Rehabilitation

I was looking through some of Azuki's older photos and found these photos of Azuki trekking away on an underwater treadmill. This was part of her rehab program for her bad leg, in order to build up the much-needed muscles.

When we first moved to New York, the weather was so cold and damp that Azuki's limping got considerably worse. Luckily, New York has some of the best pet-care in the world, and of course, our pup always gets the best healthcare (we justify all the costs that she incurs by the logic: "But she is Azuki!", like that somehow makes all the sense in the world). There is this large animal hospital close to our old temorary apartment, and for about a month and a half she attended twice weekly rehab sessions with a doggie physical therapist.

You can imagine what an idiot I felt like when I had to tell people, "Oh, I have to go pick up my dog from her physical therapist..." It's like name-dropping, with your dog. You may laugh, but on the same floor as her Rehab Center there is also the Oconology Center (with its own Radiation Room) as well as a Dermatology unit. Azuki often rubs shoulders with other overly priviledged pets as they wait for their CAT scans and radiation sessions.

The way I look at these costs is---sure, it costs a lot of money for Azuki's surgery, and her subsequent rehab sessions...but Matt and I often spend more money on nice dinners than the monthly income of developing countries, so can I really deny my dog treatments which we can actually afford? Matt often strokes Azuki and calls her our little car, and he is exaggerating her costs but I am not really into cars but I certainly love my pup. And for Matt? He likes to complain and pretend that he is outraged by how much Azuki is costing us but he is really Azuki's biggest fan and would not stand for our pup to suffer.

But here is the pup tredding on a treadmill that is half filled with water (the resistance of the water is a good way to work the muscles):




In between sessions Azuki often cuddles up with Renee's dog (her physical therapist!), a small maltese pup called Finney. Finney and Azuki are like lovers without the sex part (because they are both neutered and spayed), so I guess it would just make them childhood playmates?



Because Azuki loves Renee and Finney very much, Renee also babysits Azuki when Matt and I go on vacations. Renee tells me that Azuki and Finney can tear up the house when they are playing:



Apparently Azuki has no house manners and treats other people's homes like her own:


If you are wondering why Azuki looks wet in the above photo, it's because she was just given a bath. After she jumped onto Renee's BED (she is never allowed in bed at home!), and landed right in the middle of Renee's salad, HER DINNER. It's a good thing that Renee is an animal lover, and finds such gross transgressions terribly amusing instead of totally rude.

So there you go--our expensive and crazy little dog! Long Live Azuki!