Poor Duke

I arrived home last week Wednesday to find a not on the counter telling me Duke was at the vet's office getting stitches. Egads - stitches, what happened. Da hubby comes out to sheepishly tell me he was cutting a fur mat off Dukes belly when he accidentally cut a hunk of skin. The amazing thing is Duke never even flinched!

Well, we went to pick Duke up a couple of hours later. The vet hand him under full anesthesia so Duke was still very sleepy and loopy. He slept the evening awy. We woke him to go out side but the boy fell asleep as soon as he came back in the house. He slept all night until 3:30 am. I awoke to the sound of Duke licking his stitches. We spent the rest of the night alternating between Duke licking his stitches and me telling him NO! When I got up several hours later, I presented Duke with his new collar - a cone shape which is supposed to keep him from reaching his stitches.

Well, the cone head worked, until yesterday. Somehow Duke has managed to get past the cone and attack the stitches. Of course everytime we catch him we tell him no, then he looks rather sheepish. I have had stitches, I know how itchy they can be as they heal. I feel so sorry for the poor dog but he is going to drive me crazy with worry this week.

The stitches come out Saturday, I wish we could roll the clock forward and get this week over with!

Cats and Dogs

The hubby worked 3rd shift last night. Normally, when the cats wake up, he gets up and feeds them (it could be 2 am, 3 am, whenever). If he doesn't, Leo, the little boy cat will knock everything off the dresser, fireplace, bathroom counter - anything to get attention. The hubby chuckled last night as he hinted I will have to get up to feed the little buggers. Nothing got knocked off last night. However, there was a huge cat fight around 4 am this morning. The fight started by the window in my bedroom. I through a pillow and the hubby's balled up PJs in the direction of the hissing and fighting. It didn't work. The fight escalated. I got up to break it up. The took it behind and under the bed where they know I can't reach them. So, I opened the cupboard on my night stand, brought out the catnip and gave it a shake. Out come both cats. I lured Leo out of the bedroom and shut the door in his face. When I turned around, Allie -the girl cat, was standing on the bed by my pillow. I put the catnip in the cupboard, moved Allie and crawled back in bed. Leo stood outside my bedroom door crying; don't know how long 'cause I went back to sleep. The empty cat dishes and the unopened can of food are still sitting on the counter where the hubby left them. The cats can eat dry food today!

The dog. The hubby normally lets the dog out when he gets up in the morning. Since the hubby isn't here (he is working 1st shift after working all night), the dog hasn't been out yet. I got up at 7 am because I assumed the dog needed to go outside. After all, he normally goes out between 4 & 5 and then again at 7:30 for me on weekdays. I open the door to his room and he can barely open one eye. I open the back door and invite him outside. Ha, I don't blame him. It's cold out there. But wait! I just got out of bed for you dog! You are going outside. He finally complies and is busy doing his duty when I spot the Chronicle carrier hoofing down the street. I slip my feet into my crocs and rush out to the end of the driveway while the dog is at the end of his leash choking and barking on the steps. Don't know if he finished his business but he is back in the house and sleeping on the carpet.

The cats keep giving me the evil eye. The forget who they are dealing with