Vacation without the dogs blues

I'm in Arizona right now visiting my parents. It's beautiful, relaxing and best of all DRY here (sorry to everyone back in rainy Vancouver). But I definitely miss my boys. This is the first time I've had to leave Kepler ever, and I haven't left Tycho since he had his hip surgery. Luckily they have their favorite uncle (my brother Stephen) staying with them.

In Arizona I always do a lot of shopping. I've been to a couple malls already. Got some shoes, some nice tops, but my best purchase of all...

...a little chocolate chihuahua.

Yesterday I took a page out of Jody and Erika's book and made a trip to the local animal control. This shelter receives anywhere from 100 to 200 dogs and cats a day! Unfortunately because of lack of space, money and other resources this means that they do routinely euthanize animals that don't get adopted. That is where I came across this little guy.

I sprung him from the joint and I'm planning on finding him a great home in Vancouver. It was hard to pick just one dog to take home, there were so many to choose from. He is currently being called Sketch, but that changes almost hourly. Definitely taking name ideas. Other names on the list are Rico, Sanchez, Oakley, Corona, Durango, the list goes on. He's about a year old, chihuahua mix. He's the chocolate version of Paco, one ear up, one ear down, and only 9 lbs.

Of course a trip to Arizona isn't complete without a trip a local Good Will store (my parents favorite place to get good deals). I got a small dog kennel, dog dishes, a dog towel, dog toy and blanket all for about $10 at the Good Will.

Today I also went to see my house in El Mirage. My tenants were very nice, but also a bit crazy. They have two 30 lb cats, and a 30 lb shih tzu mix dog named Princess. Need I explain more. I took lots of photos that I will post another time.

This is not the time of year...

...to have a bare hind end! Brrr it's been chilly lately. Snow. Rain. Ice. Not fun for a half naked German Shepherd, right?

Wrong!! He loves it!!

Tycho can't help but have a fit of puppy zoomies when in the snow. Of course all that fun probably isn't good for a healing hip, but at least we are 6 weeks in now. In fact he has an appointment tomorrow for his repeat x-rays. If all looks good he can start going for short walks. And it would be nice if I could stop carrying him up and down stairs, my back would certainly appreciate it.

Look at that fuzz he's got growing in!

Of course Kepler is enjoying the snow too. He's dying to play with his brother again, who knows when that will be allowed.

Mmmm snow is yummy...

Oh my God this is AWESOME!

All that playing in the snow is exhausting.

Some X-Rays of Tycho

I got a disc of Tycho's hip X-rays from the surgeon so I thought I would share them. First off for comparison this is an x-ray of good dog hips.

And Tycho....ouch

But alas he is bionic now, and soon he will be better than new!

His recovery is going well, but we need to wait until his bone grows into the implant before he can get back to any sort of an active lifestyle. 6 weeks after the surgery (we're 2 and 1/2 weeks in now) we will repeat the x-rays to assess how quickly his bone is fusing with the implant. He is going stir crazy from cabin fever and I'm sure he is packing on the pounds thanks to grandparents who are giving him more treats than ever! Luckily the grandparents are leaving town next week and we get get Tycho on a proper diet.

Tycho update and pics

Tycho has been home from the hospital for 4 nights now and he is doing very well. Almost too well. He's no longer thrilled with the idea of being locked in a pen all day and wants to get back to his usual job of patrolling the house. Unfortunately, he needs to be confined and only taken out on leash for pee/poo breaks for the next 2 months! Towards the end of the 2 months we are able to start incorporating short leash walks. He is walking very well, the right leg was operated on, and he even stands on it while lifting his left to pee! (I cringe when he does that). Tyke is still a bit grumpy with Kepler (who incidentally will be a patient himself next week as it is time for his neuter) but other than that his is pretty happy.

At home his first night.

The shave job seems a bit excessive, I guess they wanted to make the left side even

A sleepy drugged-up Tyke

A look at his incision (remember Tyke, chicks dig scars!)

Unhappy in his lock-up

The Bionic Dog!

Good news to report. Tycho had his surgery today and everything went as well as could be expected. After a sleepless night, Tyke and I had an early morning. I dropped him off at the specialty hospital in Langley at 7 am. Around 3:30pm I heard the good news that he made it through the 2 hour anesthetic and surgery well and was finally recovering. He will stay at the hospital overnight for monitoring, and should be ready to come home tomorrow afternoon. It will be a lonely night without him, but I am so relieved that this surgery is finally over. Thank you to all his aunties for all your support and good wishes.

Why does time go so slow...

...when you're really worried about something.

It's official! Tycho will be having his surgery on Monday, October 18th. Yes thats right, 5 days from now. This is what I wanted for him, I should be (and I am!) thrilled, but of course now that it's happening, all I do is worry. I haven't slept well the last few nights because it's all I can think about. I'm worried about his anesthetic, I'm worried about how well the operation will go, I'm worried about his recovery... but, by this time next week, he will be back home with me, new hip and all! Please everybody cross your fingers, send out good thoughts and think of Tycho in your prayers over the next week so that everything goes smoothly for him.

I love my puppy!

I must say that I was a proud mama last weekend. Faren, Heather and I all took our dogs to Hope on Saturday to give sheep herding a try. All the dogs did great! It was fun to try something different with my dog. I had not idea what to expect from Kepler, but he was a star. When he first entered the pen he didn't seem phased by the sheep at all, and it wasn't long before the instinct tester asked me to drop his leash and let him do his thing. He chased the sheep around, and when one left the herd he made sure to bring it back to the group. Herding is definitely something I would like to try again with him, both of us had a fun day!

To top off the weekend I brought Kepler to my football game on Sunday. It was his first game and I was worried that he would get bored and bark a lot, or dig, or chew, or do any one of his many annoying puppy habits. But he surprised me and was a perfect angel the whole time. There were kids playing around, people yelling and running past, balls flying and nothing set him off. He was rewarded with tons of attention, a bully stick, and a romp on the field after with Beezer and Amigo.

After such a great weekend he must have been feeling pretty full of himself so he decided to lift his leg and pee like a man for the first time! What a proud mama I was!

A photo from our herding day, movie to follow when I have more time to load it!