Dogs

Daily Dhamma Our dogs will love and admire the meanest of us, and feed our colossal vanity with their uncritical homage. ~Agnes Repplier

I really love dogs. The dogs in my house (four of my own and two that belong to Erica) provide me with company, they do not question my authority, and they are always glad to see me. If I leave for five minutes or five days, they act the same when I return: You're back! Praise God Almighty, you're back!

I love other people's dogs too. My friend, Mike, has four pugs, Boris, Bella, Betty, and Bosco. I really love his pugs. My daughter has two dogs, Maddie and Mikey. Savanah has Jelly Bean. My friend, Suzan, has two Schnauzers, Sophie and Zach. Sophie is the Emissary of Love. Zach is autistic, but will sit on your lap if you don't push him. I love all of them. I sometimes carry tiny dog biscuits as treats just in case I run into a new best friend.

If I meet you for the first time and you have your dog with you, the odds are that I will remember your dog's name, but may not remember your name. It isn't that I don't care about you. I just care about your dog more.

You just gotta love this face ...


Cassius

This is my son's family dog, Cassius. You will not find a sweeter tempered dog in the entire northern hemisphere. He's such a galoot. He loves to play with the kids and thinks he's a lap dog when I come around. I just adore him. Precious guy.


Minnie

Minnie has been very sick. Last week I took her to the vet about a limp she had. She was due for a vaccination -- one of those four-in-one types -- so I agreed to her having that as well. $600 later it was determined that she had no major bone or joint issues. She probably just bruised herself and would heal in time.

When I brought her home, she wasn't herself. I attributed that to the anesthesia they had to use in order to get x-rays of her legs. She still wasn't well the next day and refused to eat. That was Friday. Saturday she wouldn't eat. Sunday she wouldn't eat. Monday I took her to the vet again. From last Thursday to Monday, she lost 1/10th of her body weight. The vet suggested she had a virus and prescribed some anti-nausea drugs and Pepcid. That was another $150. The drugs didn't seem to help. The next day I began force feeding her Pediolite. I felt like I was water boarding her. That evening I got some doggie ensure and began force feeding her that as well. Finally, yesterday evening she began eating.

I think the four-in-one vaccine made her sick. I've been doing some reading on vaccinations for dogs and many think that there is no need for them after they've had them a few years and, in fact, there can be severe adverse reactions. Minnie is eleven years old. She's had many vaccinations, but no more, other than rabies, which is legally required. That is the last one of those 4-in-1 for her or my other dogs.

Ricky Bobby, Baxter, and Schmitty ...



are now housed in these things at night, which allows us all to sleep more soundly...



Then there is Bella, who looks a bit sick here, but is really just in her usual "Don't Bother Me, I'm Sleeping" position.



And last and least (in size, anyway) is Little Bit ~



Little Bit (aka Leetle) weighs three pounds, is ten years old, and has cataracts. There is nothing to be done about it, unfortunately. She is completely blind in the one eye and the other one is becoming clouded over. She does okay as long as she's in familiar surroundings, which is always except for the other day.

Someone entered my back yard and left the gate open. Four of the dogs got out, including Leetle. I panicked, I have to admit. I went running out yelling for the dogs and here comes Leetle, pitter-pattering her way across the street to the sound of my voice. The rest of the dogs required a major round-up effort. I never could locate Minnie while I was out there on foot. I came home to get my bike and go out again and there she was, looking forlorn, on the front porch. I almost cried with relief.

After I calmed down, I went to the hardware store and bought locks for the gates.

I know there are people out there who don't like dogs. Some people are afraid of them. I don't hold that against them, but they aren't likely to ever be invited to my home. And, if you are a person who doesn't want to be saddled with a pet, then you probably aren't the kind of person I'd want to hang out with at all.

Pets give us far more than we can ever give in return, but it requires a bit of selflessness to have a pet and if you can't be bothered, well, then you probably wouldn't be there for me either in a pinch.