Acupuncture II

It wasn't nearly as scary the second time.  I think I have more energy and SHE says I sometimes bounce up the steps.  When we finished getting the needles I took HER to where the treats are and SHE bought me one.  I think I'm going to really like going to see this doctor.

This morning I sat in the car while SHE and some guys wandered around a house.  SHE says we will be moving soon, only this time into a house of our own.  It won't have very many stairs so it will be better for me.  SHE says that after we know if we can have the house SHE will write about it and show everybody some pictures.

Acupuncture

I went to see a lady doctor today who stuck needles in me.  Only a couple of them bothered me and I shook one of them out.  Mostly I just lay on the floor and rested.  The doctor said I would probably sleep a lot, but I don't think I'm sleeping any more than usual.  SHE got to stay with me in the room and I was very nervous at first.  I was really shaking, but the doctor gave me something that made me relax and it wasn't so bad.  I have to go back next week.  My legs are pretty stiff and hurt when she moved them about.

The doctor's office is in the back of my favorite dog treat place.  When we were leaving I smelled the best stuff in a bin and practically dove in to see what it was.  I pulled out a great big piece of beef jerky that was wrapped up and tried to get the wrapping off when SHE took it away.  SHE was very nice though and bought it for me and gave it to me when we got home.  It was soooooo good.

You know I think getting needles stuck in you isn't so bad if you can get a treat that is that good afterwards.  Do you think SHE will buy me one every week?  I know where they are and even though I can't see very well, I can find that stuff by smell.  Anywhere.  I know I can.  You don't think they will sell them all before next week do you?  That would not be fair.

SHE is Sad

I don't like it when SHE is sad.  SHE doesn't take me out for long walks and forgets my eye drops.  I did get to go over and see Oscar this morning when SHE went to visit my friend in the hospital.  Oscar and I understand each other really well now.  We rub noses when we meet and I never chase him anymore. He doesn't seem to mind my being in the house at the same time he is.

The people at the churches are all very nice to me.  There are some girls who like to pet me and that's ok, but I keep hoping They'll give me a treat even though SHE said not to give me any.

I'm not sure about our long drives though.  Most of the time I sleep, but I do get restless.

I'm A Church Dog Again

After only one night at home, SHE put me in the car and we drove and drove.  Turned out we were back in a place I know and a house I know.  Even though it was pretty hot, I slept really well at the side of HER bed.  SHE put on a fan that blew nice air my way.  The very nice person who took care of me taught HER to put chopped fresh tomatoes in my kibble along with cooked veggies and a bit of cooked hamburger.  That makes a wonderful dinner and I eat it all.  For some reason they've stopped giving me very many treats during the day, so I have to eat my dinner all up.

Both SHE and I were soooo tired on Friday night that we both slept until 9 in the morning.  Most of the day was pretty boring, but I did get to visit my friend Pat and spend some time at her house.  Oscar the cat was outside so I didn't have to share the attention.

I slept near HER feet during church and when SHE gave the sermon I must admit I snored.  That seems to make people smile.  It's just that I feel good when I hear HER voice.  I'm glad they don't mind my being there.  I really hate to be all alone in some room.  After SHE talked with some people we got back into the car and drove and drove and drove again.

Now we're back home and I just finished a nap.  Long drives are tiring.  She has promised that we'll go next door and sit on the restaurant's deck and SHE will have some fish for dinner while I sit and watch sea gulls.  I've been told I cannot have any more hot dogs.  Drats!

A Dog's Life

This was in the e-mail my newest BFF and all-round wonderful lady who is taking care of me sent to HER while SHE is off somewhere.  They say SHE is helping out a friend who is sick and needs an operation, but I really can't complain.  I have it really good here.

Re Her Royal Highness Isabelle.....is reigning pre-eminently.  Her appetite and ALL bodily functions are great. I've been working on the black tarry "stuff" around her eyes and have made good advancement in it's removal (she doesn't exactly like the procedure.....but as the saying goes "O too bad.") She is happy with me afterwards when she gets her treat for good behavior.

She is sleeping in my bedroom with me at night alongside the bed.....happy as the proverbial clam.

Izzie accompanied me to Healing Service this morning (I was chalicing) so she was content to remain in the shade in the car (nice breeze from the water).....afterwards I took her for a short stroll and then back into Benedictine.  Came straight home afterwards.

A bit later I went back in to town to the market and left her here for the first time by herself as the temp. had risen and there is no shade in Hannaford's parking lot.  When I returned home she was curled up on the couch....promptly jumped off and came right over to me with tail wagging briskly.  Now she's giving me the eye and letting me know that I should end this and go downstairs and fix her dinner...so will do as I am being asked. Don't worry about her ....she's being taken good care of and enjoys being loose in the yard when I'm out there with her.

A Very Long Trip

We went north to Houlton, ME.  It's the north end of I-95, just before the Canadian border.  SHE celebrated at Good Shepherd and I stayed in the car.  Of course we did spend the night in the rectory.  I didn't know my way around and bumped into the bedroom wall after she turned out the lights.  I think I thought we were at home, and I don't see too well anymore. So SHE picked me up and put me on the bed.  That was better.

I did get to go to coffee hour and had a taste of an egg salad sandwich and a bit of cheese.  After coffee hour we drove and drove and drove. (US Route 1 goes across the top of Maine and then down the coast)  Finally SHE stopped for dinner.  I got some chicken pieces and a wonderful drink of ice water.  SHE also let me walk around a bit.  I was tired so I slept on the back seat for a while.  We got home just before dark.

Along the way we saw a young moose eating grass along the edge of the road and a turkey. Lots of people were taking advantage of the sunny day to mow their lawns.

Today I was very tired and we didn't get up until after 8 in the morning.  It was a bit rainy, but I enjoyed our morning walk.

A New Do

I couldn't see through the hair over my eyes so SHE took me in for a haircut this morning.  We had to go out into the snow and I was mad because SHE wouldn't let me sit on her lap in the car. SHE said it was too dangerous.  The lady who does my hair had to drive a long way too. I think I look pretty good and SHE says I smell nice. I'll get her to take a picture of me.

Update

The vet did all kinds of tests on me and didn't find anything wrong, so now I'm on an anti-anxiety pill. I take it at night before we go to bed.  I don't like sleeping in the bed with HER any more.  I'm more comfortable on the floor under the bed.  I still like my morning tummy rubs though and I climb up next to HER so she can do it.

I didn't want to go to church on Sunday, so I stayed in and slept.  SHE told me that the ladies at the church missed me.  I don't know if my hard time seeing and hearing is making me anxious.  I do know I don't like HER leaving without my knowing about it. Some nights I sleep on the living room couch so I can know if SHE leaves.  If I'm really sleeping, though, I don't really know.

He's Gone

SHE and I have our bed back.  The kid has gone back to California and life is back to normal for me.  It's not that I minded sharing the little bed with HER, but SHE takes up too much room.

It was pretty muddy out there this afternoon.  We walked over to the post office and then back through the parking lot.  I got really muddy paws and then some salt on them.  SHE had to wipe them off so we could get home.

SHE spent all afternoon on the computer and is very mad because her work all disappeared.  She wonders why it wasn't automatically saved like it usually is.  I don't think she's going to re-write it all again.

SHE is also packing a suitcase.  I have to go the doggie spa again tomorrow evening.  Not really a bad thing.  Does anybody know where Jerusalem is?  We have a friend who lives near Jerusalem, Vermont, but I always get to go when we visit, so that can't be right.

My visit with Pat, Oscar and Sally

SHE dropped me off in Millinocket last Wednesday.  The first thing that happened is that she and Pat disappeared for a while.  Turns out they went out to dinner.  Not only didn't they take me, but they didn't bring me anything back.  Oscar the cat was here.  He's ok, except I didn't like it when he went into the bathroom while she was using it and I got left outside.  I told him what for when they came out.  I think Oscar understood.  He knows that when I am there I am the boss.  Also I didn't like it when he tried to get HER to pat him.  I'm the only one who's supposed to get my tummy rubbed.  Oscar can sit on Pat's lap if he wants.

Pat took good care of me.  Sally came over to see me before SHE left for convention and I was so glad to see her.  Sally cooks me an egg when I come to visit.  Pat walked me down to Sally's house and I stayed there while Pat and her son went out to lunch.  I got my egg. Yummy.

I heard HER tell both Pat and Sally that I was on a diet and that they were not to give me treats.  What a bummer.  Nobody told the ladies at church on Sunday, though, so I got some nice dog biscuits from the people who sit across the aisle from Sally.  They remembered how much I like that.  Someone brought up the fact that I used to hide dog biscuits around the church just in case somebody forgot to bring some.  Sally laughed at the time the cloth over the altar was moving.  It was just me retrieving a biscuit at the Tuesday morning service.

We were both tired Sunday night when we got home and I didn't even feel like eating anything.  Maybe the diet is working.

I'm Getting Better

I have been trying and trying to get my human to post something about me for ages.  So, here's what has been going on in my life.  First, I have been having a really bad time with arthritis.  I now have to get a shot  in my back every two weeks.  That is better than at the start of all this when I got a needle in me twice a week.  I still don't like it at all.  The next thing is that my eyes are much better.  I have new medicine that helps me produce tears and clean off my eyes.  I am getting a bit deaf though and don't like it when SHE leaves me alone.  I don't hear HER when SHE returns.

Two weeks ago I had to go back to my vet for my annual check-up.  I was told to loose 5 pounds.  I'm on reduced kibble and almost no snacks.  Barking at HER after I finish my kibble isn't working.  I was also told to eat fish oil, too.  That's not so bad because she puts the capsule into pill pockets, which I love. I need to go back to see the vet in a couple of weeks to see if the diet is working.  SHE told me last night after I ran all the way home on our walk, that I was sooooo good.  I even got a little treat.

It's a Dog's Life

Note from the scribe (better known as SHE):  It was wonderful to see Izzie running again.  I don't think she's done that since before her back problems.  I think we can attribute that to the fish oil.  I finally got around to getting some this week and after only two doses, we had the remarkable running.  I decided to take some myself, so our morning routine is a capsule of fish oil for each of us, other vitamins for me and a piece of chicken jerkey with glucosamine, chondroitin for Izzie.  I then put a third of a cup of kibble in her dish which she usually won't touch until evening when I add another third of a cup.  Then it's time for our morning walk followed by my cup of coffee while giving Izzie a tummy rub.

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

Isabelle Sleeping on Pillow

She snapped this picture of me this morning.  We had a very busy weekend and I need my beauty rest.  First we drove to Millinocket to spend the night with Pat because SHE had to do "supply" for Nancy at Brownville Junction and Dover-Foxcroft.  Pat is getting forgetful, although she still likes to take me for walks.  She forgot to buy me some treats, so I had to eat some of Oscar's.  Oscar is Pat's cat.  We're friends now.  We greet each other by rubbing noses.  I don't chase him any more.  It's way too much work and he is much younger and can jump up high.

SHE decided we needed to spend another night at Pat's house, and they all went out to dinner, but I didn't get to go.  I sulked under the coffee table.  I have to guard the house, so I didn't sleep well.  Also it was hot until yesterday.  I did get some bacon for breakfast though, two pieces.  We stopped at some place in Bangor on our way home where SHE met with some people who are doing something called a search.  Then we drove home.  She is trying to get me to eat kibble again.  It's ok for a snack, but give me people food any day.  PLEASE.

Today it's nice and sunny and not too hot.  I really don't like hot.  Sometime SHE has to put a wet towel on my head and back when I pant a lot.  I'm not panting right now.

Alone Again (well not really)

SHE left me at the kennel again.  Now I do have a good time there, but SHE is not to know that.  The lady who runs the place said I get along fine with all the dogs, but not all of them get along with each other.  There was one dog named Patty something or other, who would ONLY walk with me.  She needs to get a life.

Do you know what SHE brought back for me?  It's this sign from a place she calls York (no, not York, Maine).  SHE laughed, but I am greatly offended.  I know how to behave myself.

SHE told me that dogs are allowed on ferries, so I don't know why I couldn't go too.  Something about long plane rides and needing special kinds of permissions to go to that country for us dogs.

I really am glad to have HER home, but SHE is not allowed out of my sight.  It was so nice to sleep in our bed and be really lazy.  Those other dogs at the kennel don't like to sleep as much as I do.

Back to the Doggie Spa

SHE took me to the doggie spa to spend the day. SHE needed a new driver's license and then went to LL Bean and had lunch with Mr. Wade.  It was a nice day even though it rained.  I made a new friend, Woody.  He is a pug and he had back surgery just like me, only his back legs had gotten paralyzed and he isn't doing as well.  He has to wear a diaper. Anyway I enjoyed taking walks with him.  The nice lady who owns the spa told HER that  I was very nice to Woody.  I am nice to dogs (and to people too), especially those who need a buddy when they're sick.

A Few Thoughts

Do you know what SHE told me today?  SHE said we're moving again.  I have lived in seven houses with HER.  Now home is where my mommie is, but this isn't fair.  I'm going to have to get used to a new place to walk and pee.  There will be lots more people around there and I never get to go off leash when I have to do my last trip outside for the night.  I do like to lie on the nice cool grass when it's warm.  It makes my tummy feel good.

Also SHE's making me walk two times a day now. SHE says I'm strong enough.  I refuse to go very far on the night walk though.  Just enough to do my duty.  In the morning I like a nice long walk and I think that's quite enough for the day.  SHE says I still need to loose a little weight.  SHE's cut back a lot on treats and is making me eat kibble.  I wait until just before bedtime just in case she cooks something for me.

My eye is still having problems, but the medicine to make tears seems to be working.  I don't like having an eye bath every morning, but it does help clean out the gunk.  I'm getting better at letting her put the medicine in.  I prefer drops to the salve, but I have to have some salve to make the tears.

Tomorrow we're going to a parade.  I like parades.  SHE says it's Memorial Day.  There are lots of flags at the cemetery and we see them on our morning walk. At parades we usually sit on a curb and watch people for a while and then we walk home.  They're not going to throw any candy, which I think is awful.  Most of the time I can get ahold of a Tootsie Roll when she isn't paying attention.  So we'll see if the parade is any fun if there's no candy.

A Long Drive to the Northwoods

SHE took me to Millinocket to visit my friend Pat.  Pat is a bit forgetful, but she loves me a lot and I like going for walks with her.  I also got to spend an afternoon with Sally who cooked me an egg and let me lie on her nice cool grass.

SHE complained that black flies bit her, but they didn't bother me at all.  SHE and Pat were very sad because a good friend of theirs died.  The woman was a minister like SHE is, but I guess Congregational is a different kind of church.  The woman minister just loved Millinocket and planned to retire there with her husband.  I guess God had a different idea.  She was only in her early 60s.  We didn't know she had diabetes and had had polio as a girl, so I guess her body was not too strong.

SHE says Lyn's heart was a big as the country around Millinocket.  It was Lyn who knew who needed what in town, and she knew more about how to help abused women than just about anybody.  She also knew who to go to for money to help people.  SHE also says the town has no idea yet how much she will be missed.  I do remember that that Lyn always had a nice scritch for me, but she was a cat lady.  She was most proud of her Maine Coon Cat.  It was bigger than me.

A Note from Her:  I still haven't processed Lyn's death.  Whenever I went to Millinocket to see Pat, Lyn and Milton would be invited over for drinks and hors d'oeuvres and sometimes they joined us for dinner afterwards.  The conversations were far-ranging stimulating. She was truly my sister-in-Christ and I miss her.  She had completed the work for a D. Min. and would have received her degree the week after she died.  The seminary awarded it to her posthumously and had her hood encased in a display box.  Her classmates made sure there was an empty chair for Lyn at the ceremony. Part of the reason her memorial service was so long was the degree and hood were awarded a second time for her congregation to see.  I know it won't be the same for me to go up there.  Pat will miss her pastor very much too,

Prayer:
Gracious and Loving God, whose wisdom is beyond our understanding: Deal graciously with Milton, and Pat and Lyn's congregation in their grief.  Surround them with your love, that they may not be overwhelmed by their loss, but have confidence in your goodness and strength to meet the days to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. (adapted from the BCP, 494)

Isabelle and Rabbits

Two Rabbits (Kobi 19th Century) Wikimedia Commons.

My mommie has gotten addicted to LOST.  Every Tuesday evening she disappears for a couple of hours and I have to stay home alone. SHE says it's because the place SHE goes to watch it has a bunny rabbit named Hester.  Now I really like bunny rabbits.  They are so much fun to chase.  I really liked Wyoming because there were lots of rabbits who lived next door under an old barn and one of them used to come and wait for me at the edge of the driveway so when we came home from church I could chase him.

They're going to have a big party for the last show and I suppose I'll have to stay home alone then too.  It's just not fair.  SHE is worried Hester will have a heart attack if he sees me. (Hester is a boy rabbit).

I've decided that I really don't need to drink so much water after all.  I'm back to my old habits of just one bowl a day.

A Quick Update

You know I think I like the doggie spa.  I always get to meet nice doggies there.  My friend Rex wasn't there this time, but I met a new dog who spent a lot of years in a puppy farm and was real scared, but we got along pretty well.  She is much littler than I am, but I think after the nice lady at the spa takes care of her for a while and she sees how nice the dogs are that stay there she will be ok.  I made friends with another dog, and I'm sure he thought I was a pretty sexy thing, so I had to put him straight.  I only want to be friends.  SHE was only gone two nights and although I was REAL glad to go home, I had fun.

The doctor said I don't have Cushing's disease, but I have a nasty eye infection and need medicine three times a day.  Sometimes I make HER chase me, cause I really don't want to have her put it in, but I do feel better.  Now SHE has to measure how much water I drink.  Not a big deal since SHE's trained in that sort of thing.

SHE said we have to look for a new place to live.  The woman who owns the house is going to sell it.  I like this place.  Do you know we've lived in 7 places since we've become companions?  I think it's time we settle down.

Two Churches in Two Days

I got to go to two churches in two days. I like going to churches because it usually means food.  I know how to keep quiet during prayers because voices change and they all speak together.  I did get a few goodies and in the second church there were lots of people sitting around tables eating, but only my SHE gave me anything.  I guess they just don't know me very well.  I tried looking cute, but nada.  So mostly I just slept under the table and snored during the meetings.  I was SO glad when we finally left and went home.  We were both so tired after all that driving on Sunday that we didn't do very much.  SHE took a long nap and so did I.

Home at Last

Finally I'm home again. The kennel/spa was nice, but home is better.  I did like my new friend Rex, who is a Jack Russell Terrier.  We enjoyed walking together.  There were some other nice dogs too.  When I saw my mommie I ran over and jumped on her and when she bent over I kissed her and whined and carried on so she would know that I really did miss her.  I sat in her lap all the way home and did some more crying.  It's so hard for me to be away from her.  She says she missed me too.  I am not letting her out of my sight for a while.  I went with her to the grocery store and then for a little walk.  I'm getting very good at walks again.  I'm not nearly as stiff when we finish as I was for a while.