These are random musings of my life journey, the people, animals, places, and events which have woven, and continue to weave, a tapestry that is me. We all know there is no real destination, only the ongoing experiences which blend together, creating the trail. Each step gives a glimpse of what is to come, without allowing me to see the end result. It is exciting. I have a home base that is mine, that gives me a place to rest. This is it. This is where my heart is, no matter where I journey...................

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

On A Diet?

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SOMEONE in my house is on a diet! No, not me! Are you crazy? OK, yeah, it should be me, but it's not. Here's the deal ....

I took The Boys to the vet for their shots yesterday. It all went well. They were pretty well behaved, all things considered, you know, being in public places, etc. Sam was very afraid, but he walked with the leash well. He was worried about the surroundings, but not freaked and frozen like he used to be. Max did well, too. He barked at some other dogs, but it wasn't awful. He did the ride OK, but I learned another lesson. On the way there, he sat in my lap and looked out the window. On the way home, he sat in the passenger seat .... and threw up. OK, he still needs to feel secure by closeness to me. Joey was, as always, a stellar example of perfect behavior and adjustment. Thank heaven for him!

The Boys got the shots without incident and we were ready to go and the vet decided to weigh them for the record. Joey has gained about a pound and a half, but he is right on target for where he should be. Max has gained about the same, and honestly, he could probably gain another pound and be in good shape. He is so long and lean, just a smidge off "skinny." And then we came to Sammy. Oh, dear, Sammy. He has gained over three pounds!! And he is the smallest structure of all three! Yikes!

I had noticed that Sammy and Lolita have both begun to resemble sausages. Lola, since she is still very young, I can excuse because she still has some baby fat. Truthfully, however, she has gained that belly that I pointed out in the photos of a post a few days ago. And Sammy .... there are no excuses. I've allowed them to "free feed," all sharing the prescribed amount of food from a single dish. My guess now is that Sammy and Lola are eating some of Max's share! Joey, Jazmyn and Maxey all still have waistlines, even though they have all gained since being here. Lola and Sam have waistlines, also. Barely. If your imagination is working.

The vet was not overly concerned, but we agreed that I need to control the amounts of food each is consuming. It's hard to keep the each at his/her own bowl, but I will. I want them all healthy. I don't want to cut their lives short; I hope they all enjoy long, long lives full of love in my home. I understand why Sam overeats. It is almost definitely related to his emotional issues from the past. Like many of us two-leggers, Sam finds comfort in his food. Heaven knows he is active enough, but the abundance of food is doing him in. This is a case of too many good things not being good in the whole.

So this morning, we started back on the old routine with five separate little bowls with the prescribed amounts for each of them. Max gets slightly more than the others (since he has room for growth and a bit of weight gain) with Jaz getting the least, because she is the smallest. Lola and Sam get just a little more than Jaz and Joey a tad more than them. I sat down in the living room where I could watch and be sure they all ate their own and didn't steal from someone else. When they were finished, Lola ate the 4-5 mini nuggets that Joey left behind, eyed me for a long time from the 12-15 feet away, then picked up her bowl and carried it to me! The girl knows what she wants! No, she didn't get any more. Sammy seemed perfectly happy with his rationed meal. Now, we'll see how he holds up during the day! But, regardless of the angst they attempt to shove in my direction, the bottom line is that my two little "plumpers" and to become "hawt dogs" once again.

On a different subject, my neighbor is building a house. It started not long after I moved in, and for a while, I was dealing with noise as they dug the foundation out of the rock with heavy equipment. After that was done, the noise has been minimal to non-existent. This man is a contractor, and he is building it in his spare time so it has taken a while. The house on a lot across the road from where their current house is. Originally, he and his wife planned to sell it, but as he has built, his wife has really fallen in love with it, so they now plan to sell the beautiful "old" home and move into this one. I really like these folks, and I'm glad to have them as neighbors.

About three weeks ago, the construction noise got bad again, and I wondered why. I saw Bill, and he explained that they are putting in the septic system, apologized for the noise as the heavy equipment must dig through rock to create the system and leach field. I didn't think at the time to ask why they didn't do this when they foundation was dug. Nor did I think to ask how long it would take. It is still going on. It is not horribly loud, but it is constant. Constant! The only reprieves have been when it was raining.

Honestly, my nerves are on edge at this point. I'm probably going to walk up and talk to Bill today to find out how much longer this is going to last. Not to complain, not to cause a problem. I'll be nice because I like this couple, and I want to remain friends with them. I understand this is necessary, I appreciate that he is aware of it, I'm glad the noise isn't very loud, but it just gets too much when there is no break. If I could afford it, had a place to go, and could imagine taking this pack of chubby reprobate pups with me for so long, I'd take off for a week for a break. I can't.

The good thing is that when it is done, the landscape will be even nicer. He is installing a new kind of system that uses many environmentally friendly methods. I don't understand all of it, but the leach field consists of a series of "ponds" (not open ponds but underground) that filter so there is less chance that the aquifers will be contaminated. As part of the filtering and cleaning of the waste water, certain plants that clean the impurities will be planted, one being cattails. How cool! There will be a field of nice foliage up the hill from my back door.

I could have some real problems. I'm glad I don't.

Update: After walking up to the neighbor's house, I'm assured that the heavy equipment work will be done today or tomorrow! YAY!! He added that he will have a little bit more noise as they are smoothing the driveway and adding some dirt fill in a few areas, but it will be short-lived and not the digging that is going on now. Whew!!!
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12 comments:

  1. I totally understand Sam's issues with food. I am sure that before he came to be with you there was not always food around. I am glad to hear that he is doing better when out in public. He has made amazing progess in the year he has been with you.

    So it sounds like there will be a house for sale in your neighborhood in the next year or so???? Hmmmmm...we could actually be neighbors again. Wouldn't that be awesome.

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  2. Oh, Caroline, yes, the house will be up for sale, and it is gorgeous!! Not huge, 2 BR, with a "guest house" (with some repair), etc.!! C'mon!!!

    I understand Sammy, too. Poor guy. He still doesn't know for sure there will be food tomorrow. He may not ever reach that level, but I hope so. I see so much progress, but I wonder if the sweet little guy will ever be what we can call "normal." I do hope for his sake that happens.

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  3. Poor Sammy! My Frodo is on a diet too. It was okay in the beginning, but now he thinks he's starving! Sometimes, I give him extra treats because I feel sorry for him. I know I have to cut that out. He has lost five pounds recently. I think he could lose at least another seven. Yeah, he got to where he had a big body and a little bitty head. I knew I had to do something. I feel so ashamed for allowing that. But I'm on top of it now.

    Unwanted loud noise is such a pain. I'm glad for you that it's going to stop soon. --Cheryl

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  4. Cheryl, I'm glad Sam doesn't have a lot to lose, and I surely hope this goes OK. He is still in proportion, more or less! I suspect I won't be terribly strict either. The trouble is that those treats look little to me, but comparing the dogs' size to ours makes the treats look much larger!

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  5. Buford or tiggs (the cat) one of them needs a diet cause they weigh about the same. The vet says not to let Buford get any bigger.I am glad the noise is going to stop someone in bigger town from us has filed a lawsuit against a dogfood maker cause of the noise.

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  6. I tried to give my cat's worm medicine. They were pills, I've got 4 cats and each was to get 1 1/2 pills. After trying two cats, with no success and claw marks on my chest and my right hand tore up, I smashed them up and put them into tuna...4 different plates. No go. Mixed egg into the mix, still no success. Had to get 6 new pills and a pill popper and have someone come hold them down for me. Pets...worth it? Absolutely. :)

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  7. Bobbie, I don't know the details about the law suit, but if you buy a house next to a plant of any kind, you have to expect noise! What is wrong with our suit-happy society, anyway!!!

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  8. Kathi, I hate giving pills to cats!!! Sheesh, it is awful! I've wondered why they don't make cat medicine all in liquid so it could be squirted down their throats. Even though the pill popper helps, as you said, it takes two people. But yes, so worth it to have our 4-leggers with us!

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  9. Sadie is a porker also. She is limited on her food intake but that doens't stop someone from giving her peanut butter pretzels. (Cowboy)

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  10. The trouble at my house, MJ, is I have no one to blame but myself!

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  11. I've often wondered why some dogs have weight problems. My sister-in-law's dog is a tank; never eats people food but he always seems so chubby. Our dog occasionally got people food but he lived a long, lean life. Sometimes I agree with the set weight theory . . . that people, and I guess animals too, just have a set weight in their biology and it's very difficult for them to control it to be different.

    Wanted to mention that my dad really liked your comment about my czarnina blog. He thought your point about blood and soup was very much the truth.

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  12. Dave, I've wondered that, too. I've had dogs that ate like crazy and stayed lean (as I did in my younger years), and others that (like me these days) look at food and expand at once. I've never needed to put a pup on a diet, but I want these kids to be healthy enough to enjoy life for a long, long time.

    LOL! Look for extra activity on your blog as people go to check out "czarnina," and my "point about blood and soup"!!

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If you have something to say about it, just stick out your thumb, and I'll slow down so you can hop aboard! But hang on, 'cause I'm movin' on down the road!!! No time to waste!!!