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????

Wednesday, September 10

Mom and the seals...

Some of you have asked, "Why don't we go to the beach with mom?" Well, there are a couple of reasons. #1 even though I am part lab, I don't particularly enjoy the water. #2 when mom is on seal monitoring duty it's best that we stay home  and guard the property from the evil chickens that live in the woods behind our house. Plus, taking two big dogs, all her camera stuff, and all the seal monitoring stuff, mom just doesn't have enough hands or energy. So Schatzie and I stay home on our comfy cots. It's all good!! Here's a few pictures from mom's monitoring sessions the past couple of days. Those little monk seals are indeed cute. Enjoy!


 Seal Zen moment
 
 8HY and RF58
 
 Seals make nice pillows
 
 Seal talk
 
 seal submission
 
 just cute
 
 playtime
 

 water ballet??
 
 RF30---little butter ball
 
 playing with a feather
 
8HY has had enough of RF58
 
 
love, Gracie

Tuesday, September 9

Hey Gracie....

Wanna go to the beach?????
 
no thanks Mom, I'm too tired.
You go ahead with out me and give the seals my Aloha!!
 
Gracie

Monday, September 8

Bad Mom.....

It's been brought to my attention (thanks to Auntie Donna) that the "mom" hasn't been giving Schatzie and me any time on the blog----for a VERY long time. Well, things are going to change around here. Starting right now!! So get that "flashy beast" out mom, we're going for a ride.

 The sun sure is bright this morning.
 
 Ready Schatzie??
 
Selfie!!!
 
We're almost there.
 
This is our favorite walk about area

 oh alright, I'll pose for ya

 come on Mom, keep moving
 
 such a beautiful view
 
 Peek-a-boo!!
 
See you tomorrow!!
 
Love, Gracie

Saturday, September 6

The Eyes.....


 
Yesterday as I was seal sitting K30, I was able to capture this shot and found the quote
 by Anthony Douglas Williams---perfect!