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Aug. 25th, 2011
On Dog Owning...
Aug. 25th, 2011 10:54 amI came across this article about the dog of one of the Seals who died in Afganistan and was reminded that many people asked how Tyson is doing while I was at Renovation.
For those new to my LJ, or just had forgotten, my 4 year old Chocolate Lab Tyson had an FCE in June. It's basically an upper spinal column stroke caused by a physical injury. One of the truly worst moments of my life was placing him on the guerny in the animal hospital the day it had happened. He couldn't stand and was really upset and concerned. To be honest, we had no idea at that point if he'd make it.
I came to dog ownership pretty late in life. I was bitten by one when I was 4 and didn't have a happy relationship with dogs from that point. M was the dog lover and really felt we needed to have one in our lives. So, in March 2008 Tyson came into our lives - he was a rescue, with uncertain "mostly lab" pedigree and variable training history. But we did bond really rather quickly, and having somebody to walk around the area with and generally goof around with proved much more fun than I'd expected. I wasn't 100% behind the idea of getting another - but somehow we ended up with a pure bred Chocolate Lab puppy too. I'll probably expand on these points another time, especially how generally fearless I've become in dealling with dog breath, dog teeth and dog tantrums in dog parks...
Anyway. Back to the point of the post. Tyson is doing very well. He's still not got 100% use of this front right leg back and his reflex response isn't good at all in the paw. But he's able to run, jump, climb stairs and generally do everything he could before. The inactivity forced by the lack of mobility has reduced his general fitness but he's slowly recovering that and has had several good sessions at the park and in the river there.
He's probably sitting in his favorite, sunny, spot by the front door watching the road for the return of the Alpha even now.
For those new to my LJ, or just had forgotten, my 4 year old Chocolate Lab Tyson had an FCE in June. It's basically an upper spinal column stroke caused by a physical injury. One of the truly worst moments of my life was placing him on the guerny in the animal hospital the day it had happened. He couldn't stand and was really upset and concerned. To be honest, we had no idea at that point if he'd make it.
I came to dog ownership pretty late in life. I was bitten by one when I was 4 and didn't have a happy relationship with dogs from that point. M was the dog lover and really felt we needed to have one in our lives. So, in March 2008 Tyson came into our lives - he was a rescue, with uncertain "mostly lab" pedigree and variable training history. But we did bond really rather quickly, and having somebody to walk around the area with and generally goof around with proved much more fun than I'd expected. I wasn't 100% behind the idea of getting another - but somehow we ended up with a pure bred Chocolate Lab puppy too. I'll probably expand on these points another time, especially how generally fearless I've become in dealling with dog breath, dog teeth and dog tantrums in dog parks...
Anyway. Back to the point of the post. Tyson is doing very well. He's still not got 100% use of this front right leg back and his reflex response isn't good at all in the paw. But he's able to run, jump, climb stairs and generally do everything he could before. The inactivity forced by the lack of mobility has reduced his general fitness but he's slowly recovering that and has had several good sessions at the park and in the river there.
He's probably sitting in his favorite, sunny, spot by the front door watching the road for the return of the Alpha even now.