WWQP Bulletin Board Chat

for Jane, Marion, and gone to the dogs.....

JANE IN NC – Reading your post about Shadow brought back memories of our Alex’s final days, six months ago. Our experience was so similar, except he went fast over three or four days with no prior warning. With no diagnosis after an office exam, the vet sent him home “in hospice” telling us to give Alex whatever he wanted, but he didn’t want any food or water. The dog was 16 y/o and it was time. Putting him down was truly the saddest experience of my life, to date. Aw, gee, I’m crying again from the memory….. and the A/C repair guy is here so I have to buck up.
I’m sending you cyberhugs. I feel your pain.

MARION IN NZ – I’m so sorry about the loss of your sister. You are fortunate that you could go visit and see her before she died. (((Hugs)))

CANINE UPDATE - On a brighter note, our Sophie is now seven months old and fancies herself to be a watchdog. (Alex, the Shih Tzu, was definitely NOT.) I’m not accustomed to a dog barking at odd noises and such, but it is a good thing with all the break-ins and crime in our city. I truly appreciated her barking at a "strange noise" a couple weeks ago, when water was dripping from the ceiling into the guest room upstairs!!! The A/C condensation drain had backed up and company was arriving the next night to use that room. I would not have been alerted in time, if Sophie had not barked at the noise . . . .which of course I did not notice. Oh, long story short, we had to replace the entire HVAC upstairs. It was twenty-three/four y/o,,, It was time, anyway, and a waste of money to replace the coils on a unit that old. $$$$ I call it our own economic stimulus plan for the local economy. But I digress . . .

Sophie had her final obedience training session on Wednesday. She loooooves her dog trainer, cries for joy when she arrives, and barked "come back!" when she would leave. When we attend the group sessions, I praise Sophie and then she runs to the teacher for praise. LOL Dogs!!! Let’s just say Sophie would receive a (ahem) certificate of completion instead of a Graduation diploma. ;-) Must be the Spaniel-brain. She doesn’t see the need of most of these commands and is not from the willing-to-please camp. Ha!

So we have a cute, goofy little watchdog-wannabe who sheds hair everywhere (Shih Tzus don’t shed) and obeys when she feels like it, who is obsessed with peoples toes. She is precious and funny and will grow up one day into a hopefully more obedient dog. As I type this, she’s sitting across the room, looking at me, thinking, “As IF!!!” ;-) We also hope she becomes housetrained one day. Soon. Very soon. Two UTIs, back to back, have seriously set us back. OMG, I had forgotten over sixteen years just how much work puppies are!

Sophie had a terrible itchy skin outbreak a couple weeks ago, literally pulling out the fur over her rump. Our vet had to put her on Temaril-P, and it has helped a lot. I’ve switched her from grain-free kibble, back over to a 50/50 kibble/raw diet to hopefully remove/lower any potential allergens like potato, or whatever. Apparently, most dogs on raw diets do not have skin troubles. Sophie LOVES her raw food! (She came to us on a raw diet) . She’s definitely in touch with her wild dog primal roots-LOL She jumps up off the floor (viz: Snoopy dance), cries with joy, and licks her plate cleaner than the dishwasher can get it. Gosh, with a reaction like that, it’s worth the bother to feed her raw. (VBgrin) She'll be healthier, too.

I finished the drapes for DS and DDIL's bedroom, and am now making a roman shade for their guest bathroom. Last week, I made a clone of a bridesmaid dress for a friend's 10-month old granddaughter. My friend was going to make it, but the silk chiffon, cotton lace overlaid bodice, etc., freaked her out. If anybuddy is interested, copy & paste:
http://picasaweb.google.com/famwald/BabyWeddingDress#5355876798212021458
In return, my friend is knitting me some golf club head covers from eyelash yarn that are just too cute!
I don't know if I'll get any sewing done for myself this summer, but that's okay.

Welp, that's all the news that is fit to tell. I really need to check in more often, but this is the busiest summer I have had, in ages.

Hugs to everyone!
Doris

posted by Doris W. in TN @ 9:11 AM