Dog Saves Woman from Rabid Squirrel

Sometime between 5 and 5:30 PM yesterday I heard Carmella barking and clawing at the kitchen window which leads to the back porch. I knew that neighborhood dogs sometimes passed through on either side of my house but this didn't seem like something just passing through, as she continued to bark and claw at the window sill for over 10 minutes, so I came in to see what was out there. I looked out the windows in the back door next to the kitchen and saw a squirrel latched onto the screen on the outside of the wooden framework of the porch. It was making quite a fuss, and strangely did not make a move to run when it saw me just a few feet away. In fact it strained forward on the screen as if to meet the potential threat of a larger predator head-on, riveted to my every move. A former roommate's dogs had torn out the screen from the panel just below but it clung there right where it was, the only thing preventing it from hurling itself in my direction; that it didn't seem to see the open area just beneath. Despite the barrier it just kept making these staccato raspy chirps, the kind squirrels make to other squirrels to challenge another, and staring me down. I have had a problem with squirrels chewing through my fascia boards at the perimeter of my roof overhang for some time now and now hear them gnawing on the wood for hours every day for the past few months, and this must have been one that had been making its home inside my overhang and just popped out one of the holes.

I thought maybe if I got a little closer and scared it off with a stick it would dissapear into the woods, but no such luck. It just seemed more intent on me and Carmella. I let Carmella out to scare it off and rather than going the other way and making its easiest escape up any number of trees it scurried horizontally across the the screen, then turned upside down, head first, and jumped onto the back porch floor and ran straight at me! People think of squirrels as benevolent, innocent, sweet little harmless creatures, but not this one! This monster had come straight from the bowels of hell! It was the stuff that nightmares and horror movies are made of.

I yelled for Carmella to get it and she ran to my side and intercepted it just as it was a few inches from my left foot. That's when I knew for sure it had to be rabid because as she snapped it up it was snarling like an angry cat, as if it really thought it could take Carmella on, unaware of their difference in size. Lucky for Carmella she is up to date on her rabies shot. I wouldn't have been so lucky if I'd been attacked since humans are not vaccinated for rabies. At first snap, Carmella took half its tail clean off and then grabbed hold of the middle of its body. It seemed crazed, almost posessed. Normally Carmella's strong jaws killed  a squirrel in just two bites but this one seemed to keep going and going. If she didn't kill it the backyard wouldn't be a safe place for either of us to walk in. A few more bites from Carmella's powerful jaws while shaking it violently and it finally was dead.

Despite all its carrying on it had not bitten Carmella. Carmella had been quicker, Thank God. There may be more rabid squirrels as the disease can spread from one animal to another and I heard one this morning at 6 AM again chewing on the corner of my house, so today I am going to see if I can find out who to report the animal I saw to. There are children living in the neighborhood, so I don't want any more of these to endanger the people on this street.

Thanks to Carmella, I avoided a trip to the ER and a painful rabies series. She amazes me with her loyalty and protection every day and I consider her a hero. But I think if you were able to ask her she'd tell you that's just what friends/family do. They are there with you when threats cross your path, right in there with you to fight that which could be your undoing in one form or another. If not for her I don't know what I would have done.

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Snake-bitten Dog, Carmella, The Healing Continues

Carmella rested comfortably on my bed most of the day while I read, and took care of some Etsy business and then it was time for her dinner. She ate most of her food but still is a little reserved and her stomach isn't back to normal 100% just yet so she left a little in her bowl. She still has diarrhea, and is peeing alot more than she usually does. On her walk tonight she must have gone 4 times and I don't mean a little bit each time; but more like 4 bladders-ful! Hopefully that is a good thing and means she's getting rid of excess fluid. The vet did say she might have blood in her urine and that was normal; a way of flushing fluid and dead blood cells out.

Luckily her hind leg looks less purple today. The rest seems to be paying off. I think I see hair growing back where they shaved her too. I removed the bandage on her front leg this morning where they had had the IV. Both front legs have patches of hair missing. The left from the IV they gave her at the emergency clinic, and the right from that given at Dr. Norwood's office. There's some bruising on the left "forearm" leg.

It is encouraging that the color seems to be returning to normal in the leg that was bitten by the Copperheads, so maybe she'll be lucky and not have any necrosis. That odd dark vein is still visible though.

After dinner Carmella stretched out on the floor in the kitchen, chewed on one of her steak bones, then sacked out again to sleep some more.

I think the whole ordeal has made her exhausted. I have been pretty tired myself, so I can imagine how tired she must be after the assault upon her body.

Today I received a product I ha ordered earlier this month that is a newly developed probiotic for her breath called EvoraPet.

I first heard about EvoraPet on a TV infomercial. There are alot of products on TV that I don't order because they seem kind of iffy, but this one seemed plausible, so I took a look at their website; http://evorapet.com/ and read more about it and looked to see what people were posting about it, then also did some searching in other places online. Somebody was even giving away a box on their blog Is There A Bathroom on This Ship. I signed up but didn't win.  Most reviews were favorable and I did not find any reports of negative side effects. For further information go to http://www.oragenics.com/
They have two 800 numbers; (866) 998-9935 and (877) 803-2624 Ext. 251

It only costs $14.95 plus shipping for a 60 day supply (for a limited time; usually that price is for just 30 days' supply), and since Carmella seems to be prone to bad breath I decided to give it a try. It's most likely better than having to rub her teeth and gums with anti-plaque mouthwash every few days (which only works temporarily). Most people seemed to notice an improvement in their dog or cat's breath and whiter teeth in anywhere from a few days to a month.

The beneficial bacteria used in this mixture is supposed to be specifically to balance mouth bacteria unlike those longer-known vaieties that work on the digstive tract.

Inside the container is a small scoop and yellowish sort of pale peach-colored powder. The directions say to take that pre-measured dosage and then sprinkle it on the dog's (or cat's) food once a day. The beneficial bacteria act the same way in this same dosage for any size animal, and start to crowd out the potentially harmful bacteria that cause bad breath, dental problems, or gum disease. It will be very interesting to see whether it really does work as well as it claims. If so then it will be very helpful to my readers who have dogs and/or cats. If it is effective it sure beats having Carmella's teeth cleaned every year. Last year I had that done and it was expensive and with all the other medical expenses I'm struggling to pay off for Carmella's medical care it would be nice to find an alternative that is cheaper, works just as well, and doesn't requre that she go under general anesthesia!

Tomorrow night I will give this to her at dinner, and will keep you posted over the next few weeks on how it goes and if/when I notice any improvement. As a control, I'll take pictures of her teeth tomorrow for comparison. They don't look too bad currently but might have some yellowing in some areas. Her breath right now is not the worst its been but it's not great and if she breathes on me it definitely stinks!

If you would like to help Carmella, this adorable special needs dog please consider starting your holiday shopping in my Etsy jewelry shop; Giftbearer and for jewelry or craft supplies; GiftbearerSupply , use the donation button at the top righthand side, or purchase a little banner ad on my blog where it says "Are you in my Top Spots", through Scratchback. Thanks for your support of my work and of Carmella.

Carmella Comes Home!

 Carmella is home and feeling much better. Her leg is purple but the swelling is not near as bad as before. It looks as though the snake venom went all the way up her thigh to her stomach.

 She still has loose stools but is eating again and drinking plenty of water, and she has much more energy although actually seems calmer than she usually is, content to lounge around on my bed.  She has jumped up to listen to something outside the window once or twice but doesn't seem on pins and needles at every sound as she usually is.

 She spent some time in the kitchen earlier this evening chewing on a bone and I can tell that she knows the worst is over. The purple bandage on her right front leg is where they had the IV. That bandage can come off tomorrow.

I don't know how long it will take for all thr bruising to go away, but the vet wants to check her again in a week.

I noticed that a vein or artery is showing very dark through her skin on her inner thigh. It's visible in the picture above.

The company that was supposed to come out yesterday to look for the snakes is coming on Monday instead because the man who was assigned got tied up removing bats from a elderly woman's house on Thursday. I had hoped he could have the nesting areas identified before Carmella came home. So far I have not seen any when I've looked around myelf but they could be somewhere I can't see like the big burrow underneath the width of the back porch that some other animal made. Just in case, I am keeping a close eye on her and taking her out on the leash until the guy comes to inspect.

 Carmella will be on 4 medications every 12 hours for awhile;
* Prednisone (20mgs)

* Ciprofloxacin (250 mgs.; 1/2 tablet (125mg. every 12 hours)

* Cephalexin (500 mgs.; 2 Tablets every 12 hours)

*  Metronidazole (500 mgs. every 12 hours)

Eek! After the emergency visit Monday night and treatment overnight for 3 days at her regular vet's, the bill is somewhere around $1,500 already. I was just beginning to make a dent in her previous medical bills when this emergency happened.

If you would like to help her there are several ways to do that;

* Purchase one of the ad spots through Scratchback on my blog in the sidebar

* Use the Donate To Carmella button at the top; donate via Paypal

* Purchase Jewelry from Giftbearer

* Purchase jewelry supplies/craft supplies from  GiftbearerSupply

The holidays are coming up and I have lots of variety in both Etsy online shops to choose from be it a piece of finished jewelry or something to help you create finished jewelry or other crafts. I make a point of offering alot of one of a kind and limited stock items.

I found this video on YouTube that might be helpful to those of you who have animals. It is the season for these venomous snakes to be restless and with the weather changing these seem to be more on edge and more likely to bite.

The dog in the first video was bitten by a rattlesnake, not a copperhead, but the clip is interesting also because apparently someone has developed a vaccine to help protect dogs from these bites.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fs79gprUiao

The dogs n these videos below were bitten by a copperheads;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XxKQpiY8VQ

http://www.youtube.com/user/AnimalMedicalHosp?blend=14&ob=5#p/u/0/oHw2FtVxGYg

There is a product I found out about that is supposed to repel snakes from your yard called Snake Away;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1kV6RY5HSw&feature=related

Here's another;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CDGhgkGSU4&feature=related

I don't know whether these work or not but they might.

Some people claim that moth balls repel snakes but I can't stand the smell of moth balls!

I found this video on snake repellents which says the strong smell in some of these confuses the snakes;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4O9AU_fjpsg&feature=related

http://www.foxlabs.com/ makes one that is supposed to be eco-friendly and safe for humans and pets.


Carmella has been sleeping soundly tonight while I've been on the computer and researching on Youtube.

I'll continue to keep you posted on her recovery.

Carmella's Snake Bite Update

One of the vet techs at Dr. Norwood's office called me back to let me know that Carmella is doing better today. She said she was glad to see her alive when she came into work today and that it was a good thing that the bites were as far as possible from her heart. She has much more energy today and was able to get up to go to the bathroom outside.

Her inner thigh is all black because of bruising but so far no flesh has fallen off.  The swelling has gone down almost to normal after the Prednisone they gave her.

She is not eating though and has diarrhea so they are going to try to feed her by hand with some special high nutrient food. They think maybe the poison from the snakes could be affecting her digestive tract.

This dog truly has nine lives!

Tomorrow a company called Rid-a-Critter  which offers a free assessment is sending out somebody to look at the yard and see if they can find any snakes or identify what holes they might be using. The woman on the phone told me that this time of year they may not even stay in dens if they do have them and they are on the move so there's no guarantee they'll still be here when they look and they might have just been passing through. I hope there is something they can do which will prevent them from coming into the yard so Carmella will be safe and it won't happen again. Maybe they can also address my squirrel problem. They have been gnawing the wood near the roof of my house at odd hours of the morning and night.

I need to make alot more sales this month because although the pet insurance should cover a good bit of the recent vet bills it could take awhile to be reimbursed and it doesn't cover it all.

Currently I'm working on a new Budding Vine bracelet and a few other pieces but with all the stuff related to this emergency that needs doing I literally haven't had time to work on much.

I miss Carmella and look forward to when she comes home; if all goes well, before the weekend.

Carmella is Bitten by Nest of Copperheads

Monday night I let Carmella out in the back yard as I usually do before turning in for the night so that she could go to the bathroom. She was out there for about 15 minutes and had not come back to the door yet, so I called her to see if she was finished. She came to the back door a little more slowly than usual. Anybody who knows Carmella knows she never does anything slowly, and usually runs back inside at top speed.

As she entered the livingroom I noticed she was limping and upon closer inspection I saw that her back leg was very swollen, so much that the dewclaw on that leg stuck out. Her leg looked blown up like a balloon animal. At first I thought she had broken it, but then I saw two little puncture marks starting to bleed a few inches above the paw on the side of her leg and that's when I realized it must have been a snake bite.

Within about 10 minutes her paw was also bleeding. It was about 11:00 PM and Carmella's regular vet's office was closed. The only option was to take her to the one emergency vet in Dekalb County, and since I don't have a car and couldn't think of anybody to call at that late hour, I called the emergency clinic to confirm that I should bring her in, then called a taxi. I never know how long it will take to get a taxi late at night but  think the fact that it was a week day worked to my advantage. Had it been on the weekend it might have taken alot longer for one to arrive.

Even so, it probably took about a half-hour  and by that time Carmella was bleeding all over the kitchen floor and was starting to pant and whimper. What was coming out was more plasma than blood and it was fairly sticky. I was worried that she might collapse before a cab showed up so I called the emergency clinic back to see if they knew of any vet that made house-calls just in case things got critical and we didn't have time to get there.

The woman on the phone did locate the name of one vet but she wasn't sure if she worked late at night or not. I was hoping I wouldn't need to use that option and that we'd get to the clinic in time.

Carmella's leg was so painful I couldn't even wrap it in a T-shirt to keep dirt out of the wound.

We arrived at the emergency clinic and it seemed surprisingly quiet. There was just one dog in there other than Carmella, but it was a pretty lengthy process and after I'd filled out the paperwork Carmella and I waited for some time in a room before we finally saw the vet. Carmella was still in alot of pain and I finally had to go find someone to ask that they give her something for that. All I could think of was how the venom was still surging through her body out of control.

I think it took about 2 hours before she got any treatment after they'd prepared 3 different written quotes. Then they took her in the back area to clean the wounds, check to see how quickly her blood was clotting, give her pain medication, and some fluids under her skin.

She started whimpering when they shaved that hair on the leg where she had been bitten. The vet explained that it looked as though she had multiple bites between her toes as well as on her leg; some on both sides of the leg, and that most likely she had stepped in a nest of baby Copperheads because this is the time of year for them, and the babies tend to release all their venom unlike adults that only release a controlled amount. She said for that reason being bitten by baby snakes was worse.

Apparently there had been quite a few cases coming into the emergency clinic recently. Carmella fared better than smaller dogs because of the ratio of body weight to venom even though she probably had alot of venom in her. Even so, that was not a huge consolation because the full extent of the venom's effects would not be known until after a few days had passed. Among the risks are possible necrosis (tissue death), clotting problems, need for plasma transfusions, loss of function in the area bitten, and a whole host of other effects.

Neither human nor animal emergency departments use anti-venom for Copperheads much anymore because the side effects are almost worse than the venom. Pretty much all they can do is supportive care and hope for the best. There is no real way to prevent the effects of the venom and each dog reacts differently. Some recover completely without any necrosis, whereas others have some scarring, and still others may be severely impacted with big chunks of flesh falling off and need skin grafts to repair the damage.

The emergency clinic closes at 8:00 AM and since I knew we would need to go to Carmella's regular vet in the morning I figured it wasn't worth taking a cab back home and coming back at 8:00 to pivk her up and home again in another cab, as the faire was about $22.00 each way! I had this vet at the emergency clinic do what she could to get Carmella through the night safely and then planned to get a few hours of sleep before heading off to Dr. Norwood's office in the morning. Carmella was still in pain after she'd been given some medication and we got back home around 4 AM. She didn't want to lie down and was whimpering for the rest of the night, but finally I think we both got about 2 hours of sleep before Dr. Norwood's office opened.

When I woke up and it was quiet I tiptoed to the kitchen to check on her and make sure she was still breathing. She was but she seemed to be breathing more shallowly than usual. Knowing that somehow I was going to have to get her back into a taxi to go the the vet I slowly woke her although I hated to do that since while asleep was the only time she was not in pain. I got her to reluctantly drink a little yogurt juice (one of her favorite treats), and got the leash to try to give her time to go to the bathroom. Luckily she did get up and hobbled on three legs outside with me, peed, and came back inside. I took her out the front because I was pretty sure there wouldn't be any snakes out there near the driveway.

When I put her back inside I called the taxi and since it would be 15 minutes or so before we would be picked up I took a stick and went out the back way by myself to see if I could find where the snakes were living or whether I could find any dead snakes. I looked at nearly every corner of the yard except a pile of sticks and the outer edge near the fence on the opposite side, but saw no trace of them. Knowing Carmella I wouldn't be surprised if she ate them after they bit her. She has a strong predatory instinct and I have seen her kill small animals in about two bites and then quickly wolf them down before anyone could get them away from her; even squirrels, birds, and possoms.

I may need to find an expert to locate the den and remove them if she did not kill/eat them because I'm concerned it might happen again. It's worrisome that they may not be gone. There are a few holes in the yard; one big one under the house, and smaller ones in a few other areas of the yard where they could be hiding.

When we arrived at Dr. Norwood's office I couldn't get her to get out of the car, so the male vet tech who works there had to come out and carry her into the office. We went into a room right away and it wasn't long before several staff were in there and then Dr. Norwood came in to take a look at her.

He was very concerned; more so even than the emergency vet, and he said he thought it would be a good idea to hospitalize her and treat her aggressively with intrvenous fluids, antibotics, and prednisone. I'm not a big fan of prednisone but probably short-term it won't do Carmella any harm and it might get the swelling down more quickly. The swelling in her leg really looks extreme. If it got any worse I'd worry it would burst, and that wouldn't be good at all.

Dr. Norwood reiterated what the other vet had said about what could happen over the next few days and said that if she ends up needing a plasma transfusion they will have to take her to the emergency clinic at night to have that done because his clinic doesn't generally keep plasma on hand. It's a small office and doesn't have as many medical supplies as the larger vet's offices in town. I also recommended calling Dr. Muller at Briarcliff Animal Clinic if that ended up being necessary. That way maybe they could give or sell Dr. Norwood  the plasma to take back to his office and Carmella wouldn't have to get in and out of a car again.

I'm hoping that there won't be any complications or permanent tissue damage and that she will start healing now that she is under 24 hour care.

If everything goes well she should be ready to come home on Friday, and they'll send her home with some oral medications to continue here.

The house feels empty without Carmella, my little buddy. I'm not getting much sleep tonight. Hopefully I'll have some news tomorrow about how she's doing. To keep myself occupied I created a treasury list on snakes. Craftcult doesn't seem to be working to post it here directly, so here's a link; http://www.etsy.com/treasury/Mzg1NXw3MTYyNTM2MzY/if-it-was-a-snake-it-would-have-bit-you

My Dog Recycles! See How!

It's been awhile since I updated readers about Carmella and it's been a whole year (October 1st) now since she had the rare procedure to cure her from Distemper, and I am happy to report that she's doing great! I took some unusual "Fall photos" of her against the new flooring in the kitchen while she was eating a melon rind (well actually four halves from a honeydew and a canteloup).

Those of you who have been reading reliably since the beginning when I first got her will remember that she loves apples, but did you know she loves melon rind?

Talk about recycling! Now that takes "green" to a whole new level!

This is one unusual dog, for sure!

She certainly is determined...

to get every last bite of melon she can out of this thing!

I have to take it away from her when she reduces it to a mere shell

or she'd eat that too!

Once she completely guts one half, she moves onto another!

Now that's one way to get your RDA of antioxidants!

Vote for Carmella in a Pet Photo Contest

Pets Jubilee is sponsoring a Pet Photo Contest with the theme Beat The Heat!

Starting August 16, 2009 midnight EST through August 23, 2009 at noon EST you can each vote once a day for your favorite animal!

Click on the comments link under the pet's picture and post a comment.
(Carmella is Contestant # 15)
http://petsjubilee-furbabies.blogspot.com/

Type in the "word verification".

Click Google (Blogger), Open Id, Name/URL or Anonymous and enter your information.

IF YOU CHOOSE ANONYMOUS, YOU MUST "SIGN" YOUR COMMENT WITH SOME ID NAME in order for your vote to count. You can use your Etsy, Artfire, or AOL name.

The winner will receive a free PetsJubilee sampler box which includes all kinds of pet-related goodies. Carmella is always up for more great stuff to chew!

Also, the winning pet will send a photo to be the team store avatar for the month of September.

The winner's Etsy store will be featured; a link with a write-up on the PetsJubilee street team blog.

Distemper Season Is Upon Us

Yes, the wolf is at the door, and our work is cut out for us with all the cases coming in from California and Texas especially. As the heat rises so do the number of distemper cases around the world.

Despite the frustration of young puppies from whom we cannot obtain serum and those folks who follow a feedback loop of denial and procrastination, there have been some successes recently.

A tiny black and white Chihuahua named Inky recently received NDV in both body and CNS, traveling from Texas to Atlanta. Here he is before treatment; very undersized and underweight, almost looking like a newborn

and here he is 2-3 weeks after treatment!

He has doubled in size and in weight, and looking much more mature. The change is really amazing!

In the course of the past few weeks another vet has emerged (possibly 2 from the same practice
who are willing to treat dogs with Dr. Sears' protocol in both body and CNS) out of California. This will potentially help many dogs this summer and beyond.

A donor dog is badly needed in New York right now, so if you would, please ask around and give anyone you know there who has a vet and a dog the link to the Facebook group. Vets still seem to be very hesitant to try making the serum, but we need for somebody to start stepping up to the plate because puppies 12 weeks and under are unlikely to respond to NDV and their only hope in most cases is serum made from another dog.

It is tragic to see puppies out of luck because nobody will follow this simple process (which is outlined on my blog in a former post, on Facebook, and on Ed Bond's regular website). This really is not that much more risky than donating blood. The only difference is that the donor dog is under anesthesia because the amount of blood taken is larger than what would be taken from a leg vein. As long as the vet uses proper precautions there should be no complications and the donor dog will wake up and resume its normal activities shortly thereafter.

If you live in New York and have a large mixed-breed dog this is a wonderful way to help other dogs whose lives depend on your generosity. You and your vet will be providing a great service to puppies in need. You will truly be giving the gift of life.

To those of you who think or know your dog has distemper please don't delay in getting your dog tested and treated. Contact me on Facebook or leave a message on this blog. If you are having trouble financially paying your dog's veterinary expenses there are options available. Don't assume it is out of your reach. A thread on Save Dogs from Canine Distemper Facebook cause has a list of financial resources. Although it may be somewhat of an inconvenience to incur some debt or to contact a bunch on non-profit agencies, your dog deserves the help he/she needs just as you or your child does when you have a medical problem.

Distemper is a serious illness and so now is not the time to skimp on the necessary tests and treatment. If your vet's fees are astronomical and you cannot find any way to afford them even after exhausting all of the options on the list (including Care Credit) you might seriously consider looking for another vet whose fees are more reasonable and who takes more forms of payment. Don't just call 2 or 3. Finding a vet who will work with you financially and offer your dog the care it needs may require running through several lists of vets. The ones who cannot help you may have other vets they know which they can recommend. Take notes and don't be afraid to ask everyone you know for referrals. If you go to pet stores to buy food and other pet products that is another good place to talk to people who might have possible leads. Ask your co-workers, your friends, shelters, even at your kids' sports games. The key is to network wherever you can. Lots of people own dogs and cats, so the answer could be just under your nose.

Today the sun was shining again so I took lots of cute pictures of Carmella in the back yard. The Ivermectin has really gotten rid of the last of her mange and the dark pigmentation on her flanks is even beginning to fade now! I was beginning to worry that she would have permanently visible black blotches showing through her fur, but that too is healing.

She has a new stamina and vigor she never had before. It has not even been a full year since her treatment in the Central Nervous System and I can really tell that her immune system is finally returning to normal!

Now she seems to be doing wonderfully on just fish oil. I did not know whether or not the opportunistic bacterial infections would return after I stopped the Pet Tabs but they have as of yet stayed away.

Today Carmella was able to be outside for several hours chasing sticks and lying in the sun.

Her coat is gorgeous right now.

I think she's probably ready now to have photos submitted for dog food endorsements.

It seems that I can see a different breed in her from just about every perspective!
Above, her profile looks like an American Foxhound.

But in this picture she looks very much like a German Shepherd. Some of the other photos look alot more Dingo-like, Basenji-like, Husky or Malamute-like. She has come a long way from the day I brought her home; a small, frail puppy who wasn't expected to live through the weekend.

A Family Visit

Tonight my son, Quinn and his girlfriend, Mallory came from Athens, GA. (near UGA) and stayed for a few hours. Both had to work earlier and drove up in the evening afterwards. We talked and ate Banana nut bread and Cranberry bread and opened presents; hand-crafted jewelry for her, and clothes for him that he had needed for a long time. Carmella got lucky again today! They brought her some more chew toys of various types and a bright orange collar and leash. Now she will have a back-up for if she decides to mangle her current ones or to alternate every so often. She already chewed one leash in half (the purple one the shelter sent her home with), so it's good to have an extra one just in case.

Everyone wanted to give Carmella a big hug because she's so cute!

I had given her a bath earlier and had not put her regular collar back on yet after washing and drying it. She was smelling nice and her fur was soft. All the excess ointment residue had begun to make her grimy and smell stale. After her bath she was full of energy, bounding around the house waiting for them to arrive.

Mallory told me she'd seen the movie "Marley and Me" and that it was excellent.

Quinn filled me in on what was happening at work, and is still trying to get it authorized so that he can come and stay for about 3 days. His off days are usually at two opposite ends of the week, so it will take some persistance to get those two together next to one vacation day. I very rarely get to see him and he has not been able to drive for awhile because he has a benign brain tumor which causes seizures and had been in an accident about a year ago after one hit him unexpectedly, so he has to come when he can find a way up here (which hasn't always been easy).

The job he has is about 7 hours short of full-time and they don't provide him any health insurance, so he has to pay for all his doctors' appointments out of pocket (including medications), and he's supposed to be starting with a new neurologist soon. The company doesn't even give employees the option to be full-time and get benefits until they've been there for 6 months. He still has a few more months to go. It's a type of call center that deals with other companies that provide special offers to their customers and those who are interested in the offers are then transferred to Quinn's company to hear about them further and possibly sign up.

He's good at closing these sales so I hope he will move up quickly and will not have to stay at the bottom for very long. Apparently some employees in higher positions do get pretty good pay and benefits, but it's unconscienable that any worker in America is expected to go without health insurance and must work on Christmas!

Then I took some pictures of Quinn and Mallory while they were here, of Carmella and them, and of Carmella later with her gifts from them.

I can hardly wait to get my watercolor paper and start painting again. I now have lots of good subject matter to work with.

http://Giftbearer.etsy.com/