Wednesday 2-1-12: I had a blast yesterday! It was warm and beautiful outside. In the afternoon my foster mom decided to wash her car. Grady decided to lay down in a warm spot on the driveway. Gretl was running around playing in the snow & eating ice. I was barking at my foster mom! As she was spraying down the car I wanted to play in the water. She eventually got the idea and turned the hose toward me. I was in HEAVEN – I love to drink/bite at the water as it comes out of the hose! I was so happy that she kept turning the hose toward me as she washed the car, barking at her if she didn’t turn it toward me often enough. I was soaking wet but I didn’t care. After she was done with the car she decided to give Gretl a bath – I still wanted to get wet. But she said I was wet enough & it was cool enough outside (50 degrees) that we had to get dried off and go back in the house. All three of us dogs took a nice nap – we were tired.
This morning I noticed that a lot of the snow was gone. I love to eat snow & ice after I go to the bathroom but my favorite pile was gone! Oh well, it was still nice out.

1-11-12 Wednesday: I have really enjoyed the mild winter so far. Don’t get me wrong – I like snow – it is great to roll in and eat! I have been taking walks everyday with my foster family to help build up my leg muscles. Yesterday I went to see the doctors and Second Chance Fund people so they could see how I have progressed. I still have a limp when I walk. But they were happy to see that I have improved. I am supposed to continue my ‘controlled’ walks (my foster family doesn’t let me run or jump on my leg – they don’t want me to stress the bone as it is healing) as my physical therapy.  Near the end of the month I get to have Radiographs taken to see how the bone is healing.

1-20-12 Friday: Nice relaxing day at my foster home. I love the snow – it is so much fun to chew on the chunks!!! I do NOT like how cold it is – my toes get cold! My foster mom wants me to go potty where Grady & Gretl go - but it is a little further from the house than I want to walk when it is this cold! Not much exciting has happened lately. They continue to have me work on walking to increase my muscles & stretches to keep me limber. I am learning to ‘Shake’ paw. My foster family has been working on ‘Down-Stay’ with me. For some reason they do not like it when I camp out under the dinning room table & put my head on their laps while they are eating! Come on that is so cute! So they have me do a ‘Down-Stay’ on the rug a couple of feet away from the table. I don’t like it, but I do it because I want to please them (and I get belly rubs when they are done eating).

Me and My Foster Siblings!

1-25-12 Wednesday: Yesterday I went to Lodi Vet. Hospital to have radiographs taken of my leg. I was such a GREAT dog – laying very still and not moving while they took the couple of radiographs!!! Everyone gave me hugs, petted me and gave me belly rubs because I was SO well behaved. The Doctors say my bones are healing – very slowly but healing. After having the radiographs taken I got to go with my foster mom on a bunch of errands – I love to ride shotgun! When I got home I played a little with Grady & Gretl, took a short walk outside. It is hard to walk on the snow with the ice layer on top. It is a lot of fun to eat the ice/snow chunks! Later on in the evening my foster mom called all three of us dogs over to her. She had the treat bucket and the nail clippers! Grady went first, I went second and Gretl was last – we all were very well behaved and all got lots of praise & more treats!

12-19-11 Monday: Nothing special happened this past week. Although they have said I need to take it a little easy – I may have pushed it a little much while playing & my leg is sore. My foster mom won’t let me run after Grady & Gretl – bummer!  They took X-Rays of my leg today. It continues to heal well – not to full strength yet.

12-21-11 Wednesday: I got to go to LVH with my foster mom today. I like to hang out by everyone. They took my picture by the Christmas Tree – I was OK with that but then they put Reindeer ears on my – humiliating but I will do what is asked.

1-2-12 Monday:  HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone! I have had a lot of fun in the last two weeks. Not as much running around as I would have wanted to do. The people from the Second Chance Fund & the Drs taking care of me told me I had to ‘cool it’ a little. I was pushing myself too much and had started to limp badly again. So I have been reduced to walking on leash – no more running & playing with Grady & Gretl and no more swimming. They said I need rest and to take it slowly. They want me to heal the right way & not to push it.

Anyway, I had a lot of fun for Christmas and New Years.

Christmas day I hung out at my foster home – pretty relaxing. Grady & Gretl got a gift from their ‘Grandpa’ that they shared with me – smoked rawhide! It was FANTASTIC. My foster mom said she was happy that I didn’t develop diarrhea.

The day after Christmas, my foster family loaded up the truck with all sorts of Christmas things and stuff for the cabin. We first went to my foster family’s Christmas party – lots of people – they all LOVED me. Then we went to cabin. They had snow at the cabin. The kids played outside and did not want me to destroy their snowfort. I also got to go down to the lake where they were Ice Fishing. My foster mom took me back to the cabin after a little bit because I got cold. Grady & Gretl were having fun running on the ice. It was cool to see a big Bald Eagle fly over & check out the fish everyone was catching. My foster mom was not happy that they forgot to bring a camera to take pictures.

After several days at the cabin we came back to my foster home. It is nice to be in a routine again.

New Years Eve was uneventful. Everyone said ‘Happy New Year’, made some noise & seemed really happy. No treats were given to any of us dogs – bummer!

Update on Wesley

11-17-11 Thursday: I went to LVH with my foster mom. She said today was the BIG day – whatever that means. I soon found out- Dr. Mayne removed my cast! I then had X-rays taken of my leg. Apparently things are healing well. I will have a splint on my leg for a few days. I have not been using my leg so I will be doing Physical Therapy to build back up my leg muscles.

11-21-11 Monday: I went to LVH for the day. They took my splint off. I have to start doing Physical Therapy – a bunch of different exercises to get me to use my leg. I get along just fine on three legs but they say since I had the surgery to fix my leg I need to use it. It is hard work, my leg is pretty weak after not using it for a month. But everyone is so nice & I will work for treats.

12-2-11 Friday: I went to LVH today & had fun working with everyone on my Physical Therapy. I was tired by the time I went home. After a short rest, my foster family took me & Grady & Gretl for a nice walk. It is nice to be able to move around more.

Me Running



Grady and me playing





12-7-11 Tuesday: The Drs and Technicians at the hospital said I am healing well, and I can start to run around more to help build up my muscles. I still have to be careful not to over extend myself. I had lots of fun playing outside in the afternoon. It is great to play with Grady & Gretl. My favorite outside toy is Gretl’s blue Jolly Ball. I love to run around with it in my mouth, toss it and shake it! My foster mom still has me do Physical Therapy several times a day (walking over bars to get me to use full range of motion on my legs & going down stairs slowly so I get used to putting weight on my repaired leg).



12-9-11 Friday: I got to go SWIMMING today! As part of my Physical Therapy, I am going to go swimming a couple of times a week – at least that is what everyone at LVH has been telling me. Today I went with my foster mom to Aunt B’s Pet Resort and Spa in DeForest for my first swimming session. Aunt B has donated pool time to the Second Chance Fund to help with my recovery (she is such a nice lady – I got to meet her when I was done swimming). At first I did not know what I was supposed to do. My foster mom threw my ball into the pool & told me to get it, but I couldn’t figure out how to. After a little coaxing, my foster mom got into the pool and guided me in. Once I was swimming everything was OK. I got to retrieve my ball & shake off to get her wet! I had LOTS of fun but am tired – swimming is a lot of work. I am getting stronger every day, I still walk with a limp and sometimes forget to use my repaired leg. The nice people at the Second Chance Fund say I will need a couple of more weeks of Physical Therapy. My foster mom says I get to spend Christmas with them because I won’t be up for adoption until after Christmas.



11-5-11 Saturday: My foster mom went to work today and left me home with the rest of the family. Dad did work outside in the yard & he took me out to enjoy the beautiful fall day. I had to stay on leash – he said so I don’t run around too much. It was very hard to watch Grady & Gretl play and not join them. Nothing else exciting for the day. Very relaxing. I do enjoy being outside & right next to people.

11-6-11 Sunday: Another nice day. My foster family left in the morning and came back later on. I got to spend time outside again with everyone. Later mom worked on the computer – I had to lie under the desk right by her feet. This is my new favorite place to be!

11-7-11 Monday: I got to go to LVH with mom today. I was so excited I jumped in the car without her helping me. I got to hang out at the front desk all morning. Before I went home I had Dr. Mayne check my leg & cast.  I have a small sore on the top of my leg where the cast rubs as I move. Dr. Mayne cleaned it up and said I should be just fine but I have to relax and not use my leg so much. Yeah, right - I am a young (4 & ½ years old) Labrador – I want to be active! My foster family tries to keep me calm & not jumping around. I went home and was very happy to see Grady & Gretl. I did relax for the rest of the afternoon.

11-8-11 Tuesday: Mom went to work today without me! Before Dad & the kids left they got my kennel ready. They sprayed something called DAP (Dog Appeasing Pheromone) in my kennel, turned on the radio and told me to be good. Apparently I have become so attached to being around people – which I love – that they are concerned that I am developing Separation Anxiety. I do bark a lot when they leave, drool & pant because I am alone.  I did bark but not as long as before. When my foster mom came home I was asleep in my kennel – she surprised me but I was very happy to see her. The rest of the day was uneventful.

11-9-11 Wednesday: I stayed home today while Mom went to work. She sprayed my kennel with the DAP again, turned on the radio, moved my kennel closer to Grady & Gretl and gave me a Peanut Butter Kong! I was so interested in the Kong that I did not notice her leave. It was a snowy, wet day & I had to have my cast covered whenever I went outside. I have gotten used to the ‘house rules’ that I have to sit before going in or out of a door. I have to sit when I come back in to get dried off. If I want to have a belly rub or be petted I have to sit or down when they say the command before they will pet me. At meal time, I have to sit while they set my food dish down & wait until they say ‘Take It’. Yeah, there are a lot of rules but I am a good dog & willing to do what they ask.

11-10-11 Thursday: Nice relaxing day at my foster home. The only thing new today was I got my teeth brushed! I watched as Grady & Gretl had their teeth brushed. They seemed to enjoy it. The toothpaste did taste pretty good. The brush didn’t hurt – almost tickled. My foster mom said we will be doing more of this teeth brushing thing because it is good for me – whatever. I’m a good dog and will do whatever she says. Later on I was chewing on one of Gretl’s toys, she didn’t like that I was chewing on it but she didn’t take it away. She just waited until I was done, grabbed it and took off for another part of the house. I am getting better on sharing (so is Gretl).

Wesley

10-31-11 Monday: I ate breakfast at the same time as the rest of the family. Then my foster mom took me to LVH to hang out for the day. I LOVE other dogs. I jumped out of the gate they had around me at the front desk to go and say "HI" to another dog. My foster mom was not happy – she told me "Off", then took my by the collar and put me back in the puppy gate. The rest of the day was uneventful. Go home, played with Grady & Gretl, had our pictures taken for Halloween – whatever that is, ate supper and relaxed the rest of the day. Mom, dad & the kids left for a while. When they came back the kids were tired and they wouldn’t let me see what they had in their pails. Oh well, it was OK by me – mom gave me a treat.

11-1-11 Tuesday: I got to stay home today with my foster mom. She did a bunch of laundry & cleaning in the house. I just hung out with Grady & Gretl. I am relaxing into this place. Grady & I have become good friends. My foster mom does let us play together as long as we don’t get to jumpy/physical. Gretl has even warmed up to me. After all I do have a wonderful personality. Later on my foster mom said it was nail trim time. I wasn’t sure what she meant but Grady & Gretl followed her (and she had treats). Grady went first, then Gretl and them my turn. She told me to lay down – which I did reluctantly – she gave me a treat – not bad, tasted pretty good. Then she gave me a belly rub – I LOVE those. While she told me what a good boy I am – of course I am – she trimmed my nails. I stayed still, wagging my tail, until she was done. Then I got lots of belly rubs, pets and MORE TREATS. After that we all got brushed – that felt good. I was a beautiful day so we stayed outside for a while and enjoyed it. When the kids got home from school they gave me some treats but they made me work for them. I had to sit or lay down to get a treat. My foster mom says I am really smart & a good boy. I knew that but I didn’t want them to know that until I felt comfortable around them. She says she wants to know what else I can do – I am going to make her work for it. After the kids went to bed my foster mom & dad vacuumed the floors – they vacuum doesn’t bother me. Then they mopped the floor. I do not like the mop, when I saw it I slinked back to the safety of my kennel & stayed there until the mop was put away. They gave me some more belly rubs before bedtime – sooo nice.

11-2-11 Wednesday: I don’t know what was going on by my foster dad got up really early, took Gretl and left. Grady & I had to stay home. My foster mom got up at a normal time, gave me breakfast & said that Grady & I would go with her to LVH today. Apparently Gretl went hunting – I heard some gunshots yesterday – I showed some interest but didn’t leave my mom’s side. Grady & I got to hang out at the front desk. We went home later in the day. I relaxed with Grady for the rest of the afternoon. I was happy to see my foster dad & Gretl when they got home from hunting. It was very wet outside when I went out for my last bathroom break for the night – my foster mom wrapped up my casted leg really well so it did not get wet – they took some time but I was patient. Not much else happened for the evening.

11-3-11 Thursday: I had a very restful night. Mom fed me breakfast and took me outside. It was cold with lots of frost on the grass. My foster mom gave Grady a bath in the garage. Gretl & I did not have to have one – YEAH. After the kids left for school my foster mom put me and Grady & Gretl in our kennels and left. I barked for her to come back for a while. She came back a while later with bags of food but she didn’t let me have any of it. I took a nap & she woke me up to put me and Gretl in our kennels. Then she left with Grady. Can you believe she took him & not me! I barked some more and then gave up & took a nap. The kids & dad came back and played with us. Then they left. Then mom came home with Grady – OH JOY! She fed us supper. She said tonight was the last dose of one of my medications – that is good news because I really did not like the taste of that pill. After our walk outside she left again! The kids & dad came back and let us out to play. I like being right next to people. When mom came home she smelled like lots of other dogs – something about training classes. I don’t think I need those because I am such a good boy. I was playing with a toy when Gretl came up to see what I was doing. I did NOT like that at all. I barked & growled at her. Dad came up and yelled at me to stop. Mom took the toy away. What a raw deal. I was just defending MY toy. Mom says that is not acceptable behavior – to guard toys – but I think they all should be mine. Oh well, bed time again.

11-4-11 Friday: Had breakfast, went outside for bathroom break and went to LVH with mom. She said I had to be in the kennel today because another dog was at the front desk. I did not like that. I barked & barked in my kennel. She came back and told me to be quiet, offered a Kong toy with Peanut butter but I just wanted to be by people that I refused to touch it. Other people also told me not to bark. Eventually I gave up barking. Mom took my out for several walk & I got to meet some new people. I enjoy that. We went home & I finally got a chance to take a nap in peace.

Meet Wesley

Wesley came to the Second Chance Fund after being hit by a car and sustaining multiple complicated fractures of his front leg. He had extensive orthopedic surgery to repair the fractures and will be staying in his foster home until he is healed. Please consider donating to the Second Chance Fund to help offset the cost of his expensive surgery so that we can continue to provide "second chances" to all of the very deserving pets that come our way.

After having my leg surgically repaired on 10-20-11. I spend several days at Lodi Veterinary Hospital being pampered. Everyone there was very nice to me. They brought me these things called ‘Treats.’  One was a rubber toy with something smelly in it – they said it was Peanut Butter & should love it – not so much. Then they gave me a hard bone thing. That was not very interesting either. I much rather have a lap to lie in or a hand petting me to any of these other ‘toys’.

10-27-2011 Thursday: I went to stay with my Foster home.  Before I left LVH I had to meet the family. They have two kids – I love kids! They also have two other Chocolate Labs. The Female, Gretl, is about my size but she did not want to play & would not let me get too close. The male, Grady, is a little bit larger than me and he is a push over. He wanted to play – but they won’t leg me play because they say it might hurt my leg – whatever it is in a cast. I went to their home and got to smell everything. My foster mom will not let me ‘mark my territory’. She is very picky about where I go to the bathroom. I was very excited with all of the new smells, pets, kids, beds, rooms, etc.. that I could not even eat. Later on I got to meet my foster dad. I wasn’t too sure about him. He was wearing a hat and had a beard. He was very nice & let me come up to him and sniff his hand. He was very patient with me. I saw how excited the other dogs & kids were to see him so I figured he wasn’t too bad. He is really nice once I got to know him. My foster mom kept trying to get me to eat – she added chicken to my food & begged me. She finally gave up. Around 10pm I finally relaxed enough to take a nap. When I woke up I decided it was time to eat – my foster mom was very happy.

10-28-11 Friday: I went to LVH with my foster mom.  Ate breakfast & hung out at my second home until early afternoon. I then went for a long car ride. I whined through part of it – the first hour and half, then gave up and fell asleep. When I woke up we were at what my foster family calls ‘the cabin’. What a great place! Lots of trees to smell (mark), squirrels, deer, etc… I could smell the water from the lake but they did not take me to see it. The inside of the cabin is small when all of us were inside – me, Grady, Gretl, my foster mom & dad, the two girls and their grandparents. I wasn’t too sure about these people at first. I had to look at them from a distance and approach them very slowly. They are very nice people, they give great belly & ear rubs.

10-29-11 Saturday: We stayed at ‘the cabin’ for most of the day. I relaxed in my kennel, spent a little time outside (it was sprinkling and they won’t let my cast get wet). Later in the day we went for a long car ride again, but I didn’t whine this time. We got back to my foster home about supper time. I am starting to like this place.

10-30-11 Sunday: My foster family got up early, we all had breakfast and then they left for a while. When they came back we all hung out together. I like to be by (or under) the dining room table during meals. I tried to play with Grady & Gretl. Grady lets me lick his mouth & ears but gets upset when I try to get on top of him. Gretl comes over and stares at me. I don’t like it when she stares. She doesn’t like it when I get rough with Grady. I hung out with the kids in the kitchen when they made cookies. The kids play the piano, I don’t mind it, sometimes I fall asleep while they play. My foster mom is happy because I am starting to eat my food when she offers it. I still don’t understand this toy & treat thing. Grady & Gretl love them. My foster mom gets upset when Grady & Gretl steal my toys from my kennel, but I don’t care for them anyway. She still try to give me ‘treats’ – chicken, summer sausage, Puperoni, popcorn – but I just don’t want them. I prefer being petted.