Road Trip

We have just returned from our ten day road trip to San Diego via Arizona. Both places were fantastic and a welcome change from the cooler temperatures of Montana. In Arizona we were able to continue our walking schedule with our friends and family, all of whom enjoyed Sampsons company, and even my moms dogs got used to sharing their space with him. The same cannot be said for my moms cat! [She opted to stay in the garage the whole time we were there].

In San Diego Sampson did a little swimming, but only on the Bay side so that he wouldn't get any water in his ear. My best friend Audra went with us and she was able to hang out on the beach with Sampson while I was in class.

The cottage I rented was perfect for all of us. It had a fenced yard, outdoor patio set and beautiful lawn, garden area. We were able to do our early morning walks on the beach and the rest of the time the three of us just hang out in our little oasis by the sea.

Sampson is a great traveler! Even Audra commented on how easy going he was. He had the whole back area of the car complete with doggie beds, pillows and his favorite sleeping bag, so he wasn't exactly roughing it. The weather was perfect for the road trip, rolled down the windows and let the breeze blow through the car. He

was only a little scrunched during the 20 minute drive after I stopped at Trader Joes for my summer provisioning! We have no Trader Joes up here, so it was an added bonus to the trip.

After we got home he was beyond excited to see Andy and the two little dogs. After a quick walk everyone seemed to fall right back into the normal rhythm of things. The day after we were home Sampson had a little flare up in his ear, so I am continuing with the medication until we see Dr. Lawson tomorrow. As for the leg, he has been strictly on leash only for all activities outside the house. Even when he went in the bay I held his leash, so we have stringently followed the Dr.'s orders there. His walking stride is looking really good. The hardest thing at this point, is his desire to really run after anything. During our short visit in AZ he was faced with rabbits, ground squirrels, lizards and quail all within the first 100 yards of walking out of my moms front door. Even though he was really tempted, he did great and just kept walking and sniffing all the new smells.

Tomorrow is our big six week check up. This is the scariest part for me. During the surgery on the other leg two years ago, it was at this point where I was able to see that recovery was not going as hoped. We have kept him off the stairs and when going in and out of the car, I physically lift him or use the towel so that there is no strain or pressure on that knee! For our living/sleeping conditions I am still sleeping on the couch next to his bed and after six weeks it has just become "normal". I am keeping my fingers crossed and know that we have done all that is possible for him to recover.

Sampson takes a road trip!

After experiencing two unseasonably beautiful days of 75* weather in Montana, it quickly went back to the normal temperatures of 50* with rain and occasional snow. This only kindled our already blazing "spring fever". With Sampson feeling better, and my commitment to attend a work seminar in San Diego, we packed up the car and hit the open road southbound, leaving the rain and snow showers in our rear view mirror. Sampson is a great traveler. I learned this two years ago after his first ACL surgery when we drove cross country to attend my brothers wedding. We left the other two dogs at home with Dad and know they will all have fun getting back out on the trails and getting a little one on one attention.

The weather was great so we drove straight through, making 1300 miles in 22 hours. We weren't too rushed so Sampson was able to get out plenty and stretch his legs and take in all the new smells along the way.

We left on Sunday and as dawn broke on Monday we were just outside of Lake Powell and though it was only 6:30am it felt so warm and welcoming. Here is Sampson taking in his first sniff of the red rock and cactus.

We are staying in my home town in Arizona for a few days to see family and have a little car work done. This is giving us quality time to take nice slow walks, and watch the Quail and Jack Rabbits cross our paths.

Sampson is even helping Grandma in the kitchen with the dishes!

We are taking our morning walks with his new friend Maggie and her mom Audra.

Tomorrow we head for San Diego. Sampson has not been in the water since his ear flared up, and I have been diligent about keeping it dry and applying the drops twice a day so I think we are in good shape for him to try out swimming in the ocean.

His leg is also doing great. He wants to do far more than I am allowing him to do. We are at one month and all is well, so better to err on the cautious side of things. The incision scar is healing up really well and you have to really look to see where it is. Hopefully in another week the hair will have completely grown in.

Knock on wood, things are going great. The sun and warm weather make all things a little better!

What a difference a day makes

I am amazed at how quickly Sampsons ear lost the redness and the obvious appearance of the bacteria. Over the weekend I was able to apply the drops three times a day, and it was only on the first day that the application of the drops seemed to bother him. After that he mostly became excited when he saw me reaching for the medication, knowing that cookies would appear soon after. Dr. Lawson showed me how to apply the drops at the outer edge of the ear and then massage them gently into the rest of the ear. He loves those massages! So, another two plus weeks of the drops and his ear should be back to normal.

As the knee recovers, so does his energy level and his desire to test the boundaries is becoming more evident every day. I see him pass by the stair case slowly and with some consideration.... the same way I pass by a plate of doughnuts... [how bad would it really be?]. Today while I was doing some much needed vacuuming I looked over and caught him in the act of trying to move the doggie gate with his nose. I stopped the vacuum and clapped my hands loudly, and he jumped like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar!

We have been able to get in a couple of walks today in between rain squalls, but as the rain drizzles in he is once again content by putting some of that pent up energy towards gnawing away on a large marrow bone. For now the living room has become Sampsons personal bone yard.

His walking stride is looking every bit normal. If you didn't see the incision mark and the shaved leg, it would be hard to determine which knee had the surgery. Every now and then he wants to leap ahead and jump a bit, but he is getting better at listening to my commands, and will stop with a little tug and a loud NO.

We are on a good path and know that if we are patient and stick with the program, he will be cruising around on his own by the end of summer!

One Knee Forward, One Ear Back

Our two week check up was Wednesday afternoon and he was cleared with a good bill of health. After our swim that day I gave him a full brushing and was so happy that we had reached our first milestone. Thursday night I noticed him scratching at his ears and licking his paws more than normal, but didn't think much of it. By Friday evening I noticed he had a little redness in his ear and I chalked it up to the fact that he had just been scratching at it with his back paw and got a little carried away. I have noticed that he still wants to lick a little at the incision and when I deter him he will start to lick his paws, so I thought the ear scratching may be just another symptom of his frustration. Boy was I wrong! By Friday night Sampson was shaking his head violently most of the night. When I took a gauze pad to it to try to swab out the moisture he literally ran from me with a little yelp. It was so difficult to watch because I was so helpless in being able to ease his discomfort. We made it through a sleepless night and called our vet early the next morning. Sampson had a similar type of ear infection three years ago and it had also flared up overnight. We were able to get into the vet right away Saturday morning.

The vet tech took a swab and I told her what I was able to see the night before.

When Dr. Lawson came in, he began explaining to me that due to Sampson just going off the antibiotics, he was more vulnerable to an infection in his ear, and he probably had some water get deep into the ear canal during one of our swims. He let me see the bacterial bodies in the microscope and I could not believe what I saw! He had a small city of bacteria living in that ear, no wonder he was so incredibly uncomfortable! Dr. Lawson explained that this was a yeast infection and he then applied a topical solution. I remembered this one from the three years prior. We left the hospital with Sampson already feeling better. By Saturday evening his ear was losing the red color and did not seem to be quite so sensitive.

Again the trick is distracting him for a few seconds while I apply the 2-3 drops needed. Thank goodness for doggie treats and peanut butter! They work just long enough for me to apply the drops and massage it into the ear for a few seconds.

We made it through the night without any head shaking or knee licking, so things are looking good. A little bit of solid rest can make all the difference!

We will wait a few days before getting back in the water and I understand my responsibility to swab his ear out immediately after leaving the water, but we are still going to use the swimming as the main form of his rehab.

Brown Eyed Girl ...... Tashi

Introducing Tashi Bella

Isn't it funny how different situations can connect you to people with such a strong, common thread?

In a quick email exchange regarding business with a WAG [Whitefish Animal Group] Board Member whom I had never met in person, I discovered that his newly adopted chocolate lab Tashi Bella was going to have the same surgery as Sampson less than a week after Sampsons. We quickly began sharing our thoughts and concerns of the standard surgery vs the TPLO, natural recovery options, etc. and discovered that for many of the same reasons we were both going with the traditional surgery.

Randy found Tashi abandoned at the dog park. She was 96lbs and estimated to be about 6 years old. Though I had never met Randy I recalled seeing posters of "Dog Found" at the dog park and seeing this beautiful creature, wondering how could anyone abandon something so sweet looking. One look at those eyes and you are hooked! He took her in to his home where she met his Weimaraner Mix Liam. Big Brother Liam

Randy noticed Tashi's limp, and worked diligently to get her weight down. Even after getting her down to 72lbs she was still limping, and had now become a part of their home. Then came the inevitable decision to commit to her well being and provide her with the surgery.

It has been nearly a week

and from the sounds of it, the surgery went off without a hitch, and like most of us, the main problem Randy is having is just trying to contain some of that energy that is bounding from her.

She is a such a sweet looking dog and we will be following her progress. Hopefully by the end of the summer she and Sampson can be walking together or at least meeting each other at the dog park to celebrate their recoveries!

Two week check up

First let me say that I have been looking forward to this day with nervous anticipation for the last week. It's at this stage where the vet performs a couple of different tests, checking to make sure the surgery has taken and that the technique he used has remained secure. I felt like I was taking a pass/fail exam that would determine the next six weeks of our lives. I knew the responsibility was mine and it would not be Sampsons fault if something happened that would send us back to surgery. Any actions he has taken since surgery are that of him just being a dog but it was my job to watch him closely and deter that normal behavior

that got us in this situation.

Our appointment was mid afternoon and we were again hitting near record temperatures for this time of year. Sampson surely sensed my anxiousness because he was also breathing hard even with AC on. Again, at five miles away as we made our turn to the vets office he began getting excited like he does when we head to the dog park or his favorite trail. We were greeted like family and shown to our waiting room.

First came the vet tech who has known Sampson since his first surgery two years ago. He took to her again immediately, rolling over waiting for her to pat his belly. He was weighed and had gained about 1/4 lb. I was expecting at least that with all the extra peanut butter in his diet to mask the taste of his pills. Then came our vet. He is truly one of the most sincere and genuine human beings I have ever met. Maybe it is his southern way, but he never makes you feel foolish or overly sensitive when it comes to your pet.

We chatted briefly and then he got down to it, performing the "drawer pull" test.

It involves using two hands and placing the thumb at a particular point on the knee. If the ACL is secure there should not be any movement. If the ACL has torn, there will be up to an inch of movement in what is similar to pulling out a drawer. This was my nail biter moment. With a smile on his face the vet looked up at me and said "it feels really good". I was elated. We discussed his exercise schedule and my big question was whether or not we had the green light to get in the lake and he replied with an "absolutely"! Swimming is one of the best forms of rehab for dogs that have had this surgery. We discussed a few more things and I was told to check back in a month or sooner if something needed to be addressed.

We headed home with thoughts of the lake on our mind and since the temperature was topping out at the high for the day we geared up with the other dogs and paddle board and made our way to the water. Our neighbor dog followed so I had two dogs on each hand. It happened to be a bit of a rush hour with boats putting in and getting out.

Normally this lake is very quiet, but with the nice

weather everyone was taking advantage of it.

I walked into the water with the dogs and they all took off swimming which is what I expected. What took me by surprise was their desire to climb on the paddle board when we launched it. The white and orange dog Olie is a "wader" of sorts. He doesn't need to jump around and get his head wet, but this time he quickly swam out to the board and got on during the paddle. Sampson swam alongside and soon little Olu [the small black dog] was also on board. I paddled from my knees, because I wasn't sure what the other eight legs were wanting to do.

The shallow part of the lake felt nice and refreshing but since the ice only melted off two weeks ago I wasn't quite ready for a family tip-over. We paddled and swam, taking turns on the board for about 40 minutes until I decided to end play time injury free and save some energy for tomorrow.

It was a fantastic day and I look forward to the days ahead and easing Sampson back into swimming and longer walks.

Here is a short clip of the whole gang!

Days 10 - 11

Yeah, we are in the double digits of the recovery stage! It's amazing how slowly eleven days seem to pass when you are dealing with something around the clock, but it's a great mile marker and good hopes for the next ten days. Sampson had a great night. I had made the mistake of thinking I could wean him off of his painkillers early, so two nights ago he was already asleep during the time I would normally give them to him, so I thought to myself, "maybe he doesn't need them". Uffda, was that a mistake! Always follow the Dr.'s orders. We made it through that sleepless night with many quick trips outside to avoid waking the household. We sat on the porch and looked at a clear and starry sky, listened to the owl hooting from the other side of the lake and walked around the yard sniffing all the fresh scents from the deer that had just ran away. The next day was filled with short naps and more short walks. Needless to say, I did not make the same mistake last night and even though he gave it his best effort to spit out the pain pill that I thought I had cleverly disguised between two dog cookies smothered in peanut butter, he still managed to spit out only the pill... cheeky bugger. He did finally swallow the pill with a cookie following as a reward and we all got a much needed sleep filled night.

Today has been wonderfully sunny so we made our usual walks to the entrance gate of the lake where we turned around. I don't know who wanted to go in the water more, but we both turned away with our heads hung low, knowing that if we obey the rules and don't walk the long slope down to the lake [the vet told us to stay off of any inclines] then maybe in a few days we can actually drive down there and swim in the lake. We have two new paddle boards that I have yet to take a spin on, and I look at them with the same desire that Sampson does when he sees a

squirrel. My hope is that I can paddle along side him while he swims. It will be a great and much needed exercise for both of us, so hopefully the incision will look as good to the vet as it does to me!

Here he is is looking at the new paddle board. I don't think I'll attempt putting him on it until the end of the summer when he is further along the healing process, but for now I think he will love swimming alongside of it.

His posture is looking really great during our walks. He has always had a lumbered gate, and as a rescue dog there was no certainty as to what breed he actually is, but I chalk his walk up to

some of the charm that is Sampson. He is a big, loving dog who actually gives hugs when you scratch his belly. He has been a great patient and I hope the next ten days go as well as the previous ones.