First Steps

Pap Pap (aka: mouse) took his first real steps on day 17 - videoed for posterity on day 18. Here it is day 20 and he is just walking everywhere. He seems to enjoy exploring. . .backwards and forwards! The first few steps had to be taken on an empty stomach because his muscles just weren't strong enough to hold the weight of his big belly. Now that he has had some practice he can move around whenever he wants. But he is still a little boy. He will start crying if he has turned himself around and can't seem to find you. He is still at that age where all this is cute. Mole isn't too sure about him now that he is moving, but Abby seems to like him more. She actually thinks he is playing with her - I'm not even sure if he can hear her high pitched screams of joy yet.

Its still hard for him to push him self up. . .


But once he gets going. . .


There's no stopping him!


Until its time for bed - that is. . .

Doubled in Size

When little Pap Pap came into our lives he weighed only 1 pound 8 ounces. He has since doubled in size in a week and a half and now weighs 3 pounds 10 ounces. He is growing like a weed and eating me out of house and home. Food for a few days for this little guy cost $47. Thats more then Abby and she weighs 16 pounds!

Gratuitous puppy shots:






He just keeps getting cuter and cuter. His eyes are finally open and he is now taking a few steps on his own. He is still eating every few hours but I am only waking up once a night now instead of 3 times. It's still not a lot of sleep for me, but its just easier to stay up late and wake up early then to wake up twice a night for feedings. And while I have NEVER been a fan of puppies, and I've never been one for the "miracle of life" experience - I am glad that I get to experience this. I'm not particularly maternal and having children was never high on my to-do list (ok, its not on there at all) but its still fun watching him grow and change. I ooohhhed and aaahhhed the first time he opened his eyes and I cheered him on as he took his first steps. He really is a lot of fun and he will always hold a special place in my heart for giving me this experience that I never thought I would have.

Sucker!

How can you resist this face?

I found this little guy while I was in Martinez looking for some kittens. He was left in a box at the front door. And while I really do know better then to take on a 5 day old singleton pit bull puppy, I just couldn't resist. Something told me to take this little guy and at least try to give him a life - he wouldn't have lived much longer if I walked on by . . . and I do work for rescue.

After a scare the other day, he is doing well. He is now 10 days old and a feeding machine. I really feel bad for mothers. The amount of force he puts on a nipple terrifies me enough to add it to reason 999 not to have my own children.

But he does look so cute when he is done feeding and is *finally* asleep.



And despite previous thinking, Abby isn't that bad around the puppy. I mean, I don't leave her alone with him, but she hasn't eaten his eyes out either.


I did take some photos with my regular camera and will post those later - after I get more then 3 hours sleep a night

Nightmare

After Abby's adventure she came home with a major case of separation anxiety. Not that big of a deal to me because I have dealt with it before with Mole. He used to scream for hours when I left him and he would loose his bladder/bowel control. After 5 years he is almost completely free of the anxiety and can be left alone for 6 hours with no worries.

Abby has been a bit more challenging because she tends to destroy things or hurt herself when left alone. Due to my schedule and lifestyle she is rarely left alone. I bring her to work every day and she comes in the car on most errands. The few times that i have had to leave her alone she has done some major damage. Its hard to believe that a dog with hardly any teeth can eat through an electrical wire. And when she is left crated she usually manages to escape - despite cords/special locks. The longest she has been alone is 4 hours. Usually I come home to a loose dog and something eaten. Not that big of a deal in the whole scheme of things. On the rare occasion (twice) that I have to be gone longer then 3-4 hours I leave her with good friends of mine that she absolutely loves.

Well last night was just a nightmare for the both of us. I HAD to be gone for 12 hours for a benefit that my work was putting on. I left her with my mom - who she knows, but doesn't "Love". She went back and forth between being crated and being loose. My mom went to the benefit and was gone maybe 4 hours. When she came home, Abby had thrown up everywhere and had diarrhea everywhere. And it continued well into the early hours of the morning.

I feel bad that her stress level was so high that she expressed it in such a vivid way. I also feel bad for my mom who had to clean most of it up since it was still hours before I got home. But I'm kinda all out of ideas on what to do with her when I HAVE to be gone. She can't be left loose, she can hardly be crated. I feel like the only option at this point is to drug her. Not something I really want to do, but not sure what else to do at this point. We are beyond air sprays and oral tinctures - they haven't worked yet . . .

Serious Withdrawal

I think I had my first caffeine withdrawal symptom today.

At first I thought it was just the flu. I haven't been feeling top-notch since Tuesday and while things didn't get progressively worse, they didn't get better either. One thing that had gotten bad, though, was my back pain. It started in my mid back and has progressed over a couple of days, and restless nights, to me not being able to move a whole lot. I slapped some icy-hot on myself and called it a night.

But this morning I woke up to a pounding headache, severe nausea, and extreme irritability. I seriously thought that I had some weird brain tumor and was going to have a stroke in the middle of the bath tub. But I had something important that HAD to get done today, so I pulled myself together and got it done.

On the way back from my super important errand it suddenly dawned on me that I hadn't had any coffee yet today. And my symptoms were the same as those described by admitted caffeine addicts. In fact there are whole websites based on Caffeine Dependence. And more websites based on the effects of caffeine itself and others on how woman with a family history of alcoholism are more likely to have dependence on caffeine.

I found all that out after having a triple shot latte. . .