Griffin's Journey

A lot has happened for Nori in the last 2 months!  She had TTA (not TPLO) surgery on her left hind leg on May 24th, and came through like a champ!  After trying a soft, padded cone for a few days, I bought a surgical sleeve that worked amazingly well (after I figured out how to anchor it so the straps didn’t slip off her hind end!) at protecting her leg without needing a cone.  Before the surgery, Nori was very protective of her body overall, but especially wary of any touching on her legs or near her hind end.  After surgery I was able to handle her leg with gentle persuasion and about a week later she had no reaction at all to having any body part touched.

We took recovery slow and easy, although as she started feeling better and was weaned from all meds, Nori definitely wanted to walk further and longer than she was allowed.  Benebones and Himalayan Yak treats were very helpful in keeping her busy!  About 3 weeks after her surgery, Nori was my travel companion for a 3-state, 10 day road trip that gave her the opportunity to meet many new friends of the kid, dog, and even cat variety!  She was a very good girl for a grooming session in Baltimore and looked so sleek afterwards!  Nori especially loved our last stop at my sister’s house in Virginia where she had the freedom to roam in a large backyard with my 5-year old niece trailing her every step!

The best news is that Nori was adopted on Saturday!  She is living a fabulous life in Massachusetts with parents who are experienced with Airedales, lots of neighborhoods dog friends, and a mom who will be home all day.  And her new name is Faith!

I do miss having Nori in the house, but I actually find myself missing Griffin more.  The day of Nori’s surgery, I of course was hoping for everything to go well for her, but I also found myself grieving for Griffin and how his surgery was not curative like hers would be.  And now that she has been adopted, I know that she is gone but living a great life while Griffin’s absence is permanent.  Overall, I loved being Nori’s foster mom and feel like I can add “skilled canine nurse” to my resume now!  I might serve as a respite foster for about a week in July for a heartworm positive pup whose foster family has vacation plans but otherwise I’ll be taking a short break from fostering until August due to my own travel plans.

I hope everyone is having a safe and fun summer, and enjoying time with family and friends!