The Dog Star

Sirius, the Dog Star, faded from the night sky at the farm by mid-April. Carmen, our Star Dog, was in ascension and finishing her Physical Therapy (PT) from leg surgery at the end of April. The three of us kept each other company for three months during Carmen’s recovery.

Carmen injured her back leg in January and required TPLO* surgery to repair it.  Regular readers of this blog will remember that I talked about her injury and first week of PT previously**.  Since then, we’ve done twelve weeks of PT, plus confinement in a crate at night and doing everything on a leash. To prevent her from reinjuring the leg, no free running or walking was allowed. It’s been a challenge. 

I have two lasting memories from the past twelve weeks. 

The first was our daily PT sessions. During the first week, we started with three five-minute sessions each day with Carmen tripoding around. By the six-week mark, she started barking in the middle of the morning and then later in the afternoon when it was time for her PT. “Let’s go!”, she seemed to say. By week twelve, Carmen graduated to two daily workouts of 35-40 minutes each, covering about two miles in each session. A stellar patient, by the end of three months, she was rock solid with no apparent issues. 

We Walked a Lot of On-Leash Miles Together.

My second memory was of our walk each night at the end of the evening, for her to go to the bathroom one last time before bed. Looking up in the southern sky, I would see Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. In the crisp winter air, I often stood and contemplated the Dog Star, as Carmen went about her business. 

Photo on the Right From Our Backyard in February.

Sirius is a part of the constellation, Canis Major, which translates to the “Great Dog”. In Greek mythology, Canis Major is often associated with Orion, the hunter. In fact, if you look up in the winter sky, the two constellations are near each other and Orion’s belt always points to Sirius. They are forever tied together as they pass overhead. As with Orion and Canis Major, Carmen and I were also tied together this past winter, focusing on her return to good health.

Backyard Photo of Orion’s Belt Pointing to the Dog Star in March.

Over the course of history, ancient mariners used Sirius for navigation.  It was also considered a somewhat mystical star and regarded as a source of inspiration, guiding spiritual searchers on their journeys.

I think the Dog Star was doing that for us a little bit as well. Viewing Sirius gave me comfort and encouragement during the passing weeks. Maybe it was just knowing something out there was permanent and lasting. It had been in the sky forever and would continue shining long after we were gone. Our problems and dramas seemed a bit inconsequential in the big scheme of things. 

Through February and March, I marked the passage of Sirius across the heavens. Starting high and to the East in the southern sky, as winter passed, the Dog Star moved a little lower and a little further to the West each evening.  

As April arrived, Carmen grew stronger, while Sirius continued moving lower in the sky. By the middle of the month, the Dog Star was no longer visible at the farm – nearby hills and tall trees blocked a view as it fell lower and lower in the night sky. Carmen and I were left to finish her recovery on our own, or so I thought. 

We continued working hard for the next couple of weeks …

Then, near the end of April, Cath, Carmen and I went to the Chesapeake Bay for a few days. Early one evening, I took Carmen out a little after dinner for a short walk. I happened to look to the southwest across the Bay, and there was our old companion, Sirius, low in the sky. I wasn’t sure at first, as it seemed a bit pale in the evening gloam.  Looking to the right, I found Orion, just above the horizon, with his belt pointing straight at our friend. I smiled and gave Carmen a pat on the head. The Dog Star, back with us for one last night, was telling me all was well with the world.

Two days later, Cath and I called the vet and received the green light to let Carmen start walking and running off leash again. We took it slow, with off-leash activities confined to the yard, between the house and barn.  Those first few days were great. Carmen has stuck close to us, even though she’s off leash. You can see her wiggle and know she’s happy, but she too is taking it easy and not overdoing it. I think she understands what’s going on as well. As time passes, we’ll begin doing our regular off leash walks, but for now we’re careful. 

Cath and Carmen, Enjoying the Sunshine, and No Leash.

As May arrived and Canis Major totally disappeared, we continued our training with more off-leash exercise. There have been a couple minor bumps, but we seem on track. By early August, when the Dog Days of Summer*** arrive and Sirius rises in conjunction with the sun, our lives will, with more work and some luck, return to normal.  In the meantime, we are taking it day-by-day, tied together like Orion and Canis Major, traversing our nearby fields and trails. 

Addendum:

• * TPLO surgery – You can’t really repair a dog’s ligaments. Instead, they now do something called tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) surgery, a major advancement in the treatment of ligament rupture. “This surgery changes the angle and relationship between the thigh bone (femur) and the shin bone (tibia).  The overall intent of the surgery is to reduce the amount the tibia shifts forward during a stride. This is accomplished by making a semicircular cut through the top of the tibia, rotating the top of the tibia, and using a bone plate to allow the tibia to heal.  This realignment of the surfaces within the knee (stifle) helps provide stability during a stride and helps reduce future joint inflammation and osteoarthritis. By carefully adjusting the angle or slope of the top of the tibia, surgeons can create a more normal configuration of the knee joint and reduce mechanical stress.”  You can learn more here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibial-plateau-leveling_osteotomy
• If you live in Northern Virginia/the Virginia Piedmont I can’t recommend DR Nicholson and Salutaris Veterinary Specialists enough. You can learn more about them here: http://www.salutarisvet.com
• ** Here’s the blog about Carmen’s injury, surgery and initial PT: My walking companion for the past nine years is sidelined. Carmen needed surgery last week to repair a ruptured ligament in her left rear leg. We went down this road with a previous dog and are familiar with the journey. It doesn’t make it any less distressing for […] Continue here: https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2024/02/06/carmens-surgery/
• *** The “Dog Days of Summer” have been called that for over 2,000 years.  Early August is called the Dog Days of Summer, as that is when Sirius is first seen again, after disappearing from the night sky. It’s observable in the early morning sky and rises over the horizon about the same time the sun does. In ancient history, they thought the extra bright star, in addition to the sun, is what made it so hot.