Thursday, December 25

Tuesday, December 9

Who is on the Naughty List....

Well it seems some dog is tired of her restricted activity. The Girlz received their Christmas gifts from their Florida gramma today. Gracie dove into the box and found her rabbit and Schatzie got the duck. In a manner of 5 minutes the duck had lost his head and bill. Schatzie has never been my destroyer dog so this behavior was totally unexpected. I guess she's tired of house arrest and this was the way to show her disapproval. Poor Duck!  By the way Gracie the Demo dogs rabbit is still in tack and even squeaks! Shaking my head........



Friday, December 5

And we're walking.....

Not the greatest photo, but our girl is happy to be out walking again. She's doing about 2 blocks now. A far cry from the 3-4 miles her sister is doing daily,but we are so pleased. 4 weeks down, 4 to go. 

Schatzie had her last laser treatment this morning. We've been given the green light for a bath and swimming!!! She is a Happy Shepherd and I'm a happy dog mom. 


Happy Aloha Friday!!

Tuesday, December 2

She was more than ONE....

Early today I received some sad and disturbing news. ONE of the monk seal pups that I, along with other volunteers helped to monitor this past summer was found dead on a Kauai beach.  Late this summer this little seal (at 5 weeks of age) survived a vicious dog attack only to be "attacked" again by someone using a rock. The necropsy revealed that the little female seals skull was crushed. A perfectly healthy 5 month old seals life was ended by blunt force trauma . You see, this little seal was a future momma, a seal that could have produced up to a dozen or more offspring in her lifetime. Now we shall never observe her on her birth beach with her own pups. ONE seal that could have made a huge impact on the survival of these critically endangered mammals.  Now Gone.

She was so much more than ONE...
RF58---found dead 11/30/14 
Rest in peace little one, rest in peace.

Tuesday, November 25

Staples and Laser...

Schatzie had her 3rd post op appointment today. They removed the remaining 7 staples and administered another laser treatment. The Doctor is pleased with her progress and noted the her left rear leg is now bearing her full weight. Yay Schatzie!! We still need to be cautious with all of her activity as the knee will not be fully healing for another 6-7 weeks. 
We can now begin short walks ( on leashh of course) This will make her HAPPY! 
I think I will now be able to sleep in a regular bed again. WooHoo. 

The first photo shows Joey the office cat in the hallway....he rules the roost!! 


Schatzie getting her laser treatment.

Monday, November 24

Catch a Wave...


Catch a wave and you're sitting on top of the world.  A few weeks ago Ron told me that he felt he was born to surf, after all he is a "California Boy". Making his dream a reality, riding the waves on Hanalei Bay.

Friday, November 21

One Week Post Surgery

Today marks one week since Schatzie's  canine cruciate ligament surgery. This past week Schatzie has had 2 laser therapy sessions, 2 adequan shots, multiple hot/cold packs and countless flexion and extension exercises. So far we have all survived and she is healing nicely. They removed the stitches today and will take the staples out at the next appointment. Still the most difficult task has been trying to keep a German Shepherd somewhat quiet. I am sure that situation will grow increasingly more difficult as she continues to heal. With a little luck I will be sleeping in a bed again soon, that pad on the floor seems to be getting thinner or maybe I'm just getting older!!
So here's my girl enjoying sometime on the lanai after her therapy session earlier today.

Monday, November 17

Tired little nurse....

Look who I found taking a snooze yesterday. Seems that all her nursing duties are wearing her out. 

Sunday, November 16

Day 3 --- Schatzie's Recovery

Recovery seems to be going well.  Our girl is back to her goofy self, minus the running around like a crazy dog. We have managed to keep her somewhat calm--well as calm as a German Shepherd Dog can be. 
Late yesterday she pooped!! I now know how all you moms out there feel after your child has had surgery or been ill. The poop says it all, she is on the road to recovery!! We also began flexion and extension therapy followed by ice treatment this morning.  She spent some time out on the lanai for some vitamin D and a change of scenery.
Val

Here's Schatzie's take on the situation:

Hi, thanks for all your prayers and good thoughts. I'm doing well.

My sister Gracie is a great nurse, never far from my side.


It's nice to be outside in the warm fresh air.

So far mom is proud, I haven't even tried to mess with my incision.

Paws crossed,
I'll be up and on all 4 paws before you know it, at least that's what mom hopes.

Saturday, November 15

Surgery and Home for Recovery...

Schatzie's cruciate ligament surgery was yesterday.  She arrived at the vet at 8:30 and went into surgery around noon. All went well and she was allowed to come home at 5  p.m. She was a bit wobbly, but was glad to see us when we arrived to pick her up. Now comes the difficult part of trying to keep a very active German Shepherd "quiet" for the next 8 weeks. I will be updating you on her healing. Thanks for all the good thoughts and prayers.

The coconut tree outside the vet office, thought it was cute

Waiting for them to call our name.


Mom, why are we here? I had my annual exam a couple weeks ago.

The "recovery suite"


The incision, includes 8 staples that will be removed in 10-14 days


Can you see Gracie in the corner, she is the "charge nurse" and is very concerned about Schatzie.
She is a good nurse!





Friday, November 14

In just a few hours...

 
In just a couple hours I will be headed down the hill with Schatzie to the vet clinic. Today is the day for her torn ACL surgery. Like most moms  before their "kids" have surgery, I am nervous and anxious. I wish Schatzie could understand what is about to happen. The next two months will be stressful for the entire Bloy family. Her rehab will consist of limited activity, basically only being able to go out to relieve herself and numerous trips back to the clinic for laser treatment on the knee. The lack of activity will be the most difficult, especially for a German Shepherd who loves to go. She is extremely active and hates to miss anything her sister Gracie gets to do. We pray the next 2 months go quickly and without too many hiccups. We will muster through this and look forward to the days when Schatzie can walk and run freely with no pain.  If all goes well, she will be back home later today.
So until next time, if you have a spare moment we would covet your thoughts and prayers for our girl. Now it's time to get the rehab ward ready!!
 
 
Val, R and Gracie


P.S. Gracie says Mahalo for all the Gotcha Day greetings--she enjoyed her day on the bed!!

Thursday, November 13

Tuesday, November 4

I don't feel good....

Gracie Update:
She is back to her old self this a.m. Must have needed a day on my comfy bed!! Thanks for the good thoughts.

Posting for Miss Gracie. 
Gracie has not been herself today. Early this morning she did a bit of whining (not her usual hurry up I wanna go on a walk whine) this was a whine that said she didn't feel well. She has eaten, but not with the vigor of norm. We did take a short walk in which we got to a certain point and insisted we stop and turn around. She has spent most of the day on the bed in a deep sleep, she also doesn't want any belly rubs or snuggling.  Hopefully it's just a passing bug. Goodness knows I don't need another dog with a health issue. 
Update on Schatzie: she will have surgery for the torn ACL next Friday, Nov 14. 


Friday, October 24

Checking it out....

I had a wellness appointment today with my new veterinary. Here you see me checking out all the reading material while waiting to see the dogtor. I'm happy to report that I'm in great physical conditon, my weight is perfect and I preformed a number of tricks for the office staff. It all paid off cuz I hit the mother load of treats at the end.  Happy weekend everybody. 

Love,  Gracie 


Friday, October 17

Found myself....



at the end of the road at the end of the day! Not a bad place to be......


Wednesday, October 8

In the News...

 
The beginning of the Blood Moon eclipse last night...
 
They say our Trade Winds are returning...
 
There's big surf on its way...
 
But the
 
Best News
 
Schatzie's blood work came back with NO PROBLEMS indicated,
everything well within the normal perimeters.
(may have been a issue with the machine)
REALLY,
 guess I didn't need all that lost sleep last week anyway!

 


Monday, October 6

Fall...

 Fall has arrived. The waves are increasing in both strength and height, the beach front is shrinking, daylight is dwindling. Dozens of surfers now dot the horizon waiting for their big waves. The lingo on the beach is different. You now hear that was "rippin", that wave was "double over head", surfers are "amped", and choosing between that 6'3 board or going with the 5'4. It's life on the North Shore in the winter. I will continue to do my paddle board. However, I will be cruising the Hanalei River where the water is flat, after all, I'm a bit "clucked" of those big waves. 
Yes, fall has come to the Bay.


P.S. no news on Schatzie's lab results....we continue to WAIT!

Tuesday, September 30

We're on Hold....


I thought that I would be telling you all about Schatzie's surgery and her homecoming during this post, but as luck would have it the story has taken an unexpected turn.

I dropped Schatzie off at the animal hospital around 9 this morning, filled out the necessary paperwork (which included permission to do a basic blood work panel) and kissed her goodbye. I drove away with great intentions of getting a number of things accomplished before her return home later this afternoon.  I needed to do "dog" laundry, she had to have clean bedding; had to get a new kong  for her rehab entertainment and then rush home to get the newly purchased XL crate assembled for our patient. Lots needed to be done!

I was at the laundry mat when hubby shot me a text asking if I'd heard anything yet (it was noon) Told him no, and I'd be home shortly. Two minutes later the vet called and told me that they had run into some issues with Schatzie's blood work. There were 2 issues of concern. #1 Her white blood cell count was well above the "norm"(like off the charts) meaning that she has some sort of serious infection going on and #2 her red blood platelet count was extremely low and if she had surgery she could bled out. Thank goodness I agreed to the blood panel work up!! So, no ACL surgery was happening today.

Instead, Schatzie remained at the vet until 4:00 under going more blood work that is being sent off island for analysis.  Those results will not be available until Friday or possibly next Monday.  Dr. Bryce also did a more complex physical exam and he found no unusual lumps or bumps. He stated that he felt Schatzie appears to be in excellent physical condition (besides the bum ACL and right hip stuff) He is leaning toward a possible tick bite that may be causing the infection. He said she may have gotten this bite a year ago and is just carrying the "infection" or it may be a auto immune disorder--meaning her body is attacking her red blood platelets. Hopefully the blood work will pinpoint what the exact issue is and then we can address it with proper treatment.

Until we can get this infection under control Schatzie cannot have her ACL repaired. We will continue to keep her "quiet" and allow the knee to heal until surgery can be done. Schatzie is home resting on her bed, poor thing is exhausted from the whole ordeal.
Thanks to all that have sent good thoughts and prayers, it is much appreciated.

Now we practice the "WAIT" command.

Val

Saturday, September 27

Not what we thought...

 
 
The night before last I was stirred out of a deep sleep and the voice in my head was telling me that we needed to take Schatzie to the vet. Something was telling me it wasn't just her hip dysplasia, it was more.  I could hardly wait until the vet office opened to make an appointment. We arrived at 10 for news I wasn't expecting.  After a thorough examine by Dr. Pat, he announced, "she's got a torn ACL". My heart melted, as I now know how she had got the injury. 10 days ago we had a brief rain shower and Schatzie was running up our stairs,(like normal) slipped and caught her leg in the open staircase. She whimpered but other than that showed no signs of injury until the major limp 5 days ago.
We have opted to do surgery and I will explain more about that at another time. So next Tuesday, Schatzie will have surgery to repair her injured ACL. We have chosen to do the least invasive surgery and Dr. Pat feels that we will have good results.
My head is spinning in trying to figure out how in the world I am going to keep this very active and extremely attentive German Shepherd calm and quiet for the next few months.
This is going to be interesting...

Stay tuned.  :/

Val

Monday, September 22

Just a little worried....

Aloha, 
Sorry we've been absent again. Last week Schatzie developed a horrible limp in her left rear leg. Schatzie suffers from hip dysplasia and we've been wondering when it was going to rear its ugly head. You see, she was diagnosed with it about 5 years ago and we've been able to keep it at bay with proper weight, exercise and low doses of pain medication. Last week she began limping severely and we can tell see is in a lot of pain. We are only able to walk a couple blocks now--so sad cause Schatzie loves her walks. Well today mom went and got Schatzie a doggie lifejacket and started water therapy with her tonight. It's a good thing "Sissy" loves the water!! The session only lasted about 10 minutes,cuz mom didn't want to wear her out or cause further pain. Schatzie seemed to enjoy it and is now sound asleep behind mom's chair. We will continue doing the water therapy in hopes that it will bring her some relief. So if you have a couple extra prayers, we hope that you would send some up for Schatzie. We know that there's not a lot we can do for her, but we will try and keep her as pain free as possible. 



Love, Gracie

Saturday, September 13

A favorite spot...

A little late getting todays post up. Spent yesterday climbing over rocks to monitor monk seals, then it was off to the bay for some paddling and a gorgeous sunset. Thankfully, I was able to capture both the sunset and my favorite paddle surfer. Enjoy your weekend.

Thursday, September 11

A new wheel...

Wondered if you would send my Auntie Brenda some POTP (power of the paw)  Yesterday her dogtor gave her a new wheel....aka a new left knee.  Unfortunately she injured it a few years back and it just hasn't worked right since. So out with the old and in with a new one!!  My Grammy is there helping her for a short while so auntie doesn't do anything stupid. I say that cuz the women in this family can be a bit stubborn.  I told grammy to give a few treats if she behaves herself. Wonder if auntie likes BACON??? If I got a new knee that's the kind of treat I would want!!  Any how thanks for thinking of her. We hope she is back on her bike real soon.

Auntie Brenda
 
 
Love,
or G-Dog as my Auntie calls me!!!
BOL
 
P.S. Mom, my knee hurts--got any BACON????