Freedom: Lara's Big Day

Yesterday at 8:15 a.m. I delivered Lara to Dr. Milton Gee's office in Encinitas for spay surgery which was performed by Dr. Gary Haver. Dr. Gee is one of many vets that offers discount spay and neutering surgery through a partnership with the San Diego County Department of Animal Services.

The procedure officially brought an end to any chance that Lara could be exploited as a breeder again.

"Lara was great. She was very friendly and high energy when she arrived," Dr. Haver said. "Her excitement for being in the company of people was contagious and it made everyone want to be with her. After an exam and review of her medical history she was given a 'preanesthesic injection.' She soon was in a much calmer state."

11: 16 a.m. Vet tech McKenzie Russell prepares Lara for surgery.

11:24 Dr. Haver begins surgery.

11:27 a.m.

11:43 a.m.

11:51 p.m. Finishing up.

"The routine surgery was completed without incident and she was soon back in her kennel recovering from anesthesia, though she still was in a calm state from the pain injection given intraoperatively," Dr. Haver said. "I want to see her back in 10-14 days to remove her sutures. I can tell already that she will not hold any grudges about the surgery and will be excited and happy to come in and be the center of attention once again."

5:15 p.m. Home, in the stairwell.

7:32 p.m., awake, but groggy, and still in the stairwell.

6:23 a.m. this morning.

.
"Little does Lara know that her better life began yesterday," Dr. Haver said. "No more potential sex hormone induced problems in her future, she will never get ovarian or uterine cancer, and the threat of a life threatening uterine infection has been completely eliminated. And though she probably could be a great mother, I'm sure she put her maternal time in earlier in her life and will be happy to enjoy her life without concerning herself with puppies."

"Houston, We've Got A Problem"

We've had to deal with a bit of separation anxiety here at home this weekend. I've been busy figuring out how I'm going to keep Lara and Barney separated since discovering that she's in heat Friday night.

Neither dog had been fixed upon advice from their respective vets: Lara needed to lose weight first and Barney had to recover from anemia brought on by the maggot infestation. Both were scheduled for surgery Dec. 23 to be performed by Dr. Gary Haver at Dr. Milton Gee's office in Encinitas.

I met Dr. Haver last month while interviewing him on SNAP's Neuter Scooter for an article in The Coast News. We were surprised to discover that we both knew Barney: I was fostering him, and Dr. Haver had taken care of him when he was surrendered at the county shelter.

I remember Lisa Hamilton returning to her office at the Mission Animal Hospital Aug. 7 after assessing Barney at the shelter and reporting: ". . .they have done a super job at the shelter of getting him well on the way to recovery. Bless who ever spent hours shaving and pulling maggots from his wounds!"

That was Dr. Haver. He seemed very pleased to hear that Barney was doing well and vividly remembered that day.

Because of his history with Barney, it seemed only natural that Dr. Haver, who works at Dr. Gee's office on Wednesdays, would neuter him and, of course, Lara. After Friday night's revelation, I was eager to move surgery up from Dec. 23 to avoid any chance that Lara would become impregnated.

Although Dr. Haver's surgery schedule was full this Wednesday he graciously offered to squeeze Lara in. The only challenge now is keeping the two pups separated till then. Let's see, it's 6:10 p.m. on Sunday. 62 hours and counting. . .

You Go Girl! You're Almost There!

In the past month, Lara's weight has dropped from 77.1 to 76.2 lbs. Now it's not a matter of pounds, but ounces before achieving a goal weight of 75 lbs. -- and victory!

Last Sat., after her weigh-in at Acacia Animal Health Center, Lara and Ginger were all smiles. Hopefully, Lara will achieve her goal on the next visit scheduled for Dec. 19. Then she'll have the satisfaction of being at her ideal weight on Jan. 1 while others, bloated from the holidays, will just be getting around to making new year's resolutions.

When Dr. Harrison greeted Lara in the lobby for her VOM treatment, she sprung up on to a cushioned bench next to where he was standing. She looked like she was going to jump into his arms. Fortunately, she gave it a second thought. As he noted later, she is one limber, muscular little girl. She greets her male pals at the dog park by charging, then head banging them -- her tail wagging all the time. I saw her closing the gap while in pursuit of a young male great dane last week and remarked to a friend: "Look, she can keep up with him." He responded, "Lillian, he's trying to get away from her."

"Lara's all muscle," Dr. Harrison noted after treatment. "She has great muscle tone and definition in her shoulders going into her spine. Her legs are stronger and she's walking straight and more relaxed. Her paws are strong and defined. She's balanced. She sits in a comfortable position the way she's supposed to."

The activator (below) infuses mobility and motion into Lara's vertebra, lubricating the joints. This removes nerve interference that might have occurred from a muscle injury.


Dr. Harrison uses a vibracussor which sends calibrated pulses to tissue. This drains congestion and increases blood flow to enable the area to move easier.


As we left, our friend Carol Cote arrived with her older pup, Morgan, for their first appointment with Dr. Harrison. Carol is a rescue volunteer who saw Lara at the county shelter in Carlsbad back in June when she looked and felt like a beached whale. "I can't believe how Lara has changed," Carol said. "The transformation is unreal!"

Dr. Harrison Performs VOM on Rabbits

Dogs aren't the only animals who benefit from veterinary orthopedic manipulation. Horses, cats, even birds, realize the same dramatic improvements that Lara has since first visiting Dr. Harrison in June. Her followers will enjoy this demonstration of Dr. Harrison performing VOM on a member of the San Diego House Rabbit Society. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Harrison call the Acacia Animal Health Center in Escondido at (760) 745-8115.

Lara Loses 10 lbs.! Only 2 More to Go!

Lara's not only beautiful, inside and out, she's become the embodiment of physical fitness.

We visited Acacia Animal Health Center yesterday for a VOM (veterinary orthopedic manipulation) treatment with Dr. Harrison. Before starting she stepped on the scale to reveal a weight of 77 lbs., down 10 lbs. in a month, and 25 lbs. total.

Truth be told, part of the weight gain last month was from bloat which she lost an hour later when we went to Dog Beach and she had a sizable bowel movement.

The rest of the weight loss is attributed to a grain-free diet, no snacks and a minimum 30-minute run every evening.

Dr. Harrison couldn't have been more pleased.

"During the last visit there was a lot of misalignment in her lower back due to bloat," Dr. Harrison said. "That was released at the beach."

"Today her cervical spine is clear, too. All around, everything's real good!"

As Lara loses weight, her workouts are more vigorous because she has more energy. She's the one to beat on the beach -- outrunning most other dogs!

Barney occasionally runs inter-
ference when an overzealous dog gets too rough while catching up with her. He'll break away from me, trot up to the offending dog, then lower his head and give him a nudge to say, "Okay, buddy, move on." There's never a growl from Barney, just a gentle reminder that he's Lara's protector. And there's never an argument from the other dog.

“Basil’s Bow-Wows”

This is compliments of Henry Zecher, a friend many years ago from journalism school. Today, Henry is the world's greatest authority on William Gillette, who played Sherlock Holmes.

The following tribute was written by Basil Rathbone in 1933, upon the death of his beloved Moritz, a black German shepherd. Rathbone was a major dog lover and among the finest actors of his generation. He is remembered chiefly for playing Sherlock Holmes:

MORITZ

WITH RESPECT,

ADMIRATION AND

EVERLASTING LOVE

OUIDA AND BASIL

Come winter time and summer time,

Come sweet and cleansing rain,

Come spring time and the autumn,

Both sun and moon shall wane,

Come seed time and flowering,

And harvesting the grain,

The Earth will cease and time grow old,

But we shall meet again.

'Twas not for naught we walked the fields,

The sidewalks and the lanes,

Sharing our hopes, our fears, our doubts,

Beliefs, our joys and pains.

And though I, with human weakness,

Have not always understood,

You with your dog devotion

Blindly believe me good.

Now you will sleep a little while

And dream in peace, please God,

Then one day I shall follow you

And sleep too beneath the sod,

To rise with you and walk again

With a vague sense of remembering

That we had loved in other lives,

Before this new ascending.

For more information, visit “Basil’s Bow-Wows” at www.basilrathbone.net/potpourri/dogs/

St. Bernards/Rule #1. Don't postpone daily walk.

Tuesday night instead of taking Lara, Ollie and Barney for their 5 p.m. visit to the dog park, I decided first to make oatmeal cookies for a dinner at Sharon and Richard's at 7 p.m. My thought was to take the pups to the park while the cookies cooled. So I pulled out oats, cinnamon, eggs and flour -- then ran to the store to pick up butter and brown sugar. I arrived home to what looked to be a blizzard in the kitchen. Lara and Ollie were hiding while Barney, the only one tall enough to reach the flour on the kitchen counter, was unapologetic.