A tail (oops tale) of a vacuum....

Some pets are just precious.

Cheryl  has Elsa, this full of energy Labrador, which, well likes to be vacuumed. This picture is not a trick, and yes the vacuum is loud and she just loves it.

And Elisha? we're walking longer distances. Doing more exercises. I am so pleased with his progress.

Welcome to Warrick, this lively Labrador/Golden Retriever mix.

Mackinac turned into a model so his owner, Harriet, took a ton of pictures during our evaluation and acupuncture session. In 5 years, this is the first time I had to put strings attached to the needles, just in case they flew feet away. Mackinac tends to shake his head and I need to place the needles on his face. He does really well during his sessions!

Latest patients news

Latest Elisha’s progress: we are now walking about 75’ and doing ball exercises or cookie stretches before going back up the ramp and into the house. We’re doing so well! Elisha is still stubborn, trying to turn around at the kitchen’s door. However, some words of encouragements (read: sorry but you really need to go forward), and then we go. Once outdoors, you can see Elisha’s ears and demeanor change. He looks so happy, wants to walk forever (well almost!), and even got to smell grass like he used to do!

Sparkle has been my patient for the last 6 months and we have been doing our best to keep up her quality of life. This last week has seen a major deterioration and her owner, Caron, finally decided it was time to say good bye. She will be missed....

Tiki, a 20 year old Tonkinese, is a long standing patient for the last 3 ½ years. These days, the area I am concentrating on is his severe elbow and knee arthritis. I do manual therapy (mobilizations, stretching, massage) and laser therapy, which is all I he needs to start walking better. This little kitty had pretty much frozen shoulders when I started with him. People do not realize how much compensation happens when one part of the body hurts, or the amount of decrease movement in an arthritic joint. Then, when I see the patient, I need to treat a lot of different joints and muscle imbalances.

Guam 1944 and war dogs

Yesterday I saw a very touching TV documentary. It was the story of the canine unit during the war with the Japanese in Guam in 1944. The surviving soldiers talked about their bond during training and the hard days of the war in the jungle. Those dogs were their friend and were very useful on spotting/hearing/smelling the enemy before the humans did. They were involved in dangerous missions and their action helped the army take Guam in 1944.

Of the 500 dogs they used in this unit, they lost 25 dogs. Each lost was devastating to the handler. The bond worked both ways: one handler was killed by enemy fire and his dog stayed side of the body and did not let anybody touch the remains. Some of those dogs were given to the army only for the time of the war. After it ended, they dogs had to go back to their owners. Most soldiers were so bonded with their dogs they ask to keep them. Because of the nature of the army training, the dogs that went back in civil life had to be detrained. Surprisingly, only 4 dogs did not make the cut. So the majority went back to normal life with kids and family. Most of these dogs were Dobermans, but in the documentary you saw a lot of other types of dogs too.

A memorial status was erected in Guam, and now at the University of Tennessee at the College of Veterinary Medicine, celebrating the dogs that fought side of the soldiers in Guam.

http://www.vet.utk.edu/wardog/background.shtml

http://www.flickr.com/photos/angells60640/sets/72157612523811537/

Elisha's ramp

Almost done! Cindy had a carpenter build a ramp especially for Elisha these last few days. This carpenter is actually looking for work if anybody needs his services (San Clemente, CA). Today, we had a good session. Elisha is now impatient to walk and go outdoors, it's getting hard to get him to wait before he gets out off the bed. He walked down the ramp no problem, just the same hesitation in the doorway. We got him down and did some ball exercises before getting him up again. He did very well, but we can see he still gets tired fast.

Latest news about Elisha

Elisha is getting better very fast. From couple of steps last week, he can now walk several steps before getting tired. He still seems scared to get up and walk, but with encouragements he tries really hard. He even tried to get up by him self (what an improvement!). 2 days ago, we tried walking him toward the door to go the outside ramp. That was a little scary because we knew he tumbled down the ramp which resulted in the problem we are dealing right now. So we made sure one of us was on each side of him. At the kitchen door, he did not want to go through. It took 2 seconds of me insisting to direct him that way, and there he went. He looked a little scared to go down the ramp, so we took it slowly. This was a success. He took a 15 minute break on his favorite bed outside. The picture tells how he felt. I was a little worried about getting him up the ramp, but he did very well. Cindy told me his gait is now pretty much back to normal.

So far, so good!

Oh, and Cindy is working to rebuild and improve the ramp. I can’t wait to see it now!

Ratso

I got word from Caroline and John in Italy that they just put to sleep their wonderful Jack Russell Terrier Ratso. This little guy could have a book written on him about his stories and travel through Europe and the US. He was quite a lively character, always ready for action, ready to hunt any little critter, and getting into any food (like the huge olive oil container…).

He will be missed.