The

Undeniable

Ruth

®

…and the Ruth shall set you free!

  • Because I Said I Would

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    Ruth Carter

    Rosie's Dog Beach
    Rosie’s Dog Beach
    Happy Puppy by the Sea
    Happy Puppy

    Earlier this year, Rosie’s lost an eye to glaucoma. When the vet told me that it was only a matter of time before she went completely blind, I decided to make sure her life is awesome. I’ve always wanted to take Rosie to the beach and see how she reacts to the crashing waves. Now that the weather is getting cooler, I started looking for off-leash dog beaches in southern California. When I discovered Rosie’s Dog Beach in Long Beach, I took that as a sign and made a reservation at a dog-friendly hotel to celebrate her upcoming birthday. (My baby girl is turning 8 this month.)

    Rosie and I spent two days at Rosie’s Dog Beach and she loved it. She loved laying on the sand and walking up to strangers to request pets and belly rubs. She wasn’t too keen on the water at first. I think the crashing of the waves scared her a bit, and there’s was so way she was going to go swimming like some of the other dogs. By the end of the second day, she was happily running along the water’s edge with my friends’ dog and didn’t seem too upset when incoming waves brushed her paws and undercarriage.

    Long Beach is a remarkably dog-friendly city. Several businesses on 2nd Street had water bowls next to their doors and many restaurants had dog-friendly patios. One restaurant, The Attic, even had a dog menu so Rosie enjoyed some sliced sausage while I had a veggie burger. We also stopped by Pussy and Pooch where Rosie was treated to a birthday paw bowl of duck with pumpkin sauce and chia seeds.

    Sleepy Puppy
    Sleepy Puppy

    The main downside of Long Beach is its lack of parking. Rosie was so tired from playing at the beach that I put her in her utility wagon and pulled her the three blocks to Eggs Etc. from our parking spot because she seemed too tired to walk. (She had the spring back in her step after downing two bowls of water, resting at my feet, and eating the bacon from my combo meal.)

    This was a wonderful trip to give Rosie. Every night when we got back to our room, she fell into her bed for a long deep sleep after the day’s excitement. (Yes, I brought her big plushy bed with us. I swear traveling with a dog requires almost as much stuff as traveling with a toddler.) It was so cute to watch her crash out after having so many adventures.

  • Rosie’s Schedule is My Schedule

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    Ruth Carter

    Rosie my Beautiful Pirate Pup
    Rosie my Beautiful Pirate Pup

    For those of you who haven’t been following recent events, my basset hound Rosie was recently diagnosed with glaucoma in her right eye. Apparently it’s a common problem for this breed, particularly female bassets around age 6 or 7. (Rosie turned 7 in October.) When we couldn’t get the pressure in that eye to go down, we were forced to surgically remove it. She had already gone permanently blind in that eye so the surgery eliminated the pain caused by the glaucoma.

    The surgery was a success and now I am the proud owner of a “Pirate Pup” as I like to call her. She’s been doing great since the stitches came out last week. Now that we’ve taken care of her right eye, our focus has shifted to making sure she maintains the vision in her left eye as long as possible.

    Rosie is currently on 4 different eye drops. Two of them are available as a combination drug so we will be dropping down to 3 medications soon. Three of Rosie’s medications have to be administered every 8 hours. The other medication is a little more complicated – she has to get it every 12 hours, the second dose of the day has to be given by 6pm (according to her doctor glaucoma attacks are most likely to hit between 6pm and 10pm), and it has to be stored in the refrigerator. She also has an emergency glycerin kit. If she ever goes completely blind, I have to mix 50mL of glycerin with milk and pour it down her throat.

    Footnote for my fellow science geeks: Potassium permanganate (KMnO4) + Gylcerin = Spontaneous purple flames. Neat Stuff!

    So now Rosie’s schedule is my schedule. It’s pretty easy to stick to her medication schedule on the day she comes to work with me but I have obligations where she can’t come with me so for now she has morning medications at 6am and 8am before I head off to work, and then she gets medications at 4pm, by 6pm, and before I go to bed. If I ever want to go to bed early, I’ll have to set an alarm to wake me up at midnight for her last doses.

    Did I mention each eye drop has to be given at least five minutes apart? Otherwise each medication won’t be absorbed properly. Lucky for me, Rosie is much better about getting eye drops than taking pills.

    From what I can tell, this is going to be our schedule for the rest of her life or until better medication comes out or she loses the vision in her left eye. It’s an adjustment but I’m ok with that. I think we’re all on board with the program of making sure she can see for as long as possible.

  • Ruth & Rosie – 2 Years and Counting

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    Ruth Carter

    Rosie and I have officially been together for two years. In some ways it feels like longer and in some ways it feels like I just got her from the Arizona Basset Hound Rescue.

    Rosie's First Thanksgiving - November 2013
    Rosie’s First Thanksgiving – November 2013

    My life is completely changed because of her. If you want to get to know your neighbors, get a dog and take a walk every day. Rosie and I have walked over 1,000 miles together and I know way more people in my neighborhood as a result. We only skip a day if she’s sick, the weather’s really bad, or she’s at the kennel. I think it’s so cute that some people only know me as “Rosie’s Mom.”

    We had a lot of adventures this last year. One that wasn’t so fun was valley fever. I was tickled to learn that the doggy pharmacy delivers but not the human one. Thank goodness I figured out early on that she’ll eat anything off a spoon with peanut butter on it. Shoving those pills down her throat was not fun for either of us. We recently got the good news that her titer is staying low without outside intervention.

    Rosie’s always gone to work with me, so when I decided to get an official office space, one of my requirements was that Rosie had to be able to come to work. Thankfully we found a great space that we share with a handful of other lawyers. They’re so cute when they pop by my office to say hi to me, when really they’re there to pet Rosie. I had to get a baby gate to make sure she stays contained which is hilarious given how un-maternal I am; and yet, now I own and can operate a baby gate. My clients love her.

    Rosie Snoozin' at the Office - March 2014
    Rosie Snoozin’ at the Office – March 2014

    Rosie’s become quite the car traveler, complete with her own car harness and back seat cover. We went on a big road trip last year, but I don’t think that will become the norm for us. We try to hit the dog park at least once a week. It’s adorable watching her try to keep up with the big dogs. If they’re running in a circle, she’ll take the inside track. And man can she bark. I have one of the loudest dogs at the dog park.

    Rosie Watching "Dog TV" - November 2013
    Rosie Watching “Dog TV” – November 2013

    Did I mention my dog is a ninja? She wears four tags on her collar so she typically jingles when she walks, but if there’s something she wants – like to get on the couch or to snag a bite of something at the edge of the table, she can jump up without making a sound. When you see the evidence of her wrongdoing and look at her accusingly, she gives you this look that says, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

    I love my baby girl. At six, sometimes I think she’s starting to show her age, but that’s hard to tell given how mellow bassets are in general. She definitely lets me know she can still run and frolic with the best of them . . . when she feels like it.