Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures

I took the day off today. That just goes to show you what sort of crisis we felt like we were in. Monkey had some appointments today that she could not reschedule, and Parker has not been taking well to his separation preparation, so I stayed home so that Monkey could do what she needed to do.

The past couple days have been much better. Ripken and Parker slept pretty well, last night. There was a little bit of disarray when Parker got too close to Ripken, and, ultimately, Ripken surrendered his entire dog bed and went to sleep on Parker's blanket. They both seemed relatively okay with that. (Ripken also totally surrendered a toy to Parker after Parker just went over and smelled it, today. Ripken dropped it like a hot potato. I think our oldest is definitely going to be the lowest in the hierarchy (I think I used the "p-word" in reference to him last night), but there's nothing I can do to change animal neurology at this point, I guess. Even if I could, that is a project for another time, I have to think.)

(Since we are in parenthetical mode, I forgot to mention that Parker had his first visitors on Sunday when Uncle Mike and Aunt Laura stopped by on their way back to the Land of Gopher Prairie. Thanks for stopping in, and thanks for the chew toys. Ripken's is destroyed, as you know, but Parker is really liking his squeaky one! )

So, the dogs seemed to get some sleep, but I was in full-on Daddy Mode. Normally, I am a sound sleeper. Actually, that might be an understatement. But, here of late, any sound arouses me to alertness. Every sigh of the puppy, every stretch of Ripken's, every mumble of Monkey's had me up and surveying the situation at the side of the bed. I am still pretty exhausted.

Still, today has been an improvement over Monday (I think), and all of Parker's accidents since Sunday have been of the liquid variety. And, right now, he is snoozing in his little dog bed in the kitchen, completely apart from everyone, and not whining at all. He's been quiet for at least twenty minutes. This is progress. Many positives, today.

Oh, and a visit to the vet yesterday reveals Parker to be healthy and sound and infected with ringworm. This is apparently not a great cause for alarm, and we are treating him and Ripken (as a precautionary measure) with some sort of powdered parasite killer mixed with apple butter, so it's not all bad, I guess. Our vet also seems to reassure us that Ripken will eventually warm up to Parker. "Puppies are hard on everybody," she reportedly said.