Kitty Kat Drama Llama

THINGS have happened.

Last I checked in, Roo had just gotten stitches for his Mother's Day wound.  He spent two weeks inside, coned and relatively restricted so he didn't tear his stitches.  A few days later, while petting him and checking his wound, I found what looked like a bunch of brown grapes on his tail.  Of course, I freaked out and hauled him back to the vet.  Turns out it was a nest of ticks.

I've seen ticks before, but never when they were attached and feeding.

He was already on antibiotics, so the vet removed the ticks and gave me a cream to put on both the original wound and the area where the ticks had been feeding.  The next weekend, he was healed far better than I had ever expected and his stitches were removed.

I kept him inside one more night, just to make sure he was okay and rested.  Two weeks to the day from showing up hurt, he asked to go back outside and to his "normal" life.

That night, Dorian disappeared.

I called and called for him for days, watching the side of the road every time I left the house or came home.  I even checked the shelter and Humane Society.

Five days later, he came crying home. Besides being hungry, he was grumpy, but otherwise seemed okay.  There were no injuries that I could find, and he didn't seem to be favoring any particular limb.  I'm beginning to think he's found a "vacation home" - I haven't seen him this weekend, either.  I'm about to get him a GPS.  :)

So, while Dorian was missing, Smoak decided to get in on the drama.  Her belly is starting to drag a little.  I contacted the Humane Society, and have an appointment with them tomorrow... assuming I can catch her.

Paws in the Park was good.  There were actually a lot more people (and dogs!) there than I had originally anticipated.  But, D behaved herself and said "hi" to a lot of the other pups, and I got to see an Italian Greyhound and a Belgian Malinois, among a bunch of others.

Adopting an Iggy is on my to-do list, when my house isn't quite so full and I'm done with school.  They are cute little things, slightly bigger than a Chihuahua and from what I understand, much quieter.

Although, I'm still drawn to the Afghan hounds, too.

The Belgian is just an absolutely beautiful dog, and another breed I've never seen before in person.

So, besides the walk and the vendors, there were other events - a mini dog race, costume contest, I think a go-cart type race that totally screwed with the parking, and a Blessing of the Dogs by a local pastor and his assistant.

I'm not a religious person, though I have done a little research of Saint Francis, who is hailed as the patron saint of animals.  I've determined that he was simply a Good Person, religious icon or not.  I got her a collar charm a couple of years ago, and she now has a second one that was given to her after her blessing.  They are currently both on her collar, but I think I'll put one of them on her walking harness, so she has one regardless of which she's wearing (when we go for walks, I don't make her wear both - I transfer her name tag from her collar to her harness.)

And, the Humane Society got smart this year.  Last year, they gave out t-shirts and dog bandannas with registration.  This year, they kept the t-shirts, but instead of the bandannas, they gave out poo-bag dispensers.  I think a lot of people came unprepared last year, expecting them to be provided.

The weather was tolerable, a lot cooler than it was last year (it was brutally hot).  But, it was a little windy, too.  I ended up having my hoodie up and tied, my ears started to ache.  I think it was a lot easier on the dogs, though, there weren't nearly as many needing to stop for water and rest breaks.  I had a bottle of water and her collapsible dish on-hand for her, but D wasn't interested in it.  She just wanted to go for her walk and smell the smells.  

So, overall, it seemed like a success, and organizationally far superior to last years event.  Except for the bandshell parking lot being confiscated by the race track, and no signage stating that there was no parking until you were already in the lot.  That was not cool.

I have to go do homework now.  I'll try to get back to regular weekend updates, now that most of the drama is settling down.  I still have Roo stories to tell, and the cuteness that is Mari, Zi and Gremlin being cuddle bugs.

Have a good week!