WEEK 9 POST-OP: JUST COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS...

I cannot wait until I get to see Dr. Dew (my appointment is not until July 10th though). This is really driving me CRAZY! I am feeling so good- why do I have to stop playing??? I have a new foster friend, Zoe. She stays in the kitchen most of the time, but it's nice to see her every now and then. She's kinda a cross between me and Lula (she's the first one in the pictures in case you can't tell us all apart- who am I fooling, I'm the gigantic one!). Somehow, we seem to get alot of black dogs! That's okay, because they need homes more than anyone! Well I must go for now, I'll keep you posted on my boring recovery :) I'm so glad things are going well though. How's everyone else doing? Mom's gonna check the orthogroup board and let me know. Goodbye for now!

WEEK 8 POST-OP: CLOSE UP PICS OF KNEE

Mom thought you might want to see what my knee looks like now. She's sorry it's taken so long to post this week :) It's so hot outside so I pretend to sunbathe inside (well not really... actually I lie on my back and moan so that one of my canine buddies will come over and try to play with me. That is until mom steps in- she's a bummer sometimes). My hair is almost completely grown in now. Mom has noticed I have lost some muscle mass in my leg, but I'm doing great functionally (that's what she says- it just means I walk great on my leg; I'm not limping at all and never have really; and I'm feeling really good). Only 2-3 more weeks and hopefully I'll get the okay to play. Mom only has 1 more week of work until she gets a break so I can't wait until she has more time to walk me. Right now she only has time once per day so I think she said she would try to walk me twice a day (as long as it's not too hot- it's 97 degrees right now). I hope everyone is recovering well from their surgeries! Until next week....

WEEK 7 POST-OP: AM I RECOVERED YET???

This is getting really old- mom yells at me every time I try to play (even a little!). I am feeling absolutely fantastic and I can't wait to see Dr. Dew again so he can give me the ok to play! Only 3 more weeks- YEAH!!! The white dog in the picture is my foster sister, Speckles, and the little bitty terrier looking dog is another foster sister, Munchkin! Mom felt sorry for Speckles when she went to take pictures of some dogs at the vet for the animal shelter so she decided to bring her home. She's been with us about a month now (don't worry she is only around me under supervision). Little Munchkin is only 9 pounds! Can you believe it- I think my paw weighs more than that! She was scheduled to go to a rescue group up north, but when she went to the vet they found out she had heartworms! Sooooo... another dog that will be with us for at least 3 more months! That's okay- it's kinda fun to have new friends. Munchkin sleeps in the room with me and loves to walk beside me outside (I think she feels protected when I'm around). Well, I'm walking about 1/2 mile regularly and mom is going to increase it some more this week. I haven't had any problems at all! Until next week... Wags and kisses to everyone!

WEEK 6 POST-OP: GIVE ME MY BONE MOM!

Well mom got too busy to post pics last week! She's as bored as I am at night and has even resorted to trying to steal my bone! Don't worry- I was able to grab it and go! The picture in front of the fan is from after I went on a walk (I'm so spoiled that mom turns the fan on for me when I get back and I go right to my place!). Mommy got a new anti-pull leash for me and used it tonight. She's all excited about it because it seemed to work (only time will tell 'cuz that's what she said after the first day using a regular harness). She kept bragging to daddy how good I was on my walk. Of course she also said that she's going to cut back even more on my groceries because (and I quote) "Bella looks like a walrus". What's that all about??? Anyway, I made it even farther today without limping (maybe 7-8 big blocks) so I think mom is going to start having me walk even more. I think she is shocked that it has already been 6 weeks (it's going by so fast!). She's not sure exactly how far I should be going right now, but I don't think I'm going far enough. Oh well, the good news is I might be able to get out even more real soon! I'll let her know if it's too far I'm sure! Oh and my hair is pretty much all grown in (tiny bit shorter than the rest) so i'll try to have mom take pictures of my knee so you can see how "normal" it looks now (no visible scar really). Wags and licks from me :)