Monday, March 14, 2011

Even Old Dogs Can Learn New Tricks!

A week or so ago, I said I nearly killed my dog Thursday night trying to get my 10,000 steps in. By noon Friday, I had to take him to the vet because every time he got up or down he would yelp in pain (Can anyone relate?) I left him all afternoon and when the vet called, she said that her suspicion was that he had a torn ALS in his left hind leg. She prescribed an anti-inflammatory drug and said to walk him as little as possible. Well, when I went to pick Meathead up and get his medicine a lady standing at the desk said that the drug was really hard on a dog’s stomach and that her dog throws up every time she has to give it to him. I took Meathead home and decided to wait till morning to start the meds so he wouldn’t throw up all over the house while we slept.

Miracle of miracles, he never yelped again after a couple of times in the night. He can get up and down with no problem. Meathead is at least 14 years old and I do believe he was just really sore from the long walk we took on Thursday night. So, the long and short of it is, we are $85.00 poorer and possess a bottle of anti-inflammatory meds. If I had given him one the night before I would have believed that the pill worked a miracle cure on Meathead.

I have done a lot of thinking this weekend and have something else to say about my class this session. Last week I said that we had lost 78 pounds this session and I have been thinking about why it is different this session. Reminds me of another dog story. Years ago when we had a miniature schnauzer named Missy. Missy was old and slept most of every day. Our daughter, Shari, brought home a schnauzer puppy and Missy was not happy about it. She would growl when the puppy wanted to play with her. After the puppy had been with us for about a month we were out in the yard one day with the two dogs. All of a sudden Missy started running and playing with the puppy and from then on she was like she was young again.

I think this is what has happened in our class this session. We have three new members who are excited about the program. I think it has energized our alumni, some of whom have been with me for years, and they have started doing the hard work to lose weight and get fit. The moral of this story is even the old dogs can learn new tricks! Have a great week!

2 comments:

  1. Speaking of dogs....we dog sat this weekend and had a great time. We walked alot more than we usually do and feel alot better for it. Makes me want to get a dog!!!!

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  2. A big "WOOF!" to that! Thanks for the encouragement.

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