Free Mange Mutt

Well the good news is no mange. The bad news is she does have a spectacular case of ear mites and tape worms. Luckily they can both be treated but she won't be getting many snuggles and NO kisses for the next three weeks until the medicine has time to work its magic.

The vet thought she was probably a year to a year and a half old, had surprisingly good teeth for her condition and needed to put on some weight. She weighed in a at a paltry six pounds. She weighs less than either of our cats.

On second thought, maybe I do need to give her some kisses. Perhaps I could benefit from a tape worm. Nothing else is working.

I bought her a cute little pink collar with a bell on it. I had to get a cat collar because her neck is so dang skinny. It's cute listening to her prance around in it.

So far, so good.

Sprung!

We've had spring around the Big Cedars for more than a month now. Way earlier than usual, so of course we got premature gardening fever. Bryon planted potatoes, radishes, onions, lettuce, cabbage and broccoli around the first of March and yesterday we enjoyed the first fruits, er, vegetables of that labor.

It was delicious! I finally stopped buying balsamic vinaigrette from the grocery story and just mixing up my own. I figured out the trick is LOTS of honey and half balsamic vinegar and half extra virgin olive oil.

I found a recipe for radish relish I'm going to try, maybe tonight. I've made zucchini relish several times and it's soooo good on hamburgers and hotdogs. I never know what to actually DO with all those radishes but the are just so lovely their too good to waste. I'll report back on how it turns out.

Today we bought tomatoes and pepper plants. Sure it's probably way to early, but hey, if we get tomatoes a month sooner, WooHoo!

We've had some progress on the pool building as well. We have a spot almost leveled out and we'll be putting it up very, very soon. YOU may be on the list of potential pool builders so prepare your strong ropy muscles in advance! It will be all hands on deck for pool raising day! We pay in beer and Aleve. The beer comes AFTER the work is done. That was a lesson learned long ago. Yeah, I'm talking about you brother Mike ;)

Friday night we got another little farm surprise.

She was up by the road in the ditch along our driveway. Bryon found her when he went in the Rhino to pickup Grace off the bus. She followed them home. Grace fed her. Case closed.

She is COVERED in ticks and fleas and has hardly any hair on her belly. Her nipples look like she's had a litter of pups in the recent past. She's thin and pitiful. We are hoping she doesn't have mange. We gave her a flea/tick bath yesterday and Frontlined her. She's very friendly and can't keep her tail still when you peek your  head out at her or talk to her. Of course she's a little skittish but she's warming up.

You can feel every bone along her back and her sternum protrudes. We've all been washing our hands incessantly after handling her but you just can't resist giving her a pet or a scratch or picking yet another tick off of her. Bryon is taking her to the vet tomorrow and Grace can barely wait for a report of no mange so she can cuddle with her.

Grace had a complete meltdown Friday night as we discussed what to do with her. We thought maybe someone in Bryon's dad's apartment complex would enjoy a tiny dog like her. Grace lost it and proclaimed her undying love for her. Bryon told Grace we can't keep every pet that shows up at our house. Grace responded (correctly) that this was the first one in her WHOLE LIFE and that she wanted a dog that was little she could hold that wouldn't ever grow up.

Geez, how can you argue with that?

Besides, how much could it possibly eat? It's tiny.

I'm pretty sure she has worms too. Double fun. Bryon will probably stroke when he has to pay the vet bill tomorrow but she's too cute to turn out. I'm surprised she hadn't already been eaten by a coyote up there by the road and the field.

She's stayed right on the back step on that little bed the past few nights. I'm sure as time goes on she'll get more adventurous but for now, she's pretty damn happy to stay right there safe, sound and fed.

Stay tuned for the vet report. I'll try to let you know before ten days passes again :)

Damn bloggers.

Dog & Cat

DOG UPDATE:
Last Wednesday night, I traveled to the Springfield Dog Training Club east of Springfield for my first ever obedience training class. The class is for Belle. I mind just fine. Most of the time. The rules that make sense anyway.


It was a raining night. It was dark. It was foggy. The club is out in the middle of nowhere and I drove by it the first time but finally made it. The first night is just for the humans. Belle goes with me next week. The class didn’t even start until 7 pm and I HATE being out on a weeknight. When I first walked in the previous class was still in session. Those dogs were BEHAVED.

As the first class wound down, the staff circled chairs around for our class. We all sat down ready to share our dog woes with the not so faint smell of urine in the air. You know, sort of what I’d expect and AA meeting to be like. I could already imagine Belle and I getting kicked out for our mutual insubordination because everything struck me as funny. I was one dog away from being a Saturday Night Live skit.

I’ve placed a lot of hope in this class when what I probably should have invested in is more massages for myself. And maybe hypnosis. Or some sort of voodoo to ensure more patience. From the first night, the one thing I learned that seems to be the pivotal key to success is this; hotdogs. Dogs LOVE hotdogs and will apparently do ANYTHING for more hotdogs. Woe to you when you run OUT of hotdogs.

I cut up an entire package the very next day after class and have been trying to implement my new mind bending dog training techniques on Belle. I also bought a doggie seatbelt so I can keep her from pinging around the interior of my car to and from class.

I’m ready. Bring it on next week’s class. I am prepared to dominate.

I’ll just have to try to keep the snarky thoughts and comments to myself. THAT will be the most difficult part. Unless I run out of hotdogs.

CAT UPDATE
Last week also brought the spaying of our new wildcat, Violet. I’ve been feeding her in the mornings so she’s used to the schedule now. She waits impatiently outside the patio door for us to wake and greet her in the mornings. She’s really sweet and friendly. Monday I thought I might just crate her up and take her to the vet, but I decided to call first to make sure that would be okay. I didn’t know how it would go or WHEN I might be able to catch her and get that feat accomplished.

The vet said no problem, bring her when I could and they would get the job done … for $53. The next morning she was outside the door as usual. I ran up and got the cat carrier and stuffed her inside without incident. She wasn’t too happy once she realized she’d been duped by my affection, but she wasn’t insane either. We came to an agreement. She mewed and I consoled all the way to the vet.

I dropped her off and checked on her later that day. She was still groggy so I decided it was probably better if she spent the night at the vet than if I tried to keep her in the garage all night. I picked her up early the next morning and took her home.

My biggest fear was that the second I let her out of the crate she’d run for the woods never to be seen again. I have the same worry every time I hive bees. Because really, what’s to keep them from just saying screw it and flying away? Uh, nothing.

Before I opened the cat carrier, I filled her bowl with food, another with water and dumped some tuna over the top of it. I wafted the open tuna container in front of the carrier. She was interested. I opened the door and she came out purring and rubbing against me ready for lovin’s. I was forgiven. I’m pretty sure the tuna helped.

That night, Grandpa, Grace and Bryon all reported that she was indeed fine and still hanging around. Grandpa fed her some more tuna and and everyone in the family scratched her ears for her. At one point, Bryon got a glimpse of something out on the back deck and looked out to find a beautiful, fluffy white opossum eating out of the cat bowl and Violet rubbing her body against it like a Brillo padded cat scratch post. What the heck?

Guess it’s a good thing I went ahead and gave her a rabies shot as well.