Under the Knife

Bright and early today we went to meet with the orthopedic surgeon that would be fixing up our little boy. We know Dr. Fry well as he has already operated on Slugger three other times – once for the exact same surgery has he’s having today but on the other leg. Slugger will be quite the fashion statement – matching scars on each knee.

While Slugger was in surgery we wanted to stay nearby in case there were any complications. So we went to our most favorite place to hike – Cougar Mountain. Talk about memories. This is where Wazzu and I hiked together for 2-3 hours every weekday for a year when she first came to live with us….and when I was still healthy.

The girls know these trails backwards and forwards. They feel more at home on these trails than anywhere else in the world. It is here that we taught the dogs to always wait at trail junctions. They are pretty good at that no matter where we go. But today they were 100% perfect. Interesting how they remember things.

Before we started the hike we went to the overlook. It was a little hazy today so we couldn't see the mountains but it was clear enough to see the lake and city.



We had plenty of time so we did a number of the trails. It was a sunny day in the mid 50's so it was a very pleasant time. As always, the trails were very empty - we only passed two other people the entire three hours we hiked.

One of the trails here goes by some old mine shafts. Over the years, a number of people have gone missing while hiking on this mountain. It is thought that they fell into one of the mine shafts. Only one of the mines is covered. The rest just have a wood rail fence around two of the sides. We only went on that trail once as it is just too dangerous. But we do go on the trail that has the covered mine shaft. As you can see, it is covered with a metal grating. It is very difficult to get a picture of the shaft through the grating - at least with the lighting we had today.



So to try to give you an idea of what it looks like, Mike knelt on the grating to get the camera down between the grating to get a picture. It's hard to tell the angle - but in these pictures you are looking straight down.




As you can see the holes are large and go straight down. There isn't a slope around the edge. So if you're hiking through the brush and go one step too far, you're gone. The shafts go down hundreds of feet and there is a large pool of cold water at the bottom. So if you fall in - it's the end. Scary!!

Another interesting fact about Cougar Mountain is that there is a pond here that is a very dense breeding pond for the Northwestern Salamander. The salamander eggs are in little jelly-like sacks that are laying around in the shallow parts of the water. We saw hundreds of these sacks in this pond. Each sack, depending on its size, has well over a hundred salamanders. Here is one of the smaller sacks. Each green spot is a salamander.



The pond was so still that the reflection of the trees was so strong. It's almost hard to tell that there is actually water in this picture.



Wazzu took a minute to look at the pretty little pond.



The scenery on these trails is so varied. In addition to the mine shafts and the pond there is a huge clay pit. This has been a favorite place of the dogs for years. However, we skipped that area today since we were short the "lure." But there was still plenty of beauty to be seen.

The paths here are so pretty as they wind through the green forest.



At one point we went over a little bridge that takes us over a very pretty little creek.



Wazzu is super happy to be back in Washington. Why? Because here you can put your head way down in the dirt and not have to worry about getting sick! You may have to worry about getting bitten by whoever lives in the hole. But, that never seems to concern her.



Another good thing about the forest is that there are many scents. I don't know what they all are but Wazzu is sure there is one here!



Of course when you find a good scent you have to call you hiking buddy over to check it out too.



While the dogs are busy air scenting we spend the time enjoying the beauty of the distant Cascade Mountains.



There were some pretty sights in the forest as well. The Western Trillium were in full bloom.



I don't know what kind of mushroom this is but we saw it on a few different trees.



The girls were having a great time but after three hours it really was time to go and leave these beautiful trails.



We had a number of errands to do. And it was such a pleasure to do them! It is so nice to be in an area where we know where all the stores and how to get everywhere without needing a map. One of our errands took us to a specialty pet store. The girls loved this stop. Sparkie just goes out of her mind - it is total sensory overload. There are food, treats, and goodies all over the store right at nose level. Oh my goodness, what to do?! Wazzu didn't even notice the goodies. She was way too busy making friends with the three store kitties. She was laying down with them right at their level, nose to nose, wagging her tail as fast as it would go. It was very cute. Earth Pet is a very small store but very popular. At one point there were the three cats, our two dogs, two large labs, and a german shepherd all in the store at once. But there was no problem as each animal seemed to have a different agenda. I'm pretty sure the atmosphere was much calmer once Sparkie left!

One of our errands took us to a small shop we have frequented for years. We were devastated to find the shop owner had aged 10 years in just the past year. She couldn't follow a conversation and despite having been friends with us she didn't seem to remember us. After finally getting through with our business she suddenly broke down. She really needed an ear to listen. So we stayed about 45 minutes as she tearfully told us of her troubles. This was the first time she had let it all out. I'm so glad we went there today - I sure hope we helped.

Shortly after that we got the call we had been waiting for. Slugger's surgery went well. It turns out it was a complete tear of the ACL. Fortunately, the meniscus was in great shape and very little arthritis had developed. They checked out his other knee (which they fixed four years ago) and said it looked perfect.

Time to head back home and get the house set up as a recovery center.

Debbie
4/30/07

It Only Takes a Second

Today is Slugger’s last day before he has to stay still for quite some time. So we decided to take a nice walk at his old stompin’ grounds on Tiger Mountain. Of course, Krispie Kreme was right on the way so we stopped for a healthy breakfast to give us plenty of energy for our hike!

We have never seen Tiger Mountain so crowded. Normally we’ll see five to ten cars there but today there were well over 100. But that’s okay as we know all the trails there really well so we just took some of the trails that for some reason are rarely used. Just as we started we passed a couple with two young children. They loved our “fire” dog. From then on we never saw another soul. Perfect!

Over the winter there were some pretty severe wind and rain storms in the area. We were actually surprised that we didn’t see more damage along the trails. One interesting sight was a huge tree that was blown over. I’m sure you’ve seen trees that don’t get broken but just tip over – roots and all. We came across the largest root system we’ve ever seen go over. You can't see the actual tree as it is below the bushes. You can see one little tree that just went for a ride as the big one fell.

To give you some perspective this root base was a least 40’ across. You can see better in the following picture how shallow the root system is for such a huge tree. As you can see the roots aren’t even deep as a log that had fallen on the ground.



This tree must have deeper roots as instead of falling over it broke off. You can see that this tree fell over very recently.



The sun was shining down through the trees and I got this shot – sure makes it look like a lot of trees!



After so much rain all winter I’m sure these little Pacific Sleeping Beauties were glad to see a ray of sunlight.



We all had the best time. Being home on the trails we hiked together for years felt so good. We did a lot of reminiscing and the dogs enjoyed being on their home turf. And to top it off the weather was nice. Oh it was plenty cool but at least it wasn’t raining.

After our hike we went to a good friend’s house for lunch. They were so very kind to us and made us the most wonderful lunch. The five dogs all enjoyed playing together for a couple hours as well. All three of our dogs loved playing with their new puppy. How cute is this puppy!!



We had a nice visit and are so grateful to have such nice friends.

We hadn't turned the heat on this morning as we were going to be gone all day. When we got home it was really cold in the RV. Sparkie went in the crate we had set up for Slugger and tried to curl up and get warm. You can always stay warm if you cover your nose!

Debbie
4/29/07

PS I’d just like to take this chance to remind all of you with dogs that they depend on you to never put them in situation they can’t handle. Always be aware of their surroundings – don’t let them down. A situation that is meant to be so innocent can change so rapidly. It only takes a second. Hug all your pets today – each one of them is truly a blessing.

Slugger's Day

We spent the day trying to make sure that Slugger had a good time in his last days before his surgery. So our first activity was to take a short hike up in Monroe along the river.

The river was much higher than normal and was extremely swift. No swimming for the dogs here as they would have been swept away in a heartbeat.



While we were walking, Slugger found something really "good" to roll in. We try not to let him roll in things too much but this is his last chance for a long time so we gave in. He was really going at it and was just having the time of his life - until....



He rolled and rolled and got too close to the edge and over he went. There was about a three foot drop down to the water and the water was three or four feet deep. He hit the water flat on his back and then submerged completely under the water. Fortunately, Mike had him on a leash so he was able to pull him back up as the water was sweeping him downstream. After getting back up on shore he wanted to roll some more. But he was much more careful and every time he got near the edge he'd get up, scoot back, and start over again.

One thing we noticed about the forest here is that it is so green compared to the forests we've been in the past eight months.



After our hike we took Slugger swimming - which is his most favorite thing in the world.



He had a great time and of course didn't want to quit. He showed his professional swimmers turn each time he went for the toy.



Sparkie wasn't real excited about swimming but she'll do anything for her daddy.



Of course swimming makes you hungry! And the dogs most favorite restaraunt isn't far from where we're staying so it seemed like the perfect ending to a nice fun day for Slugger.

The restaraunt is called "Burgermaster." It's an old fashioned drive-in hamburger place that we've been going to since 1984. It's been around since 1959 (I think) but we didn't discover it until '84.



You look at the menu from your car and when you are ready you turn on your lights. Someone will then come right out and take your order.



Then a very short time later they deliver the food right to your car! Slugger thinks that's just perfect.



The food is super good. Mike and I both really love their Hot Fudge Shakes. Mmmm, good. They even have doggy burgers (just bun and hamburger) that they cut in quarters. Of course we ordered some of those! They also bring each dog a really big biscuit and a bowl of water.

I think Slugger had a really fun day. And we had lots of fun seeing him have so much fun.

Debbie
4/28/07

Early and Late

Wednesday and Thursday we spent visiting my parents in Olympia, WA. It was so good to see them again.

Mike spent the days hiking with the girls in familiar territory. I stayed home with Slugger since he can't do any long hikes now. I spent my days doing laundry and on the phone trying to get off a gazillion mailing lists so that my parents won't have to put up with so much junk mail. I'm sure the mailman will enjoy not having to deliver so much mail too. They mailbox seems to overflow just about every day as mail is delivered there for my parents, us, my brother, and my two nieces.

Getting off the mailing lists of dog catalog companies was so easy. The people were all just as nice as could be. But getting off the mailing list of PeoplePC was impossible. I spent over an hour and a half (over two days) trying to get off their list. They wanted my current address, my previous address, current phone number, previous phone number, then current and past email address. But when they asked for my social security number I drew the line. Finally they told me they couldn't get me off the list unless I gave them my credit card number. Not a chance in the world!! I finally told them to just forget it. The guy then said "Is there anything else I can help you with." I told him no, he had done plenty. Wouldn't you think it would be much more valueable to the company to have him actually helping a customer than spending an hour and a half giving me a bad time about getting off the mailing list. Why not just take me off the list, hang up and help the next person. Mike says it was the same kind of run around when we tried to cancel our service a few years ago. What horrible customer service. Not a good way to get good word of mouth advertising.

Thursday we celebrated both my dad's birthday and my mom's birthday. A little late for dad and a little early for mom. Hopefully it all balances out. Their birthday's are exactly two weeks apart and we weren't there early enough for dad's and won't be there for mom's either as the campground didn't have space for us for as long as we wanted to stay. Even though we had a nice low key celebration I think a fine time was had by all.

Happy Birthday, Mom and Dad, from all five of us.

Debbie
4/25-26/07

Race Track

Today was another long day of driving but it was made much nicer in the fact that we got to stop at our favorite pizza place for lunch. There used to be a lot of Pietro's around, but as far as we know there is only one left in existance and that is in Salem, Oregon. Whenever we are in Oregon we do our very best to stop at Pietro's. We always order one to eat and a few more to put in the freezer. Mmmm, it was so good!

We got to our campground and settled in. Then we drove another half hour or so to my parent's house. As we drove in their neighborhood we saw this very defined rainbow. And I swear you could see the end of it. This rainbow ended exactly on this huge house just across the bay. We rushed to get in the house so we could get a picture before the rainbow disappeared. We made it just in time as a few minutes later it was gone.

The dogs were so happy to see my parents, as always. Mike and I spent quite some time going through nine months worth of mail - mostly junk. We had a very enjoyable dinner and evening with my parents. While we were all downstairs visiting we could hear the dogs upstairs running around using the living room as their race track. They were so happy to have a big house to play in. And boy did they ever take advantage of it. Hmm, why don't they build RV's with race tracks?

Debbie

4/24/07

Up & Down

Seems like all we've done for the last 12 hours of driving is go up and down mountains. What a long day! But at least the weather was beautiful today which made the driving much nicer for Mike.

We did see a little bit of varied scenery today. Beautiful for quite a bit of the drive was Mt. Shasta.



Slugger's favorite scenery was watching all the cow pastures - and the cows of course.



Mike enjoyed the volcano which he kept telling me could blow any minute. He watches too many movies!



Debbie
4/23/07

SQUEAL, SQUEAL, SQUEAL

It poured all night long. Luckily, it stopped right at 7:00am when we were all starting to move around. Unfortunately, at 6:00am a pig started screaming his head off. We wondered what the heck was going on. But we ignored it the best we could.

The girls were both on fire this morning. Wazzu was happy once again and Sparkie must have had jet engine fuel for breakfast. They each got 1st place Q’s in the first two runs of the day, Jumpers and Regular.

As usual, Chances was really hard. Wazzu came so close to getting it. There were two really hard parts and she got one of them so even though we didn’t Q, I was so proud of her and so happy. I love it when you can see a dog think. Wazzu was heading toward the wrong jump and I could just see her thinking and processing the information she had and at the last second she turned to the correct jump. Smart girl!! Sparkie thought it was really easy and had no clue why all the other dogs were having trouble. I didn’t look at the little dogs but in the 16” and over dogs only two dogs Q’d – Sparkie and her main competitor down here, the amazing Chellie.

Weavers and Tunnelers were both really fun courses. Actually the set of courses they used today were really fun. I hope we see this set again as they were all just really fun courses to run – really great flow yet still had good challenges. Anyway, I’ve never seen Sparkie run so fast. She was blazing. She got 1st in Weavers by quite a good margin. Tunnelers was really competitive with the top four dogs being spread by only three tenths of a second. Of course, Sparkie was in that group!

Wazzu was too fast in Weavers. How can you be too fast you may ask. She’s not used to going that fast so when she got to the weave entrance while she entered the weaves on the correct side she was leading with the wrong foot. So she had to go through the weaves crossing her feet. And though she was trying as hard as I’ve ever seen her try, you just can’t go fast when your feet have to cross at every pole. But when she was out of the weaves and going through the tunnels, she was as fast as I’ve ever seen her. I thought since she was so fast in the tunnel portion that we still might Q but we were one second over time. Too bad. But I was so happy with her as she really was fast and happy. She also was very fast and happy in Tunnelers, earning another Q there.

Even if Slugger had been healthy, we would have had to pull him from every run today. In the open air building right next to the open arena we were in, and right next to our RV, they were having a pig auction. I don’t know if you’ve spent much time around pigs but they don’t like to be handled one bit! They squeal like crazy. This squealing went on all day long. And Slugger was going ballistic. He would start screaming and crying which then led to howling. Then Sparkie, who had no idea what the problem was, would start howling as well. It would have been entertaining if Slugger hadn’t been so traumatized. He worked himself into a frenzy. We finally decided he might be better if we crated him in the arena. But to get there we had to walk by the pig area. Slugger totally forgot that his leg hurt and he was pulling with every bit of muscle he had. Mike finally had to pick him up and carry him in a bear hug to get by the pig area.

The squealing really got bad and was really getting on everyone’s nerves. I’m sure it was quite a sight to see all of us walking the course covering our ears. A bunch of us wanted to go over and just open all the gates and let the pigs loose. Mike said all the squealing was just making him hungry for some bacon. Eewww. We heard a lot of people say they would check to see if there was going to be a pig auction before they signed up for another trial there.

I’m thinking that maybe Sparkie thought the pigs might catch her if she stood still as she ran like a rocket today getting 1st in every run but one, in which she was less than .30 out of first. That’s quite an impressive day considering the competition she was up against. So other than the squealing pigs it was a pretty good day.

I found it to be interesting today how long a memory a dog really has. I think it truly is WAY more than we ever give them credit for. There was a lady there this weekend that has some Kelpies. They were parked near us so we crossed paths with them quite often. Wazzu didn’t really pay much attention to any of them until the lady brought out this one that was chocolate brown and just a tad smaller than Wazzu. Wazzu started wagging her tail really hard and started pulling on the leash (which she never does) trying to drag us over to see this dog. This dog looked just like Wazzu’s best friend, Nick, who sadly is no longer with us. Of course I’ll never forget Nick….and now I know that Wazzu won’t ever forget either. Today was for you, Nick buddy. You’ll be in our hearts forever.

We took off right after the trial ended today to start our trek home. We’re really sad to have to say goodbye to our nice little group of friends down there so much earlier than expected. They are a great group of people and it is fun for Sparkie to have such great competition. I made the comment as we drove away that the people there sure are nice. Mike said “Yes, but it’s too bad they live in such a cool rainy place. If we wanted to be around a really nice group of people in a cool rainy place, we could just stay home.” So very true.

Debbie
4/22/07

Shattered

(Before I get started on today's post I just wanted to pass along a tip. While reading our blog the other day my mom accidentally discovered that if you click on any of the pictures in our blog they will blow up to the size of your screen. Enjoy.)

Since the trial doesn't start until tomorrow we had all day to spend doing whatever we wanted. (Like most days! Tee Hee) After a leisurely morning we decided to find a place where the dogs could walk on the beach. Mike did a lot of research on the computer and found that most of the beaches don't allow dogs on them at all. But he did find one that looked okay.

The surgeon had told us that Slugger shouldn't run through the forest but that he could do pretty much whatever he felt like as it wouldn't really do any further damange to his knee. Since he won't be allowed to do much for quite a while after surgery we thought a nice walk on the beach would be fun for him.

We drove to Bodega Bay and even though the computer said dogs were allowed, the very first sign we saw said no dogs. It was really a shame as there was a beautiful trail all along the bluff overlooking the ocean. I would have loved to take that beautiful walk. It was so pretty - but of course we weren't going to hike without the dogs.

Mike got out to see what all the sign said and it turns out this is a great spot for whale watching. I wondered why there were so many people standing on top of this huge rock just staring at the ocean. Everyone must have had better eyes than me as they would all get excited and point but I just saw water - but it was pretty water. Finally I did see a whale! But it was far away - you can use your imagine much like I did as you try to find the whale in this picture.



The coastline really was spectacular. I could have stayed much longer than we did our mission was to find a place the dogs could walk around.



Before leaving, I had Mike and the dogs stand out on the bluff at the parking lot for the obligatory family picture.



But then Slugger didn't want to leave. He loved just staring at the water and smelling all the ocean smells.



While Mike and Slugger watched the water, I went to take some pictures looking the other direction. Even though it was totally different scenery it was still so beautiful.



In addition to being pretty, the ocean can sure be strong.



Because we were so high above the water, there were a lot of seagulls flying around below us. It isn't often you get the opportunity to get a picture of a seagull from above so I was determined to get one. But it wasn't meant to be. They were so close and so fast that I just couldn't get one in focus. But I did get one that was flying at about our same height.



I think my favorite place of all is the beach. I just think the ocean is so majestic. The coastline here reminds me a lot of the Oregon Coast except the water is so much more blue here.



There were a lot of rocks in the water which made for some interesting sights as the water came crashing against them.



Just as I was getting in the car I noticed a seagull yawning. I never thought about birds yawning before. Maybe he just had something stuck in his throat. Anyway, I missed the wide open mouth shot but managed to get him with his mouth still open just a little.



Now it was on to find a beach where the dogs were allowed. Not far away we found a nice little bay or cove area. This seemed like a nice little secluded area where people would stop for just a few minutes and then leave. Seemed like a great place for the dogs to have a little beach time.

Wazzu immediately showed her pleasure with the place.



Slugger immediately wanted to oblige and play with her but of course that wasn't allowed. Meanwhile, Sparkie found a plastic bottle on the beach and she entertained herself with it for at least 20 minutes.





All along one side of the cove was a hill. At the bottom of the hill next to the water was a rocky little ledge. We decided to see how far we could walk on that. The water level was low so you could walk out a ways but it was very slippery as there was wet slimey seaweed covering the rocks.



At one point we found a small cave back in the rocks. We tried to get the girls to go back in it but there was water dripping from the ceiling above and each time they got dripped on they would turn around.



While we were busy with our attention on the cave, Slugger found some nice mud to dig in. At first we were going to stop him but then decided this was his last chance to do something he really enjoys before his surgery so we let him go at it. Needless to say, he wasn't the cleanest dog when he got done!



Notice him licking his lips in the above picture. Guess what happens after that. Yuck!



Muddy or not, he is just plain cute (at least in his mommy's eyes).



As you might imagine, we wanted to get the mud off of him before letting him back in the car. So he got to trot along in the water to get washed off. Notice how he is three legged to help protect his injury.



While walking in the water helped clean him off a little, he was still muddy. So while the girls and I played on the beach, Mike took Slugger to the car to wash him off a bit more.

When Mike opened the back door, he tossed Sparkie's leash into the front seat. Unfortunately, the leash accidentally hit the head rest and careened into the passenger side front window. I hit just right (or just wrong) and the entire window shattered into a gazillion pieces. Mike didn't want Slugger getting cut so he took Slugger over and tied him to a log near the car.

A few minutes later when the girls and I came up to the car we saw Slugger tied up shivering and shaking and the window completely shattered. I thought someone had broken into the car. We put the girls on a sit stay next to Slugger while we tried to get all the broken glass out of the car. It was a huge mess. While Mike finished cleaning, I called our insurance company. Within ten minutes they had found a company near where our RV was located that could get the glass delivered to them and could also replace it for us in just a couple hours. Thank you State Farm!!

By now all the dogs were worried. They just wanted in the car. And shucks, now we were going to have to cut our afternoon short so we could get the car fixed. After getting the dogs cleaned up and in the car we decided that we really needed to find a place for them to take a nice little walk and relax a bit from all the stress.

We found this nice little loop walk in a park on the way back and we were the only ones there. To our surprise, there were these beautiful little fields full of flowers which I later learned are called Ice Plants. Even though they are considered an invasive plant, they were very pretty.



A couple fields had flowers all the same color.



But most of the fields had a couple different color flowers.



We hadn't seen many flowers in bloom yet this year so we really enjoyed looking at these. Here are a few shots of the Ice Plants.













Even though we were mesmerized by the flowers, this was actually supposed to be a bird watching park. We did see some Brants in the water nearby.



But now we had to rush home and drop the dogs and me off so Mike could get to the glass repair shop. A while later, Mike called to inform me that it was going to take at least two hours so he was going to walk around while the car was being fixed.

About 45 minutes later, I got a call from the glass repair shop saying that some of the glass must have gotten down in to the locking mechanism and they couldn't get the door open even after trying for over half an hour. They advised me that I needed to call the Honda dealer to see if they would be able to open it. When I talked the Honda service shop they said they couldn't get to it until Saturday afternoon but that we would have to get it over there right now and drop it off before they closed. This wasn't sounding good! So I told them I totally understood their situation and then proceeded to explain our predicament. After quite a bit of sweet talk, they said they could look at it today if we got it over there ASAP. Cool - now all I had to do was call Mike (who was out walking around town) and have him take the car over to the dealer.

But when I called Mike I just got his voicemail! ARG. Well, I'd done all I could do. There was nothing to do but just wait. Fortunately, Mike happened to walk back to the glass shop not too much later to see how it was going. They told him the problem and he called me to see what was going on. (He still hadn't gotten my message.) Anyway, he got to the Honda dealer and they got the door open in about two minutes. So Mike zoomed back to the glass repair place (it is now after 5pm on Friday evening) and the guy said he would stay late and replace our window. How nice was that! A couple hours later the car looks like new again - although the door doesn't unlock very well. Not a big deal as we don't use that door all that much - at least we won't any more!

After Sluggers leg injury, the gas station problem, getting lost, and the shattered window, our friends from Nevada don't really want to hang around us as they're afraid the bad luck might rub off on them. I've always heard things happen in threes. But we're up to four so I'm pretty confident we're done for a while. From now on - it's all good!

Debbie
4/21/07