But seriously, guys. Reggie is a small dog and in order to get on the couch, he has to make a running jump most of the time. Well, last week he went to jump on the couch and hurt his back. It scared me a lot. I knew he was really uncomfortable because he slept in our bedroom that night instead of his favorite spot in the living room. The only other time he's done that is when he was sick with a bad stomach bug several months ago.
I banned him from the couches until he recovered, and after three days he was back to his normal cheerful self. However, by that point I had done some searching on the internets and it turns out Shih Tzus are prone to back problems. I read more than one horror story about a dog becoming paralyzed and having to be euthanized after jumping down from a high couch or bed the wrong way. I know that's a worst case scenario and the internet is full of worst case scenarios, but if I can prevent Reggie from hurting himself and being in pain, why wouldn't I? I bought a dog bed and doggy gate to block off the living room (the only room with a couch and without a door). As far as I was concerned Reggie was banned from the couches for all eternity.
Perry has a different opinion, which is essentially: Reggie likes the couch and he's feeling better, so what's the problem? As far as he's concerned I'm being overly paranoid and overly protective.
How do people raise children? How? How do two people create a person and then bring him/her safely into adulthood without destroying one another?
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Speaking of injuries and children, my niece was hospitalized for a few days last week with a knee infection. Septic arthritis to be specific and diagnosis-y. I was kind of surprised that she was hospitalized because as someone working in a laboratory, I always thought they just drained the fluid, gave them some antibiotics and sent them on their way home. I don't know if they were being extra cautious because she's a toddler. My sister said her doctor was worried that the bacteria may get into her blood stream and spread, so they wanted to make sure the infection was resolved before they released her.
I visited her twice at the children's hospital in Dallas and she seemed okay but very very ready to go home.
I realized just now that I talked about my hurt dog before I thought to bring up my hurt niece. Eh.
The only picture I took while I was there was of the miniature train set-up they had on one of the floors. Here's the TMNT zip lining across the Dallas skyline.
See? Much less depressing than seeing a young child with a bandaged knee and an IV in her hand.
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My family doesn't make the trip into downtown Dallas very often, so after we visited my niece and sister at the hospital, my brother and father took the opportunity to visit a restaurant they'd been wanting to go to for a while: Gas Monkey Bar and Grill. I got to go too since my brother was my ride.
The people who own the restaurant have a reality TV show. Not about restaurants or cooking, but about fixing cars. My dad and brother are big fans of it and were excited when the main guy on the show showed up and shook hands and posed for pictures. I don't know what his name is, but he kind of looks like Wolfman Jack. We did not get a picture of Wolfman. This grainy cell phone picture of the stage area is the best I could do.
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I'm getting new neighbors guys! For five years I've lived next to an empty lot, and they've started making preparations for the foundation a few days ago.
This is the view from my dining room window.
I'm hoping that if I keep acting excited that I won't mind the sound of bulldozers and hammering of nails at eight in the morning on my days off work.
