Seen On Walk: Vulture Loving

Walking by the National Aviary we spotted this vulture dance. I don't think she is too impressed. But who knows what goes through the mind of a vulture. At least I think they are vultures. They might be condors.

Rio Gets Treated

We took Rio to Dr. Doug last Wednesday for an acupuncture treatment. It went well until Rio shifted and stuck himself with a needle. That made him stand up. We decided to keep him standing until the rest of the needles had to come out.

Reflections

This is Paula, the crossing guard's car.

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream

I especially like the pause.

Hangers On

Some seeds get transported to new locations by hitching a ride on a passing animal. Case in point our subject carrying some seeds to places far and wide.

Botany happens.

Should we tell him?

Rio, you have some grass in your mouth, finish your snack like a good boy.

At the salad bar

Rio is truly a cow dog.Here he is eating grass.

On a Mission

Sancho Panza reporting here. Today my master, Don Rio Quixote took us on a mission. I do not know his purpose and he did not share with me his reasons.

After a brief visit with Paula, for a treat, Don Rio headed toward the sun rising. Actually we couldn't see the sun rise as it was quite cloudy, but no matter. We were on our quest. Don Rio next visited another crossing guard for another little treat before we continued our journey at a brisk pace. There was business to be done and Don Rio was not going to wait to do it.

We followed the border of the park until we met with Cedar. "Where shall we go?" I asked. East was the direction of Don Rio's nose. We crossed the big Cedar and headed towards the interior. I thought I should have some sustainance for the journey, so as we passed Amani's coffee shop, I stuck my head in the door and shouted my coffee order to the proprietress, Tara, who kindly brought me my order. Don Rio knew he couldn't go in, but was keenly interested in what was going on inside. Tara was duly sniffed.

We continued our journey south. We crossed East Ohio and headed into another interior. Just as we had to make a decision whether to go left or right, I spied some friends who were in their car getting ready for their own journey. Do Rio was eager to get going so we kept our pleasantries to a minimum.

We met up with Cedar again and turned towards the river. But the interior was beckoning Don Rio so we headed back into the interior. When we could go no further because someone had built a highway in our path we decided to head back to Cedar on a different road. This road led us to a Giant Eagle where Don Rio received some admirers who thought he looked most noble.

Our mission continued westward until we came to the post office where Abraham Lincoln once stopped. I was thinking we were heading home, but Don Rio indicated that we must head towards the river. As we made our way down to the river I spied some bunnies. Don Rio could smell them and they smelled very interesting.

We were alone as we walked along the river. It was much too early for most people to be on this promenade. No matter. Don Rio thought it smelled interesting. It was time to do more business and to pass yesterday's grass.

We passed the home of some Pirates and then some Steelers. We turned at a building where great scientists demonstrate their great learning. Up hill we marched until we came to a Beech. It was time to go east again until we came upon a park. We skirted the park until we crossed North towards Monteray.

A short time later we were home, ready for breakfast, our mission accomplished.




Trip Statistics
Elapsed time: 2 hours
Distance: about 4 miles
Poops: 2
Pees: 100's
Smells: 1,000's
Directions given: 2
Complements: 7
Coffee: 1
Bunny: 1

Nom Nom Nom Nom - Custard

We made it over to Rita's Italian Ice on the weekend a couple of times. Rio got his custard.



All gone?

Behind the Azaleas

Pretty in Pink

We had just come back from a walk to get some Rita's and check out the view by the river. Rio flopped in a cool spot in the back yard while Grant and I swept up petals from the path. He was supervising.

It's hot out

It was hot out earlier this week. It was in the high 80's. Rio wasn't too excited about the weather.

Neither was this fellow.

Photo credit: Grant

All Curled Up

After dinner snooze.

Pink Snow

Our tree in the back yard is starting to loose it's petals in the wind.

Needless to say, Rio is bringing them in on his paws. So are we, for that matter.

Grass

If you'd rather not read a posting about what comes out of the hind side of a greyhound may I suggest you head over to www.cuteoverload.com where you can read about such lovely things as silly kittens and cute puppies. You see today's post is about some of the lesser known details of greyhound ownership. Things people don't tell you about when you adopt.

If you are still here I'm guessing you don't mind reading about dog poop. If you do, it's not too late to click over to Cute Overload. I won't mind. Really.

We call Rio our cow dog because his coloring resembles a cow a bit. Big black spots on speckled white fur. It seems he has a little more in common with a cow than we thought. Rio has a taste for grass.

I'm not sure why he likes eating grass so much, but every once and a while, when we're on our walks, Rio will start pulling blades of long grass to eat. Sometimes he looks up and there's grass between his teeth. Being the nice people we are, we kindly remove it for him. It wouldn't do to have a stranger point out that there's something green hanging out of his mouth.

The past few days Rio has been experiencing another side effect of eating grass. I'll get to that in a moment. Dogs are carnivores and opportunistic eaters. Other than grass, Rio doesn't eat too much vegetable matter. He's a meat kind of dog. And bread. He likes bread. And pasta. But not fruit and veggies.

His teeth are designed to tear into meat, and make it small enough to go down his gullet. He doesn't have the grinding teeth that herbivores have. He also has a short digestive system, which doesn't do such a good job of breaking down cellulose.

The result is, well, interesting. Still not too late to go over to Cute Overload.

The past few days when Rio has been pooing he's had something hanging out of his butt. At first I thought he had eaten string. Upon closer inspection I discovered that he had undigested blades of grass hanging out of his a$$. Couldn't leave the poor fellow like that, so I had to pull them out myself. They don't tell you about this part when you are thinking about adopting.

I'm sure it must have felt strange to Rio as well. Perhaps he eats grass as a form of canine Metamucil.

Now, if you need an antidote to this charming tale I really do suggest you head over to Cute Overload.

Rio, Anekin and Friends

Photo is by guest photographer, my dad, Nicolay Timofeeff. He took this picture a few weeks ago when they were visiting.

We met up with David and Anekin Skywalker. The leashes were constantly getting tangled up as the dogs moved around. Rio always enjoys meeting up with other greyhounds.

Just a few weeks later and the trees in the background are now blooming.

April's Buena Vista Walk

It was a warm, but overcast day on Sunday which made it a perfect day to walk up Buena Vista street. This time Grant joined us. When we do the walk next month we won't be able to see much of the city because the trees will all have leaves. I guess we won't be seeing the view until the end of next fall.

Shedding Season

Rio has been loosing his winter coat for about a month now. Sometimes when we brush him we could make a sweater out of the fur that comes flying off of him. Grant is giving Rio a good brush outside with a soft rubber brush.

My black jeans can look gray at times. It's not too bad, until he brushes up against us just before we have to go out somewhere. Hopefully it will stop soon.

What are you up to?

What are you up to?
Originally uploaded by LydiaL

We just came in from our morning walk after it had begun to rain. This face was looking up at me with his wet nose.

Too cute for words.

Spring Blossoms

The trees have been going gang busters here.

Seen on our walk in West Park.



Close up.

Happy Camper

We took Rio to Camp Bow Wow on Saturday because we were going to be out of the house all day. Rio loves camp. He tugs the leash to get inside.

While I was taking care of bill paying, etc. Rio's teeth were chattering so hard I thought I was standing next to a woodpecker. He was so excited to be there.

When we picked him up the camp counselor said every time she went near him he stood right by her waiting to be petted. Sounds about right.

He was so tuckered out when we got home. He fell fast asleep after dinner and didn't move until the next morning. Grant tried to wake him up for a late evening turn out but Rio gave him such a "why are you bothering me? let me sleep" look.

Happy, tired camper.

Camp on Saturday

Our new found dog walker/neighbor is not available on Saturday when Grant & I are going to a Bible seminar. Drat. So we are dropping Rio off at Camp Bow Wow to spend the day. He loves Camp Bow Wow.

If anyone wants to keep an eye on him they have a web cam. Let us know how he's doing.

Bunny!

We've always wondered how Rio would react to seeing a bunny. I found out the other day when I was taking Rio for a walk with my nephew, Andrew. We were walking by the side of the National Aviary when we saw the little fellow.



I was amazed to watch the bunny hop closer to us. A little voice in my head said to the bunny, "Beware! Greyhounds chase bunnies at the racetrack."

Rio gave the bunny his full attention. He was interested but he didn't tug at the leash. I suspect if he were off leash he would have gone after the bunny.

So bunnies are interesting. Not as interesting as cats, but interesting none the less.

Whew!

Sorry about not posting. The past 2 weeks have been busy with family visits. First my parents visited us then my brother's family visited. Rio calmly watched people flow in and out of the house.

Now the house is quiet and I'm on load 4 of laundry. Rio has a vet visit Wednesday for acupuncture. I'll try to get something posted soon.

Rio v. Cat

Rio is listed as not cat safe by the adoption agency. We've notice he is extremely interested in them whenever we encounter them on our walks. I finally saw how interested he was on Monday when we were coming home from a morning walk.

Next to our house is a community garden that is transected by a path from one side to another. We often use it as a short cut to our back yard. As soon as we entered the garden Rio became very interested in a bush. Since people grow their vegetables in this garden I don't want him doing ANY business here.

He was staring intently at one bush. I though he had gotten a scent of something. Just as I noticed a small gray ball at the base of the bush Rio lunged at the cat. The cat attacked back as it exited and knocked Rio on his rear end in a perfect sit. Rio looked a bit startled. The cat escaped by climbing over the fence into our back yard. Rio, having regained his composure, was ready to take off after the cat and kept looking for him. Normally once I get into the back yard I let Rio off his leash, but because I wasn't sure where the cat was I kept him on leash until we got into the house.

So Rio is definitely NOT cat safe, which means we can't bring him anywhere there is a cat. Either the cat or the bush gave Rio a small cut on his neck which drew some blood. I guess it is a war wound.

Spring is blooming

This post should come with pictures but I haven't downloaded them from my camera yet. Spring is breaking out all over. Rio, Mom and Dad and I went for a neighborhood walk today and saw the following blooming:

forsythia, hyacinth, daffodils, tulips, magnolia, cherry trees, other flowering trees. The grass is emerald green.

We are starting to have daffodils in the back yard. Rio is doing his best to anoint them. Needless to say I won't be bringing any into the house in case they have that certain odor.

Sometimes I wish I was a dog

This is a late post because most of the day I was glued to CNN watching the tragedy of the shooting in my home town of Binghamton, NY. It is hard not to be stressed out by the tragic events.

Rio is blissfully unaware of anything other than his immediate world. Sometimes I wish I were as blissful.

Heartworm & Lyme Disease Test Negative

Since the specialist visit I've been wondering if Rio had been bitten by ticks which may be causing his limp. I put two calls into the specialist but he didn't return them. So I called my vet's office. My vet wasn't in but another vet talked with me. She didn't think his limp was caused by Lyme Disease but said I could come in to get him tested.

I went in this morning and had the test results within 10 minutes. Fortunately they came back negative.

Rio was full of pep this morning. I gave him a 2nd dose of the gabapentin last night and will repeat that tonight. Maybe all he needs is more pain killers.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Rio really really really doesn't like to go out in the rain. It was raining this morning so I put Rio's coat on him and sent him outside with the instructions "Hurry up" which means do your business.

Rio took two steps into the back yard, paused, spun around and headed back into the house. No way was he going out into the rain. He'd rather hold it than get wet.

Finally at the end of the morning the rain let up and we went for a walk. Wouldn't you know it started to rain again? Poor Rio.

Specialist Vet Visit

Rio saw Dr. Jonathan Anderson, a veterinary surgeon, on Monday afternoon. Dr. Anderson is the vet who diagnosed Rio's lumbar sacral disease back when he was in foster care. It was hard watching Dr. A poke Rio to get him to yelp in order to understand where it hurt. Rio pretty much yelped on each muscle group, which unfortunately gave Dr. A no information on what is really the problem.

He decided to take Rio back for a consult with another surgeon (the owner of the practice) and a neurological expert. Sadly they couldn't figure out why Rio is limping. Dr. A said we could run tests but it would be a "fishing" expedition, looking for anything that might be an issue. He really didn't want to do that, and neither did I want to pay for any unnecessary tests.

We had Rio walk up and down the parking lot to see if he would limp. He did mildly off and on.

At the end the recommendation is to take him off of his gabapentin and see what happens. Dr. A. said he would consult with surgeons from around the country to see if anyone else had any ideas.

For a treat I took Rio to the off leash park by Observatory Hill. He was limping like a champ. Why couldn't he do it at the vet's office? It's like the noise the car makes until the mechanic takes a look at it, then it hums along.

By the way, the vets office is brand new and looks better than my own doctor's office. Rio wanted to visit with everyone and go into every door. He was very tolerant of all of the poking and prodding. At one point he looked at me as if to say "make it stop, please" but we had to continue to see if we could figure this out. My heart was breaking.

So no news, good or bad.

Extreem Shepherding

I'm not sure how much of this is real, but it is a fun video to watch.



Rio sees his specialist vet this afternoon. Will report after we get home.

Boys Bonding Day or How I Abondoned My Family

Grant and Rio had to fend for themselves on Saturday as I had been asked to help out at the renovation of the Assembly Hall in Coraopolis. What that meant for me is I had to be on the road by 6:15 a.m. and I didn't get home until about 6 p.m. What that meant for Grant and Rio is they had to hang with each other.

Grant said all went well as I knew it would. One funny thing happened when I came home. Grant saw me pull up in my car so he sent Rio out to the back yard so I would "magically" appear when Rio came back into the house. I came in and Grant headed out the front to check on the mailbox which is located just below our front porch.

I let Rio in and was a bit disappointed he wasn't too excited to see me. He just got inside when he heard a noise at the front door. He ran to the front door and saw Grant coming back into the house. Then the penny dropped. He figured out it was me who let him back in the house. So he spun around and raced back to me, jumping on me and giving my face a thorough wash. I was also inspected from head to toe. I'm sure I smelled interesting with all of the sawdust I had on me.

Silly puppy.

Just a side note, for some odd reason I can't comment on my own blog. I am reading all of your comments, so keep them coming.

Warhol Rio

Made with the Warholizer.

Foggy Morning Walk

We had thick fog this morning on our walk.

Lake Elizabeth



Still trees



Dogs on a knoll



Pearl fetches a ball

Sphinxing

Greyhounds have a way of lying down so that their butts don't touch the ground. The pose is the same pose that Egypt's famous Sphinx is doing.

Rio doesn't sphinx too much. The only time we see it is when he is playing with his little green monster. I managed to catch Rio sphinxing this afternoon. We are having rain all day so Rio burned off a bit of energy attacking the monster. Afterward he retired to his bed. In a sphinx position.



This is what it looks like from above.



The pose didn't last long. It probably isn't very comfortable.

From the Archives: Dirty Boy

From the summer of 2008 - Rio in the strawberry patch.

Grant & Rio On the Trail

Walking the Trail

Taking the Teepee Trail at Settler's Cabin Park.

Geocaching at Settler's Cabin Park

It was such a lovely afternoon Sunday afternoon that we decided to take Rio someplace we've never been before. We have a book about places to take your dog in Pittsburgh. Grant noticed an entry for Settlers Cabin Park, which is near Bayer where he used to work.

We decided to see if there were any geocaches in the area. We picked one that looked like it was doable. The cache is off a trail loop which is connected to other loops. We missed the right loop and ended up walking a two mile trail just for the pleasure of walking. We lost the blaze markers near the end and decided to go up to the road to walk back to the car.

After a water and snack break we figured out where we went wrong and decided to see if we could get on the correct loop. We managed to find the cache. Grant bushwacked down a steep hill to find it. We tried to continue along the loop but it suddenly went steeply down hill. We decided we would be better off going back from where we came.

All in all we walked about three hours. I think we probably did 6 to 7 miles today. Rio flaked out after we got home. Grant and I took some pain relievers. Rio had a bit of his limp during our outing but he was fine for the duration of the walk.

Rio's in da 'hood

Styling by Lydia. Picture by Grant.

A friend (Waheeda) says he's even wearing some bling.

Yo

He heaved the biggest sigh when we stopped torturing him.

If a Tree Falls in the Forest

Rio and I decided to talk a walk on a lovely Thursday afternoon. After doing half of the loop we decided to go off road on the climb back up the hill. We took the Bob Harvey Trail which undulates its way along the side of the hill, just below the main road.

Part of the trail had been washed out but the park maintenance staff set up a few little bridges for us to cross. All was well until we met up with this.



Rio couldn't crawl under it. He wouldn't go over it, although at one point I picked up his front end and put his paws on top. There was no way to get around the lower side because of the steep drop off. Rio refused to go off trail. We had no choice but to go back from where we came.

About 1/3 of the way back we came to a short but steep trail that led to the main road. That joined up with Old Barn Road which took us to the park office. We went in and reported the fallen tree. We also managed to score a map of the park.

This is definitely not a rugged dog. He's more aristocratic than that. His idea of camping is a bed and breakfast.

Inconsistent

You never know from moment to moment how Rio will feel. On Monday and Tuesday mornings he was droopy. On Wednesday morning he was pulling me down the street. Today he's back to being droopy and shortened his walk himself.

It makes planning difficult.

Speaking of planning, Rio has an appointment with the surgical specialist he saw when he was in foster care on Monday, March 30. I was hoping we could see him sooner but that was the first available appointment.

The practice is really really modern with high end diagnostic equipment. You can see for yourself here.

Self Portrait

I took this photo on our walk last Saturday. We are reflected in the window of a river boat.

Next: See a Specialist

On Monday I took Rio's x-rays to Dr. Butler's office. While we were there we got a urine sample to see if he had a bladder infection. After I retrieved said specimen Rio must have twisted his left leg. He was crying for about 30 seconds. I felt so helpless. I called into the office and a vet tech came out to see if she could see why Rio was crying.

We didn't see anything. Another vet gave Rio a quick once over. By that point he was his self again.

Today (Tuesday) Rio was low energy again. Dr. Butler called to say she didn't see anything in the x-rays either. She recommends Rio see a specialist so she is going to write up a referral to the practice where Rio had a MRI when he was in foster care. She said that if it were a sprain he should have/or be on the way to mending. She's suggesting an orthopedic specialist with a possible neuro consult.

Sigh.

When Walks and Technology Converge

Grant got a Blackberry from work. He's able to check his e-mail from anywhere now. Like on walks with Rio.



It was a warm afternoon so we took Rio to Riverview Park on Sunday. I spotted a few interesting things on our walk.

Like this mostly decomposed deer carcass.



It is cool to see how Jehovah recycles materials.

Also spotted on our walk were some early wildflowers like this one nestled in some rocks.


It is the size of a nickle.

Rio was mostly low energy on Sunday but he did the whole Riverview Park loop which is about 2.5 miles. We walked it in about an hour.

Afterwards Rio and I took a nap. What else?

Long Walk on Saturday

Rio seemed to be feeling better Saturday morning. So much so that we decided to walk to Heinz Field and PNC Park by the river.



Our walks at lunch time and at dinner time were much slower. He's still excited to get out the door, but once out he doesn't have much energy.

One day at a time, I guess.

Still No Answers

Rio saw Dr. Doug yesterday for his acupuncture and chiropractic treatment. Dr. Doug re x-rayed his shoulder. Still nothing appeared on the film, so my guess is that his problem is a soft tissue problem.

Dr. Doug readjusted the acupuncture sites to accommodate the shoulder. Rio reacted on the left side of his head behind his left ear. He also reacted when Dr. Doug worked on his neck. We decided to x-ray his neck to see if there was a herniated disc or anything that might be causing the pain.



Nothing appeared on the second film. We have them to take to Dr. Butler to see if she can think of what is causing Rio pain.

After our appointment we went for a walk near the office. We met some sisters in the ministry and had a nice chat.


Rio flaked out on the way home and spent most of the day sleeping. We took him for a walk after dinner. We stopped by Rita's Italian Ice and Rio got his treat too.



Nom nom nom



That was mighty fine custard.



Not a bad day, all in all.

Vet Visits for the Limp

Rio's limp has gotten worse this past week. By Monday he was lifting his front left paw quite a bit. His energy is down and our walks are getting shorter and shorter. He's also not been eating very well. He's only eating in the evenings now. He can stand to loose some weight, so this is not too bad.

Here's a video of him limping at the dog park on Monday.






We went to see his vet from when he was with the adoption group, Dr. Carol Butler of Tender Touch. She was the vet who got him off the Prednizone and into see a specialist who diagnosed the lumbar sacral disease. She suggested we do a thyroid test as well as a metabolic panel. The thyroid test was sent to Michigan State University as it is very thorough. Greyhounds have unique thyroid ranges and are often mis-diagnosed with thyroid problems. The Michigan State test looks at a variety of indicators for a more accurate diagnosis. I spoke with Dr. Butler and his platelet and metabolic results look within normal range.

Rio's back right leg has swollen up from the veinipuncture. The vet thinks it is because she had him walking right after drawing blood. We're to keep an eye on it to make sure his leg doesn't look more swollen.

We see Dr. Doug today for a scheduled acupuncture and chiropractic treatment. We are going to have him re-x-ray the right shoulder to see if we can see anything new. We decided to have him do it because his first x-ray was done there.

It's pretty frustrating to see Rio in pain and not know what to do about it. The Previcox and the homeopathic remedy don't seem to be helping. Hopefully we can get a better picture after today's visit.

In the mean time Rio has been pretty quiet. He still loves going for walks even those are quite painful for him. He gets distracted from the pain by all of the smells he finds.

Picnic Lunch

Grant has been working hard on getting his product ready for launch. So on Friday, seeing as it was such a lovely day, Rio and I asked him to join us for a walk.

We went to the Carnegie Science Center, where I got Grant some chicken fingers and fries and I got a calzone.

Rio asked for some politely.



Grant said, "of course, since you asked so nicely."



Mmm that was good.



Let's keep walking.

The Road Less Traveled

Saturday was a really really lovely day that got up to 71 degrees. I took Rio up to Riverview Park hoping we'd meet up with Daphne, Casey and Indigo. Sadly they weren't there. Rio didn't seem to be too interested in going into the park so we decided to take the road less traveled.







We took this path down to the main road and then did the loop around the park. First we went down hill and then we went back up.

When we got home Rio was panting quite a bit. Then he had a nap. And so did I.

Bath Day

Since the weather had gotten so lovely I decided it was time to give Rio a bath. Rio hates to get wet so I knew this would not be a good time.

Here Rio is getting lathered up.



He so stoically submits to the torture we bring upon him. Grant gave him a treat while I was doing this and he just held it in his lips like a cigarette hanging. Poor fellow.

Getting a scrub.



We washed him in the back yard using a bucket of warm soapy water (dog shampoo) and then a rinse with a few more buckets of water.

Here's the wet, disgusted, giving me the stink eye Rio, nice and clean.



After he dried he was so soft. He's too much fun to pet, now.

And he smells good.