Attitude or Ailment?

I'm not very good at keeping up with one blog, let alone two, but I thought I'd write about the fur kids since I haven't posted for four months.

When people ask how Bug is doing, I always say, "okay". If I say he's good, seems like he goes downhill soon after. We boarded him at the vet last weekend so we could go to a winery in Tennessee with Pmo's cousin and visit family in Kentucky. It's always a toss up when we get back whether he'll be normal (as normal as he can be) or be fussy and not feeling well.

This week, the coin landed on fussy. Bug's been coughing, especially when we carry him outside. He can't get settled once he's been fed/watered/medicated/pottied. Which are his basic needs, besides a snuggle here and there.

Jack has been starting fights with him, too. Over food, mainly. Jack is a little dog who's scared of many things: storms, shadows, big dogs, etc. But you don't mess with the dog's food. He will eat you alive. Problem is, Bug hasn't been trying to steal Jack's food. Bug is blind and he doesn't always know where he's going. So Jack sees Bug walk by a crumb of his, and it's on. Bug lost a tooth over it a few weeks ago.

Bug's also been peeing a lot. We'll go through this from time to time. He hadn't had an accident in his cage for a long time, then all of a sudden Thursday morning there was a mess. And Friday morning. It always coincides with his increased thirst, he's been drinking water nonstop.

Despite his age and debilitating condition, I try to wait these things out and see if the symptoms will go away because his care is expensive enough as it is. I hope to chalk it up to his routine being upset by the boarding. If things don't improve, I suppose I'll be taking a pee sample to the vet next week. And it will come back clear of a bladder infection and I will have wasted money on it.

We can't not board Bug, we have places to go and things to do. We take the best care of him we can but it's trying. Bless his heart. Though he is grumpy and not the best patient, he knows what he wants and when he's under the weather. And he reacts accordingly. Can't say I blame him. Can't say I don't do the same thing.

On a brighter note, Jack turns 10 years old this month. Which means I will have a 10 year old and almost 13 year old. Time flies in fur land.