I'm bored....

Really, really bored.... The Boss Lady still won't let me run and play...Surely 60 days have passed by now, right? The Boss Lady says it has only been 10 days since my surgery and I have 50 more days to go yet. I can't count, so I don't know how long that is, but I hope it is only for a few more days...



Have I mentioned I'm bored? A dog can only sleep or watch TV for so long...The Boss Lady has been very nice and has tried to keep me occupied...but I want to RUN!

I did almost give the Boss Lady a heart attack earlier this week and I feel kinda bad about that...she was taking me down the front steps for my potty break when I had the urge to jump off the top step! The Boss Lady scrambled to catch me in mid-air so I wouldn't land on my shoulder. She said I "may feel a lot better, but I am not healed up yet". Not sure what she means by that, but I bet it means games of fetch are off limits still...



Sigh...have I mentioned I'm bored?


~Finnegan, the very, very bored dog...

All Things Considered, I'd like the Blue Cone Back, Please...

Just when I thought I couldn't be forced to endure any more indignities, this happens. How humiliating! I thought the blue cone was bad, but this takes the cake.

It is so humiliating I can't look at you...



The Boss Lady finally realized that I couldn't lick my stitches even if I wanted to 'cause I can't reach them. So she took off the blue cone. For a brief moment I was thrilled...then she put this shirt on me. Even though I can't lick my incision, it was awfully itchy, so I kept trying to scratch it (and the blue cone did nothing to stop that) so the Boss Lady came up with this contraption.

Ugh.

Couldn't she have at least found a blue shirt? The golden across the street keeps laughing at me whenever I go outside.


Won't you please help me?




What's that you say? It's for my own good?


You haven't been talking with the Boss Lady by any chance, have you?


~Finnegan

The Boss Lady lied...

She said I'd feel much better after the surgery...I don't. I feel like I got hit by a truck! The Boss Lady said she meant I'd feel better after I was all healed up...I think she should have been more specific before I agreed to these surgeries...

Here's a picture of my incision that the Boss Lady took for me. (I can't see it myself because I have to wear this stupid blue cone thing).




The Boss Lady says it is healing well so far. To help it, I get 3 times a day spa treatments, per the vet's orders (honest!). I get to curl up next to the Boss Lady and put my head in her lap while she applies a nice warm pack to my shoulder. It is the best part about this whole thing. The Boss Lady said I have to have it for at least 10 minutes at a time, but I am happy to have it done for much longer...it feels reeeeeally goooood....

I also can't run or play for the next 60 days! (I was standing next to the Boss Lady when the vet told her that and she went so pale I thought she was gonna pass out!) Right now I don't feel like playing anyway, but if the Boss Lady can be believed, I'll start to feel better soon and then the Boss Lady said "she's going to have her hands full keeping me entertained!" She's busy thinking up crate games to keep me occupied.


Okay, I'm off to take a nap now....

~Finnegan, the sore dog...

Guest Blog - update on Finnegan

Hi All -

Limerick here. The Boss told me to give you an update...Finnegan should be coming home from the vet hospital today (and she also said I wasn't to make fun of the plastic cone he's gonna have around his neck!).

Finnegan came through his first surgery really well and now he's gonna have to take it easy for a while...I'm 'posed to be gentle with him and no wrestlin'. Hmmph. Surgery doesn't sound like it is a lot of fun...

More later -

Limerick, the Bold.

Heading in...

...to surgery this morning. I am getting the operation done on my right shoulder today as that is my most painful one. I'm kinda scared, but really hopeful. The Boss Lady says I should feel a lot better once it is done - and I am really looking forward to beating Limerick to the frisbee for once!

Keep your fingers crossed for me! I'll update you as soon as I get out of surgery....


Finnegan (who is trying really hard to be a brave dog...!)

Serious News...

Today the Boss Lady sat me down for a talk. She said I was probably wondering why I had been taking so many trips to various vets and specialists. Actually up until that point I hadn't been wondering - I was just thrilled to be going on so many car rides and getting treats from all the friendly people in the vet offices - but now that I thought about it, Dublin and Limerick didn't go to the vet nearly as often as me. The Boss Lady said the trips to get x-rays, the acupuncture and the chiropractor adjustments were all efforts to try figure out why I had been limping on my front legs.

The Boss Lady has been very nice trying to figure out what happened to make me limp, but I kept trying to tell her that I've limped for almost as long as I remembered. Then the Boss Lady said the last round of x-rays I had done finally showed what was wrong with me. She said I had OCD. I was a bit confused - I'm a border collie, we are known to be obsessive-compulsive, that's part of our charm. And I really didn't understand what x-rays had to do with it. The Boss Lady shook her head and said it wasn't that type of OCD. I have been diagnosed with osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) in both of my shoulders.

I didn't know what that meant, so the Boss Lady explained it is a condition where the growth of normally smooth cartilage in my shoulder joints was disrupted somehow and the cartilage became pitted and "flaps" of cartilage got caught in the joint. She said this is why it hurts me so much when I run. She also said to cheer up because the wonderful folks at NEBCR were going to pay for the surgery I need to be fixed. That once I have surgery on both of my shoulders, I would be able to run and play without being in pain!

I was stunned. I've been in pain for so long, I just thought it was normal...A long forgotten memory filtered to the surface - one of me running as a pup with my litter mates...I remember running and playing without pain then...I was amazed to think that could happen again!

Folks that want to help NEBCR pay for my surgeries can donate by clicking here.

My first surgery is scheduled for next week. I am a bit scared but really excited by the possibility of getting my shoulders fixed. I can't wait to see if I can outrun Limerick once I'm all fixed up!

Keep your fingers crossed for me!

~Finnegan

All Hallow's Eve...

Last night was SCARY! Monsters kept coming to the door and demanding the Boss Lady give them stuff before they would go away. I kept barking to let the monsters know I was a big, tough dog but the Boss Lady wasn't very happy with that approach. I was trying to help her fend off the scary monsters, but she didn't see it that way. Then I suggested that maybe if she stopped feeding the monsters, they would stop coming to our door - but she didn't seem to hear me.

I asked Dublin what to do but he just said "go lie down in the living room and play with your toy". It seems he wasn't scared of the monsters like I was - and Limerick was especially brave (or stupid, sometimes it's hard to tell with him) because he would run right up to the door and sit down in front of the monsters. He's my buddy and all, but sometimes he's just plain weird.

The Boss Lady finally had me hang out in my crate where I knew the monsters couldn't get to me. I was happy to be safe, but worried about the Boss Lady (it was obvious Dublin and Limerick were going to be no help fending off the monsters!). Finally, the monsters stopped coming and the Boss Lady let me out so I could see that she was all right.

Phew! I hope the monsters don't come back tonight...

~Finnegan, the not-so-brave dog