Thursday, March 19, 2015
We regularly eat dinner on the coffee table in front of the TV, but sitting on the floor is just a bit too low. So, we use the throw pillows as a booster. Well, after dinner one night recently, we lazily just left the pillows on the floor. A few minutes later, we come back to Henry on the pile! Baby Benny, king of all pillows, would be SO proud to see his little brother taking over his pillow pile.
#HenryNewPillowKing #BennyWouldBeProudOfHisBro #HenryStrong
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
This is kind of a "finale" to the week's stories even though they were told out of order. Sequentially we went Friday night to Lowe's, Saturday morning to Doris Leeper Park where we wore Henry out and then Saturday afternoon, as Henry napped, we did yard work. Here are some of the fruits of our labor.
Henry's routine includes going in and out of the front door quite regularly. Somehow, however, he often still tries to go in the closed garage door. And then in turning himself around he would often get stuck in the space between the garage door and the where the little fenced in Agave plant is. So, we figured an attractive (ish) way to block this space to re-route him away from that space. Flower boxes! Functional and pretty!
Another area that Henry has had struggles is the left side of the entry way--just to the right of the Agave. He has a tendency to get stuck on those littler spaces like door frames and side lights. So, we added a few potted plants there, too. Not only functional but we now have more curb appeal! LOL! So far the planters have helped Henry "steer" closer to the front door. These are just some of the accommodations we have done to fine tune his navigation. It's not a 5 Star Hotel, as the title may lead one to believe, but we think these accommodations are beautiful. 
#TeamHenry #FlowersForHenryBoy #PlantersLineThePathHome #HenryStrong
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
The trip to Doris Leeper Park was an effort to tire out Henry so that we could get done some much needed yard work. Henry doesn't really love being in the yard with us anymore when we do yard work (and he doesn't like us to be outside doing it when he is inside alone). So, we try to tire him out ahead of time so that we can get our chores done as a team. And YAY it worked! We will show you some of the things that we were doing in another post but the cool thing about the yard work this time, though, was the PRE yard work.
The evening before doing the yard work, we took a trip to Lowe's to get some supplies and we brought Henry. They let him in (even though they have a sign that says "Service Animals Only"). We tried to wheel him in a cart but he did not really dig that. You could tell that he thought it was his crate on wheels. So, we ended up carrying him most of the trip. It was cool and misty and while we were pretty miserable in the rain, Henry's presence made it fun! We now know that Lowe's is Henry friendly (especially on a rainy Friday night in the garden center when no one else is shopping). But it was another great adventure for Hank the Wonderpug!
#HenryStrong #HenryTheHomeImprovementGuy #HenryTheWetDog
Monday, March 16, 2015
Looking forward to your captions in the comments.
Sunday, March 15, 2015
On a recent outing to our most nearby (and old standby and probably our favorite) park (City Center), we met a couple with a blind dog. This dog was an 8 year old female black lab named Roxy. We could not immediately tell that Roxy was blind (which now that Henry is blind we have greater tendency to notice this more). Roxy was walking a quickish pace and seemed confident (traits that have diminished in Henry since his loss of vision). Since Roxy was trotting along we were surprised to learn that she was blind.
This story, however, is not as much about meeting Roxy as it is about a secret place we learned about from Roxy's parents. By the way, Roxy's mom works at the pay booth for our local dog beach and we are glad she told us this since we knew we had seen her a few times before but could not place where we knew her from. Anyway, Roxy's parents told us of a nice walking path where Roxy regained much of her walking confidence. It is a park called Doris Leeper Park. It is not too far from our home but in an area where we don't usually frequent. We have driven by the sign but never really investigated. Well, after hearing about it from Roxy's parents we decided to give it a shot. And boy aren't we glad we did?!
The park is on the small side and it really is just a loop (with a handle). So, what made THIS park so special, though? It was perfect for Henry, that's what! It was the perfect type of terrain, well shaded in most areas and not too long (although we accidentally did make it a little too long by not looking at the map first and choosing the wrong way at the fork in the road, ugh). The fact that this park was not paved and yet was still relatively smooth made all the difference in the world! Henry was able to bob and weave without falling off the sidewalk (and thus not getting discouraged). At this park Henry built up quite a little trot (much like Henry of old). We were able to unleash him which made him feel empowered and proud. No wonder Roxy's parents loved this park! It built confidence in their blind dog and now it was doing the same for ours! HOW WONDERFUL!
Like I said, we did not initially look at the map, so when it came time to pick a way, we picked the wrong way (and we walked that way for a good distance). When we realized it was the wrong way, we turned around and went back to the split and chose the correct way. It was shortly after that when Henry was in need of being carried the rest of the way. That was fine, though, we are happy to carry him when he gets too tired. But we know that next time we will choose the right way and he for sure will be able to make it the whole distance and that will be an even bigger confidence builder to him.
We were lucky to have met Roxy's parents and we are very appreciative to them for sharing their stories and insight. Henry & Roxy are very similar in their needs so to have an area where we can be meeting Henry's needs even better is a true gift for us. #HenryStrongAllDayLong
Thursday, March 12, 2015
We have been working uber hard to get/keep Henry in his "happy" routine that this has meant that Cupid' routine has been a little upended. The morning routine used to include a 10-15 minute stint of her getting her special brushing time. Sadly, now, this time has been the first thing to be sacrificed when we start to slip in Henry's routine or if he gets extra needy. Cupid makes no bones about her displeasure with missing out on her brushing time. She is so smart, though, that she has actually figured out the plan. And the plan is to get Henry settled on his pillow and sneak out of the house right after he is chilling on his pillow.
With this discovery, Cupid has taken to blackmailing and sabotage. On days when she does not get her brushing she will be sure to cause more racket just as Henry is starting to settle. She will meow extra loudly, go in and out of the doggy door causing curious noises to Henry, get up close to Henry and sniff him, "conveniently" be starving and need to eat (her food is near Henry's bed) and this of course creates wafting smells that entice him or worst, she will be sure to poop (disgustingly creating the MOST enticing smell of all for Henry).
Cupid's antics have secured her place in the routine pecking order now, though. We are finding ways to get ALL pet care needs done. She cannot go without her brushing for even ONE day. We will all pay the price if the little girl has been without her luxury.
Seems crazy, though, doesn't it? She LOOKS so sweet and innocent! She has a name equated with LOVE. She is a senior plus. And even with all of these factors, she is still one mischievous and manipulative wittle puddy tat.
#CupidSmartPants #CupidTooBigForHerCalicoBritches #CupidIsASpoon(StiringEverythingUp) #CupidWillNotBeIgnored #CupidStrong
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Hooray for whiskers! We are so pleased to announce and show that Henry's whiskers are really growing back! We knew that this may not have happened since this is not common post chemotherapy. But maybe since he only had half his prescribed doses, then we got lucky that the whiskers are growing back! This not only helps cosmetically, it helps him to "bring" the smells his way and helps him to sense things hopefully before he bumps into them (and instead of bumping into things).
We are hoping that these close ups will have you focusing on his whiskers and not his yucky dry nose. Boo!
#HenryStrong #WhiskersForHenry #HenryHasWhiskersAgain #ChemoRanItsCourse #CancerFreeHenry
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