09Apr13: A day in the life with Shayna
The sunset today really illuminated Shayna’s emerging copper undercoat… (had to pay special for that, wasn’t included in the original factory equipment!), so I decided to take some pics:
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June 4, 2013 update: Shayna’s emergency heart surgery
On May 29, Shayna had emergency heart surgery. She’s making a rapid recovery, and is proving to be a “miracle dog” once again, thanks to the expertise and commitment of several remarkable veterinary specialists, and a host of generous donors to her Health Fund.
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Save Shayna
Summary What: To urgently raise funds to help pay for (a) recent emergency heart surgery surgery and (b) related, ongoing medical care for Shayna, my “miracle dog.” Why: I am unable to absorb all these costs due to a chronic, partially-diasabling medical condition (fibromyalgia) that prevents me from working on a full-time basis. [...]
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Shayna and “Katie Bug”
One recent warm afternoon, Shayna and I were sitting on the patio at Panera, when along came an acquaintance of ours and her niece, Katie, who’s all of three years old. Katie (nickname: “Katie Bug”) and Shayna instantly fell in love, and is just as sweet as you can see in these pictures. She brought [...]
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14Mar13 – Flash card training, and a shout-out to an old friend
This video shows Shayna doing her flash card toy retrieval training, and dunking balls in her new talking basketball backboard. Plus, I give a shout-out to a one of the employees at the CASPCA with whom I interacted from January-April 2002, Shaye, who was so helpful and patient as I began the long search for [...]
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08Feb13 Update on Shayna: Great news!!!
It gives me great pleasure to report some really great news, to Shayna’s friends and donors to her Health Fund! On Monday, February 4, we had our long-awaited follow-up exam and ultrasound with our wonderful holistic veterinarian, Dr. Janice Raab. Aside from evaluating Shayna’s overall health, the key question was whether the tumor on her heart (hemangiosarcoma) [...]
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04Jan13: Shayna running and playing with “Little Man”
Shayna has a new boyfriend, “Little Man,” and today she had the chance to run and play with him, in absolute bliss.
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18Jan13: Drive to and walk through McIntire Park
We’ve had a pretty rough last 11 days, since Shayna developed a new medical problem, nothing serious, but terrifying nonetheless given her underlying diagnosis, which is devastating. The good news is that she is rapidly mending from her current malady, and was very amenable to going out for a ride this very cold morning, to [...]
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19Jan13 – Toy training at Albemarle High School
It was a relatively warm day today (low 50s), so we did our after-lunch toy retrieval training at Albemarle High School. I comment in the video that she’s gotta be one of the smartest females I’ve ever met – which I guess either (a) means that she’s as brilliant as I think, or (b) doesn’t [...]
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03Jan13: An amazing gift from one of Shayna’s friends
An amazing gift for Shayna, from an amazing fabric artist, that came completely out of the blue.
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19Dec12: Toy training at UVa
It was a gorgeous, unusually warm December afternoon, so I took Shayna to the UVa athletic fields to do our toy training today. She had a blast, as you can see. I am truly blessed – and I know it.
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08Dec12: A walk around UVa, and visiting with Mr. Jefferson
On this warm December day, we took another long walk around UVa, Shayna chased her ball, and we visited our “sacred ground” in front of the Rotunda, where I began my quest for renewal – and to ask for help in finding the “right” first dog for me – eleven years ago. I took this [...]
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Update: Shayna’s recovery from surgery, and medical prognosis
(Sept 9) A detailed update of all the key data concerning Shayna’s (very positive!) medical condition and outlook, with lots of pictures and videos.
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Videos of Shayna’s recovery from surgery
(Sept 5->) A chronology of short videos that show how quickly and thoroughly Shayna is healing from her 9/4 surgery, and how happy she is to be home.
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Shayna retrieving toys with flash cards
Oct. 2009: Shayna’s memorized the names of dozens of her toys, and can retrieve and put them away by name. Now, she’s learning to identify their pictures on flash cards.
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Shayna’s “frisbee skiing”
July 2002: When she was about 6 months old, out of the blue, Shayna started teaching herself to use the frisbee in a new way: to go “frisbee skiing,” as I later called it.
About the book
Can a dog “save” a person? This one did. The upcoming e-book “Saved By Shayna: Life Lessons From A Miracle Dog” tells the heartwarming story of how a remarkable rescue dog changed a first-time dog “parent’s” life in profound ways. It is also the story of how this [...] Read More >>Life with Shayna
07Apr13: Celebrating the 11th anniversary of our adoption at the CASPCA
As I describe in my upcoming book, April 7, 2002 was the happiest day of my life. For that was the day that after a long, long search, I finally found the “right” first dog for me – at the Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA (CASPCA). From 2003-2009 or so, every April 7 I brought a cake and [...]
March 2013: Our visits to the Senior Center
In February 2013, I contacted the nearby Senior Center, to express my interest in bringing Shayna for some visits, because she seems to have a real knack for putting smiles on older folks’ faces. As noted in my upcoming book, and elsewhere on this blog, I’ve seen this over and over again – she can [...]
Dog parenting
Is Kroger engaging in willful ignorance?
You be the judge. I took the following pictures on Nov. 9, 2012 in a Kroger in Charlottesville, VA. (FYI, Kroger is one of the world’s largest grocery retailers, with over $90 billion in annual revenue.) In the dog food aisle I saw “Natural Flavor Unbasted Rawhide Twists for Dogs,” produced by “Pet Pride”: [...]
Emergency Care & Poison Control Hotline
Info on the 24-7 Animal Poison Control Center Hotline and other resources to access in emergency situations.
Foods that can make dogs sick – or worse
How much do you know about which foods should never pass a dog’s lips? I was astonished at how little I knew.
About the Blog
The Blog is a potpourri of news and insights about: My life with Shayna: The good, the bad, the funny, the completely unexpected, the curious, and why I always feel like I hit the cosmic jackpot for having met Shayna, just as I was about to give up my search for the “right” first [...] Read More »Shayna's medical condition
June 4, 2013 update: Shayna’s emergency heart surgery
On May 29, Shayna had emergency heart surgery. She’s making a rapid recovery, and is proving to be a “miracle dog” once again, thanks to the expertise and commitment of several remarkable veterinary specialists, and a host of generous donors to her Health Fund.
14Apr13 update: My best birthday, ever
A continuing series of updates for donors to Shayna’s Health Fund, and our friends and family. See the last update here. Introduction Today is my birthday. According to medical science, Shayna should not be here to celebrate it with me. Yet as the pics and videos contained in this update show better than any [...]
12Mar13: “Celebrating 4 months plus 1, 2, 3, 4…”
Summary: Shayna is doing amazingly well. We are very, very fortunate, especially for those who’ve donated to Shayna’s Health Fund, which helps enable me to continue providing her with the array of medicines and supplements that, so far, are keeping her in such amazing health. Previously: See our February 8 update, which contains a detailed [...]
About Jon, Shayna’s “dad”
Hi, my name is Jon. Being Shayna’s “dad” since I adopted her in 2002 makes me feel like the luckiest guy in the world. In honor of the richness and joy that she brings to my life every day, I’m writing my first book: “Saved By Shayna: Life Lessons from a Miracle Dog.” It [...] Read More »Shayna's Tricks
March 2013: Shayna’s continuing trick training, and more
30Mar13 Toy training at Albemarle High School On this relatively warm spring day, we did our training outside, and had a ball. As you can see, Shayna looks incredibly good, is running around like a maniac, and is feeling good. The end is as sweet as any moment in my life has ever been. [...]
14Mar13 – Flash card training, and a shout-out to an old friend
This video shows Shayna doing her flash card toy retrieval training, and dunking balls in her new talking basketball backboard. Plus, I give a shout-out to a one of the employees at the CASPCA with whom I interacted from January-April 2002, Shaye, who was so helpful and patient as I began the long search for [...]
19Jan13 – Toy training at Albemarle High School
It was a relatively warm day today (low 50s), so we did our after-lunch toy retrieval training at Albemarle High School. I comment in the video that she’s gotta be one of the smartest females I’ve ever met – which I guess either (a) means that she’s as brilliant as I think, or (b) doesn’t [...]
The human-dog relationship
Austrian research: Dogs can sniff out lung cancer
As if we didn’t have quite enough reasons to be thankful for dogs: Dogs are surprisingly adept at sniffing out lung cancer, results from a pilot project in Austria published yesterday suggested, potentially offering hope for earlier, life-saving diagnosis.
Lab to get heart surgery – by human heart surgeons in France
This has got to be the luckiest dog in all of France. 9-month-old Lycka, who lives with his dad, Christian, in a Paris suburb, was diagnosed as having a serious heart abnormality, that veterinarians are not capable of solving. So Lycka is going to have his heart repaired, by human heart surgeons. Although the malady [...]
Golden Retriever “Tuesday” and a war hero help to save each other
This is one of the most heartwarming dog stories I’ve ever encountered – about a man on the edge, a “miracle” dog, and their amazing partnership: “Until Tuesday: A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him” Learn about Capt. Montalván and Tuesday at their website. Purchase his book at Amazon or at any [...]
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