Memorial Day Sunday

This afternoon, Caine came with to visit my aunt Joy. This was the first time he met Sid, her new 3 legged dog. They met in the backyard. Caine and Sid sniffed noses, and then Caine went straight for the pond. Sid was more interested in the bread I was tossing to the fish. This video is of Caine and Sid in the back yard 'fishing'.

Caine has never had the opportunity to play with fish and a pond like this, and it's very cute!

Vote for Caine at http://www.moderndogmagazine.com/photocontest/dogs/10/05/30/caine !

Getting Warmer

The weather over the past couple of weeks has been very warm in Chicago. We are starting to see how the weather is affecting Caine. It has been well into the 80's here, and he has been hot! I took him for a walk the other morning and when he came home, he first visited the water fountain and then went into his wading pool for a few minutes. He walks around the pool and attempts to drink water from it. I'm sure he is getting some of it. He also walks to the faucet of the hose and I turn it on for him. When he came inside, he went downstairs and laid on the cold floor. He may be crazy, but he's no idiot! He is only allowed to be outside for a few minutes during the hottest part of the day, and the air conditioning has been on for him (and us!)

Boxers are naturally more sensitive to hot weather. This, of course, works against Caine. On the other hand, he is not full boxer, so that is helping him. I came across a collar that he can wear that supposedly helps keep dogs cooler. (http://www.koolcollarstore.com/ ) You add ice to it, and as the ice melts, and the water will run down his chest. Since dogs cannot sweat, this acts as a sort of pseduo-sweating. The dogs chest is a very vascular area, so it helps to cool his body. In addition to that, he also has a cooling vest. The only issue with the cooling vest is that he keeps messing with it!

I have the summer issue of Modern Dog, and Caine is not in that one. Hopefully he will be in the fall issue!

4 Months and Counting

On May 1, it had been exactly 4 months since Caine's horrific accident. I am happy to say that for the first time this spring, he was able to play in his wading pool out back and get some well deserved sunshine. He sniffed noses with the neighbor dogs and played Tag with Roxie.

A few weeks ago we took him to the vet to be weighed and he was at 68 lbs. He looks good, so we are going to try to keep him at this weight for his own benefit. He may have lost some weight because he cannot eat table scraps anymore!

Caine was in the June issue of Dog Fancy, page 8. We are so happy that his story is being told. He will be in Modern Dog Magazine soon I was told.

My aunt has adopted a bull mastiff with three legs. He is a gentle giant (80 lbs!),and as soon as he is feeling comfortable we are going to have him and Caine meet. I know they will just love each other.

Pictures and videos to come. Thank you to everyone who has followed Caine. He is such a love! Please continue to share his story.