I should write something clever about the 2022, but I don’t feel moved to do that. Instead, let’s talk about Maggie. We love her, but she’s a pain sometimes, LOL.
So Sunday night, it was cold and wet, and she starts acting weird. She’s going in and out over and over despite the weather she usually hates, and she won’t settle down. She’s acting weirdly restless when normally she’d be cuddled up on the couch with me and sleeping. It’s so odd we start to worry.
At night pm, I was outside in the back–in the rain–trying to see if my dog can pee. She’s had three huge bladder stones and we hadn’t known it until it was critical. And her backend glands abscessed and burst before we realized anything was wrong. Even the vets and techs said she’s really good at hiding her pain.
Finally I put her to bed, and she woke us barking at 2am. She never does that. I let her out of her kennel and she raced to the back door like she was dying to go to the bathroom. By then, Wizard and I were really concerned. In the morning she was still going out repeatedly in the rain and cold.
Then, because I don’t look dumb enough, I take her for a walk in the rain until she peed, desperate to see if she can void at all, and if there’s blood in it. Good news, no blood. Bad news…I looked like a crazy woman doing this.
I get back to the house, and called the vet. They are going to try to work me in and will call me back in a couple hours.
We were worried enough that we put out extra energy into taking down the Christmas tree and cleaning the house. When we paused for lunch, Wizard let Maggie in from another trip out back, and I heard him say, “No you can’t bring your stick inside.”
I’m like…huh? Maggie doesn’t carrying sticks. I looked and it’s not a stick but a small bird feather. Suspicious, I went outside to the side hill where she goes potty, and saw spots on the top of the short retaining wall. I looked closer and there’s a bunch of feathers from a bird and more blood spots.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
Some cat or creature must have caught and killed a bird there, and hopefully hauled that off, leaving the feathers and splatters. Which means Maggie wasn’t sick with a UTI or worse, more bladder stones. She’s OBSESSED WITH THE REMAINS OF THE POOR BIRD! So much so, she woke in the middle of the night and barked to go see it.
Of course this is when the vet office called back with an appointment for that afternoon. I explained my suspicions and they had me bring her in anyway because of her history. The did the urine test, and cleaned out her glands, both of which needed to be done anyway. And it was well worth the cost to know they didn’t see any stones on the ultrasound. That was our biggest worry.
So the moral of this story is Wizard and I got played by sweet little Maggie who evidently likes dead things. However, we got the last laugh since she endured a vet visit filled with indignities, LOLOL!!
The vet told me that through the entire exam, Maggie never once stopped wagging her tail. The vet’s final words were, “I just love her.”
So do I, even though she’s a PIA sometimes.
Happy Wednesday! (It’s happy for us because what really matters is Maggie is fine).
December 29th, 2021 at 12:41 pm · Link
Is this the new vet? How wonderful, if so, because they sound so nice! And they love Maggie! My boys only do the bark/out/bark/out when there’s a critter in the yard. That might have been what originally set Maggie off and she went into patrol mode to make sure the interloper didn’t return! Brave girl!
And hey, your tree and decorations are down and your house clean. Win-win!
Family health update: Baseball Boy feeling better (his symptoms were never too serious) and is getting tested either today or tomorrow. Stormy tested positive on his second test. Only is still negative. This whole “panic the pandemic” thing is a PITA. Moving on.
I have another book, CAFE MIDNIGHT, going live today after coming off KU. BLOOD & FIRE comes off KU tomorrow at midnight so I’ll celebrate the New Year by getting it uploaded to go wide too. That leaves five books in January and then all my backlist is off KU and available almost everywhere. Google Play is still a pain but I’m hoping D2D can make a deal with them in 2022.
Give Maggie a hug and extra pets and pats on the back for you and Wiz for being good doggo parents.
Cheers to a safe and sane New Year’s Eve and the coming year! 🥰
December 29th, 2021 at 4:09 pm · Link
Maggie really did get you and Wizard. It’s still a good thing that you were cautious and took her to the vet. Having her glands taken care of saved you a possible “serious” visit.
Harrison has a runny nose. So DIL is goes into panic mode. Her Dr says to just stay home since antigen tests are next to come by. In fact the Dr wasn’t able to get a kit to test one of her own kids over the weekend. So, to make DIL feel better I gave up one of my home tests. Hubs drove it over yesterday and of course it was negative. Guess what? Harrison is much better today. People, including DIL, are going crazy.
It’s been foggy all day. Kind of reminds me of England ;). It’s chilly too. Good thing I made stew yesterday.
I hope you have a great afternoon and that Maggie gets over her desire for bird feathers.
December 29th, 2021 at 6:48 pm · Link
Silver, it is the new vet, and so far, they are truly awesome. The whole thing was hilarious now, but at the time, we were really worried. And the cost was very reasonable. I didn’t even flinch
Also true on getting the house cleaned and de-decorated, LOL.
Good news that Baseball Boy is feeling better. Being sick is never fun no matter what the cause is. Sorry Stormy tested positive, it’s a pain for his parents with school now even if he’s not symptomatic. Hope Only stays negative.
Wow, you’re doing great getting the books coming out of KU up wide! Sorry Google Play is such a pain for you. I have a pretty easy time with them, but I think everyone’s experience varies depending on their contract. Do you do all your uploads through D2D? I’m curious.
Maggie is happy to accept extra petting.
I’m hoping we all have a great new year!!
December 29th, 2021 at 6:58 pm · Link
Viki, you’re right! It was on my calendar to make an appointment for her anyway for both the urine test and her glands, so it worked out. And it makes us laugh now.
I’m sure Harrison’s mom was scared. Even knowing that most kids recover fine, first time parents worry more that something bad will happen to their kid. It was so nice of you to give up one of your home tests to help them. Those are impossible to find now (why do people buy what they don’t need????). I’m so glad Harrison is feeling better! Turbo’s had a couple mild colds since starting pre-school, but his parents are a bit more chill. Plus he sees him pediatrician regularly, and they both have friends who are doctors and I think they help keep them level headed.
Stew sound yummy! I’m making it tomorrow when it’s supposed to pour. Today is raining but not as hard as tomorrow.
Enjoy the chilly, foggy weather!
December 30th, 2021 at 8:45 am · Link
Google Play has never let me upload so I gave up on them. And yes, it’s worth the small amount of royalty I lose to D2D to have them upload to B&N, Apple, Kobo, Overdrive, and several others, including Hoopla. I’ve gotten several books accepted at Hoopla (it takes a LOOOONG time) but I’ve made royalty from them every month since my Penumbra Paper books were accepted. Hoopla is a subscription type service that is used by major libraries all over. I often get books from them when the waiting list is too long for a book I want to listen to but don’t want to buy. LOL
Anyway, I really like working with D2D and I love the whole Books2Read univeral link ability. The only outlet I upload to personally is still Amazon.
December 30th, 2021 at 1:07 pm · Link
Silver, thanks, I was curious. Google Play is a pain for some, and I really don’t know why. I don’t upload to Apple and had to use my formatter for that. But D2D is a good option if I need it in the future (my formatter has retried late this year). I’ve used them in the past when I had to jump through hoops to get B&N to set my book free, so I have an account.
My personal philosophy is find what works best for you and do it