chad, i think we should totally do a basenji calendar!! how great would that be? for 2010.. hm…

hi all,
i just saw all these lovely msgs. thank you so much for the support! wily is doing GREAT. he goes to the park 2-3 times a wk now and is happy as ever. he's not 100% - no jumping or walking stairs, but he can really get running when he wants to chase something. he used to fishtail out when he would try to stop running - he's getting better control over that. he's still wobbly, but it's just part of his charm now i guess.

most important thing is that he's happy and surrounded by lots of love from family and friends. we have a great basenji group that meets at the park every saturday morning. it's AWESOME. we had 10 kids there yesterday. soooo great.

as for Dallas, the bad dogwalker, he has lost most of his business, but unfortunately still has a few clients. i'm really surprised by this b/c they know the story and still choose to stay with him. we never sued b/c it would've just caused us more stress and we chose to really focus all of our energy on getting wily better. so.. it is what it is. and i've made sure to get pet insurance.

all for now. thanks everyone again! wily thanks you too…

hi everyone!
here's the fun update on wily we finished phyical therapy at CARE last thur and he got a glowing review. i wanted to get him a doggie treadmill ("Jog-a-dog") but they're so expensive.. the dr. said the best exercise to do would be to walk in sand, so that's what i'm going to do with him at the park. anything to keep him off balance so that he continues to correct himself.

wily's doing great and we actually went up to the dog park for the first time in almost 4mths today! he saw some old friends (bella and tyler) and had a great time.

yesterday wily was on the news for a story on physical therapy for dogs. they were featuring CARE. here it is! our little star..

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=4280115n

hope everyone is doing well. and thanks for all of your good wishes. they worked! he's got a little ways to go now as far as his legs are concerned, but his spirit is just the same.

thanks!
rita.

hey chad,
yes, they do have insurance thru Business Insurers of the Carolinas (u can find thru PSI - pet sitters intl and i had to call Century Ins Grp for liability). shell never officially had dallas sign papers signing over the business to him so i thot she might still be insured. but their coverage has lapsed (of course) and dallas is not insured or bonded period. ergh..

hi everyone,
THANK YOU all so much for your wonderful well wishes. they continue to inspire us more than you can believe.

you will be happy to know that wily is doing well. he's like magic. i tell him everyday. i wish i knew how to post a video. with the help of CARE, he is now walking around on his own. i stopped having to use the sling about 2 wks ago! i would say he's at around 75%. he's still wobbly and falls, but he's come so far from where he was.. it's nothing short of AMAZING.

he pees on his own, no problem, but the pooping business is still problematic. he doesnt trust that he has enough strength in those hind legs to squat low and push - he thinks he's going to fall back so he ends up doing what i call the walk-and-poo. most of the time, when i see him start to poop, i just squat down and support him so he knows he wont fall back. but even that is awkward for him of course so.. it's an issue we're still working on.

he's still on the "cooling diet" - turkey, spinach, broccoli, squash, ginger, garlic, yam, tofu, brown rice, bell pepper - and then i add vitamin e and b and wellactin (chilean wild salmon oil).

we have one more wk of phys therapy and then we'll see where we go from there. at that point, it might just mean lots of home exercises and time, but i feel like he's just going to get stronger. he's magic.

on another note, the dogwalker "dallas" actually had the nerve to ask us for money back for that first day in the ER. around $1500. my husband, andrew, told him - dallas, if you'd like to go down that road, we're happy to go down it with you. does he even know that we're now around $15,000 in? dallas even had his girlfriend call my husband with a sob story saying it was actually on her credit card and that she felt that dallas had also pulled the wool over her eyes. not my problem, we said. but andrew told her, hey if you'd like to go in on a joint suit, call us. we're so trying to be buddhist about this - but i believe now it's time to spread the word and send him OUR bills for his gross negligence. i've obtained his clients' email addresses. had he just done the one thing that we had asked - to write a letter to his clients about what had happened, and if in the future if something terrible were to happen, what he would do.. oh well. goodbye dallas.

hi everyone,
first, thank you all so much for your prayers, good healing vibes, positive thoughts. it's been a rough month to say the least. here's the update on wily.. i forget what i may have told u before, but here goes..

a wk after his accident, wily had his stem cells harvested and was given the injection 2 days later. i then was able to bring him home. he wouldnt eat anything but dark meat chicken from zankou… ergh.. this led to bad poo - extremely messy and i wasnt sure if i was going to survive it. he wasnt able to pee on his own so i was expressing his bladder ~5x a day. i'm now an expert if anyone ever needs help (altho i hope u never do..)

i got wily a wheelchair from doggon wheels along with some booties for his feet b/c obviously they drag on the ground and he just started getting a lil abrasion. i also got him a diaper, but realized very quickly that he doesnt need it and forget about disposable diapers. absolutely wouldnt do it.

we started physical therapy at CARE in santa monica - it's AMAZING. we're on our 2nd week and i'm happy to say that there's already been so much improvement. he has motion in his hind legs and it looks like he's getting stronger everyday. wily's spirits are high - he's back to chasing the 2 kitties around the house (as best he can) and when we go for our walks (cuz now he can pee on his own. and yes, we use a sling/harness), he's practically running and he wants to play with the other dogs.

as far as physical therapy at CARE - we go 3x/wk. he does land exercises each of those days, underwater treadmill 2 days, and acupuncture followed by a B12 shot on one day. u can imagine that he's not enjoying the water treadmill - but it's amazing what it does - i've seen the dogs they've worked with and it's completely inspiring. wily's also on a new natural "cooling" diet - very complicated, but worth it i'm sure. very healthy foods, cooked and then add vitamin b and e, plus wellactin.

so that's the big and the small of it. i hope it informs and helps anyone else who might have to go thru this. wily, like all basenjis, has such incredible spirit. we are signed up for 8wks at CARE. wish us luck and keep sending those good healing vibes. we really appreciate them!

i just wanted to say a huge thank you to you for all of your well wishes. it means the world. we're staying as positive as we can be. it definitey goes in waves.

no change in wily yet. he's still paralyzed from the waist down and it's been nearly a week now since the accident. we should hear from vet-stem hopefully this morning about the stem cell treatment. if approved, we'll go ahead with the procedure today.

wily's resting right now at the hospital waiting. his appetite has been nil and he's on a low pain med/sedative b/c stronger pain meds make him agitated. not surprising - he is a basenji after all and wants to be in control of his situation. the hardest part is seeing him so out of sorts and tired. he shakes from the pain meds and is so weak. i took some photos but wont post them b/c honestly it's depressing, but i think it's important to have just in case.

keep sending those positive vibes to our boy. and thanks again..

hi guys,
anyone have raquel's contact info? trying to get a hold of her re: dallas and dave. with wily's accident and all, i want to make sure we're all being prudent and responsible - i.e. dave is no longer handling dogs.

@lauralopez:

God how terrible. Did he say it happened at the park this past weekend. God I hope you find out some answers and my thoughts and prayers are with you.

hi laura,
this happened on tue morning. i heard from chad who said that he heard from rhonda that they were trying to get him in the truck that morning and he ran onto riverside drive and was struck by a car. they had not put a lead on him and he got away. this is unacceptable and grossly negligent. and dallas still hasnt called us to even check on wily or tell me any of what may have really happened. i've gotten all of this information second/third-hand. unreal.

hi all,
thank you again for all of your prayers. our neurologist dr sammut is currently checking with vet-stem on stem cell therapy. she's actually worked with them before so that's a huge bonus.. keep your fingers crossed. anything to help our boy.

thanks again
rita.