Saturday, July 9th

Hello Everyone, 

I hope you have all had a better week than we have had this week.  It started out just fine.  July 4th was pleasant, and best of all quiet!  The furry kids were not terrified by any fireworks, and we all went to bed fairly early.  Tuesday we had a call from Carol & Ray, and we made plans to meet them next Tuesday for lunch in Banning.  

Some time Tuesday night Millie must have stepped on what we thought might be a fox tail, that became embedded in her right front foot.  It didn't become obvious until Wednesday morning.  I cleaned her foot with peroxide, shaved it and saw that it looked infected.  I lanced it and drained the wound and tried to find the offending object without success, so we called her doctor's office in Menifee.  They could have seen her that night around 7 pm, but that would have meant leaving her there overnight for surgery in the morning, and us driving back up this hill after dark......not an option we wanted to have to do.  So instead, we drove down there first thing Thursday morning.  More on this in a little while.

The rest of that day went quite well.  Donna & George came up to visit and we had a really nice afternoon.  We gave them the NuWave oven we had, since we had bought a smaller one for here in the RV.  They had brought up pictures of their daughter Lynne's wedding.....very nice.  They also gave us the information on the You Tube public service announcements their grandson made about adopting shelter pets.  I shared it online (priceless pets PSA....some weird guy 45) and then my son  let me know about the PSA he made a while ago.  It can be seen on You Tube with the link "Adopt, Don't Shop".  If you didn't get my email to see these videos before, please do so soon.  I hope everyone will give serious thought to adopting a shelter pet and giving one or more animals a loving forever home.  Both of our dogs were adopted.  We believe shelter pets just KNOW that they have been saved, and they give more love than we could have ever hoped for.  When you buy a pet from a pet store, you just encourage over-breeding by puppy mills.  As my son put it in his PSA, when you adopt a shelter pet, you not only save that animal's life; you also give another animal a chance by freeing up a space at a shelter for the next animal picked up.  

Also, if you have any pets that have not been spayed or neutered, please, please reconsider and have them taken care of.  There are already way too many loving animals being euthanized because there are not enough shelter spaces for them all.  Please don't let your pets reproduce unless you want to be adding to this huge problem.  Thank you.

Back to the saga of Millie's injury.  We took both dogs with us when we went to Menifee.  The doctor checked Millie in, and since we had withheld her breakfast, he was able to do her surgery later that morning.  We took Willie and left......with about 3 1/2 hours to wait.  We stopped at Stater Brothers and picked up picnic supplies, and headed over to Wilderness Lakes.  We found a picnic table in the shade of the trees, and settled in.  By the time we finished our lunch........the sun had shifted and we were no longer in the shade.  We packed up and moved to another table, and had shade for another hour.  Then we had to move again for one more hour.  Finally we packed up and headed back to the Vet's office.  On the way there, we got a call from them saying Millie would be ready to pick up in about 45 minutes.  I explained that since we had been out in the heat, we were already on the way and would be there in about three minutes, but would wait patiently in their waiting area until she was ready to go.  They said OK.  When we got there, we took care of the paperwork and the bill.  The doctor came out and showed us the wood splinter he took out of her foot.  He gave us the liquid antibiotic to give her twice a day, and then we left with her......wearing one of those collars that look like a lamp shade.  By the time we got to the car she had shaken off the collar and settled down to sleep on my lap.....after giving me many, many kisses!  I do love doggie kisses.  She is recovering nicely and will go back on Wednesday to remove the dressings and stitches.  She is slowly getting her energy back, but mostly sits on my lap or next to me on the couch.  I love having her sit with me, but I hate for it to be because she is hurting.  She hasn't played with her "pinkie" her favorite toy, since she got hurt.  I bought her two pairs of stretch socks with rubberized soles in hopes she won't pick up any more splinters or other things that can hurt her again.  

Friday we got our NuWave Oven out and roasted an 8 pound turkey breast for dinner.  Yummy.  Now we get to enjoy turkey sandwiches for several more days.  To us, that's the best part of roasting a turkey, and the NuWave does it without heating up the house.  All good.  

That's the sum and total of our activities this week.  Hopefully more news next week.  Take care, stay well; stay hydrated, and see America.  Bye for now everyone.