Lava’s Road Show Kicks Off

Well Lava fans we started our tour a little early last weekend in Dover as a test run with Lava’s fur Sister O’hanna.  We had a ball driving out to Dover and Lava so enjoys getting to get on the road.

 We were greeted by the wonderful Delaware volunteers who enticed us out to Dover with homemade jerkie treats, how could we possibly refuse.  Lava’s friends came out to meet him in Delaware, and he was truly honored to work next to pals Max, Sassy, & Rainey at their Meet & Greet teaching folks about other hounds who still need homes..  He has so many special human friends, throughout the country and there is one special guy Mr Bob.  Bob drove two and a half hours on Lava’s haul day to provide him with special limo service so he wouldn’t get bump or jostled on his way to Greyhound central.  Mr Bob also made very generous donations to Lava’s medical fund to ensure GEGR could provide him with the best care anywhere.  Lava was so happy to see his other friend Mike, Sabrina, & Jess.  I get a rush of prided watching Lava greet his friends and giving back in his own way with his big warm brown eyes.

 This weekend we were off to Short Pump in Richmond Va.  Lava brings his own sense of adventure when we on the road.  Youngsters gravitate to Lava with a sense of wonder, they seem to express the joy we all feel for Lava. 

 

Lava wanted to thank the host of the Richmond M&G What a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.  Lava asked me to especially  thank Tim.  He hasn’t  walked a human in awhile but he’s always willing to take our volunteers for a stroll.  The Richmond folks are so organized what a very nice way to help educated the public.  Lava also has a very special place for his friend the (other) Mr Bob.  He knows sir, he knows .  Ms Linda is so sweet and gentle you can just sense her feeling for the breed. 

 Of Course Ms Lauryn I think in his dark times it was you providing him a sense of hope.

 

 Until next time friends, don’t know were yet but stay tuned for future adventures and where we’ll show up next.

Lava Flowski!

You’ve probably realized by now that Mr. Lavajava has been adopted!  His foster family couldn’t resist his charms and finalized the paperwork on Saturday (to no one’s greyt surprise, hee hee).  Because his story is so compelling and because he really is GEGR’s dog, we’ll keep his blog up and running so that his many fans can continue to follow his progress.  Thanks again for everyone’s support in this long journey!

Lava Flowski & His Family

The Lava Java is turning into a real Greyhound.  He’s becoming very playful and a happy, happy boy.  He sort of roo-woofs at us when he wants something.  Sometimes he’ll jump and snap at the air because he’s so happy.  He gets very excited when Ted gets home.  Ted is greeted with play-bows, full helicopter tail wags, woofing, and he does the hi-ho Silver thing rearing up on his back legs and pawing at the air with his front leg.

This morning Ted found the Eeba-jeeba in Ohanna’s little peanut basket bed.  This thing is little and he squeezed himself in.  It must have gotten a little chilly in the sun room last night.   He’s running through the house with Chaos and Ohanna and is very silly.

All of his test results came back negative.  The neurologist said that it could have been a false negative for a TBD since he’s getting better on the antibiotics.  We’re to continue the antibiotics for 3 weeks and go from there.  He still yipes in pain but just occasionally now.  He’s really coming along and it’s hard to hold him back.  We’re supposed to restrict his activity for another 2 weeks, yeah right! Would someone tell Lava that please?!

 

~Cindy Ski

More doctor visits

Mr. Lava-Java is now about 6 weeks post-op and has had a busy couple of weeks! 

It was thought that the pain Lava has been experiencing was due to an injured disc in his neck.  Because he’s not a good candidate for surgery, GEGR decided to try an acupuncture visit with Dr. Feldhaus of Three Notch Vet.  Here is a summary from Lava’s foster mom after the first visit:

The needles stayed in place for 15 minutes.  Toward the end I could see he was really starting to relax. He wouldn’t lay down but I was afraid he would fall over.  The last few minutes his head was totally resting on my arm.  He slept very deeply and soundly last night.  We heard more yelps than we had the past few days.  Although his pain seemed more intense, it seemed fleeting and he appeared to be comfortable between episodes of pain spasms.  His skin seemed a little more “twitchy” and irritable today which makes sense that the increased blood flow would make the entire area hypersensitive.   Dr. Feldhaus said we would notice improvement in 2-3 days IF there was improvement with the first treatment.  He goes back for his second treatment a week from Friday and will have a treatment every week for 6-8 weeks.

Lava’s Acupuncture

After further discussions with Dr. Feldhaus, it was decided that Lava should be evaluated by a neurologist.  Lava and his crew trooped up to Leesburg on October 1st for an evaluation with Dr. Tiches at Bush Veterinary Neurological Service.

 

He had an MRI, spinal tap, blood work, and many other diagnostic tests.  The MRI was clear – no disc problem!  We’re still waiting for some other test results, but in the meantime, Lava is back on antibiotics for a possible spinal infection and some different pain meds.

Some more pictures of the Lava Man:

Lava’s New Ruffwear Vest!

Relaxing at Home

(What do you notice about the last photo???  Another first for Lava… *wink*)

Lava Java continues to improve, especially over the last week or so.  Thanks again for all of your support!

Thank you Ronnie!

A big thank you to Ronnie Daldos from Bella’s Pain Relief http://www.bellaspainrelief.com/.  She donated a hot/cold pack for Lava.  Cindy says it is wonderful and has made it so easy for her to do compresses on his neck.

THANK YOU, RuffWear!!!

We at GEGR have constantly been amazed by the generosity and outpouring of support for Lava and his foster family.  The kind people at RuffWear have generously donated a special harness for the Lava Man!

Click the link below see a video and watch how it works!

http://www.tripawds.com/2008/04/29/new-ruffwear-harness-now-available

Update from Lava’s Foster Dad

I feel like all I do is give you guys gloom and doom, but I also feel I have an obligation to let you know what’s going on with your Lava.  The good news is Lava does not have a scraped-up throat.  The not-so-good news is he has a disc problem in his neck.  Knowing where it hurts does make a big difference in the way we handle Lava.  Collars are now out of the question for this guy forever.  Harnesses for tripods could be a challenge.  Cindy is researching special harnesses for front tripods.  If you have any ideas or can think of a way, that would help us out a lot. 

I want to leave this update with some highlights of the past two weeks.  Lava has adjusted to walking without his bum leg.  If you watch him walk from behind (just his rear legs), he has adjusted so well you’d never know he has a leg missing.  His side, just before his stitches came out, looked really pretty good.  The surgeon even took time to line up the stripes on his skin so when he’s healed he won’t have crooked lines. 

Finally the best part:  When I came home from work yesterday, Cindy reported that Lava made a special effort to come into the living room and sought out her affection.  Way to go, Lava!  Last night Lava made another effort when he came back into the living room and stuck his head across the armrest of my recliner and rested his face in my lap; his tail was wagging as happy as could be.  I don’t know if it was the sudden release of anxiety or the surprise, but I started laughing and the more I watched his tail, the more I laughed and the more I laughed, the more he wagged his tail.  I hope last night is our indicator for what is to come…

~Ted Ski

Sept 9: Post-Op Visit

Lava had his first post-op visit with his surgeon today.  Lava’s incision looks good, and he had his stitches out today.  His surgeon is happy with Lava’s progress in that area.  He thinks the source of Lava’s severe pain is a disc issue in his neck, which will hopefully be resolved with rest and muscle relaxers (cross your fingers!!).  It was suspected that his trachea was scratched or bruised during the surgery, causing eating to be painful, but there’s nothing wrong with his trachea.   It appears Lava-java scammed some vanilla ice cream out of the Skis (Way to go, smart boy!  Keep those peeps in line!).

Please continue to keep Lava in your thoughts during his long and painful recovery…

Unfortunately, Mr. Lava has been dealing with some pretty severe pain but his foster family is doing everything they can to make him comfortable.  They are working together with his surgeon to find the right combination of pain meds, and they can see some improvement although he still has a ways to go.  The good news is that he’s eating better, and they can still see flashes of his sweet personality.

A HUGE thank you goes out to everyone who has supported Lava and the Skis over the past week and a half since his surgery!  Your prayers, actions, and well wishes are deeply appreciated.

Some pictures…

Eeba-jeeba

Got my chicken - yay!

Sleepytime...