Weekly chat 8-18-14

Glenda, that's very encouraging to hear that there is some hope for recovery for Todd's boss's wife.  Talk about an emotional roller-coaster for their family!

Julie, I hope you're home with your dogs and out of a vehicle soon.  Now you know how truckers must feel.  Being on the road so much is not fun, in my opinion, whether you're a driver or a passenger.

I think Ruby would be similar to Abbie if she were focused on something she really enjoyed, despite dogs being nearby.  The 4-week intro to agility class we took gave some indication of that.  Standing around, waiting our turn to run through the obstacles was tough, and I had to stand a great distance from the other classmates, but she was mostly just vocalizing and pulling on the least -- not acting aggressive or threatening.  I just ran into another shelter volunteer who has a slightly reactive dog, and he told me about an intro agility group/class he's going to that is working out nicely.  The trainer is aware of his dog's issues, so she makes some adjustments to accommodate them.  I should look into that, especially for winter months when we exercise her outdoors less (this group works indoors).

I keep thinking it's Friday . . . it's been a long week!

All 4 owners in the office today, must behave.

I have a leak in the kitchen sink drain. I'm hoping it doesn't turn into a million dollar problem.

Nothing much going on here. Hot and dry. Same old, same old.  It is almost Friday though so that's a good thing.

Tina, sorry you've got a water leak. I hope it's something easy and cheap to fix.

So yesterday's accident didn't make the news except for the video footage a local news channel showed. The problem is they had the accident location wrong, the vehicles wrong and the cause of the accident wrong. It turns out there were two major accidents on the same stretch of road at two different intersections.  They showed footage of the accident I saw but described the other accident.  Just goes to show you can't believe everything you see on the news. Like anyone does anyway these days.

On our last run to the Swan Lake WMA, it got a little hot and humid.

If you look close, you can se the little gremlin enjoying the shade.

He had his fill of stalking and chasing grass hoppers.

It is just plain fun to watch them develop.  He managed to get into the truck and up on the seat by himself-a first.  He has free run of the bed room at night,  He enters the kennel, but I leave the door open.  He is an early riser, given half a chance.  But 4AM is just too early.

Gosh Doug, he's so adorable. Adorable or not 4 AM is too early. :)

What a love!  Aside from the 4AM!

More good news on the DH's boss's wife...today she opened her eyes and moved her arms.  Pretty impressive for someone who was given last rites on Monday!

Glenda, that is amazing.  I hope she continues to improve and has as full of a recovery as possible.

Doug, he's lucky he's so cute -- alarm clocks that go off that early would have to be, or they couldn't be tolerated!  

I'm taking Belle in this afternoon to see the vet. She didn't eat her breakfast yesterday morning. When I fed her dinner she puked it up within a few minutes. Another day of hot and dry here. TGIF!

I hope it's nothing too serious with Belle, Jackie.

My water leak is fixed - only cost me dinner.

It's Welcome Weekend for the local university. Traffic has already tripled and the idiots abound. Local beer consumption will increase by 200%. I think I'll hide at home this weekend.

Tina, I love paying for repairs with dinner. :)   Hiding at home sounds like a good plan with all the idiots in town.

Many of the folks who live in Traverse City (MI) do a LOT of hiding at home during the summer.  That city quadruples in size during the summer and it simply isn't designed for that much traffic.  Plus, locals find it difficult to enjoy the city when so many folks are around all the local attractions.

Dreary here again today.  Yesterday it was wall to wall rain.  The rain seems to have stopped for now......

Waiting hopefully for another update on Todds bosses wife.......

Forgot to say, sending good vibes for Belle.

Tina, glad your water leak was so inexpensively repaired!  I wish that leak we had last winter had that outcome.  I could've taken all the iDog members (and probably your families!) out to dinner for what we had to pay for the repairs.  

Jackie, I hope Belle's tummy troubles are nothing serious.  

Speaking of digestive issues, at 4:15am Ruby jumped off our bed, and I immediately woke up.  She left the bedroom, which she never does unless DH leaves.  Once I realized he was still asleep, I dashed to the living room, assuming she needed to go out.  She was in a bit of a panic in the living room, so I let her out, and she had some diarrhea.  

When we went back into the house, the odor was strong, and I thought, "That can't be just on her bum.  Uh oh."  I turn on a light, and sure enough, she'd left a gigantic pile of mushy poop in the dining room!  I used nearly a whole bottle of Nature's Miracle and a roll of paper towels trying to clean it up, which was nearly impossible, given it's texture. I got back in bed about 4:45.  

DH's alarm went off at 5am, so I told him what happened and tried to fall back to sleep.  In my haste, I didn't stop to put on sweatpants, so I was outside in 55 degree temps in nothing but a T-shirt, and I could NOT get warmed up enough to fall back to sleep before I had to get up anyway.  Needless to say, I'm not feeling up to par today.

The most maddening thing is our bedroom is maybe 25 feet from the back door (no stairs), yet she couldn't wait the 30 seconds it took me to let her out.  Oh well, sometimes our intestinal tracts have a mind of their own.  Sigh.

Wife picked this today.  BLT time:

This is a 1.29lb Brandywine.  The way tomatoes are supposed to taste.

Yes, I am gloating!

That's a gorgeous tomato!  I'm sure it was delicious.

Belle checked out fine at the vet. Bloodwork, chem panel and fecal all looked normal. Physical exam revealed nothing unusual. Vet said to keep her on the prescription canned food for three days and gradually add in her kibble.  She wouldn't eat last night. This morning she ate about half of the canned I gave her.