Sometimes I think that my dog stole the pin number for my debit card. Either that or she has managed to forge my signature and use one of my credit cards. Since neither of these is possible due to the fact that Ellie does not possess thumbs, and keeping this in mind it must have been me that signed my name for the supplements, pee cultures, antibiotics, special food, water therapy sessions, surgeries, psychiatric evaluations, tarot cards, etc. I almost made a colossal mistake yesterday by adding up every freakin’ receipt that I have in possession since this whole escapade started in February. Fortunately I got smart and stopped myself before I actually started hitting the add button on the calculator.
As promised Dr. Ahmsberry called again yesterday to check up on Ellie. The service from West Hills Animal Hospital is just amazing and very much appreciated. I gave him the “no barf” scenario and we both decided to wait a couple more days to make sure Ellie’s Colitis was cleared up before starting her on the meds to wipe out the possibility of the urinary thingy still hanging around. Ellie is definitely feeling well and her energy levels are way up as well as a return to somewhat nutball Ellie behavior.
Yesterday evening Ellie and I went for a post-dinner walk for about 25 minutes and she trotted the entire time! This was a first since the surgery and she moved along pretty darned smoothly. Her renewed muscles were rippling in the repaired leg, tail was wagging, head was up, and her ears were pointed like a fruit bat homing in on a mosquito. It was very gratifying to see all of this after almost adding up all of the receipts. Even if I would have toted up all of the dinero spent I would have felt it all worth the expense when seeing her trot along for the whole walk. I know that Ellie appreciates what Shandra and I have done for her and we certainly appreciate what she does for us on a daily basis.
This morning Ellie showed very little signs of stiffness from last evening’s trot/walk and she was ready to roll at 5:00 am. No good morning barfing to greet the day and she had slept through the night. She patiently stood guard while I liberated a couple pounds of plums from a tree and I rewarded her with a treat and ear scratch for aiding and abetting. Nothing quite like encouraging scandalous behavior in your dog but I think Ellie likes to live on the edge and she secretly enjoys the Winona Ryder-esque thrill of the whole affair.
