Come On, August!

I feel if I can put July in my rear view mirror maybe things can get back to normal.

In the first place it's hot--very hot. This is not particularly abnormal for my part of Texas. Some years are worse than others. This is one of the bad ones. We've had triple digits for two months with no signs of slowing. 

I learned the hard way that I need to bring the quail indoors once the temps go above 102. Despite keeping a fan running 24/7 and fresh water daily, five out of seven died on the same day. It didn't help that I was distracted by Odin and Greg.

My days have been busier since Greg's knee surgery. He's doing great and is walking without his cane if he's on level ground. In the early days, I was running around from one task to another, so I'm glad he's more self sufficient again.

Odin has risen to become my biggest concern. His eye injury has not improved. We do surgery on him Monday. I don't know the vet doing the surgery. He's very experienced, but an old fella, so I hope his hands are steady.

My regular vet doesn't feel comfortable doing this surgery since she's done so few. But she has traded surgeries with this vet so we can get Odin in today. 

We were hoping to get Odin in to see an eye specialist, but he becomes a maniac when anyone tries to examine his eye, let alone sedate him. I hold him and keep him distracted while my regular vet gives him a shot in the butt to sedate him. Most clinics will not allow the owner to hold the dog. Most owners are too lax in their control. I am not. I know what I'm dealing with.

If you think holding down a young, 130 lb, muscular rottweiler is hard, you'd be right. I'm very grateful to have a vet who will work with me, let alone trust me not to get her bitten.

Please send good thoughts and prayers for Odin. Pray for his surgery vet to have steady hands too.

Nana, the border collie has me worried too. I think her problems are all age related but she's next on my list to assess once this surgery is over. 

I cannot for the life of me get weight off her. She's due a teeth cleaning so I'm going to opt for an additional blood panel to see if she has any other underlying problems that are keeping her heavy.

Part of her problem is her stifles. Although she had Tibial Tuberosity Advancement surgery early in her life, she never regained the mobility of a regular dog. She's got a plate in both stifles. She doesn't limp, but she gets tired.

I've taken it on myself to walk both dogs extensively for exercise. She'll tire out within 10 minutes and lie down. Come to think of it, she's a lot like Greg. 😁

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In other news, has anyone seen the PSA video from the NYC Emergency Management Department? It's a 90 second PSA on what to do if NYC faces a nuclear attack.

The mayor says it's for educational purposes but it almost sounds as if they heard something on the down-low. 

All I know is if war comes, the last place I want to be is NYC. I love you, NY, but you've got a giant bull's eye painted on you. Every idiot wants to take you out, and not in a good way.

Since the New York mayor made me more nervous than the PSA did, I decided to buy some extra pet food this week.

While shopping, I was annoyed at all the people I saw at a nearby small city over the weekend. The city in question has about 45,000 people. Apparently all of them were out on Saturday, not counting those of us from the outlying areas.

It's becoming noticeable that more people are moving out to the sticks. Lots of new housing going up where farms and pastures used to lie. It's kind of sad. I understand why they're coming out here, I'm just not happy they're snapping up all the open spaces.

How is it out by you? Are you seeing any new, perplexing PSAs lately? Are you stocking up on anything?

 

PS. For those of you who only read me from my subscriber page, we had one extra post that went live on an unscheduled day. Here it is if you missed it.