PETS...

I hate when the family pet(s) don't feel, act or look like themselves.

They can't tell you what is bothering them, you have to figure it out by yourself. And how long does this take us? How long had they been feeling bad before we noticed?

Over the years Mike & I have had 2 Dobermans, 1 German Shepard, 1 Great Dane and 4 cats. And everyone of them at some point died one way or another. (Yes Lisa they do.) We spent thousands fixing up the Sherpard, Ace, after he got hit and the Dane, Astro, for his tail and the blue Dobie, Seka.

Once they finally get to the point where they are not having good quality of life we know what's next...

Mike and I didn't want any animals after the last one, Astro, was put to sleep. We love our animals and treat them like they are part of the family. It is just to hard.

So we have been animalless for several years now until Chloe got old enough to realize she really wanted one. So after months and months and months of constant asking I finally gave in.

I told the kids that they could get a small pet and they are responsible to care for it, clean up after it and love it. Chloe also had a new chore added to her list, to vacuum the family room each week, in addition to her normal chores.

So we went and picked out a guinea pig, Hickory. I had one at her age and loved it! Both kids have done excellent keeping up their end of the bargain. But recently...

Hickory has not been feeling well. We noticed she was slowly looking worse. Her hair started to fall out on her bum and she had this stuff that looked like dandruff, but wasn't. I researched it on line and found out what I thought it was. Did you know that I have a degree? Aren't we all doctors now...

I made an appointment with the vet and took her in. She weighed in at 2.6 pounds, a bit over weight...ya think! She was a very unhappy camper and didn't hold back letting the vet know how she felt. We all laughed at her squealing and the vet says "she is definitely a dominate female isn't she!" Well, after much discussion it was found out that her pine chips that we use for bedding had mites in it.

So we tossed out the brand new huge bag of it and bought this other Eco-friendly, biodegradable bedding. We made her a new and improved bigger cage also. After her shots and new bedding she is feeling better and acting like her normal vocal self. Thank goodness.

This is Hickory after getting her bath this afternoon.