You just know he’ll try it….
Memories
Bitey and the Bee Stings
You might feel yourself on life’s ladder’s low rung
If you wake up each day with a paw that’s been stung.
I Did It Again
It seems that I am a dog who should take my own advice. What did I say at the end of my last blog? Something about watching out for the bees?
After being stung on Friday, I finally started to feel better by Monday. I was cheerful, and my appetite was back. I was greeting neighbors and being my normal bouncy self. Then two steps from the front door I did it again; I stepped on a bee.
This time Mom didn’t hesitate, and she rushed me to the vet. They didn’t seem as worried as she was about me. They checked my paw for stingers. (That hurt like heck). The checked me for a fever. (Despite what the vet said about “bigger things that ‘this’ coming out of ‘there’ all the time” I did not care for it…therefore it hurt like heck.) Then they gave me the nastiest shot I’ve ever had in my life. (That hurt like heck.) My poor paw swelled like an elephant’s foot, and I couldn’t stop panting and pacing. When we got home, I had to take the worst tasting antibiotic invented by man. It was definitely not my day.
To make things worse Toby was feeling neglected, so he got all the attention once I was settled in at home. He got to go out in the yard and play Frisbee with Mom (the bees were asleep by then), and I had to sit in the house with a nasty aftertaste in my mouth while my paw throbbed.
I would warn you to be careful about the bees again, but I can see it won’t help. After watching the movie Swarm, it seems that once bees are riled up there is no stopping them. Just try to make sure that when you’re stung you don’t fall on the train throttle or the self destruct button on the nuclear power plant. The earth’s survivors will thank you.
If the Bee Stings
Is this the saddest little face or what?
My poor little boy had a rough weekend. He started it out by stepping on a bee. I watched him for symptoms like difficulty breathing, swelling, hives and excessive drooling, but he didn’t have any of these. What I didn’t realize was the tiredness and soft poos he was having were signs of a reaction bad enough that he should see a vet. (I was blaming the tiredness on Benedryl.)
Should your pup come out the loser in an encounter with a bee, first remove the stinger. (The pup will not like this.) Then put a baking soda paste on the wound. (The pup will not like this.) Apply ice to help with the pain. (The pup will not like this). Then give a Benedryl. (The pup will really like this if you wrap it in peanut butter!)
Along with the Benedryl, I gave my boy some of the topical cortisone spray I keep on hand for his hot spots. It isn’t as strong as what the vet would have given him, but it did seem to bring him a bit of relief.
Be safe around those bees this Summer!
Landscapes and Memories
As a painter it is my nature is to create pictures that are meticulous and exact. While studying the works of artists such as Van Gogh and Chagall though, I found myself swept away by the freedom expressiveness of their artwork, and I loved it. I want some of those feelings for myself!
I decided to explore the area around me and see what I could find to inspire me. Then I want to see what I can create – more creating a mood than a replica of the place, however. This was my first attempt at quickly capturing a scene from the neighborhood.
This particular location holds a special memory for me. When Geordie was a tiny pup, only a few months old, we were sitting at this same place. Suddenly Geordie jumped up and began growling and pulling as if he wanted to catch something. I checked all around and couldn’t find any rabbit or deer or anything. When I followed where his nose was pointing, I found a car driving on one of the roads on the facing hillside. From where we were sitting, it looked no larger than a beetle.
I hadn’t realized until then that my puppy didn’t understand perspective. The only way I could think to explain it to him was to pick him up and reach one arm out as far as I could toward the car. When he saw that even I couldn’t touch it, he finally settled down.
I still have a lot of work to do before I am comfortable with a more abstract style of painting. This one is driving me batty because I want to go back and make it right. Except, I don’t want “right” I want “mood”.
It’s a good thing I have a lot of paper because I’m pretty sure I am going to need it!
Guess Where I Went?
To the museum!
Friends will know that I have been wanting to visit the museum for a very long time, and yesterday I finally did. I wanted something by which to remember my trip, and I picked this little guy to come home with me.
A lot of the gifts in the gift shop were handmade by crafts persons in countries with struggling economies. I thought this was a great partnership. When I found this tiny hand carved triceratops made of tiger’s eye, I simply had to have him (or her).
Foolish me, I didn’t realize that there were different types of triceratops. In movies, they always seem to look the same. In reality the horns weren’t always spaced the same, and some had curved horns or narrow faces. It was interesting to see the different types of skulls side by side.
I was only gone for a few hours, and when I got home I immediately grabbed my pups’ leashes and let them out of their kennels for a potty break. Geordie refused to come and yelled at me that he was very angry at my stupidity! Stupidity? What did I do wrong? Well, it turns out that the first thing he wanted was a drink, not to go outside. Toby would simply have walked to the water bowl and had a drink before heading outside, but Geordie had to make a point of telling me how stupid I was.
I am glad terriers don’t come with horns.
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Watch Out, Peppermint!
Isn’t this cute? The two of them are even starting to look like each other!
Watch out, Peppermint. Someone new is after your man.
This is Toby’s new “girlfriend”. You may recall from Poopiter that my boy has a particular fondness for his toy peppermint. Now, though, there is a new lady in his life. This little gal doesn’t have a name yet, but I think she needs one. Any suggestions?
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I Got No Boots
Oh wait, yes I do!
I hope this picture looks decent. I am using new photo editing, and the colors seem off on my monitor.
The first time I heard that Mini Cooper commercial, I mistakenly heard the singer say “I got no boots!”. That prompted me to wonder if that was why she was driving all the time. Later the song was on the radio and heard that she was really saying “I got no roots” and realized that I am now officially an old person with bad hearing.
I now got new boots because thanks to my awful beasties I wore out the soles on my last pair. Thanks guys. I hope that you both realize that these are sh** kickers, and they can be used to “motivate” recalcitrant pups on walks! (JK)
One From The Archives
If you get this one, you’re old!
Recently I was trying to make more room in a drawer when I came across this picture. I bet Bitey doesn’t know he has illustrated equine siblings out there!
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The Trash Man Cometh Not
Phew! I am turning my head away from that smell.
It seems that every day there is another story on the news about bear sightings. At the close of each one, the helpful reporter reminds people not to leave food outdoors and to keep their trash cans secured.
Last year a new sanitation company put in a bid to take over services for our area. The municipality declared that all residents now must use this particular company. They provide recycling and trash collection for a good price, so it seemed like a win/win situation….except for holidays as it turns out.
For some reason, this company cannot keep to its schedule if there is a holiday. If they know they cannot pick up on trash day during a holiday week, you would think they would notify everyone of a policy of putting their cans out X number of days later. Instead we have tons of cans and trash bags sitting on the curb for four to five days until the collection company comes around. It was over 90 degrees last week. You can imagine how ripe that smell must be for animals with acute senses of smell.
In the mornings now, I am worried about walking my dogs. I don’t know if I am going to find a bear going through the trash or coyotes or raccoons or any one of a number of other dangerous animals.
Notice I didn’t name any names or call anyone out. I don’t want to find a horse’s head in my bed. However, if you run a sanitation company, please set a schedule and keep to it. It will keep everyone safer including your employees.
The Adventures of Bitey Dog 