Old Dogs And Children (And All Of Mommy’s Time)

by Leslie

Our dog has been sick.

Remember our dog, Clyde? He hasn’t been our dog very long. He became ours when the house became ours. Although we’ve only had him for 6 months of his 14 year life, we love him very much. He ranks higher on my list than some people I know. He’s a special dog. And Julia thinks he’s the greatest thing to ever walk on four legs.

On Saturday, he was his usual perky self, jumping and running and gobbling up doggie treats. By Sunday afternoon, he had lost his appetite and didn’t want to get up. We spent the day Sunday hanging out with him in the family room to keep an eye on him. He didn’t seem to be getting better and I was starting to worry because he didn’t just seem tired, but like he was in pain. I decided to sleep in the family room with him. I spent some time on the couch, but mostly I spooned him on the floor, worrying, crying and begging God not to take my dog. If I lost Clyde just after losing Sam, I think I’d lose my mind.

On Monday, he couldn’t get up so we took him to the vet, who said he has a respiratory infection. I was so thankful - I’d convinced myself he was having a stroke. The vet gave us some medicine for his infection and arthritis. He is on the mend, back to eating and moving around, but I’ve been camped out in our family room for three days.

The upside of being pretty much confined to one area is that it has given me the opportunity to try some potty training with Julia. We had picked up a used copy of the Once Upon A Potty For Her video that we have watched -how many hours are in a day? - let’s just say many times. We’ve had the potty right with us and Julia has been marching around in her big girl underpants singing “The Potty Song.” We’ve had some success getting the “wee wee” and “poo poo” in the “potty-potty.” We’ll see if it sticks.

In other Julia news, she has been trying a new get-out-of-time-out tactic that goes like this: “Mommy, I just want to get out of time out to hug you. I need to hug you really bad.” Yeah, it’s a pretty good one.

Now that things are getting back to normal with Clyde, I’ll be spending my day tomorrow doing all the household tasks I’ve neglected the past few days. I never realized how much laundry I do daily until it piled up. Wow. Our family wears a lot of clothes. And we use a lot of towels. Holy good God the towels. So, if you don’t hear from me tomorrow, send help. I’m probably trapped under a mountain of laundry.

Posted in Mommy's Stuff, Julia, Critters |

Comments

9 Cool Kids Came To Play

Daddy Forever on February 7, 2007 12:52 am
I hope Clyde gets better soon. We do a lot of laundry too. Not sure why the kids can’t keep their clothes clean when they eat.
pamela on February 7, 2007 12:56 am
Glad to hear your pooch is on the mend. The ‘i need to hug you really bad’ is such a wonderful manipulative endearing ploy. I just love it!
kelley on February 7, 2007 10:29 am
I hope Clyde makes a speedy recovery. My first thought was, “oh no, not after the blow of losing Sam” so I’m glad to hear that it’s a treatable infection. Get well soon, Clyde!

I am way behind on all of my household chores, too. I’ve spent the past 48 hours in a feverish haze (I think it was food poisoning; bleh) and my laundry pile is LITERALLY overflowing with blankets and towels, etc. I want to Purell the entire apartment.
Karly on February 7, 2007 10:30 am
Ooh, you are gonna be in trouble when that girl gets older. She’s gooooood.

And we are the same way with dishes that you are with laundry. I could do two freakin’ loads of dishes a day. And we don’t have one of those little bitty dishwashers.

And, um, I used to make everyone re-use their towel once. You are clean right when you get out of the shower, you aren’t getting it dirty…but, then I quit. I decided I like the feel of a nice, fluffy, soft towel to much.
cube on February 7, 2007 10:35 am
I’m glad to hear Clyde’s doing better

I looked up Sam’s picture. She was a beautiful kitty & you were blessed to have her for such a long time. It sounds like she was blessed to have you as her human.

RE: potty training your Julia. lol! I can relate just a little bit. We are housebreaking our new puppy and she’s using her puppy guiles on us, just like your little girl is using on you.

It reminds me of my eldest daughter. When she did something bad, she would throw up her arms and say, “Hug! Hug!”. It must be universal.
Michelle on February 7, 2007 3:57 pm
Poor dog. I guess even animals get under the weather. Hope he’s better soon.
Mommy the Maid on February 7, 2007 9:42 pm
I will be thinking lots of good thoughts for your doggie!! Those infetions can be nasty, but they usually go away fairly easily. And yay for the potty training.
vasilisa on February 7, 2007 10:54 pm
I hope your dog is getting better. Dogs have this way of becoming family memebers that we are absolutely devastated to see sick…

As for potty training — please keep us updated! I tried to potty train the kiddo, but he got so upset that I’ve stopped for a while. I’m probably gonna give it another run soon after the baby is born. Right now I just don’t have the energy…
Ruth on February 9, 2007 8:55 am
I am glad that Clyde is doing better. That must have been scary for you guys…