And now for something completely different

Blah blah blah blah blah-de-blah bah back pain. Blah blah blah blah Mayo blah blah blah blah blah Oxy. Blah blah blah-de-blah blah blah blah Acupuncture blah blah blah blahbidy blah. Blah blah sleep blah blah blah blah-de-blah blabidy blah neutrophils blah blah blah blah Ambien blah blah blah-de-blah blah.

Boo

Is painfully cute! 

And that's the news.

Its Boosday!

Boo is doing great, and is starting to respond more and more to her new name.

I got up last night to use the restroom and noticed that she had moved off the couch and into the office, where she also has a bed -- she has a bed in the bedroom also, but maybe she was shy about coming in uninvited. So I invited her up on the bed for the first time. I know that this can a slippery slope if you don't plan to have the dog on the bed all the time, but its nice to have a dog on the bed, I think. Boo will learn eventually that the rule is: she can be on the bed, but only when Jen's *not* here. This worked great with Kaia, though there was nearly always some pouting on Kaia's part.

Boo on her couch.

So far, it's eerie how familiar Boo feels. She's been here less than 48 hours and already it seems like I've known her for far longer than that. She does look a lot like Mia (the all-white girldog that I had before Kaia) and acts a lot like both of them. But its more than that -- she's so easy to have around that I have to keep reminding myself that we only just met, and that this house and my expectations are all new to her.

I left briefly yesterday and there were no accidents or destroyed furniture or chewed-up shoes when I returned, and I heard no howling or barking. I wasn't too worried, but this is all a good sign. I'll leave for a little longer today at some point, and I'm hoping that it all continues to work out.

Mia in about 2009

In my experience with adopted hounds (Boo is my 8th greyhound) there is a pretty standard process by which they settle into their new homes. All greyhounds have had lives before, and have been uprooted many times. Most are shipped off to trainers in other states and may race in various different locations as well. Boo, as far as I can tell, was raised in Georgia, and raced in Kansas and West Virginia. It seems that she was then sold to a farm in Iowa where she had 4 litters of pups -- 15 total. Then, after retirement, on to Minnesota to live with a foster family for 2 weeks, then another foster family for a few weeks, and then -- finally -- here. So it's understandable that she doesn't really know whether this is just a stop off, or if she lives here now. Even still, she's quiet and well-behaved. This is one of the reasons (and a sad one, honestly) that greyhounds are favored by animal research facilities: they take well to being kenneled, and are quiet and don't complain very much. Some veterinarians also keep a greyhound as a blood donor: all dogs have the same blood type, and greyhounds have a higher than normal Total Blood Volume (TBV). They also tolerate having an IV in all the time, will live in a kennel, and are quiet and well mannered.

Kaia about 2010

So, after many changes in their past lives, I find that the first 3-6 months of being in their "forever home" the dogs are friendly and social, but aren't sure what this new place is. After that period, when it seems like they've figured out that they're really going to stay, I find that the next 3-6 months are key as they become very attached and may have some separation anxiety. The dog's personality determines what form this insecurity takes and the degree to which it manifests. After that 3-6 month separation anxiety period, the greyhounds seem to relax and settle in. My job is to be as consistent a fixture in her life as I can, and to establish safe spaces for her and a reliable routine. The more she feels safe here, the more she'll relax and trust that she's not going anywhere.

The Back, etc.


Over the past few days I've been stretching out my lower back in a quest to find something -- anything -- to alleviate the pain. This seems to help a bit, and I'm hoping that it will continue to get better. Likewise, I've been walking. No marathon treks yet, but 6 or 8 blocks at least each day. Hopefully this will strengthen the back and encourage the muscles to relax a bit.

Strangely, this sounds really good about now.

The leg has been better. I still don't know what's going on down there, but I do think that the nerves (that were messed up in the surgery) are coming back, as I feel mildly painful electric jolts into my inner thighs. And -- a new thing -- my thigh muscles in both legs are sore, not just the left leg, which was the troublesome one before. You know how sometimes your muscles cramp or spasm when you get really gold? My thighs feel like that sometimes during the day No spasms exactly, but the same soreness that might come from being punched in the thigh. Its not in exactly the same area as the numbness was, though. So it might be related, it might not. Its an annoying mystery.

The pain meds (60 mg daily) appear to be working for the most part. Coupled with the stretching and walking, I don't feel the need to go any higher. I'm hopeful that Mayo will have some insight, and I have a lot of eggs in that particular basket, hoping I'll have some answers sooner rather than later. I really do need to get off of these pain meds, though. On the day that I hit the 60mg/day level, I noticed that my skin looked ashen and there were dark circles under my eyes. It reminded me of my first glimpse of myself post-chemo. Anyhow: nothing new to report on that front, other than its all holding steady.

Introducing... Boo!

The new dog is here! The new dog is here!

I tried out a host of names for her that rhymed with both "Kool" and "Show" (as well as trying out both names by themselves. Each was met with a lukewarm response. Names tried included:

(Names that rhyme with "Show":)

Sharona ("my my my my Sharona")

Lola ("L-O-L-A , Lola")

Shaniqua (sounds like a hairdresser)

Shona (too close to "Sho Nuff")

Siobhain (sha-vohn) (Sounds like an Irish hairdresser)

(Names rhyming with  "Kool":)

Zool

Kahlua

Cujo (just for the heck of it)

and finally, Boo.

Her ears perked up at Boo repeatedly, so I think that's the keeper. It will still take a while to get it locked down in her fuzzy little brain, but I think it fits her very well.

She's a cuddle-bunny, curling up with people (more like on people) on the couch and dozing off immediately. I may need to invent some sort of automated petting machine, though, as there can never be quite enough petting for her liking. There are worse problems to have in a dog, though.

In my house the dogs get to go up on the couch, and -- once invited up -- she prefers it to all other dog beds or places to sleep. Her first night here, she abandoned the people (and comfy dog bed) in the bedroom two rooms away and chose to stay on the couch by herself. She was quiet as a mouse all night, sleeping until about 8:30 am. When I got up to see how she was doing, she was awake and just quietly waiting on the couch.

She's perfectly behaved, and doesn't go through the trash or have any house-training issues. 

She's been used to being kenneled, but I don't actually have a kennel. My last 3 greyhounds have not been kennel dogs. I have a feeling that the couch has already become her "kennel" and her safe spot. Its totally fine with me, but I thought it was interesting that she was waiting on the couch for me to "let her out" of her kennel this morning.

She's far more interested in stuffed animals than the other dogs I've had. Last night, when getting ready for bed, she laid down on the dog bed in the bedroom, and then seemed to remember something, got up and left the room. She came back a moment later with a stuffed duck, which she put next to her bed. Like it needed to go to bed also. She then put her head down and went to sleep for awhile. Its all highly adorable.

Oh, and the neighborhood bunnies and squirrels will have to learn that there's a new sheriff in town.

Dog Day Afternoon

A new dog!

There is an all-but-forgotten 1975 Al Pacino movie called Dog Day Afternoon, but this has literally been a dog day afternoon for me. Today (specifically this afternoon) I got a new dog. In the afternoon. Today.

Work with me, people. I'm on painkillers.

Hopefully, our first day together will not devolve into a bank robbery and a hostage situation as it did in the film. Though the banks are not even open today, so I think the chances of that are slim.

The beautiful new dog is just over 7 years old, and -- like my last dog, Kaia -- was a "brood mama" meaning that she raised puppies after racing.

What's the dog's name, you ask? The funny thing is, that's still undecided. Her racing name (all greyhounds have oddball names like racehorses do) was "WW's Kool Show". All of the greyhounds have a racing name (that long, odd name that they race under) and a kennel name, which is usually a shorter version of their race name.

We were told that the new dog responses to "Kool", but her foster family (the family that transitions her from the track) found that she ignored that altogether. They tried "Show", and she seemed to respond to that. But that's an odd name for a dog, I think, so Jen and I have been thinking of names that sound enough *like* "Show" that she might not notice too much.

"Camera!"

I have been trying out a host of names to see how she responds to them. I have a feeling that I'll have a final name for her by tomorrow.

It was incredibly hard to lose Kaia. It's always hard to lose a companion or a friend, but when I was going through chemo, there were times that she was propping me up and giving me direction and purpose every day. I didin't realize how helpful it was to have a creature that relies on you for basic needs such as eating, walks and attention. Having a reason to get out of bed every day is helpful, though its sad to have to be reminded of that.

As I write this I've had The Dog Formerly Known as Kool Show for about 2 hours. She's settling in wonderfully and I'm devoting much of the next 24 hours to setting up a routine for her and making her feel safe here. All greyhounds are used to having other greyhounds around (though any dog or person will do, when you're lonely) and that constant sound and smell and sight of other dogs is comforting to them. It's a unique kind of greyhound that can be in a house without other dogs around without getting too bored. And it's an even more unique greyhound that can be home all by themselves. I know that the new mama-dog will be able to handle it, but I'll be easing her into it by leaving for 5 minutes at a time, then 10, then 15, etc. That will be my project for Monday. She's still a little too excited by the new surroundings (and departure of her foster family) to sleep just yet, but is coping by staying glued to my side. I noticed that she was not too nervous to snarf down her dinner in record time, so that's a plus. 

"Is there food?"

I'm sure I'll be oohoing and aahing over her here for quite a while, and its nice to have some positive daily distractions these days. 

Update: she's crashed out now. That didn't take too long.

"There was not food."