My Recovery

Tomorrow marks 6 weeks since I became a Pirate.  My mom has done a pretty good job of tracking my progress and my road to plunder and pillage. I met with a rehab vet where my Daddy goes to school and she said that I'm doing great. She gave me some exercises to do to help strengthen my leg...because I only have the one back one now...So anyway my favorite exercise is swimming and Mom takes me a few days a week. I am allowed to walk but only for like 15 - 20 minutes for now. Mom thinks walks make me really tired, boy do I have her fooled! When we walk up hills I take breaks under shady bushes and pretend to rest so she will let me off leash. This is key you see because as soon as I'm off leash, I bolt! Walks don't make me tired, leashing walking makes me tired. I do have to admit it is easier to run than walk. When I walk I kinda hop with my back leg like a kangaroo, which Mom has taken a liking to calling me "her little kangaroo"....
So because I'm a lab I get coined as being a happy go lucky, never slow down, always tail wagging, smiley dog, which I am. I'm a happy dog. I love to smile. Don't try to tell me to slow down, 3 legs or not. I'm a lab and this is what we do. I have a great outlook and just because I have 3 legs doesn't mean my quality of life is any less than what it was when I had 4. Well....Mom doesn't always let me do what I want to do, but with time I think she will warm up to the idea of letting me do more.
Mom says I have far surpassed all of her expectations and done so well hitting all of my benchmarks. Go Me! So the vet also said that by week 8 I will be fully recovered and what my parents see is what I'm gonna be for the rest of my life. I mean I guess I will continue to get stronger and look like a body builder, which is fine by me.
Some of the pictures below track my progress from right after surgery until now. Mom is the worst picture taker and camera operator apparently ever..is what I hear Dad tell her...
Some of you might not find a few of these funny...but they made Mom and Dad happy so that makes me happy.

Day after surgery - I received pain meds through the catheter. For weeks my parents called my swelling a Boston Butt....

See..I'm happy! 

Me and Dad 

I rolled off my bed

Mom found this really funny....

Me at a week and half post 

A week and half post 

We all were in cones! 

Glamour Shot!

Swimming with Dad two and half weeks post 

About 4 weeks 

One Salty Dog 

My fur is starting to grow back nicely 

Mom finds it funny to make me wear this bandanna

All swelling and bruising is gone!

Pay Back...

Sorry for the hiatus y’all, I’ve been recuperating.  I feel great.  I’m back to running, swimming, jumping in and out of bed and even the car.  I tend to get tired more easily, but the Docs tell me it will just take a little bit of time.  Really the point of writing today wasn’t about my recovery because naturally y’all know that I would be just fine. 

It was time for a little bit of pack back around my house.  Koala doesn’t seem to care that I just had surgery, so I figured she needed to be taught a lesson…

Vet wrap is an amazing thing.  My parents have been using vet wrap on me for a few weeks.  I truthfully don’ t mind the stuff,  but I knew exactly who would…

Mean maybe, necessary absolutely. Take that Koala

Oh and here is some of me because let's face this blog is really all about me. 

Me and Dad 

Some people take me less seriously now that I have 3 legs...they clearly don't know anything about me

Mom says "He looks so handsome" Clearly she means me

Duke Dog has Arrived

Hello Caribbean! I'm here. I got to fly in my first airplane. I know my mom was worried about me but I did just fine, obviously...

Finally! I am off quarantine. I had to be at home for 30 days I couldn't leave my yard or go for a walk. It was that bad though. I had a nice fenced in yard and great wrap around porch.  Because I can't leave the yard, Mom lets me sit in the car for as long as I want!

Oh and St. Kitts has monkeys. I wasn't sure what they were at first but Mom and Dad call them Monkeys. They are like small children but hairy and with tails. I want to tree one so badly, that would be awesome!

I live with a puppy and kitten. The puppy Nevi is good...I mean she is cute but sometimes I have to put her in her place. She is like an annoying little sister.  She has this annoying habit of licking me in the face, but I just try to ignore her. The kitten, Koala, on the other hand sucker punches me every day! I will just be napping or sittin' around and then BAM! She hits me! It is like a drive by or a hit and run. Like the other day I was just standing around hangin' out and she comes up from behind me and runs under my legs and sucker punches me 3 times in the jaw and just takes off! Now she is at the point where she stalks me! Oh yeah, so the last time I went I was walking by a bush and she ambushed me! Straight up just ambushed me. I never saw it coming... Whatever she is a kitten, but she needs to start watchin' her back!

Oh yeah my parents moved me to a new house. Something about there were some bugs...I don't know. All I know is that I am really happy at my new home and there is lots of space for me to run and play. I even get to go in the swimming pool when I want. Lots of birds fly by all day so I really enjoy watching them. Oh! Oh! The mongeese! They are like squirrels but brown and long. There are tons of mongeese for me to chase. Mom doesn't like when I get really close them though... One even came in the house one day and my Dad yelled for me to come get it out, so I did. I'm pretty awesome.

The best far so far was last weekend I got to go the beach 3 days in a row. I got to run, swim and retrieve coconuts. I had a blast! It was so good for my salty dog soul.

That's the run down so far. It's no North Carolina but for me it's just fine. I get sun, sand, birds, water and my parents.

I'm here!

Sittin' in my car

Coconut

Sea legs

I'm after a mongoose!

Koala

Look at the Monkey!

Hi little Goatie

Top Dog...