Category: Dogs

Ever have one’a those days?

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Having prepared the night before I had my stuff ready, and my day mapped.  I love it when I am that together and ready to achieve wonderful things.  The plan?  Going to the Mountain Farmlet to demo the rotten shower while I wait for the roofer to meet me there.  Also on the plan is a leisurely stroll through the woods and along the stream with the dogs.  I couldn’t wait!

Showered, dressed, breakfast eaten, lunch packed, tools, dogs and dog water loaded into the car, and I am  finally  down the road.

First stop, gas the car, empty the trash bag so Tucker won’t eat the wrappers, water the dogs, and take them for their first pee break.  DONE!  Now it’s my turn…

Returning to the car I see Tucker up to his shoulders in my big carryall and he has eaten most of my sandwich!

Bad dog, Tucker, very BAD DOG!

Still seething, I realize that he couldn’t get my Fritos, and I still had my water and an apple.  Well, better than nothing I thought.   (I can hear you saying:  Well couldn’t you eat out?  The short answer would be,  No, not with my Celiac/Gluten intolerance issues.  I don’t have time for being sick.)

Second road break, same as the first.  Seems that Tucker was intent to find any leftovers he may have missed.

Third road break, I took the lunch bag and tossed it into the truck bed so he couldn’t get it.  😉

BTW, I must mention it was already in the 80s in the morning, I have discovered that if I take my door lock remote with me that I can leave the dogs in the car with the air on and they don’t overheat.  YES, I know, but I figured with Buddy the big dog barking and frothing at the window it would be an excellent deterrent!  Yes?

I am within 8 miles of the Mountain Farmlet and stop for my favorite Sugar Free beverage.  Not seeing any in the case I ask for some from the back.  The cashier yells at the other girl working there, “…any more are available in the back?” and she mumbles something and walks out the back door with some bait.  I left without purchasing any more water for the dogs and just went up the mountain.  I wasn’t going to patronize the store if they were going to ignore me, now was I?

Upon arriving I am stoked about setting to work.  I am on time and the roofer is not there yet.  A FIRST for me!   I become aware of how really hot it is, and the lack of a breeze.  Never mind, I think, as I unlock the door and turn on the air.  Nothing.  I flip a couple of switches.  NOTHING!  They never turned on the electricity!  Oh well, I will water the dogs and just wait for the roofer.

PROBLEM!  The Octogenarian told the water company to turn off the water on the 10th.  I had called the water company and told them she made a mistake and, please don’t turn it off on the 10th, because the account had already been transferred to our name!  “No problem.” the nice lady said.

It is the 11th and there is no water.

I’ve got hot dogs, and no water.  (Where is that roofer?)  A light bulb moment and I think, OK I will let them drink some of the cat water out back on the deck.

Buddy:  “No way man, that’s not my water, and  you can’t make me drink it!  OK, I’m really thirsty so I will taste it.  NOPE, NOT MY WATER!”

Tucker:  “Nope, Buddy didn’t like it so I’m not drinking it either!”

Me:  (panicking!)  “Come on guys, it’s almost 90 degrees and we’re having air you can wear up here!  You have to drink water, now DRINK WATER.”

Another light bulb moment.  I go into the house thinking, “I’ll just fill their water bowl from the toilet tank.  It’s fresh.”  The bathrooms are totally dark.  No windows, no light, no dice.  But wait!  I have a little flashlight in my purse, so grabbing it I go in to find that the Octogenarian, being the neat and clean person she is, has installed some sort of device that pumps cleaner into the water tank to keep your toilet bowl sparkly and nice.  (You don’t care what I was saying or thinking at this point.  Trust me.)  I gave the dogs my water.

MAN, WHERE IS THAT ROOFER!

I try to call him and realize I left his number at home.  I call the realtor, who knows him well BTW, and he gives me his number.  Whew!

The Roofer:  “Oh sorry, I had something come up and I told the office this morning to cancel all my appointments for today.”

Me:  “Well, I was on the road early this morning and didn’t get the message.”

The Roofer:   “OH.”  I’m really sorry, but…”

ME:  “I have been waiting for you since 11:00.  It is very hot and humid, and the utility companies have not turned on my electric and water.  I drove all the way here from Hazel Green to meet you.  It is an 80 mile drive one way, and a lot of gas to return here tomorrow.”  (I was polite, I promise, but I was not happy on the inside)

The Roofer:    “I’ll have someone there in 45 minutes!  I’m really sorry, mam!”

Me:  “Thank you.”

The other roofer fellows call to tell me they were on their way, but that it would take an hour.  I repeated my tale of woe, and suddenly an hour turned into 30 minutes, they arrived on time, too!

Estimate is done, the dogs and I took our leisurely and shady, woodsy walk.  I am thinking, Hey, they can get into the stream to cool off and get a drink!

Along the way we stop to throw some fish food to the catfish in the pond.  I open the lid and there inside on the edge of the chest is a shiny, black, Scorpion!  We have Scorpions?  I closed the lid, and with apologies to the fish, we left.

Down by the creek I am telling the dogs, “Drink water, drink water,  HELLO?  You are thirsty, DRINK WATER!” Both of them looked at me like I was out of my mind and flat-out REFUSED to even TOUCH that stream!  Grrrr…

So back to the house, to lock up, and pack up, so we can all go to the nearest place to get water!  I walk in and begin gathering my things, I am in a hurry to get going because, as you will recall, what little water I had, I have given to the dogs.  I turn the corner in the dog trot (the center part of the house) to get to the living room and suddenly I am seeing stars and trying not to pass out.  (Another moment that you do not want to know what I was thinking and saying.  Suffice it to say that the dogs are cowering and being exceptionally good.)  

Why was I seeing stars?  Because having been outside I came inside and it was too dark, and in the dark I didn’t see the dang shelves the Octogenarian had placed in the doorway that she kept closed all the time.  The lower of the two was exactly nose bridge height.

The sad part is, that I knew they were there, but in my hurry to get going I temporarily forgot.   I tried to see what the damage was but again, too dark in the bathrooms and the littlest flashlight in the world wasn’t helping.  All I could see was lots of blood!  Hoping my nose is not badly cut or broken, I grab a dry paper towel and do my best to clean up so we can just get going.

By now I’m thinking I must look like something you’d find in the ditchbank at the side of the road.  My hair is in wet strings around my neck, my light blue overalls are filthy and then I see them…  TICKS!  Hyperventilating, I begin picking them off and throwing them into the bushes.   Yeah, I know but what else was I going to do with them?   Then it hits me, If there are some on the outside of my clothes there must be more where I can’t see. 

At our next rest stop, I go into the Ladies  Room, and drop my overalls to find that my suspicions are confirmed.  MORE TICKS!  Thankfully, there were only three.

For the uninitiated, pulling ticks is downright horrifying.   You never feel them biting (how do they do that?) and when you try to pull them out they are latched so tightly, that you skin pulls up with your efforts.  This is very horrifying for yours truly.

The rest of our trip back home was uneventful, and I was relieved to find that on inspection at least the dogs flea and tick meds worked!  Later, after a long shower, and drinking a half-gallon of water I was feeling much better too.  My nose is not broken, and I did not require stitches, just a wee little band-aid and some antibacterial salve.  My eyes were only very slightly blackened in the corners… but not enough to keep me from going in public.  😉

We, the dogs and I, went back yesterday, the utilities are on and the rotten shower is halfway removed!  Bob and I will finish that tomorrow.

~*~

OH yes, and yesterday I packed my lunch in a Tupperware box!

So, take that, Tucker!

😉

This and That

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Well, Friday was the big day! 

We signed our paperwork and paid for the Mountain Farmlet.  We were so excited that we wore ourselves out with it all.  We had planned to take ourselves out to dinner, but then didn’t have the energy to go!  But dinner at home was good.  😉

Tucker is getting better!  It is painfully slow progress, but we don’t have to let him out every hour on the hour now.  In fact, we found out on Friday that he can hold it for over three hours now, and that is a milestone.  However, we will be waiting a lot longer for his fur to grow back.  😦

Now begins the hopefully not too long process of prepping this house and selling it.  We considered renting, but in the end we decided we just don’t want the hassle that goes along with being rental owners.

ANYBODY WANT TO BUY A NICE FARMLET IN HAZEL GREEN?

As for the Mountain Farmlet, well we still have one more week to go.  The Octogenarian is having her estate sale and then will be moved out by the 10th.  I was feeling sad for her to have to go, but then she told us she has plans to go traveling over the next year!  I think this is wonderful, and I hope she has a wonderful journey wherever she goes!

In the meantime  I have been busy making cuttings, and potting up plants I want to take with me to the Mountain Farmlet.  Roses, herbs, bulbs and more.  I started the roses by air layering and it is working FAST and FABULOUSLY!  I already have big, fat root callouses growing in under all that sphagnum moss and tinfoil!   I am taking more than one of each item to ensure that I get at least ONE OF EACH ITEM!  😀

Oh yes, and when I am not puttering and such in the gardens, I have been quietly packing and sorting for the moving sale.

So much to do!

And so, back to work I go!

~*~*~*~

OH YES!!!

And today is Bob’s Birthday!

So you simply must wish him a Happy Birthday!

little kids blowing out birthday cake by Foxtongue at flickr(I just love this picture!)

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Visiting the Mountain Farmlet: into each life some rain must fall

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It rained on Friday.   I don’t do well with rain on the road since my accident in California in the rain.  I totaled my car and permanently injured myself.  Anyway, I no longer spontaneously burst into tears at the sight of a wreck in the rain (It’s PTSD the Dr told me way back then) but OH-BABY I don’t usually go looking to drive in it…  EVER.

That said, I had an appointment with the Octogenarian to see her gardens and I was going to get there!

So, I bundled the dogs into the car, brought plenty of water and a bowl for Tucker, dropped Buddy off for the day at the groomers, stopped 5 times in 80 plus miles for the Little dog to PEE (I couldn’t leave him home all day in his condition now could I?)  paid for insurance on the new Farmlet, transferred the water into our name, found out I need proof of ownership and $160.00 to transfer the electric into our name, and that the trash service office is only open for business for one hour a day (because it’s a one man office and he wears four hats, and three of those hats require him to be out of the office!!!) and somewhere in all that I ate the ugliest lunch in history (normally I would have asked the cook to try again, but under the circumstances I don’t think it would have helped and I was really hungry, and it didn’t poison me) and then it was nearing 2:00 PM and time for my visit!   

In short it was a busy day!

(Insert a rather long inhale here)  😉

I arrived on time and she came out onto the porch to greet me.  We then proceeded to go inside because it was still raining cats and dogs!  He daughter was visiting, introductions were made, and we sat round the table in the breakfast room, drank coffee, and visited for two hours or more!

As we got to know each other better I was struck with the thought, that it was sad that we couldn’t be neighbors.  She is such a lovely and sweet woman.

Later when the rain let up and the sun pretended to burn through the clouds, we peeked at the gardens from the back deck and from the front porch.  Even with all the pelting from the heavy rain, the flowers showed me their potential and it was amazing!  Lilies, roses, iris, and so much more await me when we finally move up on the mountain.  And get this!

Even though she is moving away in a few short weeks, she and her daughter spent quite a few hours out in the garden weeding it!  (I understand this, and probably will do the same before we leave our current Farmlet.  🙂 )

~*~*~*~

Now, about that rain.  This was the spent version of the rain that had caused the bad weather in the Midwest earlier in the week, and although we didn’t have severe weather, it was coming down in buckets nonetheless!

This meant that the gardens were tattered and puddled.  I’ll say no more except that I promised you pictures and I am delivering on that promise!  😀

Click the photo to enter the Mountain Farmlet…

~*~*~*~

PLEASE NOTE

This post was scheduled to be shared over the weekend, but with all the commotion the severe weather has caused over the past two weeks, I just didn’t have the heart.  In retrospect, my annoyances pale in comparison.

I know very well how awful these storms can be because we lived through them in April of 2011.  The devastation is incomprehensible.  There is seeing it on television, and then seeing if first hand.

INCOMPREHENSIBLE!

My heart aches for all who have suffered the loss of life and property.  God bless these people, heal their hearts, and give them strength.

~*~*~*~

Be still, sad heart, and cease repining; Behind the clouds is the sun still shining; Thy fate is the common fate of all, Into each life some rain must fall…

from The Rainy Day:  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

~*~

And a snippet more regarding the Little dog.

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So as I told you on Saturday, Tucker is sick.  For the past year and a half he has been on a hardly noticeable decline.  As you read the following, please know that he was getting regular checkups all along, and we were relaying our observations to the vet. (These were usually the interns, not the head veterinarian.)

First he began peeing in the house.  Not all the time, but just every once in a while.  Then it gradually increased.

Next he started loosing weight.  We could feel his backbones and ribs, which isn’t exactly a bad thing, except that nothing in is diet regimen had changed.  Plus, he had this big pot belly thing going on and he didn’t have worms.  We’d checked for that too.

Now it got really weird.  The Little dog has always been what we referred to as a secret water drinker.  Prior to getting sick we had only ever seen him take little sips of water at a time.  Suddenly, he was drinking the water bowl DRY.

And weirder still, he began chasing the Big dog away from his food dish and wolfing it down!!!

The final straw was when we woke up with wet feet in the bed.  Tucker sleeps between the covers at the foot of the bed and, poor guy, he lost it in his sleep!

I called the vet as soon as they opened and we went in to see the head veterinarian.  We explained everything that had been going on, and he said he believed it was Cushing’s Disease.   He began testing in office and sent out lab samples too.

So, now begins the treatment.  Treatment is tricky with the old meds, but there is a newer med on the market that has been trialed in England called *Vetoryl (trilostane) .  We will be using this newer med because it has less risk to the Little dog.  This is not to say that it does not have side effects! (see below) We await the medicine, it is on order, and then will have to closely monitor the Little dog to get the dosage right.

~*~*~*~

Think happy thoughts, because it is breaking my heart to see him like this every day.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAWhen he sits up his little belly sticks out like a Pot Bellied Pig’s.

Symptoms of Cushing’s Disease in Dogs

The most common symptoms include:
• increased/excessive water consumption (polydipsia)  (!!!)
• increased/excessive urination (polyuria)  (!!!)
• urinary accidents in previously housetrained dogs  (!!!)
• increased/excessive appetite (polyphagia)  (!!!)
• appearance of food stealing/guarding, begging, trash dumping, etc.  (!!!)
• sagging, bloated, pot-bellied appearance  (!!!)
• weight gain or its appearance, due to fat redistribution
• loss of muscle mass, giving the appearance of weight loss  (!!!)
• bony, skull-like appearance of head
• exercise intolerance, lethargy, general or hind-leg weakness (!!!)
• new reluctance to jump on furniture or people  (!!!)
• excess panting, seeking cool surfaces to rest on
• symmetrically thinning hair or baldness (alopecia) on torso  (!!!)
• other coat changes like dullness, dryness
• slow regrowth of hair after clipping
• thin, wrinkled, fragile, and/or darkly pigmented skin  (!!!)
• easily damaged/bruised skin that heals slowly  (!!!)
• hard, calcified lumps in the skin (calcinosis cutis)
• susceptibility to infections (especially skin and urinary)
• diabetes, pancreatitis, seizures

( (!!!) Indicates Tucker’s slowly increasing symptoms over the past year and a half.)

*Vetoryl (trilostane) Capsules, the latest drug approved to treat canine Cushing’s, is also the first drug approved to treat both pituitary- and adrenal-dependent Cushing’s in dogs. This prescription drug works by stopping the production of cortisol in the adrenal glands. In studies of the drug, the most common side effects were vomiting, lack of energy, diarrhea, and weight loss.

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