I have BIG news!

Jaida here!

There's stuff goin' on in my house, oh yes there is, and it has nothing to do with bendy feet or boo-boo legs or hip fairies...but this fab-tripod-gal is oh-so-excited!

You'll have to wait until tomorrow and then I'll let you in on the secret (mom Crystal has to get some pictures first!)

This is what I do.

Jaida here.

If you are ever looking for my oh-so-gorgeous and fabulous self, and aren't sure where to look, try here:



My pool is my FAAAAAV-O-RITE thing. It is also a "time-out" place for me if Gracie starts to get the snarly-growlies when we're playing...Miss Gracie does not like to get her paddy-paws all wet.

Moms are waiting to bring me to meet the SPESHAL-IST. I don't know exactly what that is, but he must be pretty SPESHAL if he's the IST of them all. My boo-boo legs are sore but I can do stairs again now, so it's not too bad.

Mom Crystal says that some nice people are helping her build me my own set of wheels...I think it's going to be like a car ride, except only for me. She's waiting for some peices to come in the mail, and then she's going to get crafty. She says she'll put some pictures of me and my wheels when they're all done. Yay!

Hip Fairy, where art thou?

Crystal here.

So last week, Jaida started to get really sore. Like bigtime. We're carrying her up anything more than 3 steps right now. Soooooo, we'd been hoping to delay any surgeries until the fall, but Jaida's telling us it's time. We'll be meeting with an orthopaedic specialist in the next few weeks.

In the meantime, we're giving her some asprin for the discomfort, heavy doses of the GlycoFlex, and lovin' her up. Oh, and I've decided a little engineering project is in order...I'm designing a cart (wheelchair) to help her get around and rehabilitate after the surgery. She's already down one leg, so I don't think it's going to be very easy getting around with only two...

Sigh.

She's still beyond cute though. Have I shared the story of Jaida's leash? I don't think so...

Jaida MUST hold a leash in her mouth during walks. Hers, Gracie's, whoevers, it must be in her mouth at all times. To the point that we don't need to clip the leash to her collar anymore. We'll be heading for the woods, let Gracie off-leash, and Jaida goes into a panic because Gracie's out of sight...she pulls and tugs and frantically tries to catch up....and the only thing holding her back is her unclipped leash...which she is holding in her mouth. We must tell her "out" to remind her to let go so she can catch up to Gracie. It gives us the giggles every time.

The Glyco-Flex III is here!

Crystal here.

We've done some research into joint supplements, and finally managed to get some Glyco-Flex III shipped here from the US. Lots of rave reviews from satisfied pet people all over the web, and it's been recommended by a few large/giant-breed breeders I've spoken to.

Click here for the website

Tomorrow is day one. We'll see how it goes (fingers crossed).

Bye for now Riley...

Jaida here.

Moms are very sad because my kitty sister Riley went to the Rainbow Bridge yesterday. Riley's feelings were very sick, and she was unhappy and angry all the time, even when moms gave her "happy pills". Moms decided, after many, many, many things they did for her couldn't help, that the only way Riley would be at peace was to send her to the Bridge. I'll see her again someday, and I'll even let her swat my nose if she wants to.
Bye-bye for now, Riley.

Hip Fairy, are you out there???

Jaida here.

Moms have been sad about my new boo-boo leg. I'm trying to be a very good girl so they don't worry so much. I'm still playing with Gracie and digging clever holes in the wet grass and mud-puddle-ing a lot. My leg is sore, though, so I can't help but limp when I'm walking, and I don't always really like to do stairs.
Here's what my new boo-boo looks like:

My right hip (the one on the left, pay attention!!) does not fit in its socket nice and tightly, like the other one does. The ball of my leg is kinda square too (that's not good). The doctor wants to give me a brand new hip, but I think moms are waiting to figure out what to do.

Maybe the Hip Fairy will come give me a new hip?

Crap.

Crystal here.

I know it's been a while again, sorry.

Unfortunatly I have no good news to report. In a nutshell, Jaida fell quite lame in her right hind leg about 7 weeks ago. X-rays were inconclusive, but showed mild, non-clinical (i.e. non-arthritic) hip dysplasia. Diagnosis: soft tissue injury.

Fast forward to yesterday. Jaida's still very lame. New x-rays are taken. I don't know the whole situation, but the words "bad hip dysplasia" and "hip replacement surgery" just about sum it up.

We have likely hit the wall with respect to our ability to help Jaida, surgically, any further. We will have to simply do our best to manage her pain and keep her happy as best we can.

This is really awful news, we are reeling from it, even though we were bracing ourselves for the worst.

This IS the worst.

On that note, I want to rant for a minute about freaking backyard breeders. To all you idiots out there that are mating a male and female dog you just happen to have and just happen to think are pretty special, just to get some puppies in order to make a quick buck, you're all scum. Learn about genetics, pedigree, get a mentor, and freaking test your dogs for heritable disorders before you breed them, register your dogs, so suckers like us don't end up with a trainwreck of a puppy that we fall in love with and they end up breaking our hearts. You suck.