Pet Notes

I will admit that I have finally crossed over the line to that crazy world where one’s pets become surrogate children (don't say it, I know you think I have been there for years). I bought Boo personalized note cards. I saw the cards on Etsy (my new on-line shopping addiction). They are white flat cards with a chocolate lab image in the lower corner. I ordered a pack of 10 cards that simply say “Boo.” They are fabulous! In fact, I love them so much that I just ordered another set of 10 for Boo and then a set that say “Meg and Boo.”

Boo now has NO excuse to put off writing his thank you notes.

Brown, I think I’m over you.

Clearly, I am a fan of Brown and consider it a practical color to incorporate into my home décor. But the barrage of Brown in all the shelter magazines has started to make me sick of it. I also hate the realization that my interiors may be falling victim to trendy design fads. I’m afraid that I might need to add Brown to zebra prints, ceramic garden stools, and faux red coral to my list of the overdone and overused in interiors. I’ve lost my desire for a Brown-walled foyer, and my plan now is to use Brown only where Boo camouflage is strongly needed—sofa, bed skirt, carpet borders—and otherwise only as an accent color and a way to tie a few rooms together.

I’d like to start a campaign for a new interior color to help us get over Brown. Pantone’s color for 2008 is “Blue Iris”—but frankly I don’t see that taking over Brown’s job in interiors—too bright and loud. I’ve seen a few rooms done in Aubergine—which I think is a more subtle choice. I’d like to see more from the Gray family-- Pewter (bold) or Dove (neutral). A deep green would work well in Brown’s place—perhaps Farrow & Ball’s “Green Smoke”, which is a wonderfully rich green/gray/blue color. For another neutral, a nice Butter yellow—pale and creamy, not lemony—I used F&B’s “House White” in my kitchen for that effect.

I feel a little guilty, advocating a switch from Brown, but I think it’s time. I do love Brown, deep down. It’s still the best color for dogs.

Dog Bed

Boo has taken to his bed. By this I mean that he doesn’t sleep in mine much anymore. I moved his old bed, a circle-with-half-bolster-type, into my bedroom a few weeks ago. Prior to that, the dog bed was in the living room. So, every night he slept in my bed. No more. Now he is spending most of every night in his own bed on the floor.

I tell myself that it’s because it’s getting warmer out and that he'll be back in the fall, but I miss him. After 5+ years of his company, snoring next to me year-round on his own two pillows, I feel a bit hurt. Is my bed not comfortable enough? (This is hard to believe.) Why doesn’t he want to curl up with me? Am I snoring? Why doesn’t he want to sleep with me? (And, yes, I am talking about a dog not a man.) I don’t think that it has anything to do with the limp—he can jump up on the bed if he wants to, and usually spends about an hour with me in the morning.

The plus side to this is that I may be reaching a stage where I can actually use nice bed linens. I can’t imagine picking out a bedspread or duvet cover and not worrying that it will get covered in brown dog hair. I wonder how many hours I have devoted to pondering the question: what is the perfect bed cover that will hide the dog hair/dog dirt, can be thrown in the wash, and contributes to the décor of the room?

Maybe I should have saved some mental energy and kicked him off the bed years ago. And maybe I should head out and bye a nice new bedcover. In white!

Racing Dreams

Just to throw it out there and go on record (should have done this before the "First Saturday in May")...not to jinx it or anything...but I am a Big Fan of Big Brown. How could I not? I have a special fondness for very large, 4 legged, BROWN creatures. And Boo, in his pre-limp days, liked nothing better than to run absolutely as fast as he could. In large circles. Pure joy. I have a good feeling for this year.

Limping Along

Boo has been hurt for several months, which has severely reduced our neighborhood walks.

We don’t know what is wrong with Boo; his only symptom is a significant lameness in his left front leg. He first started limping over Labor Day weekend—but it was a slight, intermittent limp. I thought perhaps he twisted or landed funny catching balls in the yard. By October the limp was worse and present almost all of the time. His walking had slowed down dramatically too. We went to the vet, and since x-rays were clear, we treated it as a muscle pull. That didn’t work. In November I wondered if perhaps he had Lyme disease—which would not be surprising considering the ticks he is exposed to (and that I pull off him, despite Frontline) in Bridgehampton. The test was negative. Next up, in December, was a consultation with a veterinary orthopedist. A series of x-rays showed a not-perfect elbow joint, but no clear indication of arthritis, dysplasia, etc. We tried prednisone and rest—which worked, until the prednisone dose was completed, and then the limp came back. The vet suspected a nerve or spinal disc problem, so in January, we were off to a veterinary neurologist. The neurologist diagnosed a compressed disc, and Boo was put on 4 weeks of strict rest and pain killers—they wanted “crate rest” –ha ha ha. I put the mattress on the floor (no jumping on/off the bed), confined him to a small room, and walks were for business purposes only. And still, the limp persisted.

I started to get worried that perhaps Boo had serious disc damage that would not improve without surgery, so I agreed to an MRI. The MRI was clear—in fact, his spine looked perfect. The only diagnostic test that came up with anything was an electro-something which showed elevated nerve activity in his left front leg. This led to a bunch of maybes: maybe it’s a nerve sheath tumor (not good), maybe it’s an orthopedic problem that we just can’t see, maybe it will get better, maybe not, and maybe we will never know. And still, the limp persists.

It’s hard to say if Boo is in pain, or if the leg just feels funny. He doesn’t flinch or cry out if you manipulate the leg. Is it just a case of permanent pins-and-needles? Anti-inflammatory medications have no effect; the limp doesn’t improve with rest. He walks slowly, and gets tired after a long walk, and sometimes when he is tired the limp is even worse. But in the woods or in the parks, Boo runs around as if there was no limp—or at least as if he has decided temporarily to ignore it. I wish I could.

I’m hoping that when summer comes, the warm weather will bring some improvement and Boo’s limp will go away. But I think that’s optimistic. I never realized how much being out with Boo, on all of our walks, had become such an important part of my life. I think I actually would have said the opposite—“Time to take the dog for a walk, again?? What a drag!” Now I just miss the old Boo. And I miss our walks.