Abby's First Thanksgiving!

Well, Abby's been on a bland diet, so she didn't get to enjoy all the trimmings we did at Thanksgiving Dinner, but she had a front row seat to all the preparations!! Traditionally, we thoroughly clean the house right before Thanksgiving, so that we are set for the rest of the year. Also, right after Thanksgiving we decorate the house for Christmas...so, Wednesday, since I was off from school, I proffered myself to my mom for cleaning assistance! And Abby was right there, at first whining in her play pen because she couldn't be RIGHT with me at all times. So, I grabbed the papoose sack, and carried her around as I dusted, cleaned windows, and the kitchen appliances. Of course, I had to be very careful about everything I used, making sure she wasn't downwind of anything (she sneezed as I dusted, but no other complaints...).

She was so content as I carried her around, creating a rhythmic cadence that comforted her, for she fell asleep and slept for most of the day. When I realized I couldn't windex the windows without making her uncomfortable (it's hard when having a dog attached to you makes you look like you're seven months along!), I put her back in the play pen. But by that time, my mom had gotten to the living room, and she was cleaning the floors right near Abby...but she still wanted to be near me, so I hastened through windexing the windows and put her back in her sack so that I could clean other things.

Thanksgiving Day, she was back in the sack in the morning, as I moved around, doing little things here and there, but mostly just reading. When it was getting time to eat, in her stroller she went, although I moved the stroller around the house with me as I moved around. As it got time to eat, the turkey smells infiltrating the house must've made her sleepy, because she slept through the whole meal! And during our game of Uno afterwards, and during an airing of "The Princess Bride" as we ate pie, quoting lines from the movie ahead of time...she decided to wake up right as I was curling into bed a little early, for I didn't get my post-Turkey meal-nap!

But that's okay, she is doing amazingly well. As I type this, she is pressed against the mesh on her soft crate, so she can sense me, I guess. The little girl seems to be afraid of the dark...if I shut off the light before she falls asleep, she whines...so I leave the light on till she falls asleep, staring at me....

She's still on meds once a day now, and we don't know whether or not and when we can put her back on the meds that treat the pinched nerve...I can't believe we've had her four months already! Sometimes I think how difficult it will be to find the right furever home for this little pup, and that's fine with me. She's got a place here for as long as she would like, as she's already got a piece of my heart!

If It's Not One Thing...

Poor Abby, she's had a rough few days...she is still on the Metcam post-surgery, as it keeps the pinched nerve in check, according to the vet...but ever since she had a teensy bit of bacon on Friday, it's been a loooooong road of upset tummy...

I was up most of Friday night with her, and it had me worried. Then Saturday she messed herself twice at adoptions, and she's had about five baths in the last three days. Saturday and Sunday we gave her a bland, albeit healthy, diet...strictly turkey and rice. But she still wasn't feeling well.

So we took her in today, and she was perky at the vet's office, barking at all the bigger doggies. Although, truth be told, her bark was a bit subdued, and my guess is that was due to the fact that she'd been feeling pukey the last three days...

Met a lady in the office who was there putting down her 17-year-old Terrier. I watched in awe as my mom spoke softly with the lady, reassuring her that if the dog was ready, then she needed to be too. It was a humbling moment, and it inspires me...

The vet says that either the Metacam or the bacon or just her already-compromised-immune system led to her latest bout. She's now on two different antibiotics, and I am familiar with neither of them. But she takes them so well, she is so used to being handled now, it's truly remarkable.

We gave her a full bath today - now that her scabs are healed, she was due for a KetoChlor bath to help the remaining bald patches grow in some hair...and Johnson's baby shampoo for the rest of her body...And she even takes to the blow dryer! Of course, I point it away from her more frequently than toward her, but I had her dry in less than a minute. Granted, she's just under 3 pounds now, so she's tiny, but I had her dry in no time! And then I wrapped her in a light sweater, tucked her into bed, and she was asleep in two minutes...!

She lights up the second I come home...it's nice. She easily pulled herself to the front of her pen when I got home from work this afternoon, and she snuggled next to me the rest of the night as I (re)read "Eclipse" by Stephenie Meyer.

Little by little, she gets better...but it's always something with her! And she's so sweet that I am just glad that all her misfortunes haven't hardened her into the quintessential "bad" Chihuahua stereotype we've all heard about.

:-)

Abby's Own Play Pen (to share of course)

Since we are in rescue, we have a plethora of X-Pens around the house. X-Pens, for those who do not know, are metal exercise pens, and they fold accordian-style or open up to make pretty much any shape you would like. They come in 8 panels, and we use them not only at adoptions but at home as well, setting up safe play areas. We also use them when we introduce new dogs to the pack - new dog goes in the pen, with visual access to the dogs, going nose to nose until we know that everyone will be friendly.

With that said, Abby usually stays in either an X-Pen or the stroller while I am in class or at work. More often than not, she has been staying in the X-Pen as that has a pitty pad in it, and she can walk around if she so chooses (although she's a sleepy baby anymore with all the meds).

But with one teeny tiny paw on the one front leg, when she would lean up and rest the front leg on the wire, her teeny tiny toes would get splayed in the metal frame of the X-Pen...no bueno for the little chica! So my mom and I constructed a plan: if we were to build a play pen with a durable frame, soft siding, and easy overhead access, she would have a very safe, comfortable play pen....

It's scary when she and I brainstorm on an idea, because amazing work is always produced (smile). We designed a play pen with PVC pipe framing, poultry mesh siding, and voila! I had to redo the math several times as we kept changing the size of the pen...and of course, I hadn't logically figured out that each side would share a support with an adjacent side (it's a cube, without the solid fill)...

Then, we decided that it could be open in the back, so that it could attach to an X-Pen side or just fit snugly against the book case where it sits. Also, the pen itself would fit around a table we have in our living room, so that she would have a little doggie den...And we wanted to make the pen big enough for her to share with our oldest Chihuahua, Mr. Sweetie, who at 15 years old is onry, skiddish, and desirous of his own personal space...

Considering both dogs sleep throughout the day or engage in minimal movement, my mom and I surmised that these two would be okay with each other when placed in the pen together...

Thanks to my dad, I have a slightly more than basic understanding of the construction of PVC piping. I helped mom pick out the PVC, elbows (which of course had to be three-way Y elbows to join three joining PVC's to make a corner), the adhesive, and the mesh.

I got burned out by the end of the day that we picked all of this out, because it was Veteran's Day so I proffered myself to help mom run errands...but day after Veteran's Day, my mom was awake and working on the pen, but I had to go observe at an elementary school for my Urban Education class...

I was so stoked to get all handy and build, I figured I'd help her build after I got back from observation hours, but the day escaped me of course with other errands, and by the time I got home at lunch time, my mom had built an amazing Abby-proof playpen. To share with Mr. Sweetie, of course, and apparently their first afternoon together went well.

I put Abby in the pen this morning on my way to school, and I am so proud my mom constructed the engineerial piece of art! My dad has made two PVC piping monsters out of my mom and I, who could probably go in the backyard and fix all the inaccessible sprinkler piping!

I will post pictures as soon as I take them!

Abby's Own Stroller and Feeding the Ducks!

Well, it's been a good week for Abby...Her checkup went well, still on antibiotics and pain medicine, but other than that, she's recovering quite quickly!!! Because I take her to class with me, she gets to go lots of other places with me as well. For being a three-legged dog, she is becoming surprisingly mobile! And with that said, TLC has supplied Abby with a lovely, compactable stroller to call her own - and it doubles as a doggie car seat!!

 

We figured this will be a little more conspicuous, but since she made her presence known in English class on Wednesday, this would actually be easier to bring along (Wednesday, she barked at something we were watching and little did I know the department head was in class, observing...the professor strictly asked me to warn him next time but after class couldn't wait to pet her). I proudly brought her with me to physics class on Saturday morning after asking the professor on Friday if I could, and into class I walked - pushing Abby in that stroller!!!

She was the belle of the ball as we watched a video on the periodic table of elements, since she had to voice her opinion (she didn't think Fluorine is a violent element)...and at adoptions she sat beautifully in the new stroller, giving out kisses and gnawing on volunteers' fingers, which taste better than Greenies anyways!

Saturday night, my boyfriend offered to take Abby and me to the local golf course to feed the ducks. We do that every once in awhile since it is relaxing and there are always guys there fishing, feeding the ducks, and whatnot...So, I decided to bring my pup Riley with us as well, and it was "a night out with the kids"...

I might mention that at the pond where we feed the ducks, there are also LARGE geese that are NOT afraid of human beings... or barking dogs, for that matter...

Abby was very fascinated with the ducks, who would come to the pond's edge but never stepped foot on ground...and Riley didn't seem to trust them, as he sat behind me, occasionally poking his head around me to 'woof' at them. Abby 'woof'ed a few times herself, but that was at the guy throwing his fishing line into the pond.  The pond, by the way, is about half the length of a (high school) foot ball field, and about 200 feet wide. It's a nice sized pond that is home for probably 100-150 ducks, geese, and swan.

When the geese at the other end of the pond (the long end) saw that we had a lot of bread to give out, they ever so gracefully swam over to us. At first that was innocent, until they came up onto the ground and tried to yank the bread bag out of my hand. And Abby did NOT like that at all!!! Riley, of course, ran the full length of his leash away from them, and I held on strong, but I had Abby in my lap and couldn't get away as fast...

The geese then started hissing at my boyfriend, who was trying to carefully get the pup's dinner and water dish off the ground, meanwhile trying to help me get up!

At this point, Abby was not happy, Riley was scared, and I was uncomfortable with the swans' close proximity to my tiny pups...so we backed away (after wrenching free the plastic bag, of course), and went for outdoor Mexican food at Rubio's.

Afterward, we went to Border's so I could get a book for one of my classes, and for the most part, Abby was quiet. But she didn't like someone who stomped by carrying a large box on his shoulder. And a few girls happened to pass by, looking down, and were tickled that I had small dogs in a little stroller.

Needless to say, Abby has had a wonderful weekend out and about!

Abby's Discoveries!

My parents had a few homechecks on Sunday morning, so I said I would feed everyone, and watch over them...I had a TON of laundry to put away, and my room was getting annoyingly stuffed. So I figured I would put it all away and get my room in decent shape while they were out and about. At first I thought of setting up an X-Pen for Abby, but then I figured she'd be content just watching me, and she'd eventually fall asleep...So I rigged the stroller to fit inside the opening of my baby gate across my door, and went about my business. As I emptied laundry baskets, I stacked em on top of the stroller, and when I had a few items I needed to put away outside my room, I'd toss them into the basket on top of the stroller, and I'd push Abby around the house as I put away things...

Later, after my mom got home, she commented how miraculously I looked like a single mom (smile...such is the life of a foster mom).

Occasionally, Abby would sit up and whine at me to pick her up. Since I had some major Fall Cleaning to do, I told her she would have to settle for sitting there within the same vicinity as me...I just can't hold her all the time, you know?

Abby got her Keto Chlor wash yesterday, as well as a butt bath. Keto Chlor is to help the hair grow back on her head. It's a shampoo that has to sit on her head for five minutes then it washes off. Well, her sutures can't get wet, so it was good that she has the E-Collar on. I put her bum leg side toward me as I carefully applied Keto Chlor with our softest washcloth, and then when it was rinse time, I used the same washcloth to drizzle warm water. Unfortunately, I couldn't get out all of the shampoo without compromising her sutures, so she's got a bit of a hair-gel look going on right now with the thicker hair by the E-Collar...

I had an evening out on Sunday night, and my mom said she'd watch Abby for me (smile). So I had Abby in my room as I got ready, on the floor...We've decided that she needs equal parts being held and equal parts allowed to roam and build up her remaining three legs' strength...So she was moving around in my (newly cleaned) room, exploring the floor space, looking at me...

Well, she looked out the baby gate, which can really only be operated by a human hand as the latch is 2.5 feet off the ground...It has bars that run up and down, so she can see through but can't squeeze in between. As I stood getting ready, she used that newly-discovered voice of hers to bark at the foster dogs who happened to be passing through the hallway (we have a pitty pad in the bathroom adjacent to my room, so the dogs tend to go potty back there). Then, she realized they couldn't get to her, so she bowed down to play, wagging her tail, and continued to ruff at them! It was the funniest thing, but I didn't want to disturb her, so I quietly laughed to myself.

As if on cue, she turned around (as if to say, "Did you KNOW they can't get to us? Did you SEE?!"), and came towards me. I praised her for playing and staying safe: "What a good girl, Abby, did you wanna play with them? Good girl!"...And she walked over to me...and then, SHE SAW HER REFLECTION!

She came over to the mirror where I stood, and went nose-to-nose with her reflection. I've shown her mirrors before, with her in my arms, but I think this moment of discovery was much more interesting for a few reasons: 1) she's a little more outgoing now, 2) she was actually walking so she noticed the mirrored motion in the reflection, and 3) my reflection also appeared to move!

She bowed down to play with her own reflection, but I don't think she knew it was her...but she looked really fascinated with the doggie in the wall who did the same things she did...

It was a truly priceless moment.

I brought her out to see my boyfriend, and he says that she looks cuter than she did before, a little more hesitant with him as a stranger, but overall happier than the last time he saw her. I take this as a good sign, except for the hesitant part. He was impressed with the fact that she gave him kisses once she got over her initial "I don't know you" judgment...

She's come a loooooong way, baby!

Catching Flies and the First Check-Up

Well, it's been a nice week for Abby, until her check-up, but we'll get to that later...

We took a nap when I was home at lunchtime most days this week, and one day, we had let open the back door. When that happens, flies usually come in to escape the heat. Well, Abby was sitting in my lap, belly up for a belly rub, and dozing off to sleep easily...Until a fly decided to annoy her, that is...!

Abby did not like to be bothered by the fly, and at first she just snapped at it a few times. But then it really got to her...She actually got up from the belly rub position, stood up, and growled at the fly for a while...slightly wagging her tail she tried to catch the fly a few times...Snap snap snap, and no luck. She sat back down, watching the fly buzz around. It didn't help that I kept trying to shoo away the fly as well. But it was persistent!

After about five minutes of snap snap snap, growl wag growl snap snap snap, SHE CAUGHT THE FLY! Oh, she was so excited too! She caught it and it was gone...kinda gross, but I was glad she was happy for herself...

I took her with me to class on Saturday morning before adoptions. I had to leave class early to get one of those fall-time vaccinations, and I had her with me...Now that she has found her voice I sometimes worry if she is going to give herself away! But she was perfectly quiet at the doctor's office :)

When we got to adoptions, my mom had brought the stroller for Abby to sit in and see everyone (including me) as well as be comfortable. She made herself right at home in the stroller once she had a Greenie (boy, does she LOVE those!!)...and adoptions were going pretty well.

My friend is home from college this weekend and visited at adoptions, and got to see and hold Abby. She hasn't met her and so it was nice for her to see another of my aspects - the rescue side, complete with my foster baby! Abby was kind of a hit for those people who managed to see her, as she spent most of the day just sitting and watching (and a few times I got to hold her as well).

We were getting her ready for her post-op check-up, changing into her velcro dress, when we noticed that her drain was missing...it had been there about five minutes before...So we figured she must have pulled it out or it got caught in her dress...but it was nowhere to be found so I went to her appointment early.

She was supposed to get the drain taken out provided there were no complications, but it worried me that she had managed to loosen it on her own...When the vet finally got to see her, she seemed a little concerned about Abby. Abby was given some lydocane (?) to numb the area so the vet could look for the drain, thinking maybe it had eased back into the part of her muscle where it was being held in place...couldn't find it and there were no tears, so that part was okay...

But the little bit that Abby had managed to get to her stitches, she had started a little ulcer there with her licking. And a small patch had started to blacken in necrosis...The vet told me that I couldn't have anything touching or rubbing against that spot for at least the rest of the week, and that she HAS to wear the elizabethan collar...I told the vet how we managed to get away with not wearing it since the dress secured by her collar had managed to (mostly) keep her out of her boo-boo...But on with the elizabethan collar folded down, and no cute sweaters to wear this week. She's not happy about the collar and she's gotten a little cold in the last day, but I told her "One day when all that hair grows back and your boo-boos are healed, you'll thank me!"

Unfortunately, she's been a little bit "mud butt". My mom and I had to clean her up a bit this morning, and ever since, she's been awful...flatulent. But I think that's better than her not eating and having constipation, and she got all her meds today!

So it's been another step in her journey, and it keeps getting interesting !! :)