Bark in the Park

On Saturday, September 25, 2010 from 11-3, the 1st Annual "Bark in the Park" was held at Seaview Park in Halifax.  The Bark in the Park replaces the "Dog Jog" that was held for so many years to fund-raise for the Metro Branch SPCA.

The forecast called for a mixed bag of weather; we didn't get our sunshine, but at least it didn't full out rain either.  The temperature was perfect for the day and especially for the dogs!

Brosa, of course, went with me.  There was live music, snacks, a bbq, a disc-dog demonstration by Lietash Canine Academy (Brosa wasn't interested today, so we didn't take part).  Bobby Mac from Q104 FM radio was the MC for the day - he did a great job, and when he wasn't on stage, he was meeting everyone with his own 3 dogs.  He met Brosa as well, and seemed quite taken by him.

The adorable adoptables started the event as they were led down the path by a piper!

There were many vendors set up, including House of Dogs.  Brosa was in heaven here!

There were dogs of all shapes and sizes, and came in single-breeds or mixed breeds.

Here, one particularly playful Great Dane adored Brosa.  So beautiful - I love the charcoal grey colour of his coat too!

This is Lisa Blackburn-Patterson's Wheaton Terrier, Dexter the Wonderdog!

I absolutely adored this French Bulldog and wanted to bring him home. :)

This is Pocket, our friend Gail's newest family member.  Pocket is a pit-bull-type dog who was rescued from Ontario.  Bred to either fight or be bait; she's not dog-aggressive at all and so they planned to breed her.  Somehow she was rescued and brought to Nova Scotia.  She is only about 7 months old!  She will have a fabulous life now, with Brosa as a friend.

At the end of the day, we head on home.  Brosa is a good dog who stays in the back of the car even without a barrier in place.  He was struggling hard to stay awake; his eyes drifting off to sleep even while sitting up.  His chin is keeping him from falling down, ha ha!

Sleepy boy!

This collection was the contents of the swag bag given to participants who donated/collected $20 or more.

All in all, it was a pretty terrific day thanks to all of the Volunteers, the SPCA Metro Branch staff, and to all of the vendors and sponsors.  Most especially to all of the participants who brought their lovely dogs to socialize and play.

The event raised approximately $22,000 - a phenomenal amount!

September 2010

Goodness!  More than a month since I checked in last??  Just a quick update.

Delta's corneal ulcer is finally on the mend - we have completed all the medication (refills were required) and she's looking really good - so against my inner-conflict, we're assuming all is well now (but that inner turmoil tells me I should buy just one more bottle of drops to make sure it's well and healed!).

Oscar is still pretty weak in his hindquarters and still limping, so I'll soon be making an appointment with Pawsitive Action/Shelly for a checkup and see what is going on.

Brosa has his competition number now from the Canadian Disc Dog Association.  There is a trial in Truro on October 3 that I'd hoped to sign him up for, but he's just not ready.  The little turd would rather socialize with his frisbee than return it back to me, ha ha!

Until next time!

Bad News/Good News

The bad news is that Delta's corneal-ulcer has flared up again and we're back up to treating it with drops 3 times a day.  She is also exhibiting some discomfort and is rubbing her eye, so we may have to add some numbing drops as well (and perhaps make her wear an e-collar to prevent the rubbing).  My poor little girl. :(

The good news is Oscar's staples have been removed and Dr. C says the repair to his cruciate appears to be successful.  I'm to call back in 2 weeks to give him an update on Oscar's mobility, since it's still not great, but I suspect he's tremendously weakened and needs time to build up his strength again.

To be continued.....

Delta Update

Whew, good news!  Delta had her 1-week check up tonight re: her corneal-ulcer, and the inflammation is going down... she's on the mend before it turned bad!

She gets another recheck in 2 weeks, unless things take a turn for the worse and I'm to get her back in asap.

Her drops have now been reduced to every 12-hours (instead of every 8-hours), and she still has her antibiotic to finish.

This is the first time in a little while that I've left the vet's office with a big smile.  :)  Cross fingers things continue to improve for Delta!

Lori Foster's T-Shirt Project

One of my favourite authors, Lori Foster, had an idea to create "The T-Shirt Project" on Facebook; she sent out 300 t-shirts to her fans throughout North America, and other countries, in the hopes that she would receive photos back from those fans wearing a t-shirt, and have a photo to represent each state and province.

So here we are, representing Nova Scotia - rather than just pose in the shirt at home, I wanted to choose a landmark that is clearly recognizable as Nova Scotia.  I would have loved to have gone to Peggy's Cove, but the timing wasn't there.

The Clearwater Seafood sign with the huge lobster is a good choice, I think!  I sent Lori some links to interesting facts about our province as well.

Hope you enjoy the photo as much as I enjoyed taking the dogs out to do this!  Thanks to my friend Angela for being our photographer today.

Not again!

Sigh, when it rains, it pours!  Poor Delta had a vet visit tonight which confirmed that she has another corneal-ulcer (in her right eye this time; the one from January-March 2009 was in her left eye).

Hopefully it has been caught early enough that the RIGHT treatment will work quickly for her and not drag on like it did the first time around.

Sadly, this seems to indicate Delta may be prone to getting them.  My sweet girl is so patient with me with all that I do to her, so at least treating will not be as stressful as it could be.

This was Delta in the healing stage of her previous ulcer (February 10, 2009):

Oscar update - Sunday August 1, 2010

As you can probably guess, Oscar was a pretty sad little boy last night (he actually hasn't been himself since Thursday night when Brosa bounced on him).  We had a very quiet day today, as I was quite exhausted by it all as well, and Oscar slept most of the afternoon away.

He woke up feeling pretty perky by supper time, which is fabulous news.

Tonight's supper (for me) is bbq'd chicken kabobs with a side of garden salad.

Never think that this ordeal has put Oscar off food - the Mooch is alive and well, and begging for chicken at my feet.

He brought the others running as well.