Rule Change #4032 and Odds and Ends

(Gus with extraordinarily wet/dirty paws after playing outside in the rain one day;

also, indicative of how I feel today)

So I have a little bit of news. I've written (probably ad nauseum) about Indiana's food rules. Well, today we have a new rule change in effect: plain, cooked turkey (either freshly cooked or heated in the microwave for 75 seconds) is acceptable as dinner; however, said plain, cooked turkey must now be either freshly cooked or heated in the microwave for 60 seconds (those extra 15 seconds make it much too hot), and the only acceptable method of transference to The Princess' mouth is by human fingers. Snouts or spoons are no longer accepted methods. 'Kay. Got it.

I had a major freak-out moment about half an hour ago when the pharmacist from my primary vet's office called to tell me that two of my prescriptions cannot be filled because Vet #1 will not be carrying them because Vet #2 is leaving. Vet #2 has been a godsend because (a) he's awesome, (b) he not only does acupuncture and chiropractic, but he's also a certified Chinese Herbalist, and (c) he has picked up some of the slack in Vet #1's schedule now that Vet#1 only works 1-2 days a week.

With Vet #2 leaving, I now not only (a) will have a harder time getting my dog in for acupuncture and chiropractic, but I also (b) will have a hard time getting the other 5 animals in for more emergent-type problems, (c) have to figure out where I am going to get the herbs she will no longer be carrying, (d) have to decide if I'm willing to pay more for the inevitable price increases coming on the herbs I will be able to get, and (e) will now have to take Indiana to Bloomington for Chinese Herb consultations.

I am angry about this whole situation for about a million reasons, none of which I will go into detail about. I will only say this: this is most inconvenient. Just when I thought I had everything figured out, fate screwed me over, and now I totally don't have everything figured out.

But, I want to end this post on a positive note! We had a double-whammy heartwarming occurrence last night: Indiana and Mr. Squiggles were playing! Sort of together! Jim was tossing around a feather toy for Mr. Squiggles, who was chasing after it (this is a pretty rare event in and of itself, because he'd rather sleep most of the time). Indiana came in from outside, saw Mr. S running around, and took off like a bat out of hades after him! She used to do this a lot when she was healthier: following the cats around and barking at them. It really melted my heart, especially when she nudged Mr. S with her snout. I would have taken video, but I couldn't tear myself away from watching them for even a second to go get the camera. It was just too precious and reminded me what fighters those two really are.