Fudge and Vern Get a New Pet Sitter!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

When you move, you don’t really realize all the “start overs” you will have to do until you get there.  A couple of weeks ago Vern was very sick and I had to find a vet on short notice.  It started out with him throwing up and peeing blood and had both of us so scared with how sick he got so quickly.  I quickly had to find a vet and used Yelp for reviews and ended up taking him to a Vet who I really like.  Vern had to get an IV for fluids, shots for anti-nausea, antibiotics, X-rays, and a complete blood test.  When Vern does not get you up in the middle of the night and won’t eat a snack, you know Vern is sick and it took him a bit to recover, but he seems to be doing great now.  That was a major “start over”.  Finding a vet who the dogs felt comfortable with and made me feel like they were in great hands.

 

Another huge “start over” was finding a pet sitter.  Most of my family thinks I am mildly insane, but I start to get a panicky feeling when I out and about and have been gone over six hours.  I know my dogs are home where they are safe, but I can’t shake the feeling that I need to get home because they are waiting.  Just this weekend, my older sister, who has never been a big dog lover, said, “Laurie, you are the problem, not your dogs!” I thought about slapping her upside the head and saying, “duh,” but John, who is always willing to come to my rescue, added, “she is just as bad when she thinks the dogs need their walk.” He went on to mimic my speech and issued a long statement as me telling him that the dogs need their walk right now or else the world would end.  At that point, I started thinking more about harming my spouse than my sister.  I have found in my marriage that I almost always have to go it alone, because as soon as John thinks someone is challenging my judgment, he acts as if he has found a much needed ally in his quest to prove that he is the sane one in this relationship.  My sister also said I had too much stuff hanging on my walls in my new house and John added, “No, she doesn’t. We can still see some paint on the walls.” See what I mean?

 

My mom is at a 24 hour Care Facility and spends the majority of my visits telling me the Lord had better call her home soon.  She is pretty miserable and it makes our visits depressing and tedious, but every now and then her sense of humor emerges from someplace deep within her and she makes me laugh.  She told me the other day if one more person told her to look on the bright side, she was going to scream because she had just about enough of that S-H-I-double hockey sticks and my mom doesn’t swear.  One day I listened to complaint after complaint and finally said, “mom, is there anything I can do to make this better?” and she replied, “Are you an undertaker?”  It has gotten to the point where I just start adding stuff like, “fingers crossed here,” when she says 2016 had better be her last year and that makes her laugh.  The other day she told me to put a pillow over her head and push down hard.  First I said, “Mom, who would take care of Fudge and Vern if I went to jail?” and then I added, “and besides, I don’t have time right now because I have to get home to Fudge and Vern,” and all she said was, “you and those darn dogs.”  She was laughing, however, and at this point that’s what counts.

 

The point of all that is I needed to work on finding a new pet sitter so I could leave for the day and not have to worry about the dogs, visit my mom and have more time for morbid jokes, and also to take John out of the equation.  For some reason, John thinks his job is more important than racing home early to let the dogs out and has no problem telling me he will be there and then getting tied up at work.  We disagree on where Fudge and Vern should fall in importance during his workday, so to save our marriage and his eardrums, I realized I needed a pet sitter.  Luckily, I found a site online that helps you find pet sitters in your area and contacted several and eventually narrowed it down to one I thought would be the right fit, interviewed her in person so she could meet the dogs, and we tested her out this past weekend. 

 

When my kids were little, I never stressed over a sitter.  In fact, we used to see this crazy guy walking around downtown all the time carrying a big, orange bucket and I never passed him by without wondering out loud if he would babysit.  Now, before people start thinking I was a terrible mother, I promise you I would have warned my children NOT to touch the bucket, because I was pretty sure it might have been his portable potty.  Anyways, eventually both kids started telling me the joke was getting old and to get some new material and that was that.  My kids were so vocal that I never worried when they were at a sitter’s because I knew they were just waiting to tell on the other and anyone else who they thought had robbed them of their rights.  Usually, with all the bickering that went on in the car on the way over, I was so happy to drop them off that I had to stop myself from yelling, “I’m free, free at last!” as I backed out of the driveway.

 

I don’t feel that way about Fudge and Vern.  I worry so much about them when I leave for an overnight trip or vacation that sometimes I don’t think it is worth it to go.  Well, this past weekend we tried out the new dog sitter and she did a great job.  We had to leave before she arrived and since she had met the dogs I figured it would be fine. What I didn’t expect was how seriously Vern took his watchdog duties and that at our initial meet and greet he had been pretty sick and sleeping the majority of the visit.  When the new sitter opened the door, she said Fudge was fine, but Vern barked and barked and barked and wanted nothing to do with her.  He decided that the best place to keep watch over her was from the bed in the kitchen and let it be known with a growl or two that he was not going to rollover and let anybody into his house.  This information via text put my worry meter into overdrive and I was ready to race home, forget about our weekend plans, and vow to never leave my dogs again.  John stayed very calm and told me to give it just a bit of time before I panicked, which only proved to me that he does not always pick up on the subtle clues I give off when I am panicking, like raising my voice, thrashing my arms about, and repeating over and over again, “It’s been five minutes since I heard anything. Should I call the sitter again?” Well, it wasn’t long and the dog sitter sent a picture of Fudge and Vern snuggling up beside her and a text that Vern had decided he liked her and all was well.  By the time we got home the next day, both dogs were happy and fine and the sitter said they had been great!!

 

We have already worked it out for the next time that she will stay at our house the night before, so the transition is easier for all, and by all, I mean me.  The other day on the phone, my mom said she worried that those dogs tied me down too much and my life would be easier without them and who knows if she believed me or not when I said, “I wouldn’t want it any other way!”

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

We have commiserated about our moms and I know how much we appreciate it when their humor sneaks through their depression.  Life would be easier without our dogs, but they are what keep us from dwelling on the not-so-fun aspects of age, decline, infirmity.  When we dog-sit for our neighbors it consists of being greeted by a barking dog sitting on the stairs, making sure water and food are in the bowl, opening the back door and sitting on the patio, hoping Bogey will take advantage of the open door.  We tried keeping him,  and they tried taking him to a relative.  He wants nothing to do with either of those options and is happiest when left alone, given potty breaks outside, so that is what they do.  I am so glad you have found both a vet and a pet sitter that you like. Two of the most important items are now checked off your to-do list.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Sorry to hear Mom is so unhappy, but happy to hear you found a sitter.  Lucy is almost 8 and I still haven't found a sitter here in Ohio.  What service did you use.  I've looked at a couple here but haven't interviewed anyone.  I keep thinking I'll come across someone I know.  However I know I'm going to get caught short handed.  We just had a problem in FL while there in January.  We had been there 30 days when Mike's Brother passed away.  We had to go from the east coast to the west coast and find another house to stay for the week.  The problem was what to do with the dogs during the service.  I lucked into a sitter when I walked into a Grooming salon thinking that I might just leave them to get bathed while we were at the services.  However they closed to early but just happened to have a card for a local Pet Sitter.  She didn't normally stay for long periods of time, but agreed to stay with the girls the whole time we were gone.  Whew ... averted a crises there.  Sounds like you lucked out as well.  Now I better get busy and find someone here.

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Glad to hear you are settling in to new digs and was thrilled to see a Laurie blog on the main page today!  I have accumulated so much stuff that I would dread a move so I can only imagine what you have been going through.  I have a wonderful lady who stays at our home when we cannot take the doods with us and I would be extremely unhappy to have to try and replace her.  It sounds like you have been able to find a good sitter and that would be a priority in my book too!  

[Jenny and Cooper]

Again Laurie, I always enjoy reading your blog. It's one of the cheerful things to do in my days. :) You and your mom have a great sense of humor. It's great you both have each other to laugh with :D I'm glad you found a sitter for Fudge and Vern. I cannot leave Cooper for more than 2.5 hours without worrying about him being bored waiting for me in his playpen. Lol I also don't look forward to vacations but I know I still need to do it to my human boys :)

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I totally understand, Laurie.  I think it has something to do with our age (heaven help me for even saying that).  Oh and you're much younger than I am...so that may not apply.  Seriously though I used to be SO carefree...rarely thought about the "worse case scenario".  I met the babysitters when they showed up (and showing up was always "good enough").  In fairness I usually hired babysitters based on a friend's recommendation....now that I think of it and some of my friends in those days that may not have been the best idea.  The thing is I rarely worried....but everything is different now.  It's a good thing I have not birthed any babies in thirty years because they would never even have a chance.   I would obsess over them like I do with the Doodles.  My guys have to go to Daycare if I'm gone for more than a couple hours....everyone thinks I'm crazy.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I too am glad that you can still make your mom smile and laugh Laurie. Also that Vern is feeling better and that he decided that he liked the pet sitter. I'm pretty sure that JD would have had the same initial reaction.

I do have to disagree with your mom about your life being easier without "those dogs", though. It would certainly be a lot less entertaining for the rest of us, lol! 

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Oh boy...F agrees with me...is that good or bad? LOL

DJ, Yes, those pictures helped! Thank you!

[DJ & Chance]

I am so glad you can still cause your mom to laugh, and the pet sitter sounds perfect.  I know I love it when my pet sitters text me reassuring photos of Chance having a great time in my absence!

[F, Calla & Luca]

I am so glad all is well now except for Mom but at least you can still get her to smile. I understand all your concerns about the dogs and they seem perfectly rational to me, so there.