Saturday, October 22, 2011
Bye Bye Kairo
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Recap of the Past Month
Yes, I know with the exception of the
post earlier today, it's been about two weeks since I last posted, but
I'm way behind in posts: Kairo's surgery was on September 23 - almost a
month ago. Not too much has happened around here, but there are a few
updates worth mentioning:
Kairo's Dog Bed
In hopes that Kairo would like his dog bed more than our human bed, we finally broke down and spent some money on a decent dog bed with bumpers since our pampered pup likes luxury. After only wanting to eat the bed for a few weeks...
...he has started to occasionally lay in it in the living room, which is a good start. He still prefers to be in our bed at night, though, which wouldn't be a problem if he liked laying at the end of the bed. No, no, no, he likes to be right up at our heads sharing our pillow. Sometimes he'll even lay his head across our necks. Like I said, he's spoiled.
Kairo's Dog Bed
In hopes that Kairo would like his dog bed more than our human bed, we finally broke down and spent some money on a decent dog bed with bumpers since our pampered pup likes luxury. After only wanting to eat the bed for a few weeks...
...he has started to occasionally lay in it in the living room, which is a good start. He still prefers to be in our bed at night, though, which wouldn't be a problem if he liked laying at the end of the bed. No, no, no, he likes to be right up at our heads sharing our pillow. Sometimes he'll even lay his head across our necks. Like I said, he's spoiled.
G$'s Birthday
A special someone had a birthday at the beginning of the month. We got together at his parents' house with his sister, brother-in-law, nephew, best friend, and best friend's wife.
G$ wasn't the only lucky boy that day, thanks to Kate, Dan, and Jack, Kairo celebrated his 6 month (yes, HALF A YEAR!) birthday a few weeks early with:
A Cupcake (dog friendly of course):
And a birthday sweater (hand knitted wool with a monkey ):
Kairo's Window Watching
About two weeks ago, Kairo realized that those big glass things in our living room were windows and (gasp) you can see out of them! He was first drawn to the TV reflection in them, but once he got closer, he saw the people outside below us. I'm not sure his depth perception is that great though. Even though were were five stories up, he started doing a low, deep bark at the people down there. Greeeeaaaat!
London and Paris Oh My
Next Wednesday (as in in less than a week!), G$ and I leave for a one year anniversary trip to... you guessed it, London and Paris. We only booked about a month ago after nailing down what we were going to do with Kairo. So it's really crept up on us! And by crept up on us, I mean the three weeks has really flown by with little to no trip planning. We have our flights, hotels, train between cities, and airport to hotel transportation, but still have not quite hammered down what we want to do in each city and on which days. We are officially going to be winging it. And G$ knows how much I loooove to do that! [sarcasm in case you missed it] :)
So what are we doing with Kairo, you ask?! He will be attending a two-week board and train program at Greenbriar Veterinary Hospital and Luxury Pet Resort. Doesn't that just sound fancy pantsy!? I think I'm just telling myself that since I'm going to be so upset when we drop him off THIS SATURDAY! That's right ladies and gents, G$ and I are going to be Kairo-free for two full weeks starting Saturday. Not that it's going to seem like two weeks with a "fun run" scheduled for Sunday (more on that after we finish it), three days of work (or two for me plus a work golf tournament), before flying out next Wednesday night. We are getting back the following Wednesday, taking Thursday off to recover, working on Friday, then it's time to pick up the K-Man on Saturday!
More about the training: It's an off-leash basic obedience class where he will learn the basics (which will be reinforcing sit, down, come), teaching him to heel on a leash (hurray!), stay, go to his "place," which is his bed/crate (we are very excited about this one for when someone comes to the door or when we are eating dinner). For the past week or two, we've been going outside during "Party Time" with treats and randomly telling Kairo to Come. I'd say he's coming about 80% of the time (what do you think G$?). So we are hoping that this training will help make that more like 99%, so he'll come when he's playing with the other dogs. That's what he's usually doing during that 20% he doesn't come.
I will hopefully be back on early next week with a recap of the "fun run" and then again after the trip with pictures and more info on how Kairo handled the two weeks of training.
<3
K$
Losing His Manhood
Where did I leave off?? Oh. Right. Did
Kairo have his neutering surgery? If the title of this post isn't a
dead giveaway, let me spell it out for you: yes, yes, he did. I think
the following picture drawn by G$'s brother, J$, depicts the situation
well:
Friday:
We woke up on Friday and it appeared Kairo's system was 100% back to normal. So it was into the car to drop him off at the vet at 8AM. The vet called around 4PM to let us know that the surgery went well and that we could pick Kairo up between 7 and 8 PM that evening. G$ and I arrive around 7:15 to pick up our littleman dog.
Friday:
We woke up on Friday and it appeared Kairo's system was 100% back to normal. So it was into the car to drop him off at the vet at 8AM. The vet called around 4PM to let us know that the surgery went well and that we could pick Kairo up between 7 and 8 PM that evening. G$ and I arrive around 7:15 to pick up our little
Full
Disclosure: since I know I'll get crap from G$ if I don't put this out
there... We were out of food at home, so I suggested that we stop by
this Mexican place to grab some dinner before picking Kairo up. Our
sensitive, puppy-father, G$ had an uproar at the idea of leaving out
little pup alone at the vet for another 30 minutes. Despite G$'s
version of the story, I DID NOT suggest we get margaritas! Mexican,
yes. Margaritas, no.
So, back to the story: we get to the vet, Kairo looks a little groggy, but is excited to see us. He has a bandage on his front right leg from the IV and you can see a little rectangle of hairless skin popping out from either ends of the bandage. They shaved a 4 inch by 2 inch patch for the IV, which makes him look funny.
We get him home, he drinks and eats, then jumps up on the couch and sleeps for a few hours. Around 11 PM, we take him out for the "nighttime potty trip" and head to bed.
Saturday:
Around 1 AM, Kairo decides it is time to get up and play and chew on bones and be his normal energetic self. Apparently a day of being knocked out and drugged and thereby exerting little to no energy caught up to him and he became a ball of joy. At. One. In. The. Morning.
G$ and I tag team the effort. I spend a few hours with Kairo, while G$ is sleeping, then I get a few hours of sleep while G$ is keeping him buy. Around 7 AM, it's one again my "shift" with Kairo. I spent about 30 minutes trying to keep him busy, when I finally said, let's go for a long walk. So off we go for a brisk morning walk at 7:30. We walk through the neighborhoods behind our apartment, past the softball fields near our old apartment and back home.
 |
| Flooded softball fields... |
After being up from 1AM Saturday through 10PM Saturday, Kairo is ready for a normal night of sleep. And was once again back on the correct schedule.
Sunday - Tuesday:
Did I tell you we were really dreading the few days following the surgery!? No playtime with the neighborhood dogs. No roughhousing. Essentially, the only way we are "allowed" to exert energy from our dog was through walks. Which let me tell you - means we were going on very, very long walks. :)
The Cone of Shame. The vet said we'd only need to put a cone or tube on him if he starts licking his incision. And he really didn't do it much. But *kinda* started to on Monday night/Tuesday, so we opted to put his tube on while he was crated, but he went tube-free while we were home. Unfortunately, I didn't get any really good pictures of him with the tube on, but he really looked pathetic.
Wednesday:
On Wednesday night, since his incision was looking good, we decided it was time for Kairo to get back to his normal 9PM play date with his doggie friends - Chester (labradoodle), Niko (miniature Australian shepherd), and Jake (a lab/beagle mix). There occasionally are some others, but these four pups make up the "Party Time" gang. He was so excited to see his friends and run around (and G$ and I were just as thrilled to get some energy out of him).
Thursday:
It was back to the normal routine, we took Kairo back to daycare.
And that my friends is the neutering recap. We are glad Kairo had a swift, painless recovery!
<3
K$
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
The Trials and Tribulations of...Bubbles
Sunday
Bubble catching fun with the little girls.
Monday
As I alluded to in my prior post, the bubbles didn't sit too well with Kairo. Kind of funny (although G$ probably thinks differently), I originally was planning to come home for lunch. However, while in the shower that morning, I remembered I had a working lunch meeting scheduled. So G$ stepped up to the plate. I'm at my lunch meeting and I get a picture text (I'll spare ya'll) from G$ of Kairo's crate with some liquid in it and "Sweet..." I honestly thought the liquid was vomit. Not being rude, I didn't want to respond in the middle of lunch, so I waited until the walk back. And it was at that time that I realized G$ wrote a line before sending the picture: "Well it happened. Liquid poop in the crate... Do I leave it for you?" So, so, soooo much worse than vomit. I felt horrible for all parties involved. I do want the record to reflect that I offered to come home and help, but the bulk of the clean-up was already completed. The "Well it happened" was in reference to this being Kairo's first #2 accident in his crate. And no, G$ did not leave it for me to deal with.
So let's rewind and see how this all went down. G$ walked into the most retched smell ever and I'm sure immediately starts cursing me (since remember, I was supposed to be coming for lunch). He gets Kairo out of his crate and takes him to the bathroom to clean up. G$ starts wiping him down with puppy wipes, and somehow, our little pup was able to stay completely poo-free. Good job Kairo. G$'s hypothesis is that he stood the whole time. Poor G$. Poor Kairo. Poor everyone. We lost some good men out there - including his Kong and two towels. They were deemed not salvageable.
After work on Monday, I made Kairo chicken and rice. He was HUNGRY and scarfed it down faster than I've ever seen before. The fact that he was both eating and drinking madeus me feel much better about the whole situation. He appeared to be getting better.
Tuesday
Since things appeared to be better, G$ and I did what in hindsight was probably a little selfish. I had a work function - our big anniversary party where we invite both current and prospective clients, employees, friends, and family to celebrate. So we had always planned to take Kairo to daycare that day, since G$ and I would be out later than normal that evening. So he goes to daycare. No reports when G$ picks him up. So I'm thinking things are great. G$ hangs out with Kairo for a bit then meets me at the work party. We mingle, I get stuck talking to our of our teaming partners for about an hour, then we head home. The whole ride home, G$ is saying, man I hope he didn't butt pee in his crate again. I, on the other hand, am thinking, no way would he do it twice in two days! Things were getting better. WRONG! We walk into our apartment to yet again (for G$) that retched smell. This time G$ takes Kairo outside and I am on clean-up duty. Yuck!
We all go to bed, but at around 1AM, Kairo wakes up, starts dry heaving, so I quickly help him get off the bed, and he proceeds to vomit in our bedroom. Awesome. Was that it? Maybe, so we got back into bed. 30 minutes later, same thing. Puke in the bedroom. I then move the operation to the living room and from 1AM to 6AM, Kairo's up every thirty minutes throwing up. At 6AM, G$ and I "swap" and I get a few hours of sleep before going into work.
I'm now thinking, was this really the bubbles, or is it something else, something more serious?! Oh and did I mention Kairo's neutering is scheduled for Friday? Greeeeaaatt - we are probably going to have to reschedule.
Wednesday
No more butt pee accidents inside, no more vomiting, but things aren't quite 100% back to normal; however, Kairo is at 100% activity level, things seem normal outside of the digestive tract.
Thursday
Same thing in the morning. I call the vet to give him the skinny and get his opinion on whether we should go ahead with the surgery on not. We leave it as - I will monitor his bathroom situation once I get home from work and then again in the morning. Depending on how things are, we'll make a Friday morning game day decision as to whether we take him to the vet or not for the surgery.
Friday
Do we go through with the neutering surgery?! You'll just have to wait and see.
And since I like to include at least one picture, here's Kairo hiking the weekend before this disaster-of-a-week began:
<3
K$
Bubble catching fun with the little girls.
Monday
As I alluded to in my prior post, the bubbles didn't sit too well with Kairo. Kind of funny (although G$ probably thinks differently), I originally was planning to come home for lunch. However, while in the shower that morning, I remembered I had a working lunch meeting scheduled. So G$ stepped up to the plate. I'm at my lunch meeting and I get a picture text (I'll spare ya'll) from G$ of Kairo's crate with some liquid in it and "Sweet..." I honestly thought the liquid was vomit. Not being rude, I didn't want to respond in the middle of lunch, so I waited until the walk back. And it was at that time that I realized G$ wrote a line before sending the picture: "Well it happened. Liquid poop in the crate... Do I leave it for you?" So, so, soooo much worse than vomit. I felt horrible for all parties involved. I do want the record to reflect that I offered to come home and help, but the bulk of the clean-up was already completed. The "Well it happened" was in reference to this being Kairo's first #2 accident in his crate. And no, G$ did not leave it for me to deal with.
So let's rewind and see how this all went down. G$ walked into the most retched smell ever and I'm sure immediately starts cursing me (since remember, I was supposed to be coming for lunch). He gets Kairo out of his crate and takes him to the bathroom to clean up. G$ starts wiping him down with puppy wipes, and somehow, our little pup was able to stay completely poo-free. Good job Kairo. G$'s hypothesis is that he stood the whole time. Poor G$. Poor Kairo. Poor everyone. We lost some good men out there - including his Kong and two towels. They were deemed not salvageable.
After work on Monday, I made Kairo chicken and rice. He was HUNGRY and scarfed it down faster than I've ever seen before. The fact that he was both eating and drinking made
Tuesday
Since things appeared to be better, G$ and I did what in hindsight was probably a little selfish. I had a work function - our big anniversary party where we invite both current and prospective clients, employees, friends, and family to celebrate. So we had always planned to take Kairo to daycare that day, since G$ and I would be out later than normal that evening. So he goes to daycare. No reports when G$ picks him up. So I'm thinking things are great. G$ hangs out with Kairo for a bit then meets me at the work party. We mingle, I get stuck talking to our of our teaming partners for about an hour, then we head home. The whole ride home, G$ is saying, man I hope he didn't butt pee in his crate again. I, on the other hand, am thinking, no way would he do it twice in two days! Things were getting better. WRONG! We walk into our apartment to yet again (for G$) that retched smell. This time G$ takes Kairo outside and I am on clean-up duty. Yuck!
We all go to bed, but at around 1AM, Kairo wakes up, starts dry heaving, so I quickly help him get off the bed, and he proceeds to vomit in our bedroom. Awesome. Was that it? Maybe, so we got back into bed. 30 minutes later, same thing. Puke in the bedroom. I then move the operation to the living room and from 1AM to 6AM, Kairo's up every thirty minutes throwing up. At 6AM, G$ and I "swap" and I get a few hours of sleep before going into work.
I'm now thinking, was this really the bubbles, or is it something else, something more serious?! Oh and did I mention Kairo's neutering is scheduled for Friday? Greeeeaaatt - we are probably going to have to reschedule.
Wednesday
No more butt pee accidents inside, no more vomiting, but things aren't quite 100% back to normal; however, Kairo is at 100% activity level, things seem normal outside of the digestive tract.
Thursday
Same thing in the morning. I call the vet to give him the skinny and get his opinion on whether we should go ahead with the surgery on not. We leave it as - I will monitor his bathroom situation once I get home from work and then again in the morning. Depending on how things are, we'll make a Friday morning game day decision as to whether we take him to the vet or not for the surgery.
Friday
Do we go through with the neutering surgery?! You'll just have to wait and see.
And since I like to include at least one picture, here's Kairo hiking the weekend before this disaster-of-a-week began:
<3
K$
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Proof of the Storms
You know a few weeks ago when there was all that rain - days and days and day of rain?! Well the weekend after, G$ and I took Kairo our favorite hiking spot. We took a different trail route to make the trek a little longer.
When we finally got to the Potomac, we saw that the little island that we normally throw the ball from. Pictured here:
Had been flooded and turned into this:
Pretty crazy, huh?!
We revisited it last week and the island is still under water.
Ok, that is all. Can you tell I'm trying to get through a few weeks worth of pictures? :)
<3
K$
When we finally got to the Potomac, we saw that the little island that we normally throw the ball from. Pictured here:
Had been flooded and turned into this:
Pretty crazy, huh?!
We revisited it last week and the island is still under water.
Ok, that is all. Can you tell I'm trying to get through a few weeks worth of pictures? :)
<3
K$
Bubble-licious
I know, I know, I've been MIA for entirely too long. But...I have good news!! G$, being the selfless guy that his is, used some of his birthday gift certificates to buy the Apple Wireless Keyboard!! Which means...I'm typing this on a normal keyboard with the iPad. Love it! I officially have no excuse. And I'm not going to make any more empty promises on posting more regularly, because I know as soon as I do that, it'll go down the drain.
So from about three weeks ago, I have some super cute Kairo pics to share about...BUBBLES!
There are two little girls who live in our apartment complex. They are only here temporarily, but are dying to get a puppy. Their mom said they can't get one until they move back home again. Also kind of a tragic story, they had a puppy before they moved here, but the dog had some freak health issue and died at a young age. Long story short, they come outside with treats to the give the dogs and they just looove to walk Kairo around and make him sit for treats. Oh, and Kairo loves it to. Ha!
Well a few weeks ago, these little girls came out with not only their treats, but bubbles! At first, Kairo was very, very confused.
But then he really got into it and started stalking the bubbles:
Going even as far as jumping to pop them I think we have the potential for a frisbee catching puppy!!
Unfortunately, the soapy bubbles didn't quite sit well with Kairo. G$ and I had to deal with a "stomach-sick" puppy for the next few days. And even worse, poor Kairo. More on the disasters that this week entailed in a future post.
<3
K$
So from about three weeks ago, I have some super cute Kairo pics to share about...BUBBLES!
There are two little girls who live in our apartment complex. They are only here temporarily, but are dying to get a puppy. Their mom said they can't get one until they move back home again. Also kind of a tragic story, they had a puppy before they moved here, but the dog had some freak health issue and died at a young age. Long story short, they come outside with treats to the give the dogs and they just looove to walk Kairo around and make him sit for treats. Oh, and Kairo loves it to. Ha!
Well a few weeks ago, these little girls came out with not only their treats, but bubbles! At first, Kairo was very, very confused.
But then he really got into it and started stalking the bubbles:
Going even as far as jumping to pop them I think we have the potential for a frisbee catching puppy!!
Unfortunately, the soapy bubbles didn't quite sit well with Kairo. G$ and I had to deal with a "stomach-sick" puppy for the next few days. And even worse, poor Kairo. More on the disasters that this week entailed in a future post.
<3
K$
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