Happy Sunday, Darlings!  How are you doing this week? Staying cool…or warm, as the case may be? img42 Staying happy & grateful?

I hope so!  And I hope you’ll take a minute to share with us, so we can keep the glasses around here at least half full. img15

This week, I AM HAPPY that things are moving right along with the new house.  I think I mentioned that there were some repairs needed on the place—of the “sooner rather than later” variety.  Lots of research & lots of phone calls, but the radon mitigation system has been installed…the furnaces & air conditioning have been cleaned & verified to be in good condition…& the carpeting has been professionally cleaned.

Next up will be making arrangements for the roofers to come & start their work, & scheduling a day or two for the movers to help get the big things loaded up & taken from one house to the other.  Whew.  Not really looking forward to either of those—or the expense that will be involved—but it’s gotta be done, & the sooner the better. img18

I AM HAPPY, too, that I’ve already had two people show an interest in the “old” house when it finally goes on the market.  Not sure either will amount to anything once it’s been assessed & they find out how much we’re asking (which I don’t even know yet, I’m just saying), but at least it’s better than thinking no one will ever be interested in buying this place. img43  Hey, it’s a good house!  A nice, solid house with nice, big rooms & a lot of improvements over the years. img16

And finally, I AM HAPPY that one of my neighbors felt comfortable enough to ask for help with their puppy.  Not sure I really did much, but when the little girl came to the door saying the dog was screaming in pain & they didn’t know why, I went over to see what I could do.  Apparently, the dog had been sleeping, & when she got up, she sort of collapsed again on one leg, then started squealing like someone had slammed her paw in a door.

She wasn’t crying when I got there, but the entire family was freaked.  They didn’t know what the heck had happened.  The mother had already called the veterinarian, & they’d told her to bring the dog in, but I got on the floor with the puppy & checked her over as best I could.  The sweet little thing rolled right over so I could pet her belly, & I did that while also feeling around, checking for swelling or injury or even just sensitivity.  I couldn’t find anything!  Once the puppy was calm & happy, I got up & called her from across the room, & she came waddling right over.  She was favoring her rear leg a teeny-tiny bit, but not as though it was broken or sprained or anything like that.

My best non-medical license advice:  Go ahead & take her to the vet, as planned.  It would be a good idea to have her checked out, & that way they wouldn’t have worry or watch her like a hawk.  Plus, they had an appointment scheduled for the dog’s routine exam, & I told them they could have that done at the same time, then cancel the pre-scheduled appointment; a two-birds-one-stone kind of thing.  And I did warn them to keep an eye out for one thing I am aware of…if one paw/limb starts to get colder than the others & they begin limping, collapse, or seem to drag it around, it could be the signs of a blood clot cutting off circulation & can be VERY serious.  Not what I thought was going on in this case, but always something to watch out for.

Since they’d already contacted the vet, they did take the puppy over, & when I talked to them later, they said the doctor couldn’t find anything wrong, either.  The vet thinks she may have slept on it funny or stepped funny & twisted it a little, but no signs of injury.  The mother was so funny, telling me that the vet had checked the dog over the same way I had & said the very same things.  To which I replied, “Well, I’ve had a lot of pets over the years & run to the vet with a lot of emergencies.  And some that turned out not to be emergencies, just my panicky overreaction.” img26

But I’m glad they knew they could come over & ask for help when they needed it, that they knew I’d do just about anything for an animal.  And in case you hadn’t figured it out already:  I got to play with a puppy, which I don’t get to do very often.

All of that makes me very happy & very thankful.  How about you—what do you feel like wagging your tail over this week? img22

No!  NO!  This isn’t just a Sexy Fail, this is WRONG!

Minions are good & sweet & funny.  They are NOT to be used or abused in this fashion.  (Um…pun intended, I guess.)  img28