LadyGypsy.net – the blog of Kimberly Dowd of New Jersey

Max hates to be toweled off after a rainy walk:

Ollie savors it:

WM and I are taking a trip VERY soon, and Max and Ollie will be spending the time in the kennel. It’s a great place and they’ve both been there before – Max quite a few times.

But…guh. It casts a small shadow on my trip to know they’ll be there. Because I’m genetically predisposed to worry, here is an incomplete list of the things that have been dancing through my mind. This is mostly so I can see how dumb I’m being.

• They will be lonely without us.
• They will be frightened and think we’re never coming back.
• They will be cold.
• They will be hot.
• They will be afraid of the flappy doorway that will let them go outside and play
• One of them will lick the Frontline spot on the other, get poisoned and die.
• There’s a sadistic employee there who loves kicking dogs.
• They will go on a hunger strike.
• There won’t be a “double” available (‘though we reserved one) so they’ll get split up into separate pens and they’ll be doubly lonely and doubly scared.
• Ollie’s groomer will call the SPCA on us because his “thumbnails” are starting to curl back on themselves and his fur is matted under his front legs.
• The place will burn down.

Seeing that list makes me want to crawl into a hole. It’s also why WM gave me a Mother’s Day card from the pets this year.

Max had a routine vet appointment this evening. He is a slightly attitudinal dog to begin with., so after:

• 2 shots
• a thermometer up his rear
• being told he’s overweight (By two pound. My vet is a weight freak)

…he wanted no part of having his nails clipped. So he started to slightly bare his teeth. That’s what he does when he’s displeased. Or if you put a Dorito near his nose.

“He’s getting snarly! Time for the hat*!” the technician chirped. Five years ago, I’d have said, “No, wait, I’ll hold him. He won’t bite.”

But no…I am just the worst dog mom ever, because I laughed and reached for the camera.

I'm going to pee on your bed for this.

Moments after this he was happily peeing in their parking lot and right now he’s curled at my feet so I guess he’s forgiven me.

*Hat? Back in my day, they called those things muzzles. But hats sound cuter, I suppose.