:: slips cushions under head-of-omnis ::

aw thanks amych...

to make the day even better, google maps shows my whole commute home red. Ya. I love today.

OK, off to sit in traffic. If it's really stopped, I'll post from the road. Cuz that's nice and safe!

Better rats in trees than Australia where the have (Jilli!WF) oversize spiders in trees. IJS.

Yeah, but we also have koalas in trees. And sugar gliders. And tree kangaroos! I mean, where else would you put them?

Certain among you may recall an incident with an Opossum

Certain among us may fondly treasure that recollection as being in their Top Ten Animal Encounters Of All Time. If it had actually been in the house, Top Five. And, y'know, certain of us have some animal encounters to pit against it.

If it had actually been in the house, Top Five.

Wait, what? Possum incident not in house? Sheee-it, I've had a dozen possums in house!

(And then I bought a house that, you know, actually closed.)

(And yes, to be fair, they totally do look like Gigantor rats. Except the baby ones, which are adorable, until you catch a glimpse of what they'll look like grown. Or unless they're dead on your pillow. But anyway, they're rabies-free and evolutionarily way cool.)

Wait, what? Possum incident not in house?

I know! And Trudy still managed to reach the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow!

My dog seems to have an abscess. I've only had him five days and I've already broken him. This morning I thought his face looked swollen. Since I wanted to get him checked out anyway, I went ahead and made a vet appointment for tomorrow. About 15 minutes ago, I saw he was trailing bloody fluid, and it appears an abscess has broken near his ear. I've been trying to gently press out the fluid and I'm going to wash it off. Any other suggestions?

Ginger, the vet appointment tomorrow should be fine -- keep an eye on him and keep the area as clean as you can tonight (normal soap and water is fine), especially if you suspect he's the type to rub his face in dirt or anything nastier. The gentlest pressure with a warm water washcloth may make him feel better, or may freak him out -- let him be the judge, especially since he's so new.

Emergency vet tonight is called for if he's acting wrong (sluggish, feverish, trouble breathing or not eating/drinking -- generally, he'd act sick and not just like he's got a localized owie spot.)

It's pretty common for dogs to form abscesses where they have local infections, and your guy has definitely seen his share of bumps and bruises. The vet will likely shave and open/drain/stitch the spot, and you'll end up with local and/or oral antibiotics. Make sure you follow those instructions, but he should be fine.

Yay for Liv communication!

t vent

Boo for Seattle traffic. I left work at 4:30. I got home at 6:30. Granted, I had to spend ten minutes getting AB's class pictures at daycare and then we did our weekly library run, which took about 15 minutes, but it took me almost an hour and a half from leaving the office to picking up Annabel. Total distance is something under ten miles, and I expect it to take 30-45 minutes, including time waiting for the bus. But this time the bus itself was late, so I spent 20 minutes standing in the rain, and then traffic was nightmarish.

Today was the worst, but it's been this way ever since we switched to PST. WTF? Why does the traffic get so much worse when it's dark at 5:00? I mean, this happens every year.

t /vent

He seems to be acting fine. He might be a little lethargic, but that's it. He never yelps or complains, but he's started trying to escape me, so I think the effort to gently press out some fluid is getting to him. I wasn't too worried, because I had a cat who was always getting abscesses. The abscess is right next to the scar, so I'm wondering if this is related. He was also with a lot of other dogs and cats, so there may have been a scratch. He's pretty safe from rubbing his face into anything nastier than my housekeeping, and he can't lick it.

Poor pup! Non-squeezy hugs to you and... what name did you settle on, anyway?