Month: March 2013

Well…  15 weeks yesterday Franklin became a Tripawd!  We had to go to the vets on Saturday morning for our regular rabies, bordatella shots and I happened to mention to the doctor about how Franklin sometimes will start trying to cough up a furball and then kinda clear his throat in a “gagging “AAACK” kind of way.  I will admit, he kind of chuckled at my description.. and I really didn’t want to embarrass myself by demonstrating.. lol

My main concern was that I was wondering if there was a possibility that there could be lung mets and that this is what was causing him to do this.  Franklin only seems to do this when he is lying on his side on the couch.. or when he kind of rolls over on to his semi-back…  then it starts after a little bit.. you get the “wheeze, wheeze, WHEEZE… argurghhhh gag ACCCCCCK” and then all is good.  Well… the doc came to the conclusion that it is probably NOT lung mets.  If there was lung mets, that you would hear that wheezing,  hoarseness all the time.. whether he was sitting, standing, lying down.  This, Franklin does not have.. even when he is galloping through the soccer field, he does not wheeze or gag or gasp for air.

We figured that Franklin has a poor gag reflux and that it is probably his tongue lolling back to his throat.

Go figure!

I also asked him about Franklin’s fur.. I’ve mentioned before that his hair on his back, and the area that was shaved, as well as the top of his neck, has gone sparse, and a bit wirey.   I asked him if possibly this would be a reaction to the pain killers he was on, or the antibiotics.  His reply was that unless they ran some allergy tests, etc that he could not really pinpoint why his hair has gone that way.  He did say that the area where they shave down does take some time to grow back in correctly.   He also said that animals, and humans, tend to change in their body when they go through a tramatic event, such as a limb removal.  The stress that comes from it, the after shock, etc can affect their hair in that way.  I remembered when I had my first child… after they were born I was pulling clumps of hair out of my head!!!  Lol

He has also lost 2 more pounds.. and my Maggie has gained 3!!  Hmmmm.. I can tell you where his weight went.  Franklin seems to only eat a little bit of his food at one time.. and then Maggie tends to slide over to his bowl.. and then back to hers.  I have watched her!  She is sly!!  So.. plan is to entice with just a touch of gravy in Franklin’s bowl to get him to eat a bit more of his food.. and it is working!  He weighed 50-52 pounds prior to his operation.  An almost 12 pound loss is a bit much for him.  When he went back to the vets in late January, he weighed 42… and he looked good.  So, my goal is to get him to just put a little bit back on.

Yet.. overall.,.. Franklin is good.. clear lungs..  and still a happy dog.

When I sit and think of the first time I posted here back in November 2012, I was so worried about him going through the operation.   I was worried about his age.   Since we got him in November 2005.. and the SPCA told us that his owner said he was 6 years old at the time.. that would have made him 13 in November.. that  is.. IF he had been born in November  1999.  Lol.

If he had been born in May, 1999, that would have put him at 13 ½!!  Which means he would be almost 14 years old now.

I have had two springer spaniels in my life time.  My first was a pup that I got when I was 13 years old.  He went to the bridge when I was 25, his back legs went and he could hardly walk.  My heart ached for a long time.  He was my first dog.. and my bud.

My second girl, Brandy,  was a rescue from the SPCA.. she had the most beautiful brandied colored hair streaks in the liver part of her head and ears.  We discovered she was pregnant after  I got her.  I got her on my birthday in July the same year that Brownie went to the bridge  and she gave birth to 7 purebred pups in early September.  One of them was a tri-color!!  Lol I tried to track down her past through the CKC and AKC as she had been found wandering the highway road.  But, no tattoo, and her nose print didn’t bring anything up in the records.   Anyhow.. she was also around the age of 12 when she developed a tumor in her head.  My poor girl.. She will be one of the first that I find at the bridge to tell her how much I loved her and to pet her sweet head again.

And then there is Franklin… somehow I just can’t believe that he is almost 14!  His hearing is not what it used to be… and I find that he is a little more slower getting up from the bed in the morning to go outside.. but he just does not seem 14 to me!   If he is still with us at Christmas Time,  I will be one of the happiest, blessed owners here!   I can’t wait for him to experience a beautiful, warm summer lying on the grass eating pig ears like he used to.  He’s had a bit of a struggle with the snow and ice for the winter time, but he has been a trooper.  A few slips, here and there.. but in the spring and summer.. there is nothing but grass to run on!!  Come on Spring!!  I need to spoil my pup a little more!

bark atcha later!

On March 4th, it was 3 months for Franklin.  Where does the time go?  I can remember the night before his surgery sitting down and thinking about all the things that we needed to do for him when he got home….  how to Tripawd the house…  how to make it easier for him to go outside, etc.  We are fortunate that our house has sliding glass doors from the two rooms to the deck and the deck is ground level so that there is no stairs for him to tackle.

And here I sit, 3 months later and everything is pretty well back to normal!  Franklin has an appointment with the Vet on March 16th for his rapies shots, etc.  Maggie will also go and get hers too.   I am going to ask the vet about Franklin’s hair.  It seems that where his surgery area is, and a little along his back, his hair has gone whispy and sparse.  Everywhere else on his body, his belly, his legs, has normal hair that is growing.  Just seems weird.

First I thought maybe he was allergic to the woollen sweater that I bought him to wear when we go for walks.  I sewed up the left leg on the sweater so it keeps his torso warm in the cold weather.  But if it was the sweater, then his hair on his belly and chest would be affected to.. no?

I also booked both pups for a spa day on March 26th.  Franklin gets shaved right down and he looks just so damn handsome!  All his spots jump out at you!  Maggie gets shaved down but I leave her ears long and some feathering on her legs.  She’s a litle self concious about going totally bald!

I am starting to feel a little guilty about not taking Franklin to the dog park anymore.  I know I am being selfish, but when you get so many dogs in there running around, I am afraid of him getting hurt.  and of course, he only has the one leg left on the front and if something happens to that.. well.. I don’t even want to think about it!  We have started to take him down to an enclosed in soccer field that backs onto the river instead.  He has Maggie to run along with and there is the ocassional other dog that joins in.  But it is no where near the amount of dogs that would be at the dog park.

I feel guilty because Franklin LOVED the dog park.  he was that type of dog that never really ran with other dogs.. but he would go around and check everyone out and say “hey. how ya doing?”  he’s walk in between people, he’d even come up from underneath the park bench if you were sitting on it.  He surprised a few people that way one day!  lol

I really should take him.. but… I would feel absolutely horrible if something did happen!  He loves his runs down at the field.. and he is happy as a pig in you know what when he gets back in the car..   Maybe in the spring.. when there is not so much ice and show on the ground and he will have a bit better traction, we might go.

On a sad note.. My sister runs a Last Chance Cat Ranch in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.  Her house burned to the ground yesterday and they lost many of their kitties in the blaze.  Most of her cats are elderly cats who don’t get adopted or who were left behind when someone moved.  She was not at home at the time, and they believe it was electrical.  My nephew was there and he was trying to save many cats but ended up with smoke inhalation.  I believe 16 cats were rescued.   There was a front page article in the Lethbridge Herald.

So very sad… to lose everything and fur babies too!  The community is pulling together and raising money, etc to help her out.  The response and love is overwhelming!  Some call her the crazy cat lady.. but that is ok.  She loves doing what she does..  she loves her animals more than people…. and some days I can relate totally!

Well, I’m going to go hug my puppers right now.. and say a little prayer for all those pussycats who are playing at Rainbow Bridge right now..   I hope they have had their fill of catnip and are lying in the sun!!

bark atcha later!