Max is a whole lot better today, definitely much bouncier -- a world of difference even from last night. Still having problems figuring out how to sit down/lie down w/o it hurting, though.
A shred of good news -- the golden's owners showed up last night and have offered to pay part of Max's vet bill. They're genuinely concerned about Mickey's (not Nicky) part in this -- and I assured them that I didn't blame them, and that it wasn't Mickey's fault or anything they could've done/foreseen, just doggie jealousy. I didn't say anything, but I think I'm also dead on that Mickey is far too much dog for retired people, having way too much energy, I've never seen anyone out playing with her and maybe they think that just leaving her outside by herself so she can watch the world go by is sufficient. They have an electronic collar/perimeter to keep her in the yard. She is never taken for a walk that I know of. Of course not. This is the country. Nothing dumber/funnier than seeing all those city transplants walking their dogs along country roads! And picking up poop! Uhhh... that would be me and Max.
Now that I've heard the whole story, what I think Mickey was really jealous of with the granddaughter patting Max is that it turns out that the granddaughter doesn't like Mickey and never has. She's probably scared to death of her size and strength, goldens being huge on the body slams. The granddaughter looks to be late teens/early college age, but quite tiny. They probably weigh about the same and the golden is all muscle.
Max has discovered the nasty-tasting-pill-in-the-banana trick. He ate one, but spat out the other. Toast and jam? Ran outside and spat it out. Tried the remaining pill in his liver-flavoured-but-carob-smelling arthritis chewie chunk and he ate that right away. This morning. Dunno what I'm going to do tonight. He's suspicious of everything I offer him now.
Sunny this morning, so my own mood is a lot lighter. Today I have to deal with the truck as the engine light came on yesterday on the way back from the vet, and I have to have it sorted by Friday so I can go get gas to get to the market on Saturday, and we're almost out of dog food, too. I have to get back to making jewellery. The Oxford Country Spinners and Weavers craft show is coming up on the 14th, and I still have to get stuff up to The Bead Boutique in Kitchener.
Given the circumstances, I gave myself yesterday off, spending all day -- a singularly cold, gloomy and rainy day -- in a depressed state, watching old Last 10 Pounds Bootcamp and Bulging Brides shows on Slice.ca and thinking long and hard about all the exercises Tommy Europe was forcing his bootcampers to do. My favourite part of Bulging Brides is the table shot of all the junk food that that episode's bootcamper has eaten in the previous week/month. I try to do that here -- I have a corner of the counter where I put all my groceries that I buy for the week, boxed/packaged goods, apples, most root vegetables -- it's cold enough that the food stays fairly fresh. Any treats from Saturday's market that sneak in are usually gone by Monday, and then that's it. If only Tommy Europe would do a show called Last 80 Pounds Trashed Knees & Lower Back Bootcamp, I'd happily humiliate myself on it. In the meantime, cue the laugh track: Max and I are off on our poop-bag-carrying walk along the highway.
