My Life in Blog Years

D here...
After being away for most of the last 14 months, I'm lucky the dogs still recognize me. Well, 'lucky' is a relative term; accompanying their recognition is an expectation that I'll make good on all the time I haven't spent with them - so obviously I've got my hands full!

Elizabeth got caught up with work, so I got to be the surrogate weiner walker for this weekend's lap of Greenlake.  This was my first time around Greenlake (being a Washington 'transplant'), and it was a very pleasant experience.  Though there was a nice thick overcast, it didn't rain during the walk itself, which I'm sure all the dogs (and owners) appreciated.
I found it very entertaining meeting dozens of doxies and their owners, though I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't feeling very social - and neither, apparently, was Penny, who repeatedly looked (and jumped) up at me as if to say, "do I really have to play with the other dogs?"  In light of our mutual desire for solitude, as well as Penny's sled-dog-pulling tendencies, we spent most of the 'walk' jogging to the head of the pack, then pausing to let others catch up, chat, and then launching off again to the front.
Penny did wonderfully, and it was very nice to 'bond' with her one-on-one for a bit. Thanks to Jessica for organizing the event, it was a pleasure meeting all of the people and pups, and I particularly appreciate the very cute photos that some of you were kind enough to take of us in those few moments when we weren't moving off at Penny-speed!

(Photos courtesy of Elena from It's a Weinderful Life)

 Well, in the last week here in Seattle, we've had rain, snow, sunshine, and now we're back to rain. The typical late-winter rains are probably going to edge out any blue (or white) sky for the foreseeable future. But, while the title may suggest a meteorological explanation for Luna's 'blues,' the real reason for her sad face is medical; she likely has a Urinary Tract Infection.

Several days ago D let Luna out and noted that she squated an inordinate number of times, so he checked her out when she came back in - only to find some blood 'around her special lady parts' (his words). So, before he even got out of bed the next morning, he was on the phone setting up an appointment with the vet.  The doctor wasn't able to get enough urine to test, so D brought Luna home, fed her ice cookies, and tricked her into drinking water.  Then, after about an hour or so we took out and D chased after her with a small container to collect a viable sample - and got it on the first try.
Doctor said there was a lot of blood and a high concentration of white blood cells, both of which could indicate either a UTI or bladder stones.  So, we're now on a 10 day course of antibiotics and good, old fashioned 'wait-and-see.'