Pre- Game

"There's just something about dogs that makes you feel good. You come home; they're thrilled to see you. They're good for the ego." Janet Schulman

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. Ours has been uneventful so far which is a good thing. Riley is doing well and I am seeing improvement each day. He still has a good amount of swelling on his knee but it really doesn't seem to bother him. It is getting more of a challenge to restrain his activity. I think he would love to run and jump if I would let him. I ddn't think I would be saying that this soon. See Ya Tomorrow.

Rags To Riches

"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion." Author Unknown

Today was my first opportunity to take Rags on a Therapy visit and it was a HUGE success. Rags is the most gentle, lovable, friendly dog you would ever want to meet. I took Rags to Greystone today where he was the hit of the day. He sat with each patient as long as they wanted. He laid down and let everyone scratch his belly and gave everyone who wanted, a big wet kiss. Everyone got a chance to walk him around the room which is a huge accomplishment for some patients. He willingly let everyone pet him, hug him and make him do tricks.. It is an amazing experience to watch how people change when they are quietly petting a dog. Someone commented on what a blessing it was to have Rags come today, because it had been a really rough week. So Thank You Rags, for letting me borrow you. If I couldn't have Riley with me, you are surely the next best thing!. Thank you so much to Carolyn C. , Rag's Mom ,who entrusted Rags to me, to go on our visit. I am quite sure I got got as much out of our visit today as did any one of the patients.

Riley is doing well today. Only another 8 days until he gets the pin out. I know he will be so happy when he can start to go on some walks. Hopefully we can start some activity after the pin is removed. See Ya tomorrow>

"An animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language." Martin Buber

Well the snow came. After shovelling out a path and a big area for Riley this morning, he decided he much preferred to go in the snow. Go figure!! I think Riley has become a barometer for the weather. He seems to be a little sore today and is limping a little. I do think it is because of the storm and am not too worried. Riley and I are more than ready for Spring to come.!!!! Please continue to pray for Tillie. She is still in the vet's. We hope she can come home soon. Stay warm. See ya tomorrow.

Riley is doing VERY well. He is acting very much like the happy, feisty, lovable Riley. Only 10 more days until he gets the pin out. I think he will make a great recovery after that.

Here is a great quote I saw today:

"When a man's best friend is his dog...that dog has a problem." - Edward Abbey, "The Dog Problem," 2006 That definitely applies to Riley!!

Riley has done very well these past 2 days. The swelling is getting better every day. I am still doing the heat/ice 3 or 4 times a day. Riley has been more himself each day too. He started to chew the couch last night. Then I knew the "old Riley " was coming back!!!!

Please keep Tillie B. and her family in your in your prayers. She is at the Vet now and they are trying to figure out what is going on. She has been pretty sick so we hope she will feel better real soon. Snow is on the way this week so stay warm. See ya tomorrow!!

Here are pictures of Riley's leg as it looks today. Although it is still swollen it is much improved from last Monday. The scar looks really good and I think he will still be able to wear his Speedo when he goes for his water therapy. Good News.... Rags and I passed our test today and we are now a certified Therapy Team. Rags was really fun to work with and I am looking forward to our first visit to Greystone together on Thursday. A special Thank You to Carolyn, Rags' Mom, for letting me borrow him until Riley is back in action. My fiend Judy also passed her re-test with Philly, the singing Yorkie. Yes she really sings.!! The patients just love Judy and Philly, and they bring a lot of joy to alot of people. I am hoping that things with Riley will continue to remain status quo. I can see that he is feeling a little better each day which makes me very hopeful that he will be able to return to his normal, active life when all is said and done. Have a good day!!!!!!!

Happy Friday. The blogger and the bloggee don't have much to say today. I would like everyone to know that the breeder has contacted me and is very concerned about Riley. She contacted his littermates and the next group of pups from the same parents to alert them to Riley's condition. She is very concerned about Riley's prognosis. I have sent her all the reports that I have ,per her request. I am sure she would never knowingly breed dogs who would produce puppies with Riley's conditions. She cares enough and is concerned enough to follow up with me. I think she will do whatever she can to try to prevent this from happeneing to any other of her puppies. So maybe all that Riley is going through will prove to be a good thing for some little puppy in the future. Have a good weekend!!!!!

A Better Day

It's so nice to be able to say we had a good day today!!! We went to the Vet, she took Riley's stitches out and checked his leg. She agreed it was not getting any worse. She advised me to continue with all of the medications, do the heat/ice routine and restrict all activity. So that was all good to hear. Riley has had a few more bursts of energy yesterday and today. He has wanted to play with his toys a little and has been awake a little longer during the day. He appears to be pretty comfortable and not in any pain. So all is well.

I took these pictures of Riley right after I told him him that the yearly list of the 10 most popular dogs was published today and the Cavalier was not on it. He said that didn't matter because on Crescent Drive, The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel was by far the most popular. We have 3 Cavaliers on our street alone, Reggie, Darby and Riley. The Cavaliers rule Crescent Dr.

A Little Levity

Riley decided not to have his picture taken today so I decided to post this one of Ryan. I think this blog needed a little dose of humor. Riley's doing OK today. His leg is not any worse, so that's good. It is still very ugly looking. He really dislikes the heat/cold routine every few hours. He now hides behind the chair when he sees me coming with the bag of frozen peas. It's sad to see him react like that. He eventually gives in and lets me do what I have to do. I am keeping him very confined which he is OK with. When he does go outside, he comes to life. I think he would love to go run and jump in the snow. We are going back to the Vet tomorrow for a re-check and maybe have have his stitches removed. I want to say a special thank you to Cindy Farbanish at Canine Aquatics in Randolph. We were supposed to start physical therapy today but obviously that has been put on hold. I have called Cindy several times to ask her questions and her opinion and a million other things. She has been a great resource of information for me and always responds to my frantic phone calls. She continues to hold my hand through this whole process and I am very grateful.

I also want to thank everyone at St. Huberts who have been so understanding and supportive. I haven't been able to take Rags on a therapy visit but hopefully next week we will go. I am testing with him on Saturday to become a certified Therapy team so wish me luck. I am sure Rags will get me through it. I am going out for a walk to soak up a little sunshine. I hope everyone is well and staying warm. It was very nice to have an uneventful day here today. I hope we have many more like it. See Ya Tomorrow!

Riley is Home

Riley is home which is the good news. Also good news is that they have found the reason for the horrendous infection. The not so good news is the diagnosis. Yesterday Dr. Smith showed me the x-ray she took and showed me the pin that was placed through Riley's bone. She pointed to where it had just barely started to come through the bone and it was just very slightly sticking out. She couldn't feel it through his skin. Today, she was able to feel it, meaning that it had moved further since yesterday causing more irritation. It my understanding that this wire is holding one bone to another I think they had to remove a piece of bone and attach it to a different spot . Normally the pin would stay in his knee for the rest of his life. Unfortunately for Riley, the pin is moving and is coming out of the bone. The pin is injuring the soft tissue around the knee joint, thus causing the swelling, infection and bleeding inside Riley's knee and leg. Dr. Smith discussed the situation with Dr. Ross and they decided on the following resolution.
In order to correct the problem, the pin must be removed. The problem now is that the pin cannot be removed for another 2 1/2 weeks as it needs more time to heal. If removed now the surgery would most likely fail. In order to prevent further movement of the pin, Riley is totally restricted from any unnecessary movement including walking. So for the next 17 days, I will have to carry him in and out to go to the bathroom. If he is not on my lap or laying quietly on the rug, then he must be in his crate. He still has the stitches in and they SHOULD come out later this week........ The pin is scheduled to be removed by Dr. Ross on Feb. 6th. And so it goes. We will work our way through this. I will probably have to go on "The Biggest Loser" after sitting home for 2 more weeks with little or no physical activity. I am going to try to get out and walk once it warms up a little. I miss our daily walks so much. I have alot of confidence that in the not too distant future, Riley and I will be out walking daily and playing fetch in the yard. Thanks for everyone's kind thoughts, phone calls and e-mails. Please keep 'em comin!!! See Ya Tomorrow!!

Back to the Vet

I woke up this morning and checked Riley and the discoloration had spread from his inner thigh down to his ankle. I immediately called the vet who said to bring him right in. He is there now. I really don't know what is going on with him, but whatever it is, it got much worse overnight. They said they were going to try compression and ice to see if they could get it to stop and see what is going on. I will keep you updated and will post again once I know something.

This is Riley about 5:00pm today. He is not very happy which I don't blame him for. As you can see, he holds his leg out to the side now and is having alot of trouble getting up and laying down. Hopefully the antibiotic will start to work VERY soon.

Poor Riley

We have had a VERY long 2 days here. First my update on Ryan. He arrived safely back at TCNJ last night about 7pm after a harrowing 32 hour trip from New Orleans. They ran into an ice storm and subsequently slid into a tractor trailer. No on was hurt Thank God but the ice prevented any traffic from moving for another 6 hours. He is very tired, a little stiff but safely back in his dorm today.

Riley had a big set back today. Last night I noticed a baseball size lump on his knee where he had the surgery. I couldn't believe it because it wasn't there 2 hours before that. It was very swollen ,purple and painful to the touch. He had difficulty walking on that leg. I took him to the vet today who looked at his leg and felt that it was a bad infection inside his knee. She did x-rays to see if the wire that was inserted in his knee had moved. She sent those x-rays to the orthopedic surgeon to look at and get her opinion if the wire had moved and was causing the problem. In the meantime she tried to aspirate some of the fluid out but it was a very thick substance so she was ably to get only a small amount out. She is having that cultured to see if it is an infection, what type of bacteria it is. She put him on a strong antibiotic for the next 2 weeks. She didn't want to take out the stitches until she knew what we were dealing with. I have to watch for further swelling and discoloration and ice it 4 x/day for 20 min. We will go back on Thurs for a re-check. I am so upset as Riley had been making great progress. He holds his leg up now as I guess it is very painful. We can't start any kind of therapy for at least a few weeks. Today was extremely disappointing and very upsetting to see Riley in this condition. I know these pictures are a little gross but wanted to show what I was talking about. It is very depressing to see Riley back in pain again. We will work our way through this and I will keep posting the information as I get it.

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

This is Riley telling me what he thinks of the idea og going outside this morning HAHA

Riley had a good day today. He has not had a pain pill in almost 24 hours. I let him go to see how he did and he did very well. I think I am starting to relax a little knowing that he is in little or no pain. I won't hesitate to give him a pill if he shows any sign of discomfort. I left him for a short while in the crate without the e-collar on and he did not go near his leg so that was good. Riley is still sleeping alot and has very little interest in his toys. I think that the rest is OK for his healing, but I would like to see him show a little more interest in his toys. I guess that will come back in time. The forecast is for warmer temperatures in the coming week. That will be a welcome relief to this cold wave.

A Better Day

Riley had a better day today and seemed a little steadier when standing and walking. I feel bad for all of the dogs and their owners who have to go out in this cold weather. Why does it seem to take longer for the dog to find just the right spot when it is 3 degrees out?? The cold doesn't seem to bother Riley. With all of the ice he has had on his backside, this weather must seem like a piece of cake. Ryan's week in New Orleans is just about over. The kids will pile back into the vans tomorrow for their 24 hour trip back. Ryan has had an awesome experience and met some wonderful people. He wishes he could stay longer to finish some of the work they have been doing but school starts on Tues. Please keep them in your prayers for a safe trip home. Stay warm. See Ya Tomorrow!!

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back?

Riley had rough night last night. After being in the crate for about 1 1/2 hours, Riley came downstairs about 7:00pm and seemed to be OK. Then for no apparent reason, he started holding his leg up, and sitting in a funny position. He kept going back after his leg so I knew he was in pain. I gave him a pain pill ( the pill before had worn off about 3 hours before this). He stayed pretty quiet until a little later in the night. I was up in the kitchen and Riley was downstairs when all of a sudden he let out a loud YELP!. I ran down and he was sitting down panting and looking pretty distressed. Since I didn't see what happened it was hard to know what caused his pain. I called the Vet this morning and they suggested I bring him in which I did this afternoon. I was worried that he had somehow popped his knee cap out of place. The Vet felt his knee and leg then had Riley walk. He couldn't find anything significant or any damage to the surgery site. He said it could be that he moved a certain way which caused him a great deal of pain. I brought him home and he has been sleeping for about an hour now. He is scheduled to get his stitches out on Monday so will talk to the other vet then if I feel there is a problem. So I will continue our daily routine and hope that he has no more episodes of pain like that. The cold air is here YUCK!!! See Ya tomorrow.

Not much new to report which I think is a good thing. Riley is doing well. I took him for a short walk this morning and he has been sacked out most of the rest of the day. He is so cooperative when I have to put the lampshade collar on him. He just lays down in his crate and goes to sleep. I am looking forward to getting his stitches out on Monday, so no more e-collar. As you can see Riley has pretty much taken over MY chair. Now I have to ask his permission to be allowed to sit there. Sometimes he agrees and other times he won't budge. It's pretty funny. Hope everyone is good and staying warm. See Ya Tomorrow!!

It's Tuesday and hard to believe Riley came home 1 week ago today. He has made great progress and seems to be doing pretty well. This morning I walked him on the street up to the next house then back down to the house on my left, then home. It was only about 5 minutes, but Riley's tail never stopped wagging. I guess he gets a little stir crazy too. He is not very cooperative doing his exercises with me and I don't want to push it so we are just doing a little each day. He is sleeping through the night and still sleeping most of the day. I am still giving him a pain pill during the day and one at night. He is still on the Rimadyl and the antibiotic as well. My sister stopped in briefly last night and commented how much his hair had grown in. I hadn't even noticed , but compared to last week, it definitely is growing back. Here is Riley in his favorite chair this morning. ( I pick Riley up and put him in the chair. I don't want anyone to think he is jumping up and down on his own ) Have a good day See ya tomorrow!!

Sunday Update

Here is Riley chewing a bone. It may not seem like a big deal, but Riley has not chewed on a bone, or played with any toy since the night he first got hurt ( 11/26/08). So this is a beautiful sight. It only lasted for a few minutes and he is now back asleep but I will take any little sign of improvement. Notice that his left front leg is partially shaved, well so is his right front. He is going to look pretty funny for a while to come.

Riley had a good night last night and slept through the entire night without barking. He got up today and seemed like he was more sore today than the past few days. He seems to be stiff and is limping a little which he hadn't done to this point. I am hoping that it is just a normal part of the healing process but I will watch him closely. He slept most of the afternoon, which again I hope is just him trying to heal. I shovelled out a path from the back door out to the side of the house, that was for me. Then I shovelled out a big 10' x 10' area for Riley. The snow is icy and slippery, so now he has a big area to sniff around in, without sliding or hurting his leg. Ryan and crew arrived in New Orleans about 8:30 this morning. They took a tour of the lower 9th ward which Ryan said was "just ruins". He said some home sites had only stairs remaining. This will be a real learning experience for him. Nothing else to report. The arctic air is on the way so stay warm . See ya tomorrow!

Riley had a better night last night. The patch came off by itself so I gave him a pain pill before I put him to bed. He was showing signs of pain, even though the patch was off for a short time. The vet gave me plenty of pain medication ( tramadol) so there is no reason for him to be in any pain. I think he was totally exhausted by the time I put him in his crate so he slept very well almost all night. This morning we said good bye to Ryan who is on his way to New Orleans. They were in West Virginia the last time I heard from him. They expect the trip to take between 24 -26 hours so they should arrive by tomorrow in the early afternoon. After Ryan left I iced Riley's leg which he tolerated very well. Later in the morning I warmed up Riley's leg and did some stretching and some massage. He let me know when he had enough. I took him for a short walk out to the mailbox and back. He did really well and was putting some weight on his leg for the whole walk. I iced his leg just a short while ago. He just had another pain pill ( every 8 hrs) so he is back asleep. He is finally able to be back up on his favorite chair which makes us both happy. The snow is falling but I hope it won't be as much as they first predicted. Stay warm , see ya tomorrow

A long day

We had a very long night last night and a long day today as a result. Riley decided he really didn't want to sleep in his crate, so he serenaded me, and anyone within 10 miles of our home with his barking all throughout the night. I knew he wasn't in pain, and I didn't want to give in, so we lost a lot of sleep as a result. I am hoping that each night will get better because he will be sleeping in his crate vs. my bed for a while to come. The good news is that I took Riley to Canine Aquatics today in Randolph. I met with Cindy Farbanish, the owner, who did an initial evaluation of Riley. She felt that he was doing quite well being only 4 days post-op. Cindy was able to show me different stretching exercises and massage techniques that I can do until Riley gets his stitches out on the 19th. Cindy was so knowledgeable and gave me a huge boost of confidence that Riley will be able to recover very well from this surgery. She has a brand new facility in Randolph that even includes a pool. At some point, Riley may be using the underwater treadmill that she also has in the facility. Riley is totally knocked out after his work out today. After the 19th we will go to PT 3x /week for the first 2 weeks and then go from there.
The news for tomorrow is that the snow is coming and Ryan is leaving. . I will get an area shoveled out for Riley so he can go out and do his business. It's just another challenge in his recovery. Please keep Ryan and the other students who are travelling to New Orleans in your prayers for a safe trip down and back. Riley sends his thanks to all of our friends and family for your support. Please continue to call, e-mail, follow the blog and pray for his speedy recovery. Maybe pray too for a quieter night. LOL See ya tomorrow!!!

All snuggled in for a nap

Riley did very well today. He was a little more active which is good and bad. We don't want him too active too early. I spoke with the physical therapist today and I am going to take Riley there tomorrow for an initial evaluation. She wants to give me some exercises I can do with him at home until after the stitches are removed on the 19th. Then soon after we will start therapy there, possibly including the underwater treadmill. She warned me that after I remove the morphine ( fetanyl )patch on the 10th that Rileycould be in more pain and to watch for that. She advised to give him the pain meds as prescribed every 8 hours. I am hoping this won;t be the case but I am glad that she warned me. It sounds like we will be able to work well together to get Riley healthy once again.

Thursday

Riley had a good night last night and slept the entire night in the crate with the e-collar on. He needed some additional pain medication before bed. After that he was able to fall asleep. This morning he put a little weight on his leg for a few steps which was amazing. I started him on the stuff to help his joints last night. It is like a powder than I can just sprinkle on his food. Riley wouldn't eat his food this morning until I added little piece of chicken, then he ate it up. He is now training me how to prepare his meals lol. He has to eat so I am willing to make his food a little bit more interesting. He is back sleeping soundly on the couch.

This is Riley getting a drink all by himself. He has his leg down on the floor. What a big improvement even since yesterday!!!!

All Systems GO

Riley spent the day sleeping on the couch and I was right there with him. The morphine seems to be working well to manage his pain. He ate dinner tonight and I was able to take him out since the rain (UGH) finally stopped and all systems were go. That is a great sign. I am going to try to have him sleep in his crate in my room where it normally is rather than downstairs. I know he may cry a little but I know now that it isn't pain. He is used to sleeping on my bed so it may take time to get him used to sleeping in his crate. We shall see. Thank you all for your gifts of biscuits, cards, e-mails and phone calls. It means so much to me ... Goodnight see ya tomorrow.

Riley's 1st night home

Riley had a very good night last night. I put the e-collar on and put him in the crate on his new bed @10:30 pm. It took a while for him to get comfortable but he slept on and off all night until I got up at 7:00am. I got him out of the crate and took the collar off. It took him a few minutes to get his wits about him. Of course it is pouring rain out and I knew he would need to go out. I put his raincoat on him, carried him outside and put him down holding the umbrella over him. It took him a few minutes but he did go. I tried giving him a little food which he turned his nose up at. I knew he had to eat as he is taking several medications that have to be taken with food. I put a few pieces of leftover steak in his bowl and the whole bowl was gone in less than a few minutes. Riley is now resting comfortably next to me on the couch. He doesn't seem to be in any pain right now. I am going to ice his leg shortley ( which he really doesn't like) and just hang out here for a while. Riley seems to be very happy to be home and is doing very well.

Pictures of Riley

Riley Is Home

We picked Riley up about 3:00pm. He was very happy to see us. He wagged his tail and gave us both big kisses. As you can see in the pictures, there is no bandage over the incision. The bandage that you see is just tape to cover the morphine patch. He is very groggy which is to be expected. We have several medications that have to be administered during the day. The morphine patch is supposed to kick in within the next hour. It will deliver morphine at a steady rate for the next 4-5 days. At the vet's office he stood on 3 legs and seemed like he didn't know what to do with the other one. We got 15 minutes worth of instructions along with several pages of written instructions. We have to ice his leg several times a day. We are going to do that in about 15 minutes. The vet gave us alot of things to expect and alot of things to watch for, specifically infection at the incision, signs of pain, reaction to the morphine patch etc etc. It is all a little overwhelming right now but we will get it all down to a science very soon I'm sure. I am very thankful that Ryan is still home. He is such a big help to me, and Riley just loves being with him. Riley and I are just chilling out on my mattress right now . I will crate him tonight and put that God- awful collar on to make sure he doesn't go near the stitches or the patch. He is also going to be on a daily supplement to help not only his knee but also his hips. We are waiting for his new bed to be delivered Hopefully that will make him feel better when he sleeps.

Riley's Coming Home

We just found out from the Vet that Riley can come home later today so we are very excited. We transformed the family room into the Riley room. We moved his crate down there and set up a mattress right next to it where I will be sleeping for a while. We went to the store and bought chicken to cook for him and a bag of frozen peas to use to ice his leg. I think that will last for a few days. I will post later to let you know how he is doing.

GOOD NEWS

I have some good news to report about Riley Boy. When I met with the surgeon this morning she told me that she felt that his acute problem and pain stemmed from his knee cap popping in and out of place. It's called luxating. It is VERY common in Cavaliers. When Dr. Smith did the x-rays last Tues she told me that she thought the problem may be in his knee cap but she was unable to manually pop his knee cap out of place which is usually the determining factor in that diagnosis. The x-rays had shown severe hip dysplasia more severe in his left hip. When the surgeon came this morning, she was able to pop his right knee cap in and out very easily which made her change the diagnosis and type of surgery to be done. She said that his hips both have severe dysplasia and may have to be dealt with down the road but that right now his main source of pain was his right knee cap. So she did the surgery. Dr. Smith ( my vet ) called @2:00pm to say that his knee cap was indeed the problem. Riley did well during the surgery and was sleeping at the time. He is on heavy duty pain medication and was still groggy. If all goes well today, tonight and tomorrow he may be able to come home tomorrow late afternoon. He will contine to be on morphine for a few more days. This surgery should take away all of his pain. Evidently it had been popping out of place and that was what what causing his severe pain. Although Riley has a luxating patella in his left knee and the severe hip dysplasia it was both Drs. recommendation to do the knee surgery today and to use medication for his hips as long as we can. So it looks like today was a huge success for Riley. The recovery time is very lengthy but not as long as the hip surgery if I remember all of this correctly. On behalf of Riley, me and Ryan THANK YOU to everyone for your prayers ( they really did work) your e-mails, phone calls cards and most of all your love and support.

The Day Before

I am trying to prepare as best I can for tomorrow. Riley had a spurt of energy yesterday and looked a little like his old self. He was awake for quite awhile and did a lot of stairs, up and down. My brother came to visit so that made Riley VERY happy. I did notice last night and today, that Riley is starting to hold his leg up especially when going up or down the stairs. I know he must be in a lot of pain. He has spent most of today sleeping and taking it easy. I am glad he has no clue what tomorrow will bring. We have to discontinue any food or water after 8pm tonight. This shouldn't be too much of a problem.

I will let everyone know when the surgery is over tomorrow. It can't come soon enough. I've added a " before" picture of Riley that I took today. He won't look like this for a while to come. Thank you to everyone for all of your love and support !!!!!!

Saturday January 3, 2009

Riley had a very restless night. He was up and down all night long. I closed my bedroom door to restrict his wandering around. Recently he has been getting up in the middle of the night, goes downstairs and then cries to come back up because he can't get up the stairs. Last night I ordered him an orthopedic dog bed which should get here by Tuesday when I expect him to be able to come home. Just like humans, dogs are subject to sores from constant pressure or rubbing on their joints. Since I assume he will be sleeping a lot those first few days, I wanted him to be as comfortable as possible. I bought one that would also fit snugly into his crate as he will probably be spending a lot of time in there.

Riley's Surgery and recovery

January 2, 2009

Riley's surgery ( FHO ) to repair his hip is scheduled for Monday January 5th. Dr. Wendy Ross will be doing the surgery. We are praying that all will go well. Riley has totally shut down due to his constant pain. We are focusing on the fact that this operation will make him pain free and return to his old playful self.