Husky Snowfall

Today we had our first significant snowfall of December, 2008.

We started our morning with school being closed, so Kodi and I took advantage of the early morning and lack of traffic and went for our walk before the snow started to fall.

We played in the yard a bit before coming inside. Once inside, I did a little housework and parked my power chair to charge it.

My son came out and told me it was snowing and I was shocked to see that the grass was already covered.

When Kodi let me know he needed to go outside, I bundled up and went out to shovel a path around the deck, down the ramp into the yard. He was a bit hesitant at first, but when we got to the bottom of the ramp, he sat down, tail wagging and let me put him on his 'tie-out cable'. When I let go, off he went like a shot.

He ran all over the yard, bouncing, jumping, shoveling the snow with his nose. We stayed outside for about a half hour while he played, as the snow fell hard.

Once back inside, it was hard to occupy Kodi's mind. He kept looking at the door, restless. When he began to whimper, I bundled back up and out we went to shovel once again. He played in the yard again, tossing his tuggy around, jumping on it, eating snow.

We went back out again to shovel and play in the yard. I tried to shovel the front sidewalk, but was gasping for breath, winter asthma stealing the air from my lungs as I slowly maneuvered the steps one at a time, using the shovel as a support.

Inside, my son took my coat and hung it up for me as I collapsed into my recliner. Kodi heard me breathing hard, wheezing and came right to me, standing up with his paws on my shoulders, forcing me back into the chair as he licked my face, ears, eyes, chin and mouth, nibbling on my nose. He rubbed the side of his face against my cheek as he licked my ear.

We later, went back out again to shovel and play in the yard right before my husband was due home from work. When he pulled into the driveway Kodi ran to the truck, jumping in the snow.

They played, chasing one another around the yard, Kodi dodging my husband's snow balls, grabbing his gloves and tugging on them.

It's pretty clear we're going to have trouble keeping him inside this winter.

Rushed to the Hospital

Yesterday, after our morning walk, we were playing in the yard when I noticed something on Kodi's right front foot. When he got closer, I asked my husband what that looked like and he said "blood".

I called Kodi over and gave him the 'paws up' command. He put both feet on my lap and it was obvious, the toenail on his left front dew claw was injured. There was a lot of blood and the toenail was sticking straight out of the side of his foot.

He hadn't yelped or limped or shown any sign of injury, but there it was. Apparently he got it caught either on his airline cable, in the yard or on my husband's jacket when they were rough housing.

We took him in the house, got our ID and everything we needed to rush him to the Veterinary Hospital.

When we got there, they said dew claw toenail injuries are common and happen often. They took him in the back and brought him back a few minutes later. He had a light blue bandage on his left front foot and they informed me he had partially torn his toenail off. They removed it and wrapped it to keep it clean. They prescribed antibiotics.

My sweet puppy wanted a lot of attention and cuddling when we got home. Walking out to the yard to go 'potty' he wouldn't walk more than a foot in front of me and kept stopping and turning back to make sure I was coming. I had to go out into the yard with him to get him to go 'potty'.

Later, in the evening, he got up on the recliner with me, laying his body on top of mine, resting his wrapped paw in my hand and his head on my shoulder and chest. He proceeded to slip peacefully into a deep sleep, where he stayed for some time.

We've taken a couple of walks, as the Vet indicated he could still go for walks and we shouldn't restrict his activity. He's limping a bit, but seems more uncomfortable than in pain.

We are staying close together, aware of where each other is, how we are feeling and what one another needs. He's so much more than 'just a pet'.

Those Darn Squirrels!

Walks with Kodi are something to be experienced. I've noticed more things in my environment during my walks with him, than I think I ever had before.

I find myself looking up into the branches of the trees around us where I've seen a variety of critters, mostly squirrels and birds.

When we're walking and I see him looking up, I'll stop, so he can investigate and I find myself looking up with him, trying to see what he's seeing, trying to see it through his eyes.

He has the same love for Butterflies that Echo had, though he has no interest in caterpillars, which fascinated her. She was interested in squirrels but not in chasing them, mostly watching them, but Kodi wants to chase them and get close to them. He is fascinated by birds flying over head.

This tree he's standing against is an old tree, that hangs down over the sidewalk, like a canopy. It is in the block before our house, so we walk under it often. There are squirrels that seem to almost tease him, staying close to or on the ground, until he's near, then shooting up into the tree, just out of reach as he nears.

Every walk with Kodi is a wonderment, a relaxing venture into appreciation of nature, taking the time to see, hear and smell the world around me.

Kodi playing in the Autumn Leaves

Kodi's first Autumn