Bo Won! Meet the 2010 Cover Dog!

He graced the cover of the January 2011 Issue of SPOT Magazine.

Another photo of him was used to illustrate an article inside.

Way to go, Bo!

Bocán - Spot Magazine Cover Dog ?

This fall, we're happy to report that Bocán has completely recovered from both TPLO surgeries last year (October and December).

He's running, chasing balls, catching frisbees and jumping onto the bed, as well as in and out of the car. His run is a little funny looking; he occasionally sort of "skips" to reduce weight on his more recently repaired leg, but at least he is running.

He still slips a little sometimes, when rounding corners indoors, but recovers fast and deosn't even seem to notice.

He'll no longer set any Border Collie speed records, and he won't become an agility athlete, but he's having lots of fun just being a dog again.

A couple of weeks ago we took him to Doggie Palooza, up at the World Forestry Center, where he got lots of treats and got to meet lots of other dogs. He also got photographed, along with many dozens of other dogs, by a professional lensman, and is in the running to be on the cover of "Spot Magazine", a local publication. A drawing will be held to select the winners.

Wish Bo luck, and thanks again to everyone who has expressed interest in him this past year!

Never thought I'd see THIS again!

Bo's progress this summer has been amazing. His life is pretty much back to normal. He's running, jumping, chasing and catching the frisbee and balls.

His run is a little funny, he slips when going around corners sometimes and he's not quite as fast, but he's having fun being a dog again.

We put the dog door back in the laundry room, so he can get out to the dog run whenever he wants.

I thought I was done being amazed by new signs of progress, until last Sunday. After his bath, he was snapping at flying bugs in the backyard, when he suddenly got up on his hind legs and started walking around, snapping at them! He stayed up on his rear legs for quite a while, and he did it several times. I suspect that the TPLO surgery actually makes this easier for him!

Looking forward to taking him on his first camping trip since his first injury, nearly a year ago.

Two more big milestones today!

Last night, I was trying to figure out some sort of way to provide an intermediate step up, so Bocán could easily get up onto our bed. This is something he hasn't been able to do since his first injury last September.

This morning, he went over to Ann's side of the bed and put his chin on the edge, and Ann said: "Do you want to come up?". She was ready to get out of bed and boost him up, as she's done a few times the past couple of weeks. But he crouched a bit and jumped, and MADE IT ON HIS OWN! It was a little awkward and he barely made it, but he made it. All three of us were pretty surprised, and the look on his face was priceless! It was a combination of "Is this OK?" and "I DID it!".

Later this morning, I removed another depressing vestige of his injuries and recoveries. We'd put up a barrier in the dog run, severely limiting his access to the immediate area by the laundry room door. We did this so he wouldn't chase squirrels back into the corner of his yard. Now that he's able to run and jump and pretty much do whatever he wants, it was time to give him full access to his dog run once again.

In a couple more weeks we'll put the dog door back in, so he can go outside whenever he wants, and it will really, finally be over!

Time Sure Flies!

SIX MONTHS AGO TODAY was Bo's first TPLO surgery.

Ann and I had a chance to take him to the park this afternoon to celebrate.

We threw the Frisbee and he ran and ran - still runs kinda goofy, but he had a blast.

Seeing him run, and even start to jump a little makes it all seem an even more distant clump of memories.

When we got home, he crawled all the way up onto Ann's lap.

Another big milestone

On Friday, we removed the enclosure that has surrounded his bed for nearly six months. We've kept him confined at night ever since his first injury because we did not want him to try to jump onto our bed in the middle of the night. He'd slept in our bed ever since his puppy training was complete, but our bed is pretty high off the floor, and he could have hurt himself trying to make the leap.

He's still not quite ready to jump up onto the bed, but we're strengthening his back legs with work on stairs, hills and the playground equipment at our local park. The surgeon says he'll try when he's ready, and he's no longer in danger of hurting himself by trying. We are looking into building a step for him, and getting a ramp for the car. That will help mitigate the premature arthritis he's likely to develop.

It was nice to remove one of the last vestiges of his confinement, giving him the choice to sleep where he wants, and go get a drink of water in the middle of the night.

Sometime later this month, we hope to reinstall the dog door, so he can get outside whenever he wants.

You can see the fur regrowth on his right rear leg in the photo at right (click on any of them for larger versions). His left leg looks even better; they only shaved part of it for the second surgery in December.

This is the playground equipment we're working his leg muscles on...

It's been nearly 6 months!

Bo's initial CCL rupture occurred 28 weeks ago today.

His first TPLO surgery was almost 6 months ago (that anniversary is a week from Monday), and he's been recovering from his second TPLO surgery for nearly 16 weeks.

The fur on his left leg has nearly grown back out, and the right leg is getting there. He's running on leash for short sprints and jogging for long distances. He still runs oddly; when he breaks from trot to run, he begins using both rear legs in unison, almost like his "three-legged-hop" before the surgeries, but he can move REALLY FAST that way (faster than me!).

We let him run off leash very briefly, adding a little more running each time. Perhaps he will begin to run "normally" at some point, but we'll take what we get. Six months ago we didn't know if he'd ever walk again!

We've worked a lot of outdoor stairs into his long walks, and he's hopping up and down some raised platforms (about 10") in a playground nearby. He cannot jump up more than a foot; his leg muscles are still pretty weak. We're slowly building them up so that he can jump up on our bed once again.

Unfortunately, we still have to enclose him in a pen at night, so he doesn't try to jump up onto the bed when we're asleep. We are so looking forward to allowing him complete freedom again - perhaps it will coincide with his 6 month anniversary...