The 28th of April. Tuesday.
11:15 pm
I’m home. Buddy went to sleep in the recliner. Bubba moved into the bedroom around 9. He came out around 10 for a very short spell, after I offered Buddy a Greenie to test his appetite.
The guys barely touched any of the food today. The day food bowl was full, and both dinner bowls remained almost untouched – except the cheese, of course. But both of the cat food dishes were devoid of even the smallest scraps. Bubba ate most of that.
Water dishes got refilled, both pee pads needed changing.
I’ve been staying later, monitoring the kids across the street. If fireworks are launched – and when they are it’s just been one, lately – I want to be there to calm Buddy down. Bubba sleeps through them, completely oblivious, but Buddy gets shaken pretty bad when they’re loud ones. No fireworks have been set off on any night I’ve worked in a while, but it’s getting closer to the 4th of July. The parking lot was emptied of the types at 11.
5:15 pm
Buddy and I went out for a short walk. We went across to the park in a hurry – he needed a bathroom break. Then he took us into the park to walk. He still doesn’t go on long walks with me alone anymore, but we’re getting back there. When I first started serving the fine gentlemen, Buddy was the one that wanted to walk, and walk for long adventures. It was Bubba that wanted to keep them short. Now it’s the opposite. I miss Buddy’s old walking spirit, and going on short jogs – a thing very good for both our health.
He tried to visit a couple of times. Once with a dog whose owner didn’t want to stop, and then our neighbor Rick’s dog Bella, who snapped ferociously at him for getting into her space. Bella is just not a friendly girl.
3:30-ish
My brain is having trouble connecting with the unscheduled work, and my habits like “notice the time when you go out to walk” are not kicking in.
The guys wanted to walk. We did our common loop, out to the path to PCH, up to the highway and in the gate. It was long and slow. The temperature was comfortable, because it was breezy and the wind was cold. But the sun was still baking the ground. So the guys were shadow hopping to keep their feet of the heat, but they weren’t getting hot – other than where they stood on the ground.
Bubba was looking old. He got tired and had to be carried on the downhill portion of PCH. When I normally need to carry him it’s on an uphill stretch, and then he wants down to walk the downhill. Today he got carried all the way to the gate.
1 pm-ish
I brought over the chicken. My usual M.O. is to strip all the meat off and get it quickly into the fridge as soon as I get it home, then chop it into Bubba-bites size later, and then freeze. I got it out for the chopping phase, and found an ant on my cutting board. I put the chicken back in the fridge, and did a good cleaning of any crumbs in the kitchen, and did not find any more ants. Just one scout.
Then I took the chicken over to Bubba’s kitchen for the chopping. I had an audience the entire time. Both guys hovered. I think Bubba was hoping I’d break out the liver treats. Buddy just wanted to get scraps, he probably didn’t care what, as long as I dropped some. Buddy’s hovering turned into camping, and he sat right next to my foot while I worked. I really prefer that he doesn’t hover that close – I’m terrified of slipping and dropping the knife. I already sliced my finger up badly with them.
After finishing and putting all of the chicken into the freezer, Bubba recognized there were no snacks being delivered, and went to nap in the bedroom. I went and flopped on the couch to get back to work, and Buddy came down and sat on the couch next to me. He would lift his nose up towards my face, trying to detect the scent of snacking, but I was just cutting up the chicken, not sampling it. He sat with me a long while as I worked, and it was nice having his company.
Noon
Off-day UPS Store run. 2 packages.
9 am
I set out the treats dishes. They didn’t go out at all, yesterday. We did treats by hand in the evening yesterday. I don’t want to put out the dishes while Bubba sleeps, because I want him to be able to get some, and I know Buddy will eat everything. I started Buddy off with a morning Greenie and gave him stuff to nibble throughout the day. But today both guys were up. Today I mixed in a glucosamine tablet along with a pro-biotic, half a pill crushed into each plate, with half a can of cat food and several minced liver treats. Both guys hovered impatiently while I worked.
While I chopped up treats and supplements, Bubba pooped in the dining area right outside the kitchen. The wet paper towels were still soaking up the outside mess, and he was creating a new one.
When I put out the plates, Buddy ran over, sniffed and decided he wasn’t interested. Bubba walked up to a plate, licked the plate clean, then moved over and started on the second plate. I was wrong about which guy I needed to protect from all the treats being stolen.
It turned out, the poop in the dining room wasn’t Bubba’s only round two work. He also pooped in the bathroom, and in the hallway outside the bathroom. He must have been making room for all of the cat food and treats.
8:15 am
They’re going to work me out, today.
Buddy met me at the door. He ran into the bedroom as soon as I walked in. I followed, because he gave off a Lassie vibe, and I was worried that he was taking me to Bubba in distress. But Bubba was fine – at least he was fine until he got speared by Buddy’s nose on the top of his head. Buddy just has no respect for people’s boundaries while they sleep.
I went to make breakfast, and check for accidents. Both pee pads were well-used, and Bubba pooped all over the deck.
Buddy was already dressed, because I had forgotten to get his harness off, so he was ready to go. Bubba kept going to the front door, like he always wanted to walk, but would scamper away when I approaced with the harness. We repeated that a few times, before Buddy and I left. He woke up Bubba because he needed to walk immediately, and we had reached a point where he wasn’t going to wait any longer for Bubba to join us.
After doing his business, Buddy took me on a walk. We wandered around aimlessly, a walk that was more Bubba’s style, with lots of random stops and direction changes. We ran into Deni and Boise. Deni offered Buddy a treat, which he sniffed at for a while but didn’t seem to want. She tried a different flavor from her bag of goodies, and he reluctantly took that, but then ended up leaving it on the ground and Boise took it.
While I chatted with Deni and the boys visited and played, Kevin came along with his dog Val. Val pulled Kevin to get to Deni. Val is not as picky as Buddy and wanted treats. Deni didn’t have the treats out to offer, Val just knew she had them.
We walked about half an hour. Buddy pooped once.