The Dalmatian Diaries Blog

Humans, with our techno-iPod-twitterized life, tend to be blind to the simple and pure things in life.

Tonight I was sitting at the kitchen counter with my multitude of laptops complaining to myself about how much work I had left to do. Widget was barking at me for her bubbles (and I was doing my best to ignore her). I happened to look out through the open door to the patio, where I saw Browser lounging on some steps.

These are steps we never use. They go to the master bedroom and we just don't use that door very often. The dogs occasionally run across them to chase some bugs, but that's about it.

But there Browser was. He had found the last "sun spot" of the setting sun and was basking in its warmth. I went out and sat down next to him. "Good eye, buddy" I said. He lifted his head and kissed my cheek. He then put his head back down to finish enjoying the last few minutes of the sun before it set.

When the sun set behind the trees he got up, gave me another kiss, and went off to play in the grass.

And yes, I realize I'm behind again with the pictures

Well, I knew it'd happen at some point. Widget was bit by either a copperhead or rattlesnake last night. She must have not seen the snake because it bit her in her paw, not her nose (which would be most likely if she had noticed the snake before it noticed her). Her leg swelled up to over twice its normal size. We brought her to the emergency vet where she got a round of antivenin and spent the night. Her tests all came back great so it sounds like we got her treatment quickly enough. When I picked her up this morning her spirits were VERY good! She was all wiggly and kissy despite having her big swollen (and very painful) foot. She can walk on it but it clearly hurts. She was so excited to go home though that she jumped into the back of the car by herself (before I could even get her crate door fully open!).

When we got home she gobbled down a whole bowl of food and took treats just fine. A good sign that she's doing well.

Browser was probably the most traumatized by the whole ordeal. We rushed out of the house last night to bring her to the vet and he was home all by himself. While sitting at the vet's office we realized we hadn't checked him over for bites - and since the dogs rarely do anything independently of each other we were worried he had been bit too but we hadn't seen it. So, I rushed BACK to the house to check him out while Brent waited for word on Widget's prognosis. Browser was fine but then I rushed back to the vet's office. When we came home without Widget, Browser was a little confused. This morning when I got him up he looked in her empty crate with a look on his face that clearly said "What? She's still not home?". I had to sit with him while he ate and when he went outside he was looking for her in all her usual favorite places. He's very happy that she's home now and fully inspected her paw.

I'm sure my ramblings here are more incoherent than usual this morning. I got about 4 hours of sleep last night. Widget is napping under my desk now and I'm thinking of joining her

I decided to work backwards with catching up on my puppy photo uploads. Looks like I only have a couple of weeks of photos to finish now - so I'm making progress!

Last night Widget threw up a couple of times. She wouldn't touch her dinner and didn't want any treats (including cheese). She was still acting funny this morning so I kept them both home from daycare. She did eat some rice and chicken broth and ate a cheese snack (had to put her pill in cheese instead of just putting it on her food). She still was acting funny but didn't throw up (thankfully!). I brought out the bubbles and she perked up. I also gave her a galileo bone which she sat down and gnawed on. She's still not quite herself, but does seem better. I think she may have gotten a little bit of a tummy ache from too many snacks yesterday.

Browser is doing great. He doesn't mind that Widget wants to just hangout indoors today. Even though he's my rough and tough boy he's still a couch potato first and foremost He's always up for a good nap on my office sofa.