Determination

 I never got a call back from the vet. They have moved into a larger facility and changed the prompts on the phone when you call in. I selected the prompt to speak with someone who could make an appointment and was transferred to a vet tech and told to leave a detailed message and was assured that a call back was guaranteed.

All day long I made sure my phone was close at hand as I waited for a call back. I realized none would be forthcoming at 5:30. I was miffed. I like the vets and now I might have to look for another. Eddie's dermatitis is an on-going issue and when it flares, it advances rapidly. His little belly is red and raw and he has skin lesions on all four legs now, His fur continues to come out in clumps and it has spread to his neck. This is what happened in just 3 days.

I gave them a call back. I identified myself, but not my dog and replayed yesterday to them. I asked if they would be able to take care of my pets, or if should I find another facility. She (receptionist) seemed a little rattled and tried to explain that they referred unscheduled visits to the techs to work them in and then she mentioned Eddie's name. "So, you did get my call?" She didn't answer that. 

I will be there at 3 today to see the founding vet of the establishment and will have the same discussion with him. My dog can only talk through me. He cannot advocate for himself and I do not have munchausen's syndrome with my animals. I would prefer not to pay for services not needed and I would only call if my animal was in need of their services. 

I will try to leave HeWho loves the dogs as much as I do at home, since he will feel the need to stifle me and tell me to calm down. I will not calm down, my Eddie is miserable!! I am the customer and I am always right! Let's face it, I am no push over and refuse to fall under the guidelines of politeness.

I suppose my attitude is also fueled by the fact that I am not feeling my best. But, don't tell me I will get a call back if it might not happen. 

In other news, I bathed Mr. BoJangles and Toni Louise while waiting for my phone to ring. Bo almost gurgles with contentment as I scrub the shampoo into his fur and massage it into his skin. He likes the water on a high pressure massage as I rinse him. He is a delight to bathe. I barely get wet. After I towel dried him sufficiently, I tossed him on the bed with HeWho sleeps and he ran zoomies all over the bed when he wasn't rolling around and doing flips. 

I bet Bo would appreciate a trampoline! HeWho doesn't agree, but if I find one on Marketplace, guess who will be jumping? A small one, not a big one. The other two dogs will not be interested. Neither will Dora, the turtle.

Toni tried to avoid capture for the bath, but finally succumbed and let me haul her off to the tub. Once in the tub, she appreciates the warm water and massage, but is always ready for it to end. As soon as she has been toweled off she shakes and hides.

HeWho and I went on an adventure to pick up some wood. We got a trailer full of the bark sides of large logs that had been cut off to mill the wood. Some of the pieces were longer than the trailer and heavy enough that they had to be loaded with a tractor. I am going to use them to make my raised garden beds. You might recall that last year I depended on a few big containers and some netting in a sunny spot in the front yard to raise vegetables.

It did look like a brightly colored low to the ground circus. Not as productive as I might have wanted. Since then I have figured out where the sun shines the most. It is the back yard, the dog's yard. I moved all the containers to sit along the fence and have already planted a lot. The containers are tall enough to discourage the dogs from getting in them and I put one of those portable dog fences up to make sure! I have three of those portable fences, so I went on the outside of the dog yard and did the same. This more than doubled my planting area and it is protected from critters, large and small.

I happened upon this wood and thought it would make the entire garden more pleasing to look upon and make it easier to get a little taller so I won't have to bend over as much. I plan to go 16" deep on each side of the fence on two sides of the yard. Won't take much of the dog area and will help secure the fence. 

The biggest obstacle at this point will be moving the wood. It is quite heavy and still on the trailer up near my She Shed. I don't want to bring the entire load down the drive, since their is not that much room down here and I won't need all the wood to accomplish my raised beds. I am thinking I will need to take my chainsaw up to the wood and cut my pieces up there and then walk them down the higher elevation and toss them down to my back yard. Might take awhile. 

Never underestimate my determination in the garden! Or my determination to get help for my pets.