What is this.... OH HAI!

Ups and downs and all arounds

Last night was the first night I left little Charlie for the first time since we've adopted him. I had made plans with some old high school friends of mine that I hadn't seen in years, and I would have loved to take him with me, however with his upset tummy I wanted to keep him in an area he was familiar with. It was also a good chance to see what he'll do when I'm not around.

Leaving him was hard - I'm such a little dork, but he was pulling on my heartstrings almost the entire time I was gone. It was fabulous to see everyone, and I've missed them a lot, but the next time we get together I'm sure Charlie will have to be me copilot.

I call home after being gone a few hours to see how he's doing - apparently as soon as I left Charlie went right up to the door and lay down with his nose RIGHT at the bottom of the door and didn't budge for an hour no matter what my parents did. So sweet! It broke my heart a bit, but at some point he has to learn that when I leave I will always come back, but of course this will be a difficult process (for the both of us). I sound like a mom... goodness gracious.

Mom and dad finally got him away from the door to feed him and give him his medication and get him to bed. Although overnight he RIPPED UP his bed. He left stuffing all over the floor, tore holes in the cover, ripped the stuffing to shreds... it was quite an epic thing to come home to - mom left it out for me so I could see how ridiculous it looked. Almost as if the thing exploded from the inside out! It's hard to tell if he just couldn't find his chew toy, or if he was frustrated and angry that I wasn't there so he took it out on the bed, or if he just felt like ripping it up... of course I think that it is because he was frustrated that I wasn't there.

I finally made it back home this afternoon and he was off his rocker to see me - wagging his whole body, pushing and leaning into me, jumping up onto me, licking my ankles and feet, and if I stood for any period of time longer than three seconds he collapsed at my feet with his paws around my ankle and his head on my foot - it was so sweet! He hasn't really left my side all evening. It's amazing that he is so, so sweet after all he has been through.

It will be interesting to see how he acts in Burlington - over there, he'll be kept in a kennel while I'm gone during the day at class, but I really hope that eventually he will be OK outside of his kennel.

I have noticed that he has been regressing just a bit - he peed on the floor right in the middle of the day! Normally he's pretty good about letting me know he needs to go out - he comes up and starts panting and jumping in front of me and mouthing my ankles - but I got none of that and I walked by the bird's room only to see him peeing right in the middle of the room! I was totally shocked, and I think he knew that it was not a good thing that he was doing...

Honestly, we just need to finish up getting furniture over to the apartment so we can get on a schedule, and get him enrolled in an obedience class. The poor thing has been all over the place, and although he knows that I'm his owner, he needs some sort of consistency in his life for an extended period of time, and he needs his little intestines to be back on track! This poor guy... he is certainly a handful, but he's the best handful I could ask for.

He's currently quite passed out next to me - twitching and snoring. It was so odd not sleeping next to him last night! I kept waking up in a panic because I didn't feel this warm body of fur breathing next to me.

And it's back to the lab again...

Quite literally. Charlie started having a diarrhea again so now the vet suggests we bring in a fecal sample to send off to their lab for a "diarrhea panel" (that's a beaut' of a name, isn't it?)

That's the least invasive procedure at this point... because after that we have to start pulling out the big guns and bring in a specialist to use a scope to basically perform a Colonoscopy.

I really hope there's an end in sight to this crappy (pun intended) situation.

Reading material

THIS IS AN EXCELLENT BOOK.

It's a combination of experience and science. Though there are moments of snooze-worthy passages, overall it is comical, surprising, and fascinating. I purchased the book in the hopes of understanding my little Charlie better, as well as dogs in general (I've always been interested in animal behavior - moreso interested in pet behavior, rather than the general term "animal"). I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to see dogs in a very different light. I, like many true dog owners, believe that dogs are capable of communication and understanding. Horowitz takes you on a trip from the tip of your doggies snout to the tip of his wagging tail, and everywhere in between.

Did you know that dogs can understand and follow the human gaze? And that when they stare at other dogs they look them straight on, but that when they look at our faces they have learned to gaze at us the way humans gaze at other humans, from right to left? And did you know that when dogs "kiss" us, that familiar licking of an outstretched hand or a lowered face, it is actually rooted in their wolf origins - when a wolf returns to the pack from a hunt, the other wolves lick his face to determine where he had traveled to and what his disposition is; when a mother wolf returns home from a hunt, her pups lick her face to encourage regurgitation of slightly digested meat - in other words, there is something in that act that instinctively force the mother to spew up little bits of undigested meat for her pups.

Seriously, go pick this book up. It's a great read and it will make you stare at that heap of fluff at your feet with amazement and wonder.

What a day, what a day!

This morning I wake up, a little later than usual today... the parents are finally home so I wasn't waking up at the crack of dawn to take Cory and Minnie outside and feed Zephyr - Charlie, the good boy, has learned to wait until much later to go outside and get fed... such as today. My door was open last night because I like the dogs to be able to come and go from my room as they please, and this morning it was still open even though mom and dad were up, and the dogs were already in and out. But Charlie remained on the bed - at one point, I guess, mom walked by and said "good morning Charlie!" because he was sitting up very alert on the bed, but he didn't budge. He just wagged his tail and she moved along, and he curled back up next to me. Very sweet.

Anyway, so I got up and he was very excited and we went right outside so he could take care of all of his business... and I'm there stretching and looking at the field while Charlie is doing his thing, and I look back to see if he's finished only to see a big, gross, white WORM! I just hung my head and let out a slew of words that aren't appropriate for this setting.

So I go inside, and I have my cup of coffee and then call the vet - as it turns out, we need to get them all another round of flea and heartworm meds anyway. Now Charlie is on a round (well, it's only one round - it's powerful stuff) of Drontal. This poor guy...

Then this afternoon we enjoyed some wonderful, delicious bourbon reserve - 101 proof, aged 10 years - that my parents purchased on their trip. We went ahead and let Charlie join us outside off his leash so he could run and play with the other dogs, and he went exploring in the field, but he didn't go far. He just sniffed and sat and enjoyed the sunshine and the freshly cut grass. He looked so cute out there just hanging out in the field, surveying the land. I'm sure he's never had this before - he's able to enjoy the scenery and the wildlife without being on guard; he kept looking back to make sure we were in sight and earshot, and eventually he came trotting back up - though not before checking out a little toad hopping around in the grass.

Mom and I took all the dogs out once it was dark for one last trip outside for them. We strolled into the upper field and Charlie was on his leash, but even Cory started trying to play so I just let him off his leash - it was a rare thing to see Cory that playful and excited, and I love seeing Charlie run and jump and bark - things he hasn't done in such a long time, if ever. Those two dogs were growing and chasing and wrestling... and what was most adorable, is that they started playing hide and seek. They ran into the side bushes and hid from one another - peeking their little heads out every now and again to see if the other was still there. Cory ran away, but Charlie just stayed crouched waiting for him - once Cory was back within running shot and turned away, Charlie raced off after him and tackled him to the ground. It was so sweet to watch those two - mom and I couldn't help but giggle.

We got inside and Charlie just couldn't settle down - he leaped on the couch with me and attempted to wrestle, but I had to calm him down. He didn't like that, and in the process he sort of nipped at me - not to cause harm, but to say, "hey! hey! c'mon! let's play!" but it ended up hurting quite badly and instinctively I whipped around and gave him a harsh tap on his haunches. In a very Matrix style moment, we both just looked at each other; immediately in his eyes I saw fear and a recognition of a familiar pain, and in mine I can only assume he saw how guilty and awful I felt at realizing what I had just done. I turned to my mother completely shocked, and she told me a story of how once she was holding me in her arms and she looked down at me and I looked up at her and promptly smacked her on her face - you know, how babies test to see what you'll do in a situation, and to try something new and unfamiliar. Instinctively, my mother tapped my face right back and that is the one and only time she ever hit me - and it wasn't even a true smack, just pure animal instinct to say "hey, that hurt, back off." These things happen, in other words. I turned back to Charlie and kept apologizing and and hugged him so hard - he cocked his head to the side and leaned his head way into mine and just pushed back on me and then just let himself fall into my lap and he just sat there - as if to say, "it's OK mommy, I'm sorry I nipped you, it's OK that you nipped me back."

Dogs are so humbling and forgiving, it's just astounding.

So then Zephyr joined us inside, and Charlie loves Zephyr... I think she likes him, too, but she's a picky girl and isn't the playful type. So she just watched him try to play with her, and then she made her way over to the couch with me and curled up - Charlie was relentless. Bouncing back and forth, lying down then siting up, whining and then growling, nuzzling her and then jumping back. She just wasn't having it and now she's sleeping and Charlie has only sort of given up - he's lying on the floor just waiting for her to wake up. Silly boy.

Oh Hai

Feel Good Moment(s) of the Day

Here are several photos I snapped of Charles in the last week. I have finally found a tennis ball tough enough to withstand his massive jaws - it's about the size of his head. Go figure.


I was on the floor checking my email when Charlies came over and flopped down next to/sort of on top of me. So cute!



Sleepy puppy couldn't quite make it all the way onto his bed before his naptime...