a healthy dog is a happy dog

Do you know what four weeks of dog sweat stuck in gauze smells like?  Let me tell you, it's not pretty and it lingers.

We took Millie's splint off this week and almost thought we had a problem underneath due to the smell and the build up of fur that had attempted to fall out.  Fortunately, after a thorough cleaning by Sam and me and several hours of licking by Millie, we're back to having a mostly healthy and happy dog.

The transformation in Millie's attitude has been amazing.  For four weeks she wouldn't play with any toys and spent the day moping, hugging our legs, and sighing like the world was on her shoulders.  Two days after the splint came off, she's pushing the boundaries of the low-activity regimen she has to follow for the next two weeks.

Millie will be limping for a few days yet, but as she gains confidence in her health and the squirrels tempt her, she'll soon be putting full weight on her foot and turning all her attention to chasing after everything spring has to offer.

old soft shoe

We're having a very hard time keeping Millie's splint dry and in one piece.  The sidewalks are like sandpaper, so anything that we put on the bottom of the splint rubs apart within ten minutes.  We tried massive amounts of duct tape, yogurt cups, milk cartons, peanut butter jars, and finally, an old shoe.  It's a work in progress.

So far, the combination of two plastic bags and an old shoe have been most effective in keeping the water off of the splint, and the splint safe from wear.  Of course, Millie looks ridiculous.  It is often said that a dog is a chick/dude magnet.  Well, an injured dog with a shoe on her leg is twice as much of a draw.  I've met more neighbors in the last week than in a whole year living here.

A friend of mine suggested we try dog hunting booties, so tomorrow we'll go see if Gander Mountain has something I feel can stand up to the rigors of Millie's broken toe.

radiology

And here we have an x-ray of Millie's broken right toe on her right foot.  You can see the fracture running across the bone and slanting downwards.

This is a spiral fracture, which the internet tells me occurs when "tension is exerted on one part of the bone while compressive forces are exerted upon the other," the two parts being the part parallel to the axis of the bone and the part perpendicular to the axis.

Of course, this does not actually tell me what she did to break it, but it is, nevertheless, broken.

on the IR

Millie has a spiral fracture in her toe, although you would think her whole leg is broken by the size of the starry splint.  She is out of commission for four to six weeks, which is going to be tough on all of us.

I had been looking forward to runs on the bluff trails by the end of the month, and we had planned on taking her with us to a couple of tournaments in the next few weeks as well.

For now, we will try to keep her mind active while giving her body a rest.  Any suggestions that don't involve massive amounts of peanut butter and dog treats?

metacarpal

Years of witnessing finger injuries in Ultimate have led Sam and me to conclude that Millie has broken a toe.  She is pathetically hobbling around the house right now as we try to make her understand that she cannot play with her ball or go on a walk, and that she had better just settle down and make herself comfortable for awhile.

neighborhood watch

This is a picture from a previous snowfall, but it still shows Millie's determination to check all the neighbors' sidewalks for proper snow removal.  Those who have cleared a path to their house from the sidewalk get a special visit.

Millie and I will be taking frequent walks as the snow continues to pile up today so that she can do her duty, and so that she can jump and snuffle in the freshly fallen snow.

hod and bothered

Rhyming issues were apparently not a problem for my father.

I'll see you soon, I just can't wait.
I'll try real hard not to be late.
I just can't wait to see your BOD,
'Cause just the thought make me HOD.

winter running series, complete

Today was the Valentine Heart Throb 5k Race, the last of the Winter Running Series races.  It was a great race for me, and a pretty decent one for Sam as well.  The temperature was about 29 degrees, but the 12 mph winds made for a little cooler feeling and a slightly more difficult first mile.  Here's our results.

Sam (22:05)
26/222 overall, 23/71 men, 2/16 age group
Sam improved his time over last race, but wasn't as fast as his December race.  Despite this, he placed again.  That's three ribbons for Sam in three races.

Laura (24:14)
49/222 overall, 12/121 women, 5/48 age group
I improved my time again by another minute and a half, but once again did not place in my age group.  I really think that women ages 30 to 39 are the most competitive.

At the end of the series, times from each of the three races are added together and the top total finishers are awarded prizes as well.  Neither Sam nor I placed in the top three, but we did both place in the top ten.

Sam (total 1:06:25)
10/82 overall, 10th male finisher

Laura (total 1:18:17)
28/82 overall, 6th female finisher

I started this series with two goals.  The first was reasonable - to improve my time each race.  The second was a little unreasonable - to beat Sam.  I absolutely accomplished my first goal, and with greater success than I had hoped.  I went from running 9:07 min/mile in the first race to 7:47 min/mile in the last race.  I can only say I accomplished the second goal if I stretch and say I finished higher overall in the women's series than Sam did in the men's series.

I am very encouraged by my progress in these races and am going to start looking for another in March and April so that I can continue the improvement trend.  I won't be bold enough yet to put an exact goal time out there, but will just continue to work toward finishing each race faster than the last.

steamy

Welcome Home Honey!  (circa 1980; written on a piece of brown paper bag)


You know when you're gone, I get all "steamed up,"
And even sometimes I get de"pressed."
But now that you're back, you can cheer me up,
'Cause the times with you are the times that are best!

(I'm assuming this was left somewhere near an iron or ironing board.)

poems of old

My father died when I was five years old, and it hasn't really been until the last couple of years that I have really started to learn about him other than little snippets from my mother and grandparents growing up.  Most of my new information has come from boxes of papers, pictures, and mementos recently brought out of basements and garages at my mother's and grandparent's houses.

In my last round of cleaning and organizing, I found the box of keepsakes from when my parents were dating and first married.  This is how I discovered that my father liked to write poetry.  On the basis of what I've found, he wrote poems to my mom quite often.  It's not particularly wonderful poetry, but it's heartfelt, and reading it gives me a small window into my father's life as a young man.

With my mother's permission, I am going to post a few of his poems here leading up to Valentine's Day.  I hope you can appreciate the sentiments of my young father as he showed his affection for my mother back in the day.