For those of you interested Only in TRAVEL, I (Jack) wrote the blog between MARCH 2010 and October 2010 during our travels west. We saw the most beautiful places and had the best time in our big truck and little trailer. See Blog Archive below.

Mar 30, 2012

Cannot Leave Comments!

The comment goes away and tells me to report (I don't know to the gods?) this number bX-cy0oum .

Anyone having the same problem? I was leaving a comment to thank Donna and JOJO for stopping by, yesterday-didn't work. Tried to comment on another blog--didn't work. :(

Cannot Leave Comments!

The comment goes away and tells me to report (I don't know to the gods?) this number bX-cy0oum .

Anyone having the same problem? I was leaving a comment to thank Donna and JOJO for stopping by, yesterday-didn't work. Tried to comment on another blog--didn't work. :(

Mar 29, 2012

iPhone 4S Update

It went dead as a door knob, today. So, I called Apple and they were, as usual, great help. Don't know what I did to knock it out, but if it happens to you hold down the power button on top and the round button on the bottom, simultaneously, for 15 seconds.


Connect the phone to your computer and follow the restore option. It put everything back the way it was. It's important to sync your phone often with your computer (iTunes).


I'm going to guess the cause of the crash. I may have had too many aps open at one time. Just a guess.


Another piece of advice, write your phone's serial number down where you can get to it without your phone. I got mine from the box, but you can get it from iTunes, as well.


For Verizon users, don't forget to do *228 to update your roaming and new towers. I do it at least once a week and have never been anywhere where I couldn't get service.


I'll leave you with a picture or three of my best (lazy) buddy.




iPhone 4S Update

It went dead as a door knob, today. So, I called Apple and they were, as usual, great help. Don't know what I did to knock it out, but if it happens to you hold down the power button on top and the round button on the bottom, simultaneously, for 15 seconds.


Connect the phone to your computer and follow the restore option. It put everything back the way it was. It's important to sync your phone often with your computer (iTunes).


I'm going to guess the cause of the crash. I may have had too many aps open at one time. Just a guess.


Another piece of advice, write your phone's serial number down where you can get to it without your phone. I got mine from the box, but you can get it from iTunes, as well.


For Verizon users, don't forget to do *228 to update your roaming and new towers. I do it at least once a week and have never been anywhere where I couldn't get service.


I'll leave you with a picture or three of my best (lazy) buddy.




Mar 19, 2012

You Said Swim, Not a Bath!

So, I've been waiting and waiting to go swimming. We got to GVR and the first person I saw was Jewel. 
Hi, Jewel. Someone new to harrass! I like to go through people's legs whether they are standing or sitting--it made Jewel giggle--it scratches my back. Nancy moans and groans because it hurts her back, but my new friend, Jewel just laughed. Why she thought I was only about six years old!
That Blur is Me! I'm glad to see Dr. Orenbuch!
So Dr. Orenbuch and some of the other pretty ladies came to my room to check me out. They think I'm doing very well, and that my exercises and swimming will help me keep young and fit. Now that I'm getting older (still handsome), I need go in to see them every couple of months. Okay, enough of that. I want to go swimming. So, where's the lake?
That's not a lake, Nancy! You fooled me. That's a bathtub! Well, no, it's bigger than a tub--it's a pool!

Getting Ready. I usually skinny dip, but okay. I'll wear your bathing suit.

I'm not so sure about this. I have to back in?

I wanted to get out at first. It wasn't like a lake or stream! Nancy and everyone told me it was okay.

Okay, I'm in! Oh, yeah...that's just the right spot, Doc. I was getting massaged and adjusted while I was in the pool.

Ladies, it's not nice to blame the bubbles on the dog! Sheesh!

Well, this isn't so bad. Kinda relaxing, actually. I could get used to this. Next time I might just run and jump in! My Lizzie would have!

Carson gave me a treat to swim to the end of the pool! This is cool!

All good things must come to an end. More pampering as they dry me off.

I apologize. I had so many pretty ladies paying attention to me that I can't remember all their names. Nancy's no help with her memory. I know, I can go look on their site. Then I'll remember for next time. All I know is that EVERYONE likes dogs at GVR!

Jack is Doing Fine

Day Dreaming About Going Swimming
Jack is Jack, again. He's forgotten all about the chaos that took place. Today is his last visit to Physical Therapy, and he gets to swim--his favorite thing, after the doc checks him out.


I'll take pictures and post them. Just so thankful that he is well...he sure can out pace me at this point. Because of my back, I can't walk for long with him, and he always stops at the end of the driveway wanting to go to the nature center, but I can't make it. Susan is away, but she comes back tomorrow so she'll take him.


I try to make it up by walking him quite a few times a day going the other way on the street so he doesn't think he's going where he wants to go. (I think that may only make sense to me. LOL)


He has a lot of friends on our street, but he favors one in particular. He's such a nice man. He waits and watches for Jack, and comes out with a little cookie in his hand. It's the only cookie Jack gets and I don't have the heart to tell him that he can't give it to him. Jack loves men (I really think he remembers Rich), and he makes this man very happy. He doesn't have a dog. We saw him in the car the other day, leaving as we passed his house. Jack knew his car and got all excited so he turned around, I let Jack loose and he went and waited on his stoop for him. He says he doesn't have a dog because he can't bear the heartbreak of losing one. I know how he feels. He tells me Jack is the greatest dog that ever lived, and I love that Jack makes him happy.


Every now and then, Jack will stop suddenly and look in the distance. His ears perk up, he pulls on the leash, and he wags his tail. I know what he sees. It's always a slender man with a baseball cap. I think Jack is seeing a glimpse of Rainbow Bridge and remembering Rich. How they loved one another. Oops...made myself cry.

Mar 15, 2012

An Update on Jack

Instead of Glucosamine, Dr. Orenbuch (GVR) recommended Nutramax Dasuquin with MSM . When I went to Amazon to buy the Glucosamine I used for Lizzie, I realized that Dasuquin was what was mentioned by Dr. Orenbuch. My mind was so overloaded when I was at PT (easily done) that I didn't pick up on the name. It is working miracles along with the exercises and the other medication. I have him on an initial dose, and will decrease in 4-6 weeks.


http://tinyurl.com/78chqpj


Never knew there was such a place for pain management for dogs. Fortunately, I've never needed it before, but it's nice to know that there are places to make pets more comfortable when they have health issues.


"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader.  He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion."
 -Unknown

Mar 9, 2012

Physical Therapy

Today was quite a day. Nancy took me to GA Veterinary Rehabilitation Fitness & Pain Management (GVR) as my doctor recommended. I met three very nice ladies. One was at the desk where we signed in, another was the doctor, and the third was the doctor's assistant. They did a lot of the things that they did to me at Georgia Veterinary Specialists (GVS),  yesterday.


Then the doctor's assistant gave me a laser treatment. I had to wear special glasses and so did the two ladies doing my treatment and Nancy. I was a bit skeptical, at first, but they made me feel better, and they didn't hurt me. I have to go back for a recheck, and I will get to swim.


They demonstrated exercises that Nancy and Susie will help me do (mostly stretching) until my back is better. They think I hurt myself when I jumped the fence at the nature center a week or so ago. I knew at the time it wasn't the greatest idea, but I thought I was going to lose Susie! They told me, "No more jumping." I also have some medication to take and Nancy is going to buy me some Glucosamine which is good for my joints. All in all, it was a very pleasurable experience, I must say.





Mar 8, 2012

The Stars Must Have Been Aligned

Yesterday started off as an ordinary day. I'm watching my son's two Weimeraners--they are a joy. Jack was a little stand offish--I thought perhaps he didn't like sharing attention and that his nose was a little out of joint. I took him for a short walk and he seemed fine. A couple of hours later, I asked the three dogs if they wanted a cookie (dehydrated sweet potato chip), and he did not react--just looked like an old sad sack. I got him to come into the room I was in, but I noticed when he went to step up to the room where his bed is, he could barely get his back legs up. Time for the vet.


Jack has a habit that he's had for years--before going out on the leash, he eats. That wasn't any different, yesterday, except that he may have eaten a little faster than usual. It dawned on me only later in the day that there had been food in Bella and Bogey's dishes (I switched them over to his food) and he probably gobbled that, too! That would have been a LOT of food. I got him to the vet, they did a thorough physical exam. They didn't find anything so they Xrayed and did blood work. They came flying back in to the room I was waiting in and threw up the film and showed me a belly full of food that they thought might be bloat. They said they were going to try to get him to throw up. They tried five times and had no luck. They called the specialty hospital that saved his life last year, and they said to bring him right in. They would need to keep him overnight, give him fluids, and watch to make sure he didn't need emergency surgery. My vet said we'd worry about orthopedic problems after the problem with his gut because if his stomach twisted, it could be fatal.


I got to the specialty center, which I am so grateful to have near me, and they took him right back and did a brief exam and verified that he might, indeed, have what could turn into bloat. I had to leave him. They called me several times through the night to give me status. Each status seemed to get less and less urgent. Finally, the good news, no bloat.


Time to address orthopedic issues. Initially, they thought he might have problems with his "knees" since they seemed thick, but they couldn't rule out hip or back. I got a call a little while ago that he has no arthritis, no sign of skeletal injury, but may have injured a muscle. (He did jump a fence to get to my daughter a week or so, ago, but showed no signs of injury at that time). I have seen him slip on our wood floors a couple of times, but no wincing, etc. Yesterday, I had trouble getting him in the truck when I took him to the vet, but none getting him out, even with the ramp--stepping up made him cry. He had been fine on his walk in the morning. 


So, he will be on some medication and will be going to physical therapy. For his almost 11 years, he's a very, very healthy pup. Blood work came back great--he'll get to go to a spa and walk on a tread mill under water.


You all may have heard my sigh of relief. After the scare last year, I practically had myself convinced that I was going to get bad news.


He is still my miracle dog, and at this point in my life, my significant other. All is well that ends well.


I took some pictures of the pups just yesterday morning. Bella and Bogey were making themselves comfortable laying on me. Jack is not a jealous dog and didn't mind the attention I showed them to make them comfortable away from their humans. He was napping after his walk, so when this picture was taken, I had no idea that complete chaos was headed my way!
Jack
Bella and Bogey

Mar 6, 2012

Amazing-Just Had to Share

You won't believe this. Stare at the colored dots on the girl's nose for about 30 seconds. Then, quickly look up at the ceiling or a white wall and blink rapidly. Congratulations, you just processed a negative with your brain! How DO they do this??

http://tinyurl.com/7mptkgb

Amazing-Just Had to Share

You won't believe this. Stare at the colored dots on the girl's nose for about 30 seconds. Then, quickly look up at the ceiling or a white wall and blink rapidly. Congratulations, you just processed a negative with your brain! How DO they do this??

http://tinyurl.com/7mptkgb