PetSTEP

One thing was very clear over the holidays.  If Geodog Phineas were able to recover from his injury, his days of jumping in and out of the GeoUte were over.  We also knew that one of us trying to hold him in the rear seat wasn't a safe idea either.

The hardest thing about finding a dog ramp is finding one that works.  The reviews are filled of failings where the ramps sag, wobble, or break.  If not under-designed, many fail from slippery surfaces or surfaces that fail quickly under wear from the dog's claws.

We spent a long time looking and reading reviews before we decided to give a try with PetSTEP.

Once it arrived, it seemed really sturdy.  We had it in the house for a couple weeks training the dogs to use the ramp on the bed.  Our first trial was a success.  With more use Phineas and Lizzie are getting much better at using the ramp to enter and exit the GeoUte.  It is great to reduce one more risk for Phineas while also making trips safer for Lizzie.

Phin makes a great model.

It is great to have Phineas still able to join us for great places like a geocaching hike near Wildcat Run by Chapman State Park.

An Update on Geodog Phineas

Phineas had been off the caching trail since late November.  He was on pain meds with the hope that he would recover from his neck injury.  The pain meds did not work, but our vet is a licensed for pet accupuncture.  He received three treatments each a week apart and showed great improvement.  By the last we were happy to see our beagle back.  He has continued to improve and has been removed from his meds.

What does this mean for him as a GeoDog?  Well so far he has been with us for eleven finds this year with visits to Cleveland Metroparks South Chagrin and Acacia Reservations and a cold walk at LakeMetroparks Penetentiary Glen Reservation.  It appears Phin is back, and we are thrilled.

Phin Bays at Acacia

Phin and Liz at Penetentiary Glen

We don't know if this improvement is long term or if he will need future treatments, but we will happily enjoy any time with him that we can have on the trail (or off).

He no longer jumps in and out of his dog crate to enter and exit the sport ute.  He now has a pet ramp which Lizzie is also learning to use.  There will be images of that in a future post.

It's Not About the Numbers

I think a lot of cachers set goals for themselves if they actively cache.  For years we have played with how many cumulative caches we have found on each of the calendar days of the year.  Before the challenge cache rules changed we placed a challenge we called the Ironcacher Challenge.  It requires ten finds per day for each of the calendar days.  It was fun for us as it forced us to cache on days we might not have chosen.  We decided to continue pushing the days up.  At the end of 2018 we were at 30 finds on each calendar day.  We set a modest goal of 32 by the end of 2019.  We made it to 10 December.  I was in Mexico on business and Ali Skyped to say Phin was having issues moving and a lot of pain.  She asked about the two finds needed.  It was a quick decision that Phin's health mattered so much more than any geocaching goal.  We'll end the year three calendar days short of our goal.

As for Phineas, the pain meds weren't a very effective remedy.  For a week after I returned he spent most of his time shaking in pain under a desk or hiding under a table in the bedroom.  I was fortunate to only twice hear the horrific screams of pain if something triggered the nerve.  It will forever remain one of the worst, prolonged sounds of agony I have ever heard.

Our vet also is a certified animal accupuncture practitioner.  She mentioned that most dogs were able to benefit by the third treatment.  Phin's in great shape other than what happened recently.  We both agreed to move forward with a weekly treatment.  It was amazing how calm he was with thirteen needles stuck in him and responded well to light electrical pulses.  There was a gradual improvement over the first week after the treatment.  When at the doctor's office waiting for his second treatment, he was busy greeting customers and other dogs.  This treatment also went very well.  Phin is walking at a quick pace and resting in comfortable positions again.  His tail wags often when he is with us and outdoors.  He still remains very quiet with little to no baying something for which he has been well known to everyone who meets him.  He has at least one more accupuncture treatment, and we need to wean him off the meds.  He has the okay to walk on flat paved trails.  If luck stays on our side, he will be able to join us on short caching runs in the near future.  Our next step is to determine a way to get him safely in and out of the geomobile.  We have hope...

Luke

We made a find on this nice cache when we were in a PA gamelands recently. While I was looking at the images on line, I thought it was a tribute cache to someone's passed geodog.  It was only later that I read the FTF log and realized this couple's beautiful dog had passed during the FTF hunt.  It may be the saddest FTF ever.  Give your geodog or geodogs a hug....  RIP Luke, you looked like an amazing companion.

Happiness is...

a cold stream on the way to the cache....  Lizzie

Two Cache Hunters

Having a geodog with you can be very helpful.

Geodog Fun

We were visiting Knox County and spotted these Harry Potter glasses in a cache.  Lizzie wanted nothing to do with modeling wizard glasses, but Phin was ready to look like a fashion dog.