FREEDOM!

This morning, Chelsie saw her beloved Dr. Kennedy for her final surgery check up. She is doing beautifully! Major, major restrictions lifted, most notable as follows:

- She can jump on and off furinture of her own free will. No more closing doors, booby trapping furniture and sleeping in a crate at night. The bedroom crate came down tonight as well.

- She is allowed to relieve out back ON HER OWN. No more standing outside in sub zero temps while waiting for her to "go" (although she is usually very fast)


Dr. Kennedy also assured me today that barring any major unforseen events, she really can't hurt her knee at this point. The thing she is most likely to do is stretch out some scar tissue in her knee that may result in her limping for a day or two, but that is about it. He assured me that a slip on the ice is not super detrimental, but did suggest I be careful. He did confirm I was somewhat paranoid, but we all knew that anyway.

So now, we continue to rehab. She still has a little muscle deficit in her injured leg, but that is to be expected. Weight holding steady at 58 lbs. He suggested we wait to start agility until the May/June time frame. The one thing that is still not the best for her right now is sudden stops and starts - which also means she cannot yet chase her ball. But I now toss her toy a few feet from her and let her go after that...this makes her quite happy, as she has been bringing me her fuzzy wubba quite a bit over the past few days.

It is hard to believe 11 weeks has passed...I still remember those first few days quite vividly, wondering if she would ever be the same. She probably won't, but darn close. She seems very happy to see her surroundings going back to normal...esp both of her toy baskets being returned to the floor. Further evidence that all things shall pass.

Hope this finds everyone staying well and warm.