Shots, check! Cuddles, double-check! 💉🐶❤️

 We nearly had a disaster.
I’m just glad it happened in our yard, not at the vet's.
The vet's office sits on a busy four-way highway.
If this had happened there, we’d be burying Duffy.
His collar slipped off as we were walking to the car. 

He’s still a runner.
He bolted straight for the road.
Cowboy happened to be outside and, as stern as he could manage, said, “Roughie, get in this car. You’re going for a car ride.”
Either Duffy’s gotten old, fat, and lazy, or he just couldn’t resist the car ride.
He lay down, and Badger grabbed him.

Traffic was heavier today than the last time we took one of the critters to the vet.
That was not fun.

We walked in, and there was a dog about Lady’s size.
He gave a loud bark at us, so I jumped.
I always startle at loud noises, and I jump when dogs bark, even my own.
So we ended up on the cat side.
They politely asked us to go out, go around, and sit on the cat side.
I’m not sure if it was me jumping or the dog is known to not be friendly.
They called the dog back to an exam room, and he was barking at the vet tech.
He may just not have been a friendly dog, and he was trying to lunge at Duffy.

Once the dog was out of sight, we got Duffy weighed.
He came in at 40 pounds (ca. 18 kilogram), and we went back over to the cat side.
I told Badger I’d feel better waiting there, just in case the dog had a quick exam.
I didn’t want to stay on the dog side. 
There isn’t much room to get out of the way if a dog turns aggressive.

While we waited, Duffy did what he always does at home.
He hopped into a chair and sat.
The vet tech came out smiling. “Oh, how cute. He’s sitting in a chair.”

Don't all dogs sit in chairs like a human?
I think Duffy was trying to watch TV.
He loves TV.

With a dog, at least with us, you tell them you only want a rabies shot, and they bring it out to the lobby.
One and done, and you’re headed home.
Cats, on the other hand, they insist on a full exam.
Actually, now that I think about it, you might not want to risk losing a cat if you open the carrier out in the open.

Duffy can go bark at the mailman.
He’s safe again.
And Badger already has his spa appointment lined up.
Once a year, he gets his rabies shot, then heads straight for a full spa treatment at PetSmart.

Cowboy stopped at the hardware store, and we were home before 10:30 a.m.
He settled into his recliner for a nap. 
Badger reheated the chili and then headed to her room.

A text came through with my mammogram date: next Monday.
I hadn’t expected that.
I called to schedule my yearly female appointment, since I usually do both in the same week.
This time the doctor couldn’t see me until December 15th.
I should have called back in July.

The morning inched along like a snail.
Nothing of note to note.

Eventually, Cowboy woke up, finished whatever it was he needed to do with the water heater, and went out to take care of his chickens.

Dinner time came, then it was time for Cowboy to head to work.

We hadn’t checked on Heron’s cats. 
I didn’t even check on them yesterday.
I took Badger at her word that all four were on the catio, and all was well.

I asked her to come down with me.
She snapped my head off, said, in a hateful tone, they would be fine, and wouldn’t come out of her room.

So I walked down alone and noted there were only three cats.
I checked the inside and the catio thoroughly, and the white cat was still missing.
I shook the treat bag, and she started yowling, but I couldn’t place where the sound was coming from.
I checked the roof. 
No Hank. 
I turned and was heading back up the drive when she popped out from underneath the RV.
I wasn’t sure if she’d come to me, so I went to Badger’s window and yelled loudly for help.
Badger had barely reached the carport when Hankie came up to me. 
But once I picked her up, she fought like a mini panther.
We put her inside, made sure she was yowling from indoors, counted all four, and closed up.
Then we headed back up to the house.
I called Heron and told him he’d lost Hank, but instead of being on the roof, she was underneath.
It was possible she’d spent the night and most of the day outside.

We gave it two hours, went back to the RV, and sure enough, Hank was missing again.
This time she slithered out from underneath the fig tree by the she-shed.
She’s getting more adventurous, going a little farther each time.
We took her inside, turned the fan on, shut the windows, brought the other three cats indoors, and locked them all inside the RV.
No more catio time until Heron gets back.
I told Badger I still wasn’t confident she isn’t finding a way out from inside the RV, but we can’t figure out how.
We also can’t figure out how she’s getting out on the catio.
Heron boarded up most of the places out there after she escaped to the roof.
I’m fairly confident she’s not escaping to the roof and climbing down.
When she got on the roof, she stayed there until someone came to get her down.
She may have learned to be braver, but I think she’s finding a lower way out.

Hopefully she stays in the RV. 
I’m not going back down there
It’s creepy and spooky at night.
It’s also dark, and the motion detection lights only stay on for a few minutes.
Heron lives in the RV, but when he’s at work or at his girlfriend’s for the weekend, Badger and I check on the cats. 
For convenience, we leave the RV unlocked.
So it’s not unrealistic that someone could go in. 
Unlikely, but not impossible.
Heron does keep it locked when he’s at home.

We came up to the house and spent the rest of the evening watching a movie.
We did go out once, to take a little walk around the church parking lot, just to stretch our legs.

Tomorrow will be laundry day, and I have three baskets to put away.
I absolutely hate having to put up laundry, and for now my room and Badger's have taken the overflow things that need to be in storage.
My room is pretty cluttered, but it can't be helped.
Those things were once kept in Raven's room.
We haven’t seen or heard from him in maybe two weeks. 
I lose track of time.
He said he'd clear the room out soon.
I hate to nudge one of my children out, but it would sure be amazing to have my storage room back.
That would give me and Badger more space in our bedrooms.

I think I’ll head to bed. 
These days I wake up at 6 to 6:30 a.m., regular as clockwork, just like when my kids were in school.
It wouldn’t be so bad if I didn’t stay up until midnight reading or watching TV.