this and that

Hey there, folks! I thought I would give you a brief update with what’s been happening.  Since Charlie can no longer ride the bus (driver slammed breaks on and he went flying down the aisle) he stays home during the day in his comfy crate- and loves it (trust me, if I didn’t have to work to pay the mortgage I would totally love hanging in that crate!).  I Skype in on him every now and then just to curb my self-inflicted guilt of crating him and guess what, 99% of the time he’s sleeping.  And that other 1%?  That would be him changing positions only to go right back to sleep.  That makes feel better about leaving him at home, at least until the next person asks me, “Where’s Charlie?” and when I answer they make me feel bad all over again (so, if you are reading this PLEASE stop asking me that).

Now that the weather is getting better, we are spending a lot more time outside.  I am trying to do multiple, short spurts of play so that he can build his tolerance up again without making his elbow hurt too badly.  We’ve been going on walks at a slower pace, too.  All exercise is turned down a notch to accommodate his elbow.  The good news is that ever since he’s been on the super duper joint supplements he isn’t getting stiff (after laying down and then getting up he’d be really sore before).  But, if we run too much then he starts limping again.  I give him pain meds as needed for that.

On May 1^st, we go back to UPenn for further evaluations on his elbow.  We know for sure he has the arthritis and that the joint is deteriorating, but they want to do further testing to verify the elbow dysplasia (fragmented coronoid process).  This visit entails a meeting with their ortho vet and a very possible CT Scan.  The thing that I am most worried about for this appointment is that Charlie can’t eat his breakfast because they’ll have to sedate him for the scan- Charlie LOVES his food.  I know how I feel when I have to fast like that (watch out, I am the hangry queen).  Poor guy!

Last week was fun because Charlie was delivered to me at work (thanks Ma!).  He even got to come to a meeting with the Commissioners!  I went to go visit my best friend in Georgia for 5 days, so Charlie got to go on his own vacation to his favorite family’s house- the Williams family!  Anne Marie (Charlie’s first mom) is picked him up in the city after work and I am left for the airport as soon as I was done work.    I knew he is going to have a blast with them.  He got to hang and play with his brother, Pax (the cutest chocolate lab that’s a service dog in-training), go to the beach, run errands, and be with his first loves!  We both came back refreshed and excited to see each other- you’d never see a butt wiggle so much with happiness!

This weekend we get to go and teach 1^st-4^th graders for 3 services at the Worship Center in New Holland.  The kids LOVE learning with Charlie.  He has some great lessons under his collar.  We spend about 9 hours there once a month and it’s a great experience for all of us!

Sunday is the deadline for the Team Charlie t-shirts.  They come in green and purple and all sizes!  Check them out at: www.booster.com/charlietheservicedog3.  It’s a great way to support Charlie!