Scoutie is clean once more.
We did the whole thing as quickly as possible. Nevertheless, the whole ordeal really takes a lot out of her. She used to love getting a bath, but since arthritis and achy joints have taken over, she doesn’t feel confident standing still so long. So she tenses and gets stressed and, eventually, starts to complain. I can’t say that I blame her.
She did feel better afterward and for a while she was quite frisky.
Then it hit her.
She slept – very deeply – on the loveseat. Over the course of a few hours, her head got a wee bit closer to the floor each time I checked on her.
Finally, when I was putting freshly laundered sheets on the bed upstairs, Don called out to me: “You’ve got to see this!”
Umm….Scout? How can you sleep that way?
As I watched her, her head started to inch downward and I jumped in and grabbed her, moving her to a new position.
She slept through the whole thing.
Getting a bath is exhausting.
But she sure smells good!
(You can see the swelling on her leg in this photo. It’s due to her arthritis.)
I grabbed a slightly better photo of the shower curtain and rod in the dollhouse bathroom.
I swear, I have to take hundreds of photos of the dollhouse bathroom and kitchen to get a good shot. The rooms are long and narrow, so the back of the room is at the end of a sort of tunnel. It makes for an often frustrating camera adventure.
Today is a busy one. I’m getting my hair cut (it’s way too long!), we’re talking to our plumber about replacing the hot water heater (long overdue), we’re picking out our Christmas Tree. I’ve got to grab the ornament bins out of the shed and haul them inside. And, because we live in a small cottage, furniture needs to be rearranged to make room for the tree.
All this is happening today because we have a Nor’easter headed our way. The weather report sounds dire. They are using the word ‘event’ as in, it will be a Three-Day Event.
Crap. Crap. Crap.
Snow, ice, sleet, rain, wind…you name it. We’re getting it.
If you don’t see a blog post on any given day, you’ll know it’s because we’ve lost power. Fingers crossed that it stays on. The snow is supposed to be heavy and wet. I’m already sick of winter.
Sigh.
Remind me again: Why did we move here from San Diego?
Two more things: There’s a new post up on Just Let Me Finish This Page (I sure hope you’re enjoying that blog…I’m not always sure people are reading it.) And my longtime blogging friend, Connie, is selling one of her slipcovers – it’s quite lovely – and she asked me if I would link to her post. Absolutely!
Happy Monday.
Love the pictures of your precious Scout. What a tired girl, lol!
Stay safe during the ‘event’.
S
xo
Thanks, Sue! We hope to.
Wow! Scout IS really relaxed! Kind of how I feel when at the hair salon! Glad she got a good bath before the big storm. We are getting hit as well in a few days, but rain, not all the other.
Your doll house is just incredibly charming. I LOVE that wall paper!!!
Stay safe, warm and enjoy the decorating.
xo
Thank you, Becky. Just finished rearranging things so the tree can fit in the den.
I adore dogs! Your Scoutie is precious.
She is very precious! Thank you, Carolyn Marie!
Love the photos of Sweet Scout!! I can relate. The older I get, the longer it takes me to recover :)
I always read Just Let Me Finish This Page, and have recommended it to my friends.
Happy Christmas tree decorating! I’ll be waiting to see the photos.
Hoping you don’t lose power during the storm.
So glad you like Just Let Me Finish This Page, Sandi! Thanks for letting me know. We’ll probably decorate the tree tomorrow during the ‘event!’
Poor Scout..I can relate!! Hope your “event” is not a memorable one…We get it next..Good luck to us both…
Yes, indeed! Good luck, Missy – stay safe.
I loved the pictures of Miss Scout. The poor girl was exhausted.
P.S. I love Just Let Me Finish This Page.
Ah, thank you, Kathy! And yes, Scoutie was just plain tuckered out!
What an ordeal for Scout…but she smells better, so all is good. A nor’easter…really? Hope all will be well…look at it this way, you’ve got a snowblower…you can spend the time decorating your tree…and you’ll look gorgeous with your new do while decorating the tree…and it’ll be a cozy time to snuggle in with your favorite guy, and catch up on some Christmas movies, or a good book. What more could a gal want? ;)
Ummm… no snow and ice? That’s not asking too much, is it??
So Sweet!!!! She was exhausted!
The “good” thing about putting the tree up and decorating is the house does get cleaned pretty well. By the time I take it all down, the dust is pretty thick again, as I surely don’t dust around all the little things we put up for the month. Luckily, no one here has dust allergies!!
I will think of you during The Event. If it truly becomes one, no doubt it will soon have a name. The Great Advent Apocalypse of 2014…… or Pre- Hanukkah Harassment of 2014. Maybe just another Dumb December Dumper.
I do have dust allergies, but that doesn’t keep me from NOT dusting!
Now, you know the Weather Channel will name this storm – that’s what they love to do!
Scout looks lovely! Now it’s your turn for some “me” time having your hair done.
Don will be surrounded by glamorous girls! :)
On a completely unrelated note, have you ever considered making limited edition prints of some of your photographs? I just love the recent picture of the red shed in the snow and was thinking the other day what a wonderful Christmas gift a framed copy would make. Did I read somewhere that you have an Etsy shop?
I do have an etsy shop with my sister, but it’s been on a long hiatus. I’m not even sure I would know how to do a limited edition print! I guess I could research that!
Scoutie sleeping in that inverted L-shape is so darned cute. I have a brother who can do that too, although in his case he starts out upright in a Barcalounger and eventually droops his way to an almost perfect U-shape. Looks incredibly uncomfortable to us, but he stays solidly asleep through the whole deal. We’re not currently forecast to get much of this latest winter storm [Damon?]. Just a smattering of rain-ice-snow-mush. But this is upstate New York in the Winter, when anything can happen, so we’re staying tuned. At least if you get socked in, you’ll have the fun of decorating your tree and house. Enjoy your day.
I will, Janet. The plumber is currently two hours late so we’re waiting for him to get an estimate. I have to leave shortly for a hair cut. Then, we’ll go get the tree. Furniture has been moved in preparation for the tree. Ornament bins have been brought in the house. Over and out.
would a dry shampoo or spray shampoo used for humans help Scout with her baths? If you think so, Check out HDIS.com. I have bought things from them for many years. You can trust them.
It might. I’ll check out the site, Jan. Thanks!
Poor girl Scoutie..that lump must be painful Claudia..especially if she bumps it..Arthritis is such a mean nasty thing..So are “events” which we are expecting too..I’ll pray for your power to stay on and you pray for mine..Deal?..are you going to show us your new haircut?..Have fun decorating..Stay warm and safe my friends!
Still the same basic cut – just less 3 1/2 inches! Looks much healthier.
I will pray for your power to stay on for sure, Nancy!
Sweet Scout! They can sleep in amazing ways can’t they! So much to do before that storm hits! Stay safe and hopefully you won’t lose power. So why DID you move from San Diego? LOL! I’m a Southern Girl forever now. I am enjoying the other blog so hope you are enjoying writing it!
hugs,
Linda
We moved because there were more opportunities for Don out here and I was suffering from teacher burn-out. And we missed the seasons!
I do enjoy writing the other blog!
Thank you for the photographs of Scout! I want to bury my face in her fur. She so reminds me of my own darling Border Collie. I miss him. Please give Scout a gentle hug for me.
I will, Nancy. xo
Oh, dear, the weather. And you just got Scout clean. Maybe it’s not muddy slush now. All of you, take care for the big event; sounds exciting on the one hand but, there again, I’m not living in it. Claudia, I’m glad you’re not alone and I’m really glad you got Scout’s chicken-wire enclosure done in time for this!
Poor dear baby. Baths get harder for the old girls, canine and human both. My shepherd is younger than Scout (how old IS Scout?) but the old saying holds true, ‘a tired dog is a good dog.’ When our shep comes in from a long walk, she’s just GONE. She lays there looking boneless, having melted into the blankets on the bed. All she needs is a Do Not Disturb sign!
Of all the dogs I’ve had, large and smaller, I haven’t seen that kind of arthritis. How do you relieve it? Can you put a hot water bottle or heating pad on low…somehow…for her? I’m interested to know your tips for the future of my own big girl. My cat is very elderly…will soon turn age 19…and has arthritis. We have an electrically-heated bed for him but sometimes it’s too hot for him. He also gets monthly injections of a sort of anti-inflammatory drug which has a temporary effect on mobility/pain, certainly not lasting. Mother had rheumatoid arthritis and always benefitted more from heat than ice for swollen joints but, of course, for animals it’s a bit different. Just being up off a hard floor/surface helps so I’m glad you let her up on the furniture. If it gets where you can’t lift her and she can’t climb up herself, they make those great stairsteps; I got a heavyduty one from Target years ago; it has carpeted steps to help the old dogs get up on the bed.
Can you imagine dogs who suffer similarly and get only borderline care in an outdoor life…the cold must be so hard on them although I believe caring people can rig up insulated, heated dog houses. I lived on the Gulf Coast for a time and Houston is usually hot and humid; however, they can get the occasional day in the teens. I felt so sorry for a dog next door that I couldn’t believe the people left out in just a regular dog house. It was a German Shepherd. We had ice hanging from the fence posts. Turns out, the dog had a heart condition and I found him dead in their yard a couple of weeks later; I had a heck of a time finding them because I didn’t know them very well and they rushed the dog to the vet but I knew he was already dead. I actually talked to the vet later…we were well-acquainted or normally he would have remained mute I’m sure…and he said that dog should have been coddled, with medicine, warmth, special food because the heart condition was obvious. I was younger then and clueless sometimes about what to do about things and situations. If it were today, I would call out ASPCA or Humane Society just to investigate/educate but, back then, I just worried. Sometimes people don’t mean to do the wrong things; they’re just lacking knowledge. But it makes you wonder, if they’re in tune with their pets, how they can’t know or understand the pet’s needs. Am I being self-righteous? Just glad to hear of you taking such good care of your dog. I know you love her so much.
Scout will be 16 in January. There’s not much you can do for the swelling. When we first discovered it, the Vet identified it and said that draining the fluid in the swelling would be dangerous so it was best to leave it alone. She has it in other places as well, but the swelling in the photo is the most pronounced.
We provide quilts for Scout to lie on and the sofa, of course. But she often chooses to lie on a hard surface. Why, I don’t know! I try to get her up on a soft surface, but somehow she ends up on the floor again.
There are people around here who leave their dogs outside all the time. I do not understand them. Why have a dog if you aren’t going to include it fully in your life? They look so lonely and forlorn and it breaks my heart. I can’t even go there.
Ah, so it happens even there, in a nor’easter…what is it with people that they think a domestic pet is made of steel?
OMG, Scout is 16; Claudia, that is remarkable. Even a former veterinarian of mine said she never got her own dogs past age 14. However, I had a friend who grew a lab mix to age 19 and another friend got her poodle to age 20.
I think Scout is a lucky girl to have you for a mom!
YUCK to your forecasted weather “event”! Where I live (Pacific Northwest in Oregon) we’re lucky if we get any sort of measurable snow fall. In that case it can be kind of fun, and lovely to look at. But what you get is way beyond the fun stage! I hope it’s not as bad as is being predicted.
And, oh my goodness, that picture of Scout made me laugh out loud!! That poor tired girl. I hope she’s not quite so worn out today!
She’s still worn out, but a bit better. Poor girl!
Poor Scoutie, I know she is exhausted but that picture of her head near the floor is amazing. Max got a bath yesterday, he smells yummy!
Hugs,
M
The cousins are clean!
What I want to know is, how did you get her doggyship into that teeny-tiny tub?!?
It was magic, Marianne!
Scout just sorta “melted” didn’t she? LOL Bella does that and I’m always so afraid she’s going to just slip over the edge – body and all. That’s real relaxation!
Love your bathroom shower curtain. So cute. Can’t wait to send you a photo of some new doll items I got at an Estate sale. New to me – but old.
Judy
I can’t wait to see them, Judy!
Just a quick note about snow blowers. They don’t do well if the show is “wet”. Dry fluffy snow is better for blowing. That’s why Jack couldn’t use it for the first snow; also, due to the fact that he didn’t get it out in time for the first snow and COULDN’T with all the snow and could NOT get the fence gate opened. Three mistakes he usually doesn’t make. So he shoveled and got a horrible neck strain. Warning: be sure and have it accessible BEFORE the snow falls and blocks your way TO it. Normally he gets it out of the shed and places it in the garage just before the winter season.
xoxo,
Connie
Our first snow was heavy and wet, but it worked. But I imagine it would be much more efficient in dry snow, Connie. We only have the shed to store it in, so Don has it pointing towards the door and we shovel the ramp into the shed. xo