Zuzu's First Full Day Home

Thursday, April 9, 2010, Zuzu's first full day home following HW treatment. First full day of a new routine for the girls. Running free in the yard, taking walks, playing, jumping on and off the bed, and any other type of activity that could increase Zuzu's heart rate are now off-limits. These two active Vizslas will now try to learn how to be calm, relaxed inside dogs. Couch potatoes, but without the couch (that, too, is off-limits). So we spend the day confined in the office resting, sleeping, and staring at the wall. Not sure who will go crazy first, them or me! But, this has to be to minimize risk to Zuzu.

Tootie, our professional sleeper, has quickly adapted to this new lifestyle. Here, she's sound asleep all stretched out along the closet doors. This lasted for a little while until she went into REM and the sound of the closet door moving startled her. Our brave little girl!
Zuzu, on the other hand, prefers the middle of the floor where she can curl up into a ball or stretch out without obstruction.
We take frequent potty breaks outside. Zuzu hasn't realized yet that these excursions are for doing her "business" and not for hunting little critters that run or fly. Her attention is quickly averted by a lizard scurrying up the wall or a fly buzzing around the grass. She's not thrilled with the idea of being on the leash outside. The other challenge is keeping Tootie calm while we are outside. Once in the yard, she's ready to play and run. So now I put her on a leash, too. They both look at me as if I've lost my mind, walking them in their own yard on a leash.
Zuzu's appetite has not diminished. She likes her chicken, brown rice, carrots, and spinach with a little kibble and yogurt. Tootie is our speed eater. She can clean a food bowl in seconds. Zuzu is more relaxed and takes her time. Of course, we have to check out Tootie's bowl to see if she missed anything in her haste to finish.
So, the hours passed on this lazy Thursday. It was a beautiful Key West spring day with temps in the high 70s, a breeze from the southeast, and plentiful sunshine. The humidity wasn't unbearable, either. I haven't confined Zuzu yet since she seems to remain calm while having the freedom to roam the house. She usually follows Tootie and me around and stays close. Here, though, she took a moment on the lanai to look down on her corner where she used to sit patiently watching the lizards through the fence.
First day of six weeks has passed...only 41 days to go.

Zuzu's Heartworm Treatment

Zuzu spent two days at Marathon Vet Hospital for her heartworm treatment. She checked in Tuesday morning and was ready to go home Wednesday afternoon. She did well with the injections. No negative or adverse reactions to the drug given to kill the adult heartworms. She was most stressed about being alone at the vet.

Below, Zuzu's sporting her purple Marathon Vet Hospital bandana. The picture from my iPhone is a bit blurry and difficult to see her expression. She was definitely ready to get out of there, and she was not particularly happy with me either.

Tootie had to inspect her sister and was curious about her shaved spots where they gave her the two injections.
Zuzu slept during the 45 minute drive home from Marathon to Sugarloaf Key. Once home, she did her business in the yard and wanted to head into the house. She ate her scrumptious dinner of brown rice, chicken, and spinach with a dash of kibble. After dinner, she had her dose of Metacam, we went back outside on lead to take care of any more business, and retired to the bedroom for a quiet evening. She rested comfortably all night in the walk-in closet, her safe zone, and did not stir until daybreak. Tootie, on the other hand, was ready to play. She was so excited to have her sister back home. At one point, she was standing in the hallway outside of the walk-in closet barking at Zuzu trying to engage her in play. Tootie's tail would not stop wagging and she could not stop bouncing around.

This morning, we had breakfast after our morning business in the yard. Here, we are resting in the office. Zuzu would love to go out and chase lizards, but that will have to wait for several weeks.
Day one of recovery...only 29 days to go!

Heartworms

We learned earlier this week that Zuzu has heartworm disease. She is scheduled for treatment on Tuesday, April 6, 2010 when she'll receive the first of two injections to kill the heartworms. She will have to spend the night at Marathon Vet Hospital for observation, and will receive the second injection Wednesday morning. She can come home that afternoon. The injections are probably the easiest part of the process; unfortuntely Zuzu cannot exercise or get excited for six weeks following the injections. The medicine slowly kills the worms living in her heart and pulmonary artery, and the worms slowly break up into the blood stream and are absorbed and passed out of her body. To avoid a clot or pulmonary thromboembolism, she has to rest for six weeks. The mellow Tootster will set a great example! She'll show her sister how to sleep and relax. It won't be easy keeping her in the house for six weeks of rest. At least the lizards will have a break from the crazy brown dog!

Hunting Lizards

How do two Vizslas from Missouri pass the time in Florida, land of no squirrels or rabbits? Well, they chase and hunt lizards, of course! These quick little creatures have grabbed Zuzu and Tootie's attention. Now if they could only sink their teeth into one. Helas, they are just took quick for Zuzu's sharp eye. The robellini palm in the yard is a veritable "Disneyland" for Zuzu and Tootie. Well, probably more for Zuzu than Tootie. The Tootster will chase lizards for a couple of seconds before finding a nice shady spot under the palm to rest and snooze.

Below, Tootie is getting into the act of chasing those little critters. Too bad their keen noses can't fit into the cracks of the rocks.
Zuzu is amazed that Tootie has devoted more than thirty seconds to the hunt! In this picture, you can see Zuzu's tail. This is unusual since it is always in constant motion. We normally just see a brown blur as it quickly wags from side to side. Happy dog!
Can you find the palm tree climbing Viszla? I'm sure this action is not programmed in their genes from Hungary!!! One must adapt to the local prey, though!
And now it's time for a rest for Tootie. We'll leave the serious hunting to Zuzu. I'm sure she'll share her catch if she happens to grab a lizard. Unlikely, but not impossible with Zuzu's persistence.
This is how we spend our Saturday afternoon on Sugarloaf Key. When's dinner?

The Sweet Life on Sugarloaf Blvd.

Zuzu and Tootie have been in Florida for six weeks. We arrived on Sugarloaf Key on Friday, February 19, 2010 and they have settled in comfortably. They enjoy the relaxed and laid back lifestyle of the Keys. Tootie usually wakes up around 6:00am and will either ask to go outside for a quick pee or will settle back into her bed. She's probably trying to get Zuzu up, but she will have none of that until daybreak. We have learned that Zuzu is afraid of the dark. Or, more specifically, afraid of the night. We are lucky to have her in the family room in the evening with us, but she usually retires just after sunset to her den in the master closet. Tootie, however, has no fear of the dark and will occasionally explore the yard with confidence during her last trip out before bed. So, in the morning, Tootie waits patiently for Zuzu to get up and make her appearance after daybreak, usually between 7:00 and 7:30am.

After a quick romp on the bed seeking free back and belly rubs, it's off to the yard to potty before breakfast. After breakfast, Zuzu and Tootie usually sleep in the office while we work, and will occasionally lie in the sun on the driveway or sidewalk along the house. We usually take them on a walk down the path to explore new smells, look for cats, and chase birds.

Sometimes, we take them for a ride in the car, especially if we have an errand to run. They will ride along to the Summerland Key Post Office, make a quick trip to the Winn-Dixie on Big Pine Key, or take a drive into Key West to visit the dog park near Higgs Beach. All you have to say is "bye-bye in the car" and they are in it and ready to go!

During the day, we usually leave the front door open so the girls can go down into the yard to sleep in the sun, hunt and chase lizards on the wall near the dock, or simply survey the land and Sugarloaf Blvd. from the front porch.

And by the afternoon, they retire to the lanai for more sunshine as they await the 5:00pm dinner bell. After dinner, it's time for another walk down the path and some romping and playing in the yard before sunset.

While the past six weeks have not been free of setbacks, challenges, and frustrations, Zuzu and Tootie are making excellent progress as they continue to gain our trust and live their new lives.

Boca Chica Dog Beach

One of the best beaches in the lower keys for dogs is on Boca Chica Key. Down the road next to the Shell filling station on Big Coppitt Key is a long stretch of beach behind the Naval Air Station. It isn't a typical Florida beach. There's a lot of seaweed and very little exposed sand, but the water is shallow and the waves are gentle. It's best to arrive early in the morning, especially during "season" as it can become rather busy with dogs running off lead and people hanging out at the beach. We choose a Sunday morning for Zuzu and Tootie's first beach experience. The weather was on the cool side, as it has been for most of the winter in the Keys, the water was blue and calm, and we had the beach to ourselves.

Not feeling completely confident that Zuzu and Tootie won't stay near if they were off lead, we kept them on flexi leads giving them 20 feet of room to explore. Zuzu quickly took the lead. She's our explorer, adventurer, and hunter. Tootie was content to bring up the rear and follow her sister's lead.
There were a lot of new smells. Some more odiferous than others. And there were some new strange sights, too. Zuzu was excited to see the shore birds...if only she could run out to get them in the water, but that would mean tromping IN the water. Zuzu's not quite ready for that, yet.
All in all, they had a great time. They met some other dogs. One was a female blue weimaraner who had boundless energy. She only stopped for a second to say hello to our girls before running off down the beach in search of hidden treasure.

White Street Pier

We are gradually exposing Zuzu and Tootie to new experiences down here in the Keys in an attempt to break the monotony of their daily routine...

Tootie wakes up around 6:00 a.m. go outside to do her business. Zuzu will not stir from the master bedroom closet until daybreak, which is has been pushed to 7:30 with daylight savings time. After taking care of business outside, Tootie runs back to her warm bed in the closet next to Zuzu and waits for daybreak, which is when Zuzu will get up to go outside. The girls will sometimes jump into bed and "attack" us with kisses and beg us for belly rubs. While outside, one of us will prepare their gourmet breakfast which consists of brown rice and carrots, chicken thigh meat or raw beef, egg, and cottage cheese. After breakfast, it's off to either the bed or the lanai for some rest before heading out to the dock for lizard patrol. Zuzu will go for a walk (we will take Tootie if we can convince her that it will be fun and that we may see a few cats!) and then they both will spend the rest of the day going from the dock to the lanai to the bed...

So one of the adventures to break the routine was to the White Street Pier in Key West. The pier, which is across from the Southernmost Dog Park, resembles a former highway bridge to nowhere, jetting out into the Atlantic. It's a great spot to watch the sunset in the winter months when the sun sets more to the east than in the summer months when its further north on the horizon. There are no crowds, no cats leaping through hoops of fire, no fire-breathing unicycle riding acrobats, no high-wire acts, just a few people, the sound of the waves and of the flights full of tourist leaving and arriving at Key West International Airport.

Zuzu and Tootie were very apprehensive during their first visit to the pier. It took some coaxing and reassuring to make it to the one of the last benches on the pier.

We sat and rested for a while on the bench to give Zuzu and Tootie an opportunity to listen to the sounds, smell the ocean, and further convince us that this was not their cup of tea!
After a five minute break, we headed back towards land stopping for a minute on the beach adjacent to the pier. There were other dogs playing in the water and chasing and retrieving tennis balls. We thought they would inspire Zuzu and Tootie, but they probably thought these dogs were the fools as they quietly observed them with paws safely planted in dry sand.

After a quick walk along the beach and down the sidewalk, we returned to the car. Tootie could not wait to hop back up onto her bed, curl up, and enjoy the sights and sounds of Key West from the comfort of her kennel on wheels. Much to her dismay, we will return to the pier in a week.