T-talk

I came home at lunch (in my repaired-for-free van, thank goodness). Things looked messy, but things always look messy--they wrestle, couch cushions go flying, toys get carried all over the house... But it wasn't until I lifted Annie onto the kitchen counter to give her her noon-time pill that I realized *someone* had dragged her foodbowl down to the floor and eaten all her expensive Nature's Variety Prairie Chicken & Turkey canned food.

So I'm mock-scolding them, and Taenzer is giving me apologetic body language--arched back, curved body, ears back, exaggerated tail wags--and I look over and there's Mr. Timber sitting there very square and solid, looking impossibly self-satisfied with a wide grin on his face. I cracked up. So I don't know who the culprit was. I put out more food, blockaded it with a carton of diet Coke Zero, and it was still there (partly eaten by Annie) when I came home.

Then I decided to clip claws. I have some nice new nail clippers (although they're not as heavy or smooth as my old ones--now where did I get those?). Taenzer, you may remember, is phobic about having her claws clipped, and we've worked soooooo hard on counter-conditioning and desensitization. And she was standing there so steady and quiet and I was feeling so proud of her when what do I do, damn it, but quick her. Poor, poor dog--she has every right to be phobic! Course she bled like crazy all over everything. I did Timber (thankfully didn't quick him), then went back and apologized to Taenzer and she snuggled up against me and gave me kisses. "I forgive you, Mom." Bless her heart, poor girl. Now we'll have to start the counter-conditioning and desensitization all over again. I wonder if she'd tolerate having her claws dremeled?

It looked like it was going to rain there for a while, but now the sun is shining. We'll go out so they can play pretty soon.