Dogs.

“Such short little lives our pets have to spend with us, and they spend most of it waiting for us to come home each day. It is amazing how much love and laughter they bring into our lives and even how much closer we become with each other because of them.”

So, the above is a quote from Marley and Me (the book). I haven't read the book yet because I know that it will make me bawl (I have seen the movie). As much of an animal lover that I am, I don't read books about animals if I can help it. For some reason authors think we enjoy the catharsis that comes from reading about beloved animal companions dying..... not me. In 5th grade we were required to read Where the Red Fern Grows. Well, my sister read it before I did and she told me what happened in the end. I watched the movie. Yeah, that was the first time I ever lied to a teacher and "cheated" on homework (that I remember). Of course I did not read it! Even my 5th grade self knew better than to put myself through that pain! Still, when all of my classmates got to that part in the book I cried right alongside them in our class discussion of death.... sometimes teachers are cruel. The last book about animals I read was a nonfiction called Soldier Dogs. I really enjoyed the book and learned quite a bit about working dogs and war but the stories of the different dogs (even the ones that didn't die during the war came home just as broken as some of our human veterans) broke my heart enough that I probably won't read another animal book for a while. I will still recommend that book if you are at all interested about the different duties of military dogs. There are a lot of heartwarming stories as well. Just be prepared to cuddle up next to your own pooch with a box of tissues. When I read it, Miya was more than cooperative as I used her fur for a tissue. Dogs are the best. 

So, why start off the conversation about dogs? Hmmm? Well, my day today has mostly revolved around planning lessons and my dog. I have not been able to get done nearly as much planning as I have wanted because I have been chasing around my dog all day with a bowl of flour and a washcloth and bleach. "Wait," you might say. "None of those things go together! Are you trying to murder your dog?" No... I am trying to keep it from killing itself! 

I have spent most of this weekend cleaning. We went to Universal Studios for our monthly visit on Saturday but when we came home I spent 6 hours just cleaning up the mess that has accumulated over the last month. It's been a busy month... I haven't been cleaning as much as I should have been....and I just hate existing inside a dirty house. So, it took me 6 hours to clean two out of the three rooms of our tiny house. 

Well, this morning it was time to give the stinky dog a bath. She hasn't gotten one since the beginning of the summer and she's just a smelly lump of fur. I know you're not supposed to bathe your dog a lot but, ugh, my dog sleeps in my bed and often lays on my head to get my attention. You'd keep her clean too. Also on the list of things to do this morning - clip her nails. 

Running around on the cement parking lot of The Park keeps her nails pretty trim but it also keeps them chiseled down into tiny knives of death. Her claws are very sharp. So, I took my doggy nail clippers to her paws this morning. She absolutely hates it. They don't hurt her if you do it right. It's like clipping your own nails except that dogs have veins that run through their claws. If you cut too close it can hurt and you risk your dog bleeding out. I've been clipping dogs' claws for a while now though and I feel pretty confident. I've also clipped too close before too and, as long as you have some flour to help coagulate and you keep an eye on them...it's really not too big of a deal. Unless you're Miya.

Miya hates getting her claws clipped so I have to lay on top of her while I'm clipping in order to keep her still. Well, this time she jerked her paw in such a way while I was clipping that I cut into the quick. A fountain of blood comes up. I remain calm. I've done this before. Miya doesn't care. She's just happy that I've stopped clipping her nails (there are still two that I haven't clipped yet). She's trotting around, getting blood all over the place. Luckily I clipped them outside so I wouldn't have to resweep all the dog nail remnants off of the floor. We get her claw in some flour and the bleeding stops except that Miya is extremely excited now that both Daniel and I are outside and she starts running around and looking for a stick to play with... it starts bleeding again and we have to force her to lay down while we put more flour over her claw. Our front patio now looks like someone got into a stabbing match over some white powdery substance that spilled all over. 

Well the bleeding stopped and everything was fine. I waited to bathe her for a bit so I didn't break whatever scab was forming. I brushed her teeth and started some laundry. Then I got her in the shower and washed her. Her claw was fine all the way through the shower... no issues. It was fine getting out. Miya loves towels. After a bath she will immediately run, face first, into a towel you are holding out and rub herself into it. It's pretty great. After getting dried a bit though, she got really really excited. She started dancing around and that's when it happened. She scratched her claw on the hard stone floor and it ruptured. 

Now I've got this excited German Shepherd running around the bathroom with blood spurting everywhere, even on the white bath mat. I run her outside and dip her now wet paw in more flour. The patio scene looks even more gory but nothing like the blood trail leading from the bathroom outside. She's still so excited it takes a couple of dips to get the blood stopped. I went back inside and had to clean up the bathroom I just cleaned and follow the blood trail outside with bleach and a rag. I've been doing this all day. I even had to rewash a ferret (they got baths last night too) because it got Miya blood on it's head while they were playing. Miya keeps getting excited about just existing.... I love my dog. 

So, yeah, that's pretty much the highlight of my week. There's just not that much to talk about today. I've been keeping pretty busy with work so.... I'm feeling pretty lame right now. Ha ha. I hope ya'll are having a good week! If you're feeling like I didn't live up to my blog writing awesomeness... read last week's post... it was really long and a lot more interesting!

<3/ Brandy