July 7, 2012: Arri does the stairs

Hooray for Arri!!!!!!!!!! He made it up the stairs by himself!  Yes, I left him in the basement again.  I was headed back, honest.  He is so impatient.  I could hear him breathing.  When I saw him, he was two steps from the top.  He was winded and don’t think he will try it again for a few days but he did it. His monster of a little brother - Oregon - was teasing him by running and up down them repeatedly while he struggled.

I was so wrong when I thought he would not try the stairs again soon.  Two hours later, he did it again.  This time I helped him up the last two steps.  (July 15, 2012 – he hasn’t done the stairs since)

July 5, 2012: Arri does a new trick

Whoever said you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, never met Arri. He has adapted to 3 legs so incredibly well.  Today he did something I have been trying to get him to do for 13 years.  We have had an incredible hot spell lately.  I dragged out the dog pool nearly killing myself in the process.  Some tall person put it on the upper shelf of the shed and then filled it with snow shovels.  Thankfully I got out of the way without getting hit.  As I am dragging it across the lawn, Summer jumps in.  No water, she just lays in the dry pool.  So that is where it is going to go today.  This was Oregon’s first experience so he amused everyone while the pool was filling. 

 The dogs played and splashed, bobbed for tennis balls and dog kibble.  Now that there was water in the pool, Princess Summer would not go in.  

 It was close to 100 degrees.  The dogs were hanging out in the grass when Arri stepped hopped into the pool and laid down.  Yes, this was his new trick.  He has never laid down in the pool.  Not on command, not for bribes, he would not do it.  It seems like such a silly thing to celebrate.  I just never understood how a dog could love swimming so much but refuse to lay down in 4 inches of water.   I guess it just wasn’t hot enough. 

July 2, 2012 first tripawd swim

Yesterday I decided that this morning, Arri was going to the beach.  I would like to do hydro therapy to get Arri's strength up but there is no facility within a reasonable distance.  We also do not have a pool.  If I could figure out how to get one and use it as a tax write off......So we do the closest option available.  We head to Lake Michigan....only 2 miles away. 

6:45 am....load up the car.   We go early in the morning when no one is there - primarily because it is illegal.  Yes, there are a few dog beaches around - but they are not exactly accessable to a disabled dog.  Most of them are at least a 1/4 mile walk to get to the 'legal' beach and that always involves going over a dune.  Arri is doing great in his recovery but I would like him to be able to walk tomorrow.  The beach we went to is very small considering it is on Lake Michigan.  It is boarderd on one end with huge property saving boulders - no beach in front  of them to walk around and the other end is a huge property saving wall.  So essentially, we are in a small cove - kind of.

The sky is hazy and it is 68 degrees.  We did not get any storms like those on the other side of the pond or those and hour south of us.   The water is almost like glass.   Perfect for swimming.   Arri stops to sniff and pee on his way to the water.  Not near the water drive he used to have.  I guess he has learned that the water isn't going anywhere, he can linger in the sand a bit.  Despite the calm water, he is hesitant. 

Thankfully, it is a nice slope into the water and not a drop off.  Depending on currents, you could have a sudden drop instead.  The water is also nice and clear today. 

Arri does some swimming on his own but it is obvious that the missing leg makes staying afloat difficult.  It takes a lot more work.  I came prepared to swim with him so I put the sling under him and hold up his rear.  He tried to go out deeper but he seemed to know his limits and would turn around to get the sand under his feet.  If I pick up a life vest for him, I imagine he will try to swim to Chicago once again.  No crazy dog running today but he chased down some smells, rolled in the sand and had a lot of fun.  I made him quit before he was ready because I do want him to be able to move tomorrow.  If the weather holds and no storms reach us, we may just do it again tomorrow.

June 25, 2012: Grace is not his middle name

Arri does the outside steps -- all by himself.  His middle name is not Grace.  He was very excited to be going to the park so he stumbled just a bit.

We did get some exciting news from Cath last week.  Cath is a breeder/caretaker for Canine Companions.  Her current litter was assigned the letter 'D'.   If you are new to CCI, all pups in a litter are named with the same letter.  Cath submitted the name 'Darri' in honor of all that Arri has been going through and has shared with others.  I was honored to learn that the name was accepted.  Darri is a female lab/golden cross.  I don't know what region she will be in but I look forward to following her training.

Juen 25, 2012: One month Ampu-versary

On June 21, Arri celebrated his 1 month Ampu-versary!!!!   He is doing great.  His fur is growing in nicely.  His one issue that remains is jumping or going up stairs.  Most likely, this will be difficult for the rest of his life.  I think that would be the one disadvantage to amputation at such an old age.  He was already losing muscle mass in his rump as part of the aging process.  He has been able to jump on the ‘dog’ sofa outside the bakery but I noticed in the last week or so that he doesn’t even try anymore.  If he wants up, he stands in front of it and waits for a bit.  If I am not checking to see how he is doing, lays down on the dog bed, not bothering with the sofa.  There is still a gleam in his eye to jump on the bed but it is higher than the sofa, so he doesn’t even try.  Arri does try to jump in the van but he can’t do it so we have to be quick to give him a butt up if he jumps before we were ready.  The other day, I once again, left him alone in the basement too long.  When I went to the stairs, he was half way up and holding position.  It was clear he was no going any further without help.  One more step and he would have fallen backwards.  I helped him the rest of the way.  We are getting pretty good at co-ordination.  He handles bare floors fine if he is being normal but when he gets excited, he is like a deer on ice.  Once he falls, he won’t try to get up.  He will lay there until you help him up and walk with him.

If Arri is not the first one outside, he will not get a spot on the bench.

Today was his first post-surgery bath.   Much, much over due.  Stinky dog.  I was nervous about the slippery shower floor.  Arri’s solution – lean against the wall.  It made access difficult but he didn’t slip.  The best part was drying time.  He seemed to know he would slip if he did his normal post bath crazies so he just laid down on the pile of towels – rolling around.  I was able to get him dry without soaking the rest of the bathroom/closet for the first time – ever.

June 12, 2012: Not quite the end of the journey....

Last week, we received the wonderful news that Arri is cancer free.  The lymph node came back negative for cancer.  With that declaration, I can say, Arri’s 'Journey with Cancer' is over.  We will go back to the oncologist in 3 months to get x-rays and ultrasounds to make sure nothing new has popped up.  I am sure I will occasionally have a story to tell or photo to share. 

Thank you for all your support and kind words during this whole ordeal.  We are very blessed to be a part of such a caring and supportive extended family.  While each person’s journey with cancer will be different, I hope Arri’s story helped someone or may help someone in the future.  Telling his story helped get me through it. 

Sniffs, wags and woofs……until the next story.

Arri and Dee

June 9, 2012 19 days post surgery

The Arri stories will be few and far between now.  My boy is still making impressive progress.  He goes to the park every day and though he can only handle 10% distance of his past trips; he is doing a little more each day.  Many stairs in a row are still a challenge for him.  He can do the outside landscape steps on his own.  Some days he likes a boost up the first 5 steps as they are almost normal steps. The rest are longer so he can get his whole body on the step before doing the next one.   With just a little help, he can do the 5 steps up to the deck.  We have also tried the inside staircase.  One day last week, Arri lost patience with me.  I left him down stairs and told him just wait, I’ll be back in a minute or 5.  Well, the phone rang and it took me a little longer.  By the time I hung up, I heard the thumping.  I raced to the stairs and there was my boy, sliding backwards.  At that point he was 3 from the bottom.  Based on toenail marks in the carpet, he may have done 6 steps on his own before his back leg collapsed.  I put him in a down and sat with him, massaging his leg and back.  Arri has been having muscle spasms lately,  the more exertion, the more spasms.  Well, he was spazzing.  I quick went upstairs and heated up a pad to lay over his side and kept on rubbing.  It took about 20 minutes but he finally relaxed and settled down.

At this point, he is trying to jump more.  He can get on the basement ‘dog’ sofa on his own but still likes a little assistance.  I suspect he just likes me to grab his tush.  When I help him without a sling, I put my hand behind his good leg, where the feathers would be if he had them.  I let him attempt the jump with my hand staying in contact with the leg.  When I feel his leg go off the ground, I catch his rump as it starts to fall back and lift it the rest of the way.  He just doesn’t have enough strength in the one leg yet.  He still can’t jump on the bed and refuses to use the ramp.  He also really doesn’t like being lifted so most nights he is on the floor. 

Arri has become more of a momma’s boy than in the past.  He won’t always go out with the other dogs if I am not going out also.  If I stand up and go to the door, he is right there – most of the time.  Tonight I tried to take Oregon for a walk to do some training.  Oregon was leashed and not so willing to go but Arri busted right through the door.  He knew he was going to be left behind.  Ok, so our walk is going to be much shorter.  We went three houses down with Arri stopping, starting, sniffing, peeing….more pauses to rest up but he was moving much faster than me when he was moving.  I made him turn around at the 3^rd house because I wasn’t prepared with the sling or harness.  He gave me a little attitude but decided home was good.  He had already been to the park and it was a warm day.  I don’t need any more sick puppies.  Two dogs with broken digestive systems is more than enough.