Taz Update

For those of you who don’t know, my dog Taz, aka Frankenweenie, was bitten by a rattlesnake last month and underwent skin graft surgery. You can read all about it in my previous post. Unfortunately Taz’s graft was unsuccessful so his recovery will just take longer. He had been sleeping in my closet instead of his kennel for the past week for some reason, but enjoyed going on short walks with my other two dogs, Lucy and Sierra.

In addition to everything else that he had already been through, he became sick with stomach issues and threw up at the end of our bed in the middle of the night. Eeeeewwwwwww I KNOW! The next morning we took him to the vet where they changed his bandage and gave him some meds to settle his stomach. Well, as we were leaving, he pooped all over the floor due to his gastrointestinal issues. Eeeewww....again. In no time flat the vet said, “hold on and let me give him something for that too.” I offered to clean up his mess, but they insisted on doing it themselves. I felt very bad for the vet techs because they have been wonderful with Taz. He is practically a celebrity since he has been up there almost every other day since he was bitten. 

On Labor Day weekend, we went to visit Cara’s parents at their ranch. When her Mom saw Taz for the first time, she exclaimed, “Wow, he looks like he has been through a war!” I think he does deserve a doggie purple heart for everything he has been through. We pampered Taz all weekend and Cara made him chicken and rice to help his stomach issues. Before long he sprung back and started to feel much better. 

Cara and Maddie riding Li'l Red in rattlesnake country 

On another note, we saw three rattlesnakes over the weekend and her Dad has seen one almost everyday in the past several weeks. There seem to be more snakes than usual this season.

The scar on his side is where they took skin for the graft.

Taz has since had all his stitches removed and is much happier now. He even puts his bitten leg down and walks on all four. Finally he is returning to his old self by playing with his sisters, barking at the neighbors, rooting under the bed covers, begging for food at the table and butt scooting across the carpet. 

To make amends with the vet techs, Cara baked a batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies that she took to them when he got his stitches taken out. Now all’s right with the world. 

See you on the trail.

P.S. This weekend I’ll be running the Flagstaff 50 Mile Trail Run. A unique, brutally tough ultramarathon across the cool high altitude pine forests of Mount Elden and the Dry Lake Hills above Flagstaff, Arizona.