The Winston Wagon » paralysis

We’re back from vacation

admin — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:03:51 +0000

We had such a great time in Maine. Their state motto doesn’t lie. It truly is how life should be. We finally had time together as a family for more than an hour at a time. Mom and Dad both work and they just had a baby in January so life for them has been busy. Taking care of me and an infant has put a little stress on them both so I think a little time away did them a world of good.

What we mostly did was lots of nothing. I am at my happiest when everyone is in the same room just hangin’ out. I don’t like a lot of walking about or going in and out of the house. I always think that I am going to be left behind so that makes me nervous. Mom and dad just played games, talked, ate, and spent some quality time with me and the kid. The kid loved it and so did I .

I did miss Benny though. I was completely bummed out for the first couple of days. I didn’t really do much of anything. This is when my mom took my for a walk in the center of town in Damariscotta. What a nice bunch of people that lived there! Well, I think that I caused a disturbance though. The folks there had never seen a dog with wheels before. People stared at me in there cars. Shopkeepers pointed from there windows. Pedestrians did double-takes as we strolled by. Several people actually came up to me and wanted to pet me. It was awesome. I felt like Elvis Presley. We met tons of people during our two week stay. Maine is chock full of animal lovers. Did I mention that people yelled to me from their cars saying that they loved my wheels? Isn’t that the coolest?

I forgot to mention the best part of my trip. We were on a walk in the town and my mom and I were approached by two very nice ladies from the town’s nursing home. They liked me so much that we got invited to come visit the residents there. We had a blast. I loved getting the attention from everyone and the residents perked right up when they saw me. It made me feel so good. I wanted to get some pictures to post on here from our visit but I had to get consent first. Oh well! Mom thought it would be bet if we just enjoyed the people’s company and not bother them with legal stuff. She’s right. This trip got me thinking though about becoming a therapy dog for nursing homes around here. I would love it and and my mom would too!

I do have some awesome pics to put up. Mom has to unpack the camera first though. They will be on tonight.

Take care of yourselves.

Love, Winston

Just being me

admin — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:03:46 +0000

Trying to get some rest please!

We’re off to Maine

admin — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 19:31:21 +0000

Ok, this is really quick. Mom is running around like a mad woman trying to get ready for vacation. We go to Maine every year and preparing for it is nuts. Look for a few posts in my absence. It will be hard for me to blog every day, but I’ll try. Check out my archives of videos to those that are new to the site. People like my wheelchair videos the best.

Take care of yourselves. I’ll be thinking of you on my trip.

Love, Winston

The dreaded gate

admin — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:10:41 +0000

Mom and I get into arguments every once in a while and they are almost always over the dreaded baby gate that she puts up in the kitchen. It really bothers me because I do not like to feel like I am boxed in. It causes me great stress and anxiety. I am LOADS better now because I have grown to tolerate the gate, but I still hate it. Mom says that she needs to put it up when my ‘man-wraps’ are being washed or when she goes to the grocery store. The need to protect her carpet and me from getting hurt outweigh my loathing for being put in a prison. I do admit that I am being a little dramatic. Mom fixes up the kitchen for me like I am some sort of Roman god. I have food, cool water, and more comfy things to lay on than what a dog should be allowed, but it doesn’t mean I have to think everything is sunshine and rainbows when I am stuck in there. It’s not like it’s all day or anything. Just a few hours tops. Now, that I am thinking about it….maybe she has a point. She just wants me safe and still have nice things in her house. If the shoe was on the other paw, I would probably do the same thing. Hmm…maybe I am being too unreasonable. The jury is still out on that one. I do think a truce is in order though. I do act like I am in Alcatraz with no hope of escaping. There is no need for it, but don’t tell her that.

Well, that felt good to get off my chest. Take care of yourselves today.

Love, Winston

The Bottom’s up Harness, a handicapped dog’s best friend

admin — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:37:17 +0000

My mom never even knew such a thing existed, but after a very creative google search she found one. I guess the ’towel under the belly’ method was getting a little old. Ever since mom turned thirty, her back has gone to pot or so she says. She needed a little something to help her help me. The hiney harness does just that. As you can see, there is a handle to hold me up and there are two loops for my back legs to go through. I can be supported with a lot less effort. Also, my mom can have a little bit more control too. That’s nice on her end. These aren’t just for handicapped dogs either. My pal Frank down the street uses one too. He’s an older guy that just gets tired when he tries to go up stairs. He’s a lab. Bad hips on his mother’s side of the family are to blame.

So give it a try and hopefully, you and your family will be helped also. When you do ‘google’ this item, please make sure you put in the word ‘dog’ or ‘canine’. Mom got some…well…interesting websites. Let me know how you make it if someone out there is helped by this advice. Mom says it’s worth the money. She visits the chiropractor a lot less often now.

Well, take care of yourselves. I’m off to take my midmorning nap.

Love, Winston

p.s. dated 9/25/09

Sorry Arnie. I got a comment from you a while back about the harness I talked about on here. I didn’t realize that you were the inventor of it. I thought you were kidding in your comment to me. I have since changed the title of this blog to throw some business your way. It’s a nice product.

The first walk with Winston

admin — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 07:08:40 +0000

Well, we finally have video of me in my chair. What do you think about that? I think the next set of videos that we do is going to be more streamlined. My mom is getting a little bit better at video every time she has to pick up the camera. (thank goodness).

Leave comments if you’d like and tell your friends about me. I love nothing more than meeting new people.

Until then, take care of yourselves.

Love, Winston

Dogs in Wheelchairs

admin — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:51:15 +0000

First of all, I need to thank you for reading my blog. I hope what I have to say on this topic helps you in your life. We are all on this journey of life so why not hold hands along the way. Well, maybe a paw or two. This is my first blog on my site so I thought it might be a good time to tell the story of how I am now walking with the help of some very nice wheels.

It has been about nine months since this whole thing started. Back in September of 2008, my mom came home from work and noticed that I wasn’t feeling well. She was right. My back end was feeling kinda funny and it made me nervous. When I get like that I tend to drool a lot. This is what tipped her off. She thought maybe that I needed a jaunt outside so off we went. Going out and smelling stuff usually calmed me down but not that day. Things went from bad to worse. I went from being able to walk, to walking completely uncoordinated, to tipping over to my right side, to being lame over the course of a day. I was very scared then and so was my family. My mom just cried and cried and my dad just didn’t know what to do. I was rushed to my vet and he knew what the problem was. It had something to do with my back and I needed help right away. An appointment was made for me the next with a surgeon. What a nice man and what a kind heart. He said that I had to have an MRI done to figure out what the exact problem was. He said if we didn’t act soon, that I was probably going to be completely paralyzed from the hips down. My mom and dad couldn’t bear that thought and were desperate. I was scheduled for the MRI that next day. The doc said that while I was knocked out getting my scan done he was going to call my dad to let him know about what the options were. He could even operate if need be by keeping me knocked out. EEk! I was scared.

Well, the morning came and my dad dropped me off at the vet’s where they whisked me away. The quicker the better. I didn’t like seeing my dad so upset. During the scan, they found the problem. It was my disc. It was ruptured and it was pressing on my spine. This was the problem. The doc called my dad and told him the bad news. It was the worst he had seen. Even worse news. He’d have to perform a hemilaminectomy to correct the problem. This means they clear out the area that was pressing on my spine. My dad couldn’t stand to lose his best friend so he opted for the surgery. All went well and I made it through just fine.

Recovery was hard. I absolutely hate hate hated being away from home. It is just the worst thing ever. I cry a lot and my appetite just goes away. I do much better when I have my family around. I had to spend a couple of days at the hospital before they let me leave. I was very uncomfortable. Because of the surgey and the swelling, I was still just a lame as ever. I couldn’t deal with it. My vet said that this was going to happen and things would improve over time. He was right. As the days wore on, I found that I could sleep better, eat and drink better, and get up a little bit better. It was really tough on my dad because I needed lots of help getting around at first. As I started to feel more like myself, I was a little bit happier.

It took a couple of months to recover from surgery. Each week was a little bit better than the last. I started to get feeling back. It was a slow process. VERY slow. I went from being completely lame to being able to walk a couple of steps on my own. I am still very weak on my back end. It is hard to support myself when I walk unassisted. I usually just end up sitting until someone helps. This isn’t to much a lifestyle change for me. I was always a big fan a resting. I only when out to do my business and to go on my daily walk. After that, I’m all about my bed.

Since I reached a plateau in my recovery, my mom and dad thought that I needed a wheelchair to help me walk again. It is really the best thing ever. They got it from eddieswheels.com. I was scared to get in it at first. I don’t like weird things in my house, but I started to get used to it. I couldn’t go around the block when I first started in it, now I am running with it on. I even outwalk my buddy Benny and my mom. It’s great exercise and I love going everywhere now. It lets me live my doggie rockstar lifestyle again.

This is a really long post so I will end it for the day. Until then, have a great day. Love your furry friends. I look forward to our time together soon.

Love, Winston

p.s. walk your dog. they will thank you for it.