Feeding My Soul Week Starts With Football

I've been on vacation, a long-overdue break.  It's been over a year since my last one, and I was in desperate need of some soul galvanization.  When the days start to rush together and you start forgetting what happened on what day, you start to feel disconnected, empty even.  I'll admit, I was limping towards this time off from work.  Although I work at something I love, and take pride in, the hours are very long and there aren't a ton of external rewards.  Caring for a patient, nursing them back to health so they can eventually go home to their loving families is my primary reward.  Rarely do I hear "great job", or have financial rewards given to me.  Then there's the stress of when things go wrong and a patient doesn't get well.  These things can be trying.

Poor Fenway's first days of quarantine at the clinic

So finding that internal, self-guided reward has been a goal of mine as of late.  It's that old "work hard for the peace of mind that you've done your job well".  This incentive requires self-motivation and confidence, both of which tend to be in short supply when you work 12 hour shifts and barely see your family.  Needless to say, I'm glad for my break.

Tweaked!!

So what have I done to feed my soul this week?  There's been plenty going on, so I'll start with Thanksgiving itself...

Matt was given tickets to the Cowboys game on Thanksgiving which was an experience for sure.  As a Redskins fan, having been born and raised in DC, I was feeling a bit Benedict Arnold being at Cowboys Stadium.  But I got over that pretty fast, seeing what an enormous architectural megastructure it was.  A fun time was had by all, and the game was close and exciting!

Cowboys Stadium - the old stadium can fit inside this one 8 times!!

I've never seen so many men holding camera phones in my life!

These guys were ready to party the old school way

Uh oh.  Flag on the play

Halftime show with Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull

The real reason for Thanksgiving

Please remember it's not too late to send some holiday cheer to Military Working Dogs and their Handlers.  If you're interested in sending a care package, please see my post here.  

And Then There Were Three...Arwen's Pack Has Grown!

We needed another dog like we needed a hole in the head. But just when you think you've got it all sorted out and it's coming together, life decides you need a bit of a shake. Not the creamy delicious kind, but the hard "Holy Cow! What was THAT for!?" kind of shake.

This past weekend, Matt was outside just after midnight when he heard some nearby wimpering. Turning to listen closely (whether by instinct or simple curiosity), he saw a small brown dog come bounding over, all whines and ears back. The little pup just sat at his feet staring up at him. Well what the hell do you do at that point?! After a choice HBO word, knowing full well what was in store, he reached down and comforted this lost creature. I know this because just moments later the bedroom light flooded over my sleeping self and I was told to come downstairs and see something "cute, furry, lost and terrible".

With the same choice HBO word, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and threw off the covers. "Terrible" is right - we couldn't bring this puppy into the house. What if it had distemper or parvo? We'd just seen a case of parvo not a week ago at the clinic. All these thoughts were put on hold as I opened the door and looked down the stairs. There, a whining, simpering, doe-eyed puppy looked up at me and melted my heart.

We looked him over and found gum in his dirty fur, his skin loose over visible ribs. Poor kid - was he in this condition and just ran away recently? Was he abandoned by somebody? Stairs were completely foreign to him and every house around us has 2 stories. "Inside" seemed to be another totally foreign concept. He was wearing a collar without tags and when we scanned him later, we discovered he had no microchip either.

We put a leash on him and walked around the buildings, hoping to reunite him with his owners. Nobody was out looking, the streets were empty. More HBO words....what now?

Plan B involved taking him to the clinic where I work and checking him over for parasites, a microchip, and some clue as to his age. We had to wake up T at 12:30 in the morning to keep her from being home alone. Upon seeing the foundling, her eyes lit up like diamonds. She was in love!

At the clinic, we checked him for parasites and he was badly infested with hookworms. Yuk. Those could kill a pup! I dewormed him and left him there; safe for the night.

Against all of our better judgement (except T because she's in love), we've decided to keep him. So maybe the "shake" I mentioned we got earlier is sweet, but still a shake in the other sense as well!
But bloggie friends, I need some help with 2 issues:

1) We are considering the name "Fenway" after Fenway Park, of course. We're 2nd generation Red Sox (and T will make the 3rd gen) fans, so it seems fitting. Any other suggestions?

2) The girls aren't impressed. Arwen is trying unsuccessfully to dominate him with her usual bullying tactics and Nyxie is afraid of him all scared growls. Yup, my 80 lb GSD is terrified of a 26 lb muttling who won't get bigger than 30-40 lbs! Poor girl...There has been some snapping at one another, and integrating isn't going as smoothly as I 'd hoped. He has great calm energy. Any ideas or help?

Thank you, Loves!
FYI - interwebs are acting funny so pls be patient with me. I had to write this post from my phone!

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Fulfillment

At the clinic where I work, we have a high energy canine patient.  To respect his privacy, we'll call him "Abe".  Abe obsesses over rocks.  He chases and chews them, desperate to get his mouth around them -  rocks, of all things.  How do I know this?  Not only is his owner at his wit's end with this annoying behavior and told us all about it, but just recently this poor pooch was put under anesthesia to have his teeth cleaned.  At that point, the extent of his obsession was made fully apparent.

Not Abe, but you get the idea...

Each and every tooth was worn down from years of grinding on rocks.  There was extensive damage done, and his teeth were ground down to pulps - a fairly painful progression.  We scaled and polished them, advising Abe's owner to keep him away from the dreaded rocks.  His owner revealed to us that Abe loves to chew on rocks in the backyard.  I asked him if he takes Abe on regular walks.

No.
Dog park?
No.
Doggie day care?
Nope.
So Abe's only outlet for his high energy is rock chewing.
Poor dog.

All I could imagine was that feeling of having drank too much coffee, and then trying to fall asleep.  (For me this would have to be a whole coffee pot, but you get the idea.)  Tossing and turning, feeling your skin crawl as you readjust your position for the 18 millionth time.  Horrible.

This got me thinking about how I meet my own girls' needs.  Do I meet them?  Are they bored?  Frustrated?  I imagine they tolerate quite a bit of boredom and frustration, but they do so with grace.  I know Nyxie particularly needs more exercise to release her anxiety and drive to work, and as my physical endurance grows, her walks and runs grow longer.  It's a big responsibility to meet your dog's needs and give them a full life.  A few hugs and pets on the head after an 8 hour absence just isn't enough.  If you're unable or unwilling to exercise them, pay someone else to do so, or engage them in games that work the brain!  Doggie daycares and dog walkers are everywhere - you just need to get creative!

So if you love your dogs, you'll not keep them around purely for your enjoyment, but you'll let them do those things that let them maintain balanced dogness.  You know, the things you may not want to, but you know they'll love.  Like when Matt wants to watch a an episode of Mythbusters to nurture the science nerd inside of  him, when I'd rather be piercing my eyelids!

True love requires consideration and at times, sacrifice.  
Living with a dog is a tough job, but somebody's got to do it.