Baby It's Cold Outside

Happy Sunday everyone! We woke up to a chilly -16 Celsius this morning. It's been quite cold the past few days but the sun made it all better. Another upside to the cold weather, it keeps those little paws super clean! Yesterday, we welcomed Winter Solstice with open arms...longer and brighter days are coming!

We had a good and quiet week. Russell's recovery is going quite nicely. He had a visit from the physiotherapist last Monday and she was once again very impressed. His knee flexion is now at 110 degrees, well past the 90 degrees that is expected at this point in the recovery. Russell ditched the walker and cane well over a week ago. This doesn't mean that my hubby can now run a marathon, far from it. There is still a ways to go in the healing process and some considerable discomfort and pain at times. The nights are getting better although the pain is the worst in the early mornings. As such, we've been getting up at around 5 am. That is just fine and dandy for Merlot & Sherlock who love nothing better than to start their day early....it just means a longer wait for their breakfast LOL!

We don't have much snow on the ground but we may get 5-10 cm tomorrow night. When we got a dump of wet and heavy snow a few weeks ago, I had to deal with snow ball puppies. That was the Sunday after Russell's surgery so it fell on me to remove those pesky snow balls. Unlike Cooper & Spicy who followed the beautiful paths that I shovelled for them, our lovely boys prefer to jump in snow banks, forget the paths. So, that day, the boys and I went shopping for slush suits. They had to be ordered and came last week. We will only use them when the snow is sticky but we are ready...and bonus, they do not mind the suits at all! We also got more baby gates and decided to cut our yard in half for the Winter months, less shovelling for me. Sorry boys 😉

Those are my little news for this Sunday before Christmas. Russell will give our duo a bath today. I have a few errands to run. The next few days will be about getting ready for Christmas Eve and Day. I leave you with a few photos taken last week and one of Cooper & Spicy's 2020 Christmas photo. They are never far from our minds and we miss them dearly 💕

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas! May this holiday season bring happiness and joy for you and your family! 

With love, 

Anne, Russell, Merlot & Sherlock 

The Christmas stockings have been 
hung with care...

The squirrel is up that tree and the Boys have
him trapped until they get distracted.

The old faithful giraffe made it into the 
backyard for some catch me if you can!

A wrestling with the new slush suits....the
Boys don't mind them at all.

17 days post op, the incision is
looking good and Merlot is a perfect
caregiver.

 

Christmas is about memories and this duo gave us
many wonderful moments like this one 
captured December 24, 2020.

The week before Christmas

Happy Sunday everyone! It's very cold this morning, a chilly -12 Celsius. The snow we got last week has mostly melted and what's left makes for a very icy backyard. Russell is not about to venture out anytime soon.

This past week was good. Russell is making excellent progress. He had his first physiotherapist visit last Monday and she was impressed. His knee flexion was at 95 degrees after just five days post surgery. In 2019, the measurement was 81 after 10 days. This is greatly due to the use of the Game Ready cryo-compression unit, which we decided to keep for another few weeks. On Friday, he saw his surgeon who was equally pleased. She is 100% behind the use of the cryo unit...she said, the more the better. 

Russell is able to go down the stairs with a cane, which he does a few times a day. You know what this means, don't you.....he can resume grooming LOL! My friend Linda thinks that I got off easy with the grooming 😂 Having said all this, there is still considerable pain at times, especially when Russell gets up in the morning. Being immobile during the night is not good. Each passing day gets better though.

Meanwhile, our boys and I are doing well. Yesterday, Merlot graduated from Level 1 Obedience. I was a proud doggy mommy. Sherlock stayed home with Russell and kept him company in the TV room. Russell did a few tricks with him. Both Merlot and Sherlock are enjoying their daily trips to the basement. When I get ready to take them downstairs, they know something good is about to happen. They are such good boys 💕

On Thursday, I got my Christmas toes done, a little bit of "me time". The weather was such that I was able to walk out of the salon with flip flops. 

It is the week before Christmas. It doesn't quite feel like it this year, perhaps because of the weeks leading up to Russell's surgery and now his recovery. Nevertheless, we are having my brother, nephews and Julie over on the 25th. I have to start thinking about that day 🎄

Those are my little news for today. Russell has physio again tomorrow, Merlot gets his rabies shot on Tuesday. We are expecting rain on Wednesday. Crazy weather we're having.

I leave you with a few photos taken this past week. We call the main photo "Past & Present",  Cooper & Spicy's past ornaments and Merlot & Sherlock's new ones. Our most treasured Christmas decorations 💖 Have a great week everyone!

The tradition continues with the ornament tree...
the tree dedicated to Cooper and Spicy is full,
Merlot and Sherlock have started their tree with
lots of room for more ornaments.

Merlot, the newest Level 1
Obedience graduate and his proud Mom.

Lamb chop on the run....catch me if you can!

Whatever goes up must come down or so Merlot
thinks....another squirrel escapes.

The perfect Christmas treasure...
Sherlock under the tree.

Merlot loves his spot under the tree, 
he thinks the tree skirt is comfy.

Spicy and Cooper picture perfect at the 
Christmas photo shoot - November 11, 2023.

The journey to recovery

Happy Monday everyone! The start of a brand new week with a brand new knee!

Russell's TKR surgery went very well. It took place last Wednesday at 12:45 pm. He spent the night at the Lakeshore Hospital and was discharged Thursday at noon. It is good to have this behind us. It's only been five days or so and Russell is making remarkable progress, greatly due to the Game Ready cryo-compression unit. For those of you who mentioned that it is a game changer, you were right. The pain is less, swelling is down, as such he is much more mobile. Although the walker is always close by, Russell finds himself being able to walk without it at times. 

Having said all this, the leg still needs to be elevated 40 minutes per hour and exercises three times daily. This afternoon, the physiotherapist from CLSC will come for the first time. I think she will be impressed by Russell's progress. So far, it appears to be a somewhat easier journey, albeit not without pain, than five years ago. 

A few interesting tidbits about the surgery...the operated leg was held in place by an orthopedic robot which allows the procedure to be perfected according to the need of each patient. Russell thought it was pretty cool to see. A not so cool moment though came when the epidural wore off half way through surgery. It seems that his body metabolized it too quickly....it made for a few interesting minutes until the anesthesiologist intervened and put him under for the duration of the procedure. The memory of that moment will not be forgotten any time soon.

The journey to recovery has begun with each passing day bringing the promise of healing.  Russell will come out of this with a strong knee, ready to walk the streets of Italy in May.

In other news, Merlot and Sherlock came home on Friday, after having spent a mini vacation at Myriam's. We missed them a whole lot. They quickly got back into their routine. It's good to all be back together 💕  

Those are my news for today's blog. Russell will see his surgeon this coming Friday and get the bandage off. Another step in healing. The next few weeks leading up to Christmas will be very busy. Now that the surgery is behind us, I have to get my act together and start planning the upcoming festivities. 

Have a great week everyone!

A waterproof bandage with no
staples...sutures under the skin,
glue holds it all in place.

The Game Ready cryo-compression unit doing
its magic, a chilly 34F with soothing compression.

The Boys - Sherlock and Merlot 
looking very handsome and freshly
bathed at Myriam's before coming 
home!

The Boys, home and ready for some training...
they did not miss a beat and hit the trampoline
right on cue.

Nothing better than a fresh blanket of snow to
sniff and explore.

 Sherlock and Merlot love to lounge
close to the Christmas tree.

Partners in rehab, Spicy and Cooper giving 
Russell encouragement with his physio, this
moment captured February 9, 2019.

T-minus 3 to TKR

Happy Sunday and welcome December! Yesterday we saw our first snow flakes flying, a few stuck to the ground and our pooches were crazy. Our friends in Huntsville have been hammered with snow, over 50 cm in some areas. Although we miss our beautiful log home, we do not miss that kind of snow!

Only three days to Russell's surgery. He is ready and looks forward to having it behind him. He has all he needs for a quick and speedy recovery....the cryo-compression unit from Game Ready. It is a rental for a two week period from December 4. It came a few days early so that he could fully test the system on himself prior to surgery. According to his many friends who have used it, it will be a game changer in terms of recovery, less pain meds and swelling. This unit, or something similar, is also highly recommended by his surgeon. Thank you to his friend Gary who told him about this specific unit, used successfully by his wife. 

We didn't do much this past week. I ran a few errands in preparation for Christmas. I got some baking done. We sampled a few then froze the rest. Our Christmas tree is up and looks nice. Merlot and Sherlock sniffed it once then walked away. 

I signed up for the FunFit Advent Calendar starting today, 25 days of fun exercises for the boys. I did this with Cooper & Spicy years ago and it was fun. 

Merlot had his fifth obedience class yesterday. Two more to go and we graduate! I haven't decided yet when we will do level 2. For now, I need a wee break, so do our boys. 

Russell gave me a quick crash course on what is involved in the daily grooming routine. Blue shampoo for the feet, yellow shampoo for the bum area....I got this LOL! With this Game Ready cryo-compression unit, our master groomer will be back on his feet in no time!

On Tuesday, I will drop off Sherlock and Merlot at Myriam's for a few days. It will be a mini vacation for them and it will give me a chance to play nurse without interruptions. It's all good.

That's my blog for today. I will report on Russell's recovery next week, with maybe a pic of two of his newly operated knee. Have a great week everyone!

Sherlock and Merlot are ready
for Christmas...they loved the tree!

A furry blanket of dogs while I enjoy
my book...nothing better.

A romp on the deck before the weather pushes
us all inside for good until warmer times.

A festive planter on the deck and the 
boys are enjoying the view.

A frosty start to the day...a few snow flakes
tasted really good. Sherlock and Merlot licked 
up as many as they could.

A doggie version of three-card monte, there is
one kibble under a cone and Merlot is intent on
finding the tasty reward.

Sherlock invented his own game which combines
treat ball chasing and the hurdles, smart boy!

Wind-swept buddies on a few patches of snow...
Coop & Spicy captured on December 12, 2021.