March 9, 2020
If you’d like to join me in helping Lakota families and/or rural libraries this year, please read this post. Over 6 weeks in 2019, we raised $2669.94 for the Lakota families, touching 27 lives. What can we do in 2020?
Current total: Lakota, $640.74; Rural libraries, $321.62.
Seamus
This pupper continues to be our beloved buddy of many veterinary woes. He’s suffering from moderate arthritis, chronic eye problems, incontinence, and his usual dietary and/or environmental allergies. He’s on a mini-pharmacy of medications to keep him as comfortable as we can: 6 medications.
We’re washing his bedding 2-3 times a week some weeks because his bladder is so unpredictable, so we have to add yet another medication to his pharmacy.
His attitude has backslid quite a bit. He’s so grouchy when he doesn’t get his way now! He’s also restless randomly at night sometimes, waking us up at 2 or 3 am to go out for a pee. I’m constantly watching him like a hawk for any stumbles, he has taken us by surprise a few times falling on his face or falling over sideways without warning.
Sera
Training her has been a roller coaster of many stomach-twisting drops.
It took us several months just to find a treat that she gave half a hoot about (Beggin Strips of all things) after several months of trying to find anything that she cared enough about to even notice when she saw other dogs. I thought we were on the upswing and then she had an incident where she totally misread the situation thinking a dog was a threat and freaked out.
From that point, she was so reactive, so upset at the mere sight or sound of other dogs that I was straining with my entire body and soul to keep her restrained on our walks. I was a walking stress case, constantly worrying. It didn’t matter if they were barking at her or just running past, she was fearful and that made her aggressive. Her manners were all shot to hell again, too. She’d meet small humans and leap at them in her excitement. (more…)
April 8, 2019
When we brought Sera home last year, I ran the numbers on what having two pets was costing us. It didn’t seem excessive but it’s also not cheap! A friend asked me for help with budgeting for a pet so I thought it’d be good to dust off my records and figure out what we’re paying now.
SEAMUS – April 2018
Daily costs:
$1.71, dog food. ($72 for 6 weeks of food)
$0.50, carrots,
$0.70 of sardines,
$3.30, bully stick,
$0.24, routine prescription meds,
$0.24, vitamins,
$0.40, glucosamine
$0.06, Benadryl
$7.15 a day, or $2609.75 annually.
$12/bath, 6 times a year, $72 annually.
Budgeted $1200 annually for veterinary care.
Total expected costs: $3881.75
SERA – April 2018
$1.71, dog food.
$0.70 of sardines,
$3.30, bully stick,
$0.24, vitamins
$5.95 a day, or $2171.75 annually.
$12/bath, 6 times a year, $72 annually.
Also budgeted: $800/year for veterinary care.
Total expected costs: $3043.75
Both dogs: $6925.50 (more…)
December 24, 2018
I always wanted to get back to my childhood ideal of three dogs and I have finally realized …. my dream is not for me anymore.
Six months into an expanded pack of two medium-large dogs and one human child, we barely fit on a sidewalk anymore. That might be the most superficial reason but we walk the dogs 3-4 times a day. It’s kind of a pain not fitting on the sidewalk together when you have to keep an eye on everyone, make sure everyone is safe on the sidewalk and not popping into the street, running off, or chasing after SQUIRREL! Not that Seamus would ever dream of doing such a thing.
Sera, though, is a bit of work. She’s basically got the template of a pretty good dog: she sort of tries to listen to our training, she puts up with all of JB’s demands (SIT! No, REAL SIT!), is reasonably calm pottering around the house during my work routine of work / walk, eat / work, which translates to sleep / walk, eat / sleep, for the dogs. She’s not overly attention-needy, not highly destructive.
BUT: she’s still terrible on lead. She pulls hard, though she has finally settled down to an acceptable distance-from-human, still can’t even beging to contain herself when she sees other dogs on leash across the street and wildly overreacts. I’m talking about ruff rising, and after a prolonged period of alert staring, lunging. It’s a good thing I am used to holding back about a hundred pounds of over excited dog at any given time but it takes my entire body and a really good leash.
She’s made hugely questionable eating choices (coprophagy happened a couple of times gross gross gross). When she got bored when we were away ah hour longer than usual, she’s selected a few items from our living room or from one of our bags to rend and destroy. That’s mostly annoying but there was one time she had snagged a battery out of one of our bags, we didn’t even remember it was in there! and thankfully just left it under the dining table instead of chewing on it. I was horrified at the bullet dodged there and we started the hunt for a crate because we couldn’t risk that again. (Why, Sera? Seamus just sleeps, why can’t you do the same??) And of course she generally took to crate training ok BUT she can’t just be good about it. She’s found ways to break out while we’re gone.
She’s impolite – she would sneak Seamus’s food right from under his head if we let her (we don’t), and frequently uses him as a warming blanket / bedmate when he clearly would like a little space. Then there was the time I left salmon defrosting far back on the counter, even Seamus with his six extra inches of height and 10 inches of length couldn’t easily reached it. She must have bounced up there like a deranged Tigger because we came home to a piece of foil licked clean instead of a dinner ready to cook. I was FURIOUS. Salmon is expensive and we were already running late. I whipped up a second dinner but that was the last straw.
Now she’s partially crate-trained and locked in her crate whenever we leave home because it’s safer that way for everyone. We manage all of these behaviors to keep everyone safe and happy but it’s a lot more effort than we ever needed to put in with Doggle or Seamus. We’ve been spoiled by really good dogs, maybe, but none of my past dogs did any of these things.
The most difficult part of it all for me personally isn’t the behaviors. We can work with those. It’s the fact that I don’t think she actually likes any of us. She’s ok with us, and learning to trust us, but even the most abused pup we’ve rescued in the past has formed a warm emotional bond with one of the family within a few months. She has not. She cuddles with Seamus for warmth, she accepts pets and skritches, but she doesn’t have any affection for us. She just wants the good food and good beds we provide. For that, we might as well have adopted a cat! I love cats, I know what to expect from them. But from a dog, I expect them to love someone in the family. But there’s time yet. I hope she decides to like at least one of us.
June 25, 2018
I wasn’t there so I’m light on details but we’ll be digging into our savings to pay off a $1000 charge on the AmEx because of Sera. She got into a tussle over Father’s Day weekend and because she outweighs the other dog by 40 pounds, the other dog got the worst of it.
When PiC called to tell me that she’d wrangled with another dog, I knew just from his breathing in the three seconds before he actually said anything that something had gone terribly wrong. I hate phone calls. They’re never good news.
Sera was responding to aggression and thought she was fighting in self defense. The other dog definitely thought she was responding to Sera’s aggression and fighting in self defense.
Sera carries more than just the physical scars of healed bite marks on the top of her head that stay bare of fur, the still open wound in her ear that can’t heal because of where it is. When a dog makes aggressive noises at her, even if only warning her off, she reacts with fear because she’s learned that means she’s about to be attacked. She learned this from her family, the one that gave her up too late for her to trust other dogs easily, only after she’d been attacked several times by the family dog.
It could be a lot worse.
Sera’s wounds were generally superficial. I cleaned them and wrapped them up in ten minutes before we headed over to the clinic. The other dog’s wounds were manageable but the bites were still deep enough that they required surgery to be sure that they wouldn’t get infected. We sat with the owner at the emergency clinic until after the exam to make sure that she knew we were going to take care of it. It might not have been Sera’s fault but it was still our responsibility when she hurt the other dog.
(more…)
April 9, 2018
We recently took on a young lady rescue, to Seamus’s mild chagrin, and my heart’s delight. I’m pretty sure we needed a second dog but the first few months will be tough because no one gets Seamus AND an easy new dog in the same lifetime.
Even Seamus’s first months with us were hard. He was learning the ropes of our household and I was battling his allergies: hives, broken skin, rashes, bathing three times a week, steroids which means 6 walks a day, and one (terribly embarrassing for him) accident in the house because he couldn’t wake me for a walk in time. Those demanding weeks and all his maintenance since then has been totally worth because he’s a lovebug, has perfect manners, coparents JB, and protects zir from all comers. He was and still is a big help to me during my tough days, helping me get up and around during pregnancy and during flare ups, and supporting me through the days when people aren’t around. I don’t expect quite the same from her but it would be a good idea to train her like a helper dog as much as I’m able.
Suffice it to say, new pup has a tough act to follow. But we have lots of training planned, plus lots of patience and persistence. For my own sanity, I have told myself to give her two months to start showing real improvement and the ability to fit in. That’s about how long I can maintain all training all the time mode, and I need the reminder that a perfect dog isn’t achieved in 3 days.
(more…)
April 26, 2017
Veterinary issues aside, and we have had MANY, Seamus is as near to perfect a dog as we could ask for. He often tricks me into thinking we could have another dog – if only we could duplicate what makes him so perfect!
This month has been a roller coaster of trying to treat an eye problem that stubbornly refuses to respond to the normal medication regimen. If he doesn’t improve by the end of this week, we may have to take him to an eye specialist. This doesn’t come at a good time for our money, of course, nor is it a good thing for him because if it gets worse, it gets a lot worse. I don’t think he or I could take any more misery – he’s sad enough that he won’t even destroy his new plush toy! As a canary in the mine goes, the canary is mostly dead.
I spent days on Seamus Don’t-Rub-Your-Eyes!-Watch until I found this KONG Cloud E-Collar. It’s the first version of an e-collar that hasn’t made Seamus go gorilla-mode and rip it to pieces. Apparently the Cone of Shame is one humiliation too many for the otherwise perfect pupper.
Don’t get me wrong – this looks ridiculous too, enough so that JuggerBaby insists that we take it off for his walks: “No pee-yo!” But it’s soft and he doesn’t hate it with every fiber of his being. It also doesn’t catch on things and serves as a useful bumper when he veers too close to walls and furniture with his rheumy eyes. When the Velcro is loose, he knows that he can take it off and use it for a pillow if I’m sure he won’t rub his eyes. All in all, the best $14 spent this month. In addition to the $450 in exams and medications. :/
Meanwhile! Rather than fret myself to pieces waiting for healing to happen all week, I’m choosing to focus on why I adore him.
Endless patience, plus boundaries
He allows JuggerBaby to festoon him with necklaces, or blankets, or lean on him affectionately. He puts up with a certain amount of rudeness, that ze is immediately reprimanded for by the adults, without more than a blink or two. But in all of his tolerance, he doesn’t stick around long enough for zir push him to the point of being angry, or even irritated. When it’s clear that his fur might be ruffled, he simply and calmly gets up and leaves.
Snap your fingers obedience…
If he understands your command or intent, he obeys immediately. Try shouting stop to him at his most focused on something else moments. I field tested this the other day when he threw his own ball into the middle of the street, as I held back a flailing JuggerBaby from chasing it too. I hollered STOP NOW and boy if that dog didn’t skid to a stop like he hit an invisible brick wall! It was better than a crash test dummy situation, and for my blood pressure. I’ve seen dogs chase their balls into the street and right under the wheels of an oncoming vehicle, it’s the worst sound in the world.
You can trust him with your food at all times – he doesn’t touch your food when he’s told to “leave it.” I’ve literally put his food in front of him, told him to wait and stay, left the room, and come back later to find him standing in the exact same position, gently wagging his tail with a smile. Just waiting, as told! This is
… and helpful to boot
When I was pregnant and half mobile, he learned to come over to lend me the strength of his steady back, so I could lever myself up. The habit’s stuck with him. When he thinks I’m too sick to get up, he comes over, sniffs my head and offers his back for me to get up.
Sweetest of dispositions…
There’s not a thing that could make Seamus do more than rumble at me when he’s grouchy that I refuse to feed him three meals in an hour. I’ve clipped his nails, cleaned his ears, wiped his bum, examined every inch of his body right side up and upside down, bathed him 4 times a week battling his allergies, and brought home a surprise infant. He’s never fazed or anything but loving and loyal.
In the course of his tenure here, he deferred to Doggle with the greatest respect, and never ventured to do more than snuggle by his side since Doggle didn’t know how to dog.
Despite constant little provocations, Seamus has never reacted poorly to any of JuggerBaby’s pokes, prods, or licking. The most he’s done is rolled his eyes at me in a mute appeal for help, with his ears slightly flattened. Part of this is because he knows I’m alpha and will intervene so he doesn’t have to lash out but really, getting my toes pinched or my ear tweaked would irritate me more than he’s ever shown. It DOES, in fact, since ze does that to me too.
… and protective as anything
Don’t come near his sibling, though, being loud or raucous. Ze might be an obnoxious little twerp sibling but ze is HIS sibling.
And don’t come to our house being rowdy, banging on the door, that’s completely unacceptable behavior and his booming barks let you know without a doubt that he doesn’t tolerate that nonsense. His booms surprise me, even, it’s rare to hear them!
I love my dog.
:: Regale me with tales of your favorite beloved pets, would you?
February 13, 2017
I hate change (that I didn’t initiate) so much. This is turning out to be the season of many changes, many more than we had originally planned.
We have that awful neighbor / house thing happening right now, which means we have to pare our things down to the bare minimum, and then put a great deal of furniture in storage. That also requires renting a truck to move said furniture to and from storage. And of course that’s the smaller portion of the greater problem: we have to show and sell our place, while finding a place for ourselves to buy. And then move.
That’s been stressing me out but I’ve just about been able to handle it, even with dealing with the logistics for a big trip we have to take later this year.
It’s almost like I was taunting my old friend Murphy who came swooping in with a new problem and dropped it on my head.
I’ve been trying to book our favorite, and most trusted, and let’s be honest, our only trusted petsitters well ahead of time. We always try to give them as much notice as possible. This isn’t just our favorite sitter, this is The Perfect Sitter. They made themselves available when JuggerBaby was born, picking him up, dropping him off, bathing him, keeping him an extra day when we had to stay in the hospital another night. They take him for hikes, their dogs cuddle with him, they sleep together on his bed. They text with pictures and updates regularly, they spot even the slightest new thing wrong with him and alert me immediately.
But – you knew that was coming, right? – they are unexpectedly unavailable for several months this year. We would normally need to leave Seamus with them a few times, and now we have to find a new sitter entirely.
This has happened before.
A few weeks before we went to Italy, 20 days before we were set to leave, our sitter had serious issues that prevented her from watching Doggle. Given the short timeframe we had to find another sitter, I wanted to skip the trip and stay home with Doggle and Seamus who had just come to live with us. That feeling seemed irrational at the time. There are competent, caring people who can care for a dog, and some of them live right here! We finally chose to trust a friend – I’ve regretted it ever since. The worst possible thing happened: we lost Doggle.
Can you imagine how little I want to go on any trip, much less an international trip in these uncertain times, and leave Seamus in the hands of someone who hasn’t proven to be a completely reliable, intelligent, resourceful sitter with great communication?
This is one of those times where I would normally just say damn the cost, and find a way to fly out a trusted friend for a vacation for the price of hanging out with and caring for Seamus.
This is one of those times that totally sucks because I can’t afford to throw that kind of money at the problem. Our housing situation is going to suck up every bit of cash we have and then some.
I have more than just 3 weeks to find someone suitable, this time, but I can’t shake that horrible feeling that this is going to turn out terribly again and I don’t know how I’d forgive myself if that came to be true.
:: Tell me that it’s possible to find a second great dogsitter in a few weeks? Tell me good stories of your pets (or kids if that’s your thing) being taken care of by other people?
