It's a Mutt's Life

Gigi wearing her "hat"

What's the Mutt to do?

Today Andy went to the paak soi (top of the lane) to pick up the vet and bring him to our house. We decided to move up Gigi's annual date with the vet from Songkran, the Thai new year (because that's when we got her 4 years ago) to the New Year. It's a two person job to hold down the Mutt. Though I admire the Dog Whisperer's methods, I haven't got the stamina nor the courage to implement them when it's That Time of Year.

So I slipped the muzzle on Gigi.  Andy and I held her down. The vet jabbed. It was over.  But when he tried to approach her to trim those lady-like toe nails, she screeched right through the muzzle, bloody unlikely, mister! He backed off hastily and that was that. I guess we're going to have to take her out on more walks in our lane as concrete is a wonderful emery board. I'd love to take her to the park but she's deathly afraid of riding in cars, which is why the vet makes house calls now. Soon he'll be much closer than the paak soi. He has just built a house for himself and his new wife at the bottom of our lane in the corner. Andy got the grand tour from him on the way back to the clinic. There's a kitchen with a double oven; the bride likes to bake! Another fellow foodie.

After the vet left with Andy, I fed Gigi the two worm pills he'd given me for her. I did my usual trick and hid them in a dog cookie. Wouldn't you know it, the Mutt chewed the cookie and spat the pills out on the ground. I next tried hiding them in a piece of doggie hotdog. She loves it so much she practically swallows it with hardly any chewing. And that's how she got de-wormed.

We still have a chewed up front door. She's only an inch away from making a hole in it. Every time we have holiday fireworks or a thunderstorm, Gigi the Mutt goes ballistic. Avoidance training didn't work. I bought a $6.00 motion sensor that's supposed to go off whenever the Mutt approaches the door. Well, she figured out that it makes noise but nothing else happens. I've taken to calculating on the calendar when the next thunderstorm or holiday will arrive. We're in the dry season now, so no worries there for another five months. But holidays? Well, Chinese New Year is coming up hard and fast.  All  those noisy fireworks to chase away the spirits and bedevil Gigi the Mutt.