Top photo: Before I left for the trip, I made sure that I had at least one Frosty Paws (Leben and Erde's favorite treats) on hand to give them as soon as they walked in the door. During the trip, they had to settle for faux Frosty paws, which might have been anything from yogurt to ice cream, soy milk or liquid coffee creamers in those little individual containers. They were appreciative nonetheless. Here they are indulging in the real thing, seconds after I first unloaded them from the Defender.
Bottom photo: Leben's favorite sleeping position on my sofas was always to roll over on his back and stay there for hours. (Click here to see photo taken just before our trip last year.) As soon as he finished his Frosty Paws when we got home, I helped him onto the sofa and then flipped him over on his side. He went right to sleep and stayed there for hours. He can flip himself back, but he cannot roll himself into this position. The first rule of managing a paralyzed dog is to keep his and her spirit up. If you lose the dog's spirit, you will lose the dog. The second, third and fourth rules, all related to the first are: learn how to manage the dog and stick with it or improve it; let the dog do everything he or she did before, albeit with a little assistance, and don't neglect your other dog(s). Regarding the latter rule, Erde is probably thinking that she never had it so good. My goal is to make sure Leben thinks the same thing.
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