Unleashed at the Dog Park!

Happy Thorsday / Thankful Thursday / Little Friday!  Today I'm thankful for my furkids and their unconditional love.  We've got a couple health issues going in our pack and I've been reading about far too many friends crossing the rainbow bridge lately, so it's extra special to be able to squeeze them and hold them tight.  We've been dealing with Zeus' unexplained rising liver levels since February (click the "Zeus Liver" label below) and this afternoon we're going in for a two month blood work check up.  Send good vibes...  We are also waiting on the results of Lola's blood work from Tuesday night.  My old girl has slowed down quite a bit over the past year or so, but seemed more sluggish than usual lately.  Her body shape has also changed, which got me worrying... so off to see our favorite doctor lady we went.  We've determined that Lola has lost muscle mass in her rear end and gained some in her front from overcompensating... resulting in her new "shape."  The great doc also noticed she seemed to be favoring her right rear leg a bit and is guessing our old lady has developed some arthritis in her back/rear end/legs.  We ran blood work to rule out lyme or another tick-born disease and to make sure her liver/kidneys were functioning properly so that we may try an arthritis medication to see if she shows improvement on that.  It's always something with aging pups...

With everything going on, I'm still playing catch up with photos.  Today you get shots from Lola and Sophie's visit to the dog park to hang out with our former foster Harper at the end of April!  We weren't sure how Harper would react to us, since it had been a couple months since our last visit, but as soon as she saw us, she came running over... wiggling her entire body!  It means a lot that she not only remembers us, but loves us as much as we love her.  

It was hard to get good shots at the park, but I managed a few cute ones.  Isn't Harper beautiful?  She's growing up and looking more like a collie these days... it's as though she has the face of a collie with the coat of a shepherd.  Just to remind you of how tiny she was during her month with us...

 

Awww... she was such a cute puppy and now is a cute big girl!  Here are a couple shots of her and lazy Lola enjoying the nice April day.  As I mentioned above, she's slowed down a lot of the years.  Lola's idea of fun at the dog park is to do a lap or two when she first arrives, then find a lovely spot to lay down and dog watch!

We all had a blast, although Sophie and Harper weren't so sure of everything.  Harper really was Sophie's mini-me... they are very much alike in so many ways, although Sophie is still so leary of new things, while Harper is starting to grow out of it.  You may notice Sophie is on leash in the photos.  My very cautious girl immediately ran for the gate to get out of the park as soon as we let her off leash and was not too sure what to make of her first visit to the park.  We ended up putting the leash back on, which made her much more content to hang out and enjoy things.

My lazy baby girls... who apparently could use a pair of shades the next time we go to the park!

This is the only not so great picture I managed of all 3 girls...

We had a blast visiting with little Miss Harper and hope to get to see her again soon!  She is just a doll!   It always means a lot to get updates on our fosters... but getting in a little visit is even better!  I'm not sure who enjoys it more... the dogs or the humans!

Both of my girls were well worn out later that night... can you tell?