Red Tape–Hurting Dog

It seems like you can’t even replace your HVAC system without having a bunch or red tape to go through.  Sometimes one has to wonder why our government feels it needs to be so big and intrusive.

 

Our system is on a concrete pad on top of a flat portion of the roof (over the enclosed patio area), as are all of the other systems on other condos in our complex.  You can see the concrete in the example above, although above is one that sits on the concrete on the ground.

The local code now wants us to put the system on a stand, similar to the one above, which “must” be attached to the joist under the roof deck…just in case a hurricane comes through which is strong enough that can blow the concrete pad from under the system.  Now I am thinking that before that happens, the entire roof, joist and all, is going to fly away.  But some bureaucrat feels differently.  So now we have to get a roofer involved in the replacement of our HVAC system.  So much of Friday was spent getting the permit, and work was going to start today….but then we got a call.  His mother, who happens to be a good friend of Marcia, had a heart attack last night.  He wondered if we might delay it until Monday.  I told him to delay it as long as his mother needed….the permit is good for six months, we leave in less than three.  I am sure it will get done way before then…probably next week unless his mom takes a turn for the worse.

So, look who’s back…even going to have a sleep over tonight, perhaps tomorrow too.  I wish I could say it is just because we miss her….but it is not.  Almost as bad as having a young child who is sick and can’t tell you what’s wrong is one of your dogs not feeling good, and they can’t tell you what it is.  Four and a half years I have now had Skruffy, after saving her off the streets, and she is having her third bout of having a sore back, sore groin mussels, sore something or another.  The last time this happened to her was during our trip last year.  Not sure how it happened, what spurred it…could have been a fall trying to get up on the couch (after all, she has very short legs and we have seen her, on a rare occasion, get only partway up on the couch and gently fall back to the floor.)  Could have been playing outside.  Perhaps one of those arch villain Squirrels jumped on her back and tried to ride her like a rodeo star rides a bull.  At first I had to help her up the steps into the motorhome.  Eventually she made it up the steps just fine, but would not jump up on the bed or couch.  Then one day, knowing she was going to get a treat, she ran up the steps of the motorhome and jumped right up onto the couch…but later that night she wanted, needed help getting back onto the couch.  Eventually, she was back to normal.  Yesterday when I went to visit her and Bubba she was being very whiney (not like her), and needed help getting into the car where I spend some quiet time with them and give them their meds.  This morning we get a call from Mike’s wife Sandy (not to be confused with my sister Sandy out in California) and she said that Skruffy is still not being herself.  So I went to get her.

She is acting much like she did last year.  I think the “whines” yesterday is like a child going to a parent and saying, “Mommy/Daddy, I’m not feeling well…..”, as the tears stream down their face and they curl up into your lap.  As you can see, it has not affected her appetite.  When I took her to the park first thing this morning after I picked her up, she walked around, sniffed, and barked at a few of the dogs that were there.  When I got her back to the car, she was back to her subdued nature.  For the most part, she has just by laying around today, and sometimes I cannot even get her to react when I say, “What’s that?” (which normally ends in a growl and often a bark or two).  So far we have snuck her out to the car and back in without anyone knowing a thing, and without her complaining about it.

The hardest thing is that every time she gets like this, we cannot isolate exactly where she hurts.  I rub her legs, her back, her tummy, her groin and get no reaction, and feel no lumps or bumps.  We know it is not the front part, it is somewhere in the back part of her body.  We rarely can get any reaction, and when we do, it is hard to isolate where the hurt is.  Of course, the Librarian in me causes me to do research.  Dachshunds commonly have back problems…and there is no doubt that she has Dachshund in her.  She has two, perhaps three of the seven to eight symptoms that I saw on websites for Dachshunds having a bad back.  Treatment is rest, lots of rest.  Which is why she is going to be here tonight, perhaps tomorrow night….we are just going to keep a close eye on her.