Teethy

Friday, August 09, 2024

Today ends another week in America, with attention-grabbing stock market ups and downs and political turmoil that have captured me all week.

That is, except for taking my last three house pets to the veterinarian for physicals and updated inoculations. I’m tickled that my cat Maxwell is healthy; he could go outside if I decide to put little wild, non-rat/mouse critters at risk. The two youngest dogs, my fourteen-pound Jack Russel-X, Mitzvah, is just fine, and so is puppy Chase.

I must start routinely brushing Mitzvah’s teeth–something I don’t want to do. But she’s part Poodle, and the vet says that “poodle teeth” typically become troubling. The vet didn’t like a trend she could see occurring in Mitzvah’s jaw, so keeping the dog’s teeth decent means brushing them is necessary.

Now that all the dogs are inoculated, I will ride horseback and they will follow. Our vet said that, despite my Border Collie’s arthritic rear, Miles could safely run for two or three miles at a time. That’s enough distance for a decent family outing. The biggest plus is that Miles won’t be forced to stay home while his buddies climb into the horse rig. That makes him sad and he objects noisily. I needn’t worry now about leaving him behind.

Puppy Chase hasn’t been exposed to enough other people, and by nature, he’s cautious. The veterinarian and her crew were terrific. He responded to them well, became relaxed, and had a good time.

During next week’s continuing economic and political drama and trauma, I intend to be on horseback, and with all my dogs following.

Dear Friends: Keeping a balanced perspective takes effort and self-awareness. Diana