Zombies and Benadryl

I told you I would have a story to tell but I didn’t think and hoping it wouldn’t be the first night I had the dogs here at Matt’s. Matt and I got in at about midnight and went straight to bed (midnight is waaayy past my bed time). I was woken up at 3 am by Oscars obsessive itching and his collar jingling. I kept telling him to be quiet and when it persisted I went to grab him to pull him up to me. I felt his body and he was covered in bumps. It was the weirdest feeling. It felt like I was petting a reptile. There were small bumps all over his body. I felt this sick feeling in my stomach and rushed out of bed to turn on the light. I turned on the light and was horrified when I saw him sulking in the corner. His eyes and face were completely swollen and were blood shot red. His lips and tongue were huge and hanging out of his mouth. I thought I was going to pass out. My first instinct was that I had to take him to the emergency dog room and then I remembered my mom had dealt with this same thing with their cat and gave the cat Benadryl. My second thought was, “What the hell caused this?” and, “Oscar is going to die and I am going to be put in a mental hospital.” I lifted the blankets looking for some kind of insect. I also lifted up his food dish in case it was the food; I didn’t see anything. I really didn’t have time to find the culprit; I needed to get the medicine. I shook Matt awake to ask him if he had Benadryl and to tell him that Oscar was sick. He barely lifted an eyelid and told me it might be in the bathroom. I told him that if he ever has children I would hope his reaction would be slightly different. There was no Benadryl and so I knew I had to walk downtown to go to 7/11. As much as this post is about Oscar it is also about a discovery I had while on my journey to get the Benadryl. Anyone out past 3 am is a zombie. I have recently gotten into watching ‘Walking Dead’ and it is soooo good. From watching this fictional show I feel as though I have enough experience behind me to say whether or not someone has zombie like tendencies. I was the exception and there will sometimes be a few but other than that everyone out past 3 am is in fact a zombie. Every person I saw out at 3 am was stumbling, not walking. Secondly, most of the time while they’re walking their clothes are not on as they should be. Their shirts are falling off the shoulder and their shoes are gone (who knows where they went). Thirdly, every person out past 3 am is searching for food. In 7/11 there was a stumbling couple who was buying 7 pre-packaged sushi boxes; they were definitely zombies. These people out past 3 am also cannot make complete sentences when speaking. They often moan, laugh, snort, and sigh. They sure as hell can’t make complete sentences and they are totally incoherent. I was frightened. I was walking quickly through the streets trying to outrun these people in fear of losing my life before I could get the Benadryl to my first born son. I would come around the corner and see the zombies and if they heard me they would stop and stare and start walking towards me. I made it home thank goodness. When I got home Oscars face looked a little better. The dosage rule for a dog is 1 mg for every pound. One pill is 25 mg so I hid Oscar’s pill in a chunk of mozzarella cheese and it went down easy. He was fast asleep and snoring in 25 minutes. We woke up this morning and he was perfectly fine. I can’t help but wonder what it was that caused that reaction and I hope whatever it is it is long gone just like the minds of those after 3 am; poor bastards.

Making the heart grow fonder

I know, I know, I know…I have slacked big time. To be honest I haven’t been able to tell many stories because I haven’t been living with my angels. If anyone knows me at all you know how hard this has been for me. The hardest thing about making my decision to move home was realizing I would have to be without my boys for at least 7-8 months. In case you aren’t really up to speed with my life, in February I moved out of my apartment in San Diego and moved all of my stuff back to my parent’s house in Murrieta (thank you Mom and Dad). I had a wake up/mid-life crisis and realized I needed to pay off all of my debt before I turned 30. I knew the only way to accomplish this would be to not pay rent for about 7-8 months. When I first made the decision to move out I knew I could depend on friends to stay with down here but I truly thought I would be sleeping in my car 3 days out of the week. It wouldn’t be worth it to drive to Murrieta and back to San Diego every day because the gas prices are way too high. I thought I would have this comfy bed in my backseat and just park around the streets and I was actually kind of looking forward to it. Unfortunately, (but very fortunately) I am in love with my boyfriend who lives 4 blocks from my work in Little Italy. I have been able to stay with him for a majority of the time. I go to my parents on the weekends to see my dogs. They have been staying with my parents because I figured it would be better for them to have a stable place to stay and they love my parent’s house with the other dogs. It has been really hard without them. At first it was kind of nice because I could leave work and go straight out to dinner or anywhere I wanted and I didn’t have to worry about going home to let the dogs out. I also didn’t have to worry about waking up early to let the dogs out to the bathroom. Then after 2 weeks I realized that I looked forward to rushing home after work, opening my door to see their welcoming faces. I also realized I loved waking up early to walk outside and get a fresh start to my morning. Most of all I just miss seeing them everyday. Luckily, my wonderful boyfriend has let them stay over at his place for a few weeks at a time so that I can spend some quality time with them. I will be moving out in the next 2 months and am really looking forward to having them back in my life full time. A week ago I got home from work on a Friday night and I went straight into Matt’s spare bedroom. I cried for 3 hours that night in the bed with my face in the pillow thinking about Oscar and Diego dying. I told Matt, with tears streaming down my face and snot in my nose, “I can’t picture my life without them and I don’t want them to die”. Best boyfriend in the world said that they will still be around or 10 more years and I do not even have to worry about that now. Needless to say this has taken its toll on me emotionally. My mom says she knows when I am entering on the dirt road because they both start to get anxious. I can’t drive fast enough and the gate seems as though it takes an eternity to open. I park and jump out of the car running up to the door. I open it up and run to the floor to lie down. They both jump all over me and lick me like crazy for 20 minutes. This is what I look forward to every weekend. For the next two days they don’t leave my side. Oscar’s nub of a tail is wagging for 48 hours. When I leave on Sunday nights I don’t say goodbye to them because I get too emotional. I get in my car and half way through my ride back to San Diego I feel guilty for not having said goodbye. I see people with their dogs and I feel the void in my life not having them with me all of the time. They will be coming to stay this week with Matt and I and I will definitely have some stories to write about, I promise.xo

The hike.

The Hike.

Matt wanted to go on a hike after the Brussels meet up group event. I thought it was a good idea when he said that it was a leisurely mile and a half hike in the peaceful hills of Escondido. By the time we got to the trail head, the dogs were still panting from being gang banged at the winery, not to mention it was 75 degrees in Escondido. We grabbed water, both dogs, and started the trek. I was already winded after 20 paces- I obviously need to start working out more (New Year’s resolution gone bad). I do love a nice hike and Matt loves it even more. In the effort to be a good, positive, fun girlfriend I throw my best attitude forward (until about 17 minutes into the hike). After about 40 paces, Oscar looks very weathered. He is panting and grunting and his tongue is almost dragging on the ground. We stop at the first shady spot and I pour water into both dogs’ mouths. I tell the dogs, “Don’t worry it’s almost over. It is okay, just relax. Take more water!” I am really telling this to myself but am using the dogs as my cover. Matt is patient as always and is very understanding. We walk some more, take some more breaks- walk some more- take more breaks. After 17 minutes I break my silence. “I hate to tell you this Matt, but this is not a mile and a half! We have been walking for days!” Matt kindly ignores my antics and tells me we are almost to the end. I say, “Oscar is going to pass out!” (again, I was secretly referring to myself). I then proceed to say that I have to carry Oscar or he will never make it. This was a plea to let Matt know how miserable this was becoming. Unfortunately, this actually backfired because I ended up picking up a 25 pound dog to prove my point. I carried him five paces and ‘had to tie my shoe’. Then I started talking about how hungry I was. “I am starving to death!” The problem is that Matt can eat two meals a day and be perfectly happy. I on the other hand need at least six meals a day in order to maintain a positive state of mind. A friend of a friend coined the term ‘Hangry’ which is when you are angry because you are hungry. I have taken a liking to this term because it’s nice to have a diagnosis. Matt again, as patient as he is pulls out a bag of Chile Picante corn nuts he free loaded from the winery. At this point, Matt knows this is, in fact, longer than a mile and a half but hasn’t exactly come clean. I started ignoring Matt once I became too hungry; the corn nuts weren’t cutting it. I knew if I said anything it would be way too bitchy. We came around the bend and you could see the fear in Matt’s face when he saw the steepest hill up ahead which was going to be the only path we could take. He asked if I wanted to take a break and I grouched back, “Let’s just go and be done with this!” I imagined coming up over the hill to see the parking lot- of course not. I stopped to take a break with Oscar because we are both dying. I saw Matt looking at me with a grin on his face and imagined him thinking, “My girlfriend is so cute, even when she is mad.” Instead, he strolls over to me points down at my crotch and says “those pants give you a camel toe.” At this point I lost all faith in myself to be anything other than a bitch. I say, “Well that is really nice!”He then said, “Why? Who cares?” I say, “Everyone in the world knows that the worst thing in the world is to have a camel toe!!” I storm off down the trail adjusting my pants. From there on out I knew I could only ignore him. I was racing down the trail with Oscar following right behind. The shoes I was wearing were my Zumba work-out shoes made for sleek wood floors. Throughout the hike I kept slipping up on the gravel because there is literally no traction. So, I was speed walking ahead of Matt, ignoring him, and adjusting my camel toe when I started going down a small slope and completely lost my footing. I fell on my butt and slid down the hill scraping up my palms. I immediately jumped up and yelled, “I am so tired of dealing with this stupid gravel!”I heard Matt kind of chuckle and I kept walking. All of a sudden I felt him grab my hand and pull me back. He pulled me into his chest and gave me a big hug. It was the first time I smiled in 45 minutes and it felt really good. He dusted off my butt and we held hands the rest of the way. Just as we were getting to the parking lot he admitted that he had misread it and it was actually an hour and a half trail not a mile and a half; I didn't care about this anymore..I just didn't want a camel toe.

Wine and Griffons

I went to my first Brussels Griffon Meet Up group at a winery in Ramona. I made Matt go with me although I think deep down he was very intrigued to see what this event was all about. When I first met Matt he asked me if a Brussels Griffon was a mythical half-lion, half-eagle creature from Belgium. So, for him to be hanging out with these mythical creatures was a magical adventure. I had contacted the president of the group prior to going to see if Diego could tag along, him being a non-griff and all. The president responded by saying that any friend or family member of a griff was part of the griff family so Diego was welcomed with open arms. On a side note- I just recently moved out and have chosen the life of a gypsy. We can discuss this at a later date but had to throw it in so that you could comprehend how much stuff was packed and piled in the backseat of my car while driving to Ramona. We were headed to my parent’s house after so that I could unload most of it into my old room. Diego was in the backseat standing on top of all of my clothes and hangers while Oscar was sitting on Matt’s lap in the passenger seat. We got to Ramona and as soon as I saw the sign for the winery I immediately regretted my decision to participate in this event. I tried backing out and driving past but Matt reminded me that I was weird and had been counting down until this day.He was right so I pulled on in down the dirt road. We saw a bunch of people standing around and I could see the little ewoks sniffing around. We walked over and they were all very welcoming. All the dogs sniffed eachother’s butts and made friends. My favorite part of the whole event was overhearing Matt talk to the president and another lady about how ‘Oscar is very independent at times and you just can’t get Diego to leave Kandi's side”. I don’t know why but it just cracked me up because here we are at a Brussels Griffon Meet Up group and probably the only thing we have in common with these people is that we think 'it's so ugly it's cute' is the greatest thing in the world and poor Matt was just trying his hardest to keep the conversation going by talking about his step children’s behavior. The wine tasting was great although I still stand by my opinion that dessert wine is the most disgusting. I ate the chocolate chips that accompanied the dessert wine and then had Matt find a way to dispose of the cough syrup substance called ‘wine’ that remained in my glass. The dogs had a blast although towards the end Oscar was getting gang banged and really wanted to leave. Matt and I both agreed it was time well spent.

Breaking off the spoon

My mom and I decided to make this dog bed. Lately, I have been really thinking of ways to get the dogs off of my bed. I knew I had to find a way that would make the dogs think they were still pretty much sleeping with me but not really sleeping with me. May I remind you that up until this point Oscar has slept with me in my bed, under my covers spooning me? Diego sleeps at my face. We sleep like a pack of wolves…well we are a pack and I am the alpha of course. You may have seen something similar on animal hoarders. This whole getting them off of my bed transition has really been difficult but I knew it had to be done. My lovely mother came down on a Saturday night and we contemplated ways to make this possible. We ended up going to home depot at 8 pm with a master plan in mind; we were going to build a wooden dog bed that would go over their two crates (covering them) and then have stairs leading up to the bed. The bed would be placed right next to mine so that they were still near me but no longer on top of me. After walking around trying to figure out which wood to buy and who would cut the sizes we needed we headed home around 9 pm to get our hammer on. We hammered away and before we knew it our masterpiece was created. I have to say---it is amazing. I have had it up for 2 weeks and her e is the progress:
Night one: they were too afraid to go on it
Night two through night seven: I put them on it at bed time and have to wake up and put them back on it pretty much every hour. Oscar paces around my bed crying and when he jumps up I push him off; heartbreaking.
Night 8-10: I am lonely and cold and so I cuddle and spoon with them all night- who cares about my progress or goals
Night 11-15: they sleep on it until I am fast asleep and I wake up to them spooning me, underneath the covers
Tonight: I want to cuddle with them so badly but this is the first night they are both sleeping on it soundly. But I want them in my bed. I can’t be selfish and give mixed signals. I leave them on the bed and we cuddle and spoon in the morning right when the sun comes up.

Stay tuned for future progress and enjoy pictures of the dog bed which inspired me and the dog bed that we created.

Sleeping with the enemies

Osci Boo Boo and Deegs, the names I actually call Oscar and Diego. There hasn’t been too much excitement lately (which is a good thing!) with the pups but there are still the occasional mishaps.
Now that the winter months are here Oscar will only sleep under my covers. I wake up in the morning clinging to the edge of the bed and turn to see Oscar in the middle with his head on my pillow, under the cover, spooning me. Diego prefers to be down by my feet but lately has started burrowing his head into my neck.
The thing is I kind of sort of need to wean the dogs off of my bed. BUT I really don’t want to…BUT I really think I need to and I know that I can’t sleep with them forever. BUT Oscar has been sleeping with me for 3 years and I can’t stand the thought of kicking my child out of my bed. AND I really enjoy snuggling with them when I am alone and cold. BUT I also need to prepare for the day when I am not the only one sleeping in my bed and there is not enough room for 2 dogs, one of which prefers to sleep in the bed like a human being. Should I just wait to wean them until I absolutely have to or should I do it now to prepare? I just don’t know and the bottom line is I don’t want to kick them out but I know eventually the time will come. The other thing is that I feel like because I am gone all day at work a lot of our quality time is laying together in bed and cuddling and I sort of feel bad about taking that away. Anyways, these are just some thoughts, fears, and dreams I have about my children and needed some tips or insights on how to accomplish this task.
Thank you!

The night I lost my marbles.

On Monday October 31, 2011 I took both dogs with me to run a ton of errands and my last stop was the grocery store. I always bring the dogs with me when the weather is cool because they love the car. I was in the grocery store for about 20 minutes tops and when I went out to my car...Oscar was gone. Diego was in the car whimpering and Oscar was nowhere is sight. I got in my car and started panicking....I laid my head on the steering wheel and took deep breathes and told myself not to freak out. I started feeling underneath the seats hoping he had crawled under—he hadn’t. The windows were not even down that much and I have taken Oscar in my car for 4 years and he has never once jumped out. I knew someone must have taken him. I got out of my car and just started running in circles looking around everywhere and yelling his name. I saw the security guard across the center and ran full speed to reach him. In a panic I asked the guard if he had seen a small dog and he told me that a dog jumped out of a car and when people tried to get him he ran away to the back of the center. I started running and I felt like I was seeing stars. I was running so fast screaming his name and all I could think of is that he went to the trail behind the shopping center. There is a huge trail and the first thought that crossed my mind was coyotes. It was pitch black by this time. I ran around the whole center and I couldn’t find him. I ran back to my car and got in with Diego and started driving everywhere calling his name; I was
losing it. I called Elizabeth, my roommate and she was just getting home when I drove past the complex. She asked what was going on and I immediately broke down into the hardest cry and couldn’t breathe. I don’t even know how she understood me but she literally threw all of her stuff down and started running down the street calling his name. I called mom and Amira too. My mom started crying and my dad was telling me to put flyers up. Amira said she was coming down to help me look. I think everyone was quite aware of what would happen to me if I never found Oscar again; I would need serious mental help. I parked my car and just started running the streets with Diego and I couldn’t even say his name loudly because I was crying so hard.
People must have thought I was crazy. I was literally just walking and
sobbing in the streets. I stopped this older couple and asked them if they saw him and
they couldn’t understand me and they just stared at me like I was psycho.
I wanted to punch them in the face. I literally felt so hopeless. I was
imagining never seeing him again and I knew I wasn’t going to be
okay. I wanted to quit my job and just lie in bed and die. I kept saying "I can’t live without
him" as I was crying and walking the streets. I literally went crazy.

I circled back to the complex and I just sat in the grass and started
hyperventilating and then I heard this couple coming out of our complex
with two black dogs. I looked up and then I saw Oscar run past them and head
straight for me. He dove into my arms and of course he was covered in poop (I wouldn’t expect anything less). The couple asked me if he was mine and I was crying saying “yes!!”
They said he was hiding in the stairs of my complex for the last 30 minutes. I cannot even begin to tell you that it was truly the happiest feeling in my life when I saw him running towards me. I kept crying the rest of the night out of nowhere just thinking about what happened. Then I had the
most pounding migraine all night from crying so hard and Oscar had
explosive diarrhea so I got a total of one hour of sleep. I hugged him so
tight while we were sleeping though because I wanted him to know how thankful I was to have found him. I think the gentleman was a little shaken up too or at least I’d like to think so.
In conclusion, my mom thinks that he jumped out of the car because he had to go to the bathroom (he had been having an upset stomach a few days before). He was smart enough to run the entire way home though and wait at the top of the stairs in the complex until I came home.
It was honestly a really scary moment for me and as dramatic as it sounds because he is ‘a dog’ I couldn’t imagine what my life was going to be like without the little guy.
Never take anything for granted. Love you Osci boo boo