July 2005 Archives
We picked up a stray running lose in our street last night. It's a young (5 month?) female pitt bull (mix?), without tags and with some missing hair patches. It's possible that she's got scabies or mange. Jennifer promptly named her "Rose".
We took her by the shelter, but they said that she won't get a proper checkup unless someone is interested in addpoting her. That's rather doubtful, though, since although she's incredibly sweet and playful, people have preconceptions about pitt bulls and there are plenty of dogs to choose from that don't have funky skin. Beside not wanting to have her gased by the city, we want to know what sort of disease she's got so that we can put Homer on meds, if necessary (he hasn't been in contact with her, but she is in his back yard).
We're planing to put up fliers, but I don't have much of a hope for that. Considering the type of dog she is and her condition, I don't think her owner is losing any sleep over her. So on Monday she's going to the vet s. t. we can find out what she's got and start her on meds. We don't really want a new dog, so if anyone is interested, please let us know. Real soon, too, since we're going on vacation soon.
Hmm, we have been talking about Rita needing a companion...
My girls were gone for half a week and I already notice changes. Magda is now 9 months old and while shee'd been occasionally turning over, she now learned that you can get places if you continuously roll over.
So she no longer can be put in one place and expected to stay. When Magda reaches for something from sitting position and gets on her belly, she easily turns around and then rolls (not necessarily where she entended to, but she doesn't seem to mind).
She's still working on the crawling thing -- right now when she's on her belly and wants to get to a toy in front of her, she tries crwaling but actualle ends up scooting backward to her frustration. She'll figure out how to utilize her legs soon enough.
Her two lower teeth are now clearly visible and she eats with great gusto (I was skeptical when Jennifer cooked up and froze a huge amount of split peas, but now I believe that Magda'll get through all of them).
She also babbles up a storm, although nothing yet recognizeable. But she clearly recognizes her own name and when you call her from across the room (either "Magda!" or the Czech "Magdalénko!") she turns to you and pays attention.
I went to bed after learning of London's success at landing the 2012 Olympics and woke up to NPR's reporting of the bombings -- two dead, at least a hundred fifty injured. It was strange listening to the reports and climbing death tolls -- and reminder of the attack on New York. I hope that Dale's friends and family are save.
I was impressed with the reaction of the British and their government. The MPs made a point to go on with business as usual, and London's mayor vowed the city would quickly recover -- that's a good thing for us, since we'll be going through Heathrow in a couple of weeks. I wonder how this compares with the IRA bombings from the past?
The one incongruous thing that struck me was how the (western) world reacted to the bombings (me included). Continuous coverage by media, messages of condolence and support from world and religious leaders, etc. That's stuff you'd expect, right? The thing is, bombings with this -- and greater -- number of casualties happen in Iraq on a weekly basis, but we do not really pay attention anymore.
Jennifer noticed Magda's first tooth a week ago, and now you can actually see them, if you're lucky. They're on the bottom, and just barely poking out -- and feel very sharp. Although, Jennifer claims that she doesn't notice them when Magda is nursing.
Tonight, Magda also had her first meat. I'd made a couple of beer can chickens (or, as we like to call them, beer-butt chickens) and she seemed interested. So Jennifer gave her a few pieces and Magda enjoyed being a carnivore. It's nice that she's not yet too picky -- she even likes stuff I would have a hard time with. I would have to be starving to eat sweet potates mixed with split peas and formula.
Magda is weighing in a 20lbs these days (it's pretty easy to weigh her -- you simply set her down on the scale and she happily obliges). Her hand-me-down bucket seat (and excellent Graco product) was rated up to 20lbs so her brand-spanking-new seat arrived just in time.
The installation was pretty simple and she looks more comfortable in it -- especially when she's asleep. The best feature -- so simple, yet so brilliant -- are the velcro patches on the sides of the seat that keep the seat belts out of the way. The only thing that we now miss is the shade that came with the bucket. It came handy heading east on Braker in the evening when the sun hits Magda in the face while we're stuck in traffic.
