And They Call It Puppy (or Middle Aged Dog) Love

See the teeth marks on this tub of KFC?
I can't tell you how happy they make me. You see, we've been going through a kind of scary health crisis at our house, and the slightly mangled Kentucky Colonel gives me hope that we might be through the worst of it. For now, anyway.

Tanner the Slobber Dog came home from his Christmas vacation last week not quite himself. When Todd brought him home from Barkingham Palace and took off the leash, he sat down in the backyard and snacked on a blade of grass. What happened to the crazy ten laps he always takes, chasing an invisible chipmunk? What happened to sniffing our cement pig and giving its head a lick?

Maybe he was tired. Or depressed from leaving his girlfriend behind, the flirty Weimaraner who taught him to open the kennel cages, the Bonnie to his Clyde.
No, a few hours later, Tanner trembled any time he stood up. And he paid absolutely NO ATTENTION to the piece of sausage left within his reach on the kitchen counter. What was wrong with our baby? Todd and I took him to the emergency clinic and tried to pretend that we weren't terrified.

Yes, he's a dog, but he's part of our family! He's my constant companion, the only one who hops up and down when Todd comes home from work, and the hairy, slightly dopey brother to my kids. We're all completely in love with him, and at five years old, he's too young for this.

To make a long story short, it looks like our baby is starting to have some hip issues. The poor, 86 pound thing is used to sleeping on a people mattress, squeezed in between me and Todd on our queen sized bed. The kennel floors were hard on the guy.
I wonder what the vet will think the next time we drag a twin sized Tempurpedic through his doors!


So anyway, Tanner is doing better now. He still takes a doggie Advil at least once a day, but Sarah took him on his first walk yesterday and said he chased a squirrel or two. And barked at all the other dogs. And did other gross, embarrassing things that I won't mention.
And then there's the mangled KFC tub. It made me cheer, even while wrestling a chicken leg out of his mouth.
By the way, you ought to try KFC's grilled chicken. Tanner recommends it!
Have a great day, y'all!
Love, Becky