Sunday

Last night, Mona was a bit worn down. She vomited around 4 PM (on the freshly laundered dog bed) and pretty much spent the remainder of the evening on the sofa, snuggled into her blankets. She ate some dinner and didn't get ill again. She was very interested in the chips and dip we enjoyed during the game, but we didn't succumb to her charms.

She slept most of the night on our bed, but I found her curled in the dog bed early this morning.
We have bolstered every dog friendly nook and cranny with extra blankets. I can tell she doesn't feel good when she lets me cover her with a blanket ... she typically prefers to snuggle on them, not under them. She was shivering a bit so I took a shot and she eventually stopped shivering.

She was responsive to go out to potty and spent her usual amount of time sniffing around the yard (we have some stray kitties that take a shortcut out there).

Her overall food intake on Saturday wasn't great. She did eat breakfast, but only half of her kong snack and less than half of her dinner. I gave her some chicken strips later in the evening and she ate those enthusiastically. This morning (Sunday), she again turned her nose up at breakfast and only picked. She's a bit more lively this morning, so I hope she's turning the corner. I did speak with her vet yesterday and he told me to give her until Tuesday to perk up.

Our neighbor must have gone out (or not come home) because his poor dog wailed the entire evening. We sleep through it, but it keeps our woofers a bit restless. Poor girl ... she's just lonely. Our crew occasionally give out some empathetic keens.

We are planning to go to Target today. I feel kind of guilty about going somewhere I cannot take her. She enjoys a car ride, but makes me crazy with her racing around from window to window. I spend the entire time "Mona, lay down." "Yesssss." Four minutes later, "Mona, lay down." "Yesssss." And so forth. The only way to keep her settled is to give her a treat to distract her.

Once upon a time, we tried a dog seat belt. She was very subdued and we foolishly assumed it was doing the job. Until we got about halfway there (Hartwood Acres for a concert) and Laura caught of glimpse of Mona practically strangling herself to chew it apart. She pulled over and I jumped out to free her. She had crewed the dog seat belt, the actual seat belt and most of her harness. The rest of the trip? "Mona, honey, lay down." "Yesss."

Mona is terrible at concerts. She's great with the kids, the other dogs and the music. She just wants to be petted the entire time. We bought some low slung chairs and toss down a blanker for her, along with a Kong. After she finishes eating, she begins to bark until someone pets her. The trouble is that our chairs are just a bit too high to pet her without leaning over. So by the end of the concert, we are in discomfort from leaning over for an hour or from sitting on the ground to keep her quiet. Kind of defeats the purpose of a relaxing Sunday evening in the park.

Ah, that Miss Mona.