We started 2022 heading into our third year of the COVID-19 pandemic and got introduced to Omicron and all its siblings and children. 2022 also seemed to be the year where the effects of climate change really hit home in the PNW. For all the weirdness though we actually did quite a bit this year and spent a lot of time outdoors truffling, hiking, camping, hunting and fishing.
Last fall I started Lira in truffle hunting classes through Truffle Dog Company here in Seattle and after finishing up the Foundations class it was pretty clear she was ready to skip Intermediate and move into Pre-Advanced and Advanced. Since early December we’ve been doing training hunts with real truffles most of the time and have been going out “hunting” a few days a week though she had never really even started digging but we knew it was a horrible year for truffles. This last few weeks things have gotten a bit more interesting as she started finding spots she was very interested in and dug a few holes where we’d find nothing or just heavy mycelium.
2020 totally sucked between the Coronavirus pandemic, lockdowns, wildfires and finally Lira injuring her knees so I had hopes 2021 would be a huge improvement. As I write this we are pretty much back in the same place we were in winter of 2020 with the new omicron variant raging in Seattle and the rest of the world and the obvious impacts of climate change hammering us with snow and, for Seattle, extreme cold. The year has been full of pandemic canceled plans but has some bright spots with Lira making a full recovery by summer time and taking on new challenges this fall.
Lira is back to bird hunting after last year’s injury and subsequent stem cell treatment to try and get her back. She’s been out after birds a few days a week only, not wanting to push her daily like I used to so we tend to hunt Mondays or Tuesdays and Thursdays or Fridays. I do have her drag a check cord to help slow her down a bit but she’s been doing great and finding birds every single time we get out, whether or not I get a shot is another thing but this week I’ve hit every bird that we found and the freezer is getting some pheasants again.
To give her something to do on her off days we enrolled her in truffle dog school through the Truffle Dog Company in Seattle. We started the Foundations I class a week ago and have her booked up with classes through the end of the year. She seems to really enjoy “hunting” truffle scent under cones in the house, is getting used to clicker training and loves all the extra treats. This should be a good activity for the off season for her since truffle season here picks up about the time bird season is slowing down.
Lira had her 12-week follow up exam from her stem cell/PRP treatment yesterday and we got some good news! Her knees are both stable now and not showing any signs of inflammation or thickening due to increased scar tissue. It looks like the treatment worked as hard as it was to keep her from hurting herself all over again. The only negative news is that her right hamstring is still atrophied a bit from lack of use and she is now 10# overweight from the general lack of activity and medication she’s been on.
Brighter days ahead, Lira at 11 weeks post procedure
The last four months have been very challenging between dealing with the winter COVID-19 surge, a pretty rough winter in Seattle and Lira’s knee injury. It is almost 4 months to the day that we got the diagnosis of a torn CCL in Lira’s right knee and had to seriously restrict her activity to try an heal it up.