b. November 5, 2003 (Home Again® microchip No. 452E1C5D6E). Isabelle is half Chihuahua, half mini-pinscher, and all dog. We adopted her on January 10, 2004, not knowing we would be raising a "boat dog." Although her two favorite places to be when we start the engines is under the sofa or in Dwight's lap, she has otherwise adapted well. While there will be photos of Isabelle throughout this site, we are retaining portions of her "life story" below. As Isabelle would say, "woof!" ("welcome!")...
One of her favorite toys is this tug-rope.
August 2006 saw Isabelle's latest (and hopefully last) knee surgery. Her favorite vet, Dr. Jeff Mayo, sold his practice in Lynnwood, and we followed him to his new part-time practice at the Animal Hospital of Renton. Dr. Mayo was wonderful as always, but you will not find our testimonials praising the clinic's other vets. We have since found another vet in Ballard, Dr. Melissa Walker at Sunset Hill Veterinary & Rehabilitation Center http://www.sunsethillvet.com/staff.html. So far, the two of them seem to be hitting it off, and we have found the staff helpful and the facilities welcoming.
Sisters Sarah and Isabelle....
March 2006 - Below is a photo of Isabelle with her light evening snack. She's had a fun year licking guests, keeping laps warm, and running around the marina.
She experienced a bit of a weight gain this past year. Not to worry, she's headed back to the 7-pound range. Unfortunately, she's also headed back for additional surgery on her left back leg in another attempt to correct the alignment of the joint. We'll keep you posted on her progress.
April 2005 - Isabelle is settling into her newest home at Shilshole Bay. We have also learned that she will require knee surgery soon, and we are trying to get that scheduled. She still loves company, since that means her feet won't touch the floor (until they're gone). She has progressed from socks to shoes, however. During the day when we are gone to work, she will take a shoe from inside the aft doors and pull it over in front of her space heater. So far she hasn't actually chewed on one of them. so we don't interfere.
This photo was taken on Sunday following her bilateral knee surgery to correct her luxated patallas (patellae?). The surgery was Monday April 11th and she came home on Tuesday. Both legs were shaved, and the surgery performed by making incisions down the front of both legs. After surgery, the incisions were closed with staples. We really didn't know what to expect when we picked her up (little casts, perhaps?), and were a little shocked at the way she looked. But before we even left the vet's office, the technician put Isabelle down on the floor and she walked three shaky steps. After arriving back at the boat, she promptly tried to get off the sofa and fell on the floor. No yips, no indications of pain, just a very puzzled expression, like "how did this happen?" She made it until Sunday before we had to put on the Elizabethan collar (see photo), but she managed to pull out one of the staples and, hence, generated the need to avoid further chewing. She's doing well now, and only has a few days left before the staples are removed by the vet.
January 2005 - Well, we bought the life jacket and, like everybody else I know, she doesn't really like it much. She celebrated her first birthday in November 2004, made her first airline flight to visit "Grandma Janey" in December, and spent the week with Uncle Patrick who graciously agreed to live aboard while Dwight and Gail took a cruise to Mexico. Gail is starting to realize that she doesn't take enough photographs, and is about ready to sell Dwight's camera since he uses it less than Gail does hers. As with photos of the boat, we pledge to do better and take more photos of Isabelle, too. In the meantime, she is healthy, spunky and still friendly to all. Although she's gone from carrying socks around the boat to attacking them while still on our feet. We're working on that.
September 22, 2004 -
Isabelle is understandably fed up with being boat-bound. At least we get to go to work, whereas she stays on board all day and then all night. She has acquired a taste for baby carrots, and will sit in front of the refrigerator at night until she gets one. She has graduated from socks to Gail's flip-flops. Dwight has been trying to extend her time in bed with us, hoping that we forget she's there. No luck so far, but she has developed the patience to lay quietly between our legs until we send her to bed in her own room. She will be a year old on November 5th, so we are confident she will remain below six pounds. Now it's time to buy her a life jacket.
August 16, 2004 - Just a brief update on Isabelle. She moved aboard the boat with us at the end of June, and has been slowly adjusting to life on a boat. Being vertically challenged, she had some difficulty at first with the stairs between the main deck and stateroom levels. She now takes them like a natural, but she will sometimes still try to grab our pant legs to keep us from going downstairs without carrying her. Her paper-training took a set-back as the result of numerous moves, and continues to be a struggle for all of us, as she must put up with work crew all day and us working most evenings. She has, however, claimed the hawse-holes as her own windows on the world, and we are getting over our fear of her falling overboard. At least until we're back in the water.
Isabelle joined our crew on January 10, 2004. She weighed just 2.25 pounds on her first visit to the vet only two days later. At five months of age, she is a veritable monster (we suspect she's pushing 5 pounds), she's a handful. She travels well (in the car, at least), and she still likes socks.
February 13, 2004 - Proof that she's a real dog -- her first T-bone!
This was her treat following closing the loan to refit Infinity!
Helping at bath time....
Sleeping with Dad.