Last week of August chat, 8-25-14

Hello! Hoping everyone had a great weekend!  This chat is sticky! :)

The weekend was free of any tummy trouble evidence for Ruby.  We think it may have been the dried sweet potato treats we were giving her.  They come from a reputable vendor our local pet supply shop uses (i.e., not China).  But, they may be too fiber-rich for her to have more than one per day, and we were giving her 2 or 3.  They're the size of potato chips, but maybe that's too much.  Anyway, she was back to her usual, zooming self all weekend.

From yesterday -- Karen, I'm glad you were able to get some "me" time and one-on-one time with both your boys.  Now everyone is happy, right?!    

I know what you mean about how it feels to make even small donations to charities or groups doing work you value.  One time a woman I know was going on about how she refuses to shop at Walmart because of the unfair way they treat their workers, etc.  I realize that Walmart (like many other huge corporations) care more about shareholders than the welfare of their employees, but one way I justify shopping there is because the major savings I get there allows me to have more disposable income to give to our animal shelter.  Having that room in my budget is important to me.

It's the last week of quiet roads on the way to work in the mornings.  Next week it's back to the throngs of school buses and parents driving kids to school.  It adds 10+ minutes to my commute.  Summer flew by!

Most schools started up here today. The joys of kids and school buses and extra traffic. ugh

Belle's tummy has been fine. Today I'll start adding in some of her regular dog food and hope that whatever was going on was just a mystery tummy upset thing.  Glad to hear Ruby's tummy is back to normal.

I found out an old friend that I hadn't talked to in a few months died of cancer.  He had no family except a brother in another city. They weren't close.  I'm going to miss him and I wish I had known he was sick but didn't find out until today that he died on the 13th. He didn't want anyone to know he was sick.

I used to love it when he stopped by to see Twister and I guess to see me too. lolThose two loved each other and it was so cute to see this great big guy acting like a kid with Twister.  He was the type of guy who would start to tell you a joke or a funny story but he'd get to laughing so hard that his laughing would make you laugh before he ever managed to get the joke or story told.  One of my favorite memories of him is the time he had his old truck towed to the dealer because it wouldn't go into 'drive' and he could only drive it in reverse. He didn't have the money the dealer wanted to rebuild the transmission and didn't have the money to have it towed to his house. He called me and asked if I'd follow him home. I'll never forget that because until you've followed behind someone who is facing you but driving away from you, you just haven't had that special "oh CRAP" moment when you realize what you've agreed to do.  lol   He was a big hearted bear of a man and I miss him and hope he's laughing and telling jokes in the afterlife. Rest easy Pat.

@JackieG

He was the type of guy who would start to tell you a joke or a funny story but he'd get to laughing so hard that his laughing would make you laugh before he ever managed to get the joke or story told.  

I'm so sorry to hear about the death of your friend, Jackie.  It's very hard to know you didn't get a chance to say goodbye.  I had that experience with a beloved uncle who didn't want anyone to know he was ill.  

Pat sounds like a special guy.  The way you described his sense of humor really made me smile.  Reminds me of a couple people I know who often do the same thing when telling a story or joke.  What makes it even funnier is when you try to re-tell the story yourself, and you get laughing thinking about how that person was laughing, yet the new person you're telling doesn't quite see the same humor in it.  I feel silly laughing all by myself in those instances!

The mental image of you following each other in your cars while his was facing yours is hilarious.  Did you smile and wave at each other?  I can't imagine how goofy that would feel (not to mention scary -- I hope the route was a very short one!)

I hope it gives you a little comfort to imagine he and Twister greeting each other.  I bet Twister is sitting on Pat's lap while Pat keeps everyone around him laughing.  

Good news about Belle's tummy.  Guess some of our dogs just have sensitive digestive tracts once in a while!

Re: Walmart employees

I found a site that posted results of a study on employee satisfaction.  Apparently, Walmart employees are, for the most part, happily employed and like their jobs.  Some are not.  Guess who gets the most press.

Put the gremlin in the outdoor kennel yesterday.   He of course does not believe he is a dog and protested.  I got home early and let him run a bit, then brought him in.  He dumped at the end of the hallway.  I explained the error of his ways-loudly.  Later, he started whining and trotting to the back door.  Apparently he listens.  Glad we bought the carpet cleaner.  Already wore out one.

We start his formal training tonight.  Could be interesting.  I am going to take to the WMA and run his little legs off before we go to the class.  It's actually quite cool right now, so he should enjoy.

Wife is at Disney World with the grandkids this week, so I have to watch all alone.  Shoes are all up high, as they seem to be the teething toy of choice.  He did manage to find an old stitchery my wife completed years ago.  I may be needing some upgrades to the doghouse when wife gets back.

Doug, be sure to keep in mind it's supposed to be another early winter when you are upgrading the dog house.

Another night of little solid sleep due mostly to the humidity. I've got a headache.

Tina, sorry you didn't sleep well. Hope tonight you get some rest. Work, work work. Guess that's a good thing when there are bills to pay and dogs to feed. :)

Welp. :(So much for Belle's tummy being better. She's been on a veterinary prescribed bland diet since Friday and has not vomited or had diarrhea. As of Monday, per the vet's instruction, I've been gradually adding in some of her dry kibble. So far, so good until last night's dinner. It was half kibble and half vet diet. Within fifteen minutes she was in obvious distress. Eating grass and any plant she could. This went on for thirty or forty minutes. She kept asking to go outside and I went out with her each time but she never puked. It couldn't have been worse timing as we had someone there to measure cabinets and countertops. He must have thought I was insane. Going in and out and in and out. She finally settled down and seemed to be better. This morning I fed her a very small amount of the vet diet. I saw that she'd had a very loose bowel movement this morning when she went out. Sorry for the long post. I hate it when one of my dogs isn't feeling well. I plan to call the vet today and see if she's got any other ideas.

Oh no! Poor Belle.  I hope there is an answer for whatever is causing her repeated tummy upset.

I got halfway to work this morning on my bike when it started to rain. Fortunately it was only a sprinkling. Now it's sunny like the forecast said.

Fortunately I slept well last night.

Poor Belle.  I'm sure you've thought of this already Jackie, but could it be the particular batch/bag of kibble you've got on hand (assuming it's the same one since her issues started)?  It seems odd she had trouble so soon after you added some kibble back into her prescription food.

I haven't been sleeping well the past 3 nights.  Last night I kept waking up after having strange dreams.  

My coworker made chocolate chip cookies last night and brought me some.  I waited about 10 minutes before eating 3 of them.  I told her I saw there was oatmeal in them, so I thought it would be okay to have some at 9:30am.  Breakfast of champions!  I'm pathetic.  No willpower at all when it comes to anything with chocolate in it.  

Forgot to say I hope Sky's first class went okay last night, Doug!

Tracy, there is never a wrong time to eat cookies or chocolate!

Tracy, the other dogs are eating the same kibble as Belle and they're not having any problems so I kind of ruled out the food being bad as the problem. I spoke to the vet and I'm to fast her again for 24 hours and then back to the vet diet exclusively. Then possible more testing.

Oatmeal is healthy. :)  Cookies are good. What could be wrong with that? lol  Sorry you're not sleeping well. I'm afraid to say it for fear I'll jinx myself but I've been sleeping really well lately. Except for this morning when I woke up at 3 AM and couldn't get back to sleep. I did go to bed early so still got some pretty decent zzzzzs.  

@JackieG

the other dogs are eating the same kibble as Belle and they're not having any problems so I kind of ruled out the food being bad as the problem.