Trick-or-...Tabby?
We're adopting a new kitten! (Pictures and more to follow soon on ticklemerisi's journal.) The story begins about ten days ago...
October 2006 is turning into pet month around here. A week ago ticklemerisi's parents were asked if they'd be interested in adding a 5-year-old black lab to the family. You may recall the untimely demise of their last pup many months ago. After that they weren't actively looking for another doggie, but this one belonged to a family friend who was moving from the country to the suburbs and didn't have the capacity to keep him. From the first visit, it was clear that this new dog, Lucky, was both affectionate and intelligent. However, since being at his new rural home he's been a holy terror. His roster of exploits now includes: knocking my mother-in-law's glasses off, spreading old clothes from a plastic sack all over the property, trampling a few flower pots, scattering and breaking a bagfull of glass bottles down the long driveway, eating rat poison from the garage and, most recently, knocking ticklemerisi's mom over from his chained position by the dog house landing her directly in his fresh poop! They debated returning him, but decided to "give it another day." Lucky lacks discipline, but has calmed down a lot since Day 1 and he's responded very well to his recent training. I've been absent for most of this, but have been over there some, mostly while he's behaving well. The dog is learning not to jump up on people, not to take off running at random while on his leash, and not to pee on every new object. Sunday, after the Colts' win, Lucky revealed a hidden talent: SBD doggie farts that can empty a room. We think he'll be a hit at parties ;)
The rat poison incident necessitated a trip to the 24-hour emergency vet. Fortunately, they said this is a common problem, that the rat poison acts like a strong long-lasting blood thinner and that the solution is simple. Vitamin K, a natural coagulant, was prescribed for several weeks. As part of a follow-up, my father-in-law had to stop by his regular vet's office today and saw a playful kitten with a pink cast on it's left forearm. Back at the office he said "you've got to see this kitty," so we did. She's adorable and it was love at first sight. Our only concern was the cost of shots, but they're already paid for. Someone dropped the cat off at the veterinary clinic on Thursday injured. They determined she had a dislocated shoulder, repaired it and have been trying to pawn her off to a good home ever since. They want to keep her a few more days and probably remove the cast before releasing her, as well as run another test, but she's ours after that. We hope Honey won't eat her :(
[Edited for content and to remove all three LJ User hotlinks, since they're still not working properly - anyone have a guaranteed solution? I'm guessing there isn't one :( ]