Nap Buddies

Today is one of those almost perfect summer days, extremely unusual in Ohio. The temperature is 75 degrees. The humidity is low. There is a gentle breeze and the sky is an incredible blue. Unbelievable! After puttering around all morning: making a crock-pot dish for tonight's quilt guild picnic, watering my house plants, finishing the last 20 pages of a novel, and preparing lunch it was time for an after lunch nap. Ken and I finished lunch, did the dishes and while we were busy with those tasks, the dogs got their lovies and dragged them out to the porch in case it was going to be nap time. They watch everything we do and try to anticipate our next activity. They want to be ready so they don't miss any opportunity.

In this case, they were spot on. The porch doors were opened wide and I had a new book to begin. It was cool enough for me to spread out a quilt and settle down for a nap. Rudy only stayed for a few minutes before he relocated into the living room to be with Ken. Emme stayed. After loving Big Mama Gorilla for a while, she jumped down on top of my legs to lie down as I read. Naps are good. Beautiful summer weather is better. Having two nap buddies is best.

I Want That "Up" Collar

If you have seen the Pixar film "Up" you remember the collars that allow the dogs to talk. I want one of those.

Emme and Rudy are sometimes so strange and do such unusual things that Ken and I have always wanted to have a way to talk to them and just ask each of them "Why do you do that?" We have wished that we could have 15 minutes with each of them to ask about strange behaviors that we have seen. I am sure that 15 minutes would not be enough time to get the answers we want, so I want to switch to an "Up" collar. I could put one on Emme and Rudy and when they did something weird, I could ask why in the world they were doing that. And they could tell me. Maybe I will put an "Up" collar on my Christmas list.

More Than an "Power Chewer"

For Emme's recent birthday, I purchased a chew toy labeled "for your power chewer" as a birthday present for her. Although Emme is very gentle with her stuffed toys, she is a powerful chewer. Because she loves to chew on marrow bones, I knew she would enjoy a chew toy of some kind for her birthday.

She has a Kong, but she never chews on that. She will lick peanut butter from the inside of it or figure how to get out little bits of kibble stuffed inside but she does not chew the Kong itself. She is so excited when she gets the Kong but as soon as it is empty, it could be invisible. She wants nothing more to do with it. I hesitate to give her rawhide to chew because I am just not sure about that. She does get sweet potato chews but they are consumed and gone. I wanted a toy she could chew when she wanted.

I read every label in the pet department of Target and selected two toys for Emme: a small pink stuffed rabbit and a blue chew toy labeled "for your power chewer." I also purchased a fetch stick for Rudy because I couldn't get a birthday present for Emme and leave Rudy out. After Emme played with the rabbit for a few minutes, she left it to pick up the chew toy. Rudy immediately picked up the little pink rabbit and has had it since. Emme didn't mind because she immediately started chewing on the blue chew toy. She chewed on it for only a few minutes before she chewed a chunk of the plastic right off. You can see the bitten off chunk in the upper right corner of the photo. If that toy was made for a "power chewer" Emme must be more than a "power chewer." She must be a "super power chewer."

So I took the chew toy away from Emme and will return it to the store. I will probably exchange it for another pink rabbit so she can have some time with it while Rudy monopolizes the first one. The blue chew toy she had is just too dangerous for her. She easily could chew off another chunk and swallow it. I wish I could find a good, non-lethal chew toy for Emme.

Happy Birthday, Emme

Yesterday was Emme's third birthday. Although we did celebrate her first birthday, last year when she was two, we were preoccupied with health concerns and it passed us by. So Emme's third birthday was a "do-over." We wanted to give her a special treat for her birthday but were stymied in choosing something appropriate. We are very careful about what we give to both Emme and Rudy because many things upset their digestion. For Christmas one year, I purchased a doggie ice cream as a treat. Rudy handled it well, but it was too much for Emme. It gave her very loose stools and I don't want to repeat that.

Emme loves both yogurt and canned tuna and has eaten both of those items in the past with no difficulty. So we chose tuna as her treat. When we got up, I sang "Happy Birthday" to Emme and she was underwhelmed. When Ken got out her kibble, I opened a can of tuna. That caught Emme's attention. So both Emme and Rudy got spoonful of tuna and the water it comes in on top of their kibble. This was a real celebration. No songs, just tuna.

Wild Life in the Garage

This morning Ken and I were working in the yard. The garage door was open for about an hour or so while we were planting some perennials that Ken got on a great end-of-the-season sale. He got 26 plants for $10.28 and we wanted to get them in the ground right away. While we were busy working, unknown to us, a little chipmunk ran into the garage and stayed inside. Ken discovered it on the window sill in the garage later in the day. We tried to chase it out of the garage by stomping our feet behind it but we were unsuccessful. We stomped and the chipmunk ran and hid. We left the garage door open when we went out to run errands and hopefully the little creature ran out of the garage and back into the yard while things were quiet.

I wouldn't want Emme or Rudy to go our into the garage and capture the chipmunk. Even worse, I wouldn't want it to run into the laundry room and hid in the house. So for now, I think the wild life is out of the garage and back outside. At lease I hope so.

Seed Collector

Last evening after dinner Ken and I went on a walk around the yard to see what is blooming. We each took a dog on a leash. We looked at all the plants as the dogs sniffed, ate grass, and wandered along with us. When we came inside, Emme got up on my lap and I discovered that in addition to walking around the yard, Emme had been a seed collector. She had about 30 little black seeds sticking to her coat. I had to take her into the laundry room, wipe her off and comb the seeds out of her hair.

She usually spends her time in the house, on a sidewalk, or on the grass to take care of business or play her version of fetch. She seldom walks among the plants in the gardens. I don't think she will do that again. She collected every weed and flower seed that was available. The next time we check out the plants in the yard, I think I will leave Emme on porch to watch.

Hit Me On the Head

We have some little kibble sized treats that we use to put inside the Kong toys with peanut butter. Ken decided that he would use those treats to teach the dogs a trick. He was trying to get Emme and Rudy to catch a treat when he tossed it to them. Both dogs sit about three feet in front of Ken. He tosses one treat to each of them so they can catch it. Rudy is pretty good. He catches the treat almost every time. Emme doesn't seem to understand the game. I think she thinks the game is: you toss a treat; it hits me on the head; it falls on the floor, and I bend over and eat it. She isn't any better at catching the treat than she is playing fetch. She has other talents. Like just being cute.

Like a Cat

Emme is as agile as a cat. She loves to get up on the back of the couch and walk along the top of the cushions. She also loves to look out to monitor the activity in the neighborhood. She spends a good amount of time during the day watching, with an occasional rolling growl or bark to ward off intruders. This usually includes anyone walking on the sidewalk or the street. Anyone working in the yard across the street. Anyone in any yard she can see. And anyone on the golf course. This keeps her busy.

I usually draw the drapes after dinner and with these long summer days, it is still light when I do this. I think sunset tonight is at 8:59 PM so there is still plenty of light and lots of things still to see when I close the drapes. Emme is not deterred. She hops up on the back of the couch and knows just where to insert her head between the two sides of the drapes. Then she sits and watches the sidewalk and the street. She does stop after dark, but she is on duty again the next morning, early.

Private Bathroom

I have three giant Sagae hostas growing at the corner of the back porch. They are lush and lovely and Emme has decided that they are her own private bathroom. When she goes outside, she loves to go down the steps and under the Sagae leaves to take care of business. She disappears under the leaves. It is kind of like having the key to the executive restroom. It is all hers and private.

Dirty Mouth

I never knew it would be so hard to keep a white dog, white. Emme is like a little dirt magnet. She sniffs the deck and comes up with smudges of dirt, twigs, little pieces of leaf, and assorted messes all around her mouth. She picks up dirt, pollen and dust on her paws. She goes to the lake house white and within a few hours she is grey in places. I wouldn't trade her for the world but it is challenge keeping her clean.

First Swim of the Season

This weekend Rudy went swimming for the first time of this season. He absolutely loves to dive off the dock and play fetch with his orange toss toy. On Friday, we went down to the dock for a first boat ride of the season and Rudy had to bring his toy and play a little fetch. Ken threw the toy a few times and Rudy was in heaven. You can see then that he is really a water dog. You wouldn't know it when it is time for a bath or to go outside in the rain. Then he can't stand water and will do anything to avoid getting wet. If he misbehaves, we spray him with the plant mister and he hates it. Only in the lake is water good and there it is very good.

His coat is so thick that it takes hours for him to dry. After our ride, we all stayed out on the deck for some time so Rudy could begin to dry in the sun. When he is wet and goes inside immediately he uses the rug and all the furniture to dry himself off. Drying in the sun is better.

Emme has never gone swimming. She is fascinated by the water and loves to be out on the boat. I keep her on the leash because I am not sure that she wouldn't just go over the side. She stands on her back legs and sniffs the water over the side of the boat. The water by our dock is deep and the only way to get in is to jump off the side or the end of the dock. We don't have a gradual slope so you can wade in. We just have deep water. Later this summer we are going to take Emme to one of the beaches at the lake some week day when no one else is there. We will let her get her feet wet and see what she does in the water. I wonder what she will think of that.

Wild Life at the Lake

We just got back from a few days at the lake house. While we were there, a rather large deer strolled across the yard. Ken got out the camera and was able to get its picture before it disappeared into the woods next door. This is why I always want to have Emme and Rudy on the leash at the lake. I am never sure when we are going to have a visitor that they would like to chase. I am sure that if either dog were outside when the deer went through the yard, they would have taken after it in a heartbeat.

The house on the other side of ours had its own version of "Wild Life at the Lake" yesterday. In the afternoon cars began to pull in and a group of loud young men began a party. As we were sitting on the deck before dinner, we could hear them playing loud music, hanging out on their dock, getting into a boat, and yelling at the top of their lungs. We decided that if they got too loud, that we would play Steve Halpern or Yanni really loud to annoy them. Actually, they settled down early in the evening and didn't disturb us in the least. That was good. I am not sure you can play Yanni loud enough to even hear next door, let alone annoy a loud group of partiers. So much for Wild Life at the Lake.

Like a Fruit Bat

Emme loves fruit. She and Rudy both come to the kitchen when I am preparing a meal or snack hoping for a handout. We never give them food from the table, but I often will give them a treat when I am cutting up fruit or vegetables. Rudy is a little pickier, but Emme will eat a bite of almost any fruit or vegetable I give her. She eats many vegetables: green peppers, cherry tomatoes, celery, and baby carrots but her favorites are fruit. I never give her grapes because they are toxic to dogs, but she gets bites of apple, peach, watermelon, cantaloupe, bananas, and her all time favorite: oranges. Who knew that dogs would love citrus fruit. When we peel an orange or Clementine, Emme actually whines to be given a bite. Maybe she is part fruit bat.

Doggy Day Care

Yesterday morning, we took Emme and Rudy for a first time visit to Doggy Day Care here in town. My son and daughter-in-law take Lolly to a day care center in DC and they are very pleased with it. Ken and I decided to look into it with the idea that we would plan to leave the dogs there for day care and boarding when we went back to John Campbell at the end of the summer. We were planning to do a few short visits over the summer to assess how they handled being with other days.

I called the vet to schedule boarding for our New Jersey shore vacation and they were filled up. So we went to plan B: Doggy Day Care.

I called the day care center and scheduled Emme and Rudy to stay there for our vacation week and we took them on Monday morning to see how they would do. Neither Emme nor Rudy have had a lot of experience playing with other dogs. There are just the occasional visits from relatives with dogs.

On Monday, there were five other dogs when we went to the center at 9 AM. Every one of them started barking as soon as we brought our dogs through the door. Both Emme and Rudy seemed overwhelmed by the noise and confusion. The owner took Emme in her arms and walked into the middle of the dogs while we waited by the counter. They sniffed Emme and she seemed okay in the woman's arms. Then she put Emme on the floor. Emme started sniffing the other dogs. So far so good.

Next it was Rudy's turn. Holding on to Rudy's collar, she took him into the group. Every one barked and sniffed but seemed to get along. Then Ken and I went into the room to look around. There is one large room, a smaller area to separate small dogs if necessary, several small rooms about 6 feet by 8 feet that are used for boarding, a back hall, an always open door, and a small fenced in back yard where the dogs take care of business. Everything seemed clean and Rudy and Emme sniffed until I thought they would pass out. We watched the dogs for a few minutes and then left. As we backed out of the parking lot, Emme and Rudy were standing at the window watching us leave.

We came back to pick them up about noon. Both dogs seemed to be okay. The owner told us that Emme spent the morning glued to Rudy's side. Where ever he went, she followed. Rudy didn't play for a while but later in the morning picked up a blue ball and played fetch. I think he played fetch a lot. They both were worn out and plopped onto the back seat for the ride home. Emme was asleep before we hit our street and both dogs spent most of the afternoon napping. Later in the evening, Rudy was having a hard time getting up and moving around. He refused to climb the stairs to go to bed so Ken grabbed his pillow and slept on the family room couch with Rudy on the rug beside him. This morning, Rudy seems okay. I think he just over did at day care and next time, we will need to tell her to slow him down, not throw the ball too many times and to put him in a separate room to rest periodically.

We will try another short day before the actual boarding. I think we all survived our first experience with doggy day care.

Bright Eyed and Bushy Tailed

I love Emme's new hair cut. There is nothing different on her body or legs. The biggest difference is in her face. Her ears are much shorter than they have been and she is clipped more around her eyes. She looks so bright eyed. Actually I always think she looks cute but with the new do, she is cuter than ever.

Assigned Seat

Sometimes it seems that we have assigned seats in the living room. Ken and I have our Lazy-Boy recliner chairs near a reading light and across the room from the television. Rudy has his quilt on the floor on the left side of Ken's chair. Emme loves the end of the couch. She sits there and watches everything that goes on in the neighborhood. In the evenings after the drapes are closed, she often abandons her perch and comes to lie on top of a quilt on my legs. But during the day, she is often in her assigned seat, watching. If I can't find her, I know where to look. That is her spot.

Plays Well With Others

This weekend we had three visitors: my son, daughter-in-law, and my grand-dog, Lolly. Emme loves all three of them, but Lolly is a favorite and a mystery. Emme is not used to playing with other dogs. She and Rudy live in the same house, go on rides together, nap near one another, eat sided by side, but they don't "play" much together.

Lolly is a French bulldog and as cute as she can be. She is very used to playing with other dogs because she frequently goes to a doggy day care in Washington DC, her hometown, so she plays well with others. Emme on the other hand has few opportunities to play with anyone except Rudy. Rudy is older, slower and not really into playing. His thing is fetch. He'll fetch until he is warn out, but he doesn't really "play" with Emme. So having a dog her size who wants to play is a new experience for Emme.

Actually all three dogs did quite well. Emme and Lolly generally avoided Rudy except when Ken was playing fetch with Rudy. Rudy would chase the little red football; Lolly would chase Rudy, and Emme stayed on the porch and ignored them. She is not into fetch. In her estimation, if you are silly enough to throw a ball away, you can just go get it yourself.

Lolly wanted to initiate a game of "You chase me; I'll chase you" but Emme didn't seem to know the rules. Instead she would look expectantly at Lolly, scratch her back feet on the carpet, and bark. This must have meant something to her, but all of us, including Lolly, were not sure what it meant. It probably was "I really want to play, but I am not sure how to go about it."

So all three dogs spent the weekend together and had some variety of play with one another. If they had more time together, I am sure Emme would have figured out how to play more. But it was a fun weekend anyway.

New Do

Emme has a new do. She went to the groomers yesterday for the first time since her surgery and I asked Kristie to cut Emme's coat short. I wanted to even out the growing in rectangle on the back of Emme's neck with the rest of her coat and I wanted to fix up her ears which I had trimmed myself when the hair was getting caught in the stitches. So Emme is much shorter but she looks so cute. I never have Emme cut in a "show coat" but I keep her in a puppy cut. It is much easier to care for.

Emme's parents are both beautiful show dogs and I have seen them all styled and blown out for dog shows. They are absolutely stunning. Emme never looks like her parents but she looks like herself. Which is great.

She Moans

Emme has this habit of moaning quietly when she is being rubbed or petted. It is a soft and happy sound something like a cat purring. Rudy does a similar thing when he is being very still and being petted. He has a specific deep breathing sound that he makes, his version of purring. Last week when Emme was not feeling well, she didn't moan when we rubbed and patted her. Now that she is well again, she moans. What a good sound. The sound of a contented dog.

Back to Normal

It has been a week since we took Emme to the vet and discovered that she had an ear infection. After days of salve in her ear and a few baby aspirins, she is well again and things are back to normal. It was disconcerting while she was not feeling well and she was isolating herself from us by hiding under pieces of furniture. Some "under" is okay. Being "under" all the time is not.

She is not shaking her head or showing any signs of distress. She is back to eating again. For a number of meals this past week, she refused to eat. Ken or I would give her kibble, one piece at a time, and she would eat part of her meal. That is past. She is eating well.

She is back to her early morning routine: playing "Go Get" and loving up Big Mama Gorilla. It is so nice having things back to normal.

In Hiding

For the last two days, Emme has been hiding all over the house. She has been spending almost all her time under something. It started on Sunday at the lake house. When Emme wasn't under the living room couch, she was under the butcher block in the kitchen or under our bed. Her behavior was very strange. Although she does like to be under things occasionally, for the past two days it was constant. Instead of coming to sit beside one of us or on our laps, Emme was under something, hiding out. When we returned to Wooster, Emme spent her time under the cabinet in the dining room or under my desk in the sewing room. This morning as soon as she got up, she immediately ran to the sewing room to hide out under my desk instead of making a bee line for the back door to go out to the yard. She has not been interested in playing or running around. She was reluctant to eat although she did finally eat very slowly and finished all or most of her meals. But something was just not right.

So we made an appointment with the vet this morning. Emme has an ear infection. I guess I shouldn't be surprised because she just finished a round of antibiotics after her surgery and that is often when a yeast infection sets in. So the vet pulled some hair from her ears and we have a salve to put in her sore ear. For the next day or two she is to have a baby aspirin twice a day. We are already seeing a change. I hope she is back to her old self quickly. I miss the real Emme.

Rub My Belly

Emme had her stitches taken out yesterday and it was no big deal. Her incision has healed nicely and the vet cut the stitches out without causing Emme any pain. Emme can now roll over on her back to have her belly rubbed.

When the incision was new, Emme would begin to roll over and as soon as her incision touched the rug, she would immediately hop back up. I know it was not comfortable for her. The last few days she did try to lie on her back to turn her belly up for rubbing. That still must have felt strange with the stitches in and she would hop up quickly. Now the incision is healed and the stitches removed. She can lie comfortably on her back. Belly rubs are now in order. Life is back to normal.

Sisterhood of the Seven Stitches

After Emme had surgery last week to remove her cyst, her incision was closed with seven stitches. Last weekend I had an unfortunate accident with a broken glass on the kitchen counter. I went to the emergency room and come home with seven stitches in my right hand to close the cut. Both of us are healing nicely.

I love Emme all to pieces but I was not planning to bond so closely with her that we each would have seven stitches at the same time. Hers come out later this afternoon. Mine come out on Friday morning. But until then we are alike, each with seven stitches.

Some Time in the Crate

Emme continues to heal and has spent some time this week on her own in her crate in the family room. On Wednesday, she was in her crate for two hours while Ken and I took a "Spring Walk" at the Secrest Arboretum. What a wonderful resource right in our community. It has the reputation of having the best crab apple collection in the world as well as some of the most respected scientists. The Arboretum is lovely in all seasons and was especially beautiful this week. Emme seemed to handle the crate time with no damage. She will sometimes scratch herself if she is not monitored but there were no scratch marks on her skin when we got home.

Then yesterday she was in the crate while we went to Akron to bottle our wine. A few weeks ago we went to a wine making place and mixed up two batches of wine, a White Cranberry and a red Mixed Berry. This week we bottled and corked the wine. It is actually quite good.

So things are almost back to normal. Emme has an appointment for Monday afternoon to have her stitches removed. Yeah!

Feeling Her Oats

Emme is getting more like her real self each day. This morning, she was feeling her oats and decided to play a game of "You'll Never Find Me." After Ken and I took the dogs out first thing this morning, I went back upstairs to brush my teeth and wash my face. Emme, of course, came with me. When I was done, I went back downstairs into the living room and sat on the couch for my regular early morning visit with Emme. Every morning, we sit together quietly on the couch and I tell her what a good girl she is as I am slowly waking up. Then after checking his email, Ken comes into the dining room and sits at the table. We play a couple rounds of "Go Get..." and then the humans get some coffee.

Not this morning. When I went into the living room, Emme was no where to be seen. I called for Emme and then to Ken in his office to see if she had gone in to see him. Not there. I went back upstairs to make sure I hadn't shut Emme in the bathroom or the closet. Not there. I came back downstairs and now the two of us looked for Emme, calling her name all the while. Of course, Emme was no where and she didn't make a sound. This is the important part of "You'll Never Find Me." Emme refuses to respond to our calls. We call "Emme, come" and she remains totally silent. I got down on my hands and knees to check if she was in her hiding place under the dining room cabinet. Not there. Back upstairs to see if she had pushed open the door to the guest room and then could not get back out. Not there. Finally I went into my sewing room, kneeled down on the rug and found Emme tucked under the drawers of my desk, all the way back by the wall absolutely invisible.

Now that she was found, Emme could come out and go downstairs. We took puppy classes so that Emme would learn some important commands like "Come." She knows these commands, but when she plays "You'll Never Fine Me" she has different rules. She hides; I call; she remains silent. I HATE this game but I am glad that she is feeling enough better to play.

Better and Better

Emme seems to get better and better. Her shaved rectangle on the back of her neck is growing more hair and now resembles a front lawn covered with snow. This makes things look much more normal. You can still easily see the incision and the stitches but not the raw, pink skin. This is an improvement.

Today she seems more itchy than the previous days. There is a lot of head shaking and attempts at scratching but she stops when told "No." She is handling taking care of her business without a collar and leash. She goes outside, takes care of business, and comes back to the porch quickly. Maybe I am worrying about nothing.

She is back to her noisy, protect-the-neighborhood-from-marauders self. She loves to be on the porch to keep an eye on things. The problem is, she thinks anything she can see is her business. She doesn't limit herself to her own backyard. The next door neighbors are getting a new roof so there are trucks and workers all over their yard. The fact that it is next door, doesn't deter Emme. She barks and growls to keep the invaders away. Needless to say, it was a long afternoon yesterday. Maybe they will be done this afternoon. Then Emme can lighten up. One can only hope.

Getting Better Each Day

Emme seemed different this morning, a little more animated and spunky. I see her getting better each day. She finishes with the antibiotic and the pain pills this evening. Her shaved spot is growing fine little white hairs, kind of like an old man's cheek, and it doesn't look as raw and angry. She spent a quiet night last night with only one episode of scratching.

Yesterday Ken and I stayed home with her all day. We didn't go to church and didn't attend a concert we had tickets for because I didn't want to leave her at home alone. Today I am more confident in her ability to stay by herself without supervision. We have a crab apple walk through the Secrest Arboretum scheduled on Wednesday and I am sure she will be able to be crated and stay alone for two hours by then. Life is beginning to get back to normal.

Always on a Leash

Today is Emme's third day after cyst removal surgery and she continues to heal. She was more restless last night than she has been. We had to talk to her two or three times during the night to get her to settle down and not scratch. Today she is still uncomfortable periodically and wants to be held frequently but otherwise is doing nicely on the pain medicine.

The biggest change is that she can't wear a collar and leash. I always have Emme on a leash when I take her outside. That way I know where she is and I know that she can't take off to chase a squirrel or a jogger. It just keeps her safe. Ken sometimes takes Emme out to play fetch without a collar and leash, but I never do. If she is outside with me, she has on a collar and leash.

Now, obviously, with a giant incision on the back of her neck, we can't put a collar on her. We have been taking her outside to do her business for the last few days without a problem. I was beginning to grow more comfortable with this until this afternoon. A black poodle was galloping around in our next door neighbor's year and I know they do not have a dog. This dog was obviously from somewhere else in the neighborhood and had gotten off the leash. If Emme had been outside, she would have run to the poodle to play and I am not sure what would have happened next. I don't like this. It will be a week or two before Emme can wear her collar and I think I will worry the entire time. Not that worrying will keep her safe. It is just what I do.

And a Hair Cut, Too

Now we are in day two, post cyst surgery. To add insult to injury, I have had to clip some of Emme's hair to make her more comfortable. Yesterday she was flapping her ears in reaction to the feel of the incision and sutures or in an effort to make herself more comfortable. Each time she flapped her ears, some of the long ear hair caught on the sutures. Then she would move her head, pull on the stitches and cry. So Ken held her and I got out the scissors and cut all the hair that was long enough to get caught. So in addition to having a shaved spot the size of an index card on the back of her neck, Emme's ears look a little wonky. I don't care as long as she is more comfortable.

She seems to be tolerating the pain medication well. She is taking that in addition to an antibiotic. She is not nauseous and she is eating, drinking and eliminating without a problem. I know the pain medication is slowing her down. We say something like "Are you ready to eat?" or "Let's go outside and hurry up" and she seems to have to stop and consider what we are saying before she responds. I know the feeling; pain medicine makes me dumb.

Emme spent most of the day yesterday in one of our arms. She and I watched many shows on the "Sick Channel," HD Theatre. I discovered this channel last spring after my surgery and it was a wonderful diversion. Yesterday Emme and I watched a show on rogue crocodiles and hippopotamuses, the sunrise in a Cambodian village (where the sun rose VERY slowly), a show on souping up some one's SUV to make it "hot" and the beginning of a racing show. A rather eclectic mix but entertaining.

She sat in Ken's arms in front of his computer though a variety of Podcasts and many games of solitaire. By evening, she did begin to spend a little time on the floor or up on the couch or a chair seat by herself. We need to watch her constantly because if she begins to scratch, she will stop if she is told "No." Last night we all went to bed and slept through the night. She seems to have made it through the night with out scratching.

So today, we are taking turns on "Emme watch." She wants to be held sometimes but other times she can be more independent. We are still watching her to prevent her from scratching. We are all going to make it through this.

Obviously the photos I used yesterday and today are pre-surgery. I can't bring myself to take a picture of the incision. When it is over and done with, I don't want to be reminded of it in graphic detail.

A Big Deal

Emme's little bump turned into a big deal. She came home with a shaved rectangle on the back of her neck about four inches wide by five inches long, a 2 1/2 inch incision and seven sutures. The skin around the incision is a raw looking and pink and she is miserable. Until her first pain pill kicked in about six o'clock last night she yipped and cried in pain every time she moved. Now she seems in less pain but she wants to scratch the incision and rub it on the rug or furniture. The only thing that stops her is one of us holding her in our arms. So we did, all night last night. Ken and I spent the night in the living room with one of us holding Emme in our arms in a recliner chair and the other trying to sleep on the couch. We traded positions every two hours so we had some relief, but it was a long night. Right now Ken is holding Emme while I shower, dress and check my email. Then it will be my turn again.

On a positive note, Emme came through yesterday's surgery just fine. The vet said that the bump was a sebaceous cyst and he was able to get all of it out. The incision is larger than we expected because the cyst was larger under the surface of the skin than at the surface. It was about the size of a quarter. The surgery was uneventful. The cyst was removed and Emme's teeth were cleaned while she was under.

The recovery is another matter. Emme is miserable and we are trying to keep her as comfortable as possible. This will mean a lot of holding her until things ease up. We had an appointment in Akron this afternoon that we will cancel to stay with her. Today's focus is just on helping Emme heal.

Last night Emme ate a few pieces of kibble from Ken's fingers and this morning he hand fed her again. She has gone outside to hurry up twice since she came home. So all systems are working.

I hope she never has another cyst. I never want to go through this again.