It's A Rockstar Life

Hi Everyone, Rocky Dodge here. I guess the aches and pains come with being a Rock Star. The doctor visit went ok at the Hope Center in Vienna Virgina. (I thought it was a gooood sign that the name of the place is "Hope" - since Mati's middle name is Hope too)! First a nice person 'Laura' helped check me out. She was nice. Then, the Doctor came in. She was a nice doctor who said she had GSD's at home. And she had a unique accent - that oddly enough made me feel at ease. Hmmm, I wonder what das accent was? Well, anywho, she was a really nice Doctor and Dad liked her too. This Wed night we have a 3rd appointment with yet another specialist. We still have to keep our paws crossed.

Oh, and Thank you to everyone for their kind thoughts and posts from last week.

Dad took this picture of me a few minutes ago. He needed help painting so I was standing by - ready to serve.



Then Dad noticed something interesting. Since my hips hurt, Dad has been feeding me on the floor - I lay down and he puts the bowl between my front paws. And Mati eats right along side. But here are the results:

Here's My Dish:



And here is Mati's Dish:



Dad starting to mix in his food with "our" food. I wonder if he ever tasted "our" food? I don't have to wonder why Mati won't eat "our" food. She takes out most pieces and licks off the good stuff and leaves the rest behind. I only eat it because Dad asks me to finish eating... otherwise, I would leave some behind in the bowl too.

Then Dad went into the room he was getting ready to paint - and asked Mati to go finish eating. This is what she said to him:



She wouldn't budge. Well, except for sticking her tongue out at Dad.

HaRoo To You!

HaRoo all! Mati here! First I want to say thanks to everyone for asking how Rocky and I are doing. Especially to cute Pippa Dog! I am just Ducky and well, Rocky is the Bee's knees! He's such a good younger brother!

Yesterday, Dad was walking both Rocky and I and Dad stopped to fiddle with the plastic baggies. He dropped Rocky's lead and Rocky took a step away. Dad said: "Rocky! Heal!". And Rocky turned and healed.....to me. Of course. Who else would he heal to? Then Dad came home during the daytime while we were sound asleep. Dad walked in and found the Rockstar sleeping on the bed.... next to me. Of course. Who else would he sleep next to?

Yeah, he's alright. And Rock's feeling better too. He goes on Tuesday to see a Paw-orthopedic doctor. I have my paws crossed for him.

It's been a while since Dad has helped us with the 'puter. Dad says our reader says we are 50 posts behind! Yikes!! We have a lot of catching up to do.

Ok, here's a shot of Dad waking me up the other night. Did he really have to wake me? I was catching some zzzzzz's until I slipped off the bed. (Personally, I hate the bed, but I make Dad feel good by using it sometimes.)



Ok, off for now. Dad says we have to catch up on what everyone is doing.

Thanks again for all you thoughts and emails!

Kisses, Love Mati

One Day at a Time

Hi All. Rocky here. I want to first thank everyone for their warm thoughts regarding my ailments. Mati is doing well, and I am doing somewhat better.

I can walk down the street like I normally do every morning. But the stairs are a pain. Dad doesn’t assist me when I traverse the stairs now, but he still walks along side like The Hunchback of Notre Dame waiting for me to fall.

Getting up and laying down is much easier with all the carpeted rooms now. Sometimes I yelp when I lay on my hip. This is new, I’ve never done that before.

Dad thinks that with time, diet, and medication as necessary – that I’ll be back to my old self again. Perhaps I will be able to prepare my own meals. After all, I have the magic cold box trick all worked out.

A note about this picture. Dad was stitting at the kitchen table. He looked over and this is what he saw. I had laid down with my duckie and Mati laid down on her kitchen bed watching over me. He had to snap the pic and make me post it. I do have to admit, Mati is a good sister. (Note to Pippa – not only is she cute and smart, but she’s caring too).



On different news, we have a guest. Her name is Ceilidh (pronounced "kay-lee") which is a Celtic (Irish or Scottish I think) name for something… not sure. Anywho, Ceilidh is our sweetheart neighbor Border Collie. She’s missing her Mom and Dad. They had received some urgent news and asked if they could leave her here for a day or two. "Of course" I said!

I’m not sure they realize how much Ceilidh could help in matters like this. She really wanted to go with them and keep them safe and make them feel loved, but Dad says that sometimes you have to do what is best – and in this case, Ceilidh be our house guest. I bet she will help them feel better when they come home.

Ceilidh came over and showed us all her teeth. Apparently she is very proud at how clean they are. Now she just follows me around the house giving me kisses. Dad says I’m not allowed to kiss her back. I’m not sure why. She doesn’t kiss Mati though. Mati showed Ceilidh how she can make herself appear taller and do a Husky-Don King impersonation. It’s quite fascinating I have to admit – she almost looks like a blonde porcupine. I felt sort-of left out. I figured I better show Ceilidh and Mati some trick too. So I attempted ventriloquism with my Duckie, but that didn’t work out so well. So then I showed them how I can get a cookie by just using my brain waves – bingo. That worked. I think they enjoyed that.

Well, time for medication – which is odd in a way. Every time Dad says it’s medication time, he calls me Martini and tells me to take my pill or he’s going to get nurse Ratched.

Anywho, here is a quick pic of Ceilidh...



Isn't she just a Q-T-Girl?

Thanks again, and we will keep you updated.

XO to all - Love Rocky

Good, Bad, and the Ugly

We will start with the Bad:

Remember months back how Dad left Rocky and I to go to Cape Cod and he gave us pictures from the Cape and various places he went like the Massachusetts Maritime Academy? Remember seeing this picture?



Well, Dad said this was the Top Mast from the USS Indianapolis. It is not! A nice gentleman from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy contacted Dad and pointed out the Top Mast in the photo is from the USS Constitution! Now that's a big wooops! How could Dad do that to me? "Old Ironsides" and the Indianapolis are two way different ships from different time periods!!! Good Gosh Dad! What were you thinking?

Here's a photo of the USS Constitution:



And here's a photo of the USS Indianapolis:



Do you see the difference? Ah, yeaaaaah.

And to prove it, here is the inscription from the Mast:



Ok, enough said about the Bad.

Here is the Good

The good news is no news. You know the saying. Well, Doctor G took another Psample from me today. She said my first Psample from last week was purified water. She said that wasn't good, but didn't tell any tails (hehehe) about me either. So, Dad's trying to solve a leakage problem that I've been having...and no news yet. We will just have to wait until Monday! Keep your paws crossed!


Ok now. Here is where it gets Ugly

Rocky went with me to the see Doctor G today. She's such a nice Doctor, we give her kisses too. Rocky had X-Rays done on his rear legs and hips. He's been having an increasingly hard time walking. Doctor G didn't have good news. Rocky now has meds for his hips. I could tell, Dad was upset. I gave him kisses.

Dad takes good care of Rocky - he even came home with big sets of carpets in Rocky's big blue truck. He covered all the exposed hard wood floors in the house. Dad said that the people in the big orange depot store could tell that Dad needed carpet fast - and so he told them why he was in buying the carpets...and they took 50% off one of two rolls because, in not so many words, they felt bad for the Rockstar. Dad said he was touched by their compassion and sincerely kind thoughts.

More will follow. God Bless Rocky. Love Mati

My Middle Name

Hey all! Mati here.

Dad thought about it long and hard and he said it was a difficult job to come up with my middle name. However, after all that work, he and I agree that my middle name is Hope.

Mati Hope. Sounds kinda nice doesn't it?

H - Happy
O - lOving
P - Persistent
E - Expressive

He said it fits me well. After all, all he had to do was take my best characteristics and plan it out!

Thanks for visiting, and keep your paws crossed since Dad and I go talk with my new Doctor tomorrow. Nothing serious, but we should be sure! We'll keep you informed. Have a great Tuesday-After-Labor day!

ps. Here's a photo that Robin the Photographer took of me...



Love Mati