May 4, 2009

Recovery Monday

what's going on here?Usually my weekends are pretty laid back. We go for family walks, sleep in late, and eat often.  Everyone is home and I get my choice of toys to play with. We might visit with some friends — dog and human — or we might just work around the house — making bread, mowing the lawn, watching a movie.

This weekend, by comparison, was packed full of change.  First, we left early on Friday and drove over the river and through the woods (really!) to my grandparents’ house. And when we got there, everything was different.  Usually my grandparents are neat and tidy folks with lots of nice furniture and artwork all through their house. But on Friday when we arrived, everything was gone — well, almost everything!  The carpets were covered in cloth and plastic, the couch was covered in plastic and sitting in the middle of the room, and there were plastic chairs scattered about.

Plastic chairs?

“Where’s the teak?” I asked Grandma and she informed me that all the good furniture was in the garage and the house was covered in preparation for painting!

Painting! Man oh man that sounded like fun.

I was very excited to see my grandparents. They are very nice. Grandpa always has treats for me and if I stand in the kitchen long enough, Grandma finds “something” she can share with me (this weekend it was pork!).

But when the door opened again and in walked my Aunt and Uncle, I was beside myself with joy!  Everyone was there, it so happened, not to seemiddle of the room me, but to paint the living and dining room. This was quite an undertaking and a bit of an adjustment for me.  I mean where’s a dog to lie down if everyone is working?

Don’t get me wrong. I got some nice walks (and one really nice game of fetch) and I got to spend time with my favorite relatives, but I’m used to relaxing at the feet of one or the other of them.

There was very little relaxing this weekend. Everyone was working and I had to find places where I could tuck in out of the way.

tucked inThis wasn’t easy.  What I really wanted to do was dip my feathery tail into the paint and help out, but for some reason every time I got close to the bucket or tray of paint, I was shooed away.

Imagine.

But I won’t complain. I got to curl up and get lots of love from my Uncle Paul. He’s so nice, though it’s his wife who I love the most. My Aunt Patti is the best Aunt ever. I think I must be her favorite nephew, too because she’s always cuddling with me just like my Uncle Paul!

cuddle time

But soon, the weekend was over and we drove back over the river and through the woods to our house.  Now it’s Monday and I must admit, I’m a bit tired. Good thing our day was pretty simple (though I did get a great romp and swim at the off leash park!).

Our only dogs today were Oshi and Perrito.  Perrito is still recovering from eye surgery so he is limited in how far he can walk or how hard he can play. We picked them up today and went for a short walk and then came back to our house so they could hang out for awhile.

poor guyBecause his eye surgery was really serious (what eye surgery isn’t?) he has to wear the dreaded collar or cone as well as have the hair around his eye shaved. He looks a bit haggard here, but actually he’s doing much better.  He was happy to see us and even happier for the short walk though he didn’t feel like playing when we got to our backyard.

That’s a good thing, though because he’s not supposed to over exert himself for a few weeks. Still, he was very interested in what I was playing with…

what ya got?

I happened to be playing with a chew toy stuffed into a Kong and while I’m a pretty nice guy, I’m not really fond of sharing. So, while Oshi and Perrito sniffed around the yard, I happily chewed on my toy.

chewingThe boys watched for awhile, but mostly Perrito tried to figure out how to pick up a ball with his collar on…

any ideas here?While Oshi stood on the porch and wondered when we were going back to his house…

let's go!Eventually, we took Perrito back home and the Oshi and I went for a nice long walk around and through the park.  He was hesitant to go (he hates to leave Perrito behind), but eventually the smell of the open road called to him and he set out at a good pace.  Of course, he was very happy to be home, but was patient and cautious with Perrito when he arrived.  That collar/cone head thing can squelch any visions of romping.

Continued healing, Perrito and hang in there, Oshi. All will be well again. Recovery takes time.

I speak from experience!

Rubin

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