Broken Dog, Air Conditioner and Irrigation System

Can you believe it, the dog has been on a diet for only one month and he has already lost an impressive amount of the weight, dropping from 31.4 to 30 pounds. Three more pounds to go and he’ll be at his ideal weight. He was so cute when he sat on the scales, looking pleased and lapping up all the praise lavished on him by the technician at the vet’s office. We were there to get Levi’s teeth cleaned. I had to drop him off at 8:00 and when I called at noon to check on him he was just going into the surgery room. It ticked me off that he had to spend that much time cooling his heels in a cage. Last year he had so many teeth pulled it’s a wonder he can still eat. This time, He got to keep all the teeth still left in his mouth but they put some junk (like cement) along his gum line to help him keep the teeth he still has left. Schnauzers and other bearded breeds have a reputation for having bad teeth and gum issues. 

That day---Tuesday---on the scales was the last time I saw Levi happy and pain-free. The day after Levi’s dental procedure he was still acting like a burned out druggie. He didn’t want to move, drink, eat, pee or poop and he acted like his leg was broken only he didn’t whimper in pain when I poked around his leg and paw, looking for a reason for his reluctance to put weight on it. I could have understood it if it was the leg where they put the IV line in but it was his other front leg. I've had to keep an ACE bandage on the shaved patch where his IV line was attached because otherwise he licks it until his skin is beat red. I wish Levi could talk like Martin in the new TV series, Downward Dog. Have you seen that new summer ABC series? It’s really cute. 

Thursday I took Levi back to the vet. She checked out his joints, range of motion, shoulder, and paw and she felt around his bones and muscles. She couldn’t find anything to explain why he’s impersonating a three legged dog. Mostly he’s been sleeping, with me waking him up once in a while to try to get him to eat and drink or to carry him outside for potty breaks. By evening he finally did it all. The vet gave him some pain pills and me instructions to virtually keep waiting on him hand and foot all weekend so he stays as still as possible. The hope is that whatever is wrong with his leg will heal itself. That will be $55. Thank you very much. It's a good thing I’ve been working out at the YMCA because I can actually lift a drugged out dog. Friday (today as I write this) he barked for the first time since his saga started. Just one pathetic bark when someone came to the door but that’s progress. If he continues not to want to put weight on his leg by the time Monday rolls around I have to make an appointment for him to get x-rays. 

This has been a weird and expensive week. One day I had the air conditioning guy come out to do a routine check on the unit. I didn’t want to turn it on this year because I could look down into the housing for the outside fan and see where mice had spent the winter. I was afraid if they chewed on the wiring it could start a fire or compound any problems that damaged wiring might cause. We’ve had weather in the 90s and I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to endure it without being too miserable without the AC running. That $84 base for the call turned into $210 which included topping off the Freon, the pricey part. Of course, the guy tried to talk me into their ‘membership program’ where you pay a monthly fee but your service calls are all supposedly free. I hate those programs. When you do the math you’re just paying in advance for service calls you may or may not need in any given year and you know they wouldn't offer the program if they weren't making money on them. If I was on a tight budget or had trouble saving money, maybe I’d make a different choice but I’m not and I don’t. 

Another day I had an appointment with my irrigation company. What a frustrating mess that company made out of my yard this year! My grass is burning up and one of my neighbor is getting too much benefit from my water. I’ve used the same company since the day we moved in over fifteen years ago but something has changed and the crew they’ve got working this year are not up to their usual professionalism. They had my watering times set so short a yard full of cactus would have had a hard time living out there. Before my sister-in-law moved into a nursing home she used to say she wanted to go because she didn’t want to deal with the endless chores around the house and yard anymore and I’d tell her, “At our ages all we do is make calls and write a few checks. How much trouble is that?” Fast forward a couple of years and I’m beginning to understand her point of view. I’m not there yet but having the irrigation company reschedule me three times and having me getting up at the crack of dawn twice for nothing really was a pain in the patootie.  ©