A bit of a mishap

On Thursday I went up to the Big E (Eastern States Exposition; the equivalent of a state fair for all six New England states) and left Olive at Candlewick for the day.

Around 3:00 there was a text message from the kennel to my phone. Somehow my phone did not ring, so I did not see that message until around 5:00 when, by then, there were two messages on my phone.

It turned out that Olive had a bit of a mishap. In the outdoor play area there were some falling leaves. Both Olive and another dog spotted a leave and both made a leap to catch it. It was a freak accident to be sure, but Olive ended up with a puncture wound on her face, about an inch from her eye. The people at the kennel cleaned it out, but decided it was deep enough to get her to a vet. Olive got one metal staple that has to be removed in two weeks. She also has to take antibiotics for the next ten days. While I am relieved that it could have been much worse, but gave her a lecture to be careful in the future. I also told her not to scratch at the staple lest I have to put a cone on her, something I know she would NOT like at all. She seems to have paid attention; I haven’t seen any sign of her scratching at it yet.

I left the fair shortly after getting the messages and calling the kennel back. My sister had picked her up and brought her home. When I got home she seemed fine, eating all of her supper and being as energetic on her walks as always.

I need to go grocery shopping today and among the items I will have to buy will be some roast beef from the deli. The best way to get her to take pills seems to be to wrap the pill in a slice of roast beef. This morning I tried to hide the pill in a small piece of my breakfast omelet. She separated the pill and spit it out on the floor. I then tried cheese. Same results. Then I remembered a small piece of leftover pork tenderloin in my refrigerator. I poked a small pocket into the meat with a knife and hid the pill there. That worked. Someone suggested using peanut butter, which I may try.

Staple behind her left eye

 Olive’s eye area looks worse than it actually is in that the vet had to shave some fur to put in the staple. I think that she will recover quite well. I am happy to say that she ate all of her breakfast and supper on Friday and was as lively as ever for her walks.

I spoke with the vet on Friday, who told me that Olive was just a sweetheart during the whole ordeal. She cautioned that while it would be OK to leave Olive at daycare during the next two weeks she should not do any rough playing with other dogs. As such, she will not be allowed to play with the other dogs when I bring her in Saturday. She won’t like that. I can and will pay a bit extra for some individual play time with a human and an individual walk. The staple comes out October 4.

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While at the craft area of the fair I spotted a display of Holiday ornaments that included a border collie tree ornament. Last year I bought a small porcelain border collie that was just the right size for my nativity creche. This year I will be adding a border collie to my Holiday tree.

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I thought this cartoon was cute, and would appeal to both wine lovers and border collie (or is it bordeaux collie?)  people.

One Sappy Dog?

Not sure how it happened. Last Sunday, just before Labor day, I noticed that Olive's underside was full of gunk. A closer look revealed that the gunk was sap, probably from a pine tree. She must have laid down in a puddle of the stuff, though I cannot imagine when or where this could have happened. I tried to cut out the worst chunks of the stuff, though she did not seem to want to cooperate. An internet search brought me to a website that suggested olive oil would dissolve the sap. It sounded messy and involved, so I decided to try getting a groomer the next day.

Well, the next day was Labor Day. I called the local Petco store, which offers grooming services. Being labor day, I am guessing that the people who might have known what to do were out. The person I talked to was trying to be helpful, but didn't seem to know much. Candlewick Kennels, where I usually have her formal grooming done, was closed for the day. I decided to wait another day.

On Tuesday I called Candlewick. The groomer I spoke with has worked with Olive in the past and was helpful, but the grooming department was booked solid for the day. I made an appointment for Wednesday. She suggested that if I wanted to try the olive oil treatment I bring a bottle of olive oil. I ran to the grocery store and picked up a small bottle of store brand olive oil. Cheaper than the top of the line pure Italian oil I usually get for myself (I tend to be fussy about my olive oil), but not what I would call inexpensive.

Finally this morning I got Olive to the groomer. Olive's fur is a bit shaggy, particularly on her underside, so I was resolved that the groomer would probably have to shear her to get the gunk out. I figured that the olive oil treatment might work on a short haired dog, probably not on a border collie.

I picked her up a few hours and $45 later. The groomer was able to get the gunk out without even using the olive oil. Only on the bottom of her paws did the groomer need to shave her. As usual, the groomer left a note that Olive is a sweetheart. Well, I already know that.

Below is a photo of Olive after getting home from the groomer. Notice the purple bandanna. She always seems to get one after a bath. I have a collection of them that I will someday figure out what to do with. Perhaps have them made into a quilt?

"What was that all about?"

Anyway, the ordeal is finally over. I think she noticed the gummy stuff and that it was making her uncomfortable, pulling at her skin. I did catch her licking at it at various times. Then again, maybe she was wondering what all the fuss was about.

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I have always thought of myself as a dog person, even though I like cats too. I trace my affinity for dogs back to early childhood when my paternal grandparents had a dog named "Major". On the other hand, my maternal grandparents had a large cat, while there were a number of cats roaming around our urban neighborhood often through our back yard.

Having fond memories of both cats and dogs, I can identify with the person in this short cartoon.