Gus (Gussy, Gussy, Poochie)

My post from Wordless Wednesday made me want to write all kinds of words about mine and B’s baby Gus! This is a long post! Gus is our baby even though he is almost 7 years old! Crazy how time flies! I took on a mortgage and a puppy when I was the ripe age of 18! B and I still live in said town house and we love everything about it!! :)

In the pic from Weds Gus is wearing normal kid goggles! I think they are “shark” goggles. He really didn’t mind having them on, at least for the few seconds it took to get the picture that is, haha! He does hate water and swimming! If I say bath time, he takes of for his kennel and hides. Once I get near him and ask him if he’s ready for his bath he cries. I therefore do NOT like giving him baths; no one likes to see their baby sad! He has a fabulous groomer who grooms the dogs in her basement, she says Gus cries the entire time he is getting groomed, big cry baby he is! She has a huge beautiful house and she lets the dogs roam around while they wait their turn or while they wait to get picked up. If I had that house I wouldn’t let a bunch of random dogs run loose, ya never know when a dog might lift its leg!

Gus hasn’t had the easiest life but I do think he is one of the most spoiled pups I know (he might or might not have 6 toy bins)! Gus broke his 2 front legs when he was 2 years old; it was one of the saddest days of my life! I came home from work to find my poor little angel sitting on his butt with his front paws hanging down. Broke my heart! I called my dad and he came over right away and we brought Gus to the vet only to have confirmed what we already dreaded. He had 2 broken legs and the only option was surgery at the University of Minnesota Pet Hospital that night. I was only 20 at the time so I didn’t have $5000 sitting around to pay for the surgery that they require you to pay upfront. My parents saved my baby Gus for me! They love him just as much as I do! I should mention they have Gus’ brother, Boo (we got them from the same litter of pups).

To this day I have no idea how Gus broke his legs. I had a roommate at the time who was not working and was home throughout that day and she said she never saw him hurt or get hurt which will never make sense to me since the doctor told me his legs had probably been broken for hours before I got home.

After getting the x-rays at a local vet we were sent to the U of M. Gus had his surgery right away that night at the U of M and I was able to go pick him up late the next day. He had 2 casts on his front paws. He was ordered a diet of rice and hamburger and as little of activity as possible. I spent the next 5 weeks sitting with him every night, we sat on the living room floor and kept each other company, I had to carry him down the stairs to go outside, I slept on my bedroom floor with him because he couldn’t get on and off the bed.

Once the casts were off, I could see all the stitches in his little legs. He was still ordered to little or no activity and he had to have metal plates and bolts in the bones. I remember him being so well behaved and calm after the big ordeal. Gus was not a kenneled puppy/dog as I never saw it necessary; he liked to roam and would whine a lot in his kennel. I thought I was doing the right thing and I never imagined he’d hurt himself even though he was a rambunctious puppy and I did find him on the kitchen table more than once.

After we were home from the hospital and from that day on, he had no choice but to be kenneled. Ever since he hasn’t minded his kennel at all! He knows when I leave for work in the morning and he just runs into his kennel without being told. He is very sensitive about his legs to do this day. If he is lying by me or B and we try to pet his front legs he usually moves them. He is a strong pup though and he can jump, run and do everything a normal dog does.

Onto the second scare of Gussy’s life….shortly after I met B I found out Gus had a kidney stone. It was the size of the dime, yellow and spikey and poking his insides :( He had to go down for surgery almost immediately to have it removed. He was trooper and came out just fine, was ordered to have little activity for a few weeks and then he was good to go! He also cost me almost my entire tax return but he’s worth every penny!!!

I could go on and on about Gus since he’s our baby and has a big personality and he is always up to something. I’m sure this won’t be my last post on G! If anyone has questions about him, ask away ;)

I will post a few pictures tomorrow of Gus, his broken legs, his brother.
I didn’t read this over it and I’m not a creative writer, the story probably doesn’t even flow well! Ha! Told ya it was a L.O.N.G. post!