(www.meowbarkblog.com) — The night before his surgery, Ty was very sad, partly because he couldn’t eat after 8 and he looks forward to evening treats, but mostly because he was in a lot of pain.
I got it in my head that I needed to take a lot of pictures of him Monday night in case Tuesday’s surgery didn’t go well (did I mention that I cried all night?).
(www.meowbarkblog.com) — Mr. Bighead started holding up his right rear leg again on Friday and still couldn’t walk on it last night, so we called the vet for an appointment first thing this morning. The diagnosis: Ty has officially torn the cruciate ligament in his right knee. And I don’t mean "torn" as in tiny tear that will heal in a week or two, but "torn" as in completely severed it.
"This is one brave man," the vet said as he examined Ty’s hurt leg. "He is in a LOT of pain."
He arranged his schedule to be able to operate on Ty tomorrow, so we’re taking him in at 8 for surgery. And as I’m sure you can imagine, I will spend the whole day calling the vet every 15 minutes to see how it’s going. Jesse and I are totally freaking out about the thought of our big guy going under the knife, but we are trying to stay moderately sane and keep him calm so his pain levels stay as low as possible.
(www.meowbarkblog.com) — Jesse sent me a photo this weekend while I was away and scared the living daylights out of me. Why, you ask? Well take a gander at this eight-legged nightmare:
It’s not exactly a tarantula, but that is a big flipping spider when it’s next to your front door. Not to mention that its daddy longlegs friends have camped out in alarming numbers near the rest of the doors to our house. I saw what had to be a dozen of them squeezed into the spot where the fence meets the house.
Did you hear that sound? That was me shuddering and trying not to vomit.
Fortunately, according to Animal Diversity Web (no spider pun intended), these spiders, Argiope aurantia (common name, black-and-yellow argiope) are harmless. Although they may bite when provoked, their venom is not dangerous for people. "It’s only dangerous for Pickles the Pug," Jesse said as he read the description to me. "It does not say that!" I exclaimed, like it actually did. (Yeah, I know, I’m kind of a moron when it comes to the dogs, and especially Pickles.)
Ick, ick, ick. Harmless or not, I don’t want it at my house!
(www.meowbarkblog.com) — I have never met an animal that produces such toxic fumes as my three dogs. They are totally flatulence machines! Seriously, I didn’t know it was possible to fart as much as these dogs do.
Ty, the bullmastiff, is the worst. He has a big head and a serious stink butt. Pickles is a close second, exacerbated by the fact that she loves to get under the covers before passing gas, and accompanies every release with an adorable little poot! sound that serves as a warning to those among us who are more observant than the others. And then there’s Murphy, Mr. Silent-But-Deadly, who has been known to wake us with the stench that emanates from his rear end.
They all seem to be in perfect health, except for the fact that they STINK. Is this standard for dogs? I had one growing up, but I don’t recall him being quite this, um, bubbly.
I don’t know if the dogs are just on edge because I was gone for a few days and their daddy isn’t home right now, but they are barking at EVERYTHING. Including when my stomach growls. And when I sniff. And when the wind blows. And when one of the cats sneezes. And when I turn my head. And when my e-mail dings. And when one of the other dogs farts. It’s great.
Last night I got back from 4 and a half days in San Francisco and the dogs very nearly knocked me down in the driveway because they were so happy to see me. I feel kind of guilty that they love me so much, because I think it makes Jesse feel bad. But I also kind of revel in the fact that THEY LOVE ME SO MUCH that they cease to function when I’m gone. Because I am their world. I think this bodes well for when we have kids and I’m breastfeeding and am the stay-at-home parent.
I’m not sure if he meant well or was ACTUALLY attempting to break my heart (I’d like to believe it was the former), but Jesse sent me this pic from his cell while I was away:
Ty is just my schmoopy-poopy-luvvie-buns, so I wasn’t surprised that he was depressed to find me gone for days. But honestly, I was kind of shocked that Murphy missed me. And as long as Pickles has a big dog to play with, she couldn’t care less about me if she tried. Well, that’s not true, but having a big dog around sure does help with her separation anxiety.
I’m just glad to be home, and I’m know they’re glad to have me here. This morning, I woke up covered in dogs. I was sleeping on my stomach and Ty was on the bed, where neither he nor Murphy are allowed anymore, with his head on my butt. Pickles was against my face as usual, and Murphy was across Jesse’s pillow with his chin across the top of my head.
They have followed me around all day, like they can’t stand to have me out of their sight. I’ve never felt so loved.
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