Florida Vacation - Final Installment & My Hurt Paw

After a crazy New Years Eve, Mom, Dad, Grandpa and Uncle John were up early and heading out of the house, leaving me home with Grandma. I was a bit sad.
They left me to drive up to Tampa Bay to attend the Outback Bowl featuring Mom's alma matter, The University of Iowa!

Mom said it was a great game, very exciting and they all had a great time!

The game was played at Raymond James Stadium where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play, Mom was bummed that the pirate ship was closed, she's always wanted to check it out.

The best part was that Iowa won the game! Wooo hooo! They really beat up South Carolina....go Big Ten!!!

A few days later Uncle John and Mom took me and Spencer for a walk. Check out this great creek that Mom wouldn't let me play in, cuz apparently there are alligators in there.

There were so many great smells, I was in heaven!

I finally gave in and did what I was meant to do, so I ROACHED!

And I roached some more!

Fine Mom, I'll stop. I just can't help myself.

As our time was winding up in Fort Myers, we decided to go back to dog beach one last time. It was so great to be back on the beach, but I was sad knowing we were going home soon.

Spencer came too and was having a great time in the water!

It was so sunny, I had to squint. Good thing Mom uses a lotion on me with sunscreen!

Look at Spencer pose. That fella loves the water!

One last palm tree photo before we head home to cold, snowy Chicago.

On the road trip home, pit stops are necessary. Here we are lunching at Chick-fil-A in Georgia. People, let me tell you, their nuggets ROCKED! I wish there were one of these in Chicago.

Come on, one more nugget for the road....please????

Are we there yet? This is one long trip home.

What a great vacation I had. I will remember it forever! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for such a wonderful time!

Now, on to my hurt paw. I've been limping for the last week, and Mom and Dad thought I had hurt my paw on the snow and/or ice outside, but as Mom was inspecting my paw pad, she saw what she assumed was a cyst, so off to the vet we went.

The vet, the bestest ever, Dr. Marks, checked out my food and thinks it's not a cyst, but a puncture wound just off my paw pad. The cyst like formation is a bacteria buildup. Dr. Marks cleaned me up and sent us home with antibiotics to take to kill the icky bacteria that is hurting my paw. I'm already limping a bit less, so hopefully, I'll be back to normal soon!

'till next time,

Kirby

Airecuts aren't worth it!

So, Stanley recently asked if I was going to get an Airecut before I headed down to Florida with Mom and Dad, and funny he asked, cuz yesterday, I got groomed.

Now, I have to warn all you doggies out there not to misbehave when you are on the grooming table. Apparently, I must have been thrashing about when I was on the table and hooked onto the grooming loop. I was fine when I went home, but late last night I began to feel some pain and I cried out and went to Mom for help. Mom had no clue what to do, every time she touched my head/neck area I would yelp and cry. She took off my collar and bandanna to ease the pain on my neck and then called the Emergency Vet. They felt if she could settle me in for the night, I would not need to visit them, but they did recommend a trip to my regular vet in the AM. So, at midnight, I still would not fall asleep. I was so tired that my eyes were shutting, but each time I put my head down it hurt SO BAD! Finally, I just fell asleep.

First thing this morning, Mom rushed me off to my most favorite vet in the whole world, Dr. Marks! Dr. Marks knew something was wrong right away. Normally, I would jump all over her and slobber kisses on her face, but all she got was a bit of a tail wag. I was examined and then given TWO SHOTS! OWWWW!!!! Dr. Marks felt that I most likely had injured the soft tissue around my neck when I was on the table and this was causing all of my discomfort. So, she gave me a muscle relaxer and and anti-inflammatory to take until Sunday. When I left her office, my tail was back up and I was acting more like myself again.

So, no rough play for me this weekend, no running or being crazy, no, me the dog who gets hurt at the groomers has to rest. All this just so I could smell nice and clean up my hair....If you ask me, it's just not worth it!

'till next time,
Kirby

Good News!

I'm a happy pup today cuz I got good news from my vet! The Orthopedic/Radiologist consultation came back and they felt everything in my x-rays looked OK. They agreed that I do have a soft tissue injury in my right hind leg, so the alternative vet as my Mom calls Dr. Mayer, has put together a 6-week rehab plan for me. They've got a mix of therapeutic exercise, underwater treadmill, ultrasound and resistance pool work planned for me. I'm not sure what to expect, but I'm psyched about the swimming! Thank you to you all for your positive thoughts, your concern meant so much to me! I've got Mom charging up the camera battery, so she can capture every moment of my rehab! This should be interesting!!

'Till next time,
Kirby

X-Ray Results

So, the x-rays are in and for the most part, all is well. My hips are really good according to my wonderful vet. It looks like I have a bit of cartilage or something in my soft tissue on my right hind leg, which was along the lines of what my Chiro Vet thought. This will require a bit of hydro therapy, which I'm all for. I'm always up for swimming!
This x-ray of my spine caused some hmmmm's in the vets office today. Apparently, one of my lumbar's or something doesn't look exactly perfect. A bunch of vets looked at it and no one could say it is a problem, but no one was 100% that it wasn't something wrong, so off my x-ray went for an Orthopedic consultation. Apparently, it could be how I was positioned for the x-ray, but my hard working vet wants to make sure we rule everything out. We should hear back from the Orthopedic by Thursday, so once they let us know, I'll let you all know.
Other than that, Mom had found a 'mass' on my butt, and my vet looked it over and informed Mom that it was a zit. Can you believe it? I've got a pimple on my butt! Ha ha ha!!!

Well, I'm off to rest. I had to be sedated for the x-rays, and I'm a bit tired still.

'till next time,

Kirby

Chiropractor Visit

NOTE: Mom forgot the camera, so she didn't get any pictures of the super cool doggie rehab place.
Yesterday, I had my appointment with the doggie chiropractor. Since I've been dropping my hind legs on my jumps in agility, Mom and my teacher wanted to see what was going on. During my consultation, they made me jump over the jumps they have on site and sure enough, I kept clipping the bar or knocked it off. The doctor did not like what she was seeing, so I was taken back and examined. They moved all my limbs, worked my spine and measured me all over. They found that my right legs aren't as conditioned as my left, especially my right hind leg.

So, at this point they are thinking it is a soft tissue issue, but they want me to get a new set of x-rays done of my hips. My last set was taken when I was just about a year old and my growth plates were still open. Monday morning I'm off to my regular vets office for the x-rays. If the x-rays confirm what Dr. Mayer (my Chiro Vet) thinks and it is just soft tissue, then I'm in for some hydro therapy! Wooo hooo, that means as it gets too cold to swim around here, I'll be swimming to strengthen my leg each week. I'll let you all know how it goes...

Tomorrow, I'm participating in the annual PAWS 'Run For Their Lives' 4K walk. I'm super excited, as there are always a ton of doggies and I have so much fun. I'll make sure Mom brings here camera, so you can all see how much fun it was!

'till next time,
Kirby

Got a boo boo

On Thursday night, Mom was playing with me when she felt a lump on my back. She checks me pretty often for lumps & bumps, so she new this was new. Her and Dad agreed to see if the bump would decrease in size overnight. In the morning, Dad noticed that my bump was now bleeding and had puss leaking out. Eeeewwww. Dad cleaned my yucky spot up, but it just kept getting yucky, so off to the vet I went. Yes, another visit with Dr. Marks (not that I minded!) Dr. Marks agreed that my bump needed to be cleaned up and really looked at.
After they shaved me down (a square smack in the middle of my back) and drained out the yucky stuff they found a puncture wound! It seems when I was playing with my pal Lucky, his tooth punctured my skin. Dad was shocked as I never made a sound, so now I'm his 'tough' guy. Luckily, no stitches were needed, but now I've got a bald square on my back with a big old scab smack in the middle. I've gotten plenty of weird looks when I've been out on my walks.
Don't worry about me, I'm totally fine and acting crazy, as usual! I just can't wait till my hair grows back, so I can look normal again!

'Till next time,

Kirby

Going to the vet

What's that you say Mom, we're off to the vet? I must say that I'm usually much more excited about going to the vet, but I had just wanted Oprah's puppy mill episode, so I was a bit bummed out. All those poor dogs. Sigh. I was excited about one part of the show, the vet's office where the doggie was neutered is where I go! I've never worked with Dr. Rubin, but I hear he is top notch. Well, let's load in Mom!

Ah yes, the wait. I try to remain calm and well behaved waiting for my most favorite vet ever! Mom remembered to bring her treats this time, so if I was well behaved I would get a few treats!
Anything exciting over there? I noticed the charts were tucked far back. They must have known I'd be in today. A few visits back, I ate a few pages of my chart. Ooops, I've got a thing for paper, what can I say? Oooh, I see some treats in the jar back there too. Yummers!
Fine Mom, I'll sit and be a NICE dog for you, OK? Is this good enough? I'm about to burst with excitement, where is my doctor?
AT LAST! There she is, my most favorite person outside of my family. This is Dr. Marks, I know I've featured her before, but I feel she needs more blog space. I never mind going to the vet as long as I get to see Dr. Marks. No shot or treatment can make me angry with her. Mom and I had a great visit with her. We discussed what I've been up to and the possibility of me getting a sister dog (Mom & Dad have been inspired by Keeley getting a sister pup). Nothing is decided, but at least they're discussing it. So, all in all it was a great visit.
Thank you, Dr. Marks, for providing me with THE BEST care! I just LOVE you!!!

'Till next time,

Kirby

NEWS FLASH: I'VE LOST THREE POUNDS!

OK, to most of you, this may not seem like a big deal, but when I went to the vet for my booster shot this week, they weighed me and I've lost over three pounds. See, my vet thought I was getting a bit chunky at 67 pounds, so she put me on a diet. I was immediately switched off of puppy food and onto big dog food, and I'm not allowed to have too many treats. This has made me very unhappy! While I love my new dog food, the lack of treats has left me a bit cranky! Mom and Dad are being super strict about the decreased treats, and no amount of tricks or looking cute gets me anything extra. So, the three pound loss was GREAT news! Maybe some extra treats or a big 'ol rawhide will find their way into my mouth now. Let's hope they do.

'Till Next Time,

Kirby

PAWS Walk

Today we participated in the PAWS Chicago 'Run For Their Lives' 4K walk. PAWS Chicago (Pets Are Worth Saving) is the city's largest no-kill humane organization. They envision a no-kill Chicago--a city in which pets are not destroyed just because they are homeless. Mom likes us to participate in fundraisers like these because she feels it's important to help dogs that aren't as fortunate as I am. This year's walk/run raised over $244,000.00 to help the homeless dogs! I think that is sooooo pawsome!
It was a beautiful day for the walk. Sunny and in the upper 70s! With over 3,000 walkers, runners and doggies participating, there was a bit of a delay, so I had to sit and wait before I could get out and walk!
Look at all those people and doggies!
Dad realized that he's all over the pictures in my blog, so he snapped a quick pic of me and my mommy while we waited. Hey! Who's that dog getting in the picture with me and mom?
Off we go!
To ensure the safety of all participants, there are human and doggie water stops all along the route. It was delicious water provided by Sparky Springs! Water just for dogs!! Now, that's super cool!

Here we come across the finish line. Now, onto the food tent!!
Every good dog deserves a treat once they're done, so mom got me some apple slices in the food tent. MMMMmmmmm I love apples!
GUESS WHO was at the walk? It's my Vet, Dr. Marks!! She is the absolute BEST!!! She has taken care of me through a very difficult first year (pneumonia, panosteitis, Ecoli etc...) and I LOVE her with all my heart. Each time I go to visit her, we begin the visit with a little make out session. he he! Unlike most dogs, I'm not scared to go to the vet, I pull my way into the waiting room, and when I hear her voice, I get all excited! Mom agrees that Dr. Marks is the BEST!! She has provided the best care, helped mom and dad understand what's going on with me when there was a problem and just been there for the day to day questions new dog parents have!! I give her two PAWS up!! Luv you Dr. Marks!!!! P.S. where was your stethoscope today? You know how I love to chew on it...
After we got home from the walk, I was a bit pooped, but I perked up when mom gave me the freebie tennis ball the people from Petco were handing out. I love a good tennis ball. Mom watched me closely, as she knows I love to break them open.
Sure enough, not even five minutes after starting my chewing, I broke through. That means mom takes the ball away. NO FAIR!

Well, I'm off to nap. It's been a long and action packed weekend, and this 'dale needs his rest.

'Till next time,

Kirby