I thought “Remember Ray” a good subject line because you haven’t heard much about him recently (apart from his surgery). Come to think of it, you haven’t heard much from me in general!
This Summer was flagged as the time to get a lot of outside work done, most of which involves painting. In our house style, that is a total exterior house paint job (no bricks in the construction!) and therein has been a problem. If I follow the instructions on the cans, the paint needs up to 16 hours to totally dry, and the temperature must not exceed 32C during that time.
We have had a bit of an unusual Summer, with temperatures closing 32C on a regular basis however, our main challenge has been a south facing wall and windows … with direct sunlight for most of the day. Our thermometer only reads up to 50C (122F), and it’s needle went off the scale on a regular basis. The end result was that we had to work around it as best we could. Even painting in the evening was problematic simply because of the fading light, and we still needed that 16 hours for the paint to cure properly. Mix some valuable Ray walk time, together with all the routine day to day chores, and time for painting etc. is vastly reduced. We are making progress however!
Remember Ray? This post was supposed to be about Ray!
Yesterday we walked Ray to our downtown area where he had his usual treats from the Royal Bank, Lululemon, and where he stopped and looked in at any other store that he thought had friendly staff. We even stopped for lunch at a cafe which had an outdoor patio (means Ray was welcome).
On the way home from there, Ray suddenly stopped and started licking his front left paw. I had the leash at the time so Carol quickly had a look to see what he was doing, but could find nothing of interest. Perhaps he felt it needed a wash? As soon as we tried to start walking, Ray lifted that paw off the ground and was not going anywhere. Another look for something in a pad, or between the pads revealed nothing. A massage of his leg did seem to help as he started moving again but, after a few steps, the left front paw was up in the air once more.
Our home is a 10 minute brisk walk from where we were, so Carol sat down with Ray while I walked home to get the car. I was wondering how he would feel about jumping up and in, but I had a plan!
Ray while waiting for me to return
Once I arrived back where Carol and Ray were sitting, Carol brought Ray over to “his” door, which I had just opened. When Ray looked at the open door, I threw a Greenie onto the back seat … and Ray was in!
What was the problem? We really don’t know, but it does not seem to be bothering him today.
A Dog's Life ... and mine ... and yours! 
Don’t you wish they could tell us what’s wrong? But I’m glad his paw seems better today.
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If dogs could talk? Now that is an interesting scenario to ponder! 🙂
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Poor Ray, getting old is not for the faint of heart…as I well know! But then again, as my Gram often said : “It beats the alternative!” Ray does look quite content and noble in the photo, it is so nice to see him again! Hope his paw continues to be without problems, he’s had more than his share this year. As my shadow is not here, Ray will have to be content with a kiss on his nose from me. Thank-you for the update!
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🙂
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Maybe what was bothering his foot was the same that bothers my reconstructed right foot–phantom pain.
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One just never knows and, at around 9 years old, he is getting into his senior years!
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Ray is so handsome! And thanks for the update. I hope his paw remains o.k. and that he will continue to jump for greenies.
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He is so food motivated, that the day he does not get excited for a Greenie is the day I will really worry about him! 🙂
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Good, that Ray isn’t more hurt, Colin 🙂
My Odin stepped in some glass in the Spring and got an open wound. I needed to clean and change bandage for a long while twice a day. I do my best to keep an eye, where he is walking, but small pieces of glass from thrown bottles are not always easy to see.
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That’s the problem isn’t it. So many careless people around, and you cannot possibly protect against every sharp object, or potentially dangerous scrap of food! We can only do our best. 🙂
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You are right. One thing as I appreciate, that Odin is listening to me, is about not eating anything, as I didn’t serve for him or he got in his own bowl for food. This can at least avoid poisoning.
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You are very lucky with Odin. Ray understands “Leave it!”, but he is so fast that he will have it in his mouth at “Leave ..” and swallowed by “it”!
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No, that isn’t good at all. All dogs are different and all have their challenges, Odin’s is just in another places.
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Bless him. Glad to know he’s doing OK. Maggie sometimes lifts a paw so we ask her to ‘show me’ and it could be a thorn in the pad or she just trod on a sharp stone and bruised it. I hope he’s OK, but he got his treat OK.
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Obviously it was nothing serious. 🙂
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Hope so.
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He snookered you but I forgive him. He deserved it!
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Perhaps, but he’s never done it before so we rather think that a muscle went weird on him. I get that periodically, and I limp for a while until it just works itself out! 🙂
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Or he may have poked himself just not hard enough to cause a wound. It’s nice that he had uber to take him home! 🙂
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Yes, having an on-call chauffeur is a pretty good arrangement! 🙂
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Clever dog, that Ray. And a good lesson here. I think I may try that one day, on one of the walks my wife and I take. But it won’t require a Greenie to get me to jump into the car.
So has Ray made a full recovery from his cancer surgery?
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Ray is totally back to normal, but his underside still shows evidence of his surgery. That will fur covered again in due time. 🙂
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Ahh, I missed seeing that handsome face!
Glad he is OK now, maybe it was something microscopic that worked its way out of his paw. Or he could have just decided that it was time for his royal staff to bring his limo to him, and he even got a bonus …a treat with the limo ride. 🙂
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We think that perhaps he twisted somehow and got a muscle twinge. It happens to me so why not him! 🙂
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Like owner, like dog, eh!
Though if he was just being clever in trying to pull one over on you, that would be “like owner, like dog” as well!
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If only dogs could talk! 🙂
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OH yes, if only! Where is Jaxon when you need him? 🙂
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Probably chilling out with Odessa and the gang here:
or perhaps reading all about our beloved Ray here:
or perhaps he has found himself a nice quiet place to contemplate stuff … from here:
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LOL! Could very well be! They are all great possibilities. 🙂
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Good to hear you guys are holding your own. Those major painting projects can take a lot out of a homeowner. Add in ‘life’ and well…sounds like you lived it. Hope Ray stays well and limp-free.
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Yup! My body continually reminds me that reaching, squatting and bending is not as easy as it used to be, but I have a new best friend in Advil! 🙂
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Thank goodness for Advil!
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🙂
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Suckers!
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Could be, but “err on the side of caution” seems pretty good advice to me. 🙂
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