pegz viz, warrior princess

Princess Pegz has been increasing the amount of time she can walk on the leash. She is so determined, it seems unfair to not let her go for it. This makes me happy because her age alone is reason enough for her to slow down…let alone the fact that she is missing a leg.

We now go across the street and walk the big open triangle of grass in front of the school. I have her in a harness and watch her like a hawk. I don’t want any misstep, or stray piece of broken glass to jeopardize that solitary front leg. We usually go with Dad and Chaz (the quadpawd), who break off the route and continue their longer walk.  If weather permits, Pegz and I sit on the grass and wait until they come back around and re-join them.

While we wait for the boys, Pegz likes to sniff around some of the foundation plantings at the school. I am guessing there are some primo bunny smells in there. But recently, I noticed that she does this weird kind of leaning thing against the building as she roots around and moves from flower bed to flower bed. And I also noticed that she seems to lean against the side of our house as we walk up the driveway, and lean against the car as we walk down the driveway. Not exactly a “lean” per se, but walking more closely than seems natural. Almost as if she was looking for a guardrail of some kind. It is not a stressful behavior or anything that seems like it should worry us. It is barely even noticeable, except I keep hearing myself say, “watch out Princess Pegzy Petunia!…you are going to crash into that building, car…” etc.

But today it dawned on me. Pegz has pretty significant cataracts and I think her vision may be more impaired than I thought. She is fine out on the open road of a sidewalk or field, but I think she may be using the “leaning” thing as a way to navigate narrow passages and tight spaces. Poor Chica!!

Not really. She is happy as a clam and focused on enjoying her retirement.

And she doesn’t read this blog…so once again, she has NO idea anything could possibly be wrong. 🙂

Pegz is getting more comfortable in her new home as each day passes. She is such a love! She is very focused on fitting in and being a part of our life. No matter what we throw at her, she gets it and embraces it.

Our new favorite thing is…THE BIG PAW.  She just loves to cuddle and jump up for greetings. We know this is unacceptable dog behavior per se….but guess what? We don’t care. She is a senior citizen…she has 3 legs…and her life has sucked for a long time. Get over it.

Because she is a front amputee, when she jumps up, all her weight (and love) is concentrated in that ONE BIG PAW. She only weighs 42 pounds, but she could knock you out…seriously. Like Mohammad Ali in a prizefight. She jumped up on the Daddy tonight and split his lip with her toenails.

That right paw is very splayed and distorted from bearing all her weight. Her right shoulder is deformed too because it bears all the weight and the muscles on that side are over-developed and solid as a rock. Even her little stump is solid muscle. Watching that little stump twitch makes me cry. I massage it every day and she LOVES it. Thanks to Tripawds, I know how to do that massage.

Thank you …you guys rock!

Princess Pegz had a little blip on the health radar this week.

She had an incident of the “evil squirts” during the football game on Sunday…most likely in protest of the Bill’s pathetic showing against the Jets.  But it was no better as of this morning, so we took a trip to visit Dr. Sue. It looks as though everything is good and she just needs a little medicine and a few days of the old boiled meat and rice routine.

Pegz wasn’t really thrilled by the whole adventure, but she was ever so grateful for the care. While we were waiting for our pills and to pay the bill, she decided to display her gratitude….

She squatted…. and SQUIRTED (the evil kind)…right in my purse.

I love this girl.

The Girl and Boy are bonding!

Our boy Chaz wasn’t all that sure he wanted a companion, at first. He came home with us 3 years ago as a 4 month old rescue with significant anxiety and full-blown heartworm. We got rid of the wormies, but his fear of humans is so deep we are coming to terms with the fact that we may never fix that problem for him. He does have an inner circle… a select group of friends and relatives that he adores. But beyond that, he cannot get within 5 feet of a person he does not know without a meltdown.

Enter Princess Pegz! She bobbed her way into the dominant position, as I suspected, but Chazzy is none the worse for the experience.

I can’t help but wonder what circumstances led up to her amputation and how she ended up in a shelter. Was it disease….or a car hit, as was suggested by one of the folks who helped save her? Either way, what would prompt her human to treat her and then dump her? I realize now that the amputation couldn’t have been done at the shelter (another theory) because the shelter was “high kill”. A dog coming in with a serious injury or disease would have been first in line for euthanasia.

How do you care enough to provide medical attention that requires amputation, only to discard the animal at a later point?

So I am starting to wonder if she wasn’t surrendered by someone who had a change of life so drastic that they felt they had no choice? Of course, I cannot imagine ANY circumstance which would force me to surrender an animal to a high kill shelter. But then I realize that is easy for me to say as I sit by the fire in my cozy chair, typing on my new laptop, while dinner simmers on the stove. Many people are not that fortunate. Or maybe her owner died, or went into a nursing home and some callous relative didn’t want to be bothered? Or maybe that owner died with no one to take care of what was important at all.

I think I will choose to believe that Miss Pegz had someone who loved her at some point in her life . Someone who cared enough to help her get to her 10+ years with a wagging tale and a happy, sweet greeting for everyone she meets. And based on my scientific observation … they probably also had a cat. 😉

Pegz is our first Tripawd, but not our first rescue. Actually, all of our dogs have been rescues.

First in our life was Vita, a super smart black lab mix from the SPCA, who left us in 2006 at age 13 because of canine liver disease. Next came the love of my life and the dog who SAVED my life…Jake the Snake. Jake was a tall, skinny wolf-looking dog (a Heinz 57, if you will) also from the SPCA. He left us in 2008 at age 12 as a result of very agressive cancer. He developed a massive tumor in his neck, was diagnosed and we sent him on…all in 6 weeks time.

In retrospect, I suppose it was a blessing that it all happened so fast. We had no time to think. The night before we let him go, he was himself and nothing was amiss, other than the massive sutured wound that was the result of putting him through a biopsy. That biopsy was something I would not do again given the chance. At least not for a large dog at 12 years old. He failed SO quickly within 24 hours that there was only one decision to make.

Losing Jake is still not something I am able to get my arms around, even after 3 years. Someday, maybe I will post the story of how he saved my life. In the meantime, he lives on forever in my heart …and in the ink on my leg.

Pegz came to our home to join our best boy Chaz…another rescue from the south! Chazzy is a VERY handsome and very shy black lab mix who was heartworm postive when we got him 3 years ago. He came to our local SPCA as part of the overflow from another shelter. Fortunately, he was a pup at the time and survived the treatment well.

And so today, Chaz and Pegz Viz are carrying on for Jake and Vita Viz…building a forever friendship. 🙂

So I’m guessing that there is a learning curve on making YouTube videos. But it is what it is. This is the best I can do (so far) at the “spine-tingling” bugle call. I just learned how to work video mode today, so cut me some slack, will ya? Haha!

In this espisode, we see the call….not really all that “tingly”….but awfully cute!

I had to encourage her of course…a little.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCvfX14LQoA

There are things you love about a dog that are hard to explain.

Maybe it is the way they snore…. or twitch when they dream.

Maybe it the soft and kissable fur on the top of their heads.

Or maybe it’s the way their paws smell like a bag of Fritos.

One of the things I love about Pegz is the way her crazy hound ears trail behind her when she runs … like the long, flowing locks of a Breck Girl from the 60’s.

The funny thing is… she can really build up some speed and momentum when she gets going! I don’t let her go crazy, because she can’t afford to damage her bad back leg.

But I hold off on correcting her for a few seconds every day as I watch this beautiful girl burn a few laps around the yard. And it is the cutest thing to see those big ears flopping behind her as she bobs up and down…on her way to somewhere important. 😉

After Pegz was settled in for a few days, I had a chance to spend some time going through her records. The rescue organization was meticulous in keeping a medical journal and there were even old records from the original shelter. I had to giggle when I saw the paperwork which identified her as a “mountain cur” named Sissy.

But my heart almost stopped when I came across the part that said “recommend euthanasia”.

It seems that my poor Girlie Dog had reason to visit several medical professionals since she moved up north in April, and not all of them were positive about her future. Pegz apparently suffered more injury during her accident than just the amputation. Her back leg (on the same side as the amputation) is severely damaged and at first glance..appears to be sporting a rather large tumor. One of the Vets who saw her took Xrays, felt there might be cancer and recommended that she should be put down.

I harbor no ill will about that opinion, but I am so very grateful that Pegz’s foster mom at the time, had the presence of mind to get a second opinion.

Last week we got the best phone call we have ever received. Dr. Albert called to tell us that two sets of Xrays (40 days apart) and re-read by a vet radiology expert …showed NO changes whatsoever…and therefore did not appear to be cancer at all. Most likely, the tumor-looking thingy is a fracture that was not properly healed.

Don’t get me wrong….I totally understand that Pegz is at least 10 years old and that her life expectancy is short. But in a way, this love affair is an exercise in time expansion. How can we take a few years …. and turn them into a lifetime. THAT is the real challenge.

Pegz Viz

Pegz Vizzi is a rock star. A fabulous, senior Plotthound.

She hails from Kentucky, where she was rescued (by our local Angels at Black Dog, Second Chance) in a mission to prevent mass euthanasia, along with a bunch of other pups. But it turns out that Plotthounds are the official dog of North Carolina. According to Wiki…a brindle beauty with “vicious game fighting and treeing instincts” and a “spine tingling, bugle-like call”.  A legendary hunting dog!

I can testify to the bugle-like call. It is surreal.

“Pegz” would not have been our first choice for a name, but she came with it and responds so well. I am completely astounded by her intelligence. I will go on record as saying she understands English better than most humans I know. Who am I to confuse this regal Queen by changing her name at this stage in her life?

As I watch her struggle to make the most basic of moves down steps, I imagine her in an earlier time. A time when she was whole … and healthy… and the indifference of humans was not her reality. In my mind, I see her out on the hunt on foggy southern trails, a canine goddess of focus and fierceness. Today, as she raises her head to sniff the trail of a city squirrel, I see the imperative of generations of hounds in her elegant eyes.

And so it goes. As this little Girlie Dog makes her way through the sunset of her life, we are overwhelmed by our decision to take her in … but more so by how lucky we are to have found her. ~