doggy massage

Last Friday, I was out at karaoke when Sophia gave me a call. Dean had rolled on the ground in Xbox's coat due to the smell or whatever. He then whimpered and was unable to stand up properly. He injured his front left leg and his back right leg was already hurt. When I came right home, he insisted on greeting me and it was one of the most saddest and most endearing things I have ever seen. Sophia and Xbox were calling to him to stay down but he hobbled his way down the hall. I made him stop and I carried him to my room.

I spent all of Saturday and some of Sunday babying him. I put his socks on him to provide extra traction and then carried him around the house. On Saturday, when I took him out for his walk, he was only able to walk halfway around the block before he refused to go any further. It sucked. I hate seeing him this way.

By Sunday, he was moving a little better but was still limping a little. I e-mailed my friend who has gone to school for dog physical therapy. It turns out that she was schooled in Reiki but knew of a good massage therapist. I didn't really care how much it cost. I scheduled the appointment for as soon as I could.

Today, Laurie came over to give Dean a massage. I spent the first half of my workday nervous about how he would react and the second half bragging about how well he did. She was great enough to do a house call which made Dean more at ease. Then, she had me setup the house to get him to relax more. I then rubbed his ears while she gave him a good massage. He was mostly calm, only reacting slightly when she rubbed his hind legs. Not only did she give me some good tips about how to massage him but she told me about different natural meds, grooming tips, and home decor to benefit him.

This evening, Sophia and I headed to Ikea to buy an area rug. We bought one and he seems to love it. I've had a runner in the living room for a while but it doesn't provide a lot of area for him to lounge on. I've been meaning to buy more rugs and this was good motivation since it was just what the doctor ordered. It's a nice rug and it matched the curtains nicely. However, I'm going to have to go back tomorrow to get another one because it doesn't cover as much room as we thought it would. Hopefully, these small changes will add up to Dean doing better.

What else?

Speaking of dogs, on Sunday, my new thing was going to Hamburger Mary's for a bingo benefit for Fences for Fido. I want to work more with this organization, especially after watching the video of their first operation. Unfortunately, nobody else showed up, even to host the event. I still had some good food, read my book and had a drink before heading back. After a weekend of staying home with Dean, it was nice to get out even if it wasn't for a benefit.