So it's still not the desert... Nor the jungle.

But weeks straight of 90 deg(f) weather, including two back-to-back days of 103 deg(f) temps, have pretty much shocked the dogs.

I've been to real desert, here in the US (Death Valley, Johsua Tree, Painted Desert, and the like) and abroad (Bahrain, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Fujairah, etc.). I've been to real tropics, too (Guam, Penang, Singapore, P.I., among others). So I know the heat and humidity can be far more beastly elsewhere. But still, when you hit temperatures a full twenty degrees (f) above normal, you have to sit up and take notice. Certainly, the dogs have!

Both of them, Dakota especially, have taken to looking cross-ways at me when I go to let them out. They'll stand in teh door of the garage, and look at me out by the door to outside, and cock their heads at me like I've lost my mind. After all, only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun, right? And clearly, whatever else they may be, my dogs are far from mad! Except this isn't the noon day sun - We're talking evening hours, after a long day without play or head calls. Still, they look at me, checking to see if I'm seriously going outside, and do I really want them to accompany me? Even at 7pm, temps have been hovering around 90 deg(f), and that's just too warm for comfort, what with the fur and all.

For Dakota, especially, this is unusual behavior. Normally, she can't wait to scramble out the doors and race off to bark at all four points of the compass - once at each fenceline to let the neighborhood know the backyard security peremiter is armed and active. Then she'll go pace the back fence and look over her shoulder at me to see if she can get away with barking at the dogs on the other side - A favorite activity of hers if she's not being watched. After exchanging unpleasantries with the dogs on the other side (or at least checking to see if she can get away with it), she'll usually pace the peremiter a few times looking for potential intruders, and make use of the trees, as needed. Suka, meanwhile, will have taken a ring-master position in the center of the yard, and will be watching the goings-on with keen interest. Or she'll be rolling in the grass - whichever strikes her fancy.

But not these days.
These days, the pair of them will stand in the doorway and cock their heads at me like I've taken leave of my senses. And when I lead them out, they follow reluctantly, attend to their needs as quickly as possible, and bee-line for the door back inside.

I've a small kiddie pool available for them, but that's not as cool as inside, and besides, they'd rather drink it dry than actually splash in it. Suka has even given up on the den she's dug under the back steps - just too hot for comfort there!

Normally, I'd try to say something witty at this point, or at least deliver some kind of summation. But not today... my brain's melted.

Be kind to your vet. And their staff.

OK, so I'm a bit biased - My sister is a vet. But that's not what caused this thought - "Be kind to your Vet" - to pass through my mind.

I've been updating all my pets' physicals - One at a time, 'cause it's a bit spendy. It can be VERY spendy. I can understand why people might feel a bit put on, especially when you come away with vaccines, blood work, urinalysis, fecal float, hazmat disposal fee, and exam fee taking you maybe over US$300 or more. Sometimes MUCH more. But the Vet has a school loan to pay off. An office to rent or pay for, staff who'd like to eat and maybe get a bit of health care coverage, phones and other utilities to pay, some random insurance fees to pay (actually MANY fees there!), and the HazMat (blood, urine, expired meds, used 'sharps,' stool, and even worse) that has to be disposed LEGALLY and safely... Plus your vet would probably like to eat themselves, and maybe even have a place to sleep...

Trust me - they *know* their services are spendy. And a good vet will do whatever they can to ease the burden, consistent with meeting their responsibilities. But they *do* have to make ends meet. Fail that, and there *is no* vet practice about which people may complain.

But it's not just dealing with clients unsettled by high costs. In the last six weeks or so, I've been in to see the vet four times, and I've seen her, her partners, and their collective staff dealing with people they'd just as soon smack into the middle of next week for all manner of bad or stupid behaviors. Hell, *I* wanted to smack these people!

Beyond that, it's dealling with the treatment room full of a sobbing family as their beloved pet is put to sleep. Dealing with a waiting room full of appointments that are stacking up because there's a sudden string of emergencies to be triaged and dealt with, whilst every treatment room is full up and more crisis are calling in to warn of impending arrival... Puncture wounds, bite wounds, gustatory indiscretions, and cases of "something's wrong but I don't know what." All that and more beyond.

OK, so I'm sitting in the waiting area with an unhappy cat in a carrier, and time is marching on... Or maybe it's a large and worried dog. Or an elderly and begining-to-fail cat. Or maybe an anxious border collie trying to climb into my lap. None of those are emergencies. If I have to leave because my schedule won't accommodate the delay, I *don't* lay into the front desk staff and techs - I make a new appointment. But I've seen people verbally flay the staff for doing their jobs right. The staff takes it with a smile (and mentally gritted teeth, I don't doubt). If I can wait, I don't hector the staff - They *know* I'm there - They can *see* me; They don't need to be reminded of my existance every few seconds. But I've seen that bad behavior, too. All that and more beyond. Stupid people tricks. Performing idiots on parade. Bizarre reactions of many stripes. No doubt, the staff have seen far more, and far worse.

When you finally *do* get in to see the vet, she (or he) doesn't need a laundry list of complaints - They need your attention on the purpose of your visit - Treating your pet. If you really want to vent, save it until you're outside the building. Blazing away at your vet will NOT speed things up - Nor will it make the visit any more pleasant for anyone else. The VAST majority of clients would just as soon be somewhere else, I'm sure. Blowing up will not endear you to anyone. And frankly, that sobbing family in the next treatment room? THEY don't want to hear your foul-mouthed diatribe, either.

So be kind to your vet. And their staff.

They deserve it.

Uncomfortably warm...

94 deg (f) and 71% humidity. OK, it's been hotter - MUCH hotter - but still... Quite uncomfortable. Even the weeds were wilting.

Dakota didn't much feel like doing anything but drink and hang in the shade. She didn't actually lay down in her play-pool, but she did stick her entire face into it. Suka couldn't be bothered to actually get wet, but did her best to match Dakota slurp for slurp.

Hot dog!

Yes, she *did* come out of the shade to see what lunatic game I was playing with the weed whacker. Mad dogs, Englishmen, myself, and apparently, Dakota. Suka was too smart to come out.

So, now that the day's heat is past, and the house is quiet, I was poking through my library of images. What should my wondering eyes behold, but a winter video of Dakota lurking in an obscure directory on my computer. So, with out further ado, and to remind us that summer (which isn't even officially here yet!) is only temporary, I present:

Stay frosty, friends!

Still dang busy...

I work hard - Not much choice otherwise, in this day and age, I suppose, but still - The hours are long, and sometimes intensely frustrating. Work can be intensely fiddly. Sometimes with damn good reason, but just as often simply because someone is too lazy or too ego-bound to do things differently. I get tired of it.

It's such a relief to come home to uncomplicated demands. The dogs don't require conflicting walk specifications, nor do they much care about order of operations in assembling their meal (though order of service *is* enforced. :-p ), nor do they care about smoothing inconsequential details. That's not to say that they don't have their quirks, nor that you can get away with ignoring anything below the surface - It's just that they don't lie, they don't fiddle, and they don't give a damn about the stupid shit. Get the big details right, pay attention to the emotional climate, and all is well.

Suka doesn't care if we walk the neighborhood to the right or to the left. Dakota doesn't care if I use the black lead or the red one, the nylon, or the cotton, or the leather. If the wet stuff in their meal is on top of the dry stuff, well that's every bit as good as the dry stuff atop the wet.

Do I sound fried, burned out, weary? Well, that's because I am. But the Girls bring me out of it - When I've had enough and too much of family, other people, or work, I can count on them to be simple, happy, loving companions.

It means a lot.

Creeping out from under

...those things which bear me down.

Too much activity, too little of it of my own choice. Too many commitments, too much work, too much of other peoples' priorities .

I saw that Suka was starting to blow coat this AM, and it pulled me up short... I spend so much time looking at what *must* be done, that I forget those things I love to do. It's been weeks since I gave her a really thorough brushing. Not the lick-and-a-promise brushings necessary to get mud out of her coat, but a really deep-down get-ALL-the-dead-coat-out kind of going-over that leaves you with a bag of fur and a contented pup sitting at your feet.

No, I haven't been neglecting the girls. But I haven't been enjoying them as much as I should. I take them on walks downtown, by myself or with my wife. I mow the yard in their company, and ruffle their fur and feed them and watch them, but I haven't really played with them recently. Not in any meaningful sense. I haven't taken the time to just *be* with them - not recently. So maybe, yes, I *have* been neglecting them - at least by the standards I like to believe I hold.

I have family to care for, and work to be done, and events to drive people to, and.. and...

I have excuses.

Time to climb out from under my excuses. Time to seize a little of my life back. Time to do the things I love for a change. Even if only in small doses. Small doses are better than none, and "none" is what I have right now. Time to call Sarah down at MABCR and see what she needs done. Time to take the dogs for a walk in the woods. Time to break out the brush and create me a bag of dog fur. Time to spend a little less time 'running' and a little more time 'being.'

Appologies.

My comments section has become a magnet for spammers, so I've had to shift to 100% moderated comments.

We been inconvenienced by assholes..

What a life...

Suka and Dakota are doing well. Very well. :) Recent checkup shows them both to be in perfect health, and they charmed the socks off the vet & staff. As usual. ;)

On walks downtown, they do the same to passers-by, every time. Between Suka's lively charm, and Dakota's calm dignity, they've something for every dog lover. :)

I'm not doing entirely so well, though... Family issues (no, no one is getting divorced!), and work... I'm responsible for items that could literally cost my company a billion US Dollars, if I were to fail. Plus cost my job. ;) Family comes first, but clearly, the job is running a close second. :p

When I have time, I'll add more. Until then, just know that I have my nose to the grindstone and, to a degree, my back to the wall.