If everything goes well, Randall and I will be bringing in a foster cat on Tuesday. Since the shelter is absolutely overwhelmed, now is probably a good time for us to do that. My goal is a cat that is 3+ years of age, but beyond that, I'm pretty well open to options (breed, sex, coat). All I'm absolutely against is a kitten or young cat.
Elvis, I am sure, though, would be happy to live the rest of his life without a cat present. He never was a fan, but the night the Howdy jumped down on his head when they were both going for a piece of sweet potato, has convinced him that all cats are evil and have horribly designs on his person.
Fortunately, the cat will be isolated in the guest room for the first two weeks (that's my goal, though it's possible we will only be able to do it for 10-12 days), so he won't be exposed to the Evil Feline. After that, though, the cat will slowly be introduced to the household
Tomorrow I'll be busy getting the guest room set up for the new foster, so I'm not sure I'll have anything to post. I do need to get a weight on him since it's been quite some time, but he doesn't feel as if his weight has shifted much, so if I can't get to it until tomorrow or Tuesday, I suspect I'll be OK.
So for now, things are quiet. That's sure to change soon. *g*
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Outside pics. 5_27_10
As you can see from his expression, Elvis just doesn't think too much of me pointing a camera at him.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Update 5_23_2010
Whew!! What a month or so.
My trip to Dallas to get my lower dentures (set for three weeks) morphed into a nearly five week stay when my mother decided it was time to get the long-postponed foundation work on the house done. Had it been a strictly outside endeavor, my presence wouldn't have been needed. BUT...she had to have 19 piers installed INSIDE her house.
Now, none of you (except Randall) has ever seen the inside of her house, but let me just say that during the 20 years of marriage to my stepdad they traveled all over the world. Before his death in December 1999, they made at least one trip a year somewhere. And that meant gobs of things brought home (many very cool, very lovely, very sentimental things, but still, gobs). So at 75, my mom simply couldn't face what was coming at her with this foundation work, so I stayed to help out.
Unbelievably, we got it done. Exhausted the hell out of us, but done. So now she can wait several months, get the house painted and other requisite work done and then put in on the market. She's staying in Dallas (Yeah! She would hate moving back to Waco, and it does free Randall and I up so we can move there if things permit), but the house is too big and has, unfortunately, a history with foundation issues...the entire neighborhood does, so it's obviously more than just one house with problems. :(
So that's where I've been and what I've been up to for the last several weeks.
Now on to Elvis.
Little Stumpy Fella is doing just grand. He had some adjustment issues after I first left, but he, Skeeter and Randall worked through them. By the time I was due to come home after my initial three weeks, he had settled in just fine.
His heartworm treatment on May 2 went without a hitch. As a matter of fact, he didn't need a Torb at all like he has the last couple of times. He has usually had some mild coughing either late in the day after the treatment or early the following day. This time nothing. So fingers crossed that he's moved to a new stage in the treatment. We'll just keep going this way since it's the easiest thing for him. If we're lucky enough to have him for another year and a half, most if not all the adult heartworms should have died off.
Another good thing was that while I was gone Randall didn't have to give him a Valium. That's really rather surprising because my cat, Howdy, began to really be a pissant during the last couple of weeks and one of her favorite pastimes is to torment Elvis. Since he's terrified of cats, that can send him over the edge. However, Randall was vigilant and ran interference, so there really wasn't much of that going on.
His weight was also pretty steady while I was gone, too. He'd fluctuate a half a pound or so, but that was it. The weight gain is one way we can monitor his congestive heart failure...rapid weight gain means, at the least, tweaking his Lasix for a couple of days. Weight gain combined with coughing is going to have me calling the clinic. But none of that happened, so it was a good several weeks.
When I got home Thursday, I was really surprised at just how fast he slid right back into his old routine. He was right in his usual spot beside my desk chair at lunch, dancing around the dining room chair at dinner, and happily anticipating his morning treat of four Cheerios before his breakfast (he gets those while sitting on my lap while I'm blearily sipping on my first cup of coffee).
About the only weird thing he did while I was gone was catch that bird in the yard. Randall said that for days after, he'd look wistfully through the wire fencing to the other side of the yard where the birds were hopping around. He managed to climb it a few times to (no real feat considering it's only 24 or so inches tall) when Skeeter would head over.
All in all, everything went really well. I'm hoping to get a few pictures in the next several days since Randall got the yard mowed and it's not going to be too hot yet for him to spend time outside. Being black and with medical issues means his outside time is monitored.
So that it from here. Hopefully my next post will be in a few days with some photos.
My trip to Dallas to get my lower dentures (set for three weeks) morphed into a nearly five week stay when my mother decided it was time to get the long-postponed foundation work on the house done. Had it been a strictly outside endeavor, my presence wouldn't have been needed. BUT...she had to have 19 piers installed INSIDE her house.
Now, none of you (except Randall) has ever seen the inside of her house, but let me just say that during the 20 years of marriage to my stepdad they traveled all over the world. Before his death in December 1999, they made at least one trip a year somewhere. And that meant gobs of things brought home (many very cool, very lovely, very sentimental things, but still, gobs). So at 75, my mom simply couldn't face what was coming at her with this foundation work, so I stayed to help out.
Unbelievably, we got it done. Exhausted the hell out of us, but done. So now she can wait several months, get the house painted and other requisite work done and then put in on the market. She's staying in Dallas (Yeah! She would hate moving back to Waco, and it does free Randall and I up so we can move there if things permit), but the house is too big and has, unfortunately, a history with foundation issues...the entire neighborhood does, so it's obviously more than just one house with problems. :(
So that's where I've been and what I've been up to for the last several weeks.
Now on to Elvis.
Little Stumpy Fella is doing just grand. He had some adjustment issues after I first left, but he, Skeeter and Randall worked through them. By the time I was due to come home after my initial three weeks, he had settled in just fine.
His heartworm treatment on May 2 went without a hitch. As a matter of fact, he didn't need a Torb at all like he has the last couple of times. He has usually had some mild coughing either late in the day after the treatment or early the following day. This time nothing. So fingers crossed that he's moved to a new stage in the treatment. We'll just keep going this way since it's the easiest thing for him. If we're lucky enough to have him for another year and a half, most if not all the adult heartworms should have died off.
Another good thing was that while I was gone Randall didn't have to give him a Valium. That's really rather surprising because my cat, Howdy, began to really be a pissant during the last couple of weeks and one of her favorite pastimes is to torment Elvis. Since he's terrified of cats, that can send him over the edge. However, Randall was vigilant and ran interference, so there really wasn't much of that going on.
His weight was also pretty steady while I was gone, too. He'd fluctuate a half a pound or so, but that was it. The weight gain is one way we can monitor his congestive heart failure...rapid weight gain means, at the least, tweaking his Lasix for a couple of days. Weight gain combined with coughing is going to have me calling the clinic. But none of that happened, so it was a good several weeks.
When I got home Thursday, I was really surprised at just how fast he slid right back into his old routine. He was right in his usual spot beside my desk chair at lunch, dancing around the dining room chair at dinner, and happily anticipating his morning treat of four Cheerios before his breakfast (he gets those while sitting on my lap while I'm blearily sipping on my first cup of coffee).
About the only weird thing he did while I was gone was catch that bird in the yard. Randall said that for days after, he'd look wistfully through the wire fencing to the other side of the yard where the birds were hopping around. He managed to climb it a few times to (no real feat considering it's only 24 or so inches tall) when Skeeter would head over.
All in all, everything went really well. I'm hoping to get a few pictures in the next several days since Randall got the yard mowed and it's not going to be too hot yet for him to spend time outside. Being black and with medical issues means his outside time is monitored.
So that it from here. Hopefully my next post will be in a few days with some photos.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Back in town
Didn't think I'd EVER get home. LOL
Elvis is doing well, and he's slipping right back into the old routine very fast. I won't have a chance to actually update the blog on him until probably Sunday or Monday, but he is doing very well, looks great and his attitude is super. Randall has done very well caring for him in my absence.
I also hope to have some new pictures of him in the next several days.
Everyone have a great weekend!
Elvis is doing well, and he's slipping right back into the old routine very fast. I won't have a chance to actually update the blog on him until probably Sunday or Monday, but he is doing very well, looks great and his attitude is super. Randall has done very well caring for him in my absence.
I also hope to have some new pictures of him in the next several days.
Everyone have a great weekend!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Resuming blogging update...
Just a heads up that I will FINALLY be returning from Dallas on Thursday. I suspect I won't begin updating Elvis' blog until the weekend, but Randall has said that he is doing very well with little coughing going on. Weight is good and his bird hunting attitude is highly evident. :)
I'll see everyone more regularly, I hope, beginning this weekend or early next week.
I'll see everyone more regularly, I hope, beginning this weekend or early next week.
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Elvis Catches A Bird
Donna is still in Dallas, but I have a quick update on Elvis. I washed dog laundry today (the bedding from Elvis and Skeeter's crates) and hung it out to dry since it was a warm and sunny day. About 3:45 I decide to go out and bring it in. Naturally, I let Elvis and Skeeter come out with me. They run out into the yard. I grab the crate bedding and head back in to put it in the crates without Skeeter's assistance.
I open the door to go back out after some towels and hear birds squawking their heads off. I look up and notice a bunch of loud blue jays diving around Elvis and Skeeter. Then I notice Elvis has a bird in his mouth and is gumming it. (What do you expect? He only has two teeth.) I guess his attempt to chase after a bird last month was not some type of fluke.
I call him and try to get him to bring it to me. Given all the West Nile and stuff in the area, he doesn't need to be eating a dead bird. He takes off across the yard -- away from me, naturally. I change to my yard shoes and go out after him. Now you have to understand that he's a fast old guy and the only way to catch him is to corner him. I'm not really trying to catch him, I just hoping he will drop the dead bird near me so I can grab it. Nothing doing. He runs off with the bird.
Walking doesn't get me near enough. I run. He goes all over the yard. I trip on a tree root and fall. Skeeter thinks falling means I'm playing. I get back up, discover the fall hasn't done anything for my hernia, and stumble after Elvis. Elvis finally drops the bird on the gravel path to the patio when he realizes I'm able to block both his exits back to the yard. I quickly grab the surprising well-chewed bird and take it to the trash. From looking at it, it was a young bird, probably not able to fly well yet -- which would explain the other birds makes such a fuss.
I was afraid that Elvis would be terrified of me as I chased him or starting coughing up a storm from all his running. Surprisingly, he was neither terrified nor coughing. Perhaps the fact that his dinner was coming up in 60-90 minutes had something to do with how quickly I was forgiven.
For an old dog with a lot of health problems, Elvis has a lot of energy. More than I do in 94 degree weather, come to think of it. He's asleep under my desk as I write this, probably dreaming of the bird that did not get away.
I open the door to go back out after some towels and hear birds squawking their heads off. I look up and notice a bunch of loud blue jays diving around Elvis and Skeeter. Then I notice Elvis has a bird in his mouth and is gumming it. (What do you expect? He only has two teeth.) I guess his attempt to chase after a bird last month was not some type of fluke.
I call him and try to get him to bring it to me. Given all the West Nile and stuff in the area, he doesn't need to be eating a dead bird. He takes off across the yard -- away from me, naturally. I change to my yard shoes and go out after him. Now you have to understand that he's a fast old guy and the only way to catch him is to corner him. I'm not really trying to catch him, I just hoping he will drop the dead bird near me so I can grab it. Nothing doing. He runs off with the bird.
Walking doesn't get me near enough. I run. He goes all over the yard. I trip on a tree root and fall. Skeeter thinks falling means I'm playing. I get back up, discover the fall hasn't done anything for my hernia, and stumble after Elvis. Elvis finally drops the bird on the gravel path to the patio when he realizes I'm able to block both his exits back to the yard. I quickly grab the surprising well-chewed bird and take it to the trash. From looking at it, it was a young bird, probably not able to fly well yet -- which would explain the other birds makes such a fuss.
I was afraid that Elvis would be terrified of me as I chased him or starting coughing up a storm from all his running. Surprisingly, he was neither terrified nor coughing. Perhaps the fact that his dinner was coming up in 60-90 minutes had something to do with how quickly I was forgiven.
For an old dog with a lot of health problems, Elvis has a lot of energy. More than I do in 94 degree weather, come to think of it. He's asleep under my desk as I write this, probably dreaming of the bird that did not get away.
Monday, May 03, 2010
Vacation extended
Just an FYI, my vacation has been extended until the week of May 16. I'll probably be back in Waco on the 19th, but I'm pretty sure I won't post until a few days later.
Randall has said that Elvis is doing fine, though the cat, Howdy, has been stomping through the house looking for trouble and she knows Elvis is scared to death of cats...so Randall has been running interference there.
He's had his monthly heartworm treatment, and his weight is staying between 7.8 and 8.2, so things are looking good. No coughing yet from the treatment, but Randall knows to keep an eye on it and give a Torb if it starts.
I'll probably not post again unless there's something more specific going on.
Randall has said that Elvis is doing fine, though the cat, Howdy, has been stomping through the house looking for trouble and she knows Elvis is scared to death of cats...so Randall has been running interference there.
He's had his monthly heartworm treatment, and his weight is staying between 7.8 and 8.2, so things are looking good. No coughing yet from the treatment, but Randall knows to keep an eye on it and give a Torb if it starts.
I'll probably not post again unless there's something more specific going on.
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