Double Trouble

Disclaimer:
I started this post in Feburary.   However, with Life gettinging the way, I haven't been able to edit or post it. For some, this is old news.

Double Trouble
The second week of Feburary was not among my best.  It was preCOVID-19 and I'd finished up my second week of battling an ordinary cold that was not responding to OTC meds.  This meant I'd finished my second bottle of cough medicine. Second bag of cough drops at work. Second bag at home. Second box of tissue at work. Second box at bedside. Second box on the living room side table.  And second box in the bathroom--that one didn't start off new though so maybe it doesn't count.  I also hit the alarm snooze twice Sunday morning, so I didn't make it to church. And to add insult to injury, my phone calendar reminded me of the the first 2pm Barkus Parade roll time I was missing since 2006.

I first became aware of Barkus parades the year after Katrina. That was my last pre-Bandit year. Alicia wanted to walk, but had two pups and her Husband Bill was busy.  You can only walk one pup per human escort in Barkus, so she enlisted me as an escort. By the next year I had Bandit, and Bandit and I have walked, or at least attended, every year since.  Even when Alicia had to work--although, the parades Bandit and I  walked alone weren't quite as much fun.  Now, all of Alicia and my Barkus-walking FurKids have crossed The Rainbow Bridge.

Lots of twos, pairs, and repeats. You might say Double Trouble.

But not every pair, repeat, or  double is trouble.

For instance, in January I met The Girls: Kenzie and KatiE. They are the retired American Kennel Club (AKC) Champions I've posted about recently.  Since they are retired they will be spayed before going to their furever pet homes with limited registration privileges (which means no more conformation shows because they are already champs, and no breeding rights for the new owner). When last we met in January, which seems like a lifetime ago,  Plan A was to see if either of The Girls clicked with me. They both did.  Almost instantly.  The Breeder was impressed--as was I--Bandit did not click with me when we first met.

Since I clicked with both of The Girls, and I could not pick one  I moved on to Plan B. AKA: The Second Plan. Yet another two.  Plan B  entailed waiting, one of my least favored virtues. Okay, it is pretty much an absent virtue from my arsenal.

You might not realize the restraint I've shown from my last few posts about The Girls. But that's likely because I've not been posting IRT. Rather than the few weeks I've teased you with these posts, this drama has been unveiling over several months.

As of our inital face to face meeting, Plan B entailed me getting both of The Girls--but not at the same time.  I would place a deposit on KatiE, who would be spayed Feb 13th, and I would pick her up either Valentine's Day after work, or Saturday. Kenzie would be bred one last time, and be held for me until after she weaned her litter. Then she would be spayed and I would get her this summer. It's been a while since I was a Double Doggie Mommy.  Plan B would ease me back into the role. Plan B was a great plan.  However, as often happens in my life,  Plan B changed.

Enter Plan C.  Both Brandi and I had been ill, and we both had President's Day off, so we decided, rather than possibly compromise healing, we would push KatiE's  pick-up date back two more days from the Saturday after Valentine's Day to the following Monday holiday (Memorial Day).  Waiting until Monday would give all three of us extra healing time.  As anxious as I was to see KatiE again, I was also relieved.  I wanted our home bonding time to be easy-peazy and as stress-free as possible.

Maybe third times really are charms.  And art threes are certainly pleasing to the eye.   Plan C was looking like a winner.  But it just didn't jive with the doubles theme of this post.

However...Plan D, the fourth plan,  is divisible by two...

The next text I received was the best change yet. Brandi had decided not to breed Kenzie after all. She was at the Vet being spayed at the same time as KatiE.  I would be picking up both of The Girls Monday!  So much for easing back into Double Doggie Mommyhood.

As wonderful as the text and change in plans was, I needed to complete my preperations for The Girls.  Quickly! 

Because Bandit also had a collapsing trachea, I  decided I would never again walk a pup on a leash using a collar.  His treachea problems were most likely related to his enlarged heart pressing on the trachea; however, I didn't want to take any chances.  From now own I only use choke free harnesses.

Since I didn't have the measurements of The Girls chests I had to guesstimate when I ordered their harnesses. I did a pretty good job, from my memory of our one and only meeting.  I also ended up ordering an extra, just-in-case size, that actually ended up being the better choice for KatiE. Unfortunately the tandum leash I ordered was waaaaay too heavy for these little girls.  I'm glad Khol's does easy Amazon.com returns.

Speaking of the tandum leash.  I knew PetCo had a smaller right-sized tandum leash.  It's not the one I wanted, but it was the only one right-sized one they had, and I didn't want to deal with two single leads. So, after picking up The Girls we stopped at PetCo before going home.

When we arrived at PetCo, I decided to place The Girls in a buggy to make shopping easier.  I got them in the buggy easy enough. Then realized they were unsecured--I could use the the single lead leashes to secure them; however, the leads were out of reach on my passenger seat. I couldn't hold The Girls and stretch across the driver seat to reach the leads--and the car next to us was parked too close to open the passenger door unless I left the buggy at the trunk of the car. I was going to have to off-load The Girls, get the leads, then reload The Girls into the buggy. Not a problem--just time consuming.

Just about the time I had the logistics worked out in my head, a passerby walked out of PetCo with a 50 pound bag of dog food on his shoulder. Luckily, I flagged him down and he held The Girls by their harnesses, while asking if they bite or are jumpers.   His questions only served to intensify the vivid scenes of everything that could possibly go wrong that were already playing in my head.  Sienfield
writers here I come--I can generate your reunuion show with all the scenarios in my head.  Clearly I had not thought these very important details through.  Bad Mommy.  Very Bad Mommy.

After safely transporting The Girls inside and purchasing the right-sized tandum leash and a few small guilt items, aka treats, I decided we would walk out to the SUV on the tandum leash. I asked the cashier cut off all the plastic ties. How hard could the short walk be? The Girls are show dogs. Champions.  They were used to strutting their stuff on the end of a leash. Again, How hard could it be? Right?!...Right?...right?

O.M.Gosh.  If our initial  trip into PetCo had been a Sienfield episode, our first foray out was foder for I Love Lucy.  The Girls wrapped themselves around my legs like I was a trussed turkey ready for roasting.  On second thought, on the Hilarity Scale, it could rival the Friends Thanksgiving episoide where Joey gets the turkey stuck on his head! IMHO this was their funniest episode.

Thankfully, the walk to the SUV was short and injury-free.  Likely because there was no traffic, and the Lookie-Lou's at the ice cream shop were minimal.  I'm thinking since no viral videos have surfaced, that means there are no security cameras in the parking lot.  Our exit was nothing short of spectacular. I have a new respect for Professional Dog Walkers. I will be googeling learning tandum leashing walking...before our next outing.

I started this short series of posts with a nod to an old tv commercial, when I stated,  "Chinese Cresteds are like Lays Potato Chips--you can never have just one." Sometimes it's because you just keep getting them one after another.  Sometimes it's because you get them in multiples at the same time. No matter the cicumstance, it still holds true.

Bandit will never be replaced. He will always be my heart dog. However, because Cresties are so awesome, I couldn't stop at one.

Double Trouble or Loads of Laughter and Love all at once? Only time will tell. I know what my money is betting on. 😍

Update: 
It's now April and COVID-19 temorarily turned everyones life upside down.  This post was already woefully overdue. But I wasn't ready to post it--it was way longer than it is now, full of even more typos, and so disjointed even I couldn't make heads or tails of what I was attempting to write.  I've had The Girls ten weeks (or two months and two weeks  for those of you keeping track of the twos 😉). I've only told a few people about The Girls. This post is still way too wordy, but most of the kinks are starting to be  worked out. Due to the illness of the Breeder/Groomer/Handler, I've not been able to have The Girls groomed before I showed them off; however, I was able to snap a photo of all THREE of the FurKids together this morning. So I'm presenting them As Is.  Don't judge. And I've decided they are for sure not Double Trouble.

Nope, Lou's Zoo is now officially a Triple Threat! 🐶🐱🐶 😱

The Mask

So I went to my normal monthly B12 injection today. I was met at the door by a masked woman wearing gloves and a gown, wielding a digital thermometer.  As she took my temp (97.3F as always), she asked the screening questions I answer most mornings to gain entrance to my job at the VA.  She noticed my eyes were watery, and my voice raspy, and since I told her, "yes--but it's just allergies" to the cough question, she booted me to the second line evaluater.

 The Charge Nurse came and ageed with me, it's just allergies.  She said I could sit on the "well" side of the waiting room--which actually had a divider sign between the well and ill sides, and had chairs spaced 6 feet apart. However, I had to wear a mask until I left the clinic. 

 Not a problem. I appreaciate the caution.  Even if I was the only person in the clinic waiting room. Which I was.

 I don't know if they realized what my dentist and dental hygenist know, or if they just picked up the wrong mask, but they gave me a kids mask! (You wouldn't think a big girl like me would have a small mouth but  I DO!!!) Anyway, not only was the mask CUTE!  But it FIT better than the adult masks I use at work!

I wish I knew how to attach the photo to this blog post. If you're one of my FB Friends you can see it there.