Isn’t this nice? Becca was feeling badly that I was feeling sick-ish last week, so she sent me and Chappy this calendar–12 months of dog sweaters, including the patterns. Isn’t that cute? (Although, no, I will NOT be making Chappy the “dog-kini” pictured in August.) Thank Jackson for us, too, huh?

The timing was good, though, because Chappy went to the vet today–and you know, that’s never fun. Not that he’s bad at the vet. Oh, no. He’s really very well-behaved these days. (He’s come a long way from the puppy that required FOUR people to hold him still enough for the vet to examine an eye infection. Or who needed THREE people to get his nails clipped. But we don’t like to think about that.) He did leak a little on the floor, I’ll admit, but he was good for the exam. And happy once I let him off the table. (Really, if it weren’t for the actual exam table, he’d be just fine at the vet.)

Why did we go? He’s been a little itchy lately, and had some bumps on his skin. I’ve tried some holistic kinds of things–moisturizing, antiseptic shampoos, supplements in his food–but while it toned down for a week or so, it flared back up again. So . . . to the vet. Turns out he’s got a staph infection. He’s on an antibiotic (he doesn’t mind–that means cream cheese three times a day), and I have instructions to give him an antiseptic shampoo at least twice a week. Luckily, Chappy’s very well-behaved in the bathtub. I brought him home, sudsed him up, told him to sit and . . . he did. For the five minutes required before rinsing. Such a good boy! I would have taken a picture, but, well, my hands were kind of wet . . . he’s just adorable soaking wet, though.

He’s been completely zonked out all night, though. I don’t know if it’s the excitement (getting out of the house, being at the vet, having a bath, running around the house to dry off, chasing his frisbee across the house for 20 minutes), or if it’s the antibiotic, but he’s been sleeping so hard tonight! In fact, right now, he’s snoring.

Oh, and he, like so many of us, put on some holiday weight. He was up to 37.5 lbs. In August, he was 34 lbs. Somebody’s going on a diet! Pity it’s going to rain/snow tomorrow–we could both use a really long walk.

Anyway, thanks Becca. The timing was great. Chappy’s always excited when he gets mail, and it cheered him up after, you know, the vet. It was nice to get a treat, too, because I still haven’t gotten my last, “reveal” package from my Knitter’s Review Secret Pal. Claire was nice enough to e-mail her for me over a week ago, and she said that she had sent the last package a couple of days before Christmas . . . it really shouldn’t take this long, even with the holiday postal overload! And I know that this one hasn’t gone anywhere it wasn’t supposed to go. I know it didn’t get “recycled” like the first, unfortunate package she sent me all those many months ago. I’m not upset with my pal (because I really do believe she sent the package), but I’m curious. I want to know who she is; I want to know what was in that first package; and of course, I’m curious about what’s in this one (grin).

Thanks for all the comments, folks. It’s nice to hear from all of you. And I’m feeling better about having my shawls all swirled into my drawer, rather than having them all tidily folded, too. (My fancy “folding” technique? I hold the shawl at the center back, at the neck, and kind of swirl it around my hand, and then plop it into the drawer. Really very tricky. Maybe you shouldn’t try this at home.)

Have a great weekend.

Updated: I just got an e-mail from Claire. My KRSP has been in contact with UPS who picked up my package, but have no record of actually delivering it. I hope I hope I hope that they haven’t lost it. I know she had some “irreplaceable” stuff in that first box that got, um, misplaced, and she may well have put some extra-nice stuff in this final box as well . . . and I would feel terrible if both of them ended up in package-heaven. Keep your fingers crossed for that poor little lost box!

• Tags: Chappy, Family, General • Permalink:Puppy Love //