Fri May 28, 2022

My daddy recently received some bad news, the company he worked for could no longer afford to pay him any bones! That just sucks. If I got no bones, I dont know what I would do. Daddy says he is looking for new work as a freelance php developer, webmaster or project manager and that you can click here to see his resume, what ever that is it sounds boring and smells like paper.

Fri May 28, 2022

It has been over a year since I was attacked. I am doing pretty good, though my joints hurt more then they use to and I have learned to gallop on two legs. Daddy gets annoyed with me, but to bad it works for me. Also daddy created this cool website for me. I sure hope we can get my vet bills paid off, because daddy says I don't earn enough bones to do it myself. Whine whimper.

I really like it when daddy takes me camping and hiking. It is so much fun, and I get to have millions of sniffies, maybe even better still its like a walk that lasts the whole weekend.

Fri March 12, 2021

Jack was not too happy Wed and Thurs, it was cold, with off and on show showers. Thus he did not get a walk either day.

Today was nice, sunny and warm with a slight breeze. I took him to the big park. He walked most of the time. I carried him a couple times. Though one time was because I knew we were approaching a big dogs yard that I didn't trust. We went out in to middle of the street and I kept an eye on the dog who jumped up like it wanted to get over the fence but couldn't. I still don't trust it. I carried Jack for about a block, before putting him back down.

We made a figure 8 around the park and stopped to talk to the nice guy playing tennis. Was a good break for Jack, that probably helped him get carried less. Then on our way out of the park to head home, we saw his doggie friends who he has played with off leash in the ball field before. He kept an eye on them, but didn;t seem upset by them but didn;t want to approach them either. Once they walked on, he had to go mark behind them lol.

From there we started walking toward home. We saw the animal control officer drive by, we waved at each other. We made it a bit farther, when Jack started looking at me, as if saying, I need another break. So I picked him up and carried him a few blocks. Then he walked the rest of the way home. He is now curled up on his bed, under my desk taking a nap.

What a spoiled mutt… he is now learning how to get free rides.

Tues March 9, 2021

Took jack for his walk. We walked down Front street, did not see any deer. We went almost to the intersection, crossed and came back along the dirt side. I ended up carrying Jack twice as his leg was bothering him and he needed a break. A young boy did comment on Jack missing a leg saying “oh how sad, he only has 3 legs”. The walk lasted about an hour & Jack got in lots of sniffing and his other business.

Mon March 8, 2021

Jack depended for two hours to get a walk. I finally took him and he asked to go down the alley across the street to his favorite grassy area. Then to my surprise he wanted to keep going. I carried him a few houses before to a few houses past where he got attacked. Luckily Nala was not out. We then made the loop behind main street and parallel to the big park. He saw a big doggie who is well trained but did not want to keep going that way. So we turned and went to the big park and made bit of a loop around it. His leg was starting to get pretty sore so I carried him a few blocks or about 5 mins and then put him down by the grass in front of the church. Then we made our way home at the speed of sniffing.

Jack reports…

I got an hour walkies, though daddy did carry me a few blocks as my leg was bothering me but then put me down and I walked the rest of the way home. it was a sniff-tastic walkies!!!

Sun March 7, 2021

Guess what, guess what! Daddy took me on a long walk. We went to the big park and walked around much of the park. I got in lots of sniffing, marked many spots, and tried to leave a dozen presents. I wanted to keep going but my leg was bothering me and I guess daddy could tell as he let me take a break and then we slowly worked our way home.

There were a few dogs out in the yards and a few around the park. I even saw my friends that I have ran off led with in the baseball field. But I didn’t want to get too close to any of them. A few feet was close enough. Daddy tried to get me to get closer to a few but I say nope, me not ready for that. Daddy was ok with that and told me I was a good boy for not being stressed out being close to other doggies.

Daddy says I do a weird swing with my hind leg, and thinks its because my knee hurts or is locking up. Next walk he says he will record a video of me walking to share with the vet.

After we got home I got a yummy treat and a ¼ pain pill. Daddy threw one of my dental treats which I chased and then told him to throw a couple more times before I ate it. Afterwards, I settled down on my office bed for a nap after my sniff filled adventure.

Fri March 5, 2021

I had a nice double walk. I got to explore the parking lot of the vet while I waited to go in. I went poopies twice and marked a bunch of spots. I didn't like go9ing in without daddy, but at least it was fast, less than 5 minutes.. They didn’t have daddy pay or sign anything. Then we got back in daddy's car and he checked me good to make sure there were no stitches left.

Oh wow we didn't go home! We went to the pond park again. We walked around the whole park and I got HOT and had to keep taking breaks but I did it! We even sat and looked over the pond for a few minutes. I made daddy another pile and marked a bunch more spots, while we were at the park. I also wasn’t scared of the two big doggies in the fenced in doggie area, but I didn’t want to go up to the fence and say hi to them either. Daddy talked to their human for a couple minutes though.

Daddy thinks I had enough for the day but he is just fooling himself. I am exploring the house now and going in and out as he has the door open. Give me a half hour to get a couple drinks and cool down and then I will start telling daddy I want another walky, as it’s fun making him groan at me. I think daddy is about to get busy on the computer so guess i'll need to find something to do by myself....

Thurs March 4, 2021

Noticed last night that there was a stitch left in Jack's shouler and this afternoon I noticed all the stitches were still in his shoulder. After emails with the vet office it was decided I will bring him back Fri afternoon to have the remaining stitches removed. I am planning to take him to pond park afterwards.

Wed March 3, 2021

Jack has been doing well over the last few days. His back leg seems to bother him some but once he gets moving around he seems happier. He has only been wearing his cone at night.

When we got to the vet, they were pretty busy and I let Jack out of the car and sniff around the parking lot. He demanded to go all over the place and had a blast. He marked a bunch of spots and made a couple piles. I gave a pile to the vet to run a fecal on, as that has never been done before.

Jack had his stitches removed. The vet manipulated his hind legs and doesn’t think his joints are popping out and instead thinks it’s arthritis. So Jack now has pain meds & a joint supplement to manage that. He is now allowed as much activity as he feels up to & no longer needs the cone as long as he leaves his raw spot alone.

I asked the vet about handling future attacks and mentioned how the people down the street carry a taser. The vet said he recommends pepper spray as it is generally more effective than a taser.

I told the vet about how Jack likes to sunbathe and asked if a reptile heat lamp might be good for him inside, vet didnt see a problem with that. He said to make sure it doesn’t get too hot and that it's from a pet store designed for a reptile it should be fine. I asked about ratings but the vet had no idea on wattage or anything to recommend.

As we were waiting to checkout Jack was acting a bit nervous in regards to a few other dogs that were in the waiting room. He was trying to steer clear of them, kept a close eye on them & hid next to my leg. He did not growl at them.

We did not stop at the pond park as I have a meeting to get back for. Jack came in and ran around the house and ate more dinner before settling down.

Sun Feb 28, 2021

Jack is doing ok. He is getting around pretty well, all considered. However, I have noticed, as feared his hindleg lameness is starting to cause him issues. I will need to have that looked at on Wed when he sees the vet next. The vets best guess is that his knee joint might be popping out, but of course x-rays, etc are needed to really diagnose what's wrong.

He seems to prefer his lunch when I mix it with pumpkin, his wild dog food, and his normal benful dog food.

Fri Feb 26, 2021

Jack asked for a walk but did not get one. I mostly worked on the computer and he chilled next to me on his bed under my desk. He seems to really like it when I mix pumpkin in with his dog food. He has been pretty good and thus gotten to have his cone off for about half the day.

Thurs Feb 25, 2021

Daddy is busy so I thought I would log my own journal entry today. Its been a great day. We got up and I told daddy I needed outside right now. So he let me out. I even sat in the sun for a while. The bad part about today, well I have been a cone head the whole day. I think daddy should trust me and take it off.

While daddy was still working, I told him I wanted a walk but he said no. I am being boring, working and ignoring Jack. So he put me outside instead. He checked up on me and found me making a nice big pile in the very back of the yard.

After daddy got done with his job, he put shoes on. I thought we were going to go walkies. Daddy said I was going to stay home, as he just needed to go pick something up. I told him no daddy, I want to come too. I am sick of being home all the time. Come on daddy let me come too. So, he picked me up and put me in the car too.

Yikes, we went to the vet office. YUCK! I have seen too much of them lately. Daddy told me to stay guard the car and he went in and came back out with a bottle. We then left and I was afraid we were just going back home without doing anything fun. Boy was I wrong.

We stopped at the pond park. I told daddy to take my cone off before he put my leash on. Daddy was good and let me enjoy the park with no cone. He carried me from the car to a big grassy area. There were 2 BIG fluffy doggies running off lead. I growled at them, to let them know to leave me alone, I didn't want to play. One of the dogs ended up going into the fenced in doggy area and the other went home. That meant we had the big grassy area to ourselves. Daddy put me down by some bushes and my nose was so happy. I wobbled and ran around sniffing up a storm and made 3 piles for daddy & I lost count on how many spots I marked. We made a bit of a circle and daddy said it was time to go. My legs were sore, but I wanted to keep enjoying the park. But daddy said no, I don't want you to over do and made me go back to the car.

He took a short video of me at the park which you can see on the video page.

Once back home, he put my cone back one. Whine Whimper, I so hate that thing. He sprayed my side with that bottle we got at the vet and then I settled down on my bed under the desk for a nap.

Wed Feb 24, 2021

It seems giving Jack his pain pill slightly later in the day is helping. Last night he did look for his treats all over the house & I recorded him on video. No I did not hide them anywhere he had to stand up to find them, but he is used to me doing that from before he got hurt. He also seemed more comfortable over night.  

He did not lay outside much today as its windy, a tad overcast and chilly. But he did let me know he wanted walkies. So about 320pm I put his leash on and we went down the alley and circled around the side street and back. Some dogs in their yard barked at him, and he didn’t seem bothered at all. When I told him to go down the side street back toward home, he wanted to keep going straight to go farther & not turn.I don’t want him over doing it, so I didn't give him a choice. Also my nerves are not up for it. I even carried a chunk of wood with me. He did pee on a bunch of spots and pooped twice.

He was picking at his wounds a bit tonight, to point I had to threaten him with his cone. Boy you should have seen the face he gave. “Daddy, they itch and feel funny and that cone is awful. Ok ok daddy I will behave don’t put it back on me!.”

Tues Feb 23, 2021

When I got up, I took Jack off the bed. He bounced his way out to the living where he waited for me to let him outside. He seemed fine, so I held off giving him his pain pill til 1pm, thinking that might help him feel better before bed. He sun bathed for around two hours. He laid by my printer for a bit and I saw him shivering, so I put his towel over him. He seemed  a lot more comfortable and took a nap. Then he settled down on his bed under my desk where he remained for most of the day.

After I got off work I mixed some of his kibble with pumpkin and he gobbled the right up. I have been giving him pumpkin for  a few days thinking the fiber will help him go potty better and the vitamins will help him heal.

His fur growing back must be pretty itchy, as just rubbing fingers over it causes his back leg to go nuts. He will also move my hand from his head to his neck to rub the new furs there too.

Mon Feb 22, 2021

Jack found his antibiotic inside his treat this morning. On the second try he took it. That little rascal.

The first part of the day he mostly laid outside and sun bathed, like he did daily before he got hurt. He even felt up to barking at the mail persson and a dog on its own walk. Eventually he came inside and laid in a sunny spot on the carpet until there was no more sunny spots. Then he settled on his bed under my desk.

After work I did a few chores including vacuuming. Jack does not like the vacuum so eventually he wanders off and hid, yup under the bed.

He seems to be feeling better and his new pain med seems to be keeping him reasonably comfortable.

Sun Feb 21, 2021

Jack seemed to sleep well and mostly stayed on his blanket. He seemed to sleep more relaxed and comfortably than he had been. I think that's mostly because he went potty properly. Though I think he overdid it a little bit on his walk, as he seemed kind of sore and didn't want to leave the bedroom until he took his pain med & it had a chance to work.

I got up for my weekly meeting and Jack decided to lay out back in the sun, for a while. That is the first time he has sun bathed since he got hurt. He went from my office, all the way to the very back of the yard to sunbathe, all by himself. The rest of the day he has laid around, mostly next to me on his bed under the desk as I worked on things and did various kitchen chores. He did come into the kitchen a few times to beg.

Sat Feb 20, 2021

Jack is recovering well. We mostly laid around and watched tv and movies today. Jack mostly cuddled up and wanted attention. He asked to go out a few times but didn’t do anything. Instead he kept running to the gate and then looking at me. Eventually at 1am he wore me down and I took him for a short walk, making kind of an “L” spanning maybe 6 or so houses. The best part is he peed on a few spots and even pooped. On the flip side I felt like I had PTSD, boy was I super anxious/nervous being out, let alone at night.

Fri, Feb 19, 2021

Jack stayed on the bed all night and when I woke up he was up against my leg, happily getting cuddles. When I got up to turn up the heater and turn on some lights, I told him to stay which he did. Then as I was getting up to go potty he asked me to put him on the floor, which I did. So I think he learned his lesson. I took him outside but all he wanted to do was be picked up to look over the gate.

He likes his new pain pill so much better, he will even take it straight out of my hand as if it was a treat. I decided to give him his antibiotic inside a piece of soft treat, which my mom left for him. He ate it and did not spit out the pill.

I made scrambled eggs and turkey bacon for breakfast. Most of the time he stayed under my desk and just sat their watching. But once I gave him a few nibbles of bacon he had to come to the kitchen to beg for more.

I heard a strange noise & went to the front door to check it out. Jack went out and down the steps, all the way to the front gate on his own. Then after a few mins turned around and returned up the steps and back inside, all on his own. No idea what noise was, maybe the wind.

My biggest problem currently with Jack is trying to keep him from overdoing it, he doesn't want to take it easy like he needs to. He also is being careful to stay real close to me. He doesn't even like it when I leave a room for a minute. Not that I can blame him after what happened.

This picture was taken, just after he got told off for licking at his wounds.

Thurs, Feb 18, 2021

He climbed out of his box in the morning to cuddle up for a few hours before it was time to get up.

Then while I was in bathroom he decided to jump off bed on his own. He yelped good scaring me but was fine. He has mostly been taking it easy today laying by my feet.

He has been moving around pretty good & likes to follow me around as I do chores, etc to stay close to me and make sure he isn’t missing any treats.

I did not put him in his tote on the bed, instead he got to lay on his normal blanket and part of the night under it too. Before bed he wobbled over to me and climbed on to my chest. I thought he just wanted attention. Later he an accident, so guess he needed to go out, though I had put him out few hours before and he wouldn’t even sniff around.

Wed, Feb 17, 2021

my mom and sis came for a visit and that he went out side and peed and even walked 75% way back to the front door... he had a nice adventure

when they got here.... i went to open gate & told jack to stay but instead he climbed out of his box and went to door to meet them,

he also had a vet appointment.... Vet said is healing up quit well. She took him off the stomach med & the liquid pain mead (though I am suppose to give that still if he is acting painful) & put him on new pain / anti-inflammatory med which happens to be one he has been on before and would eat right of my palm.

She took the bandage off his one leg where the IV probably was & also removed the pain patch from his other leg. I didnt even realize he had something on both rear legs.

She said it is ok for him to get out of the box and move around some but be careful to restrict him enough so he doesnt compromise the stitches.

He is walking around the house right now... well stumbling around the house. And went to his normal water bowl and lapped up a bunch of water.

She thinks his rear lameness might be due to knees popping in and out but that will require more evaluation letter.

Like me she couldnt find the specific spot on his neck that causes him to yelp.

Between taking his temperature and a bit of finger poking when she took the pain patch off she got him to poop and said he poop a good pile.

Overall she says he is recovering quit well and is very lucky.

Tues, Feb 16, 2021

I took Jack outside last night and about 1230 this afternoon and both times he stood and looked around but he has not peed since the first time. He then got his meds, which he fought pretty hard about, and then I gave him water and food. He drank quit a bit and eat a good nibble. He has yet to poop so that has me but worried. Other wise he seems to be doing well, and seems more comfortable then he was the first night.

He ate the handful of food I gave him, so thats double of yesterday and drank quit a bit too. He is suppose to only get food in small amounts 2 - 3 times a day so I will offer him more food later.

Had safeway bring me delivery. When they got here they rang door bell. Jack sat up and barked and made all kinds of good noises and showed he wanted to run to the door to bark but obviously not up to do so. He stayed in his box but barked most of the time.

Mon, Feb 15, 2021

Today he has had his meds, which he seems to hate them all. The pain killer which is a liquid he makes funny disgusted faces. So it must taste bad. I got him to eat a handful of keeble and a few treats. Basically he will eat all the treats I offer. After his meds had time to kick in I took him out back, in the box, to the sandy area and took him out of the box. With some encouragement I got him to sniff around a few spots and take a few steps. He squatted and peed and peed. He walked to my legs, sat down and gave me that I am pooped look so I put him back in the box and we came back inside. So he had a nice little adventure.

Oh I took his cone off and so far he is being good and obviously happy with it off but of course will only take it off when I can keep close eye on him.

Sun, Feb 14, 2021

Vet called at 1144pm to tell me he was out of surgery and doing ok & recovering from anesthesia fine. They did have to remove his leg.

Vet left a voicemail at 610am saying he is recovering well and able to stand back up and get around and walk with some assistance. Though he was not ready to eat, that was not surprising as it was less than 12 hours after he got out of surgery. I am supposed to get another update sometime this afternoon. They also said best case he might get to go home tonight if he eats and recovers well and no complications.

230pm Vet called as I was working on this email. They are releasing him tonight and said a box with a blanket would be the best way to bring him back. I told him I would probably pick him up some time after 5pm. I know it's short notice and a ton of driving, so up to you if either of you want to help collect him.

I made the 1hr 10min drive each way to pick him up in Reno and bring him home. Found out the vet forgot to give me his pain med. Called to see if they could wire a script to a local pharmacy, etc. They said because its non-human med it requires a paper script. I ended up having to make the trip a second time.

Sat, Feb 13, 2021

The dog that attacked Jack is a pitbull mix about 8months old or so and weighs around 75 - 80 lbs. As I understand it the lady who watches the dog was taking it off the lead it gets tied to in the yard, to bring it back inside and it escaped and jumped the fence to get to Jack. So in a way kind of bad timing, but they also need to find a way to better control that dog. They were all nice and apologetic and did their best to help. Which really helped me remain calmer and take better care of Jack. Getting all worked up and upset about it wouldn't help anything.

The pit latched onto Jacks lag and shook him at least once. I had to tap the dog on the head to get it to let go. Luckily I did not get bite, it just backed up for min, like it was surprised, then went for a 2nd attack which I prevented, by then the whole family was their and locked the dog up inside and in its create. They also called the dogs owner to come immediately.

His leg was basically torn off at the front right shoulder, I could see the mangled bone. The good thing is I dont think blood vessels were torn, he bleed some but nothing like he would have if a vessel was compromised.

We had just left for his walk, so about 330pm. One block from my place, down the alley we use 3+ times a week.

One of the neighbors called it in, I am assuming 911 but don't know. Another ran out with a broom and said she saw it all and was willing to make a report. She stayed around with the broom until she was sure the pit was locked up and animal control arrived. Animal control pretty quickly and took a statement from everyone. Sadly she did not have any info on emergency vets, etc which seemed a bit silly to me.

Another neighbor said they were a vet (I am thinking retired but not sure) but not much she could do but helped me find a good way to hold Jack and stabilize the leg. She also keeps pressure on everyone to get a report filed and get going to the vet.

A whole bunch of them called and googled around to find a vet that was open and would take him. Between the time it happened atond we got  the animal hospital, was around 90 - 100 mins. The family said they would do their best to cover the costs.

Animal control basically said its a civil matter and if they don’t pay all I can do is take them to civil court. I figured once everything is done and the costs are known ill work it out with them and create a letter contract thing, so that it will be in writing & won't be any misunderstandings etc.

I guess they don’t have a car so 2 of them and a friend took me to an emergency animal hospital in Reno. I didn’t realize it was a friend until we were already in Reno.

We got to the Reno vet at about 5pm, not bad considering it was a little over an hour drive to get there, dealing with all the commotion, animal control and so forth when it happened.

Jack was obviously in discomfort for the drive to the vet but relatively stable. We did keep talking to him and petting him, etc to ensure he stayed alert. The vet took him in right way, before any paperwork, etc and got him on pain meds and fluids.

My left shoulder and arm are not happy, from holding him so long and trying to keep the leg stable. Feels like I carried a big bag of dog food around Walmart for 20 mins.

I just talked too vet about 9:25pm less then 10 mins after getting back home. Jack is currently being prepped for surgery. I am suppose to get a call in about 2 hours or so to update me from the surgery.

The current estimate is $4,500 - $5,000. For now it's on Care Credit, which is a medical credit card type thing. I am not in a mental state to be making any money decisions, and gives everyone time to figure things out.

He is at Animal Emergency & Specialty Center, in Reno. Fallon nor Fernley have any vets open on weekends.

He will need to be at the vet at least 24 hours but might be longer depending how he does.