Mopey, Mopey Pre-Surgery Ty

      2 Comments on Mopey, Mopey Pre-Surgery Ty

(www.meowbarkblog.com) — The night before his surgery, Ty was very sad, partly because he couldn’t eat after 8 and he looks forward to evening treats, but mostly because he was in a lot of pain.

I got it in my head that I needed to take a lot of pictures of him Monday night in case Tuesday’s surgery didn’t go well (did I mention that I cried all night?).

Contents © Copyright 2008 by Kristen King. All Rights Reserved.
No Photo Reuse Without Permission

Cruciate Repair: Why Ty Won’t Be Walking Much for the Next 6 Weeks

bullmastiff cruciate ligament ACL hurt leg limp lame surgery(www.meowbarkblog.com) — Mr. Bighead started holding up his right rear leg again on Friday and still couldn’t walk on it last night, so we called the vet for an appointment first thing this morning. The diagnosis: Ty has officially torn the cruciate ligament in his right knee. And I don’t mean “torn” as in tiny tear that will heal in a week or two, but “torn” as in completely severed it.

“This is one brave man,” the vet said as he examined Ty’s hurt leg. “He is in a LOT of pain.”

He arranged his schedule to be able to operate on Ty tomorrow, so we’re taking him in at 8 for surgery. And as I’m sure you can imagine, I will spend the whole day calling the vet every 15 minutes to see how it’s going. Jesse and I are totally freaking out about the thought of our big guy going under the knife, but we are trying to stay moderately sane and keep him calm so his pain levels stay as low as possible.

My poor baby…

Contents © Copyright 2008 by Kristen King

My House Is Being Surrounded by Gigantic Spiders

(www.meowbarkblog.com) — Jesse sent me a photo this weekend while I was away and scared the living daylights out of me. Why, you ask? Well take a gander at this eight-legged nightmare:

spider argiope aurantia arachnid virginia mid-atlantic

It’s not exactly a tarantula, but that is a big flipping spider when it’s next to your front door. Not to mention that its daddy longlegs friends have camped out in alarming numbers near the rest of the doors to our house. I saw what had to be a dozen of them squeezed into the spot where the fence meets the house.

Did you hear that sound? That was me shuddering and trying not to vomit.

Fortunately, according to Animal Diversity Web (no spider pun intended), these spiders, Argiope aurantia (common name, black-and-yellow argiope) are harmless. Although they may bite when provoked, their venom is not dangerous for people. "It’s only dangerous for Pickles the Pug," Jesse said as he read the description to me. "It does not say that!" I exclaimed, like it actually did. (Yeah, I know, I’m kind of a moron when it comes to the dogs, and especially Pickles.)

Ick, ick, ick. Harmless or not, I don’t want it at my house!

Contents © Copyright 2008 by Kristen King

Tags: , , , , , , ,

I Think I Have the World’s Worst-Smelling Dogs

(www.meowbarkblog.com) — I have never met an animal that produces such toxic fumes as my three dogs. They are totally flatulence machines! Seriously, I didn’t know it was possible to fart as much as these dogs do.

Ty, the bullmastiff, is the worst. He has a big head and a serious stink butt. Pickles is a close second, exacerbated by the fact that she loves to get under the covers before passing gas, and accompanies every release with an adorable little poot! sound that serves as a warning to those among us who are more observant than the others. And then there’s Murphy, Mr. Silent-But-Deadly, who has been known to wake us with the stench that emanates from his rear end.

They all seem to be in perfect health, except for the fact that they STINK. Is this standard for dogs? I had one growing up, but I don’t recall him being quite this, um, bubbly.

Contents © Copyright 2008 by Kristen King

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Remember That Part About Incessant Barking?

I don’t know if the dogs are just on edge because I was gone for a few days and their daddy isn’t home right now, but they are barking at EVERYTHING. Including when my stomach growls. And when I sniff. And when the wind blows. And when one of the cats sneezes. And when I turn my head. And when my e-mail dings. And when one of the other dogs farts. It’s great.

– Kristen