animal

Our trip to Asheville took place over the Memorial Day weekend. We decided to hit the road as early as possible Friday afternoon knowing that it was going to take us over five hours to arrive at our destination. The goal was to hit the road between 1 and 1:30pm. Naturally we didn’t hit the road until closer to 2:30pm.

The weather for the drive was perfect and we weren’t anticipating any traffic for our 400 mile journey. Of course that didn’t work out either and we ended up in stop and go traffic for about an hour. We made a few pit stops for food and gas and so Oshie could do his business and stretch his legs. He loves being in the car but he gets a little restless on longer trips. I did the driving so I didn’t take many photos but I did manage to get a few at one of the rest areas we pulled into. There was a nice open field with some cows in it and the sun was beginning to set. It made for the perfect backdrop. Admittedly my sunset photos still need a little practice, or I just need to work on editing the bright/blown-out areas a little more. I think they came out nice though.

road trip-2 — Oshie was feeling patriotic all weekend.

The road trip ended with us reaching our destination just before 10:00pm. We stayed at the Asheville Green Cottage. It was an awesome little B&B that I found on Airbnb. We knew we had to stay there when we saw that the owners had two Golden Retrievers and one had just had a litter of puppies. Unfortunately the last leg of the trip was pretty dark so we missed some of the mountain views we would have seen during better light. As soon as we got in we crashed in order to get plenty of rest for the next day.

I am still trying to decide what the best method for posting all the pictures from the trip will be. I think I will stick with this format to prevent myself from posting too many at once and causing loading issues with the page. It will also give me an opportunity to write a little in each post about the photos. I hope you enjoy.

Photos were taken with my Canon 7d Mk2 and a rented Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC lens rented from LensRentals.com.

Oshie has managed to injure himself. While Nancy was in Norway I noticed that Oshie had a bit of a limp and was hesitant to jump up on the couch. A week or two later when Nancy was back we went to the Vet for a 6 month checkup and voiced our concern about his leg. The Doctor thoroughly checked Oshie’s legs and joints and didn’t find an issue. Also at this point in time he didn’t appear to be limping at all.

Fast forward about a month and the limp returned. Two Fridays ago ( I know I have been lazy with posting again) we took Oshie for an evening walk. It was about two miles in length and at a very reasonable pace. During the walk Oshie appeared to be fine and was acting like his usual self. Later that evening we were all in the living room watching a movie and relaxing and Oshie got up and let out a little whimper. He promptly laid back down and we didn’t think anything of it.

When it was time for bed, Oshie was a bit slow going up the stairs and he didn’t want to jump up on the bed. When he finally did get up there he was whimpering again. I decided I should check his leg. I began feeling around his back right leg and immediately knew he was in some pain because he turned and nipped at my hand which he never does. I left him alone and decided that we would see how he was doing in the morning. When morning came the results of the feel test were the same and we decided we needed to visit the Vet.

oshie vet — Oshie in the Examination room.

We arrived at the Vet hoping to be seen as a walk in appointment but there were five people already there for walk-ins and we were told to come back around 2:00pm. So we headed home and relaxed for a few hours. The second trip was successful and Oshie was seen. The Doctor examined his back right leg and Oshie was clearly in some pain. He even cried a few times while she felt around his leg. The Vet thought that he might have an issue with his ACL but nothing that would require surgery at this point (possible slight tear is what she said). She also suggested X-rays which we quickly said yes to.

Oshie was left at the office and we went to waste some time while they took the X-rays . About 2 hours later we received the call that he was ready to be picked up and that the X-rays didn’t show any damage to the knee-joint or ACL but the doctor wanted a second opinion from an orthopedic specialist because she thought she saw something with the meniscus. We took Oshie home with some pain meds and a prescription for some rest and relaxation. We gave him the meds throughout the week and he appeared to be doing much better and I would even say back to his old self.

This past Sunday we went for a follow-up appointment. We saw a different doctor this time around and she re-examined his leg. This time he didn’t appear to be in any pain and she said she didn’t feel anything that concerned her. She also checked the X-rays again and said that she did not see any problems there either. Her best guess was that it was a soft tissue injury like a pulled muscle or strained/tweaked tendon. This is what I was thinking and hoping it was from the beginning based on how he reacted when I touched the muscle on that leg.

We left the office with the instructions to let him rest some more and only give him pain meds if he needs them. We are going to Asheville North Carolina for the Memorial day weekend to visit the Biltmore Estate and enjoy the mountains and would have been sad if Oshie could not experience it with us. Thankfully the Doctor said he could go but we would have to do short easy hikes and keep an eye on his leg. We are so happy that it wasn’t a serious injury and are looking forward to a fun long weekend.

Keep any eye on your furry friends. They can’t speak to us and tell us what hurts. It is up to us tonotice if something is not right. Our responsibility as pet parents to make sure our animals taken care of. If you think your pet is sick or hurt don’t hesitate to take them to the Vet!

A few more pictures from visits to the Doc.