Mo' Pets, Mo' Problems

One of the reasons I've been playing absentee from the internet lately is because every single one of our dogs has had health problems.  All of them.  All three.  Thing 1 injured her leg and had to be carried up and down stairs (Thing 1 weighs 45 lbs and has long, gangly legs).  Thing 2 required a million billion expensive vaccinations for things we never had to deal with in the mountains (no heart worm!  no parasites!  only fleas and ticks in July and August!), and the series of shots left her tired, achy, and nauseous.  Thing 3 had ear infections in BOTH ears which resulted in nerve damage and partial paralysis to the right side of her face (she can no long close that eye and has a perpetual head tilt), and during the treatment we stumbled across a heart murmur which, one very expensive trip to the pet cardiologist later, we learned would require agressive treatment.

His Highness the Cat just has hairballs.

But everyone is up and about again these days, though Summer remains a little tilted.  We spent all day raking leaves and playing with sticks in the yard, and I actually remembered to grab my camera!  Those will go up soon.

Comic by clever Canadian Ryan Pequin.

The Roster

Since moving back here in May, I have been unemployed.  The combination of unlimited free time and almost no money has meant that I have spent most of my time in my parents' house (woo yeah adulthood!), primarily cooking, but also making close, almost scientific, observations of my dogs.  Since (I am thrilled to say) that as of tomorrow I will no longer be unemployed, I thought I would take this opportunity to sum up my findings.

Name: Leilani Moose
Breed: Black Lab/Norwegian Elkhound Mix
Age: 4
Status: Alpha
Nicknames: Thing 1, Lani, Lani Moose, Lei-lei, Sweet Girl, Moose-moose, Twitchy Witchy Girl
Favourite Thing: Growling suspiciously at children and small rodents
Nemesis: That Damn Chipmunk
Greatest Fear: That she'll have to spend the rest of her life with these numbskulls
Claim to Fame: Systematically disemboweling stuffed animals and scattering their limbs throughout the house

Name: Vista Pocahontas
Breed: Cocktail of various black dogs and probably also an antelope
Age: 2
Status: Beta
Nicknames: Thing 2, Vizzy, Vishnu, The Crazy One
Favourite Thing: You
Nemesis: "What did Lani say? What? The chipmunk? MINE IS TOTALLY ALSO THE CHIPMUNK"
Greatest Fear: That you will go away and she will never see you again
Claim to Fame: Can leap upwards of 4 feet in a single bound

Name: Summer Tangerine
Breed: Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
Age: 6
Status: Potato

Nicknames: Thing 3, Summer Bummer, The Dumb One, Doofus, The Little One, Little Face

Favourite Thing: Eating tissues

Nemesis: The Cat

Greatest Fear: Storm drains

Claim to Fame: Communicates in a peculiar language consisting of snorts and sneezes