Doing Our Part

Remember when I had a little broken dog who needed really expensive surgery and everyone came together and raised $5,000 so her spine could maybe-be-fixed-kinda-fingers-crossed? Hard to believe that was only 3 weeks ago.  Remember last week, when a hurricane named Sandy made a pit stop on the east coast and tossed around some cars/trees/boats/houses into other cars/trees/boats/houses?  Well, Roo and I sat down and had a little chat.  Since she is doing so much better (Walking! Falling a lot, but walking!!!!), she figured a portion of the money people raised for her, should really go to help some of the other dogs (and their people) affected by the hurricane.

We know that there isn't one perfect site to throw money at, so we are doing a variety of charities:

NYC Food Bank

Bidawee Animal Shelter

Amazon Hurricane Registry

We have also brought down bags of food, batteries etc to: The Drink.  They have organized some pretty great sandwich and supply distribution to parts of NYC in dire need, as well as being an easy place to drop off donations.

Ok, now back to our little helper!

She is getting stronger everyday and LOVES playing with her toys. Hardwood floors and stairs are still the enemy, but she has broken every stuffed neck in the place.

And after a long day of snapping spines (nope, that's not lost on me), she is out like a light.

These Boots are Made for Walking

When Little Rooster was welcomed home 8 days ago, she was depressed and at about 10% of her usual vitality.  At my last apartment building, the nickname given to her by the other dog parents on the playground was, "Excitable Dog".  It was a building filled with burnt out hippies, college kids and "artists" -not the most creative, but it stuck. To see this barely contained bundle of energy reduced to zombie army crawling through the apartment really made me consider that, "Quality of Life" question. Would it be fair to......

WHO CARES!  Those melancholy days are over bitches!  

Check, check, check, check, check it out!

(I think we can cut her a little slack on poise and balance.)

The Strut

The Shamble

The March

Not bad! Amirite?

A Hurricane Sandy Miracle!

Yesterday morning, as I was picking up a red boot off the floor, a golden lasso off the couch and star spangled bottoms off the coffee table (I was Wonder Woman for Halloween and my method of undressing was a tornado), I noticed I had attracted the attention of a certain curious bulldog.

I looked at her, she looked at me and then, no big deal, Roo WALKED 4 steps to me all on her own!!!!  I cheered and screamed, "She's walking, she's walking!!!" and she promptly fell over.  In the last 3 days, she has started standing up for short amounts of time without any help.  Open the bedroom door, Roo's standing there.  Open the bathroom door, Roo's standing there.  Eating a sandwich over the sink, Roo's standing there.  What a creep.

The hardwood floors are too slippery for her little paws to maintain a grip, so I picked up a few runners to have around the apartment. The rugs and a game of tug, have really helped strengthen her little backside.

What a little warrior!!

Dreaming of Elevators

If a friend tells you that carrying a 29 lb dog up and down 2 flights of stairs, 3 times a day, will be good "exercise" for you, check your Facebook page.  That picture of you sneezing and doing tequila shots from Spring Break 06' just got tagged.   Your friend is a liar and not to be trusted.

Lucky for me, I have live in help.  Even luckier for me, the help has a freelancer's schedule and is making time during the day to help Rooster out.  This schedule from the gods won't last forever, but Roo won't be paralyzed forever (fingers crossed)!  It's only been a few days of living with a handi-capable dog, but we've worked out a system.  Mornings and after work- I'm on Roo Bathroom Duty.  During the day-Lucas is on BD (he is also all day Charlie BD).  Late nights- combined effort. 

We've claimed our potty spot in a gated grassy area of our local housing project.  The residents love watching us through their windows and stopping by to ask, "Is your dog sick or something?", "Did he break his leg?", "Make sure you clean that up" and, "Whoa, I wish I had that kind of help".  A sling to help you walk? You want to waste a wish on that?

It takes a little while to convince her to start walking, but once she gets going, she is pretty fearless.  So many smells to sniff out! Leaves on the ground! Garbage on the sidewalk! Pee stains on the curb!  She will even "run", while we hold up her back legs and follow the brisk pace set by her front.  It's equal parts sad and adorable.  When she is pooped out (literally), she is carried home.  We feed and water her, so we can do it all over again in a few hours.

We are burning sooooooooo many calories, everyone should try this work out.  I wish I had a sling.

Home is Where the Fart is.

HooooooooWEEEEEEEE!  What are they feeding these dogs at the animal hospital?  Rancid elephant sweat with a dash of dirty diaper? My post was going to start off with how nervous I was to pick Rooster up from the vet and how I'm afraid I'm going to break her already fragile spine.  Instead I'm plastered to the side of my couch as far away possible from this anal air bomber, talking about dog flatulence. Ok, I'm done (her butt is barking).  Ok, now I'm REALLY done.  Roo is home!

We picked her up this afternoon from VERG in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn.  The nurse came out and went over Roo's home care, exercises, physical therapy, and told us to call back in a week for a check up.  I still haven't met the elusive Dr Prata and his constant midday surgeries seem a little too convenient for my liking (looks like someone doesn't like being wrong, she's gonna walk again damnit!). When we were ready to say goodbye to VERG, the vet tech "walked" Little Rooster out, holding her back legs up in a sling.  Cue the inspirational music and slow motion action shot while I rise to greet her.  Now insert a screeching halt sfx and zoom in on my horrified expression.  Roo gave me a quick glance and immediately tried to barrel and growl her way over to a battered poodle, who was apparently using his only good eye to give Roo a, "You Wanna Start Something, Yeah I Called Your Mom a Bitch", dirty look.  My dog is paralyzed and still a total badass.  The doggy turf war (which left the poodle shaking behind his owner's legs) tuckered my princess out and she slept like a rock in the cab ride home.

When we arrived at our door step, we decided to see if she had to go the to the bathroom. Better to find out now, before I carried all 32 lbs of her, "big is beautiful" self up the 2 flights of stairs to the apartment.  Within 5 minutes of awkwardly sling walking around The Williamsburg Houses' front yard, she peed and pooped all on her own!  Our celebration was toned down due to the fact that we didn't have any doggy bags in our pockets.  We whispered "Hurray!", looked around like nothing happened, picked Roo up and ran away.

She seems in good spirits and it's clear she was ready to come home.  As soon as her gaze fell on her freshly laundered dog bed, she tried to dive out of my arms into it.  Once she settled herself in and was convinced that the bed still smelled like her, she allowed us:

To play tug with her favorite toy for awhile.

To feed her lunch and give her water.

She was even able to stand on her own (with a little help!) for a few seconds.

All in all, GREAT DAY!

Mama, I'm Coming Home

Drop the bass line here.  "Boom che, ba boom boom che. Boom che, ba boom boom che".
Relax, let you body feel the rhythm and begin to move your feet.

After your body is swaying to the music and your roommate/significant other/neighbor across the street with the hawk eyed view into your living room is looking at you like you have lost the ability to do math or tie your shoes on your own, (the toothpaste dripping out of your mouth is working against you here), slowly begin singing, "Guessssss who's coming home tomorrowwwwwwww"?  As you build your crescendo, move your feet a little faster, quicken the pace of your song and incorporate some fist pumping into your dance moves. 

Ok, ok! I won't make you sweat anymore.  ROO IS COMING HOME TOMORROW! Her party hat is on, her bags are packed and she is coming back from the worst vacation ever VERG Animal Hospital.

FAQ:
Does this mean she is going to be ok?
-No.

Can she walk yet?
-Not even a twitch of the legs.

Will she ever walk again?
-We don't know.  

If she is going to gain the ability to walk, how long will it take?
-Best guess is months, not weeks.

Will she need extensive physical therapy?
-Absolutely.

Is that expensive?
-Duh.

Will you commit yourself to that?
-Of course.

These answers suck, so why are you so excited today?
-Rooster has full control of her bladder and bowel movements.  This is great news, because I won't have to "express" her myself and she is at a low risk for a bladder infection/UTI.  She has run the course of her antibiotics and pain medication and as far as the surgery went, she is on the road to recovery. Now we just have to wait it out and hope that her brain relearns how to send the message down to her back legs for movement.  We are also going to have to be patient with her, read her signals and give her lots of love and reasons to recover.  The vet will send us home with a sling to hold her back up while she moves her front legs.

And for long distances.

We live in Brooklyn, we have a store that sells Artisanal Mayo, we can totally get away with this.

Friday. Always Camera Ready.

Who wants to see pictures of a dog fresh out of spinal surgery?  Be warned, you are going to tear up and want to click immediately on Rooster's Surgery Donation Site.  Her vet costs, including the MRI, surgery and her hospital care are now teetering at the $8,000 mark, but I'm just going to ignore that for now.  Lucas went to visit our little trooper this afternoon to remind her that we love her, check her spirit levels, and to let her know that we didn't give her away to a new, weird, medicine-y smelling family.

He reported back that her mood seemed better than when he visited on Tuesday.  She is now peeing outside when they bring her out for potty breaks, but her legs are still limp spaghetti noodles. 

The Dr will be out of the office for the weekend, so we probably won't get any updates until Monday.  Trust me, we are all feeling the positive vibe.  Keep it coming!