As I have not been feeling well as of late it was a very nice surprise to look out my front door and see that UPS left me a pretty nice sized box that had GODIVA stamped all over it….what a big smile I had on my face. A nice tin of Godiva Biscuits, box of candy and a tin of Hot Chocolate. I immediately made a nice cup of green tea, grabbed the biscuits and retreated in my office where I sipped my tea and nibbled on a few biscuits….life is good A Birthday gift from my sister, her husband and thier beloved cat Scruffy. I had also received a lovely gift from my Mother In Law….and it is not even my Birthday….yet (a few more weeks).
I have never been into Sports all that much. As a young girl….well let me just say I was usually the one sitting on the sides. I do enjoy every once in a while watching the youngsters play, that is if the parents are not so very driven. It should be about fun and sometimes, well some people (the adults) tend to get a tad bit carried away
I am still here, although a little busy as of late. The Tee Shirt Give Away is coming along fine and I will be posting info on it very soon!!!
New class starting today at Paw Prints Studio. I opened the forum to the students yesterday and several have been busy making themselves comfortable, learning their way around. While class really did not start until today, I posted a little something about having everyone create a very quick self portrait (sketch) so that they could use it for this weeks avatars. While this course is about painting animals…this is a fun exercise to help everyone have a good time, laugh a little and just experiment and feel comfortable with the software, brushes and moving the pen around the tablet!
I posted a quick one of me….under 10 minutes…named a couple of the brushes used to create this very quick sketch and several took the challenge and ran with it. This was about having fun…no worries about it being good, bad….just play, experiment and fun with color and brushes. Thanks Cindy and Jeff, wonderful work! Looking forward to what the other students create
If your a student and would like to see your work on my blog all you have to do is e-mail me your permission to do so! Our next online Digitally Painting Animals course will be in Sept. Check back for the official date and time.
Whenever I post any reference to Niki’ spinal surgery I get several questions….please feel free to post any comments and questions in the comments section of each post, lots easier for me to answer in a timely fashion that way. Niki is a ckr mix, her spinal surgery was about a year and a half ago …although it seems like such a lonnnng time for me. The emergency clinic that originally treated her made a huge mistake in her care….while the treatment choice was correct they dropped the ball and did not check on her throughout the night as they should have for her serious type injury. They did not and to this day, do not, have the proper amount of staff, or experienced staff for them to be called an emergency clinic. there is no access to surgeons….most importantly they do not refer you to clinics that can properly care for your dog. That was very costly to Niki’s future and ability to walk. I no doubt, although she is a happy dog now….this will be a problem for the rest of her life.
There are several rehab facilities in the Atlanta area….all of which are a bit costly…you must try all to know what will work best for your dog. The facility that did the surgery was on the North side of Atlanta….that is all they did and we had o support from them after the surgery. We were told there was no hope of her regaining the ability to walk. From the moment she was home and healing I did research and started rehab with her myself. We also ordered her a doggie cart and once she was on the mend I allowed her time throughout the day for cart runs. I taught her to balance on her own….soon she had some feeling in her spine, her legs could move although little to no control of them. I took her to water treadmill therapy….which is about an hour away from my home with out hitting any traffic. They wanted me to drop her off for several hours and then pick her up when they were finished. I was told to not use the cart for she had to learn to do this on her own. Well….I disagreed. Niki had plenty of time cart free however when she was tired she would lie down….the cart gave her the ability to run with the pack and play, smell….she remained part of the pack which in my opinion did more for her then anything else. Once I saw little improvement with the treadmill therapy I stopped bringing her….the warmer weather had come and I decided to have her walk in a kiddie pool, and swim in a larger sized pool. For Niki this is what has been so very beneficial and the stretches and exercises. It was not very long after the cart was just being dusted and we packed it away for safe keeping.
Including with this post a video that already appears somewhere on this blog (too lazy to look for it) …8 weeks after her surgery, not a happy pup and we had not yet properly fitted her into the cart….with the company’s help that made the cart, images forwarded to them they told us where to make the adjustments. So, lots of help from us in the form of exercises, stretches…the ability to remain part of the pack….lot of love and devotion from all pack members and slowly she healed. She is not a 100 % but as you can see in comparing her today vs this video clip….She’s come a long way Baby ;–)
That is what I did this afternoon…and also took the day off tomorrow.
Niki is slowly coming back from her set back of a few weeks ago. I am unsure of just what she does, twists wrong….but it sure slows her down and I always wonder if she will make it back to where we were. Once again, time will tell. Sun was shining… play and agility was a must. I must admit, my dogs are more then a little spoiled. Now…while they have a good amount of toys, that is not at all what I am talking about. They get my time…one on one and as a pack. Daily exercise, training and play….pretty darn spoiled if you ask me!
Online Dog Obedience will be starting up again… very soon.
I have been so very busy with painting a few portraits, teaching dog obedience that I have not had the time to update the blog. Took a day to get a few chores done, and of course hung out with the puppies. I have not photographed them since my last posting….so early this afternoon found us out and about. It is a beautiful fall day here in the Atlanta area. Still in a very severe drought so while we are enjoying this pretty weather….we really need the rain. Manged a few action shots and of course a few close ups of the puppies….they really are too cute!!!! Due to the lack of rain I found little else to photograph for I have not planted any of the fall flowers.
Niki and Gemma striking a pose.
****Halloween, not one of my favorite days. I did not even like it when I was young…it was not fun to me. Not sure why folks still allow the kids out and about knocking on doors and ringing the bell of strangers. It would seem to me, more fun if the parents allowed the kids to have a party. Halloween Safety…please keep your pets inside, especially your cats. Also, tell the little ones no sharing their candy with your furry friends, especially chocolate.
Missie is a wonderful young Havanese pup. These are very bright, fun loving dogs. They are fun to train and so enjoy being with their people….Missie is true to her breed. This is a quick sketch layout….nothing fancy with this sketch…..will lay some color and that is all that will be needed.
A Birthday gift from my sister, her husband and thier beloved cat Scruffy. I had also received a lovely gift from my Mother In Law….and it is not even my Birthday….yet (a few more weeks).
beautiful fall day here in the Atlanta area. Still in a very severe drought so while we are enjoying this pretty weather….we really need the rain. Manged a few action shots and of course a few close ups of the puppies….they really are too cute!!!! Due to the lack of rain I found little else to photograph for I have not planted any of the fall flowers.
