I wonder if all that eating I did yesterday has affected my ability to think straight and do anything besides lie on the couch like a slug. Maybe it was watching tv all afternoon that has numbed my brain. I have nothing but leftovers to offer up this evening.The pic at left is a leftover from last weekend and a short walk with Buddy to the local woods. Not woods at all, really, as you're never out of earshot of the road and anymore it seems more like the hangout of the local delinquents than the *nature trail* that it purports to be. The last time I visited with Buddy we came across a group of teenage boys with paintball guns. This time it was graffiti painted on the trees. A depressing sort of walk on all accounts. I put Buddy in the car and drove over to the development across from the woods because the walk there and back would've been too much for him these days. The screech-owl box that has been productive in the past had its top torn off - destroyed and unusable for roosting, even. The woods were wet and muddy and we both made a mess of the car on the way home. The one thing that made me smile was a father with a brood of kids in tow. The kids were racing along ahead of him, jumping through the fallen leaves and in and out of the puddles on the muddy trail. He was laughing and didn't even scold his daughter for climbing up a low-limbed maple that overhangs the creek. They stopped to chat for a bit as Buddy and I had a rest on a fallen log. Buddy almost let the kids pet him before shying away behind me. Some things don't change, no matter how old he gets.
Today I spent nearly an hour cleaning and medicating his ears. We've been struggling to get rid of an ear infection for more than a year - we do antibiotics and medicine twice a day and I think it's gone away, but invariably it comes back worse than the last time, it seems. He's been a trooper about it, but today I realized we need to do something more. My old man dog doesn't deserve to be so uncomfortable all the time. Not to mention he wakes me up all night with his head-shaking. I'm scared about putting him under for the deep ear cleaning that our vet had recommended once before, but I don't know what else to do to for him, short of cutting off the offending smelly ear!
Tomorrow I hope to get out in the fresh air and walk in the woods and clear out some of the cobwebs. There are lots of leftovers to walk off.
7 comments:
What in the Hell possesses people to put graffiti on a tree???
Poor Buddy. Sounds like you might have to do the deep ear thing. Scary, though, at his age. Poor little puppy!
I'm with ya about feeling like a slug. But I did rouse myself enough to do a little birding today. It was too beautiful of a day to waste.
Slug-city here Susan - oh the lazines!
I wondered the same thing about the paint on the trees - it's our only real bit of woods in town and to see it treated so bugs me.
Everyone needs to imitate a slug once in a while. Bella just finished her ear meds last week and I noticed a familiar head shake yesterday...good luck with Buddy.
What a clever title for the day after Thanksgiving! Sometimes leftovers taste better than the original. In this case...just as good...as always.
Oh, the ear thing. Gee, it brought back memories of our last two dogs and the time I spent at the vet and the different cleaning solutions we used to try to help. Some were so irritating and we ended up using something called Nolvasan Otic solution by Fort Dodge. I'm sure your vet has told you how to gently massage the base of the ear after putting the cleaner in. Sure hope Buddy gets the relief from the discomfort and that you get the relief from the worry. Like Mojoman, above - I love leftovers.
Mary thanks. We need luck cause the meds aren't working!
Mojoman: Not so sure about that, but if you say so. ;-)
Cathy: Yes! The cleaning stuff has totally dried out the flap of his ear - that just adds to the itchiness I think!
I know to massage the base of the ear, but it seems to be painful for him so I have to be so gentle. His ear is so inflamed it's hard to get the meds down in there far enough.
Laura, as I said, this resonates with me so. I hope you'll let us know when Buddy gets some relief.
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