Cough, Cough, Hack, Hack

The Missaroo is sick again. The vet is not sure if she has kennel cough or some other respiratory infection, but she is treating it like it is kennel cough. Missy had kennel cough this time last year. It was horrible! That vet told us it was the worst case of kennel cough she had ever seen in a vaccinated dog. The kennel cough also kicked up worms she had picked up in the Tri-Cities she had been harvesting for months. She was on what felt liked a ton of pills and I had to run home from work twice a day in order to medicate her. This time it's just an antibiotic every 12 hours and hey, I'm unemployed so I have the time.

The strange thing about this latest bout of somethingness is that I have no idea where it came from. She no longer attends doggie daycare because of how susceptible she is to this sort of thing. We stay away from dog parks because of her freak out moments. Sure, she went to the groomers, but that was almost three weeks ago, and Mister he is just fine. So what the heck?

Missy took her turn at the vet like a champ though. The GREAT news is her heart is good, her body temp is normal, and her lungs sounded healthy. Although, just like any of us would be, she couldn't wait to leave:

When we were all done, I dropped Missy off at home and headed to Petco. Last time around, Missy had the pill thing figured out. No amount of treats or wet dog food could fool her into taking her pills. So this time I tried something different:

The pill pockets worked pretty well for the antibiotic, not so much for the cough suppressant. She just dropped it on the floor and Mister ate it instead! Of course, the dog that doesn't get sick will take anything! But the antibiotic is the most important, so at least she'll take those.

The other kicker to this story? This weekend Mister and Missy were headed to doggie hotel while I attended a wedding in the Tri-Cities. Guess who gets to be my road trip date now?

Why Can't You Be More Like Mister?

Well for all of Missy's needy moments the day before, you would not have know it if you met her last night. She was back to being her usual fireball self, barking at the neighbors constantly, barking at me, barking at Mister, barking, barking, barking....

She was also running around the house like crazy with that intense look in her eyes. She is ready for SPRING! Like real Spring, not warm one day, freezing cold wind or rain the next. Yesterday was one of those rare sunny moments. The balcony door was open and the Missaroo was in fine form. She kept this wild and crazy dog routine going well into the night. Mister and I did our best to trade off entertaining her and ignoring her. Even out tag team duo was no match for Miss.

By the end of the night, I just kept telling her, "No Miss I don't want to pet you and I don't want to play." Mister had fallen asleep by my feet and would lift his tired little head, open his big brown eyes, look at Missy in all her craziness and then fall back to sleep. It was as if to say, "What are we barking at? Oh just you? OK back to sleep." He def provided the comedy last night. I love when he struggles awake just to watch his head fall back down again. Then I would turn to Miss and ask, "Why can't you be more like Mister, he's asleep!"

Oh my crazy, funny puparoos! What is a dog mom to do?

I Need My Mommy

Missy had one of those days last night. She needed to be by her mommy at all times. Missy has suffered from separation anxiety in the past. We did a great job kicking it in the butt, but sometimes she still just needs to be by me all of the time. The biggest clue I get when she's going to have one of those days happens first thing in the morning. She will come and put her head on my foot while I'm getting ready in the bathroom. Instead of playing with Mister or sleeping on her choice of the furniture she comes and lays on the bathmat.

The best part about her needy days is she finally turns into the lap dog I've always hoped she'd be. Don't get me wrong Missy always wants to be on my lap, but she wants to be on my lap while being petted. The moment you stop petting her she doesn't want to be on your lap anymore. It is a rarity that she will just lay down and chill with me. On those days when she needs her mommy, I'm always happy to oblige.

Happy and Buddy

The only downside of adopting two adult dogs is that I didn't have the chance to name either one of them. Missy and Mister both came with their names and knew them long before I came into the picture. I decided to give Missy a middle name, Mae, and a nickname, The Missaroo. With Mister, I simply changed the spelling of his name. His foster mom spelled it with a "y" Myster as in Mystery. I changed it to an "i" as in Miss and Mister. Too cute I thought!

If I did have the chance to name them, however, I definitely would have named Missy "Happy." Aside from her freak out moments when it comes to other dogs, she is always happy. She has this great way of smiling at you with her tongue that just makes me laugh.  Even after a freak out, she then looks at me with that same grin like "didn't I do good mom? I chased the other doggies away!" She is my happy, healthy, Missaroo. 

Mister, on the other hand, is my sad little camper. He's not actually sad, he just always looks it because he has those big brown eyes and his tear ducts are on the outside instead of the inside so it's always wet underneath his eyes. He is my little buddy and that's what I would have named him "Buddy." I think I've already confused him because when we go on walks he is the straggler and I often have to encourage him to walk with my "come on buddy, come on Mister." I've realized he's much more likely to actually move if I use his name, but he too will always be my little buddy. 

The Chase is On

I wish I was blogging about a new topic this morning, but sadly being chased by other dogs down the block seems to be pretty darn common. I've decided I'm going to keep writing about it in an effort to bring about awareness. Guess what!?! Your dog should be on a leash when it's outside, unless you are at a dog park. And here's another one, don't leave your pets in the car! It was a combination of those two that had us running down the road last week.

I decided we would change up our walk a little bit. Normally we walk the same square of four or five blocks through our neighborhood. Either that, or we walk along another really long road, but the high schools are on Spring Break, and you might recall that Missy and I have had those snapper things thrown at us on more than one occasion. So, we went a little bit farther from home this time. As we approached our final leg, I spotted two English Bulldogs sitting in the front seat of a parked car with the window down enough for both of them to stick their heads out. It was also open enough for them to jump out. Only one of them did, but that's all it took. I started dragging poor Mister and Missy down the road. This Bulldog would not leave us alone. I kept screaming at it and even it shoved it with my foot. Missy was going berserk! It chased us for blocks before it took the time to pee and we made it around a corner and out of its line of sight. It was horrible. I was sweating and my heart was racing by the time we finally made it back home.

Of course, I blame the owner. Why were those dogs just sitting in a car like that by themselves? They should have never been sitting up front with their heads hanging out the window in the first place. If I had a chance to talk to the owner I would recommend a harness or seat belt like the one Missy has for that exact reason, so she doesn't jump out of car windows.

Locked Out

Sometimes it's fun to mess with them. Mostly because you can't beat faces that just seem to say "not funny, mom!"

Rebel Rouser

Mister on the move: