Category Archives: Dogs

Rattlesnake Bite #7

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We had a cold front blow in yesterday morning, dropping the temperature 20 degrees in about an hour. That sent some critters looking for a warm hiding place. One rattlesnake found such a place on our back porch yesterday. Then our dogs found the rattlesnake.

Fortunately, only one dog got bit. He’s been to the vet and came right back home, with meds. There is a canine vaccination for Western Diamondback rattlesnakes and our dogs got their latest dose on April 10th. Timing is everything, right? There are so many variables that go into a rattlesnake bite (the dog’s age, his size, the amount of venom, for example), even a dog current on his rattlesnake vaccine needs professional care.

Here is Clint, a few hours after being bitten. His nozzle is swollen some. The bite is just above his nose, in the dark, bruised area.

A yellow Labrador Retriever with a swollen nose due to a rattlesnake bite

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it got the dog bitten by a rattlesnake

This is rattlesnake bite number seven for our pack of dogs in the 14 years we’ve lived here. All the dogs survived the bites.

Here’s Clint in his younger days, without a swollen nose.

A yellow Labrador Retriever in a field of bluebonnets

Clint in bluebonnets

All You Need

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All you need for tracking is a dog, a harness, a lead, a couple of articles (gloves) and someplace to track, right?

Not so right. Last weekend I went to a tracking seminar in Bertram, Texas, where the presenter was Vince Ramirez, an AKC tracking judge from Kansas. I loaded up my vehicle on Thursday afternoon after work. It took me about 3 hours.

I loaded the wire crate for transportation (Dusty would try to help me drive if he was loose in the vehicle), a mesh crate and pad for when we were inside during the lecture portion of the seminar, a fold-up chair, two first aid kits (one human, one canine), a beach towel, two fleece blankets (silly, I thought, as the temperature was in the 80s at the time, but come Sunday morning when it was 37 degrees with a 30-mph wind, not so silly), a gallon of water for Dusty, two water bottles for me, two canine water bowls (one fold-up, one plastic and non-spillable), dog treats, four leashes, two collars, two bumpers (training items: one white, one orange), a paper towel roll, a box of facial tissues, two Texas maps, my GPS, a portable jump starter, a vehicle sun visor/reflector, and three flashlights.

My vehicle loaded up with a dog crate and gear

In “dog mode,” already somewhat unpacked.

I haven’t even started listing the tracking gear yet. That includes two tracking harnesses, three 40-foot tracking lines, four equipment bags (two wearable when tracking, two larger ones for storing the tracking gear in the vehicle), two 2-gallon bags of articles (gloves, socks, leather pieces, potholders, dishrags, wallets, etc.), a spray bottle for a spritz immediately before starting the track, poop bags (always clean up after your dog!), and surveyor flags.

There was hardly any room left for my stuff: gloves for me to wear when on the track, a vest, three hats, a sweatshirt hoodie, two jackets and one knee-length coat, an extra pair of hiking boots, extra socks, running shoes, my Frogg Togg rain gear, two golf-sized umbrellas, knee-high wading boots, snake-proof gaiters, two pencils, three pens, my camera, and a clipboard with lined paper, blank paper and waterproof paper. Oh, and snacks and lunch.

I need a smaller dog or a bigger vehicle.

Sleeping Around

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Here are my batik blocks from the Carpenter’s Star pattern, arranged on top of my bed. This was a few months ago. I finally got around to sewing it together and finished piecing the quilt top yesterday. I sewed the half-square triangle blocks at Shelly’s house in May. She sewed her quilt top in June; I’m a little behind schedule, to state the obvious.

Quilt top blocks for the Carpenter's Star pattern, arranged on top of my bed

Carpenter’s Star, arranged


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

I was so reluctant to remove the arranged quilt blocks from my bed. It’s the closest I’ve ever come to having a quilt for myself. I considered options that would let me leave the blocks on my bed until I was ready to sew them.

My dog Moe, sleeping on the couch with her feet sticking up

Moe, queen of the couch

First I thought about sleeping on the couch. I walked into the living room towards the couch and sat down, gingerly. It’s not really my couch anymore, you see. It belongs to Moe, my 13-year old dog. That’s where she sleeps, on top of a sheet. If I had any chance of sharing the couch with her, I was going to have to get her to move over. I gently prodded her shoulder. She opened one eye. I tugged at her feet. She yawned and stretched out. I tickled her behind her ears. Finally! She got up, looked at me and plopped right back down in the middle of the couch. She was snoring within seconds.

Then I called around to some friends to see if they had room for me to sleep at their house.

My Plan B friend’s dog was nursing puppies and wasn’t taking kindly to visitors. (I was glad to stay clear of that situation.) Plan C friend had been auditioning fabrics for days all over the house using the morning and afternoon light through all the windows and was on the verge of the perfect fabric combination for her next quilt. If she moved anything around, she’d have to start all over. I understood – believe me – and moved on to my next sleep over possibility.

Plans D, E, and F: One had boxes and boxes of knitting yarn stacked everywhere as a favor for her friend, a knitting-shop owner. Maybe I could sleep at Plan E’s house? Well, she had a bevy of new oil paintings drying all over her house, couch and bed included, for an upcoming art show. Plan F already had overnight guests who had travelled to town for the quilt shop hop that weekend.

I returned to my bedroom and looked at my beautiful batik blocks, all in perfect rows. I sighed deeply, picked up my pillow and a blanket and took my place on the floor at the foot at the bed. Obviously I need more pet-free friends who aren’t artistic. And a sleeping bag from Santa.