Healing

Wow.  What a difference!  Reilly is allowed supervised freedom of movement in the house as long as he's not being too active...walking is good for him; jumping and running are not.  But we may have to confine him.  He's spending far more time on his feet than he was before.  He sooooo wants to run and play.  It's like he's a ten week old puppy again!  His knees look great.  They put in a very good mattress suture, and it doesn't pull at all.  Plus, Reilly has not offered even once to lick or chew, so is not stuck in an Elizabethan collar.  He did get some minor post-surgical swelling, but it appears to be gone today.  And he wants to run and play.  Poor fella, it will be a few more weeks before he can do that.  But then he'll be free to be!

Our wonderful breeder, Martha, called after my series of update emails.  She was rather upset that, of all the litter, the pup intended for a service dog is the one that had to come up with this.  Not that she'd wish it on any of them of course, but it was a double-slam for it to be him.  Especially since she's tried so hard to make sure that her litter was free of genetic issues.  I had to remind her that you can't test for this one.  Yes, I'm quite disappointed.  But one thing this disease of mine has taught me is that crying over something you can't fix is a waste of time and energy.  So, we go on. 

Although I don't anticipate that Reilly will be able to be a mobility dog, that doesn't mean he can't work.  He can still be taught to pick up things I drop, bring me things I indicate, and some other non-weight-bearing chores. And he'll still get his CGC and probably his Therapy Dog certification.  His temperament is perfect for that.  I couldn't handle both Jake as a mobility dog and Reilly as Therapy, But Chris could take him when he visits soldiers in the hospital, where allowed.  Even if he never uses the training though, just the training itself will keep him occupied.  I may continue with obedience classes, leaving out anything that involves jumping.  He needs occupation.

Oh...I've had a couple people ask, for different reasons, but no, Reilly is not going to be given back/gotten rid of/anything of the sort.  (In case you hadn't figured that out already!)  Reilly is part of our family.  The family didn't throw me out on my ear when we found out I was broke, and we aren't doing it to any other family member, either. 

So, between the two doggies, this blog will continue, but it will be about training both of them from here on out, not just Reilly.  His coming into our house is still a wonderful thing for us, but I must expand to include Jake at this point. 

I'll keep you updated on how he heals!

Meg, Reilly and Jake