Music of the Day: AC/DC, Highway to Hell

RATING: SSW (Somewhat Serious with Occasional Flashes of Wit)

Post-Inauguration Beverage of the Day: Simply Limeade and Milagro Tequila

Let me see if I can accurately describe the circumstances under which this is being written: I’m sitting in a blue folding camp chair in the Great Room of the Ranch. Parked next to me on the big ol’ octagonal rug is a huge dog crate presently occupied by sweet Maylie, still recovering from her recent knee surgery. She has the following items in the crate with her: an AirDog donut-shaped squeaker, a giant chocolate-flavored Nyla Bone that looks like the femur of a T-Rex, a brand new Kong chew toy (complete with some kind of edible morsel in the middle), an eviscerated green dog-like chew toy of some kind (it has no appendages left and the head has been chewed off, too), and a blue “indestructible” ring with four squeakers in it (see the picture of Maylie in my gallery—same chew toy, different color). A little while ago her crate was littered with dozens of pieces of cardboard that she had torn up—we’re letting her chew on cardboard because she’s bored spitless. She’s been confined to the crate since her surgery nearly three weeks ago and she gets in these manic/restless moods now and then in spite of the sedative that we’ve been giving her twice a day (doctor’s orders!). In about nine days we’ll be able to begin short walks with her; MLB took her to the vet on Monday and he said her recovery was coming along quite nicely, but we still have to be very careful with her for another six weeks or so before we can resume “normal” activity with her.

She has handled this with remarkable aplomb—she is, after all, an eight month old puppy with boundless energy—and we’re thankful for her grace and very good behavior. She hasn’t gotten morose either, which was always a possibility—her good nature comes through each day and, believe me, if we didn’t keep her confined she would be over-doing it almost immediately. She’s ready to get outta’ the crate and start enjoying puppy-life again.

So, you might ask, is she putting weight on her back leg yet? Yes and no. She still favors it when walking, but we’ve begun to notice that she’s using all four legs more frequently, which is a good sign—but that means we have to remain diligent with keeping her activity level low. This is hard for a young puppy to do, but she’s doing it; we’ve struggled, too, mostly on an emotional level, but I think we’re past the really hard part of the recovery. Honestly, I think this was harder on me emotionally than on MLB, although she was probably less likely than me to start sobbing while watching Maylie mope about on sedatives and pain-killers. Hey, I’ve got other stuff pulling my emotional strings, so it wasn’t just Maylie’s difficulty that was turning me into something of a basket case. I’m not “better” but I’m handling things differently now; what happens tomorrow, and how I react to what happens tomorrow, remains to be seen. . . .

That’s all for tonight; it is time to become CROMaG (which, if you do not recall, is Canine Recycled Organic Matter Gatherer), so I’ve got to get the plastic bag and the rubber glove and start gathering.

I’ll be thinking of Nancy Pelosi the whole time. . . .

AJ

TO LIVE IN FREEDOM’S LIGHT IS THE RIGHT OF MANKIND.