Right around the time that I came down with my cold, both Gromit & Madu came down with little ailments of their own that left me feeling like a pharmacist each morning as I supplied them with prescriptions, vitamins, and supplements! They are new BBF's (bacteria buddies forever) :-)
PS- The Easy Cheese was not prescribed by the vet, but rather a useful tool I used to get them to easily take their meds.
The past couple weeks have been really busy and full of surprises. First off, Gromit had surgery yesterday to biopsy two lumps on his back and I'm glad to report he is on the road to recovery and it seems the lumps were nothing serious. Although still groggy from the anesthesia, he's doing well. The incisions are a lot bigger than I thought though and I'm keeping a close eye on him while he recovers since he can be something of a difficult patient...as I quickly learned from his previous 3 surgeries and countless trips to the vet.
He's already enjoying all the time up on the bed though and Madu is keeping him good company during is convalescence. She doesn't seem interested in getting too close to him, but she stands watch while he's sleeping and makes sure to alert me to even the slightest commotion or noise outside. She is such a good little pack member!
John was supposed to have gotten underway a couple days ago, but it seems like the there have been so many set-backs since trying to get things rolling with the ship during the past week that it has really thrown a monkey wrench into his chief's pinning ceremony, which it now looks like I'll have to miss. I've also had to cancel my trip to Japan for various reasons and I'm just going a little crazy with all the last minute stuff popping up! The one good thing about malfunctions with the ship is that John is still home rather than out at sea, but each morning we have to say goodbye not knowing if he's actually able to leave or not- it has been a little emotionally jarring to say the least! Just one day at a time I guess!! LOL
As the weather seems to become increasingly hot and humid, our dog walks have gotten shorter and shorter in the interest of keeping the dogs from overheating. I've taken Madu down to the water several times to cool off, and surprisingly enough, she doesn't seem to fully understand how to swim. I decided to help her learn and give both the dogs the opportunity for some aquatic exercise.
I went online to my favorite e-pet store (PetEdge.com) and ordered both of the dogs canine life jackets. We tested them out this weekend and I have to say the dogs were a hilarious sight, and even had a few spectators from the beach! Gromit wasn't eager to get into the water, but once he was in, he treaded water like a pro and was quite interested in the small schools of fish darting around his feet. Madu, on the the other hand, had a bit of trouble and took a couple big mouthfuls of sea water before she realized she needed to start kicking her back feet. Once she realized the mobility this gave her she was little motorboat zipping through the water like an otter! She really is a water dog at heart! John and I had our reef walkers on so we had a nice little reef walk all together in the bay. Swimming quickly tired both the dogs out and so we took them for a walk to dry off and made it back to the car just in time to avoid a downpour courtesy of a passing storm cloud.
Although our PCS move is behind us, there are little receipts and scraps of paper littering the house as physical evidence of the journey we just completed. As all of our readers know, we take pet ownership very seriously and always look for pet friendly services while traveling. After seeing the condition of the Yokosuka kennel and hearing numerous negative reports from pet owners who left their pets at there, I was bound and determined to find alternate temporary lodging for Mr. Grom & Miss Madu while transitioning out of Japan.
I was lucky enough to find Pet Inn Royal located right in Terminal 2 of Narita Airport! I have to give both the facility and the staff raving reviews! They have an English speaking attendant on staff to help with the process and it is clear pets receive top quality care and genuine TLC from the staff! It was my first time putting Madu in a kennel and I was nervous about how she would handle it, but she bonded with the staff immediately and both of them had wagging tails and calm energy the morning we picked them up for the flight! I would definitely recommend them to anyone PCS-ing out of Japan or traveling through the area with their pets.
A portion of me credits Gromit's vet prescribed allergy-combating steroid regimen for his recent surge in activity and uncharacteristic territoriality. It all started with a cockroach he'd been stalking in the back room for about 3 days. Gromit chased the little stinker feverishly around every nook and cranny trying to get a bead on how best to immobilize him. I was thoroughly grossed out by having a cockroach running around so as soon as the little garbage dweller left himself vulnerable I made quick work of him with the fly swatter, or so I thought. A testament to the resiliency of cockroaches; after 3 heavy swats he was still trying to crawl away. Seeing his prey out in the open and obviously wounded, Gromit snapped into action and simply could not be deterred from investigating the object of his recent pursuits. He was so funny to watch that I was literally laughing out loud to myself has he grunted, salivated, clicked his teeth, and nudged the cockroach for several minutes seemingly baffled about how to proceed. Finally, it was obvious the cockroach really didn't want to die after 2 more hefty swats from the swatter so he met a quick end down the garbage disposal, much to Gromit's disappointment.
For those who live in Negishi, or who have spent any time out here, you are well aware of the feral cat issue we've been battling for several years. With the approach of Spring, it also means kitten season and all of the wild females have swollen bellies either from a litter of kittens waiting to be born or producing milk to feed their newborns. As gross and horrible as it sounds, the massive black crows in the neighborhood, which can be found in Hitchcock-esque proportions, anticipate kitten season as the vulnerable prey-size newborns seems to be favorites on their menu. This makes the mothers wary and constantly searching for new places to hide their babies from the sharp beaks and probing eyes of the ever-watchful crows. One mother cat decided that the small space between our house and A/C unit in our backyard was the perfect hiding spot. Well, from the crows yes....but from Gromit definitely not. Gromit has always been one of those stereotypical 'cat chasers' so when we both stumbled upon the small brood by accident as I let the dogs out for a potty break the fur really flew! I didn't realize it was a mother with kittens until Gromit had already wedged himself behind the A/C unit and was tackling the mother cat with full gusto. To my shock and horror I saw 3 tiny kittens pop out from behind the unit and helplessly lay in the grass waiting for assistance. Gromit was completely occupied with their mother, who quickly hopped the fence and ran off, but his attention quickly turned to a small black kitten almost directly under his feet. I had horrible visions of kitten bits flung across the backyard, but Gromit did little more than make a lot of noise and push the kitten around with his nose. Of course, this whole time Madu was laying on the walkway, tail wagging, obviously enjoying the show from her comfortable vantage point. I quickly had to wrench Gromit away from the kitten and literally drag him back into the house. I waited for the mother to return, but with no luck, and I knew the kittens would be crow bait if I just left them outside to wait for their mother, so I scooped them up in my shirt and brought them into the house.
I was afraid Gromit had bitten into the little black kitten but after a thorough examination and a little wash down in the sink, I found he was simply covered in slobber and a little traumatized. Gromit was so worked up from his recent scrap and from the knowledge the kittens were now in the house that he had to have a little sensory overload break in his kennel to calm his nerves. I called the vet and was delighted to be put in touch with a local kitten rescue network right here on the base! Within an hour of plucking them from the grass a kitten rehabilitator came to my house to pick up the kittens and care for them until they can be neutered/spayed and then placed into a home.
I was also relieved to see the mother cat finally return without a scratch on her and not even limping or showing signs of injury. She took off like a shot and after I saw Gromit lunge at her and pin her on the ground, I was almost sure he had inflicted a wound of some kind, but I was relieved to find her whole and well. In fact, in the subsequent days she's been hanging around the house a lot and almost taunting Gromit in front of the windows.
Although I wish the whole thing had never occurred in the first place, I'm glad the kittens are in a safe place away from crows, but most of all I'm really proud of Gromit for not harming the cats at all. With his characteristic pit bull jaw, I know all 4 of the cats could have been toast had he chosen to fully assert himself given the situation, but he came away with more scratches than any of the cats. He really is such good boy!
As most of our Square Readers know, we adopted Madu here in Japan while we were still in the Navy Lodge. We signed the adoption papers right after we chose our house in Negishi. She was a part of the family the day we moved in and has been, along with Gromit, my constant companion through lots of ups and downs during our time in Japan. We adopted her from PAWS, so I'm assuming her family wasn't able to take her with them when the PCS-ed, so our upcoming move to Guam will be her first plane ride. I set up her 'Sky Kennel' today in order to start getting both Gromit and Madu acclimated to their crates so we don't have major freak outs on fly day. She was actually really curious and had great fun hopping in and out of her crate several times.
With the movers coming in a little over a month, I've started taking things off the walls and getting organized. Gromit knows something is up, and made sure to keep his distance from the kennels since he's no stranger to the signs of travel. A few treats and seeing how much attention Madu was getting did coax him over eventually.
Once he realized there was a cheesy treat involved, he was more than willing to make an appearance in his crate. I've still got some things to do to prep the crates for hot humid travel, but for now I'm just working on getting them adjusted and convincing them these small, boxed-in mobile homes are super fun addtions to our little den!
After a having lots of time to sniff around Negishi fire hydrants and chase Japanese cats, Gromit has discovered he's just as allergic to Japanese grass as he is to American grass. After daily morning walks, which include some trips through the grass, Gromit has broken out with rashes on his front feet, and so we are sticking to pavement these days.
In order to help his feet recover, and to keep him from licking the medicine off his foot pads, he's fashionably sporting socks these days. Thank goodness for $1.50 infant socks at the NEX! I tried looking on-line for dog shoes, but everything I saw was very silly, and we are aiming for function here...not really fashion...as I'm sure you can tell.
While I gave Gromit his daily foot bath, Madu kept a close eye on me as I pulled his new socks out of my shopping bag. You can tell by the look on her face, she is in no way jealous of Gromit's baby blue fashion statement. It's a good thing dogs can't laugh at each other. Madu has, of course, been cuddling very close to Gromit at night though since she can tell he's not feeling 100%. She's such a good little sister!
Although I'm missing John today, I'm still feelin' the love. Sensing their pack leader was in distress, both Gromit and Madu have been particularly sweet and loving today. :-) How can you stay too upset when two pairs of big brown eyes are staring at you, and two furry tails thump wildy whenever you pass by?
After a couple of tall glasses of cool water, a reassuring phone call from John, and a long chat on the phone with my mom, the fire that set my tail feathers ablaze this morning is now just smoldering instead of sending up frantic smoke signals. I've shed my tears of frustration, and am ready to suck it up and just push through this unexpected underway. Hopefully he'll be home within the next few days and I'm determined to have a smile and a positive attitude when he gets back. After what he's been through this past month, he deserves at least that!
"I rehabilitate dogs. I train people." - Cesar Milan
For the past few months, both of my parents have been singing the praises of a man who has recently become very famous in the Unites States, and who has been given his own National Geographic program called "The Dog Whisperer". This man is Cesar Milan, and he runs The Dog Psychology Center in Southern California, and he truly is inspiring! I'm on the Cesar band wagon now too!
While on vacation, I read his best selling book, "Cesar's Way" (see side bar for info.), and it was an enlightening read that I would recommend to anyone who has dogs or is thinking about getting a dog- or even to anyone who just loves dogs in general!
One thing that Cesar insists upon, in order to provide your pooch with a fulfilled life, is a daily working walk that helps your dog to satisfy their primal need to migrate with "the pack". After eating so much tasty food on vacation, it has been wonderful taking the dogs out for their daily working walk, because both Madu and I are working on shedding some extra vacation pounds. I also credit this "pack" time for helping Madu & Gromit to bond so quickly. The just trot side by side with each other as if they have been buddies for years!
Doggie health and well being has truly been saturating my thoughts lately, so you'll have to bear with me as I spew out all of my doggie photos, stories, and all around happiness to have my two favorite furry pack members under one roof. Now we are just counting down the hours until we can expect our big alpha male to return from the hunt!!
Well, I have to say I think Gromit & Madu are starting to become genuine buddies. We are just getting ready to go on our morning walk and they were laying in bed next to each other- which is a first! We're all so excited for John to come home, however, I don't think they'll be too jazzed to yield their spots in the bed...they'll get over it! LOL
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