January 31, 2012

White Dog, Quinn, and YoYoMa helped Steve hold down the fort this morning...getting breakfast, cuddling the sickies, getting as much as possible conveniently set-up before Steve left for his late night. Nuka, Puff, and I huddled together, miserable, and took advantage of being fussed over.

Nuka is fighting an ear infection. Dr. Julia packed BOTH ears with medicated gel and now our girl is becoming goopy-headed as the medicine does its task. It also makes AWD very sleepy and crabby (she does not like the sensations of the itchiness and stuff filling her ear cavities. Nuka had chronic infections in her earlier life and they are the cause of her deafness. She has had but a few since joining the WDA but once she gets one, it is really tough to clear up. She goes back to the vet for a followup in two weeks. We hope she is feeling better LONG before that.

Poor Puff is enduring another cycle of congestion (a chronic result of her heartworm battle) and was up all night hacking and coughing.  The demands on her little body exhaust her. this morning we finally got her to swallow a cough suppressant and will try for a second one tonight. Puff is the most stubborn creature on the planet when it comes to taking pills. No matter what it is hidden in she can maneuver around it and hold the pill in the side of her mouth until she can spit it out. And forget putting it way back in her throat and holding her snout shut until she swallows; SAWD can seeming go for 45 minutes without the need. It is less stressful and thus, better for her cough, if Dr. Julia just administers an antibiotic injection...which she will do tomorrow morning when we take Puff to see her. the shot usually clears things up within a week.

One of the curses of teaching, Steve believes, is that you are exposed to lots more colds and germs than one would encounter in a typical office. Plus since many of his students are parents, he also gets chain exposed to the sickies that the parents get from their kids who get germified from other kids at THEIR schools. I managed to avoid the wave that passed through our house a couple of weeks ago when both Steve and Michael succumbed, but this morning my pounding eyesockets, throbbing eardrum and pulsing right side jaw told me I have a sinus infection. Thank dogness for the WDA and their understanding! They sat around me and kept watch but made no demands other than duck jerky during the lunch hour. They did not mind my moaning; in fact the sounds brought them over to gently nose my knee and lick my hand. They even did a subdued version of "MAIL CALL!" Best of all, White Dog did not mind at all sitting at my shoulder so I could press the painful side of my face into her fur (the pressure made everything ache less).

Puff, Nuka and I are so grateful to White Dog and the boys for taking such good care of us. When Steve gets home, we will be sure he knows what capable, caring paws he left us in.