Today, I listened to my dog.

Concerned at the wind.

As I walked Leia tonight I found my  mind preoccupied with how she always seems to get fearful when another dog sniffs her. most recently, she whirled around growling (like she was prepared to fight, but didn't want to) and then, when corrected, went as far away as possible and sat down. I was so concerned she might become dog aggressive that for two days I had been plotting and planning all sorts of ways to socialize and get her used to dogs and increase her responsiveness to commands outside the apartment. As I walked alongside the lake, the wind blew, briefly distracting me from my thoughts as Leia trailed along beside me. The she stopped suddenly and gazed up at the tree tops. The palms moved in the breeze and she stared, panting, at the trees. The next thing she did struck me so profoundly I decided to write this post about it... Leia flinched.

Sniffing everything.

It was so profound to me, in that moment, that I don't think a truck driving out of the lake could have created such a change in my thinking. Leia was scared. She was SCARED. Anxious, unsure, whatever you want to call it, she wasn't confident.

Inside the house she plays, bounces, spins, wags, can sit/give paw/lie down/etc on command, and loves just about everything, but outside the wind (The WIND!) stopped her in her tracks. I stood there, looking at my dog with new eyes and then walked her to the bench beside the lake, and sat down. We sat for about 15 minutes and she walked around on her 5' leash, sniffing and sniffing, looking at the trees, the wind, the lake, me, people, the pool, everything. The we walked alongside the lake, in the grass, and let her look into the lake. I showed her the fish and tossed them flower blossoms to make them kiss the surface. Leia was stunned, and a bit nervous. It was one of her first times meeting the fish. She almost fell in the lake for all the exploring. Then we continued our walk. Occasionally we would pause and practice sitting, giving a paw, "pound it," etc to work on concentration and it took a lot of patience on my part as this brand new world she was in was very distracting.

Looking at the water and fish.

At one point a palm branch smacked the side of a building causing her to jump and spin toward the sound as if she had been shot. It wasn't a quiet sound but a car door shutting is louder. Yet again the understanding sunk in, if the sound of a tree scares her, no wonder she growled at the dog! Was it ok? Well, maybe, after all she was essentially saying "You scare me! Get away!"   What was worse was that I, unknowingly set her up. She wants to meet other dogs, but then gets anxious. I need to slow down the meet. Maybe start by walking them past each other at a distance, then closing the distance until they walk alongside each other and then eventually do the introduction, but just walking up isn't working yet.

A Hopeful Looking Sunset

As we returned from the walk the new plan solidified: Build Confidence.  She likes people, meet people. Be outside more. Get comfortable out there. We don't have a yard but maybe on cooler days I can let her chill on the tennis court and watch the world, or make a long leash and sit by the lake and just let her adventure. We can take big walks to new parts of the neighborhood and maybe walk through the mall until she isn't so scared. We'll work on basic training both inside AND outside so she knows she needs to listen to me in both places, and have to security to be able to focus. We're going to work on recall and waiting to build patience and responsiveness. I am still expanding the plan, and it wont be easy, but she is so worth it, and I only want the best for her... We'll go slow, so as not to overwhelm her, but at the same time we'll keep moving forward so we don't stall. Hopefully Leia will come to love this new order.

She's Just Like her Mommy, Unfortunately.

Well, Most of the people who know me know my nickname, Lil Gimpy. I earned this name because from about age 7 until the present, my knees have been dislocating due to some bad genetics. I have shallow knee grooves, and hyper-flexible joints which means that my knees dislocate very easily. 

Unfortunately, at our most recent vet visit, we were told that Leia's mild limping was due to the fact that both of her knees in the back are out of place. The vet tried to put them back but they will not return to their position. This makes her about stage 3 of 4 (higher the number, worse they are) of luxating patella in dogs. Anything above stage one (which is where the knee just slips out and back in to place) is normally a candidate for surgery, at stage 3 it is strongly suggested because if not, they will continue to deteriorate and probably suffer with severe arthritis later in life. The only stage worse is where their back legs don't bend. at all and they "cowboy walk."

Surgery can be dangerous. Especially dealing with anesthesia. There are several different surgeries but the most likely one we'd be facing is where they deepen the groove that the knee sits in so it has a better foundation to sit in. Recovery time is 6-8 weeks. The difficult part is that unless the dog is under a year (which Leia is not) they have to have one leg done at a time (which means twice as much anesthesia, twice as much recovery, 16 weeks recovery with a few extra weeks thrown in for the time between surgeries...  and the part we're struggling with, it is over 3k per leg... and possibly up to 10k if we discover hip problems too... We're students, and we don't have that kind of money on our own...

For now, we are doing comfort care (glucosamine chondroitin and pain meds when necessary {so far not necessary}) until we can take the next step which would be a specialist appointment where we get Xrays and an expert opinion. Unfortunately Xrays also probably mean anesthesia as it is very hard to get an 80 lb girl (that's right, she weighted in at 82lbs at her last visit and is now on a diet for her joint health.) to hold still for an Xray.  It's gonna be a rocky road, but I pray she will be strong enough to see this through. We're doing our best to be strong for her and do all we can to make her happy and healthy. 4 feet or 2, she is our baby girl and even though we've only been together for 6 months I can not imagine life without her. She has met the whole family: our parents, my sister, my aunt, neighbors, all love her. 

We'll do our best to do whatever is right by her and as we always promised, we will love her for the rest of her life.

Leia Becomes a Philanthropist! - Paws for Peace 2012

Why we up so early?

Excited to be going too!

Leia was confused when I stumbled in to the living room at 6am. It was time for a short walk and some breakfast. This is totally off our normal schedule (where she eats around 10am) but she was happy to get to walk in the cool weather.

She got nervious when I started packing the car with a few things (a jug of water, and her "baby bag" stuffed with treats, a pop-up water bowl, several doggy poop bags just in case, and some yellow ribbon to let people know she is still learning to socialize.

Leia poked her head through the garage door "Coming too?" Normally it is just a wish and then she is in the crate but today I called her out. She wiggled the whole way and was psyched to leap in the car.





 What she didn't know was for the past week and a few days we'd be bombarding facebook with invites to join our team or to donate to a fundraiser called Paws for Peace. This worthy cause is raising money to build a shelter for pets. This shelter will house the pets of survivors of domestic violence so when the family leaves their abuser they can all get to safety, instead of having to leave their pets to a grim fate.
Here are some facts about Domestic Violence, families, and pets:

• 48% of domestic violence survivors delay leaving an abusive home because they don’t have a safe place for their pets.
• Battered women have been known to live in their cars with their pets for as long as four months until an opening was available at a pet-friendly safe house.
• According to the American Animal Hospital Association, an estimated 88% of pets living in households with domestic violence are either abused or killed.
• 71% of pet-owning women entering women’s shelters report that their batterer had injured, maimed, killed or threatened family pets for revenge or to psychologically control victims.
• Pet abuse is often a retaliatory action of abusers. Animals are used as leverage by the batterer as a means to control their victims or as part of a pre-emptive strike to gain or maintain control.
• Abusers kill, harm, or threaten children’s pets to coerce them into sexual abuse or to force them to remain silent about abuse.
• Of all survivors who enter shelters to escape violence, 57% have had a pet killed by their abuser.
• Harbor House will be the only shelter in Central Florida with a kennel for pets of domestic violence survivors. Pets are not Pawns!

Before we continue with our story, I have to point out how crucial this cause is... In September 2012 alone there were 10 deaths due to domestic violence in Orlando... Who knows what stopped those people from leaving, or if they were trying to escape when they were killed... Now more than ever, we need this shelter.

If you are interested in Donating here is Our Personal Donation Page &  Our Team Donation Page.
Also here is our Team's Facebook, just for the record.

When we got to the event we checked in at registration and waited for Amber and Rachel to arrive. As we waited Leia had her picture taken by and event photographer and a lady told me that Leia looked so much like her dog. She then told me her pup recently and suddenly passed at 9 years old. She began to tear up as she patted Leia's head. I offered her a hug and she accepted. As I hugged her she quietly said "At least I know that here, people understand." Leia just smiled and wagged, loving the sweet attention. She met several pups including  a chow who's name means "Smart loving bear" (which was perfect for her!).

The registration booth!

It is called "paws" for peace and
here is our Kitty representative!
What a brave girl!

Opening Ceremonies: The release of the butterflies

 Right about 9 Rachel arrived with her dog Kilo and her boyfriend Jayson and right after was Amber with her dog Jack and her boyfriend Allen. Our team of 8 was assembled!  The pups all sniffed each other and then we were off to opening Ceremonies.

In honor of the 10 people lost in September, The Harbor House crew released 10 butterflies in their honor. Shortly after the opening words and introduction of special guests it was time to walk!

There were tons of people and pets walking through the park in a long caravan of wagging tails and noses in overdrive. Within the first 10 meters it was a good thing I brought extra poop bags as our entire team relieved themselves all at once (the girls thanked me for bringing enough bags to share). From there we were off again and walked with dogs of all sizes (and one brave kitty!). Along the route were signs with stats about domestic violence.

The long trail of walkers goes around the loop and over the bridge.

Jack was excited about free samples!

We finished our first lap quickly and decided to do another two. For some reason none of our dogs wanted to drink from the doggy watering stations so I whipped out our collapsible water bowl and everyone had a drink.

When it was time for closing ceremonies we parked the dogs in the shadow of one of the vendor booths. Lucky for our dogs, it turned out to be the Pookie's Pet Nutrition & Bow Wow Bakery booth!

The dogs lined up for free treat samples. Leia loved the apple cinnamon treat but also tried a beef treat and has a peanut butter one waiting for her in her bag. The Ladies from Pookie's were so very nice to all of our pets and were more than generous (Thank you!).

As we rested a small, small little girl, probably under a year, toddled over to Leia. I watched both very carefully and sat with them, making sure everything was ok. I showed the little girl how to hold out her hand for Leia to sniff and then I petted Leia's ears while she petted Leia's back. Leia was awesome with the little girl and totally unphased. She was just happy to have the attention. I didn't snap a picture because I was too busy monitoring the situation but it was an awesome moment to see Leia interact with such a small little girl so gently. The little girl was equally gentle and clearly has been raised with dogs. She wasn't afraid of Leia at all, even though Leia had a good 8 inches on her when Leia was sitting down.

Our Team at closing Ceremonies

Amber, Allen, and Jack

Rachel, Jayson, and Kilo

 
We stayed through the raffle (Jack got to see a toy dog {a stuffed animal} on a leash and was very curious!) and by this point all of the dogs (not just our team) were getting tired a tiny bit cranky; they were hot, tired, and needed a nap! Everyone got one last sniff in and then it was time to head home.

All in all it was a great day and we raised a lot of money toward the shelter:

Leia and I raised $250!
Our Team raised $300!
And the event raised $16,500!!

Thank you to everyone who donated, supported us, and made this awesome event possible!!!

Additional Pictures

Leia taking a nap at home. Tired girl!

Kilo looking awesome!

See Leia's Facebook!

Looking for daily updates? 

Leia now has a Facebook page where you can find out her daily thoughts and activities! 

Check it out!

We will still be updating her blog, but mostly with big events and updates.

Leia: The Granddog

This week Leia met Tom's parents. This was a HUGE step for her, as his father has a bit of a phobia about dogs (especially larger dogs). Before they showed up we warned them about her typical introduction (a few low growls and then sniffing) so they were prepared for it. Sure enough when they came in she growled twice and then was over it. I handed both of his parents hotdog pieces and then we let Leia out of her crate. She sniffed, ate hot dogs, and soon had won over both Tom's Dad and Mom.

"Hi! I'm your Granddog!"

His mom was even trying to pick out what her grandparent name would be, "Nona... Nana, Grandma..." still not sure what it will be but they love their new Granddog. Tom's Dad enjoyed petting her and said that photos really didn't do her justice (in both beauty and size). She is a pretty big girl and normally people passing buy have two comments, "She's pretty!" or "Dang that's a big dog!"

We had a great time with the family, went for walks, lots of good talks, got some groceries, (Hear that Leia? You're family has FOOD!) and a nice dinner together.

One additional note, today is Leia's first day trying her vitamins (we got a free bottle from a good friend). Just gave her one (even though her dose is 2-3) to see how it sits. Additionally, Leia has a Facebook (oh my God can this dog Social network) which will be linked to the main page shortly.

List of Friends grows to 2!

Leia has made her second friend. Yesterday she met a little black lab mix named Chief for the second time. She saw him from across the street and got excited. They practically ran to each other, then sniffed each other one more time. Followed by lots of bouncing in circles.

Today they met up at the tennis court and (gulp!) I took the step to drop the leash. Leia ran around with him, chased the ball with him (and didn't get possessive!) and played with both Chief's Dad and I (and stupid me I still haven't learned his name but I am pretty sure it starts with and A). Leia still gets growly if sniffed in the rear (like the hip back) but didn't nip or lunge to nip. This is a huge first step for me as I have never quite trusted her not to bite (even though she never has) but today I did and she didn't let me down nor did she barrel over this little puppy (who can't be more than 20 lbs yet).

Super happy for my girl!

What's this? What's that?

Leia has continued to explore the world around her. Last night on her walk she re-discovered trees. There was a light shining up on the tree and she was suddenly very intimidated by it. We hung out with the tree for a little bit, then moved on.


Leia got another bath (her second) today with Tom and I. We've accepted that during bath time two things happen, Leia gets clean, and we (and the entire bathroom) get soaked. Leia did jump out of the tub this time (before it was time) but I put her back in. She also sat down in the tub for the first time. It's not one of her favorite things but she does very well. 

Leia has also been more inquisitive about the lake and likes getting close while hunkered down and sniffing at it. I talk gently to her while she does and try to encourage her to feel confident around it.

She also got a "new toy" today in the form of the ox my pencil sharpener came in. I cut two holes in it and put a treat inside and "tada!" Leia has a new thinking toy. It took her a moment to realize there was something in the box for her, but when she did it was on and the box was flipping around the room to get the treat out.