On a previous stay-cation with my furry grand babies I waxed poetic on how restful and free these stays are.
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| He is a little large to sit on my lap, but his head fits just fine. |
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| Liv is even larger. She seldom sits by me, except for the first 24 hours when she is feeling a bit lost by the absence of her owners. |
I sleep at my son's house, I stay until about noon each day, when I drive to my home (about a 20 minutes away) to check in on my husband and to see he has dinner - then I return back to the dogs around 5 or 6 to spend the evening till noon the next day. During these times, the only things scheduled are making these trips, making dinner and maybe a load of laundry. The rest of the time is mine. Knitting, binge watching TV series and dog love.
Except this time!
We have had a few problems medical problems - dog medical problems - this time.
Olivia, Liv for short, takes these absences of her family very personally. She is a rescue. She has abandonment issues I am sure. She gets diarrhea - sometimes bloody diarrhea - when her owners are absent on trips. This time it was 'normal' diarrhea, because they started her on medications before they left - and - also an additional medication should it be needed. It was! This problem is under control and she is adjusting. She loves grandma (me). But I am second best. She can take second best when she has no choice. On a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being a scuzzy scum-ball of a human who hates dogs ... I will be raised from my normal position of 2.0 to 1.5 by the time her 'parents' return. She is also the smart dog. Very very smart. Scary smart. So I will never be #1 because she will never forget her resucers! My son and daughter-in-law. She will never be abandoned again. If something should happen to my children - I would take her! But she doesn't know that. Poor baby. I am happy with being 1.5 in her life for this 10 days.
Now, Rags! The total opposite of Liv. He has never been abandon. In fact, my son paid thousands of dollars for his little butt from the breeder - his little English Bull Dog butt! He is a lot of things: very self confident, very energetic, very determined, very stubborn, VERY Bull Dog! Except that as a full blooded English Bull Dog, he comes with all the typical inherited English Bull Dog medical issues. I arrived 5 days ago to dog sit. He was fine. Three days ago he was licking his paws.
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| The start of a swelling in his left foot between the toes. |
I noticed a swelling between his toes on one foot. He has had these before, Interdigital Cysts. I also noticed that one of the face wrinkles was red and weepy - and not a pretty color when spread open. Two days ago I got him into his vet - a family vet who knows us well. Three feet had cysts - one foot was infected and his wrinkle was infected. We left with an antibiotic shot - good for 2 weeks - ointment for the toes and face and instructions. Orders to return in a week. Today things look little better, but one of his feet had some bleeding. It has stopped now but ...
So here is what he looks like when I am gone - visiting my husband! Pretty sad!
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| It is the only way to keep him from licking his toes in my absence. |
And when I return - there is much joy!
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| They have a very large fenced in yard where they can safely run and be crazy. |
So this Stay-Vacation has included some nursing duties! Good thing I have previous medical training - and I am not shy of diarrhea, blood, or icky green fluid build ups in a facial wrinkle. And I am as determined and persistent as he is ... He sees me coming with tissues and he knows its wrinkle dab clean up time - and he goes in the other direction!! Ha! Grandma the enforcer is on the job!
Where do I rate on that 1 to 5 scale with him? Remarkably I am sitting in #1 right now. He is a smart bulldog - a fact he keeps hidden. He is a forgiving bulldog - a fact he demonstrates all the time. He is not worried about being abandoned. He doesn't even know what "abandon" means. He looks better today! 'Looks' are all I have to go on - because he acts very self confident, very energetic, very determined, very stubborn, VERY Bull Dog - even with his problems! Haha!
I know I will slip to #2 when his mom and dad return. I am ok with that.
A Solid #2
That's me!
9 comments:
Oh my, what a way to take the fun out of a staycation. But good for you for being such a good sport and taking such good care of them! I'm sure everybody will be at least a bit relieved when mom and dad get back.
I love grandma dog sitters that go the extra mile like you're doing. My mom used to do that for our dog and I never had to worry about him.
Bull dogs are funny creatures aren't they. Love their look but not the issues they come with. But then other breeds have problems, too.
Pets such can take up a huge portion of our lives. We only have a grand-dog but she is spoiled at our house for sure. Our daughter calls her our dog. She doesn’t fret when she’s with us.
Good luck with the rest of your dog sitting.
Sorry to hear about the medical problems with the dogs.
How nice of you to take care of them.
They don't know how lucky they are to have such a caring, capable Grammy – or DO they? 😊
Michelle - Liv probably understands how lucky she is because she was given up at 2 years old, spent a month in a noisy shelter before my daughter-in-law found her. And she is smart so she remembers. But Rags! He has never known anything but love and good care - so no, he doesn't know how lucky he is. Sometimes I wonder if my adult kids realize how lucky they are to have a pet sitter who knows and loves their pets as I do. And I have a past history of making my opinion known when I thought the dogs needed something they weren't getting - it was when my kids were young adults - now it isn't necessary as they are fully mature and responsible as pet owners. Regardless ... I do what I do with my grand pets because I love them like my own.
Sounds like you had a great time with your grand-dogs and they enjoyed having you there too!
Wow your staycation sounds more like a bus man's holiday to me with all the extra work thrown in. Thank goodness for a shot that lasts two weeks - getting antibiotic tablets into animals is no fun. Hope they continue to recover well.
This is just adorable! Oh, the things we do for our doggies :) You are very patient and I know your kiddoes appreciate the help you're giving. They seem like very sweet puppies.
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