud and insistent. But then they stop every 45 minutes or so to take me outside, or give me medicine, or feed me.

Eating has been a challenge. After being a good eater right after my surgery, suddenly over the weekend and even as late as Tuesday and Wednesday of this week I refused to eat unless hand-fed by one of my mommies. I also wouldn't eat my dog food. I found that if I refused to eat dog food, I would get better and better treats! First, scrambled eggs. Yum! Then, when I refused to eat eggs (after all, how many meals in a row can I be expected to eat the same thin?) I got baby food that comes in a jar. Sweet potato and chicken! Chicken and rice! I never knew anything like this existed, so it was a pleasant surprise.

Yesterday I got baby food mixed with my dog food. Today I figured I should start eating regular food, so I obliged and actually ate a mixture that was more dog food and less baby food. I thought I'd give my mommies a thrill.

Then, I gave them another thrill by, you guessed it, not only using the facilities somewhat regularly, but also...by standing up and walking! They were, I think, horrified the first couple times they saw me crab walk across the room. They kept picking me up and trying to keep me still. But, eventually, they had to set me down on the floor and when they'd look away I'd crab walk a little bit for practice. Eventually, I progressed to this...

They are so proud! Now, I am trying to walk everywhere and they have to try to keep me confined. I whine and cry; I just want to be free! A couple of times I faked them out by pretending to be sleeping in my dog bed so they would leave the room. Then, I got up and tried to run out of the living room and across the kitchen! Once I did get all the way to the back door before they saw me. I know, I know. They are trying to keep me still for my own good. But it's boring being kept in my dog bed.

So, they play with me while I am lying down. I love playing with this red ball.

I hear I have to go back to the vet tomorrow...I am a little bit scared, but I have to wonder:
Do you think I'll get my bandages off soon?

Another Stressful Day

My mommies got more sleep last night, but Curly Mommy was up with me at 5. They are both pretty stressed out, not knowing if I am feeling better or not. They were a little bit grumpy today - and usually my mommies are in a pretty good mood. I am sad that taking care of me is so stressful. I am also tired, and grumpy, and every once in a while I growl when my legs give me a twinge.

These big green legs of mine are floppy and sore. When will my regular legs come back?

A complicated day, indeed

So I was very glad my mommies took me back to the vet today. I cried the whole way there, that plus sleep deprivation for all of us made us all pretty misty-eyed at the vet. I felt so much better after peeing though, I perked up quite a bit. That, and mommies told the vet I kept nipping at my naked butt for no reason so the vet figured out I was trying to get at some pain in my legs and she increased my Buprenorpine- now I can have .15ml to .2ml three times a day, instead of .1ml two times a day. When we all got home we had smiles on our faces, and I caught a much needed nap with my brother.


At dinner time I was being very finicky and wouldn't eat until my glasses-wearing mommy put me on her lap and hand-fed me. I liked it a lot, I may insist on this more often.

Today my curly-haired mom got a call from New York that her beloved grandma “Mema” passed away suddenly. She was 90 years old and she was a woman who really followed the beat of her own drum. She always asked about us fuzzy kids (her "great-grandchildren”) when mom talked to her every weekend. She was a really great lady and she will be sorely missed…


Meds-.1ml to . 2 ml Buprenorphine up to 3x day, .23ml Metacam for 13 days

It Was A Hard Night

Viley here. I'm a little groggy from my medication, but I wanted to check in to let you know how I'm doing. The two nights that I've been home have both been hard...harder for my mommies than for me, I think. Mostly I have trouble getting comfortable. One mommy stayed up with me each night, because it's easier for me to sleep on a soft lap with a sitting-up mommy than in my dog bed. It's not easy for them, though. They are "sleep deprived," and were very anxious because in the two days I'd been home, I only (excuse me for speaking of personal matters) went pee pee one time.

You see, and this might be too much information, it's very important that I don't get any pee on my bandages. I could be scalded, and hurt, if it touches my legs. So my mommies have been very careful and very anxious about my personal habits...so much so that today, they took me back to the vet to get checked out.

When the vet turned me over to ultrasound my belly, I let loose! So I got my pee pee out and feel so much better...

Violet's homecoming...

The moms brought my sister home this evening, and I am really glad to see her- I sniffed every inch of her body until I could sniff no more. Violet is groggy and didn't want to talk, so she told me it was OK to blog for her again. My poor sister has these big green bandages on her back legs which make it look really hard for her to get comfortable, but somehow she settled in and fell asleep right away (that's when I took this picture of her shaved back end):

I don't know how she can go to the bathroom with those things on her legs or how we're all going to sleep comfortably in the bed tonight, but like always I know the moms will take good care of us kids.

Meds-.1 ml Buprenorphine 2x day (pain), .45ml Metacam (anti-inflammatory)

VIOLET DID GREAT!

The surgeon just called my moms and said that my sister Violet did great! They did end up repairing both knees, so she'll come home looking like a mummy with both legs in bandages, but we are relieved that they could do both knees at once. Now she stays overnight so the vet can monitor her and if all goes well, moms go to get her tomorrow afternoon. I miss her already.

-AG

Trying To Convince Them... I Don't Need Surgery!

I sent this video to my mommies to try and convince them I don’t need to go have surgery tomorrow. They still say I have to go. I know they want what’s best for me, but maybe the ACLU can take my case?

I Am Not Amused

This is me and my best friend, Piggy. I'd hoped that your introduction to her fabulousness would be under better circumstances. However, the events that transpired this evening have prompted me to hold Piggy close by my side because I need comfort. Comfort that only Piggy, my oldest friend, the fluffy pink wonder who accompanied me in my travels from Whatcom County to my Seattle home, could offer me.

All I was doing is innocently sitting in the kitchen. I swear! Then, suddenly, one of my mommies swooped in, picked me up, and plopped me in the kitchen sink.

Really.

Then, she turned on the water. Sure, she tested and re-tested it to make sure it wasn't too warm, or too cold. And, yes, OK, she used the special "no tears" doggie shampoo because I had some ratty bits in my mustache and beard that needed special attention. And, FINE, I will admit that the lavender conditioner that she uses on me has a fine and pleasant smell. But that still is no excuse for picking up an innocent pup and washing her without even asking.

I know, I know. It's for my own good. I'm going to the hospital on Wednesday and my mommies want me to be fresh and clean when I get there. But still...I don't have to like it!

Sunny Seattle Sunday

Today was a great day! My mommies and I spent time in our back yard reading, sleeping, barking at squirrels, and enjoying the sun as you can see from my picture. We tried not to think too much about my surgery coming up on Wednesday. In preparation for my slipping patellas getting fixed, though, I'd like to take a moment to introduce you to the other furry members of my family, as they will help take care of me afterwards.

First and most important: This is a picture of my big brother, AG, also enjoying today's sun. He's a five year old Yorkie who taught me how to bark like a Terrier! We spend most of our time together playing with toys, or chasing each other around...

...or just hanging out.

I also have two kitty sisters, Kitty Black and Kitty Blue. Kitty Black is around eleven years old but has lived with my mommies for less time than that. She was adopted from Meow Cat Rescue 9 years ago, after all the kittens she had were already adopted by other people. The other humans wanted her babies, but not her! My mommies saw something very special in her, though, and they were right! Kitty Black will take care of her furry siblings by sometimes sleeping next to us to keep us warm, or by licking our heads sweetly as she walks by. Kitty Blue was the first sibling in the house; she was adopted first and, over the years, has graciously taken to all of us - one by one - as we came home. Well, um, OK, I admit (and I don't like to spread negative information about my kitty sisters) sometimes Kitty Blue is pretty grumpy. This may be because she still remembers her peaceful time as an only-kitty, or because my dog brother AG chases after her and barks sometimes. But, as you can see from this photo, Kitty Blue is nice enough to share the bed with Kitty Black and me every once in a while.

And speaking of bed...after so much sun today, I'm tired! Time to rest. ZZzzzzzzzzzzz.

Hello, World! My Name is Violet.

A little over a year ago, I was adopted by two lovely mommies in the city of Seattle. I'd traveled far to get to them - from rural Washington where a rescue lady took me from the person who took me too soon from my dog mom and was trying to sell me, to the wonderful human foster mom and dog foster mom in Whatcom County who helped me grow from my baby weight up to 2 pounds, then finally to Seattle where I found my permanent home.

At my foster home, a caring mommy dog (who, coincidentally, looked a lot like me!) had recently given birth to her own litter of pups (who looked nothing like her). The story goes that my dog foster mom got tired of nursing her own pups, but let me nurse to get the nutrition I needed to grow from less than a pound up to the big 2 lbs. that I was when I got adopted by my mommies. My human foster mom took great care of me - even when she woke up one night to find all my dog foster siblings really sick with Parvo - she kept taking care of me and I didn't even get sick. Luckily, all my dog foster siblings survived too.

I live a pretty good life here in Seattle. My mommies let me sleep in their bed at night, they keep me safely in a room with a baby gate during the day, and I have a dog brother and two cat sisters to keep me company. I've grown to a full 8 pounds, which neither mom ever thought I'd reach!

I'm starting this blog because I am told that next week I will have something called "surgery" for "slipping patellas," which doesn't sound so good. This comes after I was playing outside and started lifting one of my back paws, then going to the vet who told us both my patellas were slipping. My mommies jumped into action, taking me to water therapy where I walked on a treadmill to strengthen my knee ligaments, walking me daily to keep my weight down, providing me glucosamine supplements, and massaging my knees. But the vet says I still need my knees operated on and I won't be able to get around much for a while, so in the mean time, I am going to keep track of my experiences on this blog.

You seem awfully nice. I hope you'll visit again and check on how I'm doing.