October 11, 2007
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BARON HAS EAR PROBLEMS AND PATCHES COMES INTO HOUSE FOR FIRST TIME
It was bound to happen. Baron kept pawing at his ears because he didn’t like them being taped up, we thought and he finally managed to paw both taped ears completely off. The day after he did it, we noticed that the ear was very raw looking and was oozing a bit so off to the vets office we went after a frantic phone call.
The vet gave him a shot in the ear (it was slightly swollen, which we hadn’t noticed because we were worried about the surface) and said it appears to be an actual allergy to the tape. It actually looked better just a few hours later, to our relief. The vet is going to retape the ears on Friday but with a special tape made for just this reason. I guess that its not uncommon to be allergic to adhesive for animals. I knew people were allergic because my mother was but never considered that animals might be.
The *boys*, as I call them, are still getting along well. At least until some lady dog comes between them but I intend to get both dogs neutered (if the owners of Patches aren’t found) before that can happen. The Beast was reluctant to let Baron outside to play with Patches the day after the vets visit and Patches was missing him AND the presence of the Beast. He was haunting our back screen door, looking in anxiously and the Beast had an idea. He propped open the door just big enough for Patch to come in and, slowly but surely, he inched his way over to the Beast. He was conveniently sitting at the kitchen table with a treat in hand. Patch finally made his way completely in and put his head on the Beast’s lap and gave out a sigh that almost made me laugh. It was like he was relieved to be near him. He didn’t even notice the treat in the Beast’s hand right away. He then decided he would take a look around and came as far as the rug. I called him (I was on the couch in the living room) and he finally walked very carefully over to me to be scratched and patted. Then Baron saw him and wanted to play.
Now both dogs are on the large size. Baron weighs 35 lbs at 4 months and Patches, at perhaps 6 months, probably weighs closer to 50 lbs (and it’s pure muscle). They are too big to be horsing around our small house so the Beast shooed them out into the back yard and let them play as they normally do.
If you remember, I told you that Patches had resisted with all his might to being brought into the house. He resisted so hard that the Beast couldn’t even *muscle* him inside. So this was a HUGE step in the life of Patches. We haven’t had the chance since then to see if he will walk through the house (from front to back) yet but I’m sure we will in the next day or two.
A funny note: when the Beast was going to take Baron to the vets, they both went out into the garage and Baron couldn’t wait to get into the car for the ride. As soon as the Beast opened the back door, in Baron jumped and settled down into the place he likes to ride (with his head on the console) and then he got antsy for the Beast to get in and go.
One of my cousin’s wives called me to let me know that they are hoping to come up from Florida to visit us. She should be getting an insurance settlement soon from an accident she was involved in and they will be looking to relocate. My cousin, Jimmy, has been looking on the Internet about this area and is interested in taking a look around. It would be funny if another one of my family settled in this area. I have a feeling that Jimmy and Sue would like living here. He’s very,very laid back and doesn’t like the really cold winters of the North and also does not like the heat AND humidity of Florida either. Like I said, it would be funny…….
I’m starting to look forward to my eye surgery. If only because it will get rid of some of the light problems I am having more and more often. The flourescent energy saving lightbulbs my hubby has installed aggravate it so I end up having to lay down when it gets really bad (I can’t discern colors and can’t read either). After a half hour or so, the eyes *quiet down* and I can see better. It’s an annoying problem.
It’s supposed to get down into the 40′s tonight with a light wind. The Beast is worried about Patches getting too cold so Patches is out in the garage with the crate door open, his bedding and favorite pillow inside. Patches isn’t too keen on the garage door being shut and is laying on the floor by the steps down into the garage right now (I just checked on him). The temperature is only 66 right now but I have seen it drop drastically here in less than an hour. We have the screen door shut (of course) but did not close the regular door to the house so Patches can see inside. The Beast left a light on in the garage (the one on his work bench) because he doesn’t want Patches to be afraid. I wonder who the light is really on for??? Somehow I doubt that he would be afraid since he’s been sleeping in the outdoor dog house out back in our rural area (it’s very,very dark around here at night).
Well, everyone but me is asleep here now but I am still feeling very much awake. I guess I will go see if Pogo is up now and play a game or two. I think someone broke Pogo tonight because they had to shut the site down completely. It happened very suddenly and only one or two games were still working. Then they finally shut those down so I came here to update. If it’s not working, I will probably go through some sort of withdrawal and it won’t be pretty, I promise you!
Oh, yes, one more thing. The Beast is going up to his brother’s house in the Chicago area on Sunday. I thought the original plan was that he was going to bring up our trailer (so the brother can transport some of the furniture from his Chicago house to his new one in Southern Illinois) and to help him paint. Well, his wife’s sons are painting the house so I knew he wasn’t going to have to do that but it turns out he’s also going to help his brother repair their deck AND put in a new sump pump and a few odds and ends repairs that are needed. His brother is NOT handy at all but the Beast has become very good at a lot of things over the years and with some of the fixer homes we owned. So I will probably have a whole week to enjoy all by my lonesome. I have several projects I plan on getting done, including going through my file cabinet and getting rid of some old, old stuff that doesn’t need to be saved any more.
So, have a great week and weekend. Hope your weather is good and your life uneventful. Love you all.
