i'll think about it tomorrow

As I alluded in a comment below, an outing with the dogs is a great way to remember that the destruction of a website is not the same as the destruction of my life.

We went to PetSmart first, to get dog shampoo. I had some nice hypoallergenic shampoo before, but I left it at the kennel last time. (The kennel is such a schlep that I really couldn't spare the time to go get it. It was completely worth the money to just buy a fresh bottle.)

Thirteen loves PetSmart but Jane had never been before, and she was scared! I guess I can see why. It's noisy and bright and full of strangers and strange smells. She spent the whole trip with her tail between her legs. Except when a guy came up and petted her; then she relaxed a bit. The guy seemed to like Jane so much that neither one of us had the heart to correct him when he called her "good boy."

After PetSmart we headed to the Eno park. I haven't been since it got hot, and I must say the walk was much easier with an equal number of people and dogs. Jane isn't really down with leash walking protocol yet, and when I'm on my own I spent a lot of time disentangling myself from the leashes.

There were a lot of people where the path meets the river. We stopped briefly so the dogs could greet some other dogs, but we didn't linger. Thirteen likes other dogs, but is shy, and Jane can take them or leave them. And Jane doesn't like it at all when new dogs get up in her face. I want her to get used to being around other dogs, but it seems like we need to introduce her to them in small doses.

This walk confirmed how much Thirteen's mobility has improved. I would have expected her to be more stiff, because we've gotten so little exercise in the past month. But she was much better. There's a log that lies across the path, which she always has trouble crossing. Today she climbed right over it without hesitation. That's real improvement, not wishful thinking on my part. And further down the path she climbed down a short but steep bank so she could wade in the river. I wouldn't have even tried that before. I'm so glad the acupuncture is helping her.

I was afraid the water level would be too high after Thursday and Friday's storms, but it was actually fairly low. I guess 24 hours of rain don't make up for weeks of drought. The large dry spots in the river bed were kind of sad looking, but they did make it easier for the dogs to get in and out of the water.

I went wading too! We didn't want to let Jane off lead (I'm 90% sure she wouldn't go anywhere, but I wouldn't do it unless I were 100% sure) and she wanted to get in the water, so I waded in with her. I kept my sneakers on and they got so wet and gross. Next time I'm going to wear flip flops. Jane waded around, but didn't go in deep enough to swim. Some dogs just don't like to swim, and that's OK. Even just standing in the water really helps to cool them down.

Now we're all relaxing. Thirteen was totally wiped out and seemed a little overheated. I'm in the bedroom with her now, to make sure she stays cool on her water bed. (She always wants to be in whatever room I'm in, and if I move the water bed to another room it confuses her and she won't lie on it. Ah, the quirks of a senile dog.) I hope we didn't overtax her. I was just so happy that she was able to do so much more. She seems OK now, just tired.