Cone Trials an' Tribulations

Well....Lexie went to bed last nite a lil' damp an' on mom's "list". I think she's still on that list. Not sure who's the most tired an' disgusted w/that cone....mom or Lexie.

It's like Lexie alternates her good days an' bad days. I figure she acts out an' then gives mom a day for forget an' then does it again. Like three nites ago....mom let us out, for that last "call", an' then heard us barkin'. (I don't have to even mention our disregard for that "come RIGHT back" directive...it was AHS business).

She calls, she whistles, she comes out to yell at us in person....we evade her an' carry on w/what we're doin'.....tryin' to apprehend some nite creature. She even shines her lite around an' don't see anythin'. Then resorts to gettin' a lead to drag us in. I figured w/all her carryin' on, whatever it was was gone, an' she did sound kinda serious...so, I went in the house. Lexie on the other paw...ignored

her....oh...did I mention she was soakin' wet from swimmin' in the pond, an' covered w/dirt from messin' around in the dirt under the fig tree...an, oh....no cone. After a bit of "ring around the fig tree",, mom finally lassoed her w/that lead an' dragged her inside....neither one very happy (especially mom when she could see Lexie's black paws an' legs in the lite).

Mom tried to clean her incision & staples...but it wasn't workin'...so, she dragged Lexie back outside an' hosed her off...figurin' that "not gettin' it wet" took a back seat to "not lettin' it stay covered in dirt". Then back in the house, where she doused it w/that surgical solution an' antibacterial cream. Found her cone an' cleaned it...an' put it back on Lexie. An' everyone went to bed about midnite.

Then we had a uneventful day an' nite. Mom even gave Lexie a lil' time off the cone for good behavior.

Last nite...well, there were some good things, it was an early nite...an' no hose was involved. Mom let us out about 10 pm. Gave us the same directive. She hadn't even had time to walk to the kitchen before she heard us barkin'. Grabbin' her lite, an' mutterin', "oh nooooo", she stormed outside to where we were. All was quiet.

Know what super hot days an' then cool nites do? Makes it kinda foggy & spooky, accordin' to mom. She heads for where she had heard us, on the far side of the pond by that fence. As she passes the pond, she sees a lot of wet spots...but neither of us. She keeps lookin'.....finally she finds us by the fence...an' yes, Lexie is wet...an' coneless. We had chased whatever it was back over the fence an' were just doin' an "aftercheck" to make sure that critter was alone an' were ready to go back, anyway. I headed back to the house as mom grabbed Lexie, who was headed back,too, but mom wasn't gonna take any chances of goin' thru that same dance as a couple of nites ago. Plus I think she was just a tad upset.

She gets Lexie inside. Luckily, she was just wet..w/pond water, but just wet. Mom dried her off, doused that leg, again...slathered it w/that antibacterial stuff....an'....then realized...no cone.

Mom grabs her lite an' heads back outside, leavin' us under house arrest. She's out there about 20 minutes (we have a big yard) an' can't find it. About her second pass, she thought she saw someone walkin' across the back.....she stepped by one of the gardens, waited to see if she had just seen a shadow....an' regrettin' her decision to leave me locked up w/Lexie. She shined her lite again...an' there he was!! Almost upon her...in the dark! Scarin' the beejeebies outa her......luckily...it was dad. He had come home to find us locked in the house, an' at the back door wantin' out....an' no mom. Thinkin' that was unusual, he left us inside (again..why was I locked up?) an' went out in the dark foggy nite to find mom.

She was gettin' pretty frustrated an' hadn't found Lexie's cone. He took her lite an' said he' look. He found it in the bushes after just a few minutes.

Mom disinfected the cone, which is lookin' kinda rough...an' put it back on Lexie sayin' she considerin' puttin' that gorilla glue on it so, it'll have to be cut off.

So far.....this looks to be one of the good days an' nites....we'll see.

Do NOT open the Popcorn Tin!

AHS log for June 19----Lexie heard a security breach before midnite, just as mom was turnin' off all the lites. Mom even heard it. She wasn't sure what it was, but she was thinkin' that maybe she forgot somethin' outside from our barbecue we had earlier in the day.

So, she turned on the outside lites, an' let us out. We charged out quietly (when we're sure there's somethin' out there, we're not gonna warn 'em....this was gonna be a "black op"...."take no prisoners".

Lexie an' I located the perp in the flower bed, as it tried to elude us, we chased it thru the bushes, across the path, to the garden behind the grill...across the patio, as it zigged an' zagged. When it got on the patio, we had it...almost...just imagine the scurrin' of 8 big paws an' 4 lil' ones all jumpin', hoppin', twistin' & "dancin'" as it weaved in an' out under us & us tryin' to grab it & all three of us in a tangle.

Now, this is where it went sideways. Well, at least as far as mom was concerned. As far as Lexie an' I were concerned, it was a very successful operation.

Then mom....<just shakin' my head...she never learns> stepped out (still not sure why).....that lil' distraction gave that big rat an' openin' an it ran for mom. She made this lil' noise an' jumped outa the way. She wasn't sure what that rat was goin' to do, but thoughts of it runnin' across her bare feet an' maybe up her legs ran thru her head ...an' well, that "fight or flight" mode kicked in...an' it's really amazin' how fast she can move sometimes.

This was all in split seconds...when mom "moved", she left the back door open. That rat thought that was an escape route...Mom's yellin' "NOT IN THE HOUSE!!"....an' pointin'..(from the safety of the patio)...tellin' us to "GET IT!!" (that was a lil' redundant, duh!).

Lexie an' I got it before it could get past dad's chair, right by the threshold. Then left it layin' there for mom. (Hey, we even know that it's not s'posed to be in our house).

Mom looked at it...carefully...then at us layin' there watchin' it & her, waitin' to see what she was gonna do. We'd done our part.

Mom sure didn't want to touch it...not w/anythin'...not w/a bag, towel, oven mitt...thought about dad's barbecue tongs..but that grossed her out....didn't want it period. An' she wasn't goin' back outside for a shovel (her mode of disposal). Finally, she went into the garage an' got a big empty popcorn tin she had gotten for Christmas. Usin' the lid (while we watched..just in case it was playin' possum), she scooped it into the tin an' slammed the lid on it. Then left it in the middle of the laundry room w/the door shut, w/a sticky note for dad sayin', "DO NOT OPEN!" & plans for him to get rid of it.

Lexie an' I made sure there were no more breaches into the house...just to double check. Then we really wanted to go back outside...but mom for some reason said that was a definite negative.

As a side note for mom....just maybe stayin' inside an' not "helpin'" us an' keeping that door shut might be a better idea..just sayin'.

Goin' to Bed

Personally, I think it's good for her. Makes her use muscles she don't normally use...an' after all, agility is important.

Last nite an' the nite before weren't really that unusual. Same ol' same ol'.....mom let's us out for "last call", tellin' us to "come right back". We did.

Then she turns out the lites an' tells us , "it's time to go to bed". We do. We both followed her to her room. Lexie immediately lays down on my bed beside mom's bed. I follow mom to her bathroom for my nitely drink of water outa her sink, while she gets ready for bed. Then we have our nitely ritual race. She tries to change clothes before I finish w/my drink. You can actually see mom "scurry" in an' outa her clothes. For some reason, she objects to me dryin' my beard on her bareness an' the dancin' she does to try to avoid it. I think it's funny. (She never wins btw).

Anyway, after all that, she turns out the bathroom lite, an' she an' I go to bed....or start to. There's Lexie sprawled across my bed, literally. There's no room for me, an' there's no way mom can step over her. It's no biggee to me...I just lay down in front of it in the doorway. I can keep an' eye on the front door an' the front of the house better from there anyway.

Mom's stuck. Her choices are to try to step over Lexie an' run the risk of squishin' her, or trippin'. Climbin' over dad(who's sound asleep, 'cause he has to get up for work super early) or the end of the bed. She chooses climbin' into bed from the "foot of the bed" an' crawlin' up.

Now, her bed is super high, 'cause it's one of those that has that thingee that can raise it up. It's not one you wanna fall off of...trust me. Then there's the problem of the foot board that's even a lil' higher. After two nites, I think she's gettin' better at it. In fact, all she's said is that she's glad it done all in the dark. Her crawlin' across the bed, then havin' to scrunch up on her pillow so she can get the covers out from under her to get under them. Then move down, so she can stretch out....all w/out wakin' dad.

To be fair, we got our spots first. Her other option would be to move faster an' get in bed first. Heck, I think she's doin' a great job. But, She's even started to control the gigglin'...but that last "the things I do for you two", I thnk is unnecessary