Visitors

Her daddy is out of town this week, so Miss Addison Mae is back in brown dog land! Unfortunately, the browns were not too excited at all to see her and Wrigley even HID! She is doing great, though, and I was happy to see her after a month of her being away. The first night I couldn't remember how I did everything with so many dogs, but now I'm back in the swing of things and everything is going smoothly. She leaves again on Friday, so I am enjoying our time together while it lasts.

In other news, my neighbor is also a yoga student of mine and heard me talking about Maizy's work at the library (which she hasn't been doing since her tail amputation several months ago because it took her so long to heal from that surgery) and asked if she could stop by with her kids someday. I said sure and yesterday she stopped over with the kids who read to Maizy, petted Hannibal the cat, and were licked by Probert (who is crated in the living room until Addison's departure because they stress each other out). Maizy was ecstatic to have visitors who were paying attention to her and after only a half-hour visit, she spent the rest of the day in recovery sleeping. Some "nanny dog"! Hehe. Probert was less enthusiastic, but was very tolerant and observant. He is not so used to children, but I thought he did great. Only one growl when the kids were getting too crazy by his crate, but he is entitled to give warnings if he doesn't like something. Wrigley did not come visit because he would have steamrolled those poor children with his boisterous enthusiasm for all things. :D

In closing, here is an updated photo of all three browns. Do you know who is who?

Pinuping

This past Sunday was a great Chicago fundraiser for Pinups for Pitbulls, a Holiday Market that I organized. I was really proud of the event, despite the fact that nature did NOT cooperate and it was blizzarding! The event was featured, along with my photo, in Time Out Chicago and we had a whole lot of really great vendors and rescues join us at Anything is Pawsible, the training facility where both Addy and Probert have been trained!

Overall, despite the weather, the event was a success and we raised around $2500 for the pups!

And I got to wear a Santa dress...

And our fellow brown dog, Fifty the two-legged pittie was there!

The event went so well that I'm already thinking we might do it again next year!!!

This Sunday Sunday Sunday!

On Facebook.

Back to Basics

There is happy news and sad news here in Brown Dog Land. The happy news is that everyone is doing great and things are going really well. The sad news is that Addy is doing great in a new home! Last night she left to move in with her dad (my ex) and will be living with him full time now. I was sad to see her go, but when I saw how happy she was to see him walk in the door to pick her up, I knew it was definitely the right decision! She is going to be a happy and spoiled only pup and I know it's going to work out great.

So, over here, it's back to all brown dogs all the time and I get to stop the crate/rotate routine. In the end, I still couldn't be happier.

Doga for Life

Just a note since I think someone requested advance warning, but if you are in the Chicagoland area, Maizy and I will be teaching Doga for free THIS Sunday, October 3rd at the Bark for Life North Shore walk and fundraiser event! We are teaching from 12:30-1:00, so catch us while you can!

If you are interested in knowing about upcoming Doga events, you can sign up for my email updates at www.nicolesopko.com (you will also get information about yoga events, but I send out updates once a month only unless something special comes up so it will not overwhelm your inbox).

Bonus: Picture of Maizy driving home from our big day on Sunday which involved participating in the Chicago PAWS walk and then going to clean out the boyfriend's garage! I thought she looked very cute the way she was sleeping and you can see that we were transporting home her new crate floor!

Crates and Crafts

So, I don't know if any of you have had the same experience, but those plastic crate pans that come with most brands of crate really stink! About two years ago, I replaced Maizy's (for around $60-70) and once again last month, it had broken. It didn't make sense to spend more money on a crate pan, so she was existing without for a few weeks while I figured out what to do. I considered trying to find the right size of metal crate pan or make some kind of metal floor for her, but I soon realized that it wasn't the best solution. Add to the situation that Maizy is a massive chewer and that I was buying her new blankets from the thrift store every few weeks, and I decided that the solution to our crate floor situation had to be dual-purposed.

After some discussion with my brilliant boyfriend, we came up with a plan. And so, this past weekend we cut down a piece of plywood (with the aid of a neighbor who couldn't bear to see me using the manual version, and rushed over with his electric saw in order to do the cut for me quicker than his estimated "three seconds"), dug a scrap of carpet from the depths of the boyfriend's basement, and created a masterpiece!

Tada!

I present to you: Maizy's shiny new carpeted floor. This was a simple and cheap solution (we already had all of the materials laying around) and is working out beautifully so far! And Maizy is very happy with the results as her initial reaction to her new floor was to hunch up into "resource guarding" posture lest one of the other dogs even THINK about relaxing on HER new carpeted board!

This obviously isn't a good solution for a dog that has regular accidents in their crate (Addison!) or who has a sensitive stomach that can lead to barfing (Wrigley!), but this is the perfect solution for all of Maizy's issues. If it isn't, I don't know that yet, but will keep you updated in the following weeks to see if there are any major issues with her carpeted floor.

I've also included one bonus photo, which includes all four pups in their crates with the doors shut and their dinners sitting in front of them waiting VERY patiently to be given the "okay" before diving in. They are such well-beahaved sweetstuffs (sometimes).

Doga! Doga! Doga!

A few months ago, I received an email inviting Maizy and I to come teach Doga at Chicago's 2nd annual Dog Day on the Green event to be held at Montrose Harbor. I was so excited and happily agreed. Well, the event was yesterday and we had a blast! Here are some pictures:

On the way there, Maizy was enjoying our beautiful (and hot!) end-of-summer Chicago weather.

Teaching some Doga to the people and dogs willing to brave the hot sun in front of the stage.

Meeting John Garcia from Best Friends' Dog Town in Utah! We really loved talking to him.

Maizy was being a hilarious priss about using any of the communal dog bowls provided at the event, but it was hot so I knew she was thirsty. So, we stopped by this conveniently-placed drinking fountain which she took right to (with some help from mom).

Belated Happy Two Birthdays!

This past Sunday was Addison's SECOND birthday! Already! She is clearly the baby of the pack, but is such a little spitfire. She drives me nuts all the time, but of course I love her!

Sweet Bean

The universe is certainly mysterious and I'm not sure what I'm being told here, but since losing my full-time job and becoming a single parent, there sure has been a rash of dog injuries around here!

The most recent is a luxating patella (dislocated kneecap) which presented itself a few weeks ago in Mr. Wrigley Beans. At the time, I didn't know what it was and decided to keep an eye on his limp to see if it went away since there was no sense in rushing off to the vet if he was going to walk it off in a few days. However, he didn't get better, and it was time to see the vet!

I can't even tell you what a treat our vet visit was with the addition of one xanax to Wriggles. He had a few barking incidents, but he was the calm, happy dog that I knew he could be! Unfortunately, the vet had bad news for us when she diagnosed his knee issue. Pre-surgical bloodwork was done and we were referred to a specialist for the surgery.

Fortunately for us, the surgeon was willing to do the consult, x-rays, and surgery all in one day, which cut down on the travel, trauma, and overall expense. Wrigley was taken in last Friday, the diagnosis was confirmed (grade 3 luxation), and I left him for surgery. Surgery didn't happen quite as quickly as planned when there were two emergencies that popped up in front of him, but his surgery was completed Friday and I was told he was doing fine.

On Saturday, I called to confirm my ability to pick up Wrigley in the early afternoon only to be met with the information that Wrigley had experienced an adverse reaction to the morphine given during surgery and that he would require an extra day in the hospital. The medication had affected his spinal cord which was causing him trouble with his balance. I was worried, but the doctor assured me that this would have no long-term affects and that I could pick him up Sunday.

Sunday morning I showed up with my crew, paid the bill, and picked up my sweet Wriggles! He experienced a lot of bruising as a result of the surgery, but was looking happy to see us and even barked out the car windows like normal. He was also very swollen, poor guy.

It is only Tuesday now, but he is looking better all the time and the only major challenge that we are having is his intense resistance to getting his temperature taken (which needs to happen twice a day to check for infection). He has started putting his foot down and putting a little weight on it when he is outside int he grass and I know that he will keep getting better! Here is a picture from last night while he enjoyed a treat after cooperating (somewhat) with temperature taking.

So it's so far, so good for us! Please keep Wrigley in your thoughts as he continues to heal and get stronger! I can't wait for him to be able to try out his shiny new knee in a few months!

Hello everyone! Well, last month was a very busy month, so excuse my absence from the blog once again! All is well here with the pups. Maizy's tail is healing up well and Probert, who decided to follow suit with a more minor (non-surgical) tail wound of his own is also healing his tail. I am just not sure what is with those dogs, but the two of them are now referred to as the "tail twins" on most occasions.

Wrigley and Addison are also doing well. My boyfriend recently scored a whole messload of athletic balls from a trash pile and the dogs have been loving the unending supply of basketballs and footballs that appear from the garage every time an old ball is killed. It's adorable. And a cheap source of entertainment for sure!

Lamp Dog

Well, vet season continued last week with vet visits for Maizy, Probert, and Addy. The last two pups are doing great, but Miss Maizy had a big problem! Under her fur, we discovered a hidden mystery wound on her tail that she had not let me know about it any way and which had apparently been there for a while, causing the end of her tail to die!!! I spent the next several days trying to get her to leave her (now shaved) tail alone until she could have a surgery to amputate the damaged end. This was not easy.


Her surgery yesterday went amazingly well and she is doing great, with the exception of one thing - the CONE. She is a big dog and needs a 30" cone to prevent her from reaching her tail. She is also a terrible navigator and has been banging and tripping all over the house. She hasn't even been home 24 hours and the cone has become dented and mangled. We have 10 days total until her stitches can be removed and I hope we all survive.

Check out this great new lamp! It goes so good with my Eames rocker.

Wrigley Turns Five!

Wrigley had a momentous week last week. During our visit to the vet on Thursday, we learned that he has lost 10 lbs since the fall, which is great! He still has a few more to go, but he is on his way to being a lean, cuddly, licking machine!


On Friday, Wrigley turned five! He is such a handsome little guy I couldn't resist a few birthday portraits.

Gas

In recent months, I have made many changes to the house that I now share with my revised family of 4 dogs and 2 cats. No other people live with me, so I have had lots of freedom to move things around as they suit me (and my furry friends). Additionally, I was laid off from my full time job in January, so I also have lots of time to make these changes. The house isn't done, but has been majorly transformed in the past few months, that's for sure!

One of the changes has been moving the pups to the basement and starting to convert it to a "dog room." The basement is heated and is very comfortable and they all seem happy there, a bit more secluded from the outside noises that sometimes disturb them. They are still allowed into the main house, but their crates are in the dog room. It's working out really well and gives them more space than they had previously in my bedroom or the second bedroom.

So I was concerned one night a few months ago when I heard the basement carbon monoxide detector blaring in the middle of the night. It is so loud and I worried about the pups and raced downstairs. I got there to see that the "gas" indicator on the detector was lit, but I didn't smell any natural gas. What I did smell was poop. Dog poop. And it was located in Wrigley's crate. Poor Wrigley. Guess that carbon monoxide detector is good for multiple things, eh?

Springtime!

The magnolia tree in the backyard is blooming and the days here in Chicago have gotten so beautiful! The "little dogs" (Probert and Addy) are getting daily walks now and the "big dogs" (Maizy and Wrigley) are spending lots of time in the backyard while I lounge in the hammock. I was in Texas for a week, so it was nice to come back to similar temperatures here at home! Also, I missed my pups! Here are some portraits from yesterday:

Here is Addy on our walk today. She has taken to carrying her pink kong on every single walk that we go on, which is totally cute and charms the heck out of me (and some others).

This is Probert's move on a walk when he wants to sniff something and doesn't want me to drag him along. It is both totally cute and annoying to watch him army-crawl through yards taking in all of the sniffs and totally slowing down the pace.
Yesterday I was finally able to pick up a refill of Maizy's new meds and so she is back to feeling great! She had run out right before I left for Texas and her doctor hadn't written the prescription yet, but we got a donated bottle of the name brand as well as a written prescription for the generic (which is like $7 a month compared to over $50). Very exciting.
Wrigley still refuses to pay attention when I am trying to take a picture of him outdoors. There are SO MANY THINGS to be vigilant of, and he does not disappoint.

Stifles

So, a few weeks ago, I took Maizy in to see yet another orthopaedic specialist about her unusual gait and knee issues. After leaving her there for the day, he determined that she does have one partially and one fully torn ACL in her knees. The surgery that he could do would not repair the tears, but would only shave down the bones to try to slow the progression of the related arthritis. However, his statement to me that she would always have a "high degree" of lameness has put me off of doing the surgery. It just doesn't seem right to me to put her through surgery, rest, recovery, and then another surgery (opposite knee) with more rest and recovery. So, instead, I opted to try her on an NSAID for the arthritis to see if that would help. And what do you know, she's like a new dog! Bouncing around like a puppy and happy as can be. So, I've contacted her regular vet about getting a prescription (the generic "human" variety is cheaper than the branded "dog" version... same medication, less dollars) and I will keep her on that. I know so many people who have had good results with ACL surgeries with their dogs, but I just don't think it's the right thing to do for Maizy when there's so little chance that it will help her enough to be worth the process. Being a dog parent is fully of so many hard decisions!!

P.S. The picture above is from a few weeks ago when Maizy and I led a Doga (yoga for you and your dog!) class at Best Friends All for Doggies in Chicago with all proceeds going to One Tail at a Time rescue!!!

Precision Fetching

As demonstrated by Addison. Do not try this at home. :)

And Then...

Here's what happens when Wrigley tires out and Greta still wants him to play!

Wrigley + Greta = Love

Here is a vide of Wrigley and his new best friend, Greta.

A Real Live Update

Hi friends, we hope that you are all doing well. Things have been crazy and busy for us here, which is really no excuse for not updating, but I'm using it anyway. The dogs are all doing well and I am adjusting to being a full-time single dog (and cat) mom. It helps (I guess?) that I was also laid off from my full-time job and now have a lot of free time to spend with the pups! At least for the time being.

Anyway, here are some pictures that I neglected to share from recent months...

Here is Miss Maizy A in November after a day of vet procedures. She is FINE, but was feeling a little beat up when she came home. The no-bite collar was not popular.

In December, we had a lovely last-minute Christmas tree that was enjoyed (and not destroyed!) by all of the pets. Our first full-sized Christmas tree. It was a wonderful holiday. That is Justice admiring the tree.

Here are two recent pictures from last week. Maizy and Probert enjoying a delicious pear and Addy hunting for lost treasures under the love seat with a guest appearance from Wrigley's butt.

Also, we have had a very special new addition to the pack as of late, Greta! Greta is a three-year old GSD/mystery mix dog who belongs to my boyfriend (!) and comes to visit often. Her and Wrigley have really hit it off and I have some adorable videos of the two of them that I will share soon. So now we are a five-dog pack on some days! It's a full house, but we couldn't be having more fun.

Goodbye, Demo

Demo, the real-life junkyard rescue who inspired the book Demo: Story of a Junkyard Dog has passed away. Click the link to read the touching blog entry written by Demo's long-time companion.