Stella Home With No Stitches & No Bandage

I'll jump a little out of order for the day because most are wondering what was decided for Stella's vet appointment. We hit the lobby of the vet a few minutes before our appointment. We never spoke to a vet but a tech. They thought the healing looked great when they removed the stitches and bandage. All this was included in the cost I paid for surgery. We walked out with instructions she was not to take walks until Tuesday.

For once Heidi slept through the night for the first time in weeks but Stella had other plans, waking me up at 2:55am to go outside. I just wondered if their increased peeing is from their increased water intake during the day. Based on the number of times I fill the large bowl, they are drinking twice as much water out here in the wild west.

I headed back to bed and woke to a "mini howl" from Stella ... somewhere between a whine and a full blown howl. She wanted everybody up and she wanted to eat. How do I know that? At 3:55am she is wagging her tail smiling and trotting to the container the dog food is kept in.

I had this guy watching me make coffee today.

Stella comes out to check the weather, do some stretching and then finds out we are not taking a walk this morning.

As I got ready to get on the rode for my bike ride by 6:15am, she was going to see if there was at least a chance for her walk.

When I bought the bike yesterday I knew the stem was too long. After measuring it this morning after my return from riding, I needed one 7/8" shorter ... I was pretty sure I could find one at Ken's bike shop in Bisbee. Which is more like a museum. That is exactly the size I needed.

I dropped the LeMond and this stem off at the bike shop I bought the bike yesterday so they could exchange the stems. The will have to take off the handlebar tape, one of the brake/shifting levers to slide the handlebars through the stem. Many years ago I enjoyed doing that type of bike maintenance but not anymore. I pick up the bike on Saturday.

Here are some photos of that bike shop called Bisbee Bicycle Brothel ... "Best Little Wheelhouse In Arizona" ... the owner has a sense of humor and gets this old bicycles from all over the world. Some ridden by the most famous riders in the sport of professional cycling.

He told me the sweater was definitely not for sale.

This is the only opening in my fence that is designed for all the excess water to drain from the stone yard. It is also an entry way for snakes and spiders.

I had a nice ride early in the morning, windier than normal, less traffic and perfect temperatures.

Another good day in the Wild West.

A Nice Peaceful Day

The hounds didn't wake me up this morning like they normally do but when I sat up with my eyes wide open for some reason this morning ... it was 4:10am. I knew the chances of me getting back to sleep were slim so I get out of bed, turn on the light and both hounds are already up laying the living room wagging their tails ... they know breakfast will be served soon.

That first photo was taken a little after 5:30am. So it was normal routine, hounds eat and back to sleep within 5-10 minutes. I sit outside with a cup of coffee watching the day wake up. A lot of thinking does NOT happen at that time of day. I'm just there.

I was surprised the Aerostat was still airborne this morning ... I had to get up around 1am to shut the bedroom window because it was raining hard and the wind was blowing the rain inside the bedroom. I checked the weather before I decided to open the window for the night ... it showed there was a 0% chance of rain all night long.

This is my view from the sitting position in that ugly but comfortable rubber chair.

Stella has become use to being on the "Injured List" with instructions not to take walks for 10-14 days. So the times we use to walk ... she sleeps besides my chair while I drink coffee.

I noticed this morning when I let Heidi out she was walking along the fence line. It was dark so I could not really see what she was doing nor why she was walking that way. After the sun came up I could see that small dry area along the fence. It's the lighter color rock that is dry. In Indiana she would walk under the roof overhangs when it was raining or had rained ... here along the fence.

I rode my 35 year old Romic bike this morning for a little more than a hour. It has gears that are too big sometimes so I don't ride it a lot until I get in better shape. So when I came back home the AC had kicked on ... Heidi decided she would stay inside to enjoy the cold air.

Stella thought it was the perfect time to get in some sun bathing in BEFORE lunch instead of her normal AFTER lunch.  LOL

I barely caught the Aerostat slowly lowering to it's landing spot, which I have ridden my mountain bike out there within view ... I am shocked that is were Brown Canyon is compared to the rest of the mountains.

You would not believe with a sky like that ... it was raining !!!!

The gray thunderhead clouds were above the house and opposite these photos. I thought about going for a hike, take some photos then the clouds started rolling in. Then I got busy making phone calls I needed to make and before I knew it the afternoon was over. Of course the hounds slept their afternoon away .... although Heidi did wake up at 4:10pm to let me know it was time for her bone treat they get every afternoon.

Not much else going one. Stella's vet appointment is at 9am tomorrow so she will at least get a new bandage ... that last visit just to change bandages and check the healing was $34 ... I know I know ... it's not that much and if you have dogs of any breed eventually you will start adding up the vet bills. It's normal. Some things I am just cheap about spending money ... other things, not so much.

Another beautiful day in the Wild West ... I love it here.

The Vet Says Stella Is Doing Well

Not a lot has been going on since Stella needs to be confined to the house, can't go on walks and needs a plastic bag put over her bandage if the yard is wet. That has happened only one time although it has stormed the last three out of four nights. Heidi as you will see below doesn't change her routine much. I do believe though as the temperature cools during the day that she will start taking more walks.

The past few days Stella had figured out that we were not walking. She was no longer whining to go on that walk yet every time I pick up the car keys she is excited and wants to go. She did that Friday morning at 10am as we headed out for her vet appointment where they would change the bandage, check the stitches and see if things were healing.

With the recent Border Patrol bust in the middle of a high traffic area in town, the Aerostat has been in the air 24/7 and I hear a lot more helicopter traffic since that news. Reports were they were caught loading cars or vans with illegal immigrants. Strange to me that they were near a high traffic area surrounded by shopping centers. I did not see anything in the paper about it but caught the news on one of my Twitter feeds.

After a night of the best storm I had seen yet.

Stella doesn't mind the bandage and has not tried chewing it off. She does not limp when she walks and a few times when she thinks she has a chance to escape through the front door when I go out, she almost breaks into a trot. I did not realize until the photos I took this morning that both bandages matched colors in her collar. How is that for attention to detail at the vet office?

They received the lab results on the growth they removed from Stella's paw. It was benign. 

This is about all the aerobic activity Stella and Heidi get during this time for Stella's recovery.

Notice the color change of the bandage on Friday ... matching colors in her collar. From pinkish red to purple.

It looks this nice every morning but with a 20% chance of thunderstorms later this afternoon and tonight ... it seems like a 100% the past few nights. I saw it storm the other afternoon when the weather apps said there was only a 10% chance of rain. We have our own little weather system in this area.

We have not seen any snakes or spiders, since I saw the snake in the driveway a few weeks ago. Stella and now Heidi move over the backyard daily with their noses to the ground in the mornings to make sure they know what kind of traffic, if any, had been there during the night.

When I moved in the seller had new carpet runners in different areas of the house. I rolled up all of  them except the one by the front door. Since day one, that has been one of Heidi's favorite places to sleep or just sit and relax. She chooses that piece of carpet over her Mexican blanket that is in the opposite corner.

In this photo I left the spot on the door on purpose. In this post all the photos but four, were taken with the Canon G9X camera that has a black spot on the sensor. That black spot showed up after I had the camera for only 6 months. I am heading to the Canon camera forum after this to see what the solution is. I'll contact Cannon about a fix since it is still under warranty. In the other photos I erased the black spots through editing the photo.

I didn't think the four photos I posted here taken with the Nikon D3200 were that good either. I am beginning to think the best camera I have in the house is my iPhone 8+. Maybe I should start looking at and researching the new attachments they are coming out with for higher zoom capability. Currently their built in zoom is not that good.  That might be better than spending money on a different camera.

There have been times I have had the feeling that my new 2019 Toyota 4Runner TRD OffRoad is too luxurious to go off-road. It will go anywhere I want it to but it's not like the old 4Runners that felt more like a truck. This feels more like a "family suv" than an off-road vehicle. I still say that the best car Toyota ever made was the FJ Cruiser. They stopped making them.

Long time readers know what happens when my braincells start thinking about cars and analyzing. Over the past 10 years at least I have had a TON of different cars and suvs. The best combination I ever own was one FJ and one sports car. Those sports cars were either Mini Cooper S or BMW Z4's.

I might go out for a short Sunday bike ride today just to see how my finger reacts, which is in it's 7th day of healing from a very deep cut. The cut is in the way of everything I hold, from a fork, a knife or where my hands go on a pair of bicycle handlebars. I'll find out today real soon after I start riding.

College Football arrived these past three days in the Wild West.

Stella's Home And Resting

They said she was a great bloodhound all through the process, some will resist and put up a fight under stressful situations. She was still groggy when I picked her up but she did wag her tail when she figured out where the car was. I backed it in where I could lift her into the back of the 4Runner from their sidewalk by the entry door.

Her blood work came back normal. They will call me with the histopathology results in 7-10 business days. She walked with no limp and slowly to the car but her "walking days" are suspended for 10-14 days. She has become addicted to her morning walks so I am not sure how she will react to the change in her routine.

It didn't take her long to find her spot in the computer room. She had no trouble getting down and only sat there a few minutes trying to decide which position she wanted to sleep in. She will feel the affects of the sedation and anesthesia and might be groggy for as long as 12-24 hours, although it didn't affect her long last September. Then she had a small grown inside her eyelid removed.

The bandage will stay on until this Friday when they will check the area they removed and to change the bandage.

I have a feeling for the next few days, taking walks will not interest her too much.

Once she stretched out in this position I knew she was in a deep sleep, hopefully for a few solid hours. It was kind strange but when the tech was explaining that they used an endotracheal tube during the anesthetic procedure I immediately saw the tv show Dr Jeff ... the vet in Denver. There were always good endings on those tv shows but I had to stop watching that show because there were just too many surgeries to see.

Im not sure what Heidi was doing with her mouth on this picture because she was making no sounds and had just curled around to lay down. She sniffed Stella when we walked inside but only for ID purposes as she didn't show the excitement I had seen in the past from other hounds when one of their roommates returned home. I have a feeling that Heidi has always been a 'loner'.

It did not take too much time to rack up some dollars on that itemized list. I am beginning to wonder if it's time for me to start looking deeper into pet health insurance since both hounds are older. I have spent more money on vet bills in the last 12 months than I have in many many years combined. Hard to say what to do but I bet the worse case is I'd break even after paying monthly premiums and part of the bills. Or ... I might save some money after all the dust settled.

When I told some old stories of different lumps I'd seen on my hounds in the past, including this lump ... all vets had different theories, even in June. This tech did not hesitate to tell me New Frontier Animal Medical Center does not like any lumps of any kind and prefers to remove them. Some of my past vets would hold off to see what it would do ... why?

Needless to say for the next 10-14 days any blog posts photos may not be from anywhere but the house and backyard ... "Resume normal activity after 10-14 days" and "Confine your pet indoors for 10-14 days" will be a huge change in Stella's daily routine ... even though a lot of her routine is sleeping.  LOL

After a couple of hours of sleep she stood up and whined a little, walked behind me to the corner and then under the computer desk finding a new spot to sleep, facing outward. That was an hour ago so she is sleeping well ... good sign.

Everything turned out good in the Wild West today.