Happy Paws

Hi all,

These past few weeks have been so busy, I haven't had time to post anything, but I've got lots of updates for you!

I am back to work now full time, which means we were able to find someone to help us with Harrison during the day a few times a week. Her name is Martyne and she runs Happy Paws Walking Services. (http://www.happypawswalking.ca) She is truly a god-send for us and for H.B.

Here's the story: At first we had a really hard time trying to find someone to help us because Harrison is so heavy to lift and he was still healing from his two surgeries. I even called the vet and asked if they could help us out by having a vet tech agree to come a few afternoons a week, but they were not able to. I researched some other dog walkers in my area, trying to find some that dealt with dogs with special needs. I found only two and sent inquiries. The first one responded that they didn't deal with disabled dogs. The second one , to my surprise, responded and said she would like to help us if she could!

She responded, she says, because she has a soft spot for Beagles. Hers is named Snoopy. It turns out the Harrison and Snoopy both came from the same breeder, Maple Oaks, so they are kind of related. We agreed to meet and while I was still off work, she came over a couple of times to meet Harrison and practice expressing his bladder. (That's really important because he can't do it himself and there's a real danger of kidney infection which could lead to kidney disease and kidney failure.) I was most impressed with her technique the first time and she told me she had found a video online. It's very good, if anyone is interested:
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhXQdKzAdN0&feature=related) At first, I had a really hard time doing this, but as the lady says in the video 'It's a practice thing,' and now I've got it down pat and I don't worry about this anymore.

We can't tell you how lucky we are to have found Martyne!