Animals Galore!

I simply cannot get enough of creating these plushy animal pillows! So many ideas, so little time. Here are just some of the different animals I've created. Drop by my Etsy Shop (http://simonandcool.etsy.com/) to see my latest creations.

SimonAndCool.com will be at the San Diego Ballet Guild Nutcracker Market

SimonAndCool.com will be participating in this year's San Diego Ballet Guild Nutcracker Market where you can purchase all of your favorites. Come see us!

Goodbye Old Friend

Hello. I know it's been a while since our last post. There is a reason for that; a year ago on December 12 of 2011, Cool passed due to complications and old age. He was 15 years old. We miss our Cooldog so very much. We will never forget him.

In loving memory 
You will never be forgotten 
Forever loved and missed 
Always our Cooldog.
~ ♥ ~

Cool's New Boot

Gone are the days of taking Cool to the vet every week to change his cast. Thankfully, Cool got his new support brace last week. And, he is already getting used to walking with it!

He wears his brace during the day, then we take if off at night before bed. We watched him last night take a few steps without the brace as he was settling down to sleep. His hock looks pretty good, not as low as it was. He is still weak though so it's a good thing that he has this brace for extra support.

The velcro straps make it pretty easy to put on and take off. The doctor did an awesome job at creating this custom fit brace. The mold that was made of Cool's leg and foot makes the brace form-fitting so it doesn't slip and slide has he walks. It's made of some sort of durable plastic outer casing with cushion interior and the craftsmanship is impressive.

We're very lucky to have had such great care at the La Mesa Hospital - Pet Emergency Speciality Center. Everyone there knows Cool by name and greats him a smile. Dr. Serdy was Cool's surgeon. We can't thank him and his staff enough. He was the one who recommended we get the custom fit brace.

That's when he introduced us to Kel, Certified Prosthetist/Orthotist with SCOPe. We did some research online for braces beforehand and found a few but we weren't sure if they would work. The extra cost of the custom-fit brace is worth the peace of mind knowing that Cool is comfortable.

Tough Year for Cool

It's been a tough last part of the year for Cool. In August, he started limping. We thought it was just tight muscles from sitting for long periods of time. A week went by and we noticed that in addition to the limping, Cool's right heel was lower than his left heel and he was having trouble walking, sitting and getting up. We could sense he was in discomfort, possibly even pain.

We called Cool's vet and they had us bring him right away. The vet examined him but couldn't find anything wrong at the time and sent us home with some anti-inflammatory and pain medication. After two weeks of the treatment with no results, we took Cool back to the vet. By now his heel (also called the hock) had dropped even more.

At this vet visit they took several x-rays of Cool's spine, hips and legs. We had done some research and we were terrified that his symptoms matched what we thought to be degenerative mylopathy; a condition of older dogs where they lose all function of their legs, leading to paralysis. Luckily, the x-rays didn't show any signs of this disease. However, there were sings of bone loss, and the telling sign of his symptoms.

The vet pointed to the achilles tendon area and explained how it appeared ruptured. She advised us that the situation was serious and that we needed to see a specialist as soon as possible. There were two possibilities of treatment depending on the specialist's examination; either a splint to help the tendon heal or worse case scenario, surgery.

So we took Cool to the specialist the first appointment we could get. After the specialist read the x-ray, he confirmed that the tendon had ruptured but also had become dislodged from the bone. With this news, surgery was the only option.

Cool underwent the surgery in late September. The estimated recovery time was eight weeks with weekly visits to have his cast and bandage changed. Cool was mobile and was doing well. Eight weeks went by and were anxiously awaiting to hear that he was healed.

It was the week before Thanksgiving when Cool's cast was supposed to be permanently removed. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Cool was not yet recovered, in fact, four more weeks of a soft cast was recommended. Even though the surgery was successful, older dogs like Cool (14 yrs old) sometimes take longer to heal. We knew going into the surgery that there was no guarantee. But we needed to do what we could to help our dog.

This past week we learned that Cool is still not recovered and that he will need to wear a splint for the rest of his life to support his leg. Luckily, Cool is in good spirits. He's our same happy dog who can still walk and we're so thankful to have him in our life.

San Diego Humane Society 2010 Walk for Animals

The 2010 Walk for Animals was a great event. Cool participated and made it to the finish line! Thank you to all of our sponsors, friends and family, who helped us reach our goal!

Holiday Dogs Part 2

It was the last day of 2009 and what a better way than to help needy dogs at the county shelter. There were quite a few dogs today, definitely more than last week. Not sure if these dogs were new or brought back from their foster homes. Either way, they needed some love and care with the short staff at the shelter.

Magnolia

German Shepherd Magnolia has been at the shelter since November 17th. She is such a sweet dog, the only reason why I think she's been there so long is because of her age. Magnolia is 11 years old. That's considered a senior citizen in dog years. :(


Nonetheless, Magnolia desperately needs a second chance home. When I took her out of her kennel, I was surprised how energetic she was. We interacted out in the courtyard. She really doesn't play with toys or fetches a ball, but she absolutely loves affection and being brushed.

ID # A1320116
Tag # C581
Kennel # C044


Bear

One year-old Bear, a Chow-Chow Siberian Husky mix is a beautiful dog. He's rather calm for a Chow but his red thick coat represents his breed. Bear and I went for a walk around the gardens - he was easy to handle. Bear would make a great family pet.

ID # A1326163
Tag # C614
Kennel # C055

Isis

Isis is a black and tan Shepherd Mix who is 4 years old. She is a large dog who likes to be outside. Isis needs a lot of love and kindness. As I interacted with her, I noticed that she has had a rough life at her young age. She is extremely thin (perhaps once emaciated) and has remnants of wounds that are now healed. It appeared to me that Isis looked as if she was used for breeding. I gave her a massage which she loved. I could sense that her achy muscles felt better.

Isis needs a quite, calm home to make her feel love and at peace.

ID # A1324903
Tag # C356
Kennel # CP008


Jane

Jane doesn't have a picture but she is a cute 2 year-old black and white Boxer blend. As we walked she was pulling on the leash but as soon as I told her to heal, she did slow down. We decided to stop and sit on the steps for a while. For a good part of our time together, Jane laied on her back and I rubbed her belly - she LOVED that!

ID # A1324203
Tag # C608
Kennel # C067

Holiday Dogs

Today (12/19) I interacted with four dogs - all of which have been adopted or fostered since writing this post (12/27). With the holidays upon us, kind people have been adopting or fostering shelter dogs so to have a "home" during this time and enjoy in the festivities. It was the County's 1st Annual Holiday Claws and Paws Adoption Drive which became a hit: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2009/dec/21/animals-find-home-holidays/

I'm so happy for these pets. I just hope that they have found their forever home. I will be volunteering again this week - stay tuned for an update!

Cass & Diego

Cass

Today, I met Cass, an energetic and friendly 2 year-old Chow-Chow mix who loves to play fetch. I spent about 20 minutes with Cass in the courtyard. She's affectionate and is learning how to sit on command using treats. Cass would make a wonderful pet for any loving home.
ID #A1314870
Tag #C494
Kennel #C025


Diego

Diego is a sweet 1 year old little Pomeranian/Pug mix. He loves to go on walks and is very well behaved - easy on the leash and walks right beside his dog-walker. Diego would make a great pet.
ID #A1318809
Tag #C386
Kennel #C010

Pattycake and Duke

Yesterday I (Simon and Cool's mom) volunteered at the local San Diego county animal shelter. I've been volunteering since January, about twice a month, walking, interacting and caring for dogs.

There are so many animals that need homes. With the economy the way it is, and number of foreclosures, pet owners have unfortunately been left to give up their beloved pets. This is a tell-tale sign by the number of animals in the shelters.

As a way to help promote these animals find their second chance/forever homes, I've decided to Blog about my experiences with the dogs I meet.

Pattycake

Pattycake is a sweet black and tan Miniature Pinscher/Chihuahua mix. She is very affection and well mannered 6 year old pup. When we went for a walk, she was very easy on the leash, was very energetic and liked to sit in my lap when we took breaks. Pattycake would make a wonderful pet for any family.
ID #A1314498
Tag #C998
Kennel #C30

Duke

Duke is an energetic Labrador Retriever/Sharpei mix. He is 4 years old and loves to play fetch. We played tug in the courtyard which he also loves. He is a strong dog who does not tire easily (unlike me). Luckily, I kept up with Duke and when he finally took a break, I tried teaching him how to sit using treats. He got the hang of it after a few tries.
ID # is A1303441
Tag# C492
Kennel #C033,

Cool's Surgery

I can't believe it's been almost a year since our last post. It's also been a year since Simon's surgery. Simon is doing very well. He's been very healthy and has not had any other episodes.

Cool, on the other hand, had a scare over the summer. We found a lump under his belly by his rib cage. Our vet had examined Cool and determined that a biopsy was needed to examine the foreign object. Unfortunately, the results came back that the object was a tumor (cancerous) - called spindle cell tumor. Cool had the tumor removed and our vet recommended that we give him radiation to make sure that the tumor did not grow back. We opted against radiation, after all, the vet was confident that she took enough of the margins around the tumor. Cool is also an older dog (going on 13) so we didn't want to put him through the misery of radiation.

It's been about five months now and luckily, the tumor has not returned. Cool is doing very well and is very healthy. Much thanks to our vet. We're very luck all around!

Season's Greetings!

© Natalie Barnes 2008. All Rights Reserved.

Simon's Surgery

Well it has been a long time since my last post. Nothing much exciting has happened to blog about, until a few months ago. It was the end of September, I wasn't feeling very well. I was throwing up everywhere, couldn't contain the food in my stomach and felt really really sick.

After about two days of this, dad decided to take me to the vet (mom was visiting her grandmother who was getting ready for heart surgery). At the vet, my least favorite place, they took pictures of my belly, poked and prodded me with sharp objects, I didn't know which was worse - feeling sick or the torture at the vet. The pictures showed that there was something strange in my belly. But I didn't remember eating anything unusual. The people in white coats sent me home with some medication but that didn't seem to help.

I had to go back to the vet for the second time and take more pictures. The strange thing in my belly had seemed to move a bit but not enough to make a difference. I still couldn't eat, and still felt sick. I heard the people in the white coats say that I had to go to a different place for an "emergency surgery". The last time I had surgery, I lost my manhood. I was so scared. What was wrong with me?

My dad took me the very next day, bright and early, into the animal hospital for a visit. There were even more people in white coats with big machines! I had no idea where I was. My dad was trying to comfort me as best he could. But I was still very, very scared. The people in white coats told my dad that I needed an "exploratory surgery". What did this mean!? Why was I so sick?

It turned out that all the bathing that I was doing became the cause of my illness. I had accumulated so much fur in my belly and didn't cough up enough furballs, that my body attempted to digest it and eventually lodged in my intestine. What an experience! I also learned that it's not an uncommon thing to happen to us long-haired cats and even some dogs too. That's why it's really important for moms and dads to brush us often to get rid of the excess fur. I'm sure this was a hard lesson for my parents, as well as me. I was happy though, that my life was saved.

A special thanks to Dr. Peck at the Veterinary Specialty Hospital for saving my life!

Simon and Cool on Another Whirl-Wind Adventure

Okay, so Cool went on the adventure to Yosemite National Park while I basked in peace at home.

Here is Cool with dad at Yosemite (lucky dog)!

That's right, mom and dad took me, Cool, to Yosemite. What I great time! We stayed at this little quaint bed and breakfast called The Groveland Inn (yes they allowed dogs), just 30 miles outside the park gate. It sure was cold but the scenery was like none I'd ever seen.

Lots and lots of trees! What more could a dog ask for?

The Tail that Wags the Dog

Why is it that every time I sit on the couch, 'the dog' likes to walk by and wag its tail in my face?! One of these days...I'll get that dog.

Hehehe, it's so much fun!