Update

Gabe is recovering quite well and pretty quickly. He is already starting to put weight on his leg whenever he walks around. I've had to stop him many times from trying to be too active. He doesn't seem to be in any more pain, but that makes me nervous because he probably thinks he can do more than he can, like run and jump around.

Yesterday I started his physical therapy exercises with him, which he was not happy about, but once we finished he was rewarded with some tasty Pupparonis. The other dogs benefited too because I can't just give Gabe treats and not the other pups :). We have to continue his exercises for at least 8 more weeks and then on the 9th week he will start going on a couple 15 minute walks everyday. I have the day marked on my calendar when Gabe can start going on walks again...I love going on walks with Gabe, it always makes me happy and going for 4 months without our walks is hard on both of us.

Next Wednesday Gabe will get out his staples...I'm NOT looking forward to this appointment. He always turns into the biggest baby whenever he is on the exam table. But after that he doesn't have to go back to the vet for 7 weeks, which is when he will be getting X Rays to make sure everything healed the way it's supposed to.

We did have a little incident on Saturday morning though. I was home by myself with the dogs and Gabe's leg looked really swollen and his incision was oozing a little (sorry for being gross). I panicked because I called the vet and they told me to bring him in, but Chris was gone and Gabe is way too big for me to lift on my own. I tried building a ramp out of a piece of wood from the ground to the back of my car for Gabe to walk up but he did not like that idea. I tried several times to lift him on my own, but I couldn't even get his legs off the ground. Luckily, Chris called our neighbor across the street and he came over and helped me get Gabe in the car. OH the days when I carried my little Gabey every where...Anyways, the vet said the swelling was normal, especially because Gabe was laying down most of the time and his incision didn't ooze any more so that wasn't an issue either.

As for the other dogs, they are being great brothers and sisters. It's like they know that Gabe has a hurt leg and they aren't supposed to rough house with him. They are waiting patiently for the day when Gabe can chase them around the backyard, running as fast as they can.

On another note...I am waiting patiently/anxiously for the newest member of our family!! I'm going to be an aunt any day now to a precious little boy named Barrett! As soon as I get the call, I'm hopping in my car and heading down to Austin to meet him!

On the Road to Recovery

Gabe's surgery went well and I was able to pick him up earlier than expected. Chris and I picked him up first thing in the morning on Wednesday and he was really excited to see both of us. Here he is in the car ready and very happy to go home:

You can see the little patch of skin that was shaved off on his front leg. I think this is where they put his IV.

Once we got home, Gabe and I went straight to the guest room where I had set up a nice comfy bed for him with lots of blankets, a couple bones, and some water. He immediately got comfortable, sprawled out, and quickly passed out. I think he was just happy to be back in his own home where he could finally relax.

His leg was and still is so swollen! I had to put an ice pack on it the first day and he didn't like it at all. It's painful just looking at it.

I worked from home so I could keep an eye on Gabe, so I was right by his side the whole day. We put up a little gate in the doorway and left the door open so the other dogs could come visit him. The first day they were very concerned about Gabe and most of them just laid on the other side of the gate for several hours.

After I fed all the dogs their dinner and loaded Gabe up on his antibiotics and pain medicine, Chris constructed a little area for him in the living room so he could hangout with everyone, watch TV, but not get stepped on by the other dogs. He was SO happy to watch TV!

Watching an intense episode of "Seas of Life"

You can see his big smile through his cone in this picture.

 When Gabe was distracted by the TV, I was finally able to get some close up pictures of his nasty incision. It goes up the majority of his leg and is stapled shut. He also has bruises all over. Poor guy :(

Thanks to his pain meds and watching hours of TV, Gabe was in better spirits than I expected on the first day home! (He probably also didn't mind the extra attention, extra treats, and the occasional spoonful of peanut butter.)

Our whole family was so happy to have Gabe home and on the road to recovery! The house just isn't the same when one of the dogs is gone.

For the next nine weeks Gabe won't be able to do much activity which includes going for walks. Next week we will start his physical therapy exercises and on June 1 he will get his staples removed. It's going to be a long process but one that is well worth it. Once he is able to start walking and running again our next goal will be to knock off the 15 pounds he gained since his first surgery!

On a sidenote: If you haven't purchased pet insurance for your dog, especially large breeds like Gabe, you REALLY should do it! My only out of pocket expense for this surgery was my $200 deductible. We use Petplan. Check it out, it is well worth it and will help out with emergency expenses with your favorite pooch!

Finally

This is the day we've been waiting for, for about a month now...Gabe is finally getting his leg fixed! Although I was very sad to leave him at the vet clinic this morning (I may have shed a few tears after saying bye and getting in my car), I am relieved to get this process going. In about 4 months he should be fully recovered and hopefully towards the end of the year we can start going for runs together again, which is something we haven't been able to do since December 2009.

Last night I spent a lot of quality time with Gabe. We walked down the street a little and sat in the driveway for about 20 minutes, just looking around at things going on in our neighborhood. I also shared some of my vanilla frozen yogurt with Gabe, which he loved. I ended up giving him the last few bites because when he was done with  his, he stared at me with his cute puppy pout and I just couldn't say no. We also cuddled in the guest bed last night, because he will not be getting into the bed for a few months since he isn't allowed to jump. 

Before we went to sleep, I was getting ready for bed in our bathroom and I noticed that Gabe was laying down at the foot of our bed and Simba walked right up to him, laid down next to him and put her arm on his arm. I think she was wishing him good luck and letting him know that she will be thinking about him today during his surgery. Such a sweet sister.

This morning, Chris and I put Gabe in the car and I drove him to the vet office. He seemed really excited just to be in the car. I felt really bad knowing that on the way home from the vet he won't be so excited because he will be in so much pain. 

The good news is, I just received a phone call from the surgeon letting me know that the surgery went well and Gabe is expected to fully recover and have a better quality of life now that his leg is fixed up. The first few months will be rough, but it will be well worth it.

Here is a video of Gabe getting excited about his new leg...the other dogs were all very happy for him as well.
**Just an FYI...this is loud in some parts. Gabes bark can be piercing at times!**

Nap Time Part 2

Here she goes again...this time in the new dog bed.

Socks sleeping with her arm in the air

Nap Time

Socks is getting a little too comfortable these days...I found her laying on my side of the bed and on my pillow this morning, almost as soon as I got out of bed. She probably stares at me all night waiting for me to get out of bed so she can hop right in my spot.

Crazy girl.

Toy Hog

Jack felt the need to hold onto the skunk AND a bone...You gotta get what you can and keep it close when you live with 6 other dogs. 

A Little Spring Goes a Long Way

Chris was trying to fix the spray hose thingy in the kitchen sink a couple weeks ago and he dropped an important part and couldn't find it anywhere. It's a little spring that goes inside the nozzle of the spray hose thingy. Let me tell you how important the lost spring is...without the spring, the kitchen faucet doesn't work. When you turn on the faucet, water only comes out of the spray hose thingy  and even worse, it comes straight out, you don't even have to hold down a button to make the water come out.

I didn't realize this when it first broke and I was about to wash some dishes and turned on the faucet. For a split second I wondered why water wasn't coming out of the faucet and then BAM...the water hit me in the face. It was coming out of the spray hose thingy. It was like a scene from a sitcom. I was trying to find the faucet to turn off the water that was spraying in my face but because the water was going into my eyes, I couldn't find it right away to turn it off. When I finally turned it off I was soaking wet and I heard Chris say from the couch, "Hey, the faucet doesn't work right now." Thanks for telling me, Chris.

I got sprayed in the face several other times, because I kept forgetting that the faucet didn't work. One morning Chris was standing in the kitchen with me and watched it happen. He made fun of me and "kindly" reminded me that the faucet wasn't working. Not two minutes later, Chris got sprayed in the face. After laughing at him, A LOT, I "kindly" reminded him that the faucet wasn't working. Karma.

After several trips to Home Depot and Lowes, Chris wasn't able to find the important, little spring anywhere. I guess these stores don't realize how important this part is. He even called the company that made the sink to get them to send us another spring. So he was waiting to hear back from the sink company this week...until yesterday when he was outside playing with the dogs.

He was running around in the back yard with the dogs and saw the little spring, that tiny but oh so important little piece, laying in the grass. We assume that either Socks or Simba picked it up off the kitchen floor and carried it outside a couple weeks ago when Chris was trying to fix the sink hose thingy. They probably got a kick out of watching us make fools of ourselves when getting sprayed with water in our faces.

When I came home from work yesterday, I turned on the faucet and it worked and I stayed dry! I'm thankful that I married such a handy man and a guy with good eyesight...I would have NEVER seen that little spring laying in the grass. I'm also thankful that my pack of seven dogs find creative ways to remind me of all the many things to be thankful for.

OH, Baby...

Baby bird that is.

Yesterday morning after I worked out, I let Gabe out in the front yard and we walked down the street a little bit to let him get in a little bit of a walk. We walked down our drive way and there was a dead baby bird. Gabe snatched up the bird in his mouth so fast but luckily when I yelled at him it scared him so he dropped the bird.

When I was heading out to work I said bye to Chris and all the dogs like I usually do. I bent down to give Gabe a hug and a kiss on his head. He gave me a big sloppy kiss right on my chin just as I remembered that not an hour before, he had a dead baby bird in his mouth. GROSS!

When I got home from work, Chris was gone so I let all the dogs outside in the backyard. I noticed that Simba was rolling around on her back, having the time of her life. I didn't think anything of it because they all like to do roll around on the ground like that. But as she ran in the house, I noticed a slimy, wet spot on her back. I stopped her in her tracks and I bent down to sniff the wet spot. She REEKED of dead animal. I looked at the spot she was rolling in and sure enough, there was a dead baby bird. I'm guessing that all the storms and rain lately blew them out of their nests.

Before any of the other dogs could spot the bird, I ran inside and grabbed a bag to put it in. Not realizing that Simba sneaked back inside, I walked back into the house as she was rolling all over the comfy blanket I put in the living room for Gabe to lay on, getting the nasty smell all over it. Ugh.

I picked Simba up and took her to the guest bathroom and washed her off. She tried to escape a couple times but I was determined not to let her get the best of me. After washing and drying her off, I let her out of the bathroom and she ran around the house as fast as she could and all the other dogs chased her like that hadn't seen her for days.

I spent the rest of the night cleaning. Oh the joys of dogs. But like I say every time, they are totally worth it...even if a dead animal smell gets stuck in your nose for several hours.

P.S. We have this Handy Groomer that attaches to our faucet. It has a spot to put dog shampoo in and so it sprays water and soap at the same time and it sprays just at the right pressure so it doesn't scare the dogs. I highly recommend buying one of these! It made bathing Simba so much easier!

Patience is a Virtue

Chris bought a new dog bed for the living room (the other dog beds are in our bedroom). The bed is so comfortable, I even lay in it sometimes! It's really soft and when you lay down, you sink right into it.

The other night I watched as Simba laid in the bed for a while and she got up for whatever reason, so Socks jumped right into the bed and took her spot. When Socks got distracted by something, she got up and Jack hopped in the bed and took her spot. This was a cycle that lasted about 2 hours as I just sat in the recliner, with a glass of wine, watching all the other dogs waiting for their turn in the dog bed. They are the best kind of entertainment!

Here is a picture of Emma patiently waiting for Socks to get out of the dog bed so she could take a nap. She laid there and stared at Socks for a while and Socks stared right back at her and didn't budge until it was time to eat dinner.

I think it's time to buy another one of these dog beds!