the streak is over

i've had my beloved Krusty dog for almost 13 years now. his birthday is the 12th of this month and let me tell you: he is SO a Libra.

throughout his youth, i didn't have to concern myself much with trimming his nails b/c he was always running around so much, they wore down naturally. but when i did trim them, i always took great care to keep it above the quick and make it as painless and blood-free as possible.

for nearly 13 years that has been one of the prides of my life. when Oscar was born, i voluntarily took on nail trimming duties, given my impressive track record with the dog. things were going well until he was 5 months old and i chopped off a large hunk of his left index finger right before bedtime. not good. on the positive side, i don't have any stressful records in the back of my mind when doing his nails now. AND i know it's not the end of the world if it happens again.

i've been thinking a lot about Krusty's mortality lately. he has slowed way down, but is still the same happy, loving dog he's always been. only now, the fun needs to involve things that don't require him to hear, run or jump.

today we took a family walk around Lake Johnson. Andrea blogged about taking Krusty and Oscar on the same walk and how hard it was for her to handle them both. i went along this time and let me tell you: she wasn't kidding. Krusty freaked out walking across the bridge again and stopped to pee on everything. but it was great seeing him out in the woods on a beautiful Fall day. it was also a nice treat to veer off the path down to the waters edge and play stick. he enjoyed that. see for yourself.


Happy dog


Glory days

we have hardwoods throughout our house and often times, Andrea and i are in opposite ends. Krusty goes back and forth checking on both of us until we come together in the same room. problem is, he goes back and forth right in front of Oscar's room and with those long nails, sounds like 8 people wearing tap shoes. he has woken the baby on more than one occasion and tonight i figured it was time to cut some dog nails.

as tired as he was from our walk earlier, he was putting up his usual resistance. i'd trim one nail and he'd pull his leg back, as if i had hurt him. Andrea came up with a good idea of giving him a little treat after each nail. he's totally food motivated, and the "painful recoiling" ceased once we were putting food in his belly.

and then it happened: i squeezed my fist to activate the pincher style blades on the clippers and blood started oozing out of the tip of his nail at a frightening rate. i was numb. all i could say was "Oh my God....he's bleeding". Andrea went in the bathroom and got some toilet paper and a Hydrogen Peroxide soaked cotton ball. by the time she got back, the bleeding had stopped, but not before my fingers were covered and my heart was broken. did i mention he never even flinched? again, thanks to Andrea for taking his mind off it. all he wanted to know was "Where's my treat??".


Exhibits A, B and C

we finished his last paw without incident. he and Andrea are in bed now. i'm so thankful i didn't cause him any pain. he's such a great dog and has been my best friend...i don't know what i'll do without him. anyway, he's fine. i just had to get this off my chest.

in other news, my son really looks like Chucky in this picture: