A special shout out to Tigre and the crew.

Cha Cha stopped by for a visit.
No photos to prove it, but she was here.
Sophie chewed her head a bit and they
played tug-a-war with a stuffed chicken.

The long overdue blog update.

Much has happened since Sophie last graced the screen.

She's been quite busy, in fact.
She traveled extensively over the holidays, venturing off to a far away
land known as Ontario to spend the season with her wee toddler
friends who periodically mauled her, ignored her or wiped snot on her.

And that was only half the adventure.

She also stayed in two hotels, was stranded on the highway,

refused a ride by a CAA tow truck driver on Christmas day,
despite the halo on her head which clearly indicated her heavenly status,
returned to the toddlers who in turn,
returned to periodically mauling her, ignoring her, and snotting on her.

At the end of it all, she returned to Montreal, had her staples removed,
retired the cone and took up her position on the bed.
She leaves this spot to eat and chew bones.
She seems to think she's earned it.
She probably has.


On the medical front, so far so good.
Aside from her superior attitude, she seems to be coping quite well
with her reduced activity load. Only five more weeks to go.

Look at that sexy leg!



Sophie's big, ugly, green bandage came off
a couple of days ago
and it's been mayhem ever since.

From her perspective, I've ceased to dress her in this ridiculously
movement inhibiting outfit so LET'S GO OUT!






But the cone. Damn the cone!





I think it rolls over in Sophie's brain like this:
Tis the season ... I've lost my mind and I'm making her wear a halo.

(please download and colour)



From a medical standpoint, and according to the
surgical technician, her incision looks great.


To me, it just looks like she's stapled together.
For the queasy amongst you, you may
wish to not view the following photo,
although in the age of popular forensic science,
is such a warning even necessary?




This pic is actually pretty tame in comparison to prime time TV.
The only difference is, this is REAL!!

Sophie is doing very well today.
Our stand off over the litter box has ended
and she has succumbed to relieving herself
in this unspeakable place.

Sorry, no photos to prove she's doing her business.
(pause briefly to allow for resounding groans of disappointment.)
You'll just have to take my word for it.

Yes, it's been a good day for Sophie.
Two of her favourite aunties came over to visit.
She was so excited to see them that she almost
wiggled her big, ugly green bandage off.
It could not have been too soon for me
since that thing is getting a bit stinky.

It comes off bright and early Monday morning,
which is sure to be the first and best
birthday present of the day for me.
The next batch of photos should be of her lovely pink leg.
I'll spare you all the incision since I'm not too keen on seeing it myself.

And a side note: Hi Bosco and Jodene! It's great to hear from you. Of course Sophie would remember you. How could she forget a dog who waves and a person who took her for fabulous off leash walks? I hope Bosco doesn't have to go through the surgery, but if he does, it's not all that bad. It's very boring for Sophie and expensive for me, but I don't think she's in much pain at all. She just isn't very happy lazing about and doing nothing all day. We live in a second floor condo, but it's on a park and she's used to two big runs each day. Of course, that's how she tore her ACL. Fortunately, she's in great shape otherwise and that should help her recovery. Give Bosco a big hug from me and keep me posted on how he's doing.

Since arriving home from the hospital,
Sophie has been eating like a trooper.

Unfortunately, she hasn't been pooping like one.

Here she is investigating her outdoor litter box (pre-surgery)
... the realities of living on a second floor.
She can't use the stairs for two months so she has no choice.

The good news is, after two days, she finally pooped.
It was late last night and she immediately tried to bury it.
I think she was mortified by the whole experience.
I'm putting my condo on the market in January.

TPLO

This is the name of the surgery Sophie just had to repair a torn ACL,
which is more or less, the ligament in her knee.

It stands for Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy and if you are interested in exploring further, there is a complete explanation and a lot of non-gross photos on this website: http://vetsurgerycentral.com/tplo.htm

The really important thing to know is that
Sophie will now beep if she goes through airport security.


She had the surgery on Tuesday, December 12 and came home from
the doggie hospital this afternoon. She seems good, happy to be home,
but definitely not happy about the cone.

Today, she starts the first of 60 long days of complete inactivity.
It's anyone's guess which one of us loses our mind first.
I'm betting on me.

So much has happened since Sophie last blogged ..... and she's on her way back to tell you all about it. Here she was enroute to share some of her adventures when she got just a little bit sidetracked by Cha Cha.
Damn that Cha Cha!

So much has happened that Sophie has even come to love Cha Cha just a little.


Stay tuned for more furry fun .... Beginning next week, Sophie invites you to join her on one of her biggest adventures yet. She won't win a million dollars, but you might!

On Hiatus

Sophie has been very busy this summer, traveling extensively, swimming the waters of the Eastern Ontario and Upstate New York, and working through her issues with Schnauzers.

While you wait for her return, please hum a pleasant tune and peruse this lovely photo of Tulip and Gazoo.....

I also urge you to visit Tigre's blog (link provided to the left) and feel free to option it for a book or movie deal.

Kiss this Beast!

Sophie had her first ever professional grooming today.
She showed up wearing way too much makeup (see pic above)
and left wearing way too much pink (see pic below).

Back home, it's become clear that she smells.
The groomer has shellacked her with a horribly raunchy doggie perfume.

But she is clean and sparkly
and eagerly anticipating a new, raw bone
... her reward for putting up with the salon.

Please note: This post is in no way intended to promote regular, expensive dog grooming. It was merely a freebie from the neighbourhood pet food store and an indulgence I suspect Sophie will never have to endure again.

It's a Cha Cha -a-Thon!

Sophie's been busy.
She hasn't had much time for blogging lately.
....Summer.....

Leader of the Pack!

Sophie raised $505 for the SPCA in the Shaggy Dog Strut.

She was showered with gifts when she arrived for her walk
and got top billing up at the front of the line with dozens of
Fox Terriers who were rescued from a puppy mill a few months ago.

Pictures to follow ... I hope.
I forgot to bring my camera.
Oops



Thanks everyone for your support!!!

It may seem like Sophie is always sleeping, but not true.


In this case, she's resting up for her SPCA walk,
which will look like this......

......only with lots dogs.

SPONSOR THIS MAGNIFICENT BEAST

in the SPCA Shaggy Dog Strut!
Sunday, May 28th at Parc La Fontaine

Sophie's sponsorship link

Feel free to join us and bring your own beastie too!

Slumber by Degrees

nice

really nice

heaven

I went to New York and Sophie went to her dad's. (Not her birth dad's of course.) She goes running illegally in Parc La Fontaine, but otherwise she visits, as shown in the picture above. Oddly enough, over the past year, every single weekend she has spent at her dad's , it's rained. I'm not sure if this is a coincidence or if Sophie can actually control the weather. I'm going with the latter.

On another note, back home and running illegally in Parc Laurier this morning, Sophie got massive pets from an actor on a film shoot. Some American production called Circle of Friends. He didn't look like anyone I was supposed to know, but then again, I don't really know who I'm supposed to know. Sophie didn't care either. She was only in it for the attention.

Side note: how many L's in illegally?

An Examination of the Social Aspects of Dog Park Encounters

Bilboa








Bilboa & the Beagle










Bilboa, the Beagle & Dalton

Dalton - Poosha!

Disclaimer: if anyone knows the proper spelling for the word that sounds like poosha, please contact OED.

Just for you J.W.

Proof that I'm not abusing Sophie
by making her sleep on her cushy, overpriced,
L.L. Bean dog bed on the floor.

ANATOMY OF A FETCH

and so on and so on ....

CHA CHA CHA

We can't wait for Cha Cha to return from her vacation so that we can update her portfolio. Her pre-vacation photo shoot was a great success, but all the pictures were accidentally destroyed in tragic digital accident.

Ah, Cha Cha. The park just isn't the same without your wit and intellect. Here is an older, late winter picture of Cha Cha strolling through the park with Pako. Pako was trying to convince Cha Cha that he is top dog, but Cha Cha only scoffs at this notion. Foolish boys. She might have some work to do when she gets back.

Oooooooh, the crisp, new, white duvet cover ......


Aaaaaaah, the beast.........


Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

A little Blue


Sophie watches for the second coming of Spring.
So far, only god has shown up. He's bright, but not as warm as the sun.