My therapist...

I heard about this article from a friend and just had to share. It's about a soldier with PTSD who credits his pound puppy with saving his life during a period of deep depression:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/racked-by-ptsd-a-veteran-finds-calm-in-a-pound-pup-named-cheyenne/2011/06/16/AGLiYIeH_story.html

I know what that solider means. My therapist has a wet nose and a wagging tail. She always listens and never talks back. She even makes house calls!

Ella's walks

Ella can finally go for walks again! To celebrate, we went walking in New Town twice this weekend, as well as getting re-introduced to our favorite neighborhood walks. Thanks to our friend Maria for sharing this picture of Ella in her pink harness, basking in the sunlight on a walk.

To celebrate the simple pleasure of walks, we read Susan Meddaugh's Martha Walks the Dog yesterday. In this hilarious book, Martha the dog gets the power of speech by eating alphabet soup. Martha decides to take herself for a walk, and talks to neighbors and other dogs along the way. The illustrations and text of the book are adorable, with Martha showing wit and intelligence through her doggy speech. My favorite line in this book is Martha's response to being called a "good dog" by someone on the sidewalk. Of course, Martha replies "What other kind of dog is there?" Martha might be a good dog, but I think my Ella is the best dog!

Mom goes on vacation and Ella goes swimming

Happy Independence Day! We are enjoying our day off by sleeping late and generally being lazy today. I just got back from a week-long vacation in Texas, so I'm still catching up on sleep and trying to relax before going back to work tomorrow. It's going to be rough! I had a wonderful time visiting my college girlfriends in Texas, but missed Ella dearly. She stayed with Neillee and Dustin and had a lovely time without me. She's feeling much better and finished taking her painkillers this morning. Hopefully the vet will have good news about her condition when we go for our appointment on Wednesday. Yesterday, Ella and I went to Neillee's house on the river, and Ella (sort of) went swimming. She gets in the water about chest high before she decides that she's had enough. She did enjoy sniffing, rolling in the sand, and digging some major holes on the beach, though. Overall, we've had a wonderful week of vacation in the water- I'm not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow morning. I hope all of you have a wonderful 4th of July- eat a hot dog for Ella :-)

Ella the invalid

Poor Ella. She's not allowed to play, run, jump, or take long walks for at least another week, so she's been forced to take up reading to stave off boredom:

Good thing we have lots of magazines to keep her occupied!

Ella goes to the hospital

Let me start by saying that Ella is fine. She does, however, have a chronic condition called "degenerative disc disorder." We discovered this last weekend. I had to go out of town for a friend's wedding, so Neillee and Dustin babysat. Friday night, Ella started limping and whining whenever she rolled over or jumped up. When I got back on Sunday, she was still limping and crying in pain. I took her to the vet Monday morning, and they had to sedate her to give her x-rays. Poor Ella had to stay at the animal hospital all day! After seeing the x-rays, the vet explained to me that Ella's spinal discs in her neck are spaced too close together, which can cause inflammation and pain when she over-exerts herself. Ella now has three painkillers and a muscle relaxer to help reduce the inflammation so that she can heal. After she gets over this acute pain, we will look at long-term treatment of her condition. I was so worried that she had a major injury, so I'm happy to report that after two days on her medicine, she is feeling much better. We are having a hard time restricting her activity level, since she has so much energy and just wants to run and jump. However, I am confident that with extra rest and attention, Ella will be well in no time!

"Uncle" Dustin strikes again!

"Uncle" Dustin just loves to dress Ella up. Surprisingly, she doesn't seem to mind these fashion shows, and I am always amused when Dustin sends me the pictures. Last night, Ella got sporty in a baseball cap:

I'm going to Danville this weekend to see two high school friends get married (Congratulations, Mary and Chris!) so Ella is staying in Williamsburg with Neillee and Dustin. She and I are so lucky to have friends who are willing to dogsit, which means that Ella doesn't have to go to a kennel. I know she appreciates it, and I definitely do! Have a great weekend, everyone!

Elegant Ella

Last weekend, Ella and I were lucky to have Auntie Ashlyn visit us in Williamsburg. Ella loves having guests and meeting new people, so she was in heaven. She even got to go to the beach again, which resulted in sand in her ears, sand in her nose, and sand all over my car. Needless to say, our beach day ended in Ella getting a bath, which she did not enjoy. In addition to visiting the beach, Ella also got a present from her Auntie- a new book! My sister Ashlyn is officially going to be a first grade teacher next year, so she knows her children's books! She gave us a book called Ella the Elegant Elephant by Carmela and Steve D'amico. Ella the elephant is new in town, so she decides to wear her grandmother's elegant hat to gain some good luck and confidence at school. Unfortunately, the large hat draws some unwelcome attention from the school bully, Belinda. When Belinda slips while climbing the tall safety wall surrounding the school, however, she is happy that Ella's lucky hat transforms into a parachute and saves the day! The next day, the entire class, including Belinda the bully, sports large, fancy hats to say thank you to Ella the Elegant Elephant. This whimsical story teaches important lessons about kindness and friendship. The elephant illustrations are simple, yet colorful and cheerful. I loved the story, although I did find it a bit long for younger children. It is definitely a great choice for bedtime! I think Ella the dog enjoyed reading about Ella the elephant, since they both share big, floppy ears and a love of all things elegant and fancy!