look at that face!

time to call in the troops!

Alright Penny followers, we need your help! It is coming to the time that Penny can be adopted, and we need to get her into a wonderful forever home. Please let your friends and family know that she is available, and direct them to the AFRP website- she can be found under adoptable dogs. Please please please lets get her into a great home where she can live the happy life that she deserves forever! Forward my blog to your contacts, and any questions anyone has feel free to email me at nephele27@yahoo.com, I will be happy to answer questions about Penny and direct people to the right place for adoption information. Thanks to all that have followed, your support is greatly appreciated!

look at those screws!!!

groggy girl

big day!

Yesterday, Jared and I took Penny in to the vet to have her splints checked, one of them looked like it had moved and we wanted to make sure it was in the right place. Her x-ray's were scheduled for next friday, but Dr. Ryle figured, if they were just going to take off her casts today to re-do them, they might as well do x-rays now and see how she's doing. So they took x-rays of the top and sides of each front leg, and they looked great! The plate with screws in her right arm is a little scary, but it looks sturdy! Since she looked so good, the vets decided that she could be cast free! It was very exciting, although poor Miss Penny had to be sedated for her x-rays, so she was a little groggy and didn't seem as excited as we were at her super fast puppy healing ability. She has a soft bandage on her left leg, to keep her from licking that one, but no more casts! Her legs are so skinny and chicken leg like, but I am sure soon she'll be strong and healthy. She came home and promptly passed out on the blanket on the floor with Jared, and the two of them slept and cuddled for the next two hours as her sedation wore off. She seems to be doing really well, chewing on her bone and relaxing, and today we are going to do a short walk down the street, which we will slowly increase in distance as the days go by. I am so worried about her little legs, but I am just being an overprotective mother and I know she is going to be fine on them. It is bittersweet for us, because after her last checkup next friday, she'll be cleared to be adopted and our time with her will come to an end. I am so happy that so many people are interested in adopting her, and hoping that her forever home gives her all the love and joy she deserves. 

Fashionista!

playin' with my toys...

Penny is doing wonderfully. She has learned to sit and lay down! Its wonderful that she does this on command now (with, of course, lots of little treats and praise) because when we ask her to lay down, she understands that it means that we want her to calm down, which is so beneficial for her in terms of her need to rest. She has taken a sudden liking to her toys, she has a rope and two bunnies and a kong and a kong toy, and she had shown no interest in playing with them until about 4 days ago- all of a sudden she started chewing and playing with them, which made us so happy. I am hoping that her playing with them is a sign that she is adjusting and liking her new home here. She is doing really well when we let her out to play on her blanket- we try to do this 3 times a day for about an hour each time. She has learned that her time out is special, and she has been behaving really well when she is out (before, she just wanted to run around and sniff everything all over, but I think she is learning that if she plays on her blanket and stays in her little area, she gets more time out of her kennel). She has her x-rays in two weeks, on friday april 3rd, so everyone keep their fingers crossed for a clean bill of health! And thanks to all the readers for all of your support- its wonderful for us to hear how happy people are that she is doing well, it just adds to the joy of having her here with us. 

socks

Penny had her 3 week check up today. She got a new purple polka dotted cast, so she is at the height of fashion. We have been putting socks over her casts to keep them clean, hence the argyle style she is sporting for spring. She got her stitches out of her tummy (from the neutering) and on her leg that they did surgery on. Everything looked good, so she has another 3 weeks and then she gets her x-rays, which will determine how much longer she has her casts on (2-4 more weeks after her 6 week check-up, most likely). She loves the vet, it is so funny, she is just so happy to see everyone!

AFRP adoptions

Penny is up on AFRP's adoption page, as well as on their main page. If you are interested in adopting her, she will probably be with us until the beginning of May, but AFRP has put adoption interest links under her place on the adoptable dogs link. She is a wonderful dog and deserves a great forever home. She has her 3 week checkup tomorrow, so I will post info on how that went in the afternoon when we get home from her appointment. She hates the car ride, but loves everyone at the vet, so she will be all wiggly and happy for a change of pace and to see everyone at VCA santa cruz. Happy Friday!

one big happy family

Penny and Ptilota are becoming fast friends, they love hanging with Jared on their  big comfy blanket together. Penny doesn't seem all that interested in playing with Ptilota, but I have a feeling that will all change when she is all better and able to run around. Penny is out sitting with us for about 2 hours a day, once in the morning and once in the evening- its a great chance for her to mellow out somewhere other then her tiny little crate. She is so happy to be out and with us, she just snuggles right next to you and seems happy as a clam. 

Penny is doing really well. She is getting used to being here, and is getting more and more comfortable as she spends more time out on her blanket in the living room with us. She absolutely adores it when we take her cone off and sit with her, it seems like she immediately feels better (wouldn't you hate having a cone on your head all the time so you couldn't get your itchy casts off like you want to?) We have officially gone a week with no cast issues, which is great. She has her three week checkup next saturday, and we are hoping she'll be on track for getting her casts off when they originally thought she would be able to. She has become a little local hero in our neighborhood (we live in La Selva), and many of our neighbors inquire about her daily. She will be going up on the adoption page on the AFRP website soon, so keep your eyes and ears peeled for a person/family that might interested in giving her a forever home. 

the mellow yellows (and jared)

our big happy family...

So tonight we let the girls hang out together for the first real time. Its been a week and a day since Penny came home with us, and in an effort to keep everyone (i.e. 2 dogs and 1 cat) safe and slowly get used to one another, we have kept the 3 girls (all our pets are female) largely separate.  The vet had mentioned that Penny had been growling a little bit towards other dogs while she was with them, which Jared and I wanted to be cautious about but thought it was most likely due to the stresses Penny was feeling being at the vet for so long.  She has not done one tiny growl towards Pty since she has been here, and tonight the two pitty girls were fantastic together. Pty was very calm, and I am sure could sense that Penny was not well, and was giving Penny her space to hang with us (which is unusual for Pty, she has a hard time when we give attention to other dogs- such a jealous girl!) They said a very mellow hello to each other, and Penny even gave Pty a few licks on Pty's nose (which was adorable!) All in all, I was so proud of them both, of how calm and happy they both seemed, and hope that this will continue for Penny and she will get to experience all the joys of having doggy friends. She has been doing so well here, no food aggression, no other animal aggression, and certainly no people aggression. She is just a big happy ball of casting plaster!