Back from Camp

We just picked up our dog from summer camp. Yes, Blackie goes to summer camp. My in-laws (LOVE!) have a summer home in Colorado. They spend three months a year there with their giant (100 pounds!) Golden Retriever, Scout. While they are up there, they are gone almost every day hiking, fishing or Jeeping. (Did you know "Jeep" could be used as a verb? I didn't before I married into this family.) Anyway, they were worried that Scout would be lonely (read: destructive) while they were out, so it was decided that Blackie would go with them. Apparently, two big dogs are significantly less trouble one.

Blackie had grand adventures while she was there. Dad-in-law took the dogs on two hikes per day up the mountain behind the house. There were deer, squirrels, chipmunks and the occasional bear to chase and chase them she did. The dog I sent up there was fat and happy. The dog I got back was sleek and gorgeous! She had shed over ten pounds! Oh, the guilt! My dog has lost more weight than I have! I guess this is good motivation for me to take her on daily walks instead of just letting her run around the yard.

The summer was not without mishaps, however. It seems on one walk in July, Blackie impaled herself on something pointy (we never saw what) while she was off chasing some little woodland creature. When she returned to dad-in-law, she was favoring a rear leg a little, but didn't seem to be in much pain. He (a doctor) decided that she must not be hurt much and finished their hike. It was only when they got home that they discovered that the puncture went really deep. Mom-in-law (a nurse) said she thought she could see tendons in there. Eek!

They loaded her up in the truck to drive the hour to the nearest town big enough to have a vet. He said that she had punctured the capsule surrounding the knee joint and that there was also exposed bone. Luckily, this is all fixable. Not so luckily, stitches right on the front of the knee are easy to pull out, so he had to use wire for the stitches. Frankenstitches! Adding insult to injury, Blackie is a licker and had to wear a special collar to keep her from lacerating her tongue on the metal stitches.

She is now so fully recovered that you can't even tell where she got her stitches. She is such a good dog that she never squirmed or growled or anything while we were messing with her sore place. It hardly slowed her down at all except for the day she got her stitches. Then, she was good and drunk.

We are so pleased to have her back. She's a sweetie. My most prolific shedder, but I love her none the less. Our family just isn't complete without her.