Bonny, I hope you're all OK, and that no one's been hurt in the building next door.

We've had to pull out of buying the house. It's structurally unsound. Thankfully, my father (experienced house-buyer and developer) advised us to go for a full structural inspection, which has saved us a very large amount of trouble indeed. Good man, my dad. Sigh. When The Girl gets back from Houston (if she's ever allowed to leave), we'll start looking again. There's one we saw recently that we liked and will have a second look at.

ETA: My pockets of absence at the moment are due to campaigning for my local Parliamentary candidate for the Liberal Democrat party (which has the 'third party curse'). This is fun but tiring. Election tomorrow - I'll be at the polling station (asking people for their voter card numbers) at 7am, then the afternoon off, then back there all evening. It had better be warm!

Nora, would your vet allow you to visit Taz during his hospitalization (assuming you have time while getting ready to move)? Ours would let us visit Teddy, and it always helped his morale a lot. (The people at Penn got a big kick out of it when I'd lay on the floor so Teddy could curl up on my chest and take a nap.)

A couple of ideas that might ease Taz's stress on the drive. Does he enjoy a particular type of music? (Teddy loved the '50s station.) The illusion of freer movement can help, too. I assume the car will be too full to block off a section for him. But if the carrier opens from the top, sitting him on someone's lap, regular petting, allowing him to poke his head out now and then can all help. Or even (again, if possible) lifting the carrier so he can see out the car window can help.

And yes, I do suspect other drivers get a lot of amusement when we drive by on our way to and from the vet.

Sorry Seska, I know that's a letdown, but glad you found out beforehand.

G is asleep 2 hours earlier than he is supposed to be, but considering his schedule has been all messed up since his surgery, I'm not going to worry about it.

Seska, I am sorry about the house. Good luck finding a better one.

Thanks, sj and Vortex. I am a bit glum about it, but I think that's mainly because I want my Girl back!

Much fire-containment~ma for bonny!

Anti-stress~ma to Taz and Tom.

Oh Seska, I'm sorry you had to pull out. That house was great, and I hope you'll find something better soon.

And yes, I do suspect other drivers get a lot of amusement when we drive by on our way to and from the vet.

I heard the same stories from my dad. Israeli drivers are horrible, truth be told, but they were all very nice when they saw the dog on the seat next to my dad. Mostly because my dad, with both hands on the wheel, needed to talk constantly to him so that Lou won't start changing shifts.

And dear God, I still miss him so much.

G is asleep 2 hours earlier than he is supposed to be

Those were the kind of nap vibes I was sending.

We've had to pull out of buying the house.

Sorry to hear that. It was such a nice-looking house. But cheers to Dad of Seska for a knowledgeable and timely save. May the Girl return soon, and the hunt for the right home continue.

Nora, would your vet allow you to visit Taz during his hospitalization (assuming you have time while getting ready to move)? Ours would let us visit Teddy, and it always helped his morale a lot. (The people at Penn got a big kick out of it when I'd lay on the floor so Teddy could curl up on my chest and take a nap.)

Seconding this, Nora. I know it's crazy busy for you, but if the vet allows it, it might help you both. When Moosh was at the vet's for that long, horrible week, they encouraged us to come and visit him and each time we did, it definitely perked him up. Of course, he was also a brat and thought he was leaving every time we went to leave, but the vet said that he showed considerable improvement with each visit.