At the tender age of 16 months, our sweet Murphy came to us in July through IDOGRR.  We knew he had hip dysplasia and had a very pronounced limp when he arrived.  A few days after he arrived we took him to my friend Amy Nietz’s canine orthopedic surgeon, who had done her Darby’s HD surgery.  Dr. Kelly confirmed what the folks at the University Veterinary Hospital had told Murphy’s previous owners, which was Murphy could be fairly normal with the proper exercise and medication, but would need hip surgery when he was five or six.  He recommended a supplement called Dasuqin (the newer and better version of Cosequin), saying he was seeing significant joint improvement in his patients using it.  He also gave us instructions for exercise (lots of free running and controlled walking up and down hills to strengthen the muscles in his hips) and a prescription for Previcox, a canine anti-inflammatory. 

Thus began our quest to give Murphy the best life possible.  Giving him the love, discipline and affection he craved with all his being was easy.  We knew how to take care of his spirit.  What we needed to learn was how to care for a special needs body.  My experience with elderly, arthritic dogs had taught me a few things, the most important one being the long term use of anti-inflammatory medications can cause liver damage. I also knew from my own experience with rheumatoid arthritis that fish oil is a natural anti-inflammatory. Armed with what I already knew and the information I gathered from reading and friends who have dogs with HD, we ventured forward. 

We started Murphy on the initial loading dose of Dasuquin, added a fish oil capsule to each of his meals and began reducing his ½ tablet of Previcox to ¼ tablet.  We had set backs and would sometimes have to bump back up to ½ if he was limping, but gradually, we were able to get his dosage consistently at ¼ tablet.  His last ½ Previcox was on 8/10/08.  With the Previcox at ¼ tablet, the next target was to eliminate it from his daily diet and use it only occasionally when he over exerted himself and was limping.  We gave his body August and September to adjust and on October 10^th , with some trepidation, we skipped his Previcox entirely. This began a two week period of every other day dosing.  His last regular dose of Previcox was given on 11/2/08.   We have now reached the point where he gets the Previcox on a need only basis.  Yesterday, he wiped out in the snow and was limping, so he got a dose.  This morning he is fit as a fiddle and chasing his brother and sister all over the yard.  This doodle boy loves the snow!

In the realm of exercise, we had a little secret weapon named Wally.  He is Murphy’s half brother and only a week younger than Murphy.  And he likes to run…a lot!  Puppies being puppies, these two have worn a track in our lawn and regularly dismantle Ernie’s garden wall.  The back of the yard has a small rise which they tear up and down countless times a day.  Murphy whines ceaselessly in anticipation when he figures out the car ride is leading to the dog park.  One of my happiest moments came at the dog park this fall when Murphy got into a game of chase with a beautiful, statuesque Greyhound…and my boy kept up!  Even better, that night he did not limp and we did not have to give him any Previcox.  The final victory came the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  Every other time we have left the dog park, Wally and Sonagh hop back into the truck and Murphy stands there, waiting for someone to lift him in.  We were half way home when it hit me…Murphy had jumped in all on his own! 

It has been a delight to watch the once lame Murphy turn into an agile, gregarious, speed demon.  Other than a rather wonky walk, and the occasional limp due to a fall or overdoing it, he is pretty much asymptomatic for the HD.  He is a well adjusted member of our pack now.  Murphy has helped our hearts heal from the loss of our beloved Sadie.  It is spooky how much he is like her in temperament and personality.  For the second time, we find ourselves asking who would give up such a fantastic dog. And, once again, we are endlessly thankful they did. 

Thank you cannot begin to express how grateful we are to IDOG Rescue and Rehome for giving us our special needs boy.  Look for Murphy in the 2009 IDOGRRR calendar.  He is Mr. July!  IDOG

Sadie entered our life on June 8^th, 1998.  We had gone to PetSmart to pick up dog food for Kayleigh and naturally I sent Ernie to get the dog food while I went to see the dogs from the Humane Society there on weekends.  We had talked about adding a second dog to our home, but were not actively looking.  Then I saw this sweet, black dog staring out at me from behind the grate of the kennel.  She was a golden retriever /lab mix just like our Kayleigh and, just like Kayleigh, she was long furred in gorgeous, sleek black. 

I ran back to the dog food area to tell Ernie he had to drop everything and come see this gorgeous dog!  The volunteer from the Humane Society brought her out to us and she was as sweet as she looked.  She was about a year old and seemed a bit shy, in a ‘I’ve been rejected – will you love me?’ way.  Ernie saw that I was completely taken with her and said I could bring her home as an early 9^th anniversary present. (our anniversary was a month later on July 8^th).  However, we needed to first make sure that Kayleigh was okay with it.  So we went home and I dashed back to PetSmart with Kayleigh. 

The initial meeting between Kayleigh and Sadie was, to say the least, anticlimactic.  They looked at each other, took a few sniffs then proceeded to lie down and ignore each other.   When I mentioned to the humane society volunteer that I was disappointed, as I was expecting more interaction, she explained that the two dogs had figured out who was the lead dog in their first moments and they were content with their positions together.  This was my first introduction to pack dynamics.  It was all I needed to hear to decide that Sadie was a wonderful fit for our family. 

Sadie had become attached to the Humane Society volunteer and was very stressed out when I took her leash to lead her and Kayleigh back to the car.  We arrived home a little while later, walking Sadie around the yard to let her see her new home.  It was a beautiful day with gardening on the agenda.  It would be a good opportunity to be outside with the two dogs.  Sadie was an affectionate dog who was following me all over the yard and house.  I decided to weed the front garden and went into the shed to get out my kneeler.  What happened after that was our first indication that this sweet new dog of ours had not been treated kindly in her previous life.  Sadie saw the white kneeler, her eyes got wide and she bolted to hide behind Ernie.  I immediately put the kneeler back in the shed, but Sadie would not even come near me until much later in the day.   My heart broke for her.  And that pity we felt carried through for years…and did her no favors. 

Though she was an anniversary gift for me, Ernie quickly became Sadie’s human of choice.  They had the special ‘something’ that every dog owner dreams of having with a dog.  Her favorite thing in the whole world was to have ‘chair time’ with Daddy.  Sometimes I would look over and the two of them would be sleeping the deep sleep of contentment, snuggled together, both in their happiest of places. 

Sadie was a leaner.  She would come up to you and very softly start to lean into you, hoping that you would reach down and rub her ear.  Then hold on!  Because once you started to rub her ear, the bliss was written all over her sweet face and she would sigh and put her full 90+ pound of weight onto your leg!  I often told Ernie we should rename her ‘Lena’.

I am forever grateful for my friend Beth Line’s recommendation of Jan Fennell’s book ‘The Dog Listener’.  That book changed how we interacted with our dogs and it changed Sadie’s life.  I discovered that our pity had done nothing but reinforce the insecurities that Sadie came to us with and, after Kayleigh died, Sadie became a reluctant alpha for too many years in our home.  Ever sweet, she carried a watchfulness and uneasiness with her at all times.  When we finally took on the mantel of pack leader, Sadie blossomed into the lovely, calm follower she longed to be.  Her last few years were the happiest of her life.

Sadie lived a full and loved life in our home for exactly ten years and one month.  Except for about three weeks after Kayleigh died, she always lived with another dog.  She and Sonagh were the best of friends and we would often find them curled up together.   When Wally came into our pack last year, Sadie was just turning ten and wasn’t overly interested in playing with the new puppy.  But on occasion, she would enjoy a wee bit of a romp in the back yard or a good bunny chase. 

The week before Sadie died an angel came into her/our life in the form of a foster dog named Murphy. We are convinced he is an angel sent to make our beloved Sadie’s last week here with us happy and carefree.  Because Wally was very occupied playing with Murphy, Sadie was free to play with her pal Sonagh, chew sticks in peace and generally reign as queen of the household, unmolested and unperturbed.  Sadie gave Murphy a very strong ‘Go away kid, you’re bothering me!’ when he first arrived, so I only have this one picture of them together. 

At 6:00 PM on July 8^th our beloved Sadie suffered a massive stroke or heart attack after having a wonderful time playing in the back yard with the other dogs.  With the help of our friend Tom, we rushed her to the vet, but we knew that what ever had happened was massive and final.  There was no real decision to be made as it was evident that she could not recover.  She went peacefully with the kind help of the veterinary staff and Dr. Bey, her paw draped over her best friend Ernie’s arm.

Ironically, I have the last, blissfully happy 30 seconds before she collapsed on video.  It is comforting to know she was having a big time just before this all happened.

I want to share two videos with you.

The first one was from a couple of days before Sadie died…I had forgotten I had it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfLj1m0xmV4

The second was literally less than two minutes before she collapsed.  It is such a huge comfort to us to know she was having such a good time just before she left us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WorulBA5PSo

Sadie slept at my side for almost every word I have written in the last five years.  I would often find myself just staring at her when I would get ‘stuck’.  She always seemed to sense this and either look up or, better yet, come over and put her head on my lap.  Some how, that would get me ‘unstuck’ and I would move forward with whatever I was writing.  My writing continues, but as I look forward to my next big project, there is a deep sadness in my heart that my darling old girl will not be snoring quietly next to me. 

For ten years and one month, we regularly asked ourselves who could ever give up such a wonderful dog.  We will be forever grateful that they did. 

The love and support of our friends, family and the Doodle community has been overwhelming, comforting us beyond words.  To be embraced by those who understand that our dogs are not just pets, but much loved members of our family is to know the true nature of dogs and the humanity they bring to our souls.  Dogs teach us to reach out and give someone a puppy kiss when they are sad.  From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you all for the puppy kisses!

Edie, Ernie, Sonagh, Wally and Murphy

Snuggle Puppy!

Jenni and Sonagh – these two have got some kind of bond going on….

Look how relaxed Sonagh is in this photo; a dog being hugged is not usually relaxed!

It is so lovely to see Jenni starting to live her life again and creating a new normal for her life. She is a remarkable young lady!

Or a mysterious sea creature??

Momma Emily (a.k.a. The Lunch Truck!)

Did someone say “Lunch!” ???

My niece in puppy heaven…

I am hoping this little girl (she is so sweet I have dubbed ‘Dolce’) will go home to my friend Arika. Arika owned Sonagh’s brother Wrigley. Sweet, darling Wrigley had to be put down at Thanksgiving because they could not get his seizures under control. Her four year old son Max really misses and sometimes sits and talks to Wrigley’s picture! This little boy needs a dog!

No, seriously! I want to sleep in the corner this time!!

Pretty cool how I just blend in with the hippo, huh?

Collective Food Coma…

Cool! The Greta babysitter is here! Party!!

One last look at sweet wee Dolce…

And I can’t resist adding a few pictures that Amy sent me the other day:

Wee Dolce coming in for a kiss!

Orange girl

OY!  What a cutie oie!!

Take Me Home Eyes!

Don’t you just want to kiss this little chocolate nose??

Dude!  Go long!!

Side View – Before

Side View – After

Front View – Before

Front View – After

Contrasting with Sonagh – Before

Contrasting with Sonagh – After

Stop with the camera already, Mom!

Seriously! Get that thing out of my face!

Sigh! It is so hard to deal with the Pup-arazzi!

Before

And the handsome boy after! He doesn’t look like a puppy any more!

 Discovering Labradoodles

At a rest stop on the long ride home from Noble Vestal Labradoodles in Noblesville, Indiana. He cried for the first ½ hour or so and then was a perfect angel (naturally!) for the rest of the 12 hour trip!

Loving his new sisters, fully confident that they are as enthusiastic about playing with him as he is about playing with them. (The girls soon disabused him of this rather misguided notion.)

He is, however, completely correct in his assumption that his momma adores him!

His sometimes spooky human eyes…

A dedicated fan of that team that was soooo darn nice and named their mascot after him!

Happy camper hangin’ with his sisters.

They don’t come much cuter, do they?

Discovering Labradoodles

Dog Health Facts 

Today we were working on having our dogs stay, walking away, calling them and then having them sit or lie down half way through the recall. We had playing cards laid out on the floor to give us our targets for the sits and downs. Wally was a champ!!

Then Jeff began scattering the entire deck of cards, face up, all over the training room floor. Gina (Bella’s mom) and I looked at each other, wondering what in the world Jeff could be up to! That is when Jeff announced we were going to play a card game…with our dogs! The first round went like this: Black was a sit and Red was a down. The dog’s butt had to be on the card for it to count as a sit and their front paws or legs had to be on the card to qualify as a down. 30 seconds…GO!! Well, Wally won that round with us holding four cards.

On to round Two! In this round, rules were the same with one twist – their body had to be going in the same direction as the card! One minute…GO!! We won again, this time with six cards!!

Wally, my man! You are a true Card Shark!!!

Yeah, Baby!!

Discovering Labradoodles