Pets...gotta love them. Many become much more than just pets to us, they are members of our family. Pets come in all shapes sizes and species, dogs, cats, birds, fish, other small animals like chinchillas, guinea pigs, and hamsters, etc. Some people keep bugs or reptiles, but for me, personally, furry, cuddly, and trainable are my preference.
We have a number of pets in our house, Mike the dog is a shepherd mix about 2 years old. We adopted him from Every Creature Counts pet rescue when he was about 6 weeks old. He is a really sweet dog, but he's a digger. Our back yard looks like someone was dropping bombs in a horse corral. Oh yes, he's also very hard on the grass, especially where he has a straight shot at a run the length or width of the yard. Even without his digging, the yard looks like horses have had the run of the place.
Then there is Checkers the neurotic poodle. She is about 6 years old and is a party poodle. Party poodles are a breed of poodle that have multiple colors, in Checkers' case, she is a mix of black and white, similar to a checkered flag. We adopted her as an impulse adoption from a pet shop, she was a little, adorable, fluff of fur and I couldn't leave without her. She was probably 2 months old when she came home with us, and really holds her own with her larger brother.
Another member of our family is Ace the bird. He is a Blue Fronted Amazon parrot and is about 25 years old. Hubby brought Ace into his household before we were married, and Ace has been with us ever since. I did not grow up in a house with a large bird, so I had no idea they actually have personalities. Ace is a hoot. He laughs, wolf whistles, mimics the microwave beeps, likes to watch animal planet on television, and is pretty low maintenance. He gets fed once a day, water kept fresh, and clean newspapers weekly, and he is quite happy.
Our final fur member of our family is our son's chinchilla. Gabe the little beast, is also low maintenance. Chinchillas do not make noise, don't smell, will eat and drink at their own pace over a period of a couple of days. Our son regularly socializes with the little beast, but I haven't noticed the he has learned any recognizable tricks. He knows when you are going to give him a treat, and he takes it off your hands with little or no problem.
Now that you know all about our pets, I would like to tell you about Mike the dog, and today's adventure. Remember, Mike the dog is the one who makes our back yard look like a bombed out horse corral. This morning he was outside and running around like young dogs do. I went to sit down out on the patio with my glass of ice water, yelled at the dog to quit digging a couple of times, and began to read the morning paper. Well, Sunday's morning paper. Mike the dog finally wore himself out and lay down in a shady spot on the patio. As I was looking at him, panting after lots of play, I noticed one of his paws was bleeding...a lot. All over the patio to be precise. So we got ready to go to the vet.
We have a contractual relationship with one of the large pet stores that happen to have a pet hospital associated with it. The closest location is about four miles away, and once I got the leash on Mike the dog, he pretty much drug me out to the car. We drove over to the pet hospital, and after they looked at his foot, he was destined to spend a fun filled afternoon with the surgeon, anesthesia, and stitches. I pick him up in about 1/2 hour. He had a pretty good slice on his paw from some garden edging we have in the yard. Of course being 2 years old and a boy, he was all about playing, and as a fur mom, I'm all about the bleeding. So I'm glad I took him to hospital, and they fixed him right up. All for under just $300.
So are pets family members? You bet your boots they are! I don't spend $300 for just any old body getting a couple of stitches. I need to make a note to self to remove the garden edging in the yard soon. I doubt Mike the dog will stop playing or digging. Since he is going to be off his feet for a couple of days I took the opportunity to re-seed the grass in the area in which he usually plays. I hope the grass grows fast.
It was an interesting, but a good day.
p.s. Picked Mike the dog up at about 6:30pm. He wasn't as loopy as I thought he would be. Couple of stitches later, and here he sits, quite uncomfortable wearing a cone of shame. He has the cone to keep him from chewing the stitches. He has a pain killer, and an antibiotic he has too take for 7 days. He will be fine I'm sure.
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