What’s in a Name?

August 20, 2012 by Fabulous Fur Friends 14 Comments

My last post was pre-dinner last night and all was going well.

Unfortunately I didn’t take ‘feed them separately’ literally enough.  I put down Rupie’s food first and waited til he started, then gave April hers and waited until she started, then gave New Girl hers.  She paced around a bit while the others ate theirs.  Then she decided she’d eat.  By the time she needed a break from eating, the others had finished theirs and assumed she had too…..

Rupie went to check out her bowl and she came back and defended it.  There was a scuffle for a couple of seconds which stopped immediately with a growl from us, as we were watching closely.   No damage done, just sorting themselves out, or so we thought…

We busied ourselves with finishing our home cooked lasagne (Mike has a great recipe if you want it) while Rupie and April settled into their bean bags, and New Girl paced around before settling in the front room.

Then we noticed the splatter of blood on the carpet, on the table and on the glass of the pantry.  Oh my, where and who had this come from??  In a panic we checked all the dogs and found that Rupert was bleeding from a nick in his ear.  He didn’t seem bothered by it but we went into vet nurse mode and got disinfectant swipes from the car first aid kit.  We cleaned it and made sure he was ok.  I rang the emergency department and checked that he would be ok until the morning when we could get him to our vet for some antibiotics.

He went back to bed while we spent the rest of the evening on our hands and knees scrubbing the already stained carpet.  We Googled remedies and settled on water and carpet cleaner – with lots of elbow grease (and a bit of wine for stamina) it worked a treat, but now we have extra clean patches amongst the bits that really need a good clean!

Bed time came and New Girl settled into the front room on a mat.

We all settled for the evening, but two hours later she was up, tap tap tapping on the polished boards.  Like the parent of a newborn, we woke and turned the light on.  Mike got up and let her out – she went straight through the doggy door and outside to the garden for a wee.   Everyone settled back to sleep, then two hours later it was my turn… same routine, but at least she let us know when she needed to go out – she’s had flea tablets, worming tablets and new food so her tum tum is not quite working as it should.

We all got sleep until it was time for Mike to go to work.  It was still dark so I was keen to stay snuggled up.  New Girl came to me and gave me a little kiss then lay her head on the bed while I scratched behind her ears and stroked her silky head.  Then she settled down beside the bed and went to sleep.

Morning proper arrived (at a decent time) and we went into business mode.  All dogs fed, separately, and Rupie off to the vet of an antibiotic injection and some liver treats.  He gave the vet  his best ‘I’m sad’ look and got lots of attention.

I attempted a walk with New Girl on her own, but took for granted how new and scary everything is. She had a bit of a meltdown when she heard the kids at the child care centre and we had to march home quick smart.

When it was time for me to leave for work, I did the doggy shuffle – all dogs had toilet time, and then kept separate from each other,  with New Girl having access to outside via the doggy door (didn’t take her long to master that!) in case her tum tum still gave her trouble.

As evening arrived and we all came back from work, they each had a walk, a play, some dinner (separately) and are now lying quietly together in the same room. New Girl’s  stopped pacing nervously, is sitting on a mat in the same room and is giving us gentle cuddles.  Miss April has taught her nicely how to be calm.  She and Rupie seem to have made up  and there is no malice lingering.  It’s just what they do to sort themselves out.

April and Rupert demonstrating how to be calm

She is settling in well, she is affectionate……

Resting quietly, learning how to be a pet

…… And her name is Billie.

PS. Apologies for the resolution of the photos – flash is not so flash!