Red Monday

Today’s post is brought to you by the color RED.

  1. Guinness is lying on a blanket given to Tom and me by Tim at Christmas. She’s currently on antibiotics and wash for an ear infection. She’s gone deaf, and we’re hoping that when the infection clears up, she’ll get some of her hearing back. We’d noticed some behavioral changes–that she seemed to sleep more, and when we’d call her outside, even though she’d be looking at us, she wouldn’t come, almost as if she were suffering dementia. The sleeping is because noises are no longer waking her, and she will have to learn a new system of hand signals and rewards if she is indeed deaf. For food, Guinness will prove that an old dog can definitely learn new tricks.
  2. This is a painting I did for Timmy and Paul at Christmas. It’s called “Heart Fall,” and I think it was 6×6 inches (I forgot to write down the canvas size)–acrylic on a back-stapled canvas.
  3. The number of Starbucks holiday beverage cups I spied in our recycle bin was ridiculous. In our defense, there were six of us in and out of The Compound during the holidays, and we all have gift cards!
  4. The silly clown dog is too busy to stop and smell the roses. But Margot’s back paw seems to be healing nicely from the lick granuloma, thanks to her collar and the steroid cream being applied twice daily.
  5. Another gift from Tim, The Big New Yorker Book of Dogs is a terrific collection of articles, fiction, humor, poems, cartoons, cover art, drafts, and drawings from the magazine’s archives. Some of my favorite writers are reprinted in its pages.
  6. This is an old Draw Something sketch I did for Timmy a long time ago. I still love playing this on my iPhone.

I leave you with one of the New Yorker cartoons.

21 thoughts on “Red Monday”

  1. Dash is losing his hearing too… I hadn’t noticed at all, the vet said something because a deliveryman dropped something heavy, there was a big bang and Dash registered no reaction and she did a few tests. I asked what I could do, and she said nothing 🙁 but not to worry because since he is an only and I work at home we seem to have a good system worked out.

    I also think he works it. “What? Huh? You’re calling me to go home? I thought we were going to stay at Oma’s a little longer!”

    1. I was always accusing Guinness of getting more obstinate in her old age, and now I realize she just had no idea what I wanted. At least she gets to enjoy longer naps now. I’m all for longer naps. =)

      1. when Dash takes longer naps … I get longer naps … Today we are trying to learn to use the puppy stairs on the bed. It’s not going well.

        1. Keep them there. He’ll learn. My dogs always had them, because we put them there for the dachshunds. And though it was new to them (the dachshunds), they became very glad of them.

          Margot has the same terrier energy for jumping as Dash, so she doesn’t use them all the time, but she does use them more now that she’s aging. She likes to SLEEP on the stairs, too. Maybe you could make a little trail of treats going up the stairs and to the bed. Not every time, but intermittently, until he likes using the stairs.

          1. he pushed them over to the wall – but I put them back at the bed. we are doing the treat thing – and I think he’ll use them when he needs to eventually, i am not going to worry about it – just be thankful he can jump to the bed in a single bound.

    1. Thanks. If Margot, Guinness, and Buddy got together, you know they’d sound like a bunch of old fogies talking about all their ailments and vet visits.

      1. and they would probably tell a few stories about their humans too… buddy would totally be exaggerating, just so you know.

  2. Bark!

    Bark barked bark, bark Bark barked bark bark squirrel! Bark, Bark barked bark bark bark. BAAAAAARRRRRKKK!!!!!

    ~sniff~

  3. My parent’s dogs love chasing the red laser pointer, even as I trace it across the ceiling, though I do try to keep it way from her eyes.

  4. Soph was deaf the last couple of years. She would never let me put stuff in her ears to see if that would help. I was very happy she knew hand signals–when she chose to ‘see’ them.

  5. That New Yorker cartoon is available as a greetings card over here. The independent bookshop here in Kew has the book in its window. Any good?

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