Tag: Dog

First Doggie Playdate of the Year

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Saturday (03/19) we went to K’s house for the first time this year. Originally we thought it would be nice enough to sit outside but it decided to rain for three days leading up to our visit so her backyard was muddy, plus the temperature was lower than predicted.

We arrived around 10:30, even after stopping at Starbucks for Joe to get a latte (which was free because I won 150 stars in their sweepstakes earlier that morning) because traffic was great. She was dog-sitting for this very cute & friendly dog named Izzy who was fun to interact with.

Wookie seemed excited to see the new dog and Teddy, who is K’s dog, and she knows well, but Izzy kept getting in her face wanting to play so she decided she didn’t like her after all. She wouldn’t bark at her, like she did with previous dogs my friend has had over, but she did growl at her and try to get away from her most of the time.

We decided to order from a local place for lunch called Charcoal Flame Grill. I got a 1/4 chicken with rice and potatoes and Joe got a polish dog with fries. I would probably try something else from their extensive menu next time because the bite I tried of Joe’s food was very good. Mine was just ok.

All the dogs were rather sleepy after trying to unsuccessfully get us to share our food with them.

It sucks that Wookie doesn’t really enjoy being around other dogs. I think she doesn’t understand when dogs want to play with her. Instead she assumes they’re trying to harm her. Needless to say, she was overjoyed when we were ready to leave at 3:30.

It was nice getting out of the house for something other than grocery shopping.

Dog Teeth

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Despite how I crappy feel, I’ve been trying to keep up on brushing Wookie’s teeth daily after her dental cleaning back in February. She hates it, and it doesn’t seem to be working well. There’s this one tooth in particular, located on the top back of her mouth on her right side, that is split and it’s already turning yellow again!

It’s really frustrating because I want to put off sending her for another cleaning as long as possible because of how she was after the procedure. She was so miserable and crying the rest of the day. The vet said it was normal but she didn’t do that after her first cleaning when she was still a puppy. I think the drugs they gave her were unnecessarily strong. It was bad enough having to drop her off in the morning only to have her sit in a cage for hours until it was her turn. She gets super anxious around strangers, be it people or dogs, which is why doggy daycare never worked out for her.

Halloween Houses & Craft Shows

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Saturday (10/20) we went to Willowbrook High School for their annual craft fair but left empty-handed unlike last year. I did see a few things I liked, including a little fleece jacket for Wookie that fastened with velcro (which she prefers over wearing something that goes over her head) but the only version in her size was cut a little crooked so I opted not to get it. I took the woman’s card and I might purchase a custom made jacket at some point since her prices were reasonable and she’s local.

Joe had to go to court twice that week (10/22 and 10/25) to get his old child support accounts officially terminated so they stop charging us $36 annually to maintain accounts that aren’t even being used. I really hate the state of Illinois and the hoops they make you jump through. He sat in the courtroom all morning and part of the afternoon that Monday just to get a stamped piece of paper that took less than five minutes to receive. Luckily on his return trip he only had to wait around an hour.

In between that was our wedding anniversary (10/23) so we visited the arboretum and had a nice dinner at Jameson’s Steakhouse.

This past Friday (10/26) we drove around Carol Stream to look at the houses decorated for Halloween.

On Saturday (10/27) after Joe donated some blood we stopped at Sonny Acres for apple cider donuts and a walking taco for yours truly. I swear their prices keep going up. A half dozen of donuts was $9 and my walking taco was $4. That will probably be our last visit since it’s not that much fun anymore as it always seems cold and there’s nothing to do if you don’t have kids. Doesn’t really matter anyway since the property is up for sale and likely won’t be around come this time next year anyway. That night we stopped at Just Kabobs for dinner and then went on the Gallery of Ghoulish Homes Tour in St. Charles. It wasn’t judging night (which was the previous weekend when the weather was super windy) and we started a bit early (before 6 pm) than usual so it wasn’t the same. We didn’t get out of the car and I didn’t bother taking any photos. Traditions are nice but sometimes they start to get stale, you know? Perhaps that’s a hint we should move…

Yesterday (10/28) we went to Oak Brook mall because I had an appointment with the Apple store to have my iPhone 6 battery replaced since they are only offering the discounted $29 replacements until the end of the year. They wouldn’t do it, however, since I had already had the battery replaced by Batteries+ last year. Something about liability and for the protection of their staff which I guess I understand but still sucks. I debated just upgrading my phone now but other than the improved camera, I’m not all that thrilled with the changes that have been made to the latest iPhones and I sure as hell don’t like the price points. I can’t stand Android, though, so eventually I will have to upgrade, but I’m hoping my current battery will hold out another year and I’ll get whatever the latest and greatest Apple has to offer in 2019. I want to have a good camera in my phone for when we return to Disney World in spring 2020.

Today I went to Savers and then met my friend for lunch at Pot Belly. I struck out at Savers even though I did find a sweater I liked. It was The Loft too, for only $6, but was made with wool and rabbit fur which was itchy and made me sneeze so I passed.

Wookie’s Sickness & Peeing

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Tuesday after work we took Wookie to the vet for her annual vaccinations. She had rabies and Bordatella and a blood test to check for heartworm. We also purchased a year’s supply of heartworm medication so the damage was $256!

Later that evening she threw up four times in quick succession and then once more awhile later after eating. We debated whether it required an emergency vet visit but everything online said only if the vomiting was persistent which we took to mean frequent. I ended up sleeping downstairs on the couch and let her run free so I could keep an eye on her. Until about 2:30 am when she wanted to play and was jumping on my head. She hadn’t thrown up for several hours by that point so I locked her up but stayed downstairs so I could hear her if anything happened. Needless to say I was exhausted when the alarm went off and ended up calling in sick to work. I wanted to keep an eye on her anyway just to be safe. She slept most of the day and I limited how much food she could have at one time.

I thought we were out of the woods until after Joe came home and she threw up again. I called the vet and she requested we bring her in. Luckily after examining her she felt it was a mild reaction to the vaccines (most likely rabies) and gave us anti-nausea pills. Thankfully we were only charged for the medication and not the visit so it was $25. We gave her one pill and that was enough to break the vomit cycle.

We’re going to have to pay to have her pre-medicated for all future vaccinations, including distemper which is due next month. Apparently the mixture of steroids and Benedryl will prevent her from getting sick. Plus starting in late 2018, early 2019 the vet said we’ll do 3-year vaccinations to reduce how much crap she gets so that will be nice. I wonder if they cost three times as much? I need to do some research. It’s weird to me as it is to give a small dog barely over 10 lbs the same amount of rabies vaccine that a very large dog gets. Seems like the little dogs are being poisoned.

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We took her to see Santa at Petsmart today because we thought it would be cute.

What we didn’t expect was for her to pee on poor Santa! He wasn’t happy to begin with, but imagine how he felt after that? Then again, that’s kind of naive of us considering she pees at the vet and groomer and still pees in excitement whenever people come over. So shame on us, right?

I feel like our dog is a weirdo. While waiting in line she was the only dog wanting to sniff all the displays but barely showing any interest in the other dogs or people.

Oh, and I have a bone to pick with Petsmart. I get that the photos are free, and I do appreciate that, but they use iPads to take the photos which have a wide-angle lens. Why can’t they make the backdrops larger so you can’t see the shelving on the right side? They did something similar with the Easter photos and it really ruins the effect.

Skating & Housewarming Gifts

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Thursday after work we took Wookie to a Halloween party hosted by her vet and groomer. The postcard we received said it would be from 4:30-6:30 with a raffle drawing at 6:15. I made a delicious cheeseburger casserole for dinner and we arrived at the party at 5:45 pm and they had already done the raffle! Wookie did get some treats she likes at least but it seemed we missed out on most of the events so we’ll have to go earlier next time. She was also the only dog not dressed up due to her aggression with outfits.

Speaking of that, Saturday morning I posted on a forum I frequent looking for advice and got a nasty comment from one person. People are known for being pretty nice on there so it threw me. She basically chastised me for wanting to put clothes on Wookie and made a remark that if I need to do that so bad I should consider getting a doll or having children. I just replied “wow, your comment was really rude” and someone else commented about how harsh she was.

Saturday evening we met up with B and R at Culvers for dinner and went rollerskating with a Groupon I had purchased. I expected it to be crazy crowded like the time we went for my birthday (at a different rink) but when we pulled into the parking lot and it was nearly empty I was perplexed. I asked an employee if it was usually that dead and he laughed and said no. He pointed out with it being the Saturday before Halloween most people were probably at parties. I liked that it was pretty empty because we didn’t have to worry about crashing into anyone. R only skated around the rink twice because he ankle was giving her trouble but B had a blast. He rented roller blades and even though he hadn’t skated in years he got back into the swing of things quickly. He was skating backwards, doing turns, and lapping us as if we were standing still (although I did manage to catch up to him at one point, much to his surprise).

We arrived at the rink around 7:45 and left about 9:30 or so because it really wore us out, plus Joe fell and scraped the palm of his hand on the floor. When we got home we gave B&R some housewarming gifts since we weren’t sure when they would be ready for us to visit. We got them a blender, multi-cooker, carbon monoxide detectors, fire extinguishers, a candle from Bath & Body Works, and a $50 Target gift card. My brother seemed very overwhelmed as he didn’t expect so much. I like getting people gifts, however. I was worried whether R would like the candle scent I had picked out (Marshmallow Fireside) but when they came in the house she immediately smelled the oil diffuser I have in the bathroom and remarked how much she liked it and it was the scame scent, so it worked out perfectly.

Sunday we were to Sonny Acres for apple cider donuts. When we arrived there weren’t any fresh donuts ready yet so instead of waiting a half hour we opted for the day-old donuts which weren’t bad; plus we got them for half price. We tried their pumpkin donuts too and I think I liked those even better. I got a walking taco too. I was aggravated the food booths weren’t ready when we arrived because I incorrectly thought they opened at 9 am since that’s what was listed on Google, but according to their website they open at 10 am. I’ll have to make a mental note for next year.

We went home to swap vehicles and then I took my new car to the arboretum where we drove around for a bit. Then we came home and prepared some crockpot beef stew for dinner. I ended up re-organizing our master bedroom closet too.

Today I met up with a friend for lunch at Portillo’s, but I’m not sure I’ll be suggesting going there much in the future as I’m finding more and more of their food unappealing. First the beef got shamed by Beef Shack. Then I got turned off from their cheeseburgers when they served them cold and kinda hard one time. And then I got turned off by their chopped salad, which I normally love, because the chicken had a fishy flavor the last time I ordered it. Today I got their seasonal apple walnut harvest salad. It was good, but not great, and I kept getting the greens from the spring mix stuck in my throat. We came back to the house to chat for awhile and Wookie was very vocal at first, then calmed down and was licking my friend. But then she was barking at her awhile later. Then she went back to licking her. Is my dog mental???

We have to take my car to the dealer tonight because the window and locks panel in the passenger side door aren’t working. I hope it’s a quick fix. We plan to try a new Tex Mex restaurant in the area that we spotted when we picked up my car. Based on one YouTuber’s videos it’s supposed to be really good so I hope we like it!