Bubba, Vent, Family

Lots of people emailing asking about Bubba.  Bubba has a torn ACL in his doggie knee.  Our treatment of choice is for him to take Rimadyl for a few weeks, then a Halfprin (half of a coated aspirin) as needed after that.  He is walking and running on three legs, then four, then back to three, but is not whimpering or crying or letting it get to him any other way.  He also gets up on his hind legs and scratches at the tree where the squirrels are at...watching and barking at the squirrels is both Bubba and Skruffy's new favorite thing to do.  Our camera needs batteries, and my phone pictures are just not worth crap, so sorry, you will have to wait until I get the camera up and going again.

Now about the visit to the Vet.  The first doctor we say was GREAT!  In fact, he knew a vet in Pine Bluff that I knew because he attended school at LSU.  He told us of the tear, and the treatment options which included letting nature handle it, which has a 75% chance for this tear of being a full success, and two different surgeries, one running around $2,000 and the other around $4,000.  But he asked that we talk to the "surgeon", even though we told him that we were taking "door number one".  Well, the surgeon comes in and immediately tells us that our poor little Bubba was going to need major surgery if he ever was to have a happy, doggie life.  I said, "Well, I don't know why you are telling us this because we already told the other guy that we...."  He cuts me off, "Bubba is going to have severe arthritis later in life if you don't have this surgery!"  "And how much is this surgery?", Marcia asks.  "$4,200."  "And how much to put him down?", she asks.   "Well, I wouldn't put this dog down.  I wouldn't even give you a price on that...How could you...", he says, obviously showing that he had met his match.  "Well, I love my dog more than you can imagine", she says, "but I will not be spending $4,000 on him!"  He walks out as she, well, let's just say she visually showed him how many friends he had in the world.  She goes out in the waiting room after having enough of this, and the other Vet comes back in.  I told him that we liked him a lot better than the surgeon, and he says, "Well, he is a surgeon, and he has to sell...I mean, he has to, um, justify his, um....."  "I understand Doc, but he ain't doing it with our money.....and by the way, if we have his surgery, will he guarantee that Bubba will not get arthritis in that leg?"   Yep, that is what I thought as he said, "Absolutely not...there can be no guarantee."

Yesterday my brother-in-law Arny manufactured a piece of thin stainless steel for the refrigerator vent, and the cover is now on and secure.  He is something else.  I told him that my only regret was that his "work" was going to be covered up by the vent cover so that I could not show it off.  Tried to take a cell phone picture, but it just doesn't do it justice.

It has been nice to visit with all the family out here.  We are headed to Yosemite on Monday, and will be back on Friday.  We have had an opportunity to visit with my parents, and Marcia has met everyone except for one brother and his wife who lives up in the lower Sierras, and a sister-in-law who is not feeling well. 

Last night my sister Patti brought her two Terriers over, Parker and Charley.  These two brothers are rescue dogs that she has had for a little while now.  Little Parker is a firecracker, and wanted to show Bubba and Skruffy who the boss was.  After a short time period, Uncle Arny (Sandy's husband whose house we are staying at) got all the dogs to have a some-what friendly meeting....although Parker acted up a few times.  There is a new "little general" in town, that is for sure....glad to meet you Parker and Charley.

Next week we hope to share some wonderful pictures of Yosemite Valley, Glacier Point, some more big trees.  We won't be able to go to Tioga Pass, because that is not yet open to cars.  So the "high country" will have to be on a future bucket list.  Oh, and we got something yesterday to help Marcia enjoy the trip a bit more....we purchased a red, four wheel, "GoGo Scooter".  It easily fits in the back of the HHR, is not very heavy at all, and will allow her to travel along some of the ADA accessible pathways that the National Parks have.  She missed the two giant Sequoia Trees, which you could not see from the car, but now she will be able to travel along any path I travel.