Made Out Like a Bandit

I guess Santa didn't check his list twice because Luna got more than her fair share of toys. She had a great time visiting her cousins Maddie and Amber. She also snuck a few of their Christmas treats for herself. Naughty girl. Visiting with family gave her plenty of opportunities to beg for a few snacks. She earned the nickname "mooch" thanks to her alert presence in the kitchen. What a fun Christmas for Luna.

Merry Christmas!

"Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night."

Puppies!

And now for something completely different!

What could be better than bringing Luna in to work?  How about bringing puppies in to work?!  

"Why yes.  I am just that cute."

During the fall, my co-worker's Siberian Husky, Libby, had a litter of puppies.  As the puppies have gone on to their new homes, my co-worker has brought the remaining two puppies to the office so they would not be alone with the adult dogs.  Stormy (gray) and Brady (black) were a ton of fun to have around.  Most of the day was spent sleeping in the crate, but when it was time to come out and play they were little balls of furry lightning flying around the office.

Stormy and Brady just hanging.

Stormy has visited the office a couple of times already and is starting to get the hang of office life.  When he first arrives he is full of energy and howls when we put him in the crate.  Eventually he settles down and takes a very long nap.  Howling must wear him out.  Around 4:00pm we take him back out for a potty break, dinner, and playtime.  He loves to run up and down the hallways.  He is a very confident little boy, but always aware of where my co-worker is in case she decides to leave him.

10 minutes before the crazy puppies were let out.

Luna has not had the pleasure of meeting Stormy yet, but she has investigated his empty crate.  She especially liked his bone which I had to explain to Luna that it did not belong to her.  I'm sure they will meet soon and I can only hope that it will be a fairly calm experience (yeah, right!).  

Snow Time with the Gemstones

In the beginning of December Luna and I played hookie from work and spent the day with Mary Pat and her pack, the Gemstones.  It had snowed recently which made the landscape very beautiful. 

Luna and Tanzanite are ready for any treats you may have.

 Luna enjoyed hanging out with Emerald, Tanzanite, and Opal.  She even joined them for some running around in the yard.  Opal really wanted Luna to play with her big stuffed toy, but Luna was only interested in making me run.  She would spin in circles around me and bark.  Clearly, she is a mommy's girl.

Doesn't anyone want to play with Opal's toy?

Nope.  They're keeping a look out for something to chase.

She may look like Luna, but that's Emerald!

Poor Opal.  No one wants to play.

Isn't that snow cold?

We snacked on tea and chocolate while the dogs munched on cookies.  Luna never left the kitchen just in case we needed any help cleaning up.  Sorry puppy, no chocolate for you.

It was a great day to put us in the holiday spirit.  I'm so pleased that Luna got to run with her buddies.  She seemed to happy to be part of the gang.  Although, I think she didn't like sharing the treats. :-)

Neighborhood Watch Dog

This was a busy weekend for Luna and me.  On Saturday, Ashley, Chewie and Luna went with me to a Holiday Caroling Party which was hosted by 4-H for residents at a local nursing home.  Chewie and Luna were a big hit with the residents.  Luna sported a blue collar with jingle bells and Chewie wore here new reindeer sweater.  The people we visited with just loved petting Chewie and Luna and admired their fun outfits.

The dynamic duo waiting for a cookie.

Sunday was my birthday (yay!) and we celebrated by attending the Greyhound Friends of NJ Craft Show.  We bought Luna a new sweater (stay tuned for pictures), checked out the latest batch of greys looking for a home, and got Luna's nails cut.  While we were walking around the vendors, we passed a man selling fuzzy marionettes.  Luna stopped in her tracks when she saw the fuzzy "dog" on the ground.

"What's that?!"

Luna cautiously approached the puppet with ears up.  When the man moved the puppet towards Luna she backed up quickly.  Apparently, she wanted to check out the toy (probably to play with it), but she was very afraid of the puppet.  After a few minutes of staring from a distance, Luna decided the best course of action was to bark at the puppet.  People passing us laughed and said, "Doesn't she know greyhounds don't bark?"  I guess not.  As a side note, none of the other greyhounds passing the puppet took any notice of the funny toy.  Only Luna was on high alert.

Continuing this theme, Luna and I had our normal morning walk before I leave for work this morning.  As we approached a small garden, Luna became very alert about a new statue.  I couldn't help laughing when I realized it was a rabbit.  Luna's fur was standing up as she slowly approached the rabbit statue.  She insisted on sniffing it from the side before standing in front of the statue.  After a few minutes she decided we were safe to move on.  Thank goodness! :-)

Be careful, Luna.  It can probably smell fear.

Miracle

 

Recently, my church asked for congregants to submit their uplifting holiday stories.  I could think of nothing better than to share our experience with Luna's accident.  Today marks one year since her accident.  I know I've said over and over how amazed I am with how far Luna has come in a year.  The following is the story I submitted to my minister which I will be reading in front of the congregation later this month.

"Miracles are a common theme in religious stories this time of year.  Celebrated miracles include the birth of Jesus, the oil that lasted eight days, and the enlightenment of Buddha.  In today’s modern world, do miracles still happen?  It all depends on your perspective.

In early December 2011, I had taken Luna, my newly adopted greyhound, for a run with her fellow sighthounds.  What started off as a wonderful day changed in a second to one of the worst experiences of my life.  In an instant, Luna was t-boned by another greyhound running at roughly 35 m.p.h. Luna struggled to breathe as she laid on the ground, unable to stand.  I rushed her to the veterinarian who discovered that Luna’s first two vertebrae had been affected.  The damage had left Luna paralyzed.

Mike and I were faced with a heartbreaking decision.  Should we keep up the fight in the hopes that Luna would have some quality of life or should we end her pain now?  In either case, we knew we would not be able to keep Luna.  How could we care for a dog that may never walk again or would possibly require a doggie wheelchair?

Luna’s positive attitude despite her discomfort and fear told Mike and me that she was not ready to give up.  We responded with 24/7 intensive care including physical therapy.  Within a week Luna was able to get herself into a sit.  In another week she could stand with little assistance.  Almost a month after her accident, Luna walked unaided.  Soon, she was back to trotting, running, and performing tricks.  There was no need for a wheelchair or to find her a new home.

This certainly is a fantastic story, but is it a miracle?  Let’s take a look at some of the factors that played an important role in this situation.

1. The impact was terrible, but significantly less than it could have been.  Luna was injured, but no bones were broken and no surgery was required. 
2. The woman who drove us to the veterinary hospital did not have a dog with her so she was free to help us all day.
3. The veterinary hospital was not terribly far and was one of the best emergency clinics in New Jersey.  From doctors to secretaries, everyone cared about Luna’s recovery.
4. Our families and friends were available to care for Luna when we needed to go to work.  Caring for a large dog in pain is no easy task, but everyone took a turn.
5. Our bosses were understanding of the situation and made accommodations to support our unusual situation.
6. The physical therapy clinic we visited had all the latest technologies and equipment we needed to rehabilitate Luna.
7. The owner of the dog that collided with Luna volunteered to care for her while we were away on a much needed Christmas vacation.  Her pack of greyhounds encouraged Luna to walk by stealing treats and instigating playtime.

Whether you believe in miracles or not, it is easy to see that many factors played a role in creating the best outcome possible of a worst-case scenario.  It has been a year since Luna’s accident and every day we see her enjoying life we are reminded of our miracle."

Naughty!

Temptation has been calling Luna's name this week and unfortunately she's given in.  It seems that Luna has discovered that she can get into mischief when we are out because she won't be scolded.  Hmmm.

Early in the week Mike came home to find the bin where we keep some of Luna's items was pulled out from it's spot on the shelf.  Any ziplock bags with treats that might have been in there were long gone evident by the carpet being littered with confetti sized plastic.  Yay.

A few days later, Luna struck again.  This time, Mike found a bag of Luna's treats had been pulled off her crate.  I'll admit it was within sniffing distance, but she has never shown this type of behavior before so I never thought anything about it being too close to the edge.  She had happily torn apart the ziplock bags and snacked on all the treats and leftover kibble from our vacation.  Sigh.

Tonight was the final straw.  Mike and I were out for only a few hours.  In that time, she had knocked over the garbage can and retrieved some treats from the furthest part on top of her crate (meaning she had to really work for it).  I was out to dinner with a friend when I received a frantic phone call from Mike describing the scene (notice that it's always Mike who comes home to the crime scene). 

We called the vet because this time we weren't sure what the damage was.  The vet assured us that if she was acting normal (and she was) that she was probably fine.  We will continue to monitor her to make sure everything passes without complication, but let it be known that Luna is a VERY NAUGHTY GIRL!

She's earned herself plenty of crate time when we are out until the foreseeable future.  We'll see if Santa puts her on the naughty list after this latest stunt.