Today the huskies distracted me from getting Kota some of their food. An entirely unintentional yet supremely effective maneuver.
I needed to get food from the barn because we ran out in the house after I let all of them in last time it rained and they ate like big piggies!!!!! Jason said he had gotten a bucket and filled it, but had gotten sidetracked by the dogs and left it sitting out there. I said I’d go get it.
I threw on my slightly oversized bright purple Muck boots (hey, I got a good deal, OK.. those things are not cheap) which faded into black as I stepped out into the darkness. They slapped the backs of my bare calves as I found the path of stones that ran along the gravel drive to the barn, admiring what my grandmother used to call “buttermilk clouds” forming a rainbow around the nearly-full moon over the field behind the barn. What an appropriate ending to the day, I thought. A rainbow always signifies good things to come, and I was very hopeful.
I was thinking about how relieved I was that I finally got shot 2 and seemed to be having NO symptoms so far, which was maybe a good indicator that things were going to be OK… Long story, I have a history of trauma around that – I was actually terrified to get it and with good reason – but I was very happy that I found a huge four-leaf clover on our walk and took it as yet another good omen that I was not to worry.
I opened the garage door and from inside the kennel bars on the right, Jasper and Rosalie’s eyes were glued to me, tails wagging and tongues hanging out of lopsided grins. I had their meds in hand, as they all three have Lyme disease and I have had to give them pills twice a day the past two weeks with two more weeks left. I was happy they seem to be doing fine with it and I have managed to find a good way to get them to take the pills without a fuss. – Um.. Actually… they LOVE IT.
They were super excited to see me, maybe mostly this time because they could see that I came bearing “gifts.” Which always means DELICIOUSNESS!! As I approached the gate, they started to howl and bounce up and down on their front paws. They make me laugh so freakin’ hard!!
“You want some treats?” I gasped and squealed and clapped my hands. “Time for treats, guys!!!”
Rosalie turns around in circles and darts back and forth. Jasper grabs the door with his claws and pulls on it… until I hit the latch, then for some reason he won’t do it anymore! So I have to open it myself. I don’t know if he will figure that one out, but we will work on it. Contrary to popular opinion, um, yes, you CAN teach ten-year-old dogs new tricks. When I first got them back from my divorce a couple years ago, we started training for dogsledding. And it was actually pretty easy, even for someone who has traditionally been a cat person.
But at this moment, it was all about my doggies. They put on such a show when I come in the door; they rub their faces all over my legs and give me little licks and big smiles that are totally contagious.
Tonight I left the usual leftover canned cat food “juice” in the house because Jason hadn’t gotten into it yet and I figured out that they would take the pills in a little bit of nutritional paste just about as easily and with a lot less mess.. and odor!!! Ka-BOOM! They weren’t quite so thrilled but took it anyway and loved their probiotic powder (which I should wait until later to sprinkle on their food but hell I can’t be perfect with the number of animals we have and have any sort of life).
Rosalie has gotten a little better about letting me put ointment in her eye. It was never bad, but she did try to avoid it the first few days. She hasn’t been able to see out of that eye since before we got her, but apparently that’s not an unusual problem for huskies. Her eye recently started to change shape, and the eyelid has been curling in on itself the past several weeks; so I have to apply ointment twice a day to curb infection until we can have it removed.
Six weeks we will have been waiting, unless they can bump us up. Next two weeks of no vet due to county fair …not so sure that will happen. Not unusual for a small town. Not helpful for a farm with a very large population of domestic animals that need a lot of vet care, although I have to admit that they have been helpful since things started to get really overwhelming.
I am working with a trauma coach on how I can stop allowing my guilt to get me into such situations. And these guys are helping me get through when I’m upset or it gets too much. I have quit doing so many other things and decided to just focus on what I am doing here since so many people seem to find it entertaining. I mean, why not? These guys are funny as shit and it’s such a beautiful location.
I was walking out the road with the dogs after I got my shot. I decide not to take my phone sometimes now in order to preserve my sanity; but every time I don’t, I find myself wishing I had my camera. The seven-foot-tall deep purple flowers in the currently-uncut field along the drive are just out-of-control gorgeous. With all the pale yellow and orange butterflies that land on them and the black fence in the foreground, it was a sight to behold. I again consoled myself with the knowledge that it was mine to keep and enjoy and no one else’s. But that isn’t enough to make it OK in the future. I have GOT to get the GoPro up and running and connected to a system so I can have all this stuff documented. I am missing so many cool things. I need to make it a priority.
And of course, to finish my story (I think I actually may have ADHD), the dogs distracted me so much with their antics (yeah, obviously not hard to do – still, they ARE masters of cute, so I don’t totally blame myself!!) that I ALSO forgot to grab the bucket with Kota’s food before I came in. And I had to go back out to the barn yet one more time.
But it was OK, because they were just as happy to see me again. 🙂
Oh, and third time was a charm – I did remember to bring the food inside. Barely. Silly doggies!!!
Mutt Butts 