in the clear

in the clear, originally uploaded by sarah ....

that's my boy. blue skies ahead.

8 weeks after his Torsion K is in the clear. We are heading up the the FCR Specialty this week at Spruce Meadows - nice to only have a 2 hour drive!

Then the following week is the AAC Nationals BACK at Spruce Meadows - lucky us! Kaleb missed Regionals this year because of his surgery. He has been conditioning and back to training and has made an amazing recovery, he hasn't missed a beat. We were accepted for the Nationals Pre-Qualifier, and fingers crossed he makes it that Friday, and then gets to run the main event that weekend (with his little sis Gyp). It feels like a second chance with him, so just having him with me is a win already.

he's back. :)

:), originally uploaded by sarah ....

We spent the weekend at our friends' lovely acreage this weekend. While K was on leash most of the time he did enjoy a bit of free running, we just didn't want him to overdo it, as K generally doesn't know when to stop ... it's been 4 weeks since his Gastropexy surgery, and I would say our boy is feeling better :)

K was pumped to go for his first car ride in a month!

K hanging with Jan and the Shelties .. oh wait, and Gyp, she is a Border Collie :)

Kaleb even got to do the Chute, with his new handler, Pete :) he'll kill me for posting this

Oh, and Gyp did the chute too... she is back at it after a 2 week break following Regionals, back in to training full speed ahead until Nationals!

... AND then yesterday .... I didn't get the grocery bags put down before K rammed his head through the front door to get out and ran down the crescent barking and running aimlessly. He saw my neighbor, ran over there, peed on his tree in their yard for about 30 seconds. K then torpedoed into our backyard and hid behind the lilac bush. How can a dog make me laugh and swear in the matter of a minute. K, you're a total d!ck, but it's good to have you back.

k-man 23 days later

k 'n me, originally uploaded by sarah ....

k's favourite thing to do is "saddle up", usually when I least expecting it :) luckily i had my camera in hand when he did this, I'm amazed I actually got us in focus!

Kaleb continues to be more "normal" each day, he even got to go for 4 short walks to the park over the weekend :)

his patches are starting to fill in, and I would say his weight is almost back to normal.

He is back to doing the "Bucking Bronco", he is being really playful, and back to his trademark of barking at nothing ... it's good to have him back, it was pretty quiet around here. WOOF!

Am I still irresistible?

Chicks did dudes with scars, right?

What about random bald patches?

Don't worry ladeez, the hair will grow back.

- - - -

Day 5

Kaleb continues to get better each day, he is now off the major amounts of medicine and just on one for twice a day for another week, and metacam for one more day. We've been introducing a small amount of his regular food (soaked) back into his wet food too.

He REALLY has to be on leash now for potty breaks, as he wants to play in the worst way. He is now back to carrying random objects around the house too, but still sleeping alot more than normal.

the goof goes on.

the goof goes on., originally uploaded by sarah ....

Kaleb usually loves to bring us the paper from the front step, and races up the stairs with it.

Since his schedule is a little different now and he has to be carried up and down the stairs, Pete brought the Paper to Kaleb instead, Kaleb was thrilled!!

He even sat on Pete's lap for his favourite thing ever - a back rub!

right where he should be.

right where he should be., originally uploaded by sarah ....

The mood around the house is pretty glum and quiet as you can see. Kaleb's new bed couldn't have come at a better time, Jane hasn't even been trying to lay in it :) It seems the girlies just know. They have been sniffing at him alot, even Jane wagged her tail and gave him a drive-by kiss when K came home. He is getting a little spunkier all the time. He is great about being carried up and down the stairs, and takes all of his medication like a good boy.

2010 has been a pretty strange year full of more downs than I like. Yes there has been some great parts of this year, I just need more of them right now. I hope the next 6 months is better than the first, the forever optimist in me is hoping so.

But sometimes I wonder if this shit happens just so I have something to write on my blog.

My worst nightmare.

My worst nightmare came true. Kaleb Bloated on Saturday night.

There was nothing different in his schedule that day, we trained Agility in the AM, field training in the PM, relaxed at home with the family having a BBQ, supper, watched TV, then bed. He woke us up half an hour after going to bed, he was retching up nothing, restless and wanting to keep laying down, and his tummy was feeling a little hard I knew right away what is was, I called the vet and literally 5 minutes later we were there. By the time we got there his tummy had ballooned, and Pete had to carry him, it happened that fast. The Vet had no doubt in her mind that is what it was too, she was great and acted fast.

His x-rays showed the twisting clearly. The vet gave him a needle through his stomach to pull out some air and relieve some pressure, he also had a tube put down his throat to get more air out, it worked as he seemed to get more comfortable and his tummy went down a bit too, but his gut was still twisted. And he was clearly in pain. He lived through the Gastropexy surgery to untwist his gut with no complications, his stomach was in good shape since we were able to catch it so soon. The Vet said another 2 hours and he would have been dead. His stomach was tacked to his rib cage, and we were relieved there has been no further complications yet, but the next 48 hours to 10 days are critical I guess. We are both totally devestated and it doesn't seem real yet at all that this has happened.

We were able to bring him home early because he was not settling down at the clinic when we weren't there - charging out of his kennel, pulling the nurses over when he was going out to Pee, he even started barking near the end of the day (we spent most of yesterday with him at the clinic). He was running on adrenaline, it is a very busy clinic, and he was excited and anxious, and he needs to rest and the vet agreed, it was either home with us, or sedation at the clinic. And he has been sleeping like a baby since being back. I work at home, so it is easy for me to accommodate.

We have an arsenal of meds he needs for the next 3 to 10 days, 4 times a day, and we check his temperature here too

Pete has to come home at lunch so he can carry him up and down the stairs to go out to Pee - which has to be on leash. He is keeping down water and eating bits of wet food, so as long as that stays the same we are good to go. He has an incision about 8 inches long on his belly and various bald patches all over him. Poor guy.

I am just glad he lived through this, I was NOT ready to say good-bye and I don't think he was either. Thanks to everyone who has sent nice messages for him, it means more than you know. Kaleb is alive because we were able to get in him quickly, and with the care of really good vets he is still with us. I am hoping for a full recovery, and he'll be back to himself soon. And if this time is like any other in his life, he doesn't give up easily :)

Here are some symptoms of Gastric Dilatation-Volvulus (GDV), Bloat, if you don't already know:

• Your dog retches from the throat but nothing is produced other than small amounts of frothy mucus
• Your dog tries to defaecate unsuccessfully
• Your dog adopts the 'Sphinx' position
• Your dog's tummy goes hard and/or swells up like a balloon and is as taut as drumskin
• Trying to bite, or worry, the abdomen
• Your dog is very unsettled

CONTACT YOUR VET IMMEDIATELY. Bloat is a true emergency - be prepared to drive to the surgery straightaway. The chance of survival decreases alarmingly if you delay getting the dog to the surgery more than 60-90 minutes after the first signs.