Update: Happy 7th Birthday Mr. Taj!

Still doing very well!  Taj just turned 7 years old and is enjoying himself to the max with Brother Rumi.

We'll have to update you all on successful stem cell therapy for one of Taj's shoulders (with excellent outcome!).

Traumataj Update: All is Well!

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to send out a quick update.  Taj and Rumi are doing very well and have had no complications or lasting effects from their breaks, for which we are all very thankful.

We swear they do more than just sleep or lay around but these are some recent pics of them.  Enjoy!

If you haven't already, do check out a favorite blog of ours: http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/07/dog.html

Rumi Swimming, Taj In His "Safe Place"

Rumi, Taj, and Tanzy Swimming

Baby Roo did the best today! Simple dog simply walked down the ramp, was like "oh, guess i have to swim now," swam across the length of the pool quite easily, was like "wow look another ramp" got out and was like "yay let's do it again" with no problems. Since Roo could only do it about 15 minutes with breaks (we did 5 swims), the owner said to come back with Taj/Tanzy to maximize my payment for the day. Haha. So went back got Taj/Tanzy and this time got some photos. Taj of course had a mini mental meltdown. He was appalled by the whole thing. It was little Tanzy's first time swimming so had to try about three different vests before I got one to fit, then I just picked her up, lowered her into the pool and let her swim to 'shore.' She figured it out - she's half Bichon after all. Very brave! Everyone (including me) got exhausted and the dogs took huge naps and had a huge dinner. So I think I found the perfect way to recondition everyone. Only $20 swim for one dog ($30 for two and $35 for three). Woohoo!

Taj Really Running For The First Time!

This was Taj's first time off leash since he broke his leg a year ago.  Mom was in her "happy place" as Taj sprinted on Good Harbor Beach in Gloucester, MA. Success! 

Rumi At 3 Weeks Post-Op: Simple Dog Healing Powers!

Rumi is doing very well.  So well in fact he thinks he is "all better" now and life is back to normal.  Video to come shortly.

Thanks to Roberta for the great selection!

Bandage Removal Day for Rumi

Woohoo bandage removal today - leg doesn't look too bad! Some old blood stains, but good circulation and Rumi of course slept right through it and is still sleeping.

Deja Roo & Mr. Taj update

Flyin' high on tramadol or just Roo being Roo?

Well you all aren't going to believe this but Taj's brother Rumi broke his front left leg in a freak accident last week.  As much as Heather can tell, Roo probably was trying to get up onto the deck by jumping four steps instead of walking up - typical saluki!  She thinks Roo lost traction on one of the steps and his leg went through the back of the step where there is no riser that would have stopped his leg.  The trajectory of his jump and the momentum he was carrying combined to cleanly snap both bones in his leg.  What unbelievable bad luck for Taj and Roo in less than a year!

ouch!  

Thankfully, after a successful surgery at VOSM (same place where Taj had his), Roo is back home resting comfortably under the watchful eye of mom.  We'll get more into his surgery and progress  in later posts but the clean break meant Roo only needed a plate bone plate to help him heal rather than the complicated fixator rings Taj had to endure.

on the lookout with my awesome leg!

Speaking of Taj, he is doing excellent-yay!  Thanks to Heather's dutiful care of Taj, he is walking normally and has been slowly building up muscle and strength with long walks and, when he can get away with it, zoomies in the back yard.  He is not allowed to run flat out yet, partially due to the weather and finding an appropriate location nearby to let him loose (not in the woods!); probably a beach.
-Rich

Ride time with Richie

Something is Missing!

Can you spot what is missing?!
Sorry for the no-posts: everyone here is transitioning.

These pics are of Taj at rehab!

quit measuring me!

quit bending me!

quit stroking me!

What's this kid stuff?  I used to be able to jump onto counter tops standing still!

how did you know I just *love* water

mommy you will pay for this

...plotting... scheming...

Week 13.5: The Good, the Bad, and the just plain Icky

We have 2.5 fixator weeks to go - and it can't come soon enough. We'll start with the good. The good is that Taj is putting much more weight on the leg again. We walk quite a bit longer - relatively speaking - still only 10 minute breaks but now it's mostly walking instead of standing and sniffing and looking around. His spirits are up, and he tries more 'dynamic' moves with it (e.g. leaps, spins-arounds, trotting - all of which I have to reign in). He's feeling much better.

The bad. His system isn't doing the best on the antibiotic (if you know what I mean), but that ends today (last two pills!).

And now, the icky. The past couple of days he has had significant hair loss on the one side of his leg. I will attach a few pictures (for education purposes) below, but if you are a hyper queezy person - you will want to jump to the next post (and not click these pictures to zoom in). I am pretty much immune to most grossness factors now. My guess is that this is due to a number of factors: 1) I cannot bathe the leg thus dead skin cells have been building up, 2) the salt solution I use to clean it is slightly abrasive 3) he has gotten to the leg to lick it a bit at night (beat the comfy cone - back to plastic cone). It look much yuckier in these photos I think than it is in reality. Regardless, I decided to call the VOSM techs for advice.

Icky hair loss

Close up icky-ness

The technician said that the reasons above are likely and that also with fixator cases towards the end of the fixator period - the leg can start to slightly reject the fixator - meaning (good news) it is due to come off soon! This means that the leg will become much itchier for Taj and the skin may feel slightly harder or courser to the touch. I am supposed to monitor the leg for inflammation (and/or being hotter to the touch), swelling, any pussy discharge, and any increases in lameness. Lucky for us (aside from the ick factor), Taj doesn't have any of those symptoms.

Not so much on the front of the leg...

...but a LOT on the outside.

She also warned to keep him from licking it 100% of the time -if possible- the next week. Sad for Taj but this means back to full-time muzzle wearing. No fun, but it's the home stretch! He still sleeps most of the day anyway. Dr. Christopher is gonna take a quick look at the photos I sent down to confirm everything is ok, and if so, we're just waiting for our 16-week (and last fixator) re-check on 8/18!

Poor Mr T., back to 24/7 Muzzle

Rumi keeping us entertained

Week 12: A Rumi Interlude

I've been trying to make a point to have some special time with Rumi since everything has become Taj, Taj, Taj. We've been to a few conformation handling classes, and I've taken him for some dog park trips and on a special hike.

I had the chance last weekend to shoot up to the Nita Nee (State College) Kennel Club shows for some show practice. This was our second show, and at our first show (in April) in Harrisburg, there weren't any class dogs/bitches.

Rumi relaxed and me intensely concentrating; 
his rear feet are back a bit too far but I'm learning!

Over the weekend, there were about 13 saluki entries on Sat and about 14 on Sun. I had the chance to meet a lot of saluki folks! I really appreciate all the advice and encouragement that people gave me. I am a total newbie to showing and Rumi's breeder (Deric @ Z'bee's) is in Michigan so it's been challenging. You can learn some things by email - but a lot is "live" experience.

My special boy - lining up for judging

We got a third on Saturday and on Sunday we got first and reserve winners dog (to a Major). Rumi was very well-behaved, I was very proud of him! I am working on getting him better conditioned (he has a little bit of weight to lose - it's challenging with Taj being out of commission). I am trying to learn the hang of handling - much harder than you would think!

Poetry in motion

I loved watching all the different types of dogs (lots of diversity in this breed) and really am grateful for the tips people kindly offered. Rumi is such a good boy and seems to tolerate the show ring well (even with his 2-second attention span), but I think his real passion though is in connecting with people.

Me learning that I need to let out the lead more...

 I have done some therapy work with him (he's a registered therapy dog with Keystone Pet Enhanced Therapy Services - I nicknamed him "Thera-ROO") and after Taj gets better, I plan to resume doing lots of therapy visits.

Paying Homage to Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi - The Dreamer

I love to watch Rumi move - he is very graceful. Rumi was named after the Persian Sufi poet - Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi. I chose his show name as "Z'bee's Homage to the Dreamer" with Rumi being the greatest dreamer and writer of beautiful poetry that pays homage to living life in the moment. His name is also a play on his personality. Rumi is a talker. He loves to chat and his favorite sound is a repertoire of various "Roo, Roo, Rooooos." One of his tricks for therapy work is that I will look at him and say, "Now, what's your name?" and he will let out a loud, protracted, straight from the lungs, "ROOOOOOOO." :)

Week 11.5: Back to the Future @ VOSM

I have been emailing with the technicians at VOSM regarding the Exogen treatments, and they encouraged me to travel down to VOSM in Annapolis for our 12-week recheck appointment. We were about 1/2 week early for this recheck, but I was a bit concerned with how Taj has been using the leg the past couple weeks and wanted to have it looked at asap. We all piled in the SUV and headed down to VOSM - both Taj and Roo in tow. I took Rumi as a "therapy dog" and mental support for Taj. Rumi loves vets; for Taj, they are less than be to be desired.

Taj & Roo checking out the waiting room at VOSM

We arrived at VOSM early and waited for our recheck appointment with Dr. Christopher. VOSM has very nice bench cubicles that helps isolate dogs better while you wait for your appointment. Taj and Roo marveled at the large saltwater aquarium. Then, Taj then kept the neurotic look-out while Roo took a nap.

Roo mesmerized by the saltwater fish; Taj on look out!

Taj still on look-out...

Little salukis; big waiting room!

Our appointment time arrived and the technician took us back. We settled into the nice posh waiting room and the technician took Taj back to the "canine gym" so that his movement and leg usage could be assessed by Dr. Canapp. They also took some new radiographs. Finally, she bought a much-relieved Taj back to the waiting room.

Rumi explores while Taj is in the canine gym being assessed!

Dr. Christopher came in and gave us some good news! The healing is right on track for this time in the healing process. The 8-week radiographs showed moderate callus formation, but it looks like the callus is now MUCH bigger at ~12-weeks (Go Exogen Treatments Go!). Dr. Christopher was quite happy with the progress and said the fixator should be able to be removed in another 4-5 weeks! You can see the 12-week radiographs here! Our next appointment will be in 4-weeks (at 16-weeks) for the final fixator radiographs and an assessment to set the removal date. There are a few more places the doctors are hoping to see greater callus formation, but it looks like the Exogen is helping quite a bit. We will be continuing Exogen treatments for the next month +.

Taj disgruntled but happy the appointment is nearly over!

Dr. Christopher said that Taj may be using his leg slightly less for a number of reasons. There may be a very minor infection in a pin tract (although he could not see any visible signs of infection) so he gave us an antibiotic to use for 2-weeks (clindamycin - 300mg). The healing process itself may be causing slight discomfort - so if necessary - we can give Tramadol if needed. He also warned that if Taj jarred his leg against the Xpen etc that this might cause a bit of discomfort at the pin sites. We are to keep Taj as quiet as possible for another month!

Rumi being Taj's "therapy" dog.

Overall we got a big "thumbs-up"! We are STILL only allowed bathroom walks (10 minutes) a few times a day. We won't be able to build up any distance until the fixator comes off and the leg heals more. Taj is a trooper.

Taj has been feeling better - he has a bit more vigor in his walk and he wants to walk for further distances. He has also play bowed several times the past week to Rumi, and I am now letting him slowly walk up small half-flights of steps (not down yet though)! Despite being in an exercise pen now for THREE+ months (and one more to go!) he physique still looks decent considering.

We are finally seeing the end in sight! Slow and steady for the next month to the "finish line"!