Monday October 5th
9 pm
Bubba finally made an appearance. He went into the bedroom right after dinner and didn’t return. Buddy had been winding down since we came back from the walk. It was the first time all day that he’d been up on the couch. Then Bubba came out, full of energy from sleeping all day. But the downstairs neighbors had the lights out, probably sleeping, so it was too late to be playing.
Bubba paced back and forth from the bedroom, doing his Alpha posturing, at me, at Buddy, and at one of Buddy’s bunnies. I like him like this; energetic, playful, looking like a young guy.
6:50 pm
Buddy finally wanted to go out. It seemed to have finally gotten cool enough for him to venture out. We slowly made our way across the street, and we walked a short way along Selva. He wanted to walk in the grass, and not to go into the park. He did a lot of stopping to listen, it seemed. Not moving for long minutes, sometimes watching people across the park, and then we’d move along. We came out from across from the memorial, headed north just past the area across the street from the NBT entrance, and then turned back. We did more of the pause and listen/stare, and then he wanted to cross and head back home.
We were out about 20 minutes, mostly just walking – which is unusually anymore when it’s just me and Buddy. He (finally!) pooped.
2 pm
Bubba was still sleeping in the bedroom. I really wanted to check on him and make sure he’s okay, but we were playing pretty hard and he was running really fast in the morning. He was also probably up very early before I arrived. I wanted to let him get some rest.
Buddy has been out with me in the living room. He seems fine, just acting like the heat is uncomfortable. His body felt hot, so I locked on of the floor fans to stop circulating and keep the air right on him. He moved to be more directly in the line of the fan, which told me that was the right move. I also knocked the AC down to 68. Apart from being hot, he seems fine. I picked up his bunny and walked over to me, standing and staring at me for a moment before heading back over to his rug to chew on the squeaker. We can play after it cools down.
12:25 pm
I think Buddy’s stomach is bugging him a little. Or he’s backed up. He didn’t need to poop on the walk – or didn’t have time, but usually that’s the very first order of business. I was working on my laptop in the recliner, and he flopped next to me. I asked him if he wanted a Greenie, and his ears perked up, so I got up to get him a treat. He took it, carried it to his usual table – the rug by the front door – dropped it, and didn’t want to eat it. That was at 10:15.
He just now ate the Greenie. So maybe just wasn’t hungry for a treat earlier. I’ll keep an eye on how he’s doing with eating and pooping. He’s still drinking normally.
10 am
Bubba moved into the bedroom to sleep. I don’t know why. Buddy and I were working and sleeping, we weren’t a disturbance. When Bubba got settled in in the bed, Buddy wanted to walk.
We were only out 11 minutes, but it should have been a long walk. He didn’t need a bathroom break – and didn’t go – he just wanted to walk. It’s been a long time since he just wanted to walk with me, for the sake of walking. Unfortunately, 10 minutes into the walk, my mother came from across the street, finishing a walk of her own, and Buddy’s instincts took over and decided we were supposed to follow her, which brought us back home. It felt like he was going to just explore for an hour, so I was disappointed – it would be way too hot to walk in an hour.
8:30 am
I had planned to show up around 8, but I ended up right on time. Buddy was in a deep sleep, I could tell, because when I tried the door and found it locked, ferocious barking started. Buddy had been woken up by the intruder that he had not heard clumping heavily up the stairs.
There’s no way to know if Bubba had been sleeping. He wouldn’t have heard me come up, and now he was at the front door, barking at an unknown thing – but Buddy was barking – assisting in getting ready to attack any and all invaders. But Bubba’s eyes looked alert. Buddy looked like he just woke up. There were happy tails wagging. Buddy ran to get a bunny. Bubba stayed to give and get attention. I got the bunny away from Buddy almost immediate – he made a critical error and tried to get a better grip on the toy, just enough for me to pull it away. And that triggered Game Time. I put out the day food to marinade and looked at the clock on the stove. It was exactly 8:30.
It seemed longer, but it was only about 5 minutes of fetch, tug and Chase before Bubba took a break. In the bathroom first to pee, then outside to poop. Then he came back in, played another minute of chase, then was back outside pooping again – Bubba’s way of welcoming me to the new gig, and making sure I understand who is boss as I start off cleaning up poop before I’ve finished my first coffee.
The clock on the stove said 8:38. We’d run enough for Buddy to be panting, Bubba to crawl back into bed and fall right to sleep, and me to have actually worked up a little sweat, just playing games for about 5 minutes. What a team we make. One guy is old. One guy is a “barrel”. I’m both.
Buddy runs away when I get his harness out of the basket. It’s going to be a chore getting him out, especially since Bubba probably has nothing left in the system to get rid of.
Now having logged the morning activites, it’s time to get out and clean up the deck before things start to bake. It’s already hot.