August 29, 2011

Double Digits!

Today is Abby's 10 month ampuversary - that's right, she has made it to double digits! Whoohoo!

Unfortunately, we are not having a super celebratory day... Normally we would have gone to the beach this morning, but yesterday she gave us a little scare. We took her to the beach for a walk/run, like we always do on Sundays, and as we were running down the hill at the far end of the beach, she face-planted. She got up and immediately face-planted again. That second one was a little more worrisome. Then she acted a little strange at home – hopping around quite slowly and just not seeming like herself. (She didn't even terrorize me at night like she normally does - chewing my toes while I try to lay on the couch and relax.) But... yesterday was pretty much the hottest day we have had here yet (it's been a cool summer at our house until just the other day) so I'm hoping it was just that the heat got to her and that she maybe tweaked her leg a little when she took the tumble.

Of course, as soon as I decided today that she should stay home and take it easy, she started racing around chasing a fly – so I'm assuming the leg doesn't hurt or she wouldn't do that, no?? Anyway, it is supposed to be hot again today so I think we will just take it easy and hopefully be back at the beach tomorrow.

I can't help the sinking feeling that the cancer has spread to her good front leg… I keep looking at it seeing (imaginary??) strange swelling, but hopefully that is totally not the case (and is just my paranoia). And hopefully Boris & Natasha are still all alone in there…

We will at least break out a Frosty Paw to celebrate making it to DOUBLE DIGITS!!! Whoohoo! This was a big one – I really wanted to hit those double digits… Now our next BIG goal is ONE YEAR. Come on, Ab, you can do it!

On a brighter note - Friday was a great day. It was National Dog Day so we went to the beach for an extra long time. I took a lot of pics of her:
"I ran with some big dogs...

...and a little dog that kinda looked like me."

"I looked for my friend, Gopher, like I always do."

"Mom took a gazillion pics. She likes this one best."

Abby also got a Frosty Paw that day. It was a good day to be a dog - but then, every day is pretty much Dog Day at our house.

August 25, 2011

I Love You, You Love Me...

Probably any of you out there with children of a certain age will recognize today's blog title as the first line of Barney's insipid number one hit (which is pretty lame for many reasons, but mainly because he ripped off the music from This Old Man. Come on, Barney! Write your own music, you loser!).

Having no children (at least of the non-furry variety) I never really knew the Barney song. But I know it intimately now. We got Abby her very own used Barney through Amazon and I would have ordered a different one if I'd realized they were sending us one that sings the whole of the I Love You song! Actually, I should say "sang" the I Love You song, because luckily Abby has already chewed on him enough that his music box is now just deadweight in his stomach.
Sadly, he's not as stinky.
"Mmmm. Barney tail."









She gave him the exact same tooth surgery as the last Barney. (Still not safe, Barney.)
"Could I have that back, please?" (Abby was impatient with my photo-shooting.)

He actually came with an extra "Beanie" Barney that they threw in for free. (Guess there's not a lot of demand for Barney, so they can give him away... Those people probably bought that Beanie Barney back in the heyday of both Barney and Beanies, which according to wikipedia was ~1993 for both, thinking "Man, this is going to be worth something someday!") Anyway, the extra Barney is good for when she totally mangles the first one!
Whoohoo! Two-for-one Barneys!
Ever since she got Spirit Jerry's Barney in the mail--which was actually addressed to her--she now thinks that any package that arrives is hers. Mike got some sunglasses in the mail the other day, and she was all over it while he was opening the box:
"Is that for me??"

"I thought so!"

"I don't know who sent this, but it's awesome!"
I guess since she likes to chew the boxes, all the packages really are for her.


Anyway, back to Barney. If you are dying to know the whole Barney song, it goes like this (remember, to the tune of This Old Man): "I love you; you love me. We're a happy family, with a great big hug and a kiss from me to you, won't you say you love me too?"

Here is what Barney looks after just a few days of living with Abby.
I can see into your brain, Barney. And there ain't much there.
He no longer asks her if she loves him too. I think he has his answer.

Thanks for reading.

Oh, P.S. My sis and I felted some corgis today. Thought I'd show off how cute they came out!
 
P.P.S. I can now say where we sent the original Barney on to... He went to Chili Dawg in Illinois. You can read about Chili's adventures with Barney here (in Chili's words; quite amusing) and here (in Chili's mom's words). The second blog has some good pics of what all comes along in the box with Barney!




August 16, 2011

Adios Barney... And a Funny Incident

Today we said goodbye to Barney. Before we could mail him on his way, I had to fix him up. Here he is after I tended to his wounds:

I thought he might appreciate the Tylenol PM--hopefully keep him knocked out for the long ride to his next stop (which has to remain a secret for now as per the official Kill Barney Tour rules... Yes, there are actual rules for this thing, and I am nothing if not a rule follower.)

I wanted to also take a picture of him with his mementos from the zoo that we added to his box of treasures. While I was preoccupied with the camera, you can just see a little fuzzy head sneak up into the picture and make one last attempt at him.

Abby certainly did try to live up to the name of the Kill Barney Tour. She definitely had the spirit of the thing, but, poor her, her mom wouldn't let her really kill him.

I also thought I'd tell you about a stupid/funny thing that I did yesterday.

Abby does so well on three legs that (unless I hear her hopping along) I sometimes forget that she is missing that leg. Sometimes I'll come around the corner and see her standing there and just go, "Oh man." You sort of forget, for like half a second. Well, yesterday when we got back from the beach, we went to the front yard to rinse the sand off her feet like we always do. I was on her "good side" hosing her feet off, and I did the back two and then the front - and then I hosed the space where her other leg ought to have been. Yeah. Felt a little stupid about that. I've heard of phantom limb pain, but never phantom limb washing. It's been almost 10 months, so you'd think I'd really get it by now! But I guess that is just a testament to our fuzzy little girl, who sure doesn't act like she is missing anything!

Gosh. Don't know what I'll blog about in the future, now that Barney's gone. Hopefully I'll think of something! Thanks for reading.

August 14, 2011

Abby: Bringing the Hurt on Barney


Abby finally got her chance to kill barney. It took us a week to get him fully lulled into a false sense of security. There was the spa day, the trip to the zoo, and then Abby and I took him to her favorite spot - Fiesta Island. I confess I was worried about taking him there, lest some OTHER dog grab him and run off and get the joy of killing him (tragedy!) but it was a fairly quiet day there and I mostly kept him hidden in my backpack (which he didn't seem to mind, but remember - he's a total moron.)
He played lifeguard

First, he enjoyed the view


Personally, I think Abby makes a cuter lifeguard, but Barney wanted to give it a go. (He said he wanted to pretend he was David Hasselhoff in Bay Watch. He made us call him "The Hoff" the rest of the day. Moron.)


Then the time finally came to sit Barney down and clue him in:

Admittedly, she was a little slow to get into it. But after a few more nibbles on him, she really started to develop a taste for him. She chewed:

His nose...
His side
The spots on his back
His hand

His hiney (she's actually chewing his tag off here...)


His tail

His stinky feet









 She got so into chewing him that I decided to video a bit more:

And then it was time to save Barney so that some other Tripawd could try to kill him.
"I'm not done with that!"

"Hey, where you going with that thing??"
 I documented his wounds.
Small hole in left butt cheek

Big hole in mouth, small hole in left big toe
I now have to sew him up good and get him looking presentable to go off to the next Tripawd home. Abby is very sad to see him go... but we ordered her her very own used Barney from Amazon yesterday. She can't wait for it to get here so she can kill it!

August 12, 2011

Why the Dino?? (& Abby Stuff)

Thought I would take a short break from the actual events of this stop on the Kill Barney Tour (KBT) to 'splain a little bit more about Barney and what the KBT is all about. I explained it a bit a while ago, but folks may have missed that, and also I didn't explain what I think Barney means to the Tripawds community.

The very same Barney that we are now hosting once belonged to Jerry, who is now known on the Tripawds site as Spirit Jerry since he's no longer with us in the flesh. Jerry was the Original Tripawd--the dog that inspired his pawrents to start the Tripawds site. Jerry has been gone since 2008, but his spirit lives on in the Tripawds community, which has been a really amazing place to go for support and answers during all of this. Everyone on there is very nice and very helpful - and some of them are damn funny.

Which brings us back to the KBT. If I'm counting stops correctly on the KBT map, we are the 25th house to host Barney. Barney travels with a journal and everyone who has hosted him writes about their tripawd pooch and a little bit about Barney's visit. Here is what one woman wrote, which I think sums up nicely why we are all spending time doing silly things with a stinky purple dinosaur:
"I cannot begin to express my gratitude over this Barney. I believe he carries strength from all the tripawd and quad-pawds he's visited. He has been a great source of comfort to us during his visit."
Here's what I'm planning to write in his journal:
"It’s been an honor to host Barney. The Tripawds family has been so great and supportive and it’s nice to have something tangible we can all share that brings a good laugh along with it. Barney is a great symbol for sharing our strengths, our hopes and even a laugh in the face of tough times."
So hopefully that explains why a grown woman is playing with a stuffed dino. It's nice to bring a little silliness to the sucky roller coaster ride that is canine osteosarcoma. I mean, really, how can you not look at something like this and at least crack a smile?

In other news (many of you will already know this from Facebook)... remember this drawing I did of Abby?

Well, the Tripawds folks are putting it on T-shirts and gifts and such, and you can customize the items with your own caption. I ordered a bunch of stuff today, most of it with the caption: Tri to relax. Can't wait to get it!

August 11, 2011

It's All Happening At the Zoo...

...including carrying around a stinky stuffed dino in a backpack and whipping him out every few minutes for a photo op. My sister, Kathy, went with me to help me take the pictures. We had a good time, giggling as we set up our shots. I think Barney had a good time too - even though we kept stuffing him back in the bag and were generally embarrassed to be seen with him. He seemed oblivious to all that though. (I think because he is a few fluff balls shy of a full bag of stuffing!) 

Anyway, here he is at the zoo. 
First stop: the flamingos

Barney loved the hippos. (Same body type.)

The leopard totally ignored Barney...

...but I'm pretty sure the polar bear wanted to eat him.

Barney thought the polar bear wanted to eat him too and attempted to flee the scene
Later he found solace with this sloth
...and found a little something with this elephant statue as well...
He needed some water after that.

And he demanded another massage. (Spoiled!)
A giant eagle tried to fly off with him!!
But Kath intervened just in time and saved him. Phew!
 
The irony of the dino skeleton on this little Ranger Rick guy's jacket was lost on Barney. (Is it any surprise that Barney doesn't get irony? I don't think so... He's basically a complete moron.)
We also stopped at the gift shop and let Barney pick out some items for the box that he travels in. (There are lots of mementos from his other visits.) He selected a nice picture frame and a panda bear pin. He saw these guys while we were shopping and had to stop for a moment; he said they were his "peeps":
We had such a good time at the zoo that afterwards we took him to Balboa Park as well.
Hanging at the Lily Pond
Chillin' by the fountain
"Look, I'm Godzilla! I'm going to knock down the Bell Tower!" (He thought that was hilarious. Such a tourist.)
Up next: the beach - and Abby brings the hurt.

August 9, 2011

He's Heeeeere!

...which she immediately started to destroy
Last time I posted it was the day before Abby's 2nd birthday. Before we get to the Big News, here's a quick run down of her extended birthday celebrations in photos:
On her bday, she got a new toy...
The next day, she got ANOTHER new toy - this one from her Aunt Terry...
...and she did not want to give it up!
The *next* day, she got a new bone.
Have to be creative when chewing these!
 

THEN... she got a box full of goodies...
...including Barney!
Yes! The Kill Barney Tour has arrived in San Diego! A shout out to the Oaktown Pack for sending Barney our way, and especially to Codie Rae (who is a star tripawd and seen in a real live music video. She is kinda a Big Deal and is Abby's idol.) You may recall I blogged back in June about how we were Begging for Barney, [and if you don't recall, you may want to check that post out because it explains all this Barney stuff...) and now he's here!

Barney has been to see a lot of Tripawds and he's getting a bit...odiferous. Abby gave him a very thorough sniffing.
She sniffed him ALL over.

And then she started to eat him.
 Now, it is the KILL Barney Tour, but I have plans for him first... so I had to get him away from her:
 Then I had to put him up where she couldn't get him:
He travels with a box full of goodies - some memorabilia from all the places he's been, plus a diary that journals his travels. There is also a stamp pad to add your tripawd's paw print into the journal. Haven't done that yet.... Should be interesting. Anyway, the stuff he travels with is getting pretty stinky too, so here is Abby looking for Barney - in vain - amongst his accoutrement:
Here's the thing... I don't think we should just leap right in and kill him. I think we should lull him into a false sense of security. And THEN kill him. Remember that scene in Marathon Man when Dustin Hoffman THINKS he's being rescued by William Devane... but then William Devane just drives him right back to Laurence Olivier for more torture?? Well, think of me as William Devane, Abby as Sir Laurence, and Barney of course will be playing the Dustin Hoffman roll. Is it safe, Barney? Oh yes... he thinks it is!
Here he is having a recovery nap after the Oaktown Pack had their way with him.

Here he is unwinding with a nice massage

And the ultimate in relaxation: a nice long steam shower
He's resting comfortably in the other room right now. Next: we continue to lull him into relaxing and completely letting his guard down with a trip to the zoo. (Heehee. He thinks he's just here to unwind in San Diego; see the sites! Little does he suspect...)

Whaddya think, Barney, is it safe?