Did I mention a learning experience?

I don't think Flipper is two weeks old. "Two weeks", in my mind, means 14 days. His eyes aren't even open yet. I guess what the former owner meant by two weeks was "in week two of development".

So, I think what I really have is an eight-to ten-day-old puppy. But who knows; he was the runt and apparently his siblings are twice his size, maybe he's a bit delayed in development.

A pattern emerges

Gimpy puppy + seconds from euthanasia = goes home with me.

Meet Flipper. Yes I named him that because of his leg. Yes I may be a bad person. He's orphaned and two weeks old and I have no idea what he'll look like as his mother was described as "medium sized mixed breed". I've never bottle raised a puppy. It'll be a good learning experience.

Anecdotal Pit Bull #21, 22, 23

A 4 year old, neutered male "pit bull mix". He stayed over night after a lump removal surgery and I was the one who took him out in the morning to potty and get medicated. Completely unremarkable experience. Mellow, not terribly cuddly. That's about all I remember. Didn't do anything remotely aggressive when I shoved pills down his throat.

From this angle, this 3 year old "pit bull mix" looks like a black Labrador retriever. Her face is more pit-ish, though.



She cuddles, she leans into legs, she DOES NOT WANT to go into kennel runs, thank you very much. But other than STRONGLY DISAGREEING with us on that subject, she wasn't too difficult to treat. She certainly wasn't aggressive.



She's a family pet. She had a kid at home, and she's perfect for it.

This 5 year old female boxer/pit bull mix's ears really do stand up like that all the time. They are ridiculous. In this photos she's waking up from sedation after removing embedded cheat grass from between her toes, but she was pretty mellow the whole time, anyway. Her feet were extremely painful when she came in, and though she cried out and struggled during the initial exam, she never showed aggression. Like the black dog above, she also has a kid to go home to.

unexpected road trip

A family member became suddenly and seriously ill last week, so we drove to Billings, Montana in a bit of a hurry. I wasn't even going to bring the camera, but my husband insisted. "We can't spend the whole time at the hospital," he said. "If you leave it you'll complain the whole time."

I'm glad he knows me so well.

Item #1: Urban wildlife around Billings.

A group of Richardson's ground squirrels in an empty lot between hotels and the freeway. I'm not sure where they're going to go when they're ready to move colony because there isn't another patch of grass this size for probably a mile in every direction.

Bunny rabbit, I'm assuming a desert cottontail, outside a restaurant also near the freeway.

Item #2: Pictograph Cave State Park. There are rock paintings. They are old. Also natural sandstone sculptures, nature's abstract art.

Item #3: Plant sexual organs, and them that sexes 'em up.

another unreported dog bite

Yesterday I was mauled by a pit bull.

OK, not really, but that's probably what a news article would say.

What really happened was a family brought in their 8 month old mixed breed dog. He had kind of a big head, so the shelter they adopted him from called him a 'pit bull mix'. I see a lot more lab, personally; his body shape and coat are pure labrador retriever, but that's hardly matters: most people would indeed call him a pit mix.

As is common, I came around the counter and, after asking permission, squished his big face for a minute, then went back to work. He was very friendly and lick-y and completely untrained and unruly. A few minutes later, another dog and their person entered the waiting room, and both large dogs immediately started barking at each other.

As is often the case with dogs bites, it was my fault. The 'pit' mix was lunging against his leash and the kid holding him looked like he was about to fall down, so I ran over and reached out to grab his collar. My fingers ended up in the dog's mouth instead, and teeth closed down on them, but then quickly released, I assume because my fingers were getting in the way of his barking. It didn't hurt, it certainly didn't pierce skin, it barely counts as a "nip". Life immediately continued on. We separated the dogs into different rooms, things quieted down, I washed the slobber off my hands. I don't think anyone except me noticed I'd been bitten.

But there you have it. In the interests of full disclosure, I've been bitten by a "pit bull".