88 pounds!
the vet wants him to lose 8-10 pounds or put him on a prescription diet. I figure cutting out table scraps will do the trick, plus more walks. And Josh fenced off a section of the backyard where we can throw scraps for the chickens that Buddy can't get to. I'm sure at least 5 pounds of his weight is from the chicken bones incident! Honestly though, I was surprised he doesn't weigh more.
If it's not one thing, it's another. How many times have I said that this past year?
Buddy has hives. I'm pretty sure it's an allergic reaction to the dog shampoo I used on him yesterday, but it's also possible that something bit him. It's a pretty severe reaction - he's covered in welts the size of strawberries. His entire back is covered, his nose, his chest, his belly. One on his eye. Oh, my poor puppa-nuppa-duppa! He's on his second dose of Benadryl right now (first one last night) and while I do see an improvement in the amount of swelling, he's still obviously uncomfortable. :(
Meanwhile, I need to keep my camera with me at all times. I missed out on shooting a local brush fire last week (from beginning to end...we had a great view) and yesterday Claire and I saw a roadrunner in the mall parking lot! The trippy things I notice sometimes...
He came through surgery just fine. Actually, he came bouncing out of the vet's office like nothing had ever happened. Just kinda "hey, why is there a cone on my head?" but he didn't seem like he was in pain at all. In fact, the little (okay, almost 70 pounds) effer was in the backyard unsupervised last night and did something - probably put his front paws up on the wall - and the incision site pulled and bled. He didn't gnaw any stitches out like with his tail; they're all still there. Now he's on lockdown in the crate unless I take him outside to potty. He still wants to play, but I'm pretty good at my job as Fun Monitor (ask the girls) and put a stop to it quickly.
Here's the really sad thing: poor dog's testicles are swollen to the size of a tennis ball. You can't tell there are two in there, it looks like just one big thing. I don't have much sympathy for penises (penii?) in general, but OUCH. They look like they need to be iced. Even worse, I have to keep an eye on the "area" to make sure the swelling goes down soon. Gah.
Theresa just took the kids to the park and on errands with her and Jordan. I'm now faced with the eternal dilemma - clean or nap?
Nap always wins.
I'm posting while outside from Josh's new(ish) MacBook. This is pretty handy, this whole laptop and wireless thing. I remember when we were still being charged by the minute by AOL, don't you? Anyway, I'm very jealous of this cute little machine and wish I had one of my very own. Sigh.
So yes, tomorrow Buddy is being neutered. The dog has become too testy (HAHAHA) for his own good. Too much testosterone, too much penis to explain to two little girls. So enjoy this last night of licking, Bud. Get 'em good while you still can. After tomorrow it'll be Conehead City and when he's finally cone-free, I believe the balls will be well on their way to shriveling up. I do it out of love, doggie. Trust me. And before anyone feels sorry for him, he did have a last hurrah with Bruno yesterday and got a new disgusting knuckle bone to gnaw on. He'll be fine.
And for those of you who have been asking for new Mia pictures (Gretchen!) I'd be happy to share if I had any new ones. I mean, I've seen new ones. I know they exist! They just keep getting cuter now that Mia smiles and has hair. Yes! You heard me right! SHE HAS HAIR!! But seriously, there are some nadorable ones of Meeps in her Jordan outfit, some nekky baby bum ones and lots of smiley ones. I wish I could show you....BIG SIGH....
(steph! send me pictures! snapfish! snap, snap!)
Yesterday we went to the dog beach with Steph, Bryan (just like old times!), the girlz, Josh and I and the dogs. The trip down was uneventful. The hike down the rocks was uneventful. The dogs loved the beach and for the most part, there was no trouble. We've never seen dogs attack each other or had problems with the girlz and other dogs. When we tell people about the dog beach they never quite get how it works. Everyone is responsible for their own dogs. If your dog can't be social and has aggressive tendencies, don't bring it and especially don't let it off-leash. Common sense, no? No. For the first time we had dogs snap at Buddy. The first one was a husky mix and though it didn't growl at us, Buddy's fur stood on end all along his back. Bad vibes. Then the dog snapped at Bruno who is super protective. But no blood, no harm, no foul.
The second incident was with a spaniel of some sort who was running along the beach with his spaniel sibling while holding a Big Stick in his mouth. Mr. Spaniel was so full of himself, just trotting down the beach with his stick...just enticing other dogs to share in his glee. Pity the fool who messes with him and his Big Stick. That fool would be Buddy, natch. He got snapped at and backed off quickly, pussy-dog that he is. Bruno would be having none of this and ran to put himself between Buddy and the other dog, checked to see if Buddy was okay and then ran off after the spaniel. Dood, Bruno totally has Buddy's back. It was scary for a moment, but everyone was easily calmed.
Saturday the bastards across the street cut down the Mexican Palm where the Barn Owls were living. There were two big fledglings in that tree and two adults in the evergreen across the street. Two are still around, still screeching, hunting and chirping, but farther away so we can't enjoy them as much. Bastards. I've also taken up weeding as a hobby. No, I don't know what crawled up my butt, either. It gives me a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, it lets me be outside at the coolest times of day, I get to enjoy the smells of freshly turned earth, water and check out all the bugs. There are a ton of baby grasshoppers out there right now, so tiny they're about 1/4 of an inch. Claire keeps me company and picks up any caterpillars and grubs I turn up. Ah, summer.
Oh, the debacle this dog has caused with his tail...or lack thereof. We had his tail cropped on April 25. Since it wasn't done after he was born, the vet advised us to wait until he had all his shots before we went ahead with the surgery. Meanwhile, the tail is a damned menace. It whips everything, everyone, the dog chases it constantly (which may have been how he tweaked his leg) and is in danger of chewing it off his own ass. So it comes as no surprise that no e-collar will keep this dog's mouth off his tail stump. He pulled the dressing off the day after surgery so we took him back to the vet the next morning. They said to leave it off, keep on the e-collar (duh), keep it clean (again, duh), and watch for signs of infection. Got it. I asked for antibiotics after explaining that our backyard was pretty much only dirt, but was told there was no need.
After a week of hell trying to keep on the e-collars (yes, collars plural) and scolding the dog constantly, he pulled out some stitches. Josh took him in to the vet this morning and got a nice scolding about how infected it was, how we bandaged it wrong (puh-leeze!) and the repairs on his tail would cost more than the surgery itself. In the mood I've been in lately, I told Josh to tell the vet to just put the damned dog down. Of course I didn't mean it! I was just so frustrated and tired of the whole tail business. What the heck is going to happen when we get him neutered?
So Buddy spent the night at the vet - again. He now has two layers of stitches, dissolvable on the inside and metal wire on the outside as a deterrent against chewing. He's been all hooked up and cleaned out with antibiotics and knocked out. The vet is sending us home tomorrow with more antibiotics and thank goodness, tranquilizers until the stitches come out. I'll have to avoid the temptation to hoard the tranquilizers myself. Lord knows I can use them.
Poor puppy boy! Poor stupid puppy boy. Stupid, because he hurt himself showing off around the house on Sunday night, racing and jumping over furniture. Not so cool now, is it showoff? We're hoping that's it's merely dislocated and after sedation and x-rays, the vet can pop it back into place. If it is a break the location of the break will determine the treatment, surgery or a cast. Either way - not good. So tonight he stays at the vet. Cross your fingers for my little Buddy, please! (dislocationdislocationdislocationdislocation)
and yes, dig my groovy 70's linoleum patch. you know you're jealous.
Merrybirthdayvalentineversary to me!
I finally got my long awaited puppy. He's a Rottweiler/Boxer mix but he looks like a Boxer. He's brindle (black with brown) and white. He's six weeks old and too cute for words. The fawn puppy is his sister.
His name is Buddy.
