The trip to town today leaned a little more toward "want-to" than "have to" go. It was cooler-overcast and I wanted to get a harness for Buddy, sundry supplies, cheese for meds, and to search for "mosquito dunks." The mosquitoes have been fierce. Honey has a bump on her nose from bites. I got so many bites yesterday my histamines were out of whack. I have been fogging and they have been coming faster than I can kill them. Mosquito dunks are rings of "stuff" that you can put in standing water that kills mosquito larvae. They last 30 days, do not harm fish nor fowl nor animal.I think they release a bacillus. If they work, I should see a difference in 48 hours and then I can fog again.
Buddy's harness is black. No real choices. It is pretty fancy though-a mesh-no tug, design with "Sherpa" straps. Fuzzy ones. So no irritation that I can see. He is a good traveler. He loaded himself but the jump down was a little daunting so I helped him. Part of the trip was to buy a milkshake for Honey. That is the only way I can get the Iverheart medicine down her (and Buster). She shared and really enjoys this treat. She also enjoys sharing Fritos under the table. She is not usually a beggar but I got a definite rake of the paw. I had asked Glenn about her killing Prairie dogs and he said plague and tapeworm were the only real concerns. There has been no plague for 30 some years. The Iverheart will take care of any worms.
The social cohesion is growing in our little group. Buddy achieved the bed last night. Honey is definitely a baby sitter when she is not leading a safari. Buddy is a little trouper but will return if he gets tired or worried. Mealtime is a little problematic. Buddy is a communal "every dog for himself," dog. Honey is a "this is MY bowl, thank you!" dog. Buddy is very trusting of me and a little too dependent. That is just fine for now. Fixed them liver last night to build them up. That was a hit.
An interesting study on Calcium supplements is out. They caused more harm than good in a large study. They do help with the bones but they send the calcium levels in blood too high and that is bad for the heart. I am going to continue to take them because my diet doesn't have a lot of calcium but I am going to break them in half. The harm comes from the overdose.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Friday, July 30, 2010
Buddy Settles In
Buddy is to be the pup's name. He already has that role. He tends to stick close. He is dark, my house is dark and my rugs are dark and he is in danger of becoming a squeak toy for my clodhoppers. The intern Vet suggested a harness for him rather than a collar due to the location of his wound. I will get a couple: one for formal wear and another the brightest color I can find-fluorescent if possible. He takes meds like a dream. Wrap a little cheese around it and it is gone!
We had milestones yesterday, first poop, and first boner, which I take as a real sign he is on the mend. He seems housetrained (I think) and comes when called pretty well. Unlike Honey, he will work for food. He eats well-much bigger bites than Buster ever took and he was a bigger dog. I think it probably comes from having been half-starved all his life. The testicles will go in a few weeks- he is not big enough to compete here on the rez. It is dangerous.
Honey is tolerant, and is taking a big sister role. For some reason, though she doesn't ever spend the night on the bed, she decided he wasn't going to either. I drifted off last night as they were working that out. They do have to work it out themselves and as long as there is no biting, it works for me. On the positive side, she feels like she is in charge of somebody and is working with her ears forward and shoulders squared. Buddy is not as mobile as he was and will be but it is funny to see her bustling around with a little sidekick in her wake. He disappears in the tall grass. She is concerned if he squeaks. He would like to be friends but she is just an aloof dog. That will change when he can play.
Buddy is pretty vocal. I have never heard him bark but he howls, yips, complains, cries, and squeaks.
He has gone back to his old haunts a couple of times but nobody is there. He is back shortly and I hope he gets it out of his system. Cranes have arrived and the bridge is going to be fixed one day. Cars will be zipping along that road.
We had milestones yesterday, first poop, and first boner, which I take as a real sign he is on the mend. He seems housetrained (I think) and comes when called pretty well. Unlike Honey, he will work for food. He eats well-much bigger bites than Buster ever took and he was a bigger dog. I think it probably comes from having been half-starved all his life. The testicles will go in a few weeks- he is not big enough to compete here on the rez. It is dangerous.
Honey is tolerant, and is taking a big sister role. For some reason, though she doesn't ever spend the night on the bed, she decided he wasn't going to either. I drifted off last night as they were working that out. They do have to work it out themselves and as long as there is no biting, it works for me. On the positive side, she feels like she is in charge of somebody and is working with her ears forward and shoulders squared. Buddy is not as mobile as he was and will be but it is funny to see her bustling around with a little sidekick in her wake. He disappears in the tall grass. She is concerned if he squeaks. He would like to be friends but she is just an aloof dog. That will change when he can play.
Buddy is pretty vocal. I have never heard him bark but he howls, yips, complains, cries, and squeaks.
He has gone back to his old haunts a couple of times but nobody is there. He is back shortly and I hope he gets it out of his system. Cranes have arrived and the bridge is going to be fixed one day. Cars will be zipping along that road.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
On the Mend
While we were there this guy came in with a human. I think he is going to have shots and a wee bit of surgery. When you look at the young man's face it is clear why pets are so valuable to us.
Two hundred miles and $348.00 later we are on the mend. Another "free dog." I was not actively looking for one but I suspected one would come into our lives eventually. It has.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Jesus Wept!
The pup was feeling much better yesterday. I left him home while we made a quick dash to town in the evening and did everything and got back in a little over 2 hours. I was on a high waddle. The pup had rearranged the furniture-made a nest under the stove. He pushed out some things I had forgotten I had. After a good dinner, he was antsy to go home. He pushed open the screen door. I fetched him back. Then I got to thinking holding a critter hostage is no way to win affection- he was going to go eventually. I had noticed no people or dogs over at Norse's on my way back from town so I petted him, gave him my blessing and away he went.
He was back in 30 minutes, gave a peep and lay down. Later on it seemed to me he was going backward so I held him and felt some wetness on his chest. I made a print with a paper towel. It was blood and fluid. He wasn't bleeding but this was not good. Having determined that it was Veterinary time, I barely slept and we were off to the Vet even before coffee.
They looked him over, said X-Rays were necessary and suggested I come back about noon. I got some things done that had been on my list for awhile and it was relatively cool. Went back to the Vet's about 11:30. They told me they wanted to keep him overnight. He was receiving two I.V.'s : one fluid, the other antibiotic. Glenn said he wanted to talk to me. He showed me the X-Ray. Somebody had stabbed the pup frontally in the throat "with a blunt object." From the wound it looked to me like a pencil. It missed the heart and lungs but it pierced a very important membrane. He had additional scrapes and bites. As Glenn and Gunda are leaving tomorrow for Germany for nine days, he instructed me on the meds and a "horse medicine" I have to squirt down the hole every day that will make the wound heal from the inside faster. He said from the looks of his nails the pup had been penned most of his life and he thought he was about a year and a half old. I checked on the way to and from town today. There are no dogs left at Norse's and one car comes and goes. Something awful happened over there. I was on the verge of hyperventilating on the way home. How could anyone....
He was back in 30 minutes, gave a peep and lay down. Later on it seemed to me he was going backward so I held him and felt some wetness on his chest. I made a print with a paper towel. It was blood and fluid. He wasn't bleeding but this was not good. Having determined that it was Veterinary time, I barely slept and we were off to the Vet even before coffee.
They looked him over, said X-Rays were necessary and suggested I come back about noon. I got some things done that had been on my list for awhile and it was relatively cool. Went back to the Vet's about 11:30. They told me they wanted to keep him overnight. He was receiving two I.V.'s : one fluid, the other antibiotic. Glenn said he wanted to talk to me. He showed me the X-Ray. Somebody had stabbed the pup frontally in the throat "with a blunt object." From the wound it looked to me like a pencil. It missed the heart and lungs but it pierced a very important membrane. He had additional scrapes and bites. As Glenn and Gunda are leaving tomorrow for Germany for nine days, he instructed me on the meds and a "horse medicine" I have to squirt down the hole every day that will make the wound heal from the inside faster. He said from the looks of his nails the pup had been penned most of his life and he thought he was about a year and a half old. I checked on the way to and from town today. There are no dogs left at Norse's and one car comes and goes. Something awful happened over there. I was on the verge of hyperventilating on the way home. How could anyone....
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Like Old Mother Hubbard
Like old mother Hubbard my cupboard is bare. I need to go to town and it is scorching out there. I am happily in my hermit rut and would just as soon not go. I do need to fetch my poor dogs "a bone." They got the last chicken breast last night and I had the last of the tilapia. Little Nudnik, the pup, is making good progress and has tried twice to hobble home. He is still very weak and sore. Something over there tried to kill him though, and I am not done with my ministrations. He disappeared from the doghouse yesterday and I panicked. I was looking and I told Honey to find the puppy-and she did! Bless her. I am hoping he will stay but I do not think that is in the cards. He at least needs to be able to run. He can take about six steps now, and needs to rest. I put well water in the dog dishes. It is iron heavy-why I don't drink it, but I think he might need it.
I have been reading a new biography of Somerset Maugham. I tricked myself. I got him confused with Guy de Maupassant in my mind. I have read all the short stories of de Maupassant and a couple of novels. I have read a lot of Maugham too. When I saw the new biography The Secret Lives of Somerset Maugham thinking it was de Maupassant, I downloaded it. I thought it would be juicy because de Maupassant was said to be a victim of priapism- (victim?) and I wondered how one would negotiate life with a tentpole in one's trousers 24/7. But I am not disappointed. Maugham was bisexual and knew everybody in Edwardian England-the Woolf's, Rodin, Gaugin, the Impressionists, G.B.S., Wilde, the Waughs, Aleister Crowley. So it is juicy enough. Back when I was doing past life regression sessions with Dr. Leo Sprinkle I had a clear image of being snuffed out in WWI or WWII in Europe. That may explain this fascination with the era or it may be that it was a remarkable period intellectually and artistically. Our era is kind of pale in comparison.
I have been reading a new biography of Somerset Maugham. I tricked myself. I got him confused with Guy de Maupassant in my mind. I have read all the short stories of de Maupassant and a couple of novels. I have read a lot of Maugham too. When I saw the new biography The Secret Lives of Somerset Maugham thinking it was de Maupassant, I downloaded it. I thought it would be juicy because de Maupassant was said to be a victim of priapism- (victim?) and I wondered how one would negotiate life with a tentpole in one's trousers 24/7. But I am not disappointed. Maugham was bisexual and knew everybody in Edwardian England-the Woolf's, Rodin, Gaugin, the Impressionists, G.B.S., Wilde, the Waughs, Aleister Crowley. So it is juicy enough. Back when I was doing past life regression sessions with Dr. Leo Sprinkle I had a clear image of being snuffed out in WWI or WWII in Europe. That may explain this fascination with the era or it may be that it was a remarkable period intellectually and artistically. Our era is kind of pale in comparison.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Animal Hospital
Sunday morning there was doggie tumult at the Indian neighbor's house. They were upset. So was Honey. As I picked up the mail "the puppy" was across the street trying to get here. He was a mess: bloody, very shaky and in obvious pain. He was soaked. He came across on his own but I packed him off to the deck. He seemed "shocky" to me. So I wrapped him in a flannel shirt for awhile. He was still shivering so I made a potion of water, sugar, sea salt and ibuprofen and spooned it in his mouth. I seriously pondered a mad dash to the vet but decided if he were going to leave the planet, which seemed imminent, he would be comforted and I hoped he would make it. After warmth returned to his extremities he moved into a doghouse right there by the deck and there he slept except for periods of crying which broke my heart. In the evening we did more potion and he was able to lap a bit of from the bowl. I brought him in for the evening and he slept, unmoving, by the stove. The plan was for an early Monday morning dash to the vet. I spoke to him this morning and got a little wag-there is not much to wag. He was still whimpering when he tried to move. I didn't eat much of my dinner last night so I had some tasty morsels of meat to offer and he was ready to eat them. He drank some water and I carried him outside and we had a little pee. He is inert by the stove but he has more tone in his muscles today and only whimpers when he tries to move. Although he had blood on his leg, I can see no gaping wound. Internally, I don't know, but it seems his systems are functioning. He has a way to go but I think he will recover.
Well, I am back--the pup disappeared on me. I went searching and found him inert on the hill in back of the house, covered with mosquitoes. I think he had a chill. So I wrapped him up and brought him back in. He is happy by the stove in my jacket. In typical adult attention deficit disorder behavior I got attacked by the mosquitoes, so I fogged again. Cuz Donna called to inquire about the puppy ( he may not be a puppy-maybe just small- I saw his teeth) so I fogged with her, then sat on the deck and we gabbed until our batteries went dead. I played with Honey. She has been very tolerant of our patient but I do not want her life to change. She's my baby.
Well, I am back--the pup disappeared on me. I went searching and found him inert on the hill in back of the house, covered with mosquitoes. I think he had a chill. So I wrapped him up and brought him back in. He is happy by the stove in my jacket. In typical adult attention deficit disorder behavior I got attacked by the mosquitoes, so I fogged again. Cuz Donna called to inquire about the puppy ( he may not be a puppy-maybe just small- I saw his teeth) so I fogged with her, then sat on the deck and we gabbed until our batteries went dead. I played with Honey. She has been very tolerant of our patient but I do not want her life to change. She's my baby.
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