Rolling Dog Farm

Blanca Gets The Works, Kenai The Question Mark

Alayne picked up blind and deaf Blanca and blind Kenai from our vet clinic in Helena on Friday.  (Little Puff was supposed to be coming home with them, too.)  Blanca had two procedures done -- a spay and a laparoscopic gastropexy, which helps giant breed dogs like Great Danes keep from bloating.  Bloat can be fatal and immediate medical care is critical to survival ... and since we're more than an hour from the nearest vet clinic, this recently developed minimally invasive surgery could make all the difference.  Thus our internal medicine specialist in Helena, Dr. Britt Culver, did the procedure last week.  The only sign is an inch-long incision in Blanca's side.

Dear old Kenai was another story.  This was one of those cases where a sudden onset of odd behavior led us to wonder whether something medical wasn't underlying it.  Starting a few weeks ago, she began to have accidents in the house ... this from a dog with impeccable potty habits.  She would hide in the bathroom, then stand up and pee -- and pee.  Kenai would appear afraid, but there was nothing going on in the house or on the ranch to explain it.  Sometimes she seemed like she was hearing strange noises, her ears swiveling back and forth while she'd act nervous. 

All of this was totally out of character for this big, blind Lab.  So we wanted Brenda and Britt to check her out medically to make sure there wasn't anything going on medically to explain it.  Everything turned out just perfectly -- especially for an old girl like Kenai.  Her bloodwork, X-rays, and neurological and physical exams all indicated a very healthy dog. 

That leaves us with "cognitive" changes due to her age.  The good news is that since coming home, Kenai is back to her old self ... so who knows?

Meanwhile, we think Blanca is on her way to developing a set of record-breaking ears. 

Widget's Case of Performance Anxiety

Alayne and I were eating lunch when we looked over and saw blind Widget bobbing and weaving, trying to find a way off the chair she'd been sleeping on.  Now, we were somewhat incredulous, since she had just climbed onto that chair less than an hour before.  And this is a chair she has climbed onto ... and down from ... countless times before.  In fact, it's her usual 'morning siesta' perch which she promptly abandons at lunch time.  Well, our lunch time, but she thinks any meal is worth sharing, especially ours.

So, just when we sit down for lunch is generally her cue for waking up, climbing down, and sauntering over to see what's for lunch. 

Widget is brimming with confidence and loves to explore, and thus her hesitation to get off the chair caught our attention.  We used to have a ramp for the short-legs to get up into the chair, but we moved it over to the futon sofa, so Widget had used a cot as a substitute.  Coming down was, apparently, a different thing altogether!  She started woo-wooing while she bobbed and weaved, almost as if she was psyching herself up for the big move, like an Olympic diver about to jump off the board.  It was as if she was having a case of performance anxiety.  I went to the office to get the video camera. 

This is a bit longer than our usual video clips -- it's just under 90 seconds.  Part of that is because there's about 15 to 20 seconds of spine-tingling tension -- will she?  won't she? -- as Widget sits motionless, pondering whether to take the daring 4-inch leap or not.