October 1, 2007
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NEW CAST, BARON AND A NEW DOG ENTERS OUR LIFE
I got into the doctor’s office this past week, had an x-ray taken of my wrist’s progress and finally got a shorter cast. The doctor had to pull up one of the *pins* that had somehow gotten pounded down into the wrst further than it should have been. He actually used a pair of pliers! I felt pressure but no pain, thank goodness. There was the usual adding of some antiseptic gel and a fresh dressing then came the new cast.
The doctor asked me what color I wanted and I told him to surprise me. He had said they had white, yellow, a dark blue, red, green and pink. I think that was all the colors, anyway. He and the nurse quickly and efficiently put several layers of guaze and what seems to be cotton and then the fiberglas cast was put on. He sure surprised me with his choice of what appears to be a flourescent pink! I kid you not. I swear, it SHOULD glow in the dark (but it doesn’t, I checked that out as soon as I could) Somewhere there still lurks the little kid in me.
My niece, Tara, took the Beast and me out to lunch the day of the new cast. She had wanted to take us to a nice place called Top of the River because she knows the manager and the bartender there. She just didn’t realize that it doesn’t open for lunch except on weekends. So we went to a restaurant near our home that we had seen but never visited before although Tara’s mother and I once discussed going there just to check it out.
Now, I have never heard of Charlie’s before. I don’t know if its a chain like TGI Fridays, Appleby’s, etc. If it is, you must stop in and try the food. If what we ate was an indication, they have great food. The prices are comparable to the chains so don’t expect cheap. But the servings are generous (we took leftovers we just couldn’t finish although we were starved when we got there) and the rolls they serve hot are different and delicfious. Tara wouldn’t even let us leave the tip and we thanked her several times for the lunch. We couldn’t remember the last time someone paid for our lunch. It’s usually US so this was a real treat.
Baron still doesn’t know what to make of the bright pink cast on my arm and is always sniffing at it for clues, I guess. I have more mobility with this new one and can ALMOST type normally. I say ALMOST because I still have to watch that the cast doesn’t hit a key I don’t want and I can’t do it for long because the wrist begins to ache.
Enter a new saga of Baron. First of all, he IS beginning to master and even enjoy the treadmill a bit. We hope he will *take to it* before winter sets in here because neither the Beast nor I can walk him for long enough to drain some of his puppy energy. He has learned the run with the scooter as long as the Beast stays off the road and runs it on the grass. I guess he just doesn’t like the feel of the road on his still slick paws.
As for the treadmill, it only took some chicken pieces and a few cheezits to get him to walk on it. It got to be kind of funny how he went from being afraid of it to being eager as soon as we put some treats on the agenda, too.
Now the saga of the new dog. Both the Beast and I had noticed a new dog kind of hanging around. He’s rather unusual looking and, since bathing him, we think he’s a mix of a blue heller and some kind of hunting dog. He’s black, brown, white, some red and honest-to-god BLUE. I was floored when we bathed him to realize all that blue was natural. I’ve never, ever seen it before.
He’s a young dog, less than a year old and looks to be around 40 or 50 lbs. I didn’t pick him up to check it out but we know how much Baron weighs and he is heavier than Baron but not by too much. We had never seen him before either with someone or alone so we were kind of curious as to where he lived. The Beast found him underneath our travel trailer on our lot next door and tried to entice him out from underneath but he just gave a low growl. Then we found him under our car in the open garage and knew we had to get him out from under there so, with the use of a large broom, I pushed and the Beast tried coaxing him with a dish of kibble set between him and the dog. I finally managed to get the dog out from under the car and his growls were actually ones of fear. We wondered how he had been treated lately but knew he was both hungry and thirsty. He actually licked his bowl of water clean AFTER he finished it. I waited a while to refill it because I didn’t want him to be sick from a lot of water on an empty stomach.
I had some cheezits that I was snacking on when the Beast first discovered the dog under the car and had carried them out with me (yeah, I can be dumb at times, too) but gave a couple to the Beast to try to coax the dog over so we could see the tag on his collar. The dog loved them and he knew I had some in my hand when I walked down the drive to our mailbox while the Beast worked on looking at the tag. The Beast started laughing so I turned and here comes the new dog, trotting down the driveway after me for some more Cheezits.
The Beast eventually brought the new dog into our back yard and introduced him to Baron. Baron immediately figured out he had a playmate and play they did. Of course, first the Beast discovered that New Dog was actually a nice dog, just scared, hungry and also wanting a place to call his own. We have no idea how long he’s been gone from his home but the tag says he wasn’t just dropped off by someone, we hope.
We have since found out that another neighbor on the other side of the circle had fed the dog (to keep him out of her garbage) and taken the tag number down. She then called the county and eventually tracked down the name of the owner. She told us she had called the people but hadn’t yet received a call back. They weren’t home, I guess, and she left her number. We told her we had the dog in our yard and would keep him here for a few days so she could direct the people to us to pick him up. The Beast left our phone number with her so we are hopeful we can reunite him with his family.
New Dog is a well-mannered dog. He’s young enough to play with Baron (and that has been a blessing since they both get tired out). It’s had an added advantage for us because, suddenly, Baron has become a much better dog. I kid you not. He’s drained of some energy now so he’s much calmer and, although he sometimes jumps up in excitement, he no longer does it with his full weight. Most of the time, he just jumps up in the air and then stays down when he realizes what he did. It’s been amazing to us. New Dog has also been showing Baron what *catch* is all about. He actually gathered up all the balls in the yard into a pile when he started discovering them. The Beast decided to throw a ball to him and he just loved running after it and bringing it back so he could do it again. Baron finally started into the competition and a great time was had by all until both dogs finally flopped down to rest. I think I understand the *Power of the Pack* that Cesar is always talking about on his show now. The reason for Doggy Parks is also apparant because they learn from each other and quickly, too. I have to find out if we have a Doggy Park in this area, although I kind of doubt it since most dogs are working dogs, it seems.
So that’s what our week has been like. Taking care of two dogs (thank goodness we have a huge bag of dog food)and I made up a lot of rice and chicken but it’s not lasting long with two doggie mouths to feed. I hope we hear from the owners soon but I may ask my niece, Tara, if she would like a watch dog that won’t scare the babies because he’s not hyperactive and is well-mannered. We shall see. She will be here later this morning and she can see the dog for herself. At least now he’s bathed and both feels and smells better than he did a couple days ago.
Time for me to get off here. The Beast is up now (he missed my absence from bed). Guess he got cold since its only 57 degrees out this morning. You all have a great day and a nice week. If our life gets a bit less exciting, I should be able to do more blogging now. I can TYPE !!!!
Love you all.
