Champion of My HeartA real-time memoir about life with a fearful border collie, by Roxanne Hawn

Tuesday morning we awoke to a debate between me and Tom over the size of Lilly’s spider bite lump. I said it was bigger, maybe 10%. Tom said it was the same as the night before. Possible surgery hung in the balance. Terrified to make the wrong decision, I waited and waited.

I groped her neck. I took pictures and flipped between the images for nearly an hour, trying to decide what to do.

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So, we now knew that Lilly suffered a spider bite and ensuing infection. But, we’ll never know what kind of spider or where or how it happened, but she needed treatment and fast.

Again, if you are sensitive at all, fair warning … what unfolds next isn’t particularly gross, but it is upsetting if you understand the potential outcomes of a fearful dog going through something both painful and scary.

You can catch up via Dog Spider Bite Part 1, Dog Spider Bite Part 2, and Dog Spider Bite Part 3 of our latest veterinary emergency saga.

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Yesterday, we continued the story of this mysterious mass I found on Lilly’s neck while awaiting a routine veterinary exam. Today, let’s move on with the diagnosis of the sudden onset (possible) veterinary emergency.

Fair warning … if you are squeamish at all.

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Not the best day. Monday. About mid-morning, I locked myself in a small, dark room and fought off an anxiety attack. I had to. With a feature article deadline looming and several more in the wings, my day, my week, boasted no room for a breakdown. So, when Lilly seemed not herself Monday afternoon, I assumed she mirrored my mood.

I was wrong.

But, I didn’t know I was wrong for several more hours. Instead, I gave Lilly an as-needed xanax. Remember, she no longer gets it in addition to antidepressants twice a day every day for her fears / anxiety.

I figured with her annual wellness exam later that day … better safe than sorry.

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As part of our dog product review of the KONG Braidz Monkey, I asked for interpretations of Lilly’s body position in one of the photos. The answer appeared later in the week in Wordless Wednesday: Third Time is a Charm.

What indeed looks like an appeasement gesture (lifting one paw) is a precursor to Lilly gearing up to be her bossy, border collie self. She often throws calming signals BEFORE and AFTER being a complete snot to an ever-patient (or ever-oblivious) Ginko.

Observe.

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Many thanks to Kevin Meyers for writing an open letter to Good Morning America, called Dogs Don’t Do Guilt, after the show featured the “guilty dog” from the viral video, perpetuated dog behavior myths, and glossed over what is really happening in the video.

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No. Words.

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On the advice of our behaviorist from Colorado State’s veterinary school, Lilly has taken both chlomipramine and xanax/alprazolam twice a day, every day, since summer 2008. We didn’t just drug our canine heroine, though.

Helping Lilly better cope with the “scary” world at large also required hard-core behavior modification work spanning years. This includes the Relaxation Protocol, which provided the basis for everything we do for and with Lilly via training.

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Champion of My Heart doesn’t often take part in Wordless Wednesday because being an extrovert working at home … I have a lot of words spilling out of my head, but this particular picture from Saturday evening, I believe, tells the whole story.

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Lilly’s ear injury from a few weeks ago appears to be healing and to be infection free. That’s the good news. The crazy part? Well, it seems she may have a permanent hole.

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I tell you … it’s never a dull moment around here. Lilly, our amazing canine heroine, ate an entire knot of rope off a toy and got an unexpected ear piercing from Ginko after getting a bit too close to his activity feeder. Here are those harrowing tales.

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I tried unsuccessfully to convince Tom to write a guest post since Halloween is one of his favorite holidays, but he did take this picture of Lilly a few weeks ago. It has not been doctored in any way. She is telling Ginko to “Back Off!” Check out our dog-face pumpkins too.

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I’ve written about it before. We’re a family of nibblers around here. Lilly nibbles on me. Ginko nibbles on Lilly, and sometimes because she is just so sweet I cannot stand it … I sometimes nibble on Lilly, lightly with my lips (no teeth). It’s true.

BUT, I finally caught some of this on video and had to share because it’s just the sweetest thing, when Ginko nibbles on Lilly and she wraps her arms around his neck. (Click on that link, if you cannot see the video embed below.)

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In week 5 of the 2010 Never Shock a Puppy dog blog campaign, we offer a few ideas on how to get your dog to COME when you call. The main post started to get REALLY long, so I’m continuing one idea here. And, it is this: Playing FETCH is a great way to practice recalls every single day. We even made a little how-to video (see below).

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So, I got an offer to do a video/blog interview with a veterinarian who is serving as a spokesperson for Hartz’s new dental treats (called Crunch ‘n Clean).

Think of it like those celebrity media tours you see, where the same celeb talks to 30 or more morning TV news anchors all in one day via satellite … except this one went via social media and blogs.

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