Day One Hundred Eighty

Halfway There

I am almost to the halfway point in my yearlong blog. I committed to a year, which seemed more reasonable than in perpetuity. Anyway, a lot can happen in a year.

I require this in my life.

For example, little Petey, has gone to Hamster Heaven. I miss him. Since we lost Petey, I have been contemplating getting another creature to spoil. I would love to get a parrot, but there are too many reasons not to. So, maybe I'll get a lizard. I love them. It all depends on whether or not my son allows the Grands to get a hamster. I promised them all the hamster paraphernalia if they do get one. We'll see.

Someone posted this on Facebook and I
thought it was cute. Believe it or not, there
were negative comments that it was "cruel."
What do you think?

As I am sitting here trying to type, I have already been visited by Eli and Chance, who asked if they could help. Their kind of "help" involves stepping on the keyboard or the power button. Subtle, right? Just like with human kids, you are never so much in demand as when you are on the phone or trying to concentrate.

Andy and I decided to take Jack and Rooney on an outing in the car over the weekend. He drives an SUV, and put the back seats down to make room for them to lie down. They pretty much fill up the space. Both were in heaven as we drove around running errands with the moon roof open and the windows cracked. At one stop, they received treats which means they will expect treats from now on whenever we stop. They'll be sorely disappointed at stop lights, I'm afraid.

Our daughter called in a panic last night because her dog had eaten the contents of two bottles of herbal pills. I gave her directions on how to get a dog to throw up using peroxide - but it's important to get professional advice on when to induce vomiting and when it can cause more harm. After getting the advice, she gave poor Lady the peroxide mixed with milk and she threw up the pills. Then she gave her charcoal tabs to absorb any remaining toxins. The report this morning is that Lady is doing much better. Whew.

I became somewhat of an expert at administering emetics when the Frenchies were with us. They were always getting into toxic stuff like toads in the yard or sugar free candy in my purse. Once, Teddy was rooting around in my purse and found a pearl necklace and a bag of gummy candy which contained Xylitol. Xylitol is toxic to dogs. She just destroyed the necklace, but ate the candy. I gave her milk and peroxide and the whole bag came right back up. Crisis averted.

Teddy is the one in the back.
Maddy (Mama) is on the left;
Missy is on the right.

Every time they encountered a toad in the yard, they would smoosh it with their flat face and get toadified - causing them to foam at the mouth. We had a routine going where one of us would hold the victim while the other rinsed out her mouth. I figure we saved their lives about twenty times - each.

It's good to learn basic first aid when you have a pet. It's no substitute for professional care when they need it, but in an emergency it could save a life.