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May 21, 2008
A Baby or a Puppy - You Decide
Click on the picture to see the entire album. Also note how absurdly large Madchen has become (the last picture of the bunch)--especially when compared to a puppy that weighs less than half of what she does. I didn't really understand what people were saying when they walked in and gasped "that is the biggest cat I've ever seen!". Now it makes more sense.
Maya is quickly becoming a pest--chewing printer cables in the blink of an eye, barking when I put her in the crate at night (although just at my house, apparently the crate at Mr. MMB's suits her perfectly), and stopping dead in the middle of the crosswalk despite my pleading to at least make it to the other side before scratching her ear.
But at times like right now, when she's sacked out on the towel at my feet, paws quivering in a bird-chasing dream, she is absolutely perfect. Even her puppy breath is sweet. And now that I've turned 30 (my birthday was Sunday), a puppy is just the thing I need to hit the snooze on my biological clock.
Posted by madchen at 12:15 AM | Comments (3)May 13, 2008
Where Is Your Daddy?
A wise man (Ms. Secret Blog's Boy) told me that when adopting a puppy, never be fooled by the snuggly quiet one. She's always sick. He is indeed a wise, wise man.
It turns out that Maya doesn't just have a little head cold. Nope, she has a “severe case of kennel cough”. After 30 hours of no food and water, our poor little girl could barely stand up and her hacking cough made me cringe. Another trip to the vet ensued, with a bunch of tests, two shots of sub-cutaneous fluid, and crying (from me) and howling (from her). Mr. MMB managed to avoid the whole incident by being “out of cell phone range” at a training session across the country. Lucky man.
Back when Jessica was in college she had a guinea pig that managed to break a leg. She made an emergency trip to the pet hospital, shelled out our mom's credit card, and brought to bear all of the guinea-pig-saving-technology available to man. Unfortunately, the guinea pig didn't make it, but the bill arrived nonetheless.
At the time, the rest of the family marveled at the string of logic that would lead Jessica to spend such extravagant amounts on a pet. I felt the same way until today. As I sat in the vet office with Maya curled up on my lap, whimpering and leaking fluid from an injection site in her back, I would have sold my soul to make her feel better.
Incidentally, have you ever force-fed a dog? It's not pretty, let me tell you. But it seems to be working since she is still pretty sacked out, but I did notice a little tail wagging during our last potty break. With any luck she'll be back on her feet in a couple of days and I can get back to my normal non-hysterical self.
#22 - Have a Dog
May 12, 2008
And Baby Makes Three
“Did you get everything that you wanted?”
This year my birthday (celebrated a week early) made up for 29 years of ho-hum celebrations. Actually, that's not true. I had a kick-ass roller skating party when I was eight, and received a fabulous surprise party when I was fifteen. On the other hand, I spent last year's birthday crying over s'mores at Cosi while Janie explained to me that it was wrong to be sad on your birthday.
But this year might be the best of all. As I lay in bed with Mr. MMB last night, and he asked me if I had a good birthday, I honestly replied that it exceeded my wildest expectations. Not only did we successfully throw a BBQ at his house with my entire family in attendance, but we also got a new bike rack for my car. Jess and Mr. Eagle Six made plans to take us to Wine in the Woods next weekend, and my mom and dad gave me a framed copy of the Washington Post article of the Big Idea. There is even an additional present coming next week on my REAL birthday.
But the thing that made this birthday extra special, the one that made me giddy with excitement, and the one that gave me butterflied and indigestion, was the small black bundle of fur sleeping at the crate at the foot of our bed.
Yup. We got a puppy. Maya is an 11-week old lab mix (she looks like a purebred to me, but who knows when some St. Bernard or Chihuahua tendency might appear?) that we got from the animal rescue on Saturday. Aside from a little head cold (a trip to the vet within 24 hours of adoption was a nice way to emphasize the extravagant costs of puppy ownership), she is perfect in every way. Being a bit sick, she's been extra quiet and snuggly—which suits me just fine since I have no puppy skills and am a bit terrified at the prospect of single motherhood this week while Mr. MMB is on a business trip to Seattle. But armed with lots of treats, an every-two-hours potty routine, and Puppies for Dummies, I am feeling as confident as a new mom can be.
Right now Maya is sleeping on a towel in the kitchen while I wash her bed (it got a little snotty). We dropped Mr. MMB off at the airport yesterday morning at 7:30 a.m., so by my calculations I've successfully kept her alive on my own for 26 hours. And since we're staying at Mr. MMB's place for the foreseeable future (except for a few quick trips home to feed the cats and pick up more clothing), the likelihood that Natasha (also known as “the cat who will kill and eat your puppy”) will instigate violence before Mr. MMB's return on Thursday is minimal.
And now, a few amusing excerpts from the past week:
Friday Night: discussing my turning 30 and the trauma associated with my pending old age
Mr. MMB: Don't worry, I like more mature women.
Ms. WAS: More mature? What does that mean? It's not like I'm 45!
(amicable disagreement ensues)
Saturday Night: revisiting the topic
Ms. WAS: Are you sorry that you called me old last night?
Mr. MMB: I never said you were old. But I am sorry that I called you mature.
(amicable disagreement ensues again)
