Success!

Just a quick update...

Last night Jaxson successfully jumped up on the couch. This of course means that he is building strength in his hind legs. We will see what the next week brings with two sessions of water therapy and some of the exercises that were given to us by Karen.

Have I mentioned that he does not even think about lifting his leg in our house? Not one accident since he's been here. Low energy and loves to snuggle. I would consider not putting him in a kennel during the day, but I think my Dexter would want to rough house with him too much. He is still recuperating after all.

Snuggle time.

More than anything, Jaxson loves to snuggle. He loves my wrap as you can see here. Not what I had in mind when I bought it, but how can I say no to this face? I should mention that he can't jump on the couch by himself. He trots over and rests his head on the cushion when he wants to come up and of course I give in.

Greetings from Aqua Paws!

Thank you to Karen at Canine Campus in Oconomowoc for her help in providing water therapy for Jaxson. We are going to go twice a week to help with the rehabilitation of his back legs. He was such a good boy even though he wasn't crazy about the water.

This service is really great. Check out their website: http://www.canine-campus.com/ for more info.

Jaxson my new friend

Poor Jaxson. We've now learned exactly what happened to his little legs. After being found on the side of the road, it was determined that Jaxson's right hip was dislocated and the left leg suffered severe joint and ligament damage. A very nice vet in Alabama performed surgery to help the left leg stay together and popped the right one back into joint.  Considering all this, he's doing quite well.

He arrived at our house on Saturday and has already settled in. What a happy boy he is. Every day he makes progress in one way or another. He gets around just fine, but was still a little leary of a full flight of stairs. Today, the stairs have been conquered!

Stay tuned as Jaxson enrolls in Aqua Paws water therapy to increase his mobility.

A big day...

Today, Josie will be at Tailwaggin Doggie Daycare in Hartland for a Fluffy Dog adoption event. She is very excited.

In the last few weeks, Josie has really settled in with us. She has really overcome the shyness she displayed when she first arrived in December. She also has decided that she really likes to be part of our pack, but also appreciates time to herself when she is resting.

She sleeps in her kennel at night and during the day and is so well behaved. We've also started going on walks now that the weather is a little better. What a good girl on the leash! The fun thing we have done this winter has been her first trip to the dog park. We'll try to get there more often as the weather warms up.

Progressing nicely

So while I'm working through a computer issue, I'm sorry to say I don't have any pictures that I can upload. I can however say that Josie is really doing a great job adapting to our home. The biggest milestone is that she scratches at the back door when she wants to go potty. We LOVE and appreciate that so much.

Also, I stand corrected because after last week's bitter cold weather she has realized why everyone else snuggles on the couch together. So she could be a lap dog after all because she has started to snuggle. One night she even picked her cozy spot to be on top of Libby our black lab. Poor Lib is so tolerant that she didn't even care. Josie really is learning a lot at our house and she would be a fairly easy dog for someone who is looking for that. Not a super active dog either. She is just such a sweetie I would love for her to go home where she has a place of her own.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from Muffy/Josie! Josie is doing very well here at our house. I think she will be a very trainable dog. I've spent not more than ten minutes teaching her how to sit and she has mastered it already. Even without a treat. She goes through spurts of a few minutes where she wants to play and wrestle with our dogs. Then, she is content to sleep on her dog bed or in her kennel. We bought a brand new blanket for her kennel and she just loves it. She is making strides at snuggling too, but I don't think she'll be a "lap dog". That is okay with us though.

We're happy to have her here as long as she needs a place to stay, but she really is looking for her very own family. Here's to a fresh start in the new year!