Wow did we get sick

Pet Cuddles were pretty good medicine though

Hi all! We hope you are all happy and healthy out there, because we certainly haven’t been.

Last Saturday I got this nasty, nasty cough, which I thought was from mowing grass and cleaning out our ride-on mower. It blew a ton of dust and debris into my face, and because I’m a bit asthmatic, I assumed I was just having a reaction.

By midday Sunday, I knew that wasn’t the case. I came home from planning and was flat out for the rest of the day.

Sadly, I knew I had three days of REALLY important teaching I had to get through, and I wasn’t certain I could get a sub who would be able to handle it, so I limped through each day, collapsing when I got home. I did take Thursday off work, and by today, Sunday, I’m about 80% back to normal.

At some point, however, I infected Kris, even though I stayed on the opposite side of the house and slept downstairs. She got REALLY sick Thursday morning, limped through teaching that day, and was flat out all Friday and Saturday.

Needless to say, we got nothing done besides survival, but I do have some stories to share.

Gord Returned Home

Last week Gord beat the infection, and his infection-induced dementia/delirium went away. It’s been a bit of a struggle, as he basically teleported through the worst of it, but we have convinced him to use home care for certain things. We weren’t thrilled that he returned home in such a weakened state, but he seems to be doing okay.

Our older son Duncan has been a really big help and has stepped up a ton, though we don’t want him to feel like a caregiver.

All of the pets at the farm are super thrilled he is home — Doc especially.

Mooseleg News

Though we had a three-week plan for the pre-sale of our Mooseleg dog toy, everyone supported us so much that it was completed in a day or two. It looks like everything is on schedule, and the 1.5–2 month wait time for this Kickstarter is still on track!

That’s always good news, because we hate telling people who supported us through a pre-sale that something is delayed for reasons beyond our control.

Brix Stuffie News

We are in the very last stages of finalizing the Brix stuffie, and the factory artists are struggling a bit with some of the nuances of him, but we always fight for the most accurate stuffie possible.

This time it’s taking a lot longer than it did with the dogs, but I’m sure when everyone sees the prototype they’ll be thrilled! Hopefully we’ll have more on that in the next week or two!

Bunsen Does More Laser Treatment

Bunsen turned 9 in early May, and we have put him back on the circuit for laser treatment (though we had to cancel this last week because Kris and I were absolutely destroyed).

I was skeptical about it initially, but afterward we really feel Bunsen isn’t as stiff. Normally he gets up off the ground in a bit of a halting manner and has to take a few steps before everything loosens up. This isn’t anything new, mind you, and it is FAR better than during his seventh winter when he had a slipped disc. That was scary and sad.

The laser treatment definitely makes a difference. His stiffness is worst after a big walk, and this certainly helps mitigate it.

Bernoulli is AMAZING at School!

I didn’t get to touch base on this much, but we have put Bernoulli into a Level 3 refresher course at Waggles. Because Bernoulli was intact, he initially wasn’t allowed in group classes, so all of his training there had been done privately.

Over the last six months, Bernoulli has shown a HUGE improvement with the shyness and random barking he had started slipping into, and he was welcomed into the group class.

Bernoulli is doing AMAZING! He is SO happy to go, so friendly with everyone, hasn’t barked a SINGLE time, and just loves learning and showing off what he can do.

Some of his skills still need a bit of work, and I’ve been slowly picking away at them, but some of his other skills have improved and even surpassed his original scores.

The hope is that he gets through the refresher with flying colors so he can move into the new Level 4 class Waggles offers, which trains dogs to move toward a type of “service” role. We would be aiming toward a facilities dog — one that could come into schools and spend time with kids.

He will have to be fully neutered before that point, however, and that’s the plan for this summer. He has passed his second birthday with all of his hormones in check, he’s out of the danger zone, and since we aren’t looking to have little Babynoullis, it’s the logical choice.

Brix and Beaker

Beaks and Brix were the unsung heroes of the great sickness that swept through the family. Beaker LOVES cuddling on the couch, and she slept Saturday away with Kris. Beaker likes two things: digging, and cuddles with people.

Brix was my little buddy while I was sick. Kris said it was only because he liked how warm my skin was from the fever, but I think she was just jealous. Brix spent most afternoons with me in the chair after I oozed myself home from being a sicky teacher, resting until it was time to do it all over again the next day.

Thank you to everyone who was patient with us cancelling Pet Chat and for all the well wishes. We just had a really bad cold/cough, so it thankfully wasn’t anything serious. I’m hopeful things can get back to normal this upcoming week and that Kris is feeling well enough to do the podcast again, since we missed it last week.

Take care! Talk next week!