Timber. and Annie (and socks)

Timber, Timber, Timber, Timber, Timber.

He was crated last night. We didn't go out in the middle of the night. I took them out this morning. Didn't see him go, but I wasn't very awake and was spacing out trying to envision a garden where the old house they just tore down was, so we went back in.

Stepped inside and caught a whiff of the faint, warm, musky odor of Timber pee (it's so dilute, it doesn't have a real strong smell). I had to wait until I had my contacts in to find it, and then follow my nose, but eventually found it on a mat in the kitchen.

*sigh*

He must have darted out of the crate and hit the kitchen while I was still trying to get my sweats on.

Lessons learned:
1. If I approach semi-conciousness in the middle of the night, get out of bed and take him out.
2. If I don't take him out in the middle of the night, don't open his crate until I have clothes and shoes on, and then put a leash on him to get him from the crate to the front door without incident.

Then there's Annie. I got some new food for Annie which is healthier than Fancy Feast, but of course she won't eat it. (Judi bangs head on wall) I left her out last night so she could sleep on the bed, which she did, but she didn't eat anything. Which is why she's been spending the night in the cat room, because she eats when she spends the night in there. But it gets cold in there, and it was 28 degrees outside this morning. I have an electric pet pad for her--very very low heat, but quite comforting to sit on--but I hate to leave it plugged in overnight for fear of starting a fire and burning the house down. (Wait a minute. Maybe that wouldn't be so bad! It would solve a lot of problems...) So anyway, I left her and her uneaten food in the cat room when I left this morning; hopefully she'll eat.

Maybe I could try buying some meat baby food, which she likes, to mix into the health food and see if she'll eat it that way...

I wonder if I ought to take Timber to the vet. But if he's got renal dysplasia, she can't tell through tests. ("With a 67 percent loss of renal mass, [the affected dog] might exhibit polyuria/polydipsia (pu/pd), but serum measures of renal function, such as creatinine and blood urea nitrogen (BUN), are not affected." http://www.vet.upenn.edu/schoolresources/communications/publications/bellwether/40/articles.html

I just called the vet's office to get my memory refreshed on his last bunch of blood tests and urinalysis, and the receptionist said she couldn't tell me, that the vet had to. Since it's printed out in a nice big graph that any 8-year-old could read, it seems like a receptionist or vet tech could say, "Yes, it looks like the BUN was a little high last time. Do you need to bring your dog in?" Esp. since she's running a 3-vet clinic with 1-1/2 vets, it seems like it would save her a lot of time. The receptionist or vet tech wouldn't be making a diagnosis, just reading a graph, and could say, "If you need more information about this I can have Doctor call you" (why do nurses of all varieties of doctors refer to their bosses as "Doctor"?)

"[E]arliest signs of CRF...include a mild to moderate increase in thirst and urination (polydipsia and polyuria) and a need to urinate during the night (nocturia). Other common early clinical findings include variable weight loss" (he had been near 70 pounds about 6 months ago; last time I took him in it was closer to 65) "poor hair coat" (well,he doesn't have that!) "lethargy" (in his crate all the time and lying in the puppy pen while Taenzer's running around like a lunatic) "and selective appetite" (I have to sit beside him and encourage him to eat and sometimes he walks away anyway). "Withholding water at night will not decrease the pet's need to urinate overnight and may cause an acute crisis." "Water soluble vitamins (B and C) should be supplemented." "Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation may be of benefit to some animals with chronic renal failure." I just ordered in some salmon oil to try to help with his season allergies. (quotes from http://www.peteducation.com)

On the sock front: Someone on sockniters list mentioned Classic Elite alpaca sock yarn (alpaca, wool, and nylon). My feet are cold all winter long, and alpaca socks would be wonderful. Plus I'd like to make the sock on the left of the front cover of Sensational Socks. So I've been going from one site to another trying to match up a solid and a variegated in this Classic Elite yarn. WHY don't they make this yarn in navy or black??? And I wish the various sites could be a little more unanimous about what they actually look like. The colors, I mean. A color on one site sometimes looks like a completely different yarn on another site. Anyway, if I make some money cat-sitting over the holidays, I intend to indulge. :)