In loving memory

As some of you already know, and most of the rest of you have guessed after reading the title of this post, Walter died on March 25, 2018. He fought valiantly in the hospital, surprising all the staff with his impressive recovery after all of his surgery and his ridiculous demeanor in the most challenging of circumstances. Despite their amazing care, on Sunday morning he suffered a catastrophic neurological event that left him not himself and working hard to breath. We waited through the day, and it became clear that he would not get better. We said goodbye in the evening. He was the best dog we could ever have hoped to have, and we will love him forever.

 

 

 

 

These are just a few of the photos of Walter that have graced the posts of this blog. You can find more here. 

One of the worst things ever...

As some of you know, earlier this week Walter was viciously attacked by two much larger dogs while he and Cyril were out for a walk. I'm not going to describe that horror here, as I wasn't there and it was traumatizing for all involved. Suffice it to say that Walter suffered major injuries to his back half in particular, and was immediately taken to the closest veterinary hospital to us with critical care services. Everyone else is okay physically, but will require some time before dog walking is a relaxing activity again.

Once Walter got to the hospital, he had an x-ray to confirm his spine wasn't fractured (it wasn't) and an ultrasound to confirm there was no bleeding or fluid in his belly (there wasn't). He was admitted to the ICU and then under anesthesia they shaved most of the hair on his back half and washed and dressed his wounds. Over the last four days, he has undergone the following:

• Four surgeries with general anesthesia for wound debridement, closure, and drain placement
• Placement of seven drains into his wounds
• Placement of a central line (a special IV for fluid management)
• Placement of a feeding tube
• Transfusion of one unit of blood and one unit of FFP (plasma)

Despite all of these interventions, we are uncertain whether he will regain complete use of both of his back legs, and the threat of infection is ever present. The staff at the Veterinary Specialty Hospital of the Carolinas in Cary, NC have been incredible, and have cared for Walter as they would their own animals. They would never let us know if they tired of our frequent visits and calls, and have been honest and reassuring when possible about his clinical status. 

We were able to connect with the heroic mail carrier that used pepper spray to stop the attacking dogs and save Walter's life, and we feel forever in his debt. He said that this was the first time in his entire career that he had ever had to intervene in a a situation like this, and his presence of mind and quick action were the difference between losing Walter and where we are now. We are preparing a thank-you gift, and if you'd like us to include a message from you, please send me a note, leave it in the comments here, or otherwise let me know. We are also so appreciative of the neighbor who provided a ride to our injured baby.

Walter looking so much perkier after a few days in the hospital!

Introducing Cyril

For years, we have been discussing and debating getting another dog. We considered adding a mutt to the family in order to avoid the myriad health problems associated with a purebred dog. We thought about getting a big dog, maybe a pit mix, since we have the space and both enjoy walking with the dogs. We perused the options endlessly on PetFinder before and after it was referred to as "something that resembles Tinder for dogs" on This is Us.

As an aside, in attempting to find a link to that clip I googled "Tinder for dogs" and came up with the following:

• BarkBuddy: An app designed to help you "find fluffy singles near you," BarkBuddy connects people "with cute pups that need a home."
• Tindog: This may or may not be defunct, but looks like it was an app to help people with dogs meet dogs (and their owners). It may or may not match both the dogs and the owners.
• Dog Date Afternoon: More explicitly connects single people who want to date but want to make sure that their dogs are compatible before they invest any more energy into a potential relationship. 
• Allpaws: Another app to facilitate pet adoptions.
• Twindog: Looks suspiciously similar to Tindog, and I wonder whether there wasn't some sort of lawsuit that resulted in a name change here... 

After so much going back and forth and listing the pros and cons of getting another dog, we decided to move forward and applied to adopt another Boston Terrier. We wanted Walter to have a buddy in the autumn and winter of his years, and after we saw this little guy and realized that he had been returned multiple times due to behavior issues, we couldn't say no. We found him through the East Tennessee Boston Terrier Rescue. Having adopted Walter through the Midwest Boston Terrier Rescue, we were committed to a rescue dog. 

And here he is:

Cyril is a 2.5 year old brown/brindle Boston Terrier.

From the moment he arrived, he and Walter bonded over their shared love of blankets. They are shown here in the heated throw they both adore.

 In the morning sunshine, there's no need to burrow...

 And sometimes when Cyril gets too hot under the blankets, he hops out and sprawls out on the floor to cool down.

Of the cats, only Aleks has condescended to snuggle NEAR Cyril. I know he'll eventually learn that they can snuggle just like he does with Walter, but for now he's a bit standoffish. Eli has barely condescended to come downstairs since Cyril arrived...