Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

THURSDAY - I ate a lot of my special food on Thursday. Mom was pleased. Thursday morning was cool and Smokey was feeling spunky. He wanted to play and I had to hide behind mom because I knew I couldn't run like the wind like I used to and I sure wasn't up to his roughhousing. Mom put me on the porch and told Smokey to "GO!" Did he ever!

After all that exercise he really needed a drink from the birdbath (it has the best water).

Smokey woke us up late Thursday night because Pasquale brought something in the house. Usually he brings in a mole and leaves the corpse on the rug for mom to step on in the morning. I don't think mom appreciates those little gifts. Well, it wasn't a mole; it was a skink with no tail. We saw it Friday afternoon when it ventured out from wherever it was hiding. Unfortunately Pasquale saw it too so the tailless skink is somewhere in the house and it will starve to death if Pasquale doesn't find it again. Either way, the poor thing is history.


FRIDAY - I ate a little on Friday morning. On Friday afternoon I didn't feel so good. I was outside with mom while she watered the plants. Her back was turned just long enough for me to snatch some grass - which I am NOT supposed to do. Most of our time outside goes like, "Sierra, No." "Sierra, No!" "No, Sierra!" Well, you get the picture. I threw up a couple of times Friday afternoon and that bothered mom. I felt better after I threw up and ate another spoonful of food. Then I took a nap in her chair. Mom thinks it's weird that I like to sleep with my head hanging down. Smokey does this too.

I am resting in mom's chair.

My incision is itching and I keep licking and picking at the staples. This also makes mom say, "NO!" to me a lot. First she tells me what a good girl I am and then it seems like every other word is NO. I wish she would make up her mind.

Sierra and Buddy hang out.

We all slept downstairs again Friday night. Mom doesn't want me to have to go up and down the stairs if I wake up in the night and need to go out. Usually I sleep in my chair but I wanted to sleep in mom's lap. Her chair isn't as big as mine and I went back to my chair in the middle of the night.


SATURDAY - When I woke up on Saturday, I felt hungry so I ate a spoonful of food. About an hour and a half later I ate another spoonful. After that I didn't feel hungry again until Saturday night. Later mom took everyone on the back deck and brushed us and gave Smokey and Pasquale a pedicure. Buddy does not like having his claws cut. Someone trimmed my nails while I was in the hospital. We like being brushed better than almost anything.


Mom decided we should all go back to sleeping upstairs Saturday night. I think she's tired of trying to sleep in a chair. I can't run up the stairs like I used to do but I curled up in my little bed and went right to sleep. Later, though, I climbed up on mom's bed and slept with her. Pasquale and Buddy slept with us. Smokey stayed on the floor which is good because the bed would be a too crowded if he came up. Mom had to help me get off the bed in the morning. Her bed is high and I was a little leery of the big jump.

SUNDAY - I ate a spoonful of food on Sunday morning. Smokey's food looked better but mom said I couldn't eat his. She said I have to keep eating my special food. I can't tell if I'm just not hungry or if I'm tired of my special food. Sometimes I like crunchy food.

We had to stay in the house while mom mowed the grass, filled the bird feeders, and did other yard chores. Then she went outside to wash the car and get it ready for our trip tomorrow. We have to get up really early and drive to the Vet School at Gainesville to see the oncologist at 10 o'clock (I hope the oncologist can tell me if I have mange or not).  Mom keeps telling me I don't have mange and that they had to shave me to operate and give me IVs and take blood. I'm not so sure about that. Smokey has to stay home and it's just mom and me.

I ate another spoonful of food about 1:30 in the afternoon. Smokey supervised. Actually he told mom he would be happy to eat it if I didn't. You'll note that I picked up a morsel and dropped it on the floor to eat. This trick is in the Doggie Code Book (not sold in stores). It's in the chapter on "Things to do on the Carpet." This includes tricks such as peeing, pooping, throwing up (better in the middle the night and extra points for upchucking on the bed), eating, tracking muddy footprints, leaving dead stuff, etc. Carpet is best but a plain floor will do if that is the only surface available.

Mom got the car ready and then we all (except the cats) drove to fill up the car. While she was filling the tank mom noticed that a back tire was low. She called some friends and we went over there while he put air in the tire. We think we found a nail or wire or something. We won't have time to get it fixed before we leave but we should be able to get it fixed in Gainesville before we come back.

Mom boiled some chicken and rice. She poured some broth, rice, chopped up chicken on Smokey's crunchy food. She poured some broth and teensy bits of chicken on my gruel. I don't think I like that special food any more. Mom added a 6 crunchy bits (grain-free diet) to my food and I ate most of it. Mom says I'm supposed to be on a low bulk diet until my incisions hear. She might be right. I just don't like it much and I want real food. I think I'll be OK if I only have a few crunchies and the gruel several hours apart. Mom says I have to eat because I'm still losing weight and I have to keep my strength up! As a special treat mom gave me half of a small dog biscuit (grain-free!). She loves me. Smokey got a whole biscuit so I guess she loves him too. Smokey hasn't gotten many treats lately because mom doesn't want to give him one if she can't give me any.

We're all napping after dinner. Except mom, who is working on a list of questions for the oncologist. I hope she gets the right answers. I'll let you know what happens. Wish us luck!

Hanging out with your friends in the back yard is the best way to spend a warm afternoon.