Bye Bye House Part 1: Train the Fire Academy Graduates

When we last chatted about Wagmore, The Husband and I were working with the local fire district to demolish the old house on the property.  I promised photos, and I know I've been quite remiss in delivering on that promise.  But here - a mere 2 months after the burn date - are some of the promised pictures.  I've got lots of pics, so I've broken them up into 2 blog posts.

Today we'll start at the beginning.

The day before the burn.

The fire dept. brought in pallets and mattresses so the carport would burn.  The also added junk to various rooms.  We found some junk in the rafters of barn, and added it the back room (the fire dept said this was ok, and encouraged it, even) - much easier than hauling it to the landfill!

We had to board up the windows so the fire fighters could better control the burn.  

You'll see why this is important in some later photos.

The day of the burn.

We arrived about 1 hour after the fire departments.

The house was smoldering and the driveway was FULL of fire trucks.

A total of six local fire departments participated.

This was a training exercise for recent graduates of the academy.

This was required training so the graduates could become fully certified to fight real (not planned) fires.

Fire fighters everywhere!

At this station they were doing something in the family room (not sure what) and practicing using the fire hose.  In about 2 minutes I had to move from this spot or get blasted with water.

In the back bedroom they worked on putting out a fire in a pile of stuff (technical term).

All the junk we hauled in from the barn came in handy!

The fire chief told me to get closer (standing on the little deck you see in the above pic) so that I could really see the action.

The fact that they let me get so close made me realize how well planned all of this was.

Either that or they figured if I was crazy enough to get so close I'd get what I deserve...

They cut holes in the roof.

They cut holes in the side of the house.

I asked the fire chief what they were doing (he was very willing to share what was happening).

Apparently this is to save someone if they're trapped.

Over the course of the morning, each of the six departments rotated through each of the 6 (or was it 7?) stations - working on specific scenarios.  I found the whole thing fascinating (which I did not expect) and it made me very impressed with the skill, talent, and science (e.g., machines to measure the temperature of the burn, understanding of  how air flow will impact the burn) involved with fighting fires.  It was very cool!

Well, it was very cool until it wasn't very cool (literally) - when they let the whole house burn.  But that's in the next post...

Ziggy the Cardigan Corgi - IVDD Weeks 10-12

I haven't done a Ziggy update for a while, so here's what he's been up to the past few weeks:

The week before last, Ziggy spent another week at the ISU Vet School rehab center to do underwater treadmill work, etc.  On his first visit there, I recorded one of his underwater treadmill sessions, and I'm really glad I did.  The folks at ISU recorded him on the treadmill this time, and the improvement is nice to see.  In this video, he's reaching much more with his right hind (which is his "good" side), and even starting to reach forward with the left!

Last week we went to see a rehab vet here in town.  She's been a "regular" vet, and has done acupuncture and chiro work for years, but is just now setting up a rehab-only practice.  Ziggy went for an acupuncture session, which we'll be continuing every week.  It's really nice that her location is 2 miles from our house.  She's also very nice, and Z seems to like her, which is a bonus.  

During the first session, she gave us some ideas of stretches we can begin to do for Ziggy's front end.  Needless to say, his shoulders are getting quite muscular, and we don't want him to lose flexibility.  She also said that he's maintaining good muscle tone in the rear.  I can tell he's lost a ton of muscle mass, so it's good to hear that relatively speaking he's doing well.

Her best guess is that Ziggy will walk again, and she estimates 6-9 months from the surgery date.  This is a similar number to the estimate we got from the rehab specialist at ISU.  Nice to hear, but that means we've still got 4-6 months to go.  

We continue to do daily physical therapy with Ziggy, and we do hydro work in the basement with him a couple of times a week.  He seems more comfortable in the "pool" now - probably thanks to a constant stream of bil-jac treats. 

Overall progress continues to be slow - but at least it's progress!  He's starting to move his right hind quite regularly when in the sling outside and in the pool, and he's even tried to stand a couple of times by pushing himself up with the right hind.  He's also started to bark a lot more which I guess is a good thing?  Or at least it means that some things are back to normal!

Note from Rip: Humans are so confusing

Rip wanted me to post something for him...

In the wintertime, a mouse moves into our air conditioner outside to bed down for the winter.  This drives my brother and I crazy.  Since my brother now isn't walking, it's up to me to watch the mouse.  Here's kinda what he looks like:

 

Vexatious little vermin!

Well, a couple of weeks ago I caught him!  I was so excited.  I carried him around for a little while.  Then I put him down and he ran away.  I guess that means I can continue to look for him.

My dad saw me with the mouse, and was not happy that I let him go.  Something about me needing to kill mice because they cause problems.

Now, I'm a smart dog and I like to do things that make humans happy (like licking them, for example).  So I was determined not to make the same mistake again.

A couple of days later I heard mom talking about her new mouse.  Mouse!!  That caught my attention!  Perhaps I could help!  And help I did.  Let me show you:

See!  I got that mouse!  And I killed it.  I chewed up the front really well.  I was so proud.  I just knew that this would make up for letting the other mouse go.

But did it?  NO!!!

The humans were not happy.  Kill the mouse.  Don't kill the mouse.  Humans are so confusing.

Ziggy the Cardigan Corgi - IVDD Weeks 8 & 9

So here's what's happened to Ziggy over the past two weeks:

Last week Ziggy spent 3 days at the ISU rehab center.  He got to do more swimming, hydro-treadmilling, and lots of PT.

The rehab specialist there said she noticed improvement:  more activity in his hind end on the treadmill (they didn't have to help him as much), moving his legs to pee and poop, and more strength when doing his standing exercise.  All good things!

Ziggy also had one session of acupuncture with the vet here in town.  We seem to notice more activity in the days following acupuncture, and we're trying to get this done once a week.  Our schedules just don't allow for much more than that, as the vet is 40 mins away...

We also talked w/ our vet and the rehab specialist at ISU to figure out a mid-term plan for Z.  We're planning to have him spend 5 days at the ISU rehab center every third week.  During the weeks he's at home we'll continuing his PT daily and acupuncture weekly.

This week we've added some brand new madness to the equation in the form of in-home water therapy.  Yes, you heard right - we want to continue his pool therapy at home between visits to ISU.  We're taking the "do everything we can manage" approach to his rehab, as we'd hate to leave something out and always wonder...

But back to the in-home water rehab.  Ziggy is a big Cardigan (12.5" at the withers & 37 lbs when he's lean), and our bath is small, so we knew that using the human bathtub wasn't going to work.  So, last Sunday we loaded the family in the mini-van and went to look at stock tanks at the feed store.  The guy at Farm and Fleet was very helpful - he upturned lots of stock tanks so we could compare size, etc.  We finally decided on one that's 80" long,  24" deep, and 36" wide at the base.

To give you some perspective, 

here are the human boys standing next to it.

It's a big stock tank!

It barely fit in the mini-van, and barely fit down the stairs into the basement, but we made it work!  We're still in the "trial and error" phase of our new in-home hydro-therapy, but here's what we've learned so far:

• A stock tank this big hold LOTS of water
• It takes 2 water-heater-fulls of hot water to get 10" of nicely warm water.  This takes approx. 30 minutes.
• We fill the stock tank using a hose attached to our utility sink.
• We empty the water from the stock tank back into the sink using a pump The Husband bought a couple of years ago when our sump pump hole filled with water and pushed water back INTO our basement (that was a wet year!)
• This task requires 2 adults.  One in the tank w/ Ziggy - the other outside the tank w/ treats and the leash.
• This task is hard on the humans' backs, but hopefully helping the dog's back.
• Ziggy is not entirely fond of our new tub - but I'm hoping the regular stream of really good treats that we give him while he's in the tub will help change his mind over time.

Once we get the kinks ironed out of our hydro-therapy routine, I'll post more about what works.

The big news in progress over the past two weeks:

• Ziggy took a few steps on his own in our at-home hydro pool yesterday 
• Today Ziggy wagged his tail when I had him on the table - he had just stretched, and I had him working on the stand.  I started scratching/rubbing his sides and hindquarters and he gently wagged his tail back and forth a number of times
• Both are little things that seem really big to us!

Ziggy the Cardigan Corgi - IVDD Week 7

Ziggy had just at-home physical therapy this week.  It was a crazy week for me at work, so I wasn't able to get him any acupuncture. 

So, I thought I'd share something that has made taking Ziggy out MUCH easier.  At Iowa State, they used a sling for Ziggy's hind end, and it makes moving Z around much more comfortable (for both parties).  Prior to this, we were just using a towel to help him along.  The rehab therapist really likes the sling, as it's positioning seems to put less pressure on the dog's back, and it's easier for a dog to go to the bathroom (boy dogs especially).

Here are some pics of the sling (sans dog):

This is the side that goes toward the dog's skin.

It's made of neoprene, and even has a little cut-out for male canine comfort.

Here's the other side. 

It fastens with velco and a snap-close (like on a dog collar) fastener.  It also has a handle on each side.  They fasten together with a neoprene hold for comfort.  Since I'm taller than the average human, and I have a short dog, I would like the straps to be about 6" longer.  It would be easier on my back and shoulders.  But hey, this is MUCH better than a towel!!

  

The brand is Walk About.

Z is a size medium (this size would fit all 3 of my Cardis).

Here's the sling in action.

We keep Z's feet off the ground just enough that they don't drag.  We also use a collar and leash, which helps w/ steering and brakes.  The collar helps prevent having Ziggy drag us through the bushes, and helps slow him down when he decides it's time to move...

Here's another shot - with a stationary Cardi.

I try to put Z's hind legs in a standing position when he stops.  I figure this gives him a little "informal" physical therapy, and gets him used to standing when he stops once again.  It's also easier on my back if he's holding himself up.

So what progress have I seen this week?  It's still all very slow.  We are inching our way along. 

• This week, though, he has started to put his hind legs back when he stops to pee. 
• He is also reacting more to the pinching (gentle) on his pads.
• He will push back a little with is right hind when I put upward pressure on it (when he's laying down, for instance).
• He seems more "opinionated" about where his hind legs are - sometimes pulling them away from me when we're doing his range of motion exercises.

The rehab specialist guesses that it will likely take Ziggy about six months to walk again. She bases this on other dogs she's seen with similar trauma to the back (his rupture impacted 4 vertebra) and of similar size. This makes me feel a little better about his rate of progress. I often wonder if the slow progress means that he won't be ambulatory again. It's tough not knowing, but I'm trying to be "zen" about the whole thing. Maybe a good life lesson for me in here? ;)

On the not-so-great side of the equation, Ziggy had his second bladder infection this week, so he was given another course of antibiotics.  Apparently, this isn't uncommon in the situation.  At our vet's recommendation, we're now back to expressing his bladder 2-3 times a day instead of just once.  We still let him start and go pee all he wants before expressing, and we don't express every time.  The Husband is pleased to report that Z has been emptying his bladder completely - or almost all the way - for the past couple of days.

Ziggy is back at ISU for 2 days this week.  Our current plan is to try and bring him back every other week for a couple of days, and work from home the rest of the time.  We just couldn't seem to work the coordination out with the rehab center closer to our house.  They were not too keen on having Ziggy spend the day, which was a must for us in order to make it work. 

So I put the thought in the rehab specialist's head - to see if we can make it work to visit every other week and for us to be a bit more involved with rehab at home - perhaps expanding beyond the work we've already been doing. We'll discuss it in more detail when I pick Z up on Tuesday.

Rip's Lucky Morning

This morning did not start out to be a promising morning for Rip.  He was FULL of energy, as he didn't get out for a walk yesterday.  Though he did get yard time, Rip needs a long walk every day if he is to remain in any way calm in the house.

This morning he was up on the couch with The Child and I, then off the couch harassing the cat, then asking to go out, then asking to come in.  Repeat this loop several times in the course of an hour and you'll have an idea of what the house was like.

Here we're snuggling on the sofa.  This is just after chasing the cat up the cat tree.

 

On the sofa snuggled between his brother and sister.

So sweet and innocent.

 

Now just leaning on Maggie.  

But note the gleam in his eye....

Then Rip wanted to go outside (for the third time).  Since he was driving me and the calm, brindle corgis crazy, I let him out.

Minutes passed.  More than ten minutes.  No Rip scratching on the door to be let in.  After a while, I began to wonder if everything was ok.

I looked outside, and here's what I saw:

  

Our neighbors' cattle dog frapping with Rip in the back yard!

 

The neighbors got this dog from the shelter as a puppy, and he was just too wild for their house.  They sent him to live on a farm (literally).  This didn't work out so he's back now.  Apparently he jumped over the 4' fence when he saw Rip outside.  Time to play, I guess!

 I can outrun this spotted dog, mom!

 Oh, maybe not.

 He got me!  Roll out of the way.

 

Run away!  

(note ears all the way back to cut wind resistance - just like a greyhound!)

Don't stop now!  Let's keep playing!!

For me, the frapping was great.  Rip has been sound asleep since he got in an 1.5 hours ago.  The neighbors, however, are a little worried.  Nobody wants a dog who can jump their fence that easily!

Ziggy the Cardigan Corgi - IVDD Week 6

On Friday it was six weeks since Ziggy's back surgery.

Since my last post on Z, he spent a week at the ISU vet school rehab center.  The main reason for his visit was hydro therapy.

Twice a day he did the underwater treadmill.  The goal is go build strength and get him connecting with moving his legs again.  The vet student or therapist who was in the treadmill with him would get him started by moving his legs for him.  Then they would let him do it on his own.  He had more reach forward on the right hind than the left.

Ziggy in on the treadmill with one of the vet med students.

The students do a 2 week rotation in the rehab center.

Here's a short video of Zig.

Apparently he didn't whine when I wasn't around, 

but Z wanted to keep me in his view at all times.

Ziggy also got to swim in the pool once a day (with a life preserver, of course).  He swam early in the morning, so I didn't get to see this.  Apparently, he paddled fine with his front end, but just let his back end hang.  Of course, Ziggy had never been swimming before the accident, so he wouldn't have any "memory" of how to move when swimming.  I'm not sure if that matters, but....

They also did range of motion and standing with him a few times a day.  The therapist did a little different range of motion than we were doing, so we've adopted the new method:

First, flex the joints - 

slowly moving the joints into position and holding for a few seconds.

Next extend the joints slowly and hold.  

She has her hand on his stifle here.

Finally, stretch to the side & hold. 

Hand under upper thigh.

They also added a "sit to stand" exercise.  This is to help him build strength and learn to push up from his hind end again.  A couple of times he even took a bit of a step forward.  

This exercise requires two people:  One behind him putting him in the sit and helping stabilize when standing.  The other person in front luring him forward with a treat.  

He starts in a tuck sit.  

Notice that his hocks are flexed and under him.

This is to make it easier for him to push up.

He never really liked to sit this way when he was healthy,

so it's sometimes a bit of a challenge to get him into position.

Then he's lured forward into a stand.

Sometimes he needs a little help getting into the stand 

with hands gently on the haunches or stabilizing using his tail.

While there Ziggy also got 3 acupuncture treatments - one on Thursday, Monday, and Wednesday.  

At ISU, Ziggy continued to do standing exercises regularly.  They had him standing 5 minutes at a time as often as they could.  We're doing this exercise after every trip outside (5-6 times a day) - for as long as Ziggy can stand - usually 3-5 mins at a time.

What progress has Ziggy made?

• He is (mainly) peeing on his own!  The therapist decided to let him go as much as he could on his own before expressing his bladder.   We are now expressing his bladder only before bedtime to ensure that it's completely empty.  This is a BIG deal for us, as it means I can now take him out for potty time (I never really got the whole bladder expression thing figured out).
• He is steadier in the stand - though still not able to stand on his own very often.
• There is more going on in his hind end:  he is paddling his legs right before he goes poop (we don't know why - my guess is that he's trying to get into a crouch), he is moving his legs forward sometimes when standing, and when he dreams his paws move more than before.

Home again!

Ziggy seemed happy to be home, 

and Rip and Maggie seemed happy to have him home.  

We let him hang out a bit with Maggie on one of his favorite doormats.