Lilypup.com News

Lily Walks

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 18:31:10 -0600

January has been very cold here in Minnesota and Lily hasn't gone on many walks until this weekend. I've been working but my mom took Lily out for 3 walks over the past 3 days. I can't wait for spring to arrive and Sally can't either. Today, Sally wanted to go outside and I let her out a couple of times. Luckily, the birds weren't out in abundance today by the feeders so it seemed safe. I mean safe for the birds since Sally likes to occasionally hunt. On the other hand Tiger wasn't safe with birds because they liked to swoop down and scare here.

Lily's New Car

Sat, 01 Sep 2007 22:02:53 -0600

Yesterday, my mom bought a new car and Lily wasn't very enthusiastic. I put Lily in the backseat and she wanted out immediately. I thought she would be excited to go for a drive or just hang out inside but she wasn't having it so I took her out. A little later I put a towel on the seat and put her back inside. This time the experience wasn't as bad and she wanted to stay inside. I think the new car smell and unfamiliar territory was too much. After a drive to Elk River Lily was at home in the car. She has no trouble navigating between the front seats to the backseat.

Hot Walk and Blisters

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 00:03:16 -0600

Tonight, Lily and I went for a walk around 10pm in our neighborhood for about a half hour. It was very comfortable because it's so muggy and hot right now in wonderful summertime Minnesota. Lily was panting the entire time but she really enjoyed getting out and about. Over by the nearby Mt. Olive church she caught the scent of a rabbit and within about 30 seconds saw it or at least smelled it little closer. She ended up chasing it for a few feet until it went through some bushes which is exactly her main purpose. However, we don't let her loose to rundown rabbits like beagles are bred to do. Unfortunately, I wore the wrong shoes for the longer than expected walk with brisk walking speeds to keep up with a hunting Lily. Now, I'm nursing a few up and coming blisters on my feet. I hope these blisters don't cause too many problems because Lily needs to go on even longer walks.

Brisk Walk

Sun, 08 Apr 2007 12:13:17 -0600

Rain, snow, cold and windy days have kept us from our walks lately. But yesterday the wind died down and we went on a walk at the Coon Rapids Marsh and enjoyed ourselves. Lily gets so eager when we reach a destination she recognizes as a walk site. She had a great time. Back to normal - seems her back is fine now. Halleluiah Saw a Robin.

81 degrees

Tue, 27 Mar 2007 11:30:37 -0600

Yesterday 's temp was 81 degrees- hot. With pasty week of warm weather the snow piles are almost gone and everyone is out and about- walking, jogging, biking, skateboarding, motorcycles, convertibles. Hasn't been so much activity for months and months. Lily and I went to the River Park for a long walk. The water level is up, lots of geese and ducks about. A couple of people were fishing from the pier. Lily is enjoying her walks again ( since her back problem) and we are going on longer and more frequent walks lately. This week we have been walking every day. She seems almost as good as new. Hesitant about stairs and jumping up onto somethings. So far, so good- thank heavens. She is such a good dog and I want her to enjoy herself. When Jim got home from work he got the van "out of storage"'', charged up the battery and off we went in the so called "lily-mobile" for a ride about. Lily loves her van rides.

Lily's Canyon

Fri, 09 Mar 2007 15:35:35 -0600

Jim used the snow blower to make a path around the east side of house to the back where her cleared a huge area for Lily to use. The snow had been so deep she couldn't go anywhere where it hadn't been shoveled. Now she has a canyon to romp in. Whe we come home from a car trip she loves to speed down the canyon path to the backyard and back- really funny. Daytime temps 40 degrees yesterday and today, but still freezes overnight so snow (glacial Ice pack) will be here for a while yet. Water just started running in the gutters today.

Snowbound

Fri, 02 Mar 2007 14:20:29 -0600

Lots and Lots of snow. Last weekend we got 11 inches of snow with drifting. Today is the third day of another storm which has left 14 inches so far and its still snowing now. Storm is ti last til about midnight tonight. Have had to shovel multiple times each day and it never stops. Snowpiles over my head along driveway and by back deck. Drifts overhand the roof. Lily loves the snow but becamed overwhelmed by its depth so I have kept an area shoveled for her out back because snow got so deep. Steps icy so she needs to be lifted up and down steps so she doesn' t hurt her back. This is the biggest snow storm since 1982 per reports on TV. Tree limb hanging to the ground. Jim said there was a squirrel trying to get into birdfeeder and tried from every angle- ground, climbing up pole, jumping from tree branches and nereby bushes. Jim took pity on him and brought him some birdseed which he happily ate for half an hour. Sally cat hasn't been outside for days. Snow depth thigh deep by bird feeders.

Dark Anoka

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 23:43:26 -0600

Tonight, I took Lily with me to Source Comics and she was very excited to get out of the house. After a quick trip over there for the new comics we made back to Anoka just as quickly. On our way through downtown Anoka we stopped and parked by City Hall and walked along the Rum River and then back to car. It was very cold but it was fun walking through the quite streets and sidewalks of downtown at night.

Cabin Fever

Tue, 13 Feb 2007 15:18:14 -0600

After Lily's back problem started on Thanksgiving we've had hardly any snow in Dec, warm temps in January and now a string of below normal temps in Feb. We had 60 hrs of round the clock below zero temps and the last 10 days have been below zero at night. Still have below normal snowfall. There is an upperstate NY town that got 12 feet 2 inches of snow over the last week- wow. Lily and I are anxious for some walks. The last time we hit the trail it was 18 degrees and she lasted only about 3/4 of a block before her toes iced up and she stopped dead in her tracks and I had to carry her back to the car, She has never tolerated the icey feet but she also wouldn't use booties. As soon as it warms up a little more (average in 20 -25 range we'll go again. We're both getting cabin fever.

Barriers Coming Down

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 14:01:52 -0600

Last night, I took the boxes and baskets blocking the stairway leading upstairs to the bedrooms and those blocking the chairs. Now Lily is running around the house like normal but we still don't let her use the stairs leading the garage because I know she has stumbled on those before. She's still a little hesitant when jumping higher than a step and I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe she's got to get used to be allowed to jump up to these places again or more than likely she knows she can't tweak her back again.

December 28, 2006 Walk Videos

Mon, 01 Jan 2007 03:29:17 -0600

What did you say?

Mon, 01 Jan 2007 01:08:56 -0600

Lily turned to look at me very quickly in this picture. We just finished walking along the Rum River trail when I said the word walk. This always gets her attention and she knows exactly what I'm saying. I really like this picture even though it's a little blurry because she turned her head.

Rum River Sniffing

Mon, 01 Jan 2007 01:01:38 -0600

Last Thursday I took Lily the Ox Cart trail along by the old Minnesota State Hospital in Anoka. We walked a couple blocks back and forth and up and down the hills that slope to the river. This is the first long walk Lily has been on since Thanksgiving when she was first diagnosed with a bad back that limited her outdoor activities like long walks. We had a wonderful time and I can't wait to take her walking soon. I hope she has a full recovery in 2007 and that day when her back legs stopped working never comes back again.

Progress Report

Sun, 31 Dec 2006 08:31:38 -0600

Lily finished her prednisone medication 10 days ago and id doing good. For the past week she resisted being picked up to be carried up or down stairs. Finally, we gave her a little more freedom by allowing her to first hop over the back door threshold, then go up the back steps, She tolerated it well and progressed to going up and down the back steps. She also is permitted to jump up on the basement couch. Two days ago she was allowed to go up the basement stairs and the down them. She has done well. Only one stumble going up the stairs because she was in such a hurry I think. Still block off stairs to limit her activity somewhat. She likes her new "freedom" and is more herself. When she was being restricted she acted like she was being punished. She especially likes going for car rides again and we still lift her in and out of the car and have the back seat blocked off so she can't go back and forth .

There Goes The UPS Truck Lily

Wed, 27 Dec 2006 15:58:21 -0600

Of course, I don't have tell Lily that the UPS truck is approaching because I guarantee she knows when it's near. I put Lily out front after work today while I worked in the garage and she went balistic when the UPS truck was about a block away and then when it drove by she was ready to grab the truck like Krypto. She definitely wasn't acting disabled today and I think her back is healing very well.