February Update #1 - The Dogs!

I don't know where February went! It is March and there are lots of things that didn't get done in February, including keeping up on the blog. The dogs definitely need an updated blog photo.

Murphy is huge! He is nearly 9 months old and still eats 7-8 cups of food per day. It is hard to tell in this picture, but he is getting taller and his legs are very thick. He loves to go running with me and can easily do up to 4-miles. He is my new late night running companion since I haven't been getting home from work until 7pm or so. He completes basic training this week and Todd has been informed by other members of the class that Murphy is the star student. He must have selective hearing because he doesn't listen to me as well as Todd. Murphy is also starting to work on hunting skills for an upcoming hunt test.

Lucy has had a rough start to the year. We noticed her limping a lot in early January. Our local vet put her in cast for about a week, but it didn't help at all. So, we took her back up to the canine orthopedic specialist in Indianapolis. Unfortunately, the x-rays showed a broken bone in her foot. So, after multiple office visits, x-rays, and a surgery, she is recovering. The bone shattered into four pieces, so the surgery involved cutting through a tendon on the top of her foot to clean out the bone fragments. The bone will not heal, but to prevent arthritis and other issues down the line, the surgery was the best option. She would hardly put any weight on her foot and was hopping around on three legs prior to the surgery. Two weeks post-surgery she is out of her bandages and putting some weight on her foot, although still hopping occasionally. Her leg has atrophied, so we expect it will take some time for her to regain strength and walk or run normally. The other downside to this is that she has gained some weight due to lack of activity. She gets upset when Murphy gets to play, but she doesn't due to activity restrictions. So, we have had some jealously issues.

It is funny how the dogs are best friends. The wrestle and fight each other one minute and then lay in the dog bed together the next minute. Murphy was a wreck when Lucy was at the vet for the surgery for two days. He wandered around the house looking for her and whining.