Champ Blouin

Born September 2, 2000, in The Pas, MB, hence, he doesn't shake a paw, he answers "Where were you born?" with his paw.  Originally purchased by Judy Chartrand, from Janice Steiner's litter of 12, the two boys were called Kojak and Kojo.  Unfortunately, or rather fortunately, she realized two of these monkeys were more than she bargained for, both financially and time-wise.  So she decided to get rid of Kojak, because he liked women, and Kojo liked men, hoping her husband would like her choice.  I personally do not like big dogs.  I didn't not want a shetland pony in my house or yard.  My boyfriend on the other hand, loves Dobermans and Rotties, because of their intelligence.  So he whined until he finally said that was all he wanted for Christmas.  Probably because it made my shopping easier, I gave in, and bought the little monster for him.  Firstly, the name had to go.  Because he came from the Alouette Hotel, and the Alouette sponsored the radio blip, "And that's why they call me THE CHAMP" that everyone loved, he became "Champ".  Turns out, he was a good little rugrat, and Len put a lot of effort into training him, so soon everyone loved him, including Momma.

Baby Champ, 3 months old.

When Champ was 2 and a half, he would start to arch his back, and be stiff  after a hard day of playing with his hairy cousin, a Dalmation.  We blamed his weight, 107 lbs, and lack of exercise.  We vowed to change that.  But by the spring of 2004, his weight was 100 lbs, and even a two block walk made him stiff.  Len noticed his hind quarters were atrophying.  I had a dreadful fear it was hip dysplasia, and postponed taking him to the vet.  Finally, after the garden was planted, I could not deny that he was in pain.  He would only walk on his back toenails, and was not his usual rambunctious self.  So we made our trip to the vets, even if it meant the big needle.  The original prognosis from a run around the parking lot, was that it was his knees.  A second visit, to the clinic in Dauphin, proved through x-rays, that it indeed was his knees, not his hips.  It is totally uncommon that a dog could have both knees shot at the same time.  So now the saga begins.  Here is the procedure, if you have the stomach to look at it.  I checked it out to see what we were going to encounter.  

Anterior cruciate ligament surgery

Len built a handicap ramp for our back deck while we were in Dauphin, for the July 15 first operation.

Even the first day after the operation, Champ was walking on the cut leg.  He seemed better already.  But he didn't say no to the attention, and he loves his medicine, which is served with cold cuts.  If he gets human food, he will love anything.  His little brudder, Gechik, a kitten, is happy that Champ is home, also.  He gets in a cuddle.

The bandaids were supposed to stop the licking, but he took them off pretty fast.  And by the second week, when his stitches were to come out, he already had pulled two out.  July 29 was his second operation.  His first leg was barely healing, so now he is going to have two chopped legs.  Because he loves car rides, and the car was going to be his ambulance, even though we used an SUV (Thanks Pete and Brian) to bring him home the first time, Len modified my car.  The backseat was removed, to lower it, and a piece of plywood was inserted, for a wider seat.  Good thing, because he was much worse with his second leg.  More swelling, and he wasn't walking on it at all for the first three days.

But by day 5, the little bugger was getting too energetic.  He would start jumping around as soon as I put my glasses on (I need them for driving) so I had to take him just to settle him down.  Since he is supposed to be sedentary for the first two weeks, we even decided to take him off his steroids to slow him down.  It has helped.

Today is day 10, August 8, so he is back on his medication.  I noticed he was slowing down, and perhaps it is painful.  August 15, is the first day he will be able to go for a little walk.  I don't know who will be happier, me or the dog. The best part is that it looks like happily ever after for Champ.  He will have more arthritis as time goes on, but at least he will have some quality time now.  I thank Dr. Roxane Neufeld for the excellent job she did on Champ, and the care he received at the Dauphin Clinic was excellent.  So from now on, it will just be happy pics of him, at least for a few more years.

03/28/2007

Champ has turned into the most beautiful dog.  The operations were worth every penny.  He is so smart, we can't even spell words anymore, we have to change our vocabulary regularly.  And he has endeared himself to more than just his "Mommy, Daddy and brudders".  Len and I are separated, but I have primary custody of the child.

Holding paws with Uncle Brian.  He uses his front paws like hands.

Since I am on 10.5 hour shifts, Champ gets regular doggy-day care from Brian and Len.

He loves going to see Uncle Frenchie and Auntie Marlene on Fridays.  He gets lots of dog cookies, and loving.  He tells them that he doesn't ever get either at home from Mama.   Exercises with his favorite buddy Rusty, or Chopper.

When he goes for walks, he is so happy he breakdances and is a total goof-off.  Fits right into the family!