Buddy 26/06/2015 - 08/05/2021

The last week

It has been a pretty good week for me - I am getting lots of peanut butter, milk treat in the morning, and lots of my other treats throughout the day. I normally only get one of the good ones per day, but for some reason, I've been getting as many as I want all week long! My leg is really bugging me, and so I am not going for any walkies or sniffies in the neighbourhood, and so I spend most of my time lying around in the backyard. 

Sometimes, Richie will grab one of the big, soft cushion things from the lounge chairs and put it down on the grass beside me. I get soft pets from him while I doze off and he hangs out with me while I snooze the afternoon away. I'm sure glad the weather is nice for them, as I'd probably be lying out here in the rain regardless, but I doubt they would! I have also had a couple of visits this week; one from my old friend who (tried to) dog-sit with me one weekend, and on another evening, Cooper's humans came to visit me. They were really sad when we said good-bye; I hope they said hi to my brother for me.

Don't be too concerned about me. Despite the pain in my leg, I'm a pretty happy guy. I've been eating and drinking really well, as I am getting more than my share of table scraps and special meals all week. I have also been spending all my time - at least when I'm not sleeping - with my two favourite humans, Richie and Christine. This place really has been everything that a crazy puppy like me needed, and I have lived my life the way I wanted to. As my nana likes to say, when I found this place, "I won the doggie lottery!"

Buddy

Now my leg really hurts!

So I tried to follow Richie up the stairs earlier, but there is that baby gate thingy (who are you callin' a baby?) in the way. So when I turned around to go back down to the bottom, I guess I missed a step, and came down hard on my wrist. YOW! Did it ever hurt! I just stood there for a few moments, paw off the ground, as Richie came quickly to soothe and comfort me. I don't know what I did, but now I can barely put any weight on my paw, it hurts so much.

I got some more peanut butter, and after a little bit, the pain subsided, and I was able to settle down in the basement. Christine brought down my baby blankie (I can be a baby sometimes), and so I immediately laid down on it. They have decided to move into the basement now, rather than having me go up and down the stairs, putting more stress on my leg.

We all eat our meals down there, and Richie sleeps in the basement with me now too. Of course I can still go out through my special door to do my business, but I try to hold it for as long as I can, so that I don't have to get up as much. Aside from getting peanut butter now four times a day, this kinda sucks.

Buddy

Still doing Buddy things

Well, my leg still hurts. But it's still a pandemic, so not much has changed around here. I still walk a bit when I'm not too limpy, but typically it is just around the block, and only once a day now. I'm happy to tell you that I have been getting a regular course of peanut butter three times a day, and still getting my milk after breakfast. For some reason, that makes my wrist feel better. 

I still have to get help going down stairs using the harness thingy, but I don't mind now, and I kinda am getting used to it. The weather has been pretty good, so now we are all hanging outside on the grass. Well, I'm on the grass, while they sit on their chairs on the patio.

Now here's a fine mess. Christine and Richie went off this afternoon to play cornhole (like they do down at the cabin). So while they were gone, I decided to see what is in the little room downstairs. It turns out that there is a trash bin there, and I found a great thing in there to bring outside and shred apart! The fun was short-lived, as I made quick work of that envelope. But you can see from the photo above that my leg still hurts; most times now, I try not to put much weight on it.

Buddy

Still no stairs for me

Remember when I was telling you about the harness thingy that I have to wear when I'm going downstairs? I forgot to tell you that there are also gates to prevent me from going up the stairs! Yep, I guess they figure that if I go up them, I might try to go down them on my own, so they have blocked access at the bottom of my patio, and as well on the inside basement stairs. 

"I didn't want to go up the stupid stairs anyways."

I still get to go out of course, as a guy has to do what a guy has to do (or doo). But most of the time, I'll come back in right away, or on occasion, lie out in the rain, like I used to when I was younger.

I do still like to watch out over my domain - my backyard, my oasis. This is the place that gives me the most comfort... having a home to call my own. That's why I always want to come back here so much after a neighbourhood walk, or a weekend away at the cabin - this is my place.

Buddy

Just hangin' out

It would seem that this pandemic thing is still with us, and actually we are apparently in something called the "third wave". Not a clue what that means, as it's the same old routine here for me. Christine and Richie are with me almost all the time now, and since I can't go down stairs without one of the them helping me, I don't go out to the backyard as often anymore.

I haven't been a fan of sitting out on the front lawn much, but now that it is getting a bit nicer out, I've been enjoying a bit of sunbathing recently. Since my leg still hurts, I'm ok not going for much of a walk in the morning (we don't go for afternoon walkies anymore), so this is my opportunity to see and smell things outside. Even though I'm not much of a wanderer, I still have to stay tethered when I'm out front for some reason.

Christine especially likes sitting out with me when it is sunny like this, as she doesn't like the cold weather, certainly not like us Berners! She has also been working in her garden, and her flowers are starting to bloom; probably time for me to start mowing down on them, I guess.

Oh, and I guess it is my Nana's birthday today, so Richie put this silly bow on my head! They say that I am the best present ever!

Buddy

New procedure for going down the stairs

So here's a new thing that is happening around here lately. To alleviate any undue stress on my wrist as I go down the stairs, I now need to wear this harness thingy every time I want to go outside. I'm not exactly modelling it correctly here, but it goes over my head, then gets strapped around my chest. I like putting it on, as I get a hug each time that it gets clipped on!

Then when we head downstairs, Christine or Richie holds on to the handle on top of my harness, and then I usually just stand there. See, I normally go down the stairs after them, but now they want me to go first, so they can hold on to me! It's really weird, because I'm walking down the stairs, but my front paws are barely touching the surface!

Anyhow, it isn't so bad, and I can actually get through my special door on my own, even with my harness on. Richie usually shouts at me, "WAIT!" but I don't, and rush out the door on my own. My leg still hurts, but aside from the harness thingy, it's pretty much the same routine around here though. 

"I smells something here?"

Still going out for a walk everyday, but it's really short, which is just fine with me. And of course milk and peanut butter treats! I am getting a lot more cuddle time than normal, which is also awesome, as I am a huggy-bear!

Buddy

Special pictures at the dogtor

Since I was still limping around, Richie took me to see the dogtor yet again. This time, he left me there! I went into the back room with them, and then I got really sleepy. Before you know it, Richie was back to get me, and we went home for a nice dinner. 

 

Unbeknownst to me, Richie had the dogtor take some special pictures of me while I was napping earlier. It turns out I have something called "osteosarcoma". I don't know what that means, but Richie and Christine are really sad now.

I don't know what the big deal is - it doesn't hurt that much, really. I mean check out the picture above; the wrist that hurts is the one I have folded back! Anyhow, now in addition to getting a little bit of milk each morning, I'm also getting a little dollop of peanut butter three times a day!

Buddy

My leg hurts again

I was just doing my normal stuff - sleeping, morning walkies, sleeping, lunch, sleeping - well, you get the picture. But Christine noticed that I had a really big bump on my wrist, the one that hurts when I walk. Anyhow, so she ran off to the dogtor to get me some more medicine, and so I'm back to getting milk every morning again! 

It definitely helps, and the swelling went down a lot, so I can walk on it without it bothering me too much. We certainly don't walk as far as we used to, and of course, I stop every few metres to sniff things. Richie likes to think that I'm stopping to smell these flowers, but it's really because someone else has peed on them!

Buddy

A little bit more snow

Well it wasn't a lot of snow, but any snow is better than nothing! As you can see, I've already trampled all over the backyard, and Richie took me for a walkie-sniffie in the neighbourhood too. I'm feeling pretty good, and so we're back to our normal routine. I'm not getting my milk in the morning anymore, as they seem to have run out of it?

I've also been getting these great little chew-things that are supposed to be a supplement for my arthritis - all I know is that they are tasty little morsels! I'm still getting a mix of dry kibble for meals, but that doesn't stop me from begging for table scraps, and of course, licking the plates clean after the humans eat their dinners.

Buddy

A visit to the dogtor

Well, my leg still hurts, and while it doesn't slow me down too much (let's face it, I'm not moving too quickly anyways), Christine got Richie to take me to the dogtor today.

The doc thinks I might have a bit of early onset arthritis, and that I should lose some weight! He thinks that maybe with a bit less stress on my joints, and some medicine, I can maybe work through this? Anyhow, now I am getting a little slurp of milk every morning - I sometimes get this anyways when Christine is having cereal for breakfast, but this is a little dish just for me! Richie got me some different dry kibble too, but I don't care much for the taste, so they have mixed it in with my regular food, so I end up eating it anyways. Let's see how things go... maybe my leg won't hurt much longer?

Buddy
 

I hurt my leg... again

I don't know exactly what I've done, but my leg hurts now. Maybe I was playing too hard in the recent snow we've had? And then there's that damn laminate flooring in the basement - I'm pretty sure that it has made me fall more than once. So when I came back into the house, I wouldn't cross the floor! Richie and Christine thought that I was behaving strangely, so they got me some medicine.

This stuff is supposed to help with my neurotic behaviour, and in truth, it did seem to help me for a little while. I can't taste it, but it supposedly helps me calm down when I get a little out of sorts.

Like this issue, for example. Richie noticed that I was hesitant to cross the bare hardwood on the main floor, so he put out a bunch of towels so that I could get across the room! I know you are laughing, but it totally worked! I can be such a scaredy-dog sometimes.

Buddy

Yay! Snow!

Well it finally came - snow! It wasn't a lot, but it doesn't really matter to me - as long as there's enough to cover the grass so that I can go out and lie in it, I'm happy. Richie doesn't really like it for some reason, but they say it isn't going to stay around too long, so I'm enjoying it while I can. 

"This is my happy face."

And then when we were on our morning tour of the neighbourhood, we came across one of my Swiss countrymen - or woman, in this case. She's a St. Bernard, which is the breed that everyone mistakes me for all of the time... yep, the one with the wooden brandy keg hanging around their necks. I mean c'mon - we don't look anything close to the same!

This is another thing that I like to do with Richie when it snows... he'll pick up the snow and fling it all over me. I'll try to catch some in my mouth, but I can't seem to get the timing right, and then it goes over my head. It is tons of fun regardless... I think I'll stay out here a little longer.

Buddy

Walkin' in the neighbourhood

This is me, walking in the neighbourhood... ok, well not really walking. I do prefer to not walk, but on this particular day, Richie was just excited to get me outside because some orange human got impeached. I don't get it, but we went outside to celebrate anyways. 

But here is another time where we ventured in a different direction from my home. This picture is near something called the "tube station" which is about a 2-minute sniff away. This is also the route we take to the dogtor, who is just around the corner. I know it well, as I get cookies when I go there!

And here's another one of me checking out this kitty in the neighbourhood. Which is really funny, as normally, I don't even see cats for some reason; Christine thinks I have a vision problem, but I don't think I do. But this one was so huge, I had to go up and have closer look - but it didn't smell like a kitty, so I quickly lost interest.

What other fun things will I encounter on my walks?

Buddy

A very Covid Christmas

This thing called "pandemic" never seems to end. And this year, it seems to have impacted the Christmas season. See, normally, there would lots of great smelling foods and snacks around this time, but apparently since there will be no humans visiting, they aren't preparing very much. Sure, the tree that doesn't smell like a tree is back, but there are almost no presents under there for me to shred the paper off of. I still got to lick the plates after they had their turkey dinner, so at least that part was the same.

And what about snow? I thought we normally get snow around Christmas, so that I can go frolicking in the park? But this year, we had to settle for a really heavy frost one morning, and so we went to the park to check it out. If you squint your eyes a bit, you can pretend it is snow instead.

We didn't go visit Christine's parents this year, as that wasn't allowed, apparently. Even so, we still got dressed up for our annual family Christmas photo in front of the tree - look at me in a tux!

Buddy

I fell down the stairs

The other day, I went up to see Christine in her office upstairs. After I had been visiting for long enough, I decided it was time to go back downstairs. But for some reason, on the way back down, instead of taking each step one at a time, I ended up at the bottom in a pile! I could tell that I had hurt my leg, as I was holding it up off the ground when Richie came to see what the commotion was all about. 

It hurt quite a bit, but I think I was more embarrassed that I had, once again, been unable to go down the stairs by myself. After a bit of hobbling around, I managed to get a treat of peanut butter for some reason, and it didn't hurt so much after. 

That didn't stop me from playing lame for a few days. When Richie would ask, "wanna go for a walk and sniffie?", I'd simply lie on the bed, feigning disinterest. I'm not that crazy about going for walks at the best of times - why would I want to go when my leg hurts? Anyhow, after about a week, I had to give up the ruse, as I wasn't feeling any pain in my leg anymore.

But that didn't stop me from trying to go upstairs again! See, Richie has been at work a lot - yes, even during this pandemic, and so I needed to go up there to get some cuddles from Christine. But now they have put this thing in the way to prevent me from going up the stairs! Hmph.

Buddy

Fall is here

The days seem to be getting shorter, and the nights are definitely cooler - I should know, as I sleep outside for a while most nights. But it's perfect weather for me to go on longer walks, as I don't get too overheated during this time of year. We even went out to the big forest park for a long walk n' sniff, as I like to call it. I just wish that Christine and Richie would walk slower, so I had more time to smell it all in. 

I also went back to work with Richie recently on a TV show called "Kung Fu". I have no idea what that is all about, but I had a great time with him, walking around in a park in an area called "Yaletown". As usual, I got lots of attention and pets from the humans working there, and even got recognized by a policeman who was working with us long ago on "A Million Little Things". I must be famous.

I think I've said this before, but this is my favourite time of year. Not just because the temperature is cooler, but there are all of these leaves that have fallen now, and the humans are so kind to make big piles of them for me to rummage through (and pee on). 

And sometimes, usually on weekends (but Richie and I don't understand the concept of weekdays vs. weekends), Christine will come with us on our neighbourhood walkabouts. It's so colourful right now - I just wish I could see them.

Buddy

Brief summer update

Well, it's still a pandemic here, but that seems A-ok with me, as now we are spending almost all our time outside in the backyard! It was so hot out the other day, that Christine got out my big drinking dish! I think one of my favourite things is standing in it while drinking... or sometimes lying in it. 

Then one evening, my brother and step-sis came over to visit again! I guess the humans are "social-distancing", but that doesn't apply to us Berners. It took quite a bit for us to line up for this photo, as we are constantly moving around and wrestling etc.

And then on one day recently, I went to the dogtor, but Richie left me there! I didn't like that, and tried to leave with him, but darn that floor is so slippery, and they had no trouble ushering me into the back. They gave me something that made me sleepy, and then I woke up without having any dreams. My teeth feel different now however.

Anyhow, that's your end-of-summer update from the Cambie Berner.

Buddy

I have a new cousin!

I would like you to meet my new cousin, Tonka! He is another Great Pyrenees, like my other cousin Barney, who has sadly passed over the rainbow bridge. We went out to meet him yesterday, but I wasn't really that interested in him. 

You see, they have a huge watering hole in their backyard! As soon as I got there, Rosie was very excited to show me around, and get me in for a dip. Of course, I was very leery, as I couldn't really see the bottom, and only waded in to my ankles.

Rosie wanted to play with me, but she's way too crazy! I just wanted to sniff around and check things out, but she was all up in my face. Tonka tried to come over a few times, but he's too little, and would easily get knocked over by his sister.

Anyhow, it was nice to get out someplace new during this pandemic lockdown. 

Buddy

A big walk with my extended family

So this morning, we got into the car and went on a long drive, and when we got there, who was waiting for us, but my brother Cooper and step-sis River, and also my cousin Rosie!

It was that place I had been to before, with the water that runs beside the path that the humans walk on. We prefer to go down and splash around in the water of course. Rosie, being a Newfie, is made for this!

Every once in a while, I'd stop to munch on some grass, or grab a drink from the little stream. We'd go up and down, and back and forth - it was definitely a big dog day. 

Finally, after we've all had enough of trouncing around in the water, we all get called up to the path and are told to walk nicely - i.e. not get muddy again before getting back into our cars.

These excursions really wipe me out... now I can barely keep my eyes open. It was still fun catching up with my extended family however.

Buddy