That's the Way that the World Goes Round

...One minute you're up, the next you're down.

According to John Prine, anyway. And Miranda Lambert. And I totally know what their talking about right now. I haven't had the greatest few days.

I mentioned how Gizmo was peeing/pooping in his kennel, so I brought him to the vet yesterday. When we got there, they weighed him, and he was 15 lbs, which is 4 lbs less than he weighed when he got his yearly shots two months ago. That freaked me out and I had all kinds of things running through my head while we were waiting.

After what seemed like forever, the vet came back and told us that he has an intestinal parasite. I can't remember the scientific name, but the street name is Raccoon Roundworm. He got it from either eating raccoon poop (most likely at the lake in July), or by eating a rodent that was infected (Gizmo is a Cairn Terrier, so that's not out of the question either). I guess it's easily treatable, unless it spreads too far and causes neurological damage (which I don't think it has , thankfully). I guess it's not that common here because I had to run across town to a clinic that had the treatment on hand.


Today, I talked to Isaac's pediatrician's nurse about maybe coming in to get checked out, since this Raccoon Roundworm is able to spread to humans (through Gizmo's feces, like if Isaac got some on his hand while playing outside and then put his hand in his mouth). She said that the doctor said it can't be identified through feces, only through a tissue sample, which they did not take from Gizmo yesterday, so she's not sure what to tell me. I guess she didn't think that's what Gizmo really had.

So I called the vet and explained this. The vet said, "I don't know how you identify it in humans, but in dogs you can find it in their feces. We saw the larvae in his stool sample." I figure the vet probably knows a little more about it, but it still leaves me wondering what to think...

Then I started looking it up on the Internet. Bad idea. The vet made it sound like no big deal, but lots of animals and even some humans have died from this infection. And I read that it's nearly impossible to detect, so even though this may have nothing to do with Gizmo's urination/defecation in his kennel, I'm SOOOO glad we brought him in. Otherwise we may have never known he had it until it was too late. And it freaks me out because how am I supposed to know if Isaac catches it?

I am just so stressed out about all of this. And on top of it all, I lost my wallet last night. I found it in my car this morning wedged between the passenger seat and the door, but it still didn't help my stress levels. And I go back to work on Wednesday, so I'm a little apprehensive about that, too.

Emotional Compulsions

Today I am stressed out. We've been having issues with Gizmo peeing in his kennel when we're not home, and it's really starting to wear on me. It didn't occur to us until yesterday that a dog peeing in a place where he has to sleep (which Gizmo has never done until a few months ago) is not normal behavior, and there could be something medically wrong with him. So today I'm taking him to the vet. When I made the appointment, the receptionist told me to bring a urine and fecal sample. That's easier said than done, but I finally got the urine sample this morning. Now I just have to wait for him to poop and go pick it up.

Also, I have a baby who is getting molars. Not the most fun I've had in a while.

I'm stressed. And what do I want to do? Eat. Eat very bad things. Why? Because that's what we women do when we're stressed. It's called emotional eating. But I can't. Why? Because I put myself on this stupid diet.

So instead, I want to shop. Why? Because that's what we women do when we're stressed. It's called retail therapy. And Gymboree has 30% off of everything right now. But I can't. Why? Because we're low on funds due to me not working for the past 12 weeks, and that is not something I'm willing to dip into our savings for. That would just be ridiculous.

I'm stressed and I have no outlet. This sucks.

Gizmo's New Haircut

Before:

After:

Yeah, he needed it.

It's funny because he seems so much happier now. I guess he must feel a little lighter on his feet or something. Silly dog.

Gizmo

In my first post when I introduced my family, I forgot one very important person, er... dog. GIZMO!

He is our almost three-year-old Cairn Terrier. James and I got him about two months after we were married. He's an awesome dog! He is slightly hyperactive, but he listens when it's important and he's great with kids. He loves to cuddle, which is completely uncharacteristic of the breed. He loves to chase small animals and rodents, which is completely characteristic of his breed. He's extremely fast. In fact, once while James was taking him for a walk, he actually caught a gopher. He instinctively shook it back and forth rapidly to break it's neck. That poor gopher. If he wasn't dead after that, he wasn't happy that's for sure.

But other than being a gopher murderer, he's really a great dog. We love him very much!