Puppy Eyes

Word of the Day

Foxfax - The cunning and crafty facts one gets from a salesman when trying to buy a new or used car.

We're Home!

HTP and I collected Gypsy from my folks' place, where she was visiting while HTP and I celebrated Valentine's Day and my birthday at the casino (no dogs allowed), and drove home from Vegas. Gypsy enjoyed quality time with my folks. I think she has a thing for my Mom's toes. When we got to their place on Thursday, Gypsy was so excited that she lost all bladder control all over their sidewalk. Poor baby tends to do that when she's REALLY excited.

HTP and I had a wonderful time at Sam's Town. The machines weren't kind but the food and adult beverages were wonderful. I now have a fridge full of left-overs. One can only eat so much at one sitting although HTP and I put in our best efforts at our several sittings. I stuffed myself with raw oysters every single night. That's one thing that I don't make at home. We had prime rib. I had a whole Maine lobster. And I had Osso Bucco. Yummy. Kind of like an Italian version of pot roast...but with veal. I saved the bone for Gypsy, and half my meals are the leftovers in the fridge. We were given a suite with a fridge. Plasma TV in the room too. I didn't spend too much time in the room though.

Actually, Gypsy isn't too happy with me right now. She's got a doctor appointment and possible surgery later today and...no food, no Vegas bone yet either. She's sitting at my feet right now puzzled by the glitch in our routine and giving me her best puppy eye look. No food? No water? Nothing since 10 PM last night. We're heading out to the vet hospital in an hour. I'm not exactly sure if Gypsy will be having her operation today or not but the implication was there that after our consultation they'd take her and prep her for her surgery. Poor Gypsy was born with a birth defect which could cause major problems in the future. She's got a common defect for her breed (Luxating Patella) or...trick knee. Both her knees are affected. Anyway, they can fix it surgically but I'll probably have her spayed at the same time since it's a genetic problem. Besides, I doubt that I'd have her bred anyway.

Gypsy Update - 1:30 PM

After consulting with the veterinarian this morning, I left Gypsy for her operation. Because of the severity of Gypsy's luxating patellas (stage IV), the surgeon recommended that I have both knees operated on at this time. Apparently the surgeon prefers doing this sort of operation when the dog is still growing...as a puppy. "Why didn't I bring her in sooner?", I was asked. I did. They told me that I should wait until Gypsy was full grown. Thankfully, I didn't wait too long. Gypsy still has a bit of growing to do. Not much, but they don't want to wait and do one knee at a time. I haven't heard anything since I left Gypsy at the hospital. I've got my cell phone and I'm staying off the phone. They need to do blood work, x-rays, and then basically break both her hind legs at the knees and do some fancy drill work and pinning so that they can re-shape her legs so they'll function the way that they're supposed to. They tell me that she won't be able to come home until maybe sometime tomorrow...or even the next day. Sounds like recovery time will be a bit of a challenge.

Gypsy Update - 6 PM

I just got the call from the veterinarian/surgeon. Gypsy is doing just fine. She went under the knife at around 2 PM and was out of surgery and recovering on pain meds at 5 PM. Our main worry now is that Gypsy heals up properly and doesn't do anything to undo all the surgeon's work. Again, recovery is going to take time and is going to be a challenge. In the meantime, Gypsy gets to spend the night and most of tomorrow at the hospital. I'll have to wait to hear when I can pick her up. Poor baby is going to be hurting but I'm definitely relieved that she's come out of this major surgery. I'll try to keep everyone posted but I may not get a chance to blog in the coming days. I don't know what to expect during this recovery period.

Murphyism of the Day

Harris's Warning

The real danger is not that computers will begin to think like men, but that men will begin to think like computers.

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath. At night, the ice weasels come.

- Matt Groening