Howllo fellow Basset Hound and Emma exercising more lovers:

Well, it was a bit hairy and scary at times with all of the excitement but all went pretty well. Grandma and I had a plan to exercise Emma a bit more now that she is getting better. She cannot be on hard wood floors so I set her up a carpet runway of sorts. We wanted to do this first to kind of tire her out before getting with her best friend, our Mayor, Chaps. The plan was to walk her down the runway in her sling and back a few times.

As soon as we started out of her holding tank she went crazy veering off the carpeted runway and making a mad dash to her beloved bed. My idea was a complete bust and Emma had to be hoisted into the bed to avoid injury. I was just besides myself and realized I had made a big mistake by trying this exercise. Of course we let her lay in her bed and relax. She was crying and loving her bed and we were so upset that we had to get her back off after a short time. I had no idea she was going to be so determined to get into her bed. Wow, I really missed the mark on this exercise. All is OK and we got her back into her safe area with a few beloved french fries. Whew………

She took a short nap and then we let Chaps in to see her. I am still loading those pictures and I will have them up in a new blog posting shortly.

That endevor went without a hitch and was a great way to get Emma’s spirits back up. She was a bit depressed she had to leave the comfort corner of her huge doggie bed.

I felt like a real heel. She was not ready to do that much exercise and was way to excited.

Oh well, live and learn from my mistakes. If you are reading this for back surgery information. Do not get too over ambitious with your hound’s recovery. We are nine days out and she is making great progress but this is an eight week recovery process.

More soon with some better blogging news! Here is a preview, Chaps was such a good boy!

Love, Cat, Chaps and Emma

Comments(2)

Howllo Fellow Basset Hound and Emma Homecoming Poem Lovers:

When Emma came home our friends Maureen and Slinky wrote her a poem. I am going to post it here for everyone to enjoy. I printed a copy for Emma’s recovery room and we enjoy reading it. Here it is! We really love it…………

Emma’s Homecoming Poem

Hello, my name is Our Emma, I am a Basset Hound.
Some people say I am short and low to the ground.

Even though I am blind, I still enjoy running, playing and sniffing around.
Humans are amazed that I see with my heart, soul and sound.

My best friend Chaps is the Mayor of Basset Hound Town,
I help him keep things running so nothing breaks down.

I recently had surgery for my back discs.
I went through it with flying colors even though there was some risk.

Now I am recovering with a lot of attention and rest.
My doctor and physical therapist are quite impressed.

On Saturday, I will go home, but I still have some therapy to do,
Before I can consider myself through.

When I have fully recovered, I will be able to swing and sway
With my well-rounded bottom and sweet sassy sashay.

MAUREEN AND SLINKY……

This is the day she came home which was a red letter day and today is the day she get’s to be with her Chaps, another red letter day!

Thank you so much Maureen and Slinky – we really love all you do for us.

Extra Slurp, Cat, Chaps and Emma

Comments(6)

Howllo Fellow Basset Hound and gilded/wrought iron cage lovers: Well, today is a big day. Emma’s is going to be around Chaps for a bit. The doctor did not want them together until her staples came out, but based upon her good progress he said that as long as Chaps does not excite her too much they can visit with supervision. They are together all day long but seperated by a wrought iron gate. Every morning, noon, and night they touch noses and kiss. I was making their breakfast this morning and when I went to give Emma hers this is what I saw.

This is Emma’s gilded/wrought iron cage. The couch is where I sleep at night and to the right outside of the gate area is where Chaps sleeps so he can see us. Emma is laying on her bed, but you really can’t make it out too well.

I am looking foward to our get together later today. You know I will have pictures. It has been 9 days since Emma’s surgery. The recovery period is 8 weeks. I talked to her therapist today and she said that Emma should never go down or up steps again. Does that seem a bit extreme to anyone? Just wondering.

I want to thank everyone for all of the comments and well wishes. They mean the world to us. I have been so consumed with our Emmers that I have not been able to blog about much else besides her. Not, that there has not been a lot to say! LOL

More Emma blogging later….Love, Cat, Chaps and Emma

Comments(7)

Howllo Fellow Basset Hound and packages coming in the mail lovers! OMG! Emma was so excited today when a package that smelled really good came for her today in the mail!

Dear Cindy, Jethro, Rugby, Ozzie and Harriet Doyle we cannot thank you enough and you will soon read why!

Here is Emma reading her card.

How cute are these hounds? This card was made just for Emma!

Then Emma checked out her package.

Hurry Grandma, Hurry…….open my gift!

The first thing we saw was this totally terrific toy! As Grandma pulled it out of the box Emma went wild!

Grandma squeaked the toy for Emma and this is where a gift for Emma turned into the best gift ever for us!

EMMA STOOD UP AND WALKED A FEW STEPS, FOR THE FIRST TIME, TOWARDS THE TOY!

The crowd went wild and tears were flowing as Emma did it again. She walked a few more steps! Grandma was not holding her up!

Our girl got turned around but we made sure she got her new toy and the YUMMY TREAT that came along with the miracle toy!

One for Emma and one for Chaps. A girl never was more deserving of a homemade potato and carrot ball from Auntie Cindy and company!

Yes please – I will have another!

Hey we can’t forget the Mayor of potato hound town! LOL

I hear by proclaim 3-31-09, Emma day in basset hound town. Potato balls for all!

Cindy, can you believe it? We cannot thank you enough. We are jumping for joy and Emma is very proud of herself. We love you guys very much.

Hey are those magic potato balls? LOL

More potato balls later…….Love, Cat, Chaps and Emma

Comments(20)

Howllo Fellow Basset Hound and Shift Change Lovers! LOL!

Nurse Grandma has just started her second shift with patient Emma. We have an entire schedule set up so I can maximize my work load in my office. It is working out great. I am the night nurse.

I just wanted to pop a few more pictures up of Emma for you to kind of see her set up better. I call this picture, GOOD MORNING SUNSHINE!

When I woke up this morning this is the face I saw. Emma was ready to start her day. I had just put her sling under her belly for our potty outing. For those of you that are reading this for information and education I am using a beach towel folded twice long ways for a sling. I ordered a sling but it was on back order so I canceled it. One Mom sent us the link (thank you my dear). It is the same sling that our physical therapist uses. However, the towel sling is very sturdy and free!

Here is a picture of me behind Emma so you can see how close we are to the potty area!

I have not been able to get a good sling picture of Emma, but when I do I will post it. You want a sling that you don’t have to bend over with too much so the beach towel works great. Also, it is good therapy for Emma to practice walking.

Sorry to go on and on but I want to make sure this blog posting is beneficial for others in the future. I will also be posting Emma’s bill shortly so everyone can see what this type of surgery costs in this region of the country. I am glad I had my emergency fund along with cool damp rags for my forehead! LOL

More cool damp rags later…………..hehehehehe, Cat, Chaps and Emma

Comments(13)

Howllo Fellow Basset Hound and Sweet Dream Lovers: Last night was a good night for our Emmers. She slept very sound and finally stretched out in her new bed. She really wants to get on the couch, but HELLO! No Way. That is never going to happen again. I just cannot risk it. Anyway, I think she looks pretty comfortable, what do you think?

First Grandma kisses her good night.

And then it’s off to dream land.

More Sweet Dreams Later……..Love, Cat, Chaps and the little dreamer! (hopefully she is not dreaming of the couch!) LOL

Comments(14)

Howllo Fellow Basset Hound and LOVE STORY lovers: Well, I cannot tell you how incredibly great Emma is doing. We cannot let Chaps around her yet and we agree with the doctor’s orders. I am so pleased with how my home is set up for such a situation. It makes an extremely difficult situation manageable. I could not have done this without my Mom.

It maybe weeks before Emma walks on her own and I cannot let her by herself. It is almost scary to think of someone having to go through this without help or the set up I have. I guess you could kennel a hound if you have to, but for a basset hound to turn around in a kennel only stresses the spine more.

We have to do physical therapy on Emma 3 times a day for 10 minutes each time. She is doing three different exercises. She is fantastic and we have no problem with that.

I guess the big news is that she poo poo pottied yesterday. She had not had a PPP since last Tuesday evening and I was told not to worry about it for a few more days but she is back on track 100%. Every time she goes potty I have to walk her out the sliding glass door with a rear end sling. I have learned how to let her position herself. Wow, I felt so proud of myself.

I know all of this information is going to be helpful to someone else in the future when they google a similar situation. As soon as she is better I am going to place all of these blogs in their own category for ease of reading.

Oh, wanna know why I call this blog Our LOVE STORY – no it is not the obvious, that we love Emma, but I watched LOVE STORY last night in the recovery room (sun room) with Emma. OMG – I remember the first time I saw it. OK, did I dose off or did I miss what Jenny died of? She went in for a pregnancy assessment, the Dr. did a blood test, told Ryan O’neal she was dying and not to tell her. HUH?

More love is never having to say you are sorry later….Cat, Chaps and Emma

Comments(16)

Howllo Fellow Basset Hound and Emma finally home lovers: OMG – I wonder if it’s OK if I take an extra blood pressure pill? LOL – Oh Dear Lord, that was stressful. Thank goodness that part is over and Emma is sleeping with Grandma. Here are a few pictures of our day so far.

This is Chaps as I was pulling out of the back parking area. I can tell every expression that he has and folks, this is pure worry.

We got to the hospital and sitting across from Grandma and I was a 170 pound American Bull Dog. It did not help my stress at all. The big boy was wild and was named Chaos and that made me even more nervous. Just as an aside, if you don’t know what they look like, here is a picture of him, walking past our car on the way in.

After they took Chaos back, they brought Emma out and loaded her in the Element.

She was crying so hard and licking and crying. She was so happy to get into that car that she was shaking all over. She was so afraid we were going to leave her there. We sat with her until she settled down and then it was off to our home! Yipeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

When we got home my dear friend Lisa was waiting with Chris, another friend to help carry Emma in. I was so frantic, I did not get a picture of that. Chris is a very big strong guy and scooped Emma up and whisked her into her recover area without a single problem. Wow, what would I do without friends? What a blessing.

Here is Emma in her recovery room. I will get better pictures later.

She won’t get in her sick bed yet but she is just getting used to being home. She finally laid down and has her head on the step. You can see Chaps on the the other other side of the gate. He went nuts as soon as he saw her and went into a howling fit. It was so touching. Grandpa is on the other side of the gate with Chaps so he does not feel left off.

I will be back later with another update if at all possible. Thank you for your comments and drool. We are soaking everyone and every bit in.

I have to go check on Emma and Grandma and one more thing. Verna the Robin has not stopped building her nest all day. She must be EXHAUSTED!

More wing flapping news later….Love, Cat, Chaps and Emma

Comments(13)

Howllo Fellow Basset Hound and EXCITEMENT Lovers! Grandma has proclaimed today as E Day!

EMMMA
EXCITEMENT

And all of the the E Words you can think of! I am too EXCITED to list many more because I am getting the ELEMENT ready to go get her. I also have a friend lined up to carry her in the house and into her recovery room. She is not allowed to do steps yet!!!!!

I just got off the phone with the clinic and she is not walking yet but getting stronger every day. I will take pictures of her set up later so you can see her in recovery action. We will have to use a sling for our potty breaks.

More recovery news later today. Can you think of any E words? Come on! IT’S E DAY!

P.S. Verna – My Robin started making her next today. She got up EARLY with me and is so busy. The EARLY bird gets the worm and the EMMA! LOL

Comments(11)

Howllo Fellow Basset Hound and never late for breakfast lovers!!!!!

This morning I was making Chaps breakfast and he is always right by my side, I call him my large glue stick. So, I was stirring, stirring and calling and calling. I thought maybe he was outside which would have been a bit strange given I was in the kitchen! Anyway, I went to look for him and I found him in my bedroom/junk area (LOL)

He was smelling the pile of clothes and shoes I had on yesterday when I was visiting Emma. You really can’t see them very well because it was still darkish. I was able to sneak past him and grab my camera. I should just wear it around my neck. He looked up at me with such a quizzical look. So, we took a few minutes and had a talk about Emma and she would be back tomorrow. I said a few key words about Emma and “Emma be back” and it seemed to work. He followed me into the kitchen and ate, but it’s just not the same without his buddy. Food always tastes better when someone wants your portion.

I really have to watch it with him because he has got such a delicate soul.

Tomorrow can’t come soon enough.

More delicate stories later……Love, Cat, Chaps and Emma

Comments(11)