A Tania-mania week .......

Its been pretty much "Tania-mania" week, with therapy, therapy, therapy.

Zoe is back for only a short period of time, and armed with her course completion of the WaterWork at the PetMassage Institute in Ohio, USA which is a higher level of water therapy to aid dogs like Tania, we brought her for her FIRST ever visit to the beach. Needless to say, it was a very exciting day for her.

After aqua-therapy in the sea, she had physio in the van - with music & aroma-therapy (oh lawd - the Princess, if only I should be so lucky), but to be fair to her however, living with daily pain, she does deserve to be a happy girl :)











" Nice wind blowing ..... "


"Oh oh ..... here comes the rain - time to escape to the van "


Looking all dozey and relaxed after her physio, music & aromatherapy :)


Will post the FUN pixs later.

Our HERO - Dr. Jean-Paul Ly

The Good Lord sent us to Dr Ly, without whose God-given talent and compassion, our little girl may not be mobile or even here right now.

Dr Ly performed both Tania's hip dysplasia surgeries successfully, and is doing a wonderful job with her. He is very particular about her diet and STRESSES alot on physio. for her, especially swimming, for prevention of scarring tissue formation, and to keep her legs mobile and as strong as possible.

Tania will have her left knee operated on this comingTuesday, March 2nd, and we have peace of mind that she's in the best hands ever !

You rock Dr Ly ..... and Tania says that you're NOT ALLOWED to retire until she says so !

Thanks for this portrait shot !

(Tania : 21 months old, Dian: Forever Beautiful, Dr Ly: Forever Young:)))

Dr Jean-Paul Ly is the Founder and Resident Vet of Animal Recovery Centre.

'Lil Miss Forlorn

'Lil Miss Forlorn

Tania doing her thing at the pool regularly whilst we were away, thanks to my sister Karen.

We were told that she was "love-sick" and somehow I think this pathetic look was "personally meant for me"...

Jump For Me Tania

(click to enlarge)

Here's Tania with Linda, Asst. Canine Therapist during today's hydro-therapy session.

After two severe H.D. operations this January (left hip) and April (right hip) wherein the head of the femur were removed, we have been bringing Tania for both hydro & physio therapy 3x a week since February.

With continuous loads of hard work for mobility and breaking scarring tissue, this limping, wobbly pup, with an under-developed left thigh, has come a l-o-n-g, l-o-n-g way since she was 7 months old.

Loads of pain: YES.
Loads of Tenacity: DOUBLE YES !!

She surprised us by momentarily standing up in the pool in JULY... then NOTHING after that, but as of last week, she's been making small jumps in the pool as in this pix, and also a couple of times at home for a toy.

My kids thought I was nuts when I started screaming the whole house down with joy when she jumped a few inches off the floor for a tennis ball!!! What a great reward for us!

This added mobility came when our wonderful Vet found stubborn scarring tissue at her right hip, so he gently snapped her thigh backwards to break it, and the very next day she was trotting around happily, making good strides with both legs.

We could tell immediately that she was comfortable as she could finally make a full stretch backwards with that leg. It was as if an iron-locked gate in her hip had been unlocked and she could run with ease with both legs! Another point of progress! Yeay!

Sadly, her right leg is still 1 inch shorter than her left, but with loads of love and perseverance, we'll bring her to her fullest potential for a happy and active life !!

Suki's Swim Day (yesterday)

A cheeky, precocious little 8-year-old girl, nicknamed Tsunami by her family (real name Juliette), has asked me to put up pictures of her dog, Suki, who went for a swim with Tania for the first time yesterday. Since Suki and Tania are of the same colour, Suki is the Retriever wearing the red collar.

So, little Tsunami, here are some of the pictures taken :
Suki was quite scared of the water since it was her very first time, so your Mum and I patted her down with water to let her get a feel of it. But being the shy, sweet doggie that she is, she hid by your Mum for safety.
Then it looked like some doggie chitter-chatter went on, probably Suki asking Tania about swimming ...



(Suki in Red Collar; Tania in the water)






Your Mum tried again, to encourage her to get in, but she was still scared to get off her "safety spot" on the step and I think Tania was wondering why she wouldn't swim (that's Suki on the step; Tania in the water). After awhile, your Mum and I did manage to get her to swim one lap alongside the pool's edge, but she splashed so much and didn't dare try it again. Sorry I couldn't take a picture for you coz I was helping your Mum with Suki.

Suki on "Look-Out Point" :-D

In the meantime, TANIA had to get about her own business of her hydro-therapy so that she'll get better soon.
TANIA

As Aunty Linda needs Tania to swim many laps to strengthen her hips and legs, we got her a new pool toy called a WUBBA because she is bored with all her other toys. Its nice and bright green and it looked like Suki liked it too, and ran over to Tania. (In case you don't know, Linda is the Canine Therapist from pawsitivesensations - website address under My Blog Roll - who has been doing Tania's Physio & Hydro-therapy after her 2 Hip Dysplasia operations this year with loads of success).
Aunty Linda also tried her best to to get Suki in, but she was still not brave enough.
SUKI on floorboards, TANIA in the pool
So whilst Tania went off for her shampoo, Suki wanted to get the ball that was still floating in the pool, and this time we thought she'd jump in to get it for sure, but oh dear, she stopped at the edge.

SUKI
Your Mum then gave Suki a nice shampoo & shower.
So, little Tsunami, we hope that Suki will come again, and that you'll come along too ... maybe during the school holidays. The more often she comes the faster she'll get used to the water, the braver she'll get, then she and Tania could have loads of fun together :)))))

The Unbelievable Happened !!!

This was a TOTALLY EMOTIONAL MOMENT for me and TRULY UNEXPECTED !

After two HD surgeries and months and months of hard work of swimming 3x a week since mid-February, what comes naturally to a Golden or any healthy, normal dog for that matter, was a GLORIOUS MOMENT for my girl !!!

Linda playfully splashed water at her towards the end of her session, and FOR THE FIRST TIME, THE VERY FIRST TIME !!! with the pool floor as support, she was ABLE to momentarily use her hips and legs to stand, to try catch the water sprays, cheeks flapping 'an all !

Have I been tearing each time I look at this pix ... what do you think ???

~ ~ double-click for bigger pix ~ ~

Oh Happy Day !!!!!

What a beautiful start to her day !!!!! - back in the pool at last ! Very zen swimming today - no 'cheer-leading' was necessary.

And then .....

I'm 1 Year Old Today !

Tania's birthday began with an early morning swim during her hydro-therapy session. It was a cheerful morning ... the sun was mild but bright, the water just right, and definitely a great start to a new year :) !! She's a happy, HAPPY girl !