Low Battery Warning!
As you can see LeeLoo is knocked out! It turns out that you can actually wear her out, it only takes two adults and two days to do it. My little girl is 9 weeks and 2 days old today and I've finally figured out what it takes to wear her out completely. I may not survive doing it again.
Our journey began yesterday. It started out as a perfectly normal day; wake up, play, eat, outside. About mid afternoon, I was getting a bit tired so when we went outside for the 20th time, I decided to have a seat on the bench by the pond. The yard is fully fenced, so I didn't need to keep a close eye on her. Yeah, so not true. If LeeLoo went to the zoo she'd probably find her way into five exhibits. So anyway, Chuckie comes out a few minutes after I sat down and asked where she was. I confidently answered she's around the corner, since he was standing he looked up there and no LeeLoo. I felt a little anxiety, but she was probably under the deck. So up I go, calling her as I go "Lee---Loo," I don't hear her moving around under there, my chest is getting a little tighter. I look under the deck, no LeeLoo. OMG, did she dig out of the fence, it was only 5 minutes tops, so I start examining the fence line, no holes. Where could she be? I stand back up and as I'm turning around to tell Chuckie I've lost her I notice movement on the pool deck. Yep, she climbed the stairs up to the pool and was standing right on the edge checking out the water in the pool. I definitely didn't want her to fall in, but I have to be honest part of the reason was I didn't have my phone and if she fell in I definitely wanted it on video to put on the blog (don't think badly of me, it's not like I wouldn't have jumped in and saved her once I caught it on film.) I got her down, no worse for the wear. However, LeeLoo had decided that the 6ft high deck with an open railing was her new favorite place and we had no business not letting her up there. I sat on the steps to block her and she barked at me, attempted to leap over me, and climb over me, blocking the stairs was definitely a necessity. Luckily, she has the attention span of a flea so after about 10 minutes she forgot all about it. It's now on our immediate to do list that we have to add some lattice to the deck railing so she doesn't fall off.
Chuckie and I decided it was such a nice day that we should do a bon-fire.
So he went to the store loaded up on wine, hot dogs, and marshmallows and called his Mama and invited her to join us. LeeLoo didn't realize anything was going on, so her day continued as normal. Then around 7 p.m., it was time to get the fire going. LeeLoo followed us all over as we lugged logs and kindling to the pit, she even tried to help by stealing some kindling. Once the fire was ready to be lit, we just needed to move the lawn tractor (it had stalled there the day before and I forgot to turn off the key so the battery was dead, but it was much to close to the pit for comfort,) LeeLoo was happily exploring the area around the fire pit when Chuckie fired up the mower. Let me tell you I had no idea she could move that fast. She ran all 120 feet like the Satan himself was on her tail. It was comical, until Sugar on the other end of the yard noticed that LeeLoo was running and obviously she needed to join the game began to barrel towards LeeLoo at a dead run. Let's not forget that Sugar weighs about 160 pounds and is solid as a truck. We all started screaming "No Sugar, No" I had visions of LeeLoo smashed into, broken bones, etc. Sugar thinking our screaming was all part of the game, increased her speed. I wanted to close my eyes, but it was like a train wreck I couldn't look away. LeeLoo somehow performed this tremendous feat of athleticism when she dove to the side and rolled somehow avoiding Sugar's feet completely thus avoiding calamity. Twice in less than 4 hours, my heart stopped in panic because of LeeLoo and we were planning on adding fire to the mix, wonderful.
Luckily, I can report that there were no more hair raising moments last night, I took precautions and had my chair well back from the fire and put LeeLoo's leash on for better control. We were able to enjoy roasting dogs and marshmallows in true country style. Now, LeeLoo has a pretty regulated schedule, her last feeding is at 9:30, but because we weren't paying attention to the time, she didn't get fed until around 10:30 and let me tell you she was starving. After her meal, we did our normal after meal walk around the property. I expected to come in and have her hit the sack like she normally does but like an over-tired toddler she was raring to go. So we decided to play with the giggle ball for a while. She had me cracking up, chasing and playing with it. It was a great way to end the evening.
She slept from around midnight until 7:15, I was tickled pink. This was the second night she had held it for 7 hours, she's definitely growing up. So began today, Momma was well rested. So was LeeLoo, after breakfast she was ready to play with Sugar. She didn't care so much that it was a Saturday morning and everyone else was still sleeping. She and Sugar were making such a racket that Justice came stomping down the stairs to glare at me. He then went and picked LeeLoo up and put her on the couch without saying a word. She lay down and he looked at me with this self satisfied smirk, I knew what he was thinking, but I've had years of experience with dogs and knew it was simply the calm before the storm. She stayed lying down for maybe three minutes before she attempted to Superman off the couch to get to Sugar. I then returned Justice's smirk also without saying a word, mother always knows best.
I was keeping a watch on the clock, because LeeLoo had her 9 week check up this morning at 11a.m., so we would need to leave around 10:30. I was also trying to mentally prepare myself for the trip, she's not a fan of the car. Something told me to check the paperwork for the appointment time, so around 9:30 I did and it was a good thing I did, her appointment was actually at 10 a.m. So we rushed to get out the door so we wouldn't be late. I was pleasantly surprised, she actually seemed to be enjoying the drive. She had her nose out the window and was very calm. About half way there, I realized that I forgot to bring a stool sample, I wasn't going back we were just barely going to make it as it was. When we pulled in we both just sighed, the lot was full. It was going to be a long wait. I will say, if you've never sat in the waiting room of a veterinarian and made conversation, you're missing out. The highlight of the conversations was the dog that has to wear a helmet when her owner leaves her at home. Yep, you read that right the dog had to wear a helmet, because she had separation anxiety that caused her to be the doggy equivalent of a cutter. She was there having stitches removed from her forehead from her last bout of self mutilation. LeeLoo wasn't as interested in the conversation as I was, so she fell asleep with me rocking her.
She had a great check up, she gained 5 lbs. in the week since she had last been there. Doc congratulated us on how beautiful she is. LeeLoo was so brave when she got her shot, no crying or whimpering. After waiting almost an hour, it was a quick visit. Time to head to our next destination.
We needed dog food, and figured since she had received her second set of shots, it was time for her first trip to Rural King. She was a champ, she walked so proudly in the store, with her little tail just waving. She got so many compliments and pats, she was a perfect little lady. She was so good, she got to pick out a toy and of course we couldn't forget about Sugar so we came out of the store store almost $100 poorer, but with a bag of dog food that will last about 2 weeks and 2 dog toys. On the ride home, she started getting a little antsy, but I realized she was well past her mid-morning feeding, so I understood.
We got home and she devoured her meal and then was ready for a nap. Well there was no time for napping, we had to go visit PopPop.
My Uncle Harold raised me from the time I was six years old and I
love him more than words. The grand kids call him PopPop, so of course he's LeeLoo's PopPop too. Uncle Harold had called on Monday asking that we bring LeeLoo up to meet his dog Maggie. Well even if he wasn't the most wonderful man who raised me, he's 88 years old so if he asks for something there's no question if it's within my power, I'm going to do it. We had made plans to do it today, so LeeLoo was going for another ride. I wasn't sure how Maggie was going to like LeeLoo. Maggie is a real sweetheart, but she's really old and I didn't think she'd have much patience for a puppy. When we got there, Maggie was so busy waddling (when I say waddling, I really mean waddling. She is so fat, she's square. She's as wide as she is tall) around greeting us, I don't even think she noticed the puppy at first. She kinda sniffed around her, and LeeLoo didn't pay too much attention to her either she just wanted a nap. Now Uncle Harold's cats were very interested in LeeLoo and not in a pleased manner. They were mounting a coordinated attack. I looked up and all three were coming in from different sides, ears were up and the bodies were tense. I was preparing myself to fight all three to protect LeeLoo. I knew I might not make it out of the fight alive, but I was ready to go down fighting. Luckily, at the last minute they called off the attack and drifted to their different corners. I didn't let my guard down, I know cats are experts at warfare, lull the enemy into complacency and then take them out. LeeLoo started to get a second wind, and she managed to charm PopPop with her sit and lay. PopPop was so impressed that he asked her if "she went to school or was home-schooled" (did I mention he's 88?) She didn't answer, I think it might be because she's bitter about not attending school. We finished our visit, and headed home.
When we got home it was time to break out the new toys, of course Sugar decided she had to have LeeLoo's and LeeLoo had to have Sugar's.
But it was fun. Then Chuckie and I decided it was time to head outside to get some fresh air. LeeLoo learned a new game, fetch. She loved it. She ran as fast as she could after the ball and then when she was close she would pounce. Every time, that last step was a leap. She still needs to work on the rules of the game a bit, she had the chasing and retrieving part down pat, the bringing the ball back to me not so much. When she was tired of playing (I don't think she liked me stealing the ball from her after she did all the work to find it, especially since once I got it, I kept throwing it away again) she climbed up on the bench all by herself. Another milestone. It was around 8 p.m. by this point and we decided to head in. She barely made it in the door before she lay back down. She was knocked out!
As I sit here writing this, Chuckie and I have drained our main power source and are getting the warning that our back up power source is almost drained as well. So we are ignoring our low battery warning as LeeLoo is recharging hers. We may well have cut off our nose to spite our face. We are fading out and I hear the beast stirring, she's going to wake at full power. So yes, it is possible to drain your puppies batteries, but it takes all the energy of two adults and then some to do it.
