July 13, 2012: just keep swimming...

Another trip to the beach.  The water is perfect.  I am still waiting on Arri’s life vest.  It will probably come today. (yes, it did)  Summer comes along on this trip.  She likes the lake a little better than the pool.  Arri is back to his old swimming self.   He doesn’t go as deep as he used to but he won’t get out of the water.  He swims out, heads back to shore, swims out, heads back to shore….For some reason he wants to head North.  So that is the way we go. I don’t know why he is so insistent on going that way.  I got a great water walking resistance workout trying to keep up with him – still holding the harness to keep his rear afloat.  He must have swam a good 45 minutes.  When it was time to go, he gave me the most pathetic look.  He stood at the edge of the water, head drooped.  Summer and I started walking to the car.  Arri didn’t move.  ¾ of the way to the car, Arri had moved about 10 feet.  I dry Summer off and load her into the car.  I turn to see what the boy is doing.  He is about halfway up the slope, slowly making his way.  He is tired. 

I don't want to go home.

do we have to go??

Wait for me!!!  I'm hopping as fast as I can.

july 8, 2012: Braving the waves

It took a few days but we did get back to the beach.  Sadly, conditions were not as good.  There were 2 – 3 foot waves.  I brought Summer along this trip.  The two dogs played in the surf but I would not let them swim.  Arri did a great job maintaining his balance when the waves hit him.

Arri's technique is to let the wave hit him

Summer attacks the wave





Never mind the waves, lets roll in the sand.

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.