There are no Seeing Eye cats, of course, because the sole function of cats, in the Great Chain of Life, is to cause harm to human beings. The instant a cat figured out that the blind person would follow it wherever it went, it would lead this person directly into whirling unshielded manufacturing equipment.

Dave Barry, Dave Barry's Homes and Other Black Holes (1988)

How to Give a Dachshund Physical Therapy

So you may remember how my dog pinched his vertebrae, oh--3 weeks ago. He has mostly been confined to a box for the last several weeks, only going outside to go to the bathroom. This has been achieved by an ingenious contraption my mom made him which uses a towel on a strap to hold up his hind legs.

This weekend we set up our large inflatable pool in the backyard. While it was filling, we took him out into the pool (with the strap) and let him walk around in the water. Then we took the strap out and he was still able to walk around. The water holds up his back end enough that he can move his feet. Of course, we were filling the pool for us--not for him.

So, we filled up a kiddie pool and put it in the front yard. He now goes out 3 times a day and "plays" in the pool. It is amazing--each time we stick him in the pool, he gets more control of his legs. He's been able to put weight on them, but with the strap, his front legs are usually moving much more than his back legs are capable of.

Recap: to give your dachshund physical therapy--put him in a pool with water up to his chest (about 3/4 of the way up his body). Let him walk around. Help him move his legs, if needed. Rinse, repeat--3 times a day.

I sure am glad that this happened during the summer.

Dogs and Cars

My daughter and I were driving to the ball fields yesterday when we witnessed a truly horrible thing--a dog got hit by a car. The driver saw the dog and swerved, unfortunately the car swerved right into the dog and hit it. My daughter started to get out of our car, even before I could stop. The other driver kept on going. My daughter lovingly picked the dog up out of the road and came back to the side. The dog had passed away. She called the dog's owner who said he would come get the dog. My daughter said she was never leaving the house again.

A couple of questions crossed my mind as this was happening.
First--why do people let their dogs run loose? We live in a small rural town with lots of empty spaces. I know it seems like your dogs should just be able to go where they will--but they are dogs and it is your responsibility to take care of them. Just opening the door and saying "you're on your own" just doesn't cut it.
Secondly--OMG! you just hit a dog--why are you still driving? What kind of person takes a life and just keeps going on with their's? Yeah, it's not a person, but it is still a life and life is sacred. Come on, people.
Thirdly,--well, honestly I was wondering why it happened in front of my daughter. She seems so empathically connected to animals and this was extremely painful for her. She absolutely did the right thing, but it drains her. Sigh...

Take care of your animals, people. They have no one to rely on except you. They are like your children, and if you can't care for them as such, then don't take on the responsibility at all.