Raining cats and dogs

Sorry for the long delay between posts but I've been busy as you'll see:

So, we've got a nice four day holiday weekend. What are you doing? Fireworks? Barbecues? Going downa shore? Me I was working. No, not at my real job- a harder one. I somehow got stuck feeding and walking my brother and sister in law's dog and two cats. Now Alex and Missy are clever enough to not only go on vacation for four days and get someone else to take care of their pets, but also have the pets stay in someone else's house the whole time. They are in the process of selling their house so the cats already live at my mom's. My mom, who claims to be allergic to cats, although we had them for over twenty years growing up.

So instead of bringing the cats back to their house and letting me take care of the animals there - they decided to bring the dog to mom's house. Why have your house get defecated on when it can be someone elses? They did offer to let me stay in their house with the dog the whole weekend- like their house was some kind of palace with a pool, a hot tub and a home theater system. They don't even have central Air. I actually like my place- its not a vacation for me to go live a few blocks away. So I got the directions about what to feed and when to walk and how to give the cat his pill. Yes, I'm a pharmacist and nurse too.

Now the cats- Bart and Lisa (yes very clever - ha ha) - are really not a problem. They usually use their litter box and are very pleasant. Except for Bart when you have to give him his pill. Apparently Bart needs a pill so he doesn't pee all over the house even more than usual. Alex showed me how to give him his pill by wrestling him onto his back, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck, prying open his mouth with your finger and then dropping the pill down his throat. Fun, right? If you're lucky you won't get scratched up too bad.

The dog, Mogul, is a different story. He an amiable sort, very old now - something like a hundred in people years and three hundred in dog years. He's skinny, got a bit of a grey beard and a weird hump on one shoulder. When you're walking around with him people ask questions like "Are you sure he's all right? " and "What kind of dog did he used to be?" He is not the kind of dog you can use to pick up chicks. Unfortunately he's way past the "Aww, cute" stage. Mogul doesn't walk very fast and he has trouble climbing steps. His most unusual habit however, is the walking poop and pee. Yes, he kind of squats a little and then moves along as he lets it go. You have to follow him down the block with the plastic bags instead of just picking up a nice little pile. When he pees he'll stop for a second to water a tree, but then continue to pee as he walks away - often hitting himself. Poor guy. Maybe he needs doggy diapers. We made a few trips to the very nice local dog park. Once we went over with a special guest Todd's dog (who is not named Tippy
http://http://popculturesnob.blogspot.com/2005/08/cry-havoc-and-let-slip-war-over-dog.html
Now Todd's dog is almost a year old and is full of energy. He will run and fetch a ball for you all day long. Sometimes he will even bring it back! You throw a ball for Mogul and he will kind of watch it and say "Hey- nice throw- what do you want me to do about it?"

Of course Mogul is also afraid of thunderstorms and Fireworks. What did we have July 4th weekend? That's right - both - sometimes on the same night. I went over about 10:30 on Sunday night to walk the dog but he was no where to be found. He is always right there waiting by the door, ready to pee. I didn't see him anywhere on the first floor and this worried me because, as I mentioned - he doesn't climb stairs too well. So of course I did the natural thing and asked the cats where Mogul was. I was sure they would show me I was hoping he was OK because I didn't want to be blamed for losing a whole dog. I ran up to the second floor and called for him and looked under the beds. Just then I heard a slow clippity-clop coming down the stairs from the third floor. Somehow this dog made it all the way upstairs to hide from the thunderstorm. Of course he was only getting closer to the noise he was afraid of, but, well you know.

At least all the pets (and me) made it through the weekend. Anybody have a bunch of plastic bags you aren't using? I seem to be running out.