First Bath

Ever since we brought her home Alli has spent a lot of time scratching and licking herself all over. Our first thought was that it might be fleas, but the day after we got her, we took her to West Alabama Animal Hospital to be checked out and get her shots, and among the things the veterinarian did was a flea and tick treatment. He also recommended we give her a monthly chewable flea and tick preventative.

When we took her in to be spayed, he looked her over carefully and said there was not a flea, tick, or any other parasite on her body. But we also noticed that she had very dry skin and he recommended some medicated shampoo for her. We didn’t want to use it until after she got the stitches out from being spayed, which happened on Thursday, so yesterday was the big day for her first bath. At least it was the first bath that we know of since we’ve only had her a little over a month.

I’ve been owned by several dogs in my life, and some of them tolerated being bathed well and others have not liked it at all. We didn’t know what to expect from Alli, but it actually went quite well. I kept talking gently to her and reassuring her that everything was okay while Terry wetted her down and then worked in the shampoo, and she didn’t seem to protest much at all. What a good girl!

Once out of the tub and dried off we allowed her a bit of zoomies, which is what we call it when she runs from room to room at full speed or spins in circles chasing her tail. Then she settled down with her Kong Flyer frisbee and chewed on it for a while. All in all, not a bad experience for any of us.

It rained most of the day yesterday, along with a lot of thunder and lightning, and late in the afternoon when the worst of it had passed over, Terry and I and Alli spent some time sitting on the front porch. I really do love this porch, it’s a good place for just sitting and talking and watching the occasional neighbor drive by. Country Life is good!

Today is your last chance to enter our Free Drawing for an audiobook of Titanic 1912: The original news reporting of the sinking of the Titanic by Ken Rossignol, including first-hand accounts of survivors as told to reporters who met the ship bringing them from where they were saved from lifeboats. The surviving crew describes the crucial moments after the ship hit the iceberg and a crewman testifies just three days after the sinking that the ship had a fire in its coal bunkers from the time it set sail.

To enter, click on this Free Drawing link or the tab at the top of this page and enter your name (first and last) in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). Only one entry per person per drawing please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn this evening. Note: Due to the high shipping cost of printed books and Amazon restrictions on e-books and audiobooks to foreign countries, only entries with US addresses and e-mail addresses are allowed.

And finally, here’s a chuckle to start your day from the collection of funny signs we see in our travels and that our readers share with us.

Thought For The Day – It may look like I’m doing nothing, but in my head I’m quite busy.