This is the time of year we all think about what we will do differently to make the new year, and ourselves, better than the last year. Isn't it strange that we think about what we didn't like, or about what we want to change instead of reflecting on the good things of the past year? Wouldn't it be more motivating to think about all the good from the past year and resolve to take action to make those good things work for us in the new year?
The year 2007 had equal amounts of good and bad for me; it is the good I am choosing to focus on: My husband and I celebrated our 15th year of marriage and are looking forward to our next 15+ years of marriage; I made many new friends and reconnected with old friends in a big way; I clarified my vision for Primp Doggy by joining a women's entrepreneurial group called Ladies Who Launch incubator series; I improved my sewing skills by sewing, sewing and more sewing; I improved my design skills by dreaming big dreams; I put on three live doggy fashion shows; I was featured on the King 5 morning news where I was interviewed by the morning anchor Joyce Taylor; I got my first national celebrity client (I don't have permission to say who, but I'm hoping to get it soon); I had two fabulous reviews written about my custom couture as well as my ready-to-wear line by Pampered Puppy; I had some AMAZING art work created of my three fur babies by Jamie of Cowbelly Pet Photography; I was featured in three magazines - Seattle Magazine, Northwest Homes & Garden and City Dog Magazine; I put on my first holiday trunk show at my favorite Seattle pet boutique Scraps Dog Bakery. . . .
You know, I'm now seeing that the good definitely outweighed the bad for me in 2007. What an amazing feeling.
Today, Christmas Eve, is Gussy's fourth day with his leg braces. He's had three nights sleeping with them thus far and all in all I think he's doing pretty well. The very first night sleeping with them he woke me around 1:00 a.m. with his breathe-whining. If you don't know what that is, it's when a dog whines really softly with every exhalation. Gus has always been an expert at that.
Anyway I got up like a good dog-mom and checked all the velcro straps to make sure none were too tight. Everything seemed okay but I loosened all the straps but the ones right below his knees anyway and he slept through the rest of the night fine. I really don't think anything about the braces were physically bothering him. He is just an emotionally sensitive boy and wanted me to know this was a struggle for him. Poor, poor baby boy.
Unfortunately he's not necessarily using his left leg any more now that he has his braces. You can see by looking at this photo (taken day one) that while he has his left foot down for balance, he is not putting weight on it. Hopefully these braces are not just false security for me and they are actually benefiting him; not because they were more than a little bit pricey, but because it would break my heart to find out I wasn't really protecting him the way I thought I was. My biggidy-big-big-boy. Too bad this 125 lb. biggie boy doesn't weigh the 5 lbs he thinks he does. Then I could hold him in my lap the way he wants me to. I'm sorry Gus-puppy-ness.
Nope, that's my big boy Gus wearing his new orthopedic knee braces from Wound Wear. He has to wear them 24/7 for the next eight weeks. He's not exactly thrilled with them, but they don't seem to bother him terribly and they give me some peace of mind.
The reason he has to wear them is because he completely ripped up the tendons and ligaments in his left knee and he has a partial tear in his right knee. There are surgery options for some dogs who incure this type of injury. Gus isn't a good candidate for the surgery; primarily because he is, at his size, considered "geriatric" at 7 1/2 years of age. That's okay with me anyway. Even if he was younger, I don't think I would want to subject him to a 4 month recovery period.
So Gus, like it or not, will wear these to protect his right knee from further injury and to allow him to bear weight on his left knee so he can build up the muscle he has lost. He has a great veterinary team at Pilchuck Veterinary Hospitalin Snohomish Washington. Some of the treatment options available for him at Pilchuck are acupunture and chiropractic for pain management, exercise on an underwater treadmill to build up muscle without too much weight bearing on his injured knee and massage therapy.
While these orthopedic braces might not be the most fashionable thing a dog can wear, I think they look pretty sporty; and I've even managed to stop laughing now.
At least that's what I'm trying to do. You know things are bad when you half hope you will get sick so you can spend a day or two in bed. The month of December has been "crazy busy." In a good way of course, but now that I've sent off my final custom Christmas order, I need to START my Christmas shopping. Hmmmm, I think my nieces and nephews will be getting gift cards this year.
I have truly had fun this month despite the stress. Primp Doggy was suppose to put on a live doggy fashion show on King 5 morning news, the most popular television, Seattle news station on December 5th, so the first few days of December were dedicated to preparing for that. We had some crazy Seattle weather the week of December 1st that resulted in closing a major freeway (I-5!!!) and some pretty intense destruction and heartache for many Washingtonians so the show was rescheduled for December 19th. That should have been good, right? I had everything all ready with a couple extra weeks for relaxing about the live show, but what did I do with the extra two weeks? You got it, I created several new designs to feature on the show. All the while I was collaborating with the "assistant to the friend of a MAJOR celebrity" to get the secret celebrity's much beloved dog a new wardrobe for Christmas.
That certainly doesn't seem like enough to wear a person out and it wasn't. I put on the first Primp Doggy holiday trunk show at my favorite upscale, Seattle pet boutique, Scrap's Dog Bakery on December 1st. Remember what I previously said about the crazy weather during the week of December 1st. Yeah, it was snowing big time in downtown Seattle that day and I was worried about getting home but the dogs coming in to see me for fittings were so adorable, I could forget about the snow when I was focused on them. First there was "Shadow," an Australian shepard who came in with her mom person. Shadow wanted a simple, lightweight coat, nothing frilly or fancy. Something "retro" in terms of fabric use. Shadow was so sweet and gentle. Much to her mom person's dismay, I put a dress on Shadow and took a photo (which I should have already downloaded and sent off to said mom person.) I'll get it posted in the next week or two (I used to say, "day or two" but at this point I'm trying to be realistic). Then came "Pygar" the most handsome pug I have ever seen - truly. His dads wanted something fashionable but "conservative" in a warm, waterproof coat. While they generally liked the black, faux leather/faux fur lined coats I had available immediately for purchase, they did not like the studded belt so they chose to get a custom coat made. Their choice was good in the long run because true to healthy pug form, Pygar has a fairly deep chest and thick neck relative to the rest of his body. After choosing a faux ostrich in black for the coat for Pygar, I moved on to "Saber" a stunningly beautiful shitzu needing a warm (really warm) waterproof coat. Interestingly enough, Saber's mom and dad person chose the same black, faux ostrich for the outer coat, but wanted a much thicker faux fur for the lining to keep him warm. I thought Saber's "parents' were comfortable with their choice, but right as I was saying goodbye, his dad says to his mom, "what about red fur for the lining?" "No," was her simple response. I told Saber's dad person I'd make him a red scarf to go with his coat which I did. Now Saber is ready to head off to New York for the holidays and his folks are thrilled with the coat and scarf. He'll be the most "stylin" dog in the city. Hopefully Pygar's folks will be as pleased with his coat.
Well, this post is wayyyyy longer than I thought it would be so even though I'm not done, I feel my husband and a hot buttered rum calling my name. I'll fill you all in on the details of the live taping (awesome, fun, whirlwind) in the next post. You can see a clip of it by going to the link listed about and then clicking on animal videos.
I get so tired of people using the term "doggy couture" to describe tacky, mass produced dog apparel. According to Merriam Webster, the definition of couture is, "the business of designing, making, and selling fashionable custom made clothing." Why then is the term so loosely used to describe any and all overpriced dog apparel? I can only speculate but my guess is, to make people pay through the nose for what amounts to crap.
My most recent frustration regarding the use of the term came as I watched a soft news story about a line of "doggy couture" designed by the infamous Paris Hilton. Admittedly, PH has been quite instrumental in propelling the practice of doggy dressing into mainstream practice, but everyone knows her personal style is admired primarily by those who covet a bedroom designed entirely in "hello kitty" or some other equally immature, unimaginative theme. And true to form the styles featured in this story were cheesy, contrived, and cheap in appearance.
So why does this bother me? Mostly because I think dogs are amazing creatures who should be held only in the highest esteem. And to those who would come back at me with the argument that if I held dogs in high esteem, I wouldn't support clothing them I have this to say - Dog apparel is not harmful to dogs and is here to stay; thus the best one can hope for is that canine fashion will evolve to be more tastefully reflective of the elevated status dogs have achieved in our lives. That is what I do. I design fashion apparel for dogs that does not attempt to make them into something other than a dog. I don't look at a baby's dress and think of how I can alter that to fit a dog. I don't design clothing that has sleeves, because dogs don't have arms. I do take my cues from current fashion trends for adults. I design styles that not only accomodate, but celebrate a dog's anatomy. I give people with style and taste a means to outwardly express the love they feel for their dogs. I give people a reason to smile; that alone makes designing fashion apparel for dogs a worthy cause.
