Home of the Brave

[captainsblog]

Of all the animals who've populated our home over the past 22 years, Tasha is probably the one who needs us the most and yet has been photographed the least. She came to us as a stray, who'd been rescued after she escaped from a probably abusive original home. It's taken more than nine years with us, after nine months before that, to get her to a point where she's comfortable around all of us and, increasingly, other life forms.  When she started to accept Emily's boyfriend earlier this year, it was a major accomplishment.

This morning, Tasha had her annual vet visit. Until last spring, this trip required an early-morning dropoff and full anaesthesia before the doctor could draw her blood, clip her nails, and generally poke and prod. It was stressful for her- no om noms the night before, plus the risks always attendant to that level of sedation- and it made her vet visit far more expensive than any of the others.  Last year, we experimented with a milder approach: Tasha gets a pill ("puppy Prozac," we call it) an hour before she goes in, and she's awake, if somewhat buzzed, when they do the deeds. This time, I took her in for it, and while she stressed over not eating this morning, and a bit more while in the treatment room, she got through it just fine and in under half an hour.

When she got home, she promptly passed out:



She's a Lab-Shepherd mix, and the latter side really shows, in the ears and the coat, in that shot.

She moved down the hall when the annoying landscrapers showed up across the street, and that's where Zoey decided she needed to make sure that Big Sister was okay:



I think that qualifies as a "yes":)

Comments

[troubleagain.livejournal.com]

D'awwww, Tasha! My dog's a nervous wreck, too.

[digitalemur.livejournal.com]

Oh, she's an adorable doggy!

I sort of would like a dog, and I know I could get one at any time if I really really wanted... but with only myself at home and without a fenced backyard yet, I know I can't really take good care of a dog during the busy season at work. Other buildings on campus welcome dogs in offices, but my building isn't one of the ones that can do it, so for now, it's probably not a good idea.

Want want want, though!