I'm on a video

My dad's been taking a course on some social media stuff so he decided to put together a video of a typical weekend day for me. Please have a look when you have a moment. Thank you. Sam

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGLMvuc1EGU&feature=youtube_gdata

A Week With My Teddy Bear Stuffies

Before

During #1

During #2 (my brother Owen))

After (missing nose and squeakers)

Time to rest...my work's done for now

Another Day, Another Stuffie To Take Care Of

My mom and dad didn't want me to remember the bad  thing from a year ago so they got my brother and I some stuffies to play with.

Here's a "before" picture...nice unsuspecting stuffies, heh, heh...

Here my brother Owen has one that he's tenderizing.

Mine, all mine

I'm getting tired.

Good night everybody.

I've been to the groomers - can you tell the difference?

This is how I looked last weekend when mom said that I was too furry looking.

Okay, so I had to go to the groomers to get a trim, combed out, nails done and all that good stuff

This is my groomer, Audrey (she's hugging me so much, my eye's are glowing)

and voila...

So do I look any different this week after the groomers?

The things one does to look handsome, sigh...

It's been a year now and ...

My first wheelchair

Hi everybody, well it's official, it's been a year today that I suddenly lost use of my hind legs. My dad's still upset that he didn't realize that it was a ruptured disk. It happened around 11:00 AM and everything seemed pretty normal until about 3:00 PM when my legs stopped working. Then there were phone calls and mad rushing around. We went to the local emergency clinic before we saw my usual doctor (Dr. Crook) at 6 PM. Then it was a long drive south to Kirkland near Seattle for surgery the next day.

Originally the surgeon said that I might have a 80% to 90% chance of recovering my mobility judging from the MRI that they did before surgery but after the surgery, the doctor told my dad that it was at best, 50/50 because my spine had been badly bruised by the rupture. But my mom and dad would have gone ahead with the surgery, even if the doctor had said that there was only a 10% chance of regaining mobility. That's my mom and dad, they would have at least given me a chance.

Anyways, it's been a little tough on them but they have never given up hope. I still get daily supplements to help regrow nerves, swimming each weekend and acupuncture every second to third weekend. And together with chiropractic treatments every month from Auntie Gail, they have persevered. Dad says that I'm their MB car. We'll buy a new truck soon. But until then we'll make do with what we have. We're used to what we have now and we get to ride together, so that's good.

I'm on my second wheelchair and my dad says that we'll probably have to buy new tires sometime this summer  for it because I've worn down the treads from all the walking that I do. But that's okay too.

We still have my first wheelchair but it's not getting much use. If someone needs it badly, you should write me and I'll pass the note to my dad. I'd like it to be used by another dog my size or a bit smaller.

It's been a year of many changes and I've adjusted quite well to everything. There's stuff that I don't like but for the most part, my life's pretty good. I hope that it's good in your house too.

Sam

Bye Kiernan

My friend Kiernan passed away Saturday. He was more than 14 years old and his mom, Rita had looked after him since he was an abandoned puppy. I first met Kiernan when he was a "demo-dog" at one of my many, many "Obedience" classes when I was just a little puppy. Kiernan's mom Rita is also a doggie trainer at DOGSmart where we have been going a long, long time (it's okay Mitch, humans learn slow). And my dad used to always feed Kiernan salmon because "he looked hungry". Kiernan had the swim time just before my time so I used to see him each week. I'll miss him. I feel badly for his mom who is very sad, Here's a picture from a happier time. Bye Kiernan.

Kiernan and his mom

Waiting for my swim time

It stopped raining yesterday while I was outside waiting for my turn to go swimming, so my mom took a few shots.

Look where dad?

Oh, hi mom.

Mom said that I'm looking extra furry so I'll have to go to the groomers next week. That ought to be "fun".

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day everyone. Thank you mom and grandma for looking after me and the other kids. I know we can be a handful but I'm glad that you're there for all of us.

Love, Sam and the other kids

It's been almost a year now and ...

Photo by Jules Chalmers-Owega

Hello everyone,

I want to say thank you to all my friends who have come by my blog to say hello or just to visit.

It’s been almost a year since I suffered a ruptured disk. The doctors believe that it was the result of degenerative disk disease and not from any external trauma.

As many of you know, I was just a few months short of my sixth birthday when this unexpectedly happened to me in late May 2010.

From that point to today, my life has been a mixture of discovery, appreciation, new experiences, meeting many new dogs and their peoples and one cat, walkies, treats and a closer bond with my mom and dad, my sister and my brothers.

But it’s also meant a yearlong regime of daily supplements to encourage nerve regeneration, weekly swimming sessions, semi-monthly acupuncture treatments including a needle poked into the top of my head (ouch), and monthly chiropractic treatments. A couple of wheelchairs and a new friend named Debbie, who takes me for long walks during the week when my mom and dad are working.

Unfortunately all these efforts have not brought back the mobility that everyone had hoped for. But my mom and dad remain forever hopeful. My mom and dad said that they would still have done everything that they have done to date, even if the surgeon had said that there was only a fractional chance of me ever regaining my mobility. Better to bet on family my dad would say.

My mom and dad say that I’m a very happy boy, particularly when I’m out and about like last weekend when mom took me to the Petnership Project (http://www.petnerships.com/), that Miss Sunshade and her evil mum and the D-guy attended (http://sunshadethesuperdale.blogspot.com/).

Well I was a huge hit, partly because of my wheelchair and partly because I’m pretty friendly. Anyways, everyone wanted to pet me and give me treats (yum, yum) and one nice person named Jules Chalmers-Owega, who is a professional photographer, took my picture for eventual posting to her web-site http://photographic-jules.blogspot.com/. Pretty cool, huh? 

I’ve included the picture that Jules shot of me at the top of this post because the photo is very well done. My mom and dad will be using her to shoot our group Christmas card photos this year.

Anyways, it’s been an eventful year. I’ve met a lot of new people and dogs and I’ve had many more experiences than I would have had otherwise. I’ve also regrown all of my missing hair so my mom calls me “Chewbacca” sometimes. Ah, what’s a “Chewbacca” mom?

Thanks everybody for being with me this past year. It’s been a little tough for us but we haven’t given up and I’m thankful that I have my family and that we’re all together.

I wish everyone peace and many belly-rubs on my one year anniversary. Now let’s go for a walk.

Love,

Sam