9.1 Miles

Yesterday was beautiful—one of those gorgeous, sunny, fall days. Perfect for a bike ride! We decided to take Lucy mountain biking since it had been a couple of weeks since she'd had the opportunity.

There is a place close by that we visit frequently when time is limited. Although we expected crowds, we had the trails to ourselves. The trails are great, convoluted, ever-changing. It seems every time we go, we find a new route or two. Even though the area isn't new to us, there are so many trails, that getting lost is part of the ride. Yesterday was no different although this time we had Lucy with us.

We had ridden with her 6 miles on vacation, so I was thinking that was a good length to do again. It's been about15 months since her back surgery and she's strong, but older and I didn't want to push her abilities. However, in our exploration of some new trails we found, our directional sensibilities got turned around. Ha! Our direction? I can't enter those woods without getting totally confused! In this case, my husband must take the full blame. (In his defense, he always gets us out, no matter where we go.)

So what would have maybe been 6 miles, ended up a third longer. Plus, the riding was more difficult. After 3 weeks of biking in a dry environment, it was startling to be back in the wet, slippery Northwest. I had to concentrate more on the actual riding so that the slippery roots and slick mud didn't throw me. There wasn't anything we could do when we realized we were lost, but keep riding. Three additional miles, doesn't sound like much, but mountain biking can be a full body workout. Sitting here this morning writing this, I can feel those parts I worked!

When we finally made it back to the van, we were all pooped. Happy, but pooped. Lucy got in (with some help) and conked out. She didn't budge until we pulled into the driveway. I can tell today will be a 'slow' day for her.

Vacation

It's been over a month since I've written. All good things have happened.

1. Lucy's hearing came back in her one ear, so that must have been due to congestion from the pneumonia.
2. Her pneumonia is gone. In the beginning of a 3-week camping trip, she ran out of drugs and we had to connect our vet at home with a vet in Boise, ID to get more medication to see her through. At the end of the trip, I took her back into the vet for a chest x-ray which showed healed and healthy lungs.
3. Over the span of the vacation, Lucy did a lot of running. Probably no more than 7 miles at any one time, but she ran with vigor and had no shakes at the end. Hats off to Dr. Sanders and his team for their excellent work. Lucy was full of energy (despite recouping from pneumonia) and was always eager for a mountain bike ride.

The picture is taken in Oregon at Paulina Peak in the Newberry Crater. The drop off is thousands of feet. Look how happy she is! Dirty, but very, very happy.

When we got home, her reverse sneezing returned and intensified. It had been almost completely gone. The vet, during a phone consultation, thought it could be allergies. Of course, there was also the scary possibility of cancer, or another possibility: nose mites. (What a juicy nose to have bombarded by mites!) She suggested I try Lucy on an over-the-counter antihistamine: chlopheniramine (4 mg/3X day). She said if it wasn't better by Monday, to let them know and they'd refer me to a "rhino" specialist. I'm happy to report, Lucy is doing much better. Little did we know what a "precious" girl we have!

Harts Pass and a celebration

We stayed at Harts Pass over the fourth and it was wonderful! No firecrackers; lots of peace and quiet. The drive up wasn't nearly as terrifying as when I'd done it years ago with a stick shift. This time I was the passenger while my husband drove and for being a holiday weekend, the traffic was surprisingly light.

There was still plenty of snow around, but the wild flowers were extraordinary. Gorgeous! We found a little spot besides a babbling brook at which to camp and stayed there a couple of nights. Unfortunately, I forgot the camera.

The day before we rode a couple different trails down in the valley: Goat Wall and the Methow River—the latter being the superior ride. Lucy did all of Goat Wall and a bit of the Methow. We figure she logged at last 8 miles and was fine. Tired yes, but no shaking. It's been one year since her surgery.

Had I thought this out a year ago, I wouldn't have been so panicky about her recovery. If a human had gone through the same process, it probably would have taken a similar amount of time. Her back right leg remains wobbly with an odd gait, but that didn't affect her ability to run and enjoy.

Both nights at the camp spot a doe came into camp to graze. She was alert, but unafraid, and came within 10 feet of us. Luckily, Lucy was asleep in the van!

We gave Lucy a day off while we did a ride on the pass to some old mines. It was interesting to see, but the elevation gain and loss at the altitude made it a difficult ride for me. One of the mines had several collapsed buildings around the site, one of which was definitely a house.

The last day there we went on a four mile hike along the ridge on the Pacific Crest Trail. Lucy was more than ready. She was ahead and eager. Snow! Marmots! Freedom! What more could a dog ask for? I'm sure she added a mile to her walk. The weather was spectacular and the views into several valleys and across to many peaks, awesome.

I wrote a short email to Dr. Sanders to thank him again for the great job he did on Luce.

She Does It!

We took Lucy mountain biking. We debated whether to do it after the scare in November (see entry Improvement and Fear), but decided to take the chance committing to keeping her always in sight. Four and half miles! What a girl! And she was still pumped to go. This is the longest run she's done in a year, so we didn't want to push her despite her enthusiasm. She stayed close, so may have remembered from her last fright to keep us in sight too! At the end of the ride, she had only the merest shaking in her legs.

On our way home, we stopped at L&P's and Lucy was still chomping at the bit for more running. It must feel so good for her. I'm glad we chose to do it and I'm thrilled she did so well.

Tale of a Negligent Owner

I took Lucy on a walk yesterday along a river. The day was grey and chilly with only an occasional cyclist sharing the trail. I decided to try Lucy off leash to watch her gait from a distance. She's been tripping regularly and when I'm at the end of the leash, I don't seem to be able to discern what's happening. Interesting outcome. With only a few initial trips, she kept a steady, trip-less pace. It was remarkable and encouraging. However, the question remains, why does she trip while walking on a leash? Is it the speed—too slow on a leash? Is it that she knows the route and smells and is just careless? I need so explore this more, but an not sure how because of what happened.

The side of the trail descends a steep hill of blackberries leading to the river. I was initially concerned she might see a rabbit or cat or mouse and take off after it, but she maintained a respectful distance from the brambles. She never got too far ahead and periodically looked back to see where I was. When I saw a biker in the distance, I called her back to me and put her in a heel. What a good hound!

Ah, but then... On the way back, nearly to the car, it happened. I don't know what she saw, but she leapt and disappeared into the blackberries. I didn't hear any crashing and started running, concerned she was tangled.

Worse.

She was laying, twisted in the brambles. The front half was on her belly, but her (tender, expensive) back half was twisted, belly exposed. Luckily she wasn't struggling, but the last thing she needs is to damage an already vulnerable back. I climbed down through the brambles and was able to lift her chest, letting her back fall into line. I headed her up the hill, but the walking was tough: steep, deep in brambles and painfull to walk on. I got her front paw on safe ground and helped her back end up, placing her back feet on my knees, hands, feet—anything I could get under her. She was quite shaken—and shaking—when she was back on the pavement.

I felt all along her back and legs to see if I could discover anything out of line and didn't. Although my vet isn't big on aspirin, I did give her a buffered baby aspirin when we got home and another this morning. She has been doing a lot of stretching, so she did tweak something. I'll keep her on aspirin for a couple of days and take her on short, mild walks.

And I won't let her off leash again in that kind of environment. She operates from her nose and I know that. She doesn't think about circumstances and I know that. She's losing her hearing and I know that. What kind of owner am I? My poor girl.

Improvement & Fear

Let's start with fear.

Over the long Thanksgiving weekend we took Lucy mountain biking to a local park called Philip Arnold Park. The trails aren't very long, but they are technical for me, fun for my husband and a thrill for Lucy. To top it off, it's close to home. It was cold, barely 40 degrees, but it was sunny and almost dry, so the riding was fun. Lucy had a ball and though we only did 2 miles with her, I think it was plenty.

The next day we decided to duplicate the adventure. Back to the park, still cold, still dry, we unloaded ourselves, the bikes and the dog and took off. Instead of going around the perimeter of the park and then diving in to the woods, we started into the woods almost immediately. We found a trail that was new to us and enjoyed speeding along. Lucy, being a dog, didn't have to worry about short-cutting the trail. Another great day for her. Wow! Two days in a row running with my pack! Dog heaven.

You know how you get a gut reaction when least expected? Your going along just fine and then your perspective takes an abrupt left. Your internal antenna picks up an unknown signal when you didn't even know your antenna was up. All of a sudden I was aware of no Lucy. She often is in front of me and I can't see her, but my signal starting rapidly vibrating out of the blue. I called out to my husband to check if she was up ahead with him. Nope. He thought she'd run off the trail into the woods. This is not a great habit of hers, but she always circles back to keep up with us. Not this time. This time she'd vanished.

We called. We whistled. No dog. No noise of her coming through the brush. Nothing. Unfortunately Lucy is starting to go deaf. Her hearing is diminished in one ear and it makes it difficult for her to discern from which direction noise is coming. So our calling may have sounded like it was coming from the left versus the right, or ahead instead of behind. It's confusing for her and being visually separated from us without directional hearing compounds the issue.

My husband took off in one direction and stayed in the woods where we'd last seen her. Thank heavens for cell phones. We called back and forth. "Seen her?" "No." "Okay you take off on this trail, I'll take off on that." He rode back to the car, thinking she might have headed back there. No. Back into the woods we went, he on the inner trails, me on the outer.

And then I saw her. Standing. Panting. Head low. Exhausted. I called out and she spotted me, gave a woof of relief, plodded up to me, tail wagging low, relieved. Whew! What a blessing! What a close call! We must have been searching for over a 1/2 hour. We were both getting frantic. But she's back. We only did about 2.5 miles; who knows how many she ran.

Will she ever take off again? That was my husband's $1,000,000 question. I'd love to say no, but Lucy behaves pretty instinctively. She was hyped from running and sighting a bunny is enough excuse for a chase as she needs. I think we'll need to be much more attentive than we've been in the past.

On a lighter note...let's move on to the 'improvement' part of the title. I did a dog walk with a neighbor and her dog this afternoon. She said she couldn't believe the improvement she saw in Lucy. It's probably been three weeks since she last saw her. This is great news. She said Lucy was rarely dragging her paws. Because I see Lucy daily, I don't notice that she continues to get better, I just notice that she still drags her feet. I guess she's doing it much less than previously. Isn't that a wonderful way to leave this post?

P.S. There is no water at the park. The picture is actually from a trip to the ocean, but it's the only picture I have of Lucy running.

Attack Reaction

Lucy was attacked by two loose pit bulls in March. I don't think they created her back problem, but I do think they exacerbated it. They knocked her down and continued to do so, one from the front, one from the back until my brother and I could fight them off. After the attack, Lucy went from occasionally stumbling to barely walking. So naturally, I've been very concerned about loose dogs.

Lucy has 'anger management' issues, as a friend says. I don't deny that and it requires constant monitoring. She does not like loose dogs approaching while she's leashed. Did I mention she had been attacked by two other loose pits a couple months previous to the March attack? Or four different times by the same ill-trained, owner-ignored black lab? Or by another lab, this one brown? Our neighborhood isn't awful, but there are some oblivious owners and we do border a neighborhood where the primary business could be drug trafficking. So it's no wonder she's cautious about rapidly approaching loose dogs.

And it's also no wonder that when another loose pit charged us from behind yesterday morning that my reaction was swift. I carry pepper spray that can be effective, but isn't guaranteed. Yes, I've sprayed my dog and myself, but have always been able to eventually get the other dog off. I sprayed next to the dog's face. Close enough for the dog to smell it, but not directly in its face. A 'test' spray if you will and it worked. The dog stopped and backed off.

I was hesitant to walk that same block this morning, but thought "I will not be afraid." I am not going to curtail our walks because something may happen. However, you better believe I was alert. All went well. Whew...

Yahoo!

I'm so excited to report Lucy did her first mountain bike ride yesterday. It was very short (around two miles), but the first time she was completely off leash and allowed to run without curtailment. We purposely did not ride quickly and we purposely only went a short distance. At the end of those two miles, she was put back in the van with a greenie and she went willingly. Her back thighs were definitely quivering, but she was ready to keep going when we stopped to visit friends a couple of hours later. She was ready for her cocktail ball when we got home. And this morning she was ready for her walk and a romp with her (normally chained up but escaped) buddy, Duke. This is so inspiring!

We'll try this again next weekend if weather permits and we'll keep the number of miles small to build her strength and endurance. She might not be able to do 15 miles again, but 5 might be possible. She was so-o-o happy to be running in the woods again!

Zen & the Art of Dog Healing

I'm not an impatient person. In fact, friends often tease me because they think I'm not standing up for myself. That's not true. I just have a high threshold for waiting. Yet occasionally I'm caught in a hurrayupIwantittohappennow mode and am surprised when reminded to r-e-l-a-x. DH has recently done this to me.

I was telling friends that I was not expecting Lucy to run again and was content with that condition. Everything but her tripping is nearly normal and I didn't anticipate continued improvement. DH, however, said I've lost my perspective. He travels every week, so only sees her on the weekend. On each of his returns, he says he's noticed improvement in her gait. Personally, I think from behind, she still looks like a bit of a drunk the way her hocks slosh. And I do see her tripping throughout her two daily walks. But DH reminds me "all in good time."

When you pat her back end, you feel meat now, not bony hips. From a sitting position, her back legs are helping more and more for her to stand. The need to pull her self forward to get her back end up is diminishing. So this is when zen-like thoughts are called for.

P.S. I still have not heard from her vet surgeon, his tech or his office. In their defense, they are starting a new office on their own, so a return call to me is low priority. However, I am a little disappointed.

Words from the pros

The surgeon and vet tech that did the surgery on Lucy have left VCA to start their own clinic, so when I called VCA to ask some questions, I was in for a shock. "No, they're no longer here." Luckily VCA still has a neurosurgeon, Dr. Jessica Snyder, who looked over Lucy's file and called me.

My questions were twofold. One, Lucy continues to trip and drag her feet. As often? I don't think so, but it does happen every walk, sometimes more than others. Dr. Snyder said to give her another month. To be honest, I don't think that will do it. I think this is what we can expect from Lucy and I'm disappointed for her. None the less, she is so much happier. Dr. Snyder also said that the nerves may not come back depending on how compromised they may have become prior to surgery, that Lucy's age or other extenuating circumstances (weight, arthritis, etc.) may also contribute. Well, Lucy isn't overweight—in fact, we've been trying to put weight on her, and she doesn't have arthritis (those tests were done prior to surgery). But she is 10 and who knows what genetic issues she inherited.

Dr. Snyder also said in some circumstances, the screws they used to stabilize Lucy can sometimes work loose and that may be why she's tripping. She immediately said that she doubted this. Whew!

My second question was can we let Lucy dictate her own activity level. What I mean by that is if she wants to run, can we let her? Dr. Snyder said no, not yet. Wait another month or so.

Like all aging creatures, my guess is Lucy is not going to be able to run (for any length). Because she continues to trip, running probably isn't good for her as that could mean a broken leg. And that's the last thing we want to have happen in the tooleyberries! Can she still enjoy camping and the woods? Absolutely! Hikes may be her new mountain biking!

I finally was able to locate Dr. Sanders, the surgeon. I put a call into him last week and we'll see how long it takes for a return call...

Fur growth

Lucy's fur is growing back in. It's been 10 weeks and the picture doesn't show the delineation as well as it does in person, but the patch is still visible. (It's within the boxed area!) If you look at the post She's Home, you'll see the difference. This new fur is very coarse and the rest of her coat is silkysilkysilky. Very bunny like. I'm hoping this is her undercoat and when the top coat comes in, it will match in feel the rest of her fur.

...and so it goes

We camped in central Oregon this past weekend and Lucy went on her first mountain bike ride since last March. She didn't go far (~3.5 miles), nor fast—more of a lope. Her hips were a bit shaky at the end, yet nothing like she'd experienced seven months ago. And happy? Positively! Her enthusiasm for the task was unstoppable.

The following day she went on a leashed 3 mile hike, and the day after that she rested. Here is a picture of her sitting in a lovely new blanket of snow.

Her tripping continues and is more pronounced when she is tired or not paying attention. This can be when she's walking ahead, but looking at something off to the side. I am not as anxious about this as I was. One, if it is a case of waiting for nerves to heal or mend, that will take a long, long time. It could also be, as Dr. Sanders said, that that will never change. Because her enthusiasm for life has been restored, I am not as concerned about the tripping as I was. None-the-less, it has to be monitored so she doesn't hurt herself.

One thing we do need to monitor, however, is a weak front right ankle and deafness in one ear. If she is loose in the woods and loping along, her ankle is a weak spot and could be seriously injured. Lucy has always been clumsy, so this is an issue. Also, during our last trip in September, her hearing seemed to diminish? disappear? on one side. I noticed that again this past weekend. We now need to be ears for her so that she doesn't get herself in trouble.

Stairs

This weekend was the first attempt at the basement stairs for Lucy. It was a mixed bag. Initially she went up without difficulty, although each step was thought out. There are 14 stairs, so it isn't an easy task and her deliberateness was understandable. I stayed with her going up. Going down she uses momentum and although "crashing" is a possibility, she is coordinated enough to avoid that.

I noticed after a dog walk, that the stairs became more monumental for her and her hips weren't quite up to it. She stopped part way (I'm still beside her) before completing them.

We're dog-sitting a friend's dog for 3 weeks and there is some rivalry between them. The other dog is alpha and definitely uses intimidation techniques to bully Lucy. One of the methods is to lay in a doorway so Lucy won't go past. Another is to lay in front of the dog door (not a comfortable spot and chilly) preventing Lucy from getting into or out of the house. The other is to stand at the top of the basement stairs...

Lucy and I were coming in from a walk and started up the stairs. We were about 2/3's of the way up when the guest dog plopped herself at the top. Lucy stopped, hesitating. I went to the top to move the other dog (verbal commands were ignored). Lucy's stalled upward momentum must have made her want to back down or caused some disconnect between her front and back ends as she started to sink in the rear and slide backwards. I was at the top and around the corner when I heard the noise of her scrabbling to get a grip. I ran back only to see her slide backwards, catch, try to turn to go down, slide sideways down a stair, catch, turn and complete the run to the bottom without falling.

Yikes! Way too close! My heart was pounding. While the other dog is here, no stairs, I can't monitor Lucy and the other dog at the same time. It also means, Lucy must be monitored using the stairs. I hope DH truly understands this. It also might mean, Lucy can't do the stairs, period. I doubt the latter, but it's something we'll have to watch closely.

Strength Training

Lucy's strength on our walks is improving. Sunday we did a rather long walk and although she periodically slowed way down, after a good back leg rub, she would pick up her pace and mosey on.

I wish I could say the tripping was lessening, but that remains a day-to-day issue. Some days it's nearly non-existent, others, like today, it's frequent. What's the difference? Yesterday she only got a morning walk; there wasn't an opportunity for an afternoon journey. Could stiffness be an issue? Does lack of movement one day affect agility the next? I don't know, but perhaps I need to pay a little more attention to that correlation. Despite the tripping, her speed is great.

Walkies #2

I must admit to being disappointed. I was so pleased at Lucy's stamina the other day, but she hasn't been able to equal it since. She's been timid about going on a walk. This is reminiscent of her behavior months ago when she got on a 'fearful' jag. "Oh! I can't go on a walk! There are bad noises out there!" I have very little sympathy for that.

Once I get her beyond our block, she's fine, so that's what I've done. But it isn't without some effort and cajoling. Yesterday she just couldn't do the length—or at least, I felt that was the case. She was dragging her feet more frequently and was walking quite slowly. I know that's the way it will be (for a while? permanently?). Good some days; not so good others.

We're dog-sitting for the next month for some friends. Their pup is not that old (11?), but quite arthritic and each day I'm making our afternoon walk (in which she joins us) shorter. I think today I'll take her around the block, then continue on with Lucy. I don't not want to walk Suki as she needs the movement and exercise, but I also don't want to create any more pain for her than she already has.

Walkies!

For the first time since mid-summer, we did our full length morning walk. It's about 1.5 miles with two major hills. Lucy did a great job and maintained a normal speed for the majority of it. Towards the end, she started dragging her feet a bit and I put that down to being tired. It wasn't until the last block that she slowed to crawl. Great job, girlfriend!

Vacation & Healing

We just returned from a two week vacation journeying down the west coast from Washington to Yosemite. We were camping so were able to bring Lucy with us. She was in heaven having us always with her in the tight confines of the van. Even when we were out biking, she was in the big 'den' and felt comfortable. The van has a pop top with windows on three sides, so even if it was hot (though we always parked in the shade), it remained cool in the van.

From the beginning of the trip to the end, we saw noticeable improvement. Yes, her back hocks are still wobbly. Yes, she still occasionally drags a foot or trips. Yes, her balance is questionable. None-the-less, she began using her tail—yes, her tail!—for stabilization. That's a huge leap forward. Her ability to catch herself when she's tippy is more predictable. Her energy is way up. In fact, it's way ahead of her stamina, but that's still great news. She loped for the first time. Not quite ran, but definitely loped. She jumped out of the van. (Bad. She wasn't supposed to do that, but was not affected by it that day or the next.)

She's not supposed to do stairs (long flights) until October and then, not without supervision, but my guess is, she'd be okay now. Her first walk at home, she squatted and lifted her leg to pee. That means she was balancing in back on only one leg. HUGE BREAKTHROUGH. Although her walk today was slower than yesterday, she did well. She is no longer rolling off the inside of her back right foot while walking, but using the foot straight on.

For her, it's probably unnoticed, though I'm sure the lack of pain is welcome and noticed. But for me, these small, progressive steps really are joyful. I was feeling quite down about her walking/moving fragility, but it seems she really is recovering. Of course, it's possible she'll never be able to mountain bike with us again, but if she could go on long hikes, that would be fabulous. In the long run, I need to remember to be grateful merely for the fact she no longer hurts. That truly is the best.

A bit of water

I took Lucy down to the lake today. It's 82 degrees, so I thought she might enjoy wading. She's never been a swimmer, but is a consummate wader and butt dunker. She loved it! Back and forth, squatting in the water, back and forth. The chill must feel good on her surgery spot.

She's been in good spirits all week with only an odd blip the other day. Our neighbor's son came over. Lucy knows him really well and has always been really excited to see him. For some reason today, she went ballistic—barking in a very angry tone. Huh? That is really unusual. She wouldn't be quiet, so I had to keep her indoors while he was here.

Milestone

This weekend on a short, late night walk, Lucy stuck her head in a bush and flushed a cat. What excitement for her! The cat took off and she was on full alert, albeit at the end of the leash.

It was a turning point. Since then her attitude has been so different. She's enthused about walking and although there is still a bit of foot dragging, there is most definitely, a bounce in her step. It's quite exciting!

Bruised but better

Lucy is doing better. We've kept her pretty low-key. She limited the length of walks herself and wasn't very excited about doing much anyway. Yesterday we gave her a bath outside and that always "spunks" her up. I think (talk about anthropomorphising!) washing the last of the hospital away helped her mood too. Last night we took her on her third (!) walk of the day and although quite short, she didn't trip or drag her foot at all. That's something to note! By the end of the walk, she was bobbing her head, but she was picking up her feet. Yay!