Canine Hysteria

On one of our vet runs to have Elsa’s nails cut, the vet did some blood work too.

“It is as I expected,” he said, “She is hypothyroid.”

And so our little rescue dog must have been exhibiting signs of this hormone imbalance which tends to make humans lethargic and prone to weight gain. Elsa is a bit on the roly-poly side for sure.

In addition, in the olden days people used to describe women with thyroid problems as “hysterical.”

That could describe Elsa too.

She is at least paranoid if not hysterical. And now that I know she is hypothyroid I would definitely say she was/is hysterical.

She breaks out in shakes and shivers from unknown unseen dangers. I used to blame it all on her maybe being abused in her previous lives with other not so nice people.

She has severe separation anxiety.

She will not touch dog toys and doesn’t know how to play.

And she is not only food driven but is food protective.

Now Elsa is on thyroid pills twice a day. The vet says it will probably help her lose weight too.

We already notice a new dog in Elsa’s body. She runs more and wants to stay outside more in spite of snow and ice.

The other stuff remains the same and we return to the vet mid February to assess progress.

A hysterical dog may be just like a hysterical woman.

Who knew?

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Sheltering in Place Excitement

It was 2:00 o’clock in the afternoon when Elsa-the-Dog begged to go out on the deck. She loves just looking around her “estate” from the safety of the rails and rungs.

So out we went to sit in the shade of the eaves and contemplate sudden fair weather.  Surely the wispy breeze and floods of sunshine would make us safe from the dreaded virus.

As I was about to doze off, Elsa suddenly sprang to life and trotted to a corner of the deck.  She likes to chase bumble bees and I thought that was her goal.

But then she zipped over to the opposite end and then zipped back.  She was definitely on the alert and straining to look in one direction through the rails and I too looked in that direction to see what all the fuss was about.

What I saw was a very large VERY LARGE Virginia Black Bear who was ambling along the edge of our woods.  He had obviously been at both ends below our deck and was certainly interested in my hummingbird feeder!

About the time I put this all together in my slowly emerging brain, Elsa was growling and barking, and the BIG BEAR began to run.  Thankfully, it was running away and not toward us.  Elsa kept up a loud piercing bark that I think made her seem to be a giant adversary instead of a little twerp of a dog.

And the VERY LARGE bear ran all the way out of sight and into the forest.

Thank you Elsa-the-Dog for your grand big-dog bark and for your courage in sounding the alarm.  You are my heroine!

Anyway, who said sheltering in place is not exciting?

 

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A Dog in the House

Elsa Here a Year

Has it been a whole year since we brought Elsa home to our little house in Virginia?  I realize now how terrified she was that day and for many after.  We think she was abused in her other life/lives because she used to flinch when we tried to pat her head.  She is still frightened of raised voices or fast movements.

But Elsa feels at home now and she looks calm and contemplative.  I somehow know she is happy.

Me too.

Thank you Mary Ellen!

 

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Water, Water Everywhere

Elsa-the-Dog on Dehydration

My humans seem to think I am a crazy critter, especially when it comes to water.

The first odd thing they did was put two water dishes down.  One is in the kitchen next to my food dish.  And the other is in the bedroom in case I get thirsty at night.

Water Dish Kitchen

I am afraid to drink from the kitchen water.  I will not touch it.  Never.  Ever.

As for the bedroom water, I only drink there when nobody is looking and I hold my thirst for a long time before I try to sneak back into the bedroom.

The Lady thinks I am getting dehydrated.

Water Dish Bedroom

She also thinks there must have  been a  water trauma in my previous life. Maybe she is right.  What do you think?

One day I got something stuck in my throat and it made me cough and cough.  The Lady decided to put another water dish by the fireplace.  I like it there and it is my favorite place now.

She also put a water bowl out on the deck.  I like that too.

So now there are four water dishes in my home!

Water Dish Deck

I think the humans here are strange, don’t you?

But I have stopped coughing.

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I Know She Has Cookies!

I know it!  I just know it!

She has cookies in her pocket.

Maybe if I stare into her eyes she will get my message.

I can tell it’s working.

This is my most pathetic big eyed stare.

Uh Oh!  She’s getting irritated.

I think I am connecting but

she thinks I want to go out.

O.K.  I will humor her and go, but

I don’t really need to.

Ahhhh.  A cookie!

I think I will try the staring thing again.

 

 

 

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Mighty Dog in Charge

It has been almost four months since we adopted Elsa the Great, the little rescue dog who shivered and shook en route home and who is still frightened of strangers and strange noises or quick movements.

In spite of being a cowardly little girl dog, she exhibits signs of mighty-ness, especially when she succeeds in training her new caretakers.

Elsa has learned many things.

BEGGING WITH BIG EYES REAPS REWARDS

We vowed we would never feed her from the table.  Like most New Year’s resolutions, there are now infractions.  But Elsa’s on the chubby side so it’s mini dog treats (only 5 calories each) for her.  And we even break those in half.  But she’s still getting noticeably rounder.  Could it be the little extra bits we give her for being good, for being cute, for just being Elsa?

ELSA IS COOPERATIVE AND WILL COME WHEN CALLED  (IF THERE IS NO OTHER DISTRACTION)

It snowed one night and she loves to eat snow.

Else loves to eat period.

And if she is released into our little fenced yard (for business purposes), she will stroll around devouring snow and ignore all calls to “Hurry Up!”  “Do your business!”  “O.K.  COME!”

WHOOPIE!  LOOK AT MEEEEE!!!!

The sweetest moments are when she gets the “Zoomies.”  Evidently that is when a pup is extremely happy, excited and feeling just – well, WONDERFUL!

It happens when she comes in from a walk and is suddenly thrilled to know we are both on site, and again when we return from the outside world and she has been alone for even an hour, or even when she has had a long drink of water.

She literally tears around the house aiming for a collision with first Bill, then me then back and around the house again and again.  It is a grand show of enormous energy and leaves us laughing at each display of unbridled joy.

KEEP ‘EM WORKING!

I am thinking of starting a new business selling pillow stuffing!

I never thought about it but Elsa has turned out to be a SHEDDER!  And I mean a MEGA-SHEDDER.

In a day or two I can see hairs floating before my eyes.  And she sheds multi colors since she is a tri-colored dog to begin with.  She’s a combination of black, white and beige/brown.  Take your pick!

Life with a mega shedder takes on a whole new meaning.  It means more exercise for me (good for Big Foot?) with more vacuuming and dusting and cleaning and brushing.

Elsa is now family.

We love her but

we are all still “in training.”

 

 

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Year’s Endings

Elsa Heard a Noise

Gun Shots, Backfires or Fireworks?

The end of 2018 began with popping noises in the distance.  Elsa-the-dog is terrified of popping noises like faraway fireworks.  We bought her a “Thundershirt” (meant to wrap around her tummy to create a sense of well being).  The problem is we don’t get to it (the shirt) in time.

I suppose hiding your head is a good alternative.

More Cookies?

I started a new tradition this New Year’s Eve to celebrate Year’s End and a new year’s beginning.  I baked whipped shortbread cookies.  My sweet Canadian friend, Cindy, gave me the recipe for truly melt in your mouth fabulous cookies and I intend to make them every year for New Year’s Eve.

As my dear old Dad was known to say, “Delicious if I do say so myself.”

Whipped Shortbread Cookies – Recipe by Cindy – Made by Dor

Old Traditions or Old People?

Every year we replay the tradition of getting together with old friends for:

celebratory drinks at our house,

followed by dinner out,

followed by a movie at our house,

followed by champagne to toast in the New Year.

We aim to finish up at midnight and sometimes we make it.  This year, not so much.  We were all dozing off by 10:30PM so made our toasts and called it a night.

Something’s wrong here.

End of a Year and The Downtown Lexington Fall of the Ball

This year I hope to urge our friends to have a very late dinner with us in downtown Lexington, Virginia and then proceed to Main Street to hang out and watch the falling of our very own small town ball!

More and more people are doing that even though it only takes about 30 seconds for the shiny thing to fall.

Then maybe 100 balloons float down upon the crowd of maybe 100 folks who are just as ready to cheer and holler as all those revelers in Times Square.

 I am awake now and trying to adjust to the end of a full-of-surprises 2018.

Hope your “endings” were fun and your “beginnings” too.

And now wishing you a very Happy New Year!

 

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I Will Cry for You

Another Dog Story

Our new dog, Elsa – the one with the split personality – has already generated another blog post.

I never met a dog who didn’t want to play with a squeaky toy but Elsa is the first.

Elsa is different.

Elsa has empathy.

Impossible you say?

Today I purchased four plush toys for our new canine pal and couldn’t wait to get home to retrieve them from the bag and surprise her.

Squeak Squeak! 

Look Elsa! 

Look what I brought you! 

Come and Get It!

Elsa’s response?

She whined!

And she whines every time I squeak a toy.

She also walks away and looks back (sorrowfully).

I think this is a rare sign of Canine Empathy.  Elsa feels so sorry for the poor squealing toys that she will not even touch them, but simply cries for them (or with them).

I may be seeking a Canine Psychiatrist to analyze this.

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Elsa or the Bug Eyed Assassin

Elsa or the Bug Eyed Assassin

There is a new addition to my family!

Elsa is a gentle little rescue dog who was “meant to be” ours and has been with us for three days now.

But my son wants us to rename her B.E.A. – the Bug Eyed Assassin. 

I found Elsa on the same day Mackenzie, my grandgirl, brought her own dog for a visit.  Kota is beautiful, graceful, gentle, and sweet.  But Kota never stops moving.  And Kota moves FAST.

Also at home on the pup’s move-in day were Bill and our son and daughter-in-law.

It was love at first sight when my daughter-in-law and I spotted Elsa.  She (the dog, not my daughter-in-law) met all my stringent criteria and she slurped my fingers ever so gently.  So I quickly became a doggie pawrent and began mentally listing all the “things” the poor little thing would require.

Elsa shook and shivered in the car all the way home and was obviously frightened and confused about meeting a bunch of  strangers when we got there but she seemed to take it all in stride.

Then it happened.  Kota (the ever moving speed demon) kept dashing around and around and around and came whizzing by Elsa once too often.

Elsa then used her secret weapon (her evil eye) and began a campaign to stop the whirling dervish in his tracks.  You could say that sweet Elsa revealed another submerged personality that emerged as Alpha Dog B.E.A. (The Bug Eyed Assassin).

As the object of growling, and threatening shows of teeth, poor Kota actually stopped mid-stride and leaped to the safety of her mistress on a chair that was inaccessible to the short little crazed attacker.

Meanwhile The Assassin then patiently waited “on guard” for an opportunity to punctuate her message and stop the monster from any thought of advancing.

Kota Under Siege by Bug Eyed Assassin

Thereafter, if Kota thought about coming down from her safe place for a high-speed run, there was Elsa/BEA casting her “evil eye” at the twice-her-size new friend.

Laugh?  Suffice to say I couldn’t breathe from laughing.  We were all practically rolling on the floor.

It is quiet here now and the Assassin has gone back to being Sweet Little Elsa, the perfect pup.

She is 6 years old by the way, totally house trained, seems to love her two elderly new caregivers, sleeps at the foot of our bed on her Serta Sleeper Dog Mattress, and revels in tummy and ear rubs.

It must seem pretty boring here now though, with all the family gone home.

But do you suppose she misses Kota?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Meant to Be?

Russell Terrier

Monday was PT Day.  Those are the initials for Physical Therapy of course.  I am trying hard to join the current initial-speaking generation whilst also re-learning how to walk.

Anyway, believe it or not (and I can’t believe it myself), I saw a wonderful thing when  entering the Physical Therapy center.

I saw a beautiful, sweet little DOG! 

A dog at PT?  Yup!

And although I didn’t have the nerve to take a photo, please

picture this:

• A lady was lying on her back on the therapist’s table.
• The therapist was seated at her head and manipulating the lady’s neck.
• And on the patient’s abdomen was the most adorable little dog I have ever seen.

She (the dog) was stretched out on her Mistress’ stomach and looked up when I walked in (the dog – not the lady). Then she stared at me (the dog) and I stared at her until we both got tired of looking.  Actually I never tired of looking but while awaiting my turn with the therapist I pretended to read a magazine but kept sneaking looks at the amazing little creature.

At the end, they put the little dog down on the floor and she came right over to me for a greeting, an ear rub, and immediate love!

“Do you have another like her you want to get rid of?” I asked the lady.

“Funny you should ask,” was the answer. “Birdie just had puppies.  There are 3 left.  Someone is coming in two weeks to choose one of the 3.  The therapist wants another.  And there will be one left.  All 3 are calm like Birdie.”

Birdie is a Russell Terrier, a derivation of the Jack Russell.  These are  very active hunting dogs but the “Russell” (minus the Jack) is breeder-described as a couch potato!

Now I ask you, “Is this meant to be?”

I will know in about two weeks.

 

 

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