Friday, May 25, 2012

Time for a Pupdate

murphy-chairI squished in a puddle, which shouldn’t be news given the regular deluges in our suburbs this spring.

Except I was walking in my kitchen at the time.

I trekked upstream to the laundry room and pushed back the door. Inky liquid dribbled over the edge of the swamp we used to call “the slop sink.”

“Just what does this have to do with your dog?” you say, inferring correctly from the headline and photo.

Well, everything.

An emergency call to the plumber and a few hundred dollars later …

I learned the washing machine drain pipe was blocked. By dog fur. This is what happens when you launder the snot and blood from your balding, afflicted dog’s bedding multiple times a week for several months but fail first to shake out the bulk of his follicle fallings.

Lesson learned. Situation never to be repeated, but mostly because I’m hopeful we’ll never have the perfect storm of canine illness leading to my frenetic laundering again.

Murphy seems abnormally normal these days, perfectly imperfect for him.

We walk a few miles regularly when the rains don’t turn our stroll into a figurative doggie paddle. We’ve even been running every other day or so. I think my hips and knees will fail well before his. But I’ve been in middle-age much longer.

We stopped the fungicides three weeks ago when the ever-present mucus drip from his right nostril became a mostly a memory except for some killer snotty sneezes. Hit the decks, kids – he’s gonna blow!

This week Vet No. 4 (yes, we are now on No. 4) cut down the antibiotics for his autoimmune disease as his patchy coat has started to fill and even out again. When he gets up from his naps now he leaves just a confectionary sugar-like dusting of fur in his wake as opposed to earlier this year when the remains of his lay were thick as birthday cake frosting.

Speaking of birthday cake, have a slice (not the chocolate – NOT THE CHOCOLATE!). Murphy ol’ boy – today you are 6. You are still younger than me, in dog years, but not for much longer. Let’s see if you can avoid hastening either of our aging processes this year. Deal?murphy dog birthday hat

That’s a good Birthday Boy.

And don’t blame me for the hat. It was all her idea.photo 1

21 comments:

  1. I hope things get better for Murray! Charlie (our six year old cocker spaniel) had back surgery in January. She's fine now. It took a few months. I can relate to having a sick dog. By the way - I LOVE her party hat. Where did you get it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I believe it came from Party City (shudder) a few years ago. Hope Charlie is doing better. Scratch him behind the ears for me.

      Delete
  2. "remains of his lay" ~ High 5!

    Happy Birthday Murp! Whozagooooodboy?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow - didn't think anyone would catch that so quickly.

      Delete
  3. Replies
    1. For those of you who don't know. Sara here is the breeder we got Murphy from 6 years ago. You probably get far more problem-free pups from her at: http://www.canterburytailslabradors.com/index.htm

      Delete
  4. I'm shocked that we haven't done the same to our washing machine with all the cat hair we have floating around the joint. 4 cats = lots of cat hair. Seriously.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, this was a new one for all of us involved.

      Delete
  5. Glad to see he's doing better.

    Pretty sure my dog would gnaw my arm off before I could get a hat like that on him.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was shocked he kept it on as long as he did. Must be the meds.

      Delete
  6. Oh, such a cute dog! Ours would have chewed up that hat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, he tried. He had it on his head for all of 3 seconds.

      Delete
  7. His face speaks volumes . . .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Get me the heck away from the freaks!" and "Got Kibble?"

      Delete
  8. This makes my terribly sad day a teeny bit better. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Happy Birthday, Murphy!

    And by the way, only a truly great dog could pull off a hat like that. Way to go, Pup!

    ReplyDelete
  10. "I learned the washing machine drain pipe was blocked. By dog fur." Couldn't help but blurt out a guffaw in response to that -- so sorry! It just never ends, does it. There's always SOME little problem that pops up around the house that has a strange cause that leaves us scratching our heads saying, "really? really??"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. When I did communications for a national homebuilder, it was all "owning a home is the American dream!" I don't want to see what the American nightmare is.

      Delete

REMEMBER: You're at your sexiest when you comment.

AddThis

My Uncool Past