So, things in the house of FoodLady were calm. There were only two dogs and one kitten and it was (generally) peaceful. We can’t have that now, can we? Allow me to introduce y’all to Mia. When I first met this little princess she was a teeny tiny little 8 week old puppy who could fit in my pocket. *sigh* She was just *so* damn cute even though it irritated the ever loving hell out of me that whoever had the puppy before my friend adopted her cut her ears (why do I hate this – let me count the ways: 1. because you cut. the. ears. off. a. puppy. you. narcissistic. sociopath. 2. dogs speak in body language – ears are a large part of that language. when you hack off the ears they end up looking intimidating to humans and occasionally to other dogs – thus increasing the negative stereotype of a pit bull and increase the chances of dog-dog aggression. so please don’t do that because you think it “looks cool” you complete asshole. I’ll tell you what; I will accept you cutting off your dog’s ears if I am allowed to cut off my choice of your anatomy – seems a fair exchange to me). Now, fast forward about a year and a half and she is now a brick-house of a mange-riddled pit bull terrier with an eye infection, clogged ears, and toenails that were seriously out of control. Mia belongs to a friend of mine who loves her very much, but hasn’t been able to get her demodectic mange under control and I believe just became overwhelmed with her issues. I agreed to take on little miss Mia for a minimal boarding fee (covers some of my food costs) and the agreement that I would be reimbursed for all veterinary costs and that she would go back home within a few months.
Miss Mia had been to my house before and that was when I learned that little Mr. Sam Sam and little Miss Mia would prefer to have a bloody show down to the death rather than, say, a puppy play date. To be fair to Miss Mia – she doesn’t start any of the drama, but as soon as Mr. Sam Sam gets out of line she attempts to finish the drama and him, being the stubborn asshat that only he can be, continues to escalate. So, that is why we are taking this round of introductions much more slowly than I have ever had to before. That isn’t really a problem because I am such a patient person – oh wait, NO I’M NOT. This is making me crazy – it has been seven days as of today strategically using baby gates which is a total pain in the ass. Now, if someone was asking me how long this situation would take to get everyone comfortable around each other I would tell them six months at the minimum. So, rationally I know we are making very good progress, etc. etc. etc.
After 7 days her mange is looking better, her eyes are pretty much cleared up, I have whacked off the worst of her toenails and her poor hacked off ears have been cleaned out (although I have never seen this much disgusting in one dog’s ears before – it is rather disturbingly impressive and at one point *gag* she shook her head and *gag* a giant chuck of ???? stuck to the wall at the vet’s office.) and in general, her nails are wearing down nicely while running around in the yard. She is getting bathed every 2-3 days, has some disgusting sulfur goop to help keep her itching at bay, taking ivermectin on a daily basis along with supplemental vitamins and fish oil.
*smooches*