Update on the Red Dog's Progress

We visited Dr. Mitch yesterday morning, where the pain pump and bandages were removed and her progress was assessed. At this point, two things are becoming clear: 1) Shiva is healing very quickly and well, especially considering her age, and 2) We are in deep trouble as we face the herculean task of keeping her "contained" for the next 5+ weeks. (Remember the old Sportscenter tagline "You can't stop her, you can only hope to contain her"? That's Shiva. With a bullet. A big, red one.) She has decided that one of the new benefits of her condition is the right to accompany us on any and all car rides, which should be really fun as we move into summer. She also has decided that antibiotics taste like one of the few thing(s) repellent to Golden Retrievers, and she will not eat her food if the little green buggers are present in the dish. This has created the new "Cream Cheese/Pill Blob" food group in the Red Dog's diet.

We are reimplementing as much of her old routine as possible, and last night she was able to sleep in her accustomed "Big Red Wedge" position between us...and it was good (for her). While this may seem like minuscule progress to the Red Dog, we hope that these small steps toward normalcy will keep her happy and sane until we are able to give back biggies like walks, swims and trips to mingle with her adoring public. Until then, please feel free to pray, send unsolicited gifts of rum and anything else that may keep all of us alive and speaking to one another for the next month-and-a-half. Look for a flurry of "After" videos to appear later tonight. Thanks for being the wonderful friends and followers that you are!