Pearl's sudden recovery and we're on our way

Pearl has made a miraculous recovery. She seems to be back to her old self. Last night when we came home from work, we had to move out of the way after opening the door. She came flying out, missing the two bottom steps stomped around a little, ran back in to pick up Stinkey and back out again. Poor Stinkey got an a$$ whopping. She was growling at it and throwing it all over the place. So we've taken her off the meds. She's back to eating and drinking too. Her blankey has been moved back on the couch in it's usual spot. Another sign of recovery is that she likes to sneak in Terri's chair while we're at work and sleep without a towel or blanket underneath her. There's a very easy way to tell this as the chair is a dark color and is covered with white fur. Hmm!

On her walk this morning she was back to her normal self lusting after the male dogs, snarling at the female dogs and little fru fru dogs. Pearl thinks she is a big dog not a fru fru dog.

We will be pulling out of here around noon. Our first stop will be along Hwy. 101 in the RV parking area near Ventura.

We've heard from the kids recently. Albert just left Singapore and is nearing the Persian Gulf. Matthew's taken to marches in front of the White House. I think he still has a job. But he's our "social activist." Ashley is doing fine, working at Tilley's now.

We'd like to thank the road crew here in Grover Beach who gave us a great send off last night. They used their jack hammer all night. I can still feel it in my teeth as I write.

Oh and Pearl says to thank Mona for the great tri-tip sandwich. Tri-tip is her very favorite meat.

A fun trick to play on your owners

Hi, this is Pearl speaking. Wanna know a fun trick to play on your owners?

First, get up in the morning and act real sick. Don't eat. Don't drink. Try to stand up, but then wobble around like you are drunk (and then fall down). Watch with delight as they run for the phone book so they can call the Pet Emergency Room.

If all goes well, the owners will wrap you in a blanket and treat you like a total baby. They won't make you do anything. They'll talk all nice to you. They'll gently load you into the truck and rush you to the ER, where you will get all kinds of special attention by nice nurses.

(The downside to all of this is that you have to be subjected to lots of poking and prodding, X-rays, and nasty tasting medicine. Bleeechh.)

But, eventually, everybody will figure out there's nothing seriously wrong with you. They'll wrap you in a blanket, take you home, put you in a quiet corner - and everybody will leave you alone for the rest of the day. So you get a nice day of rest and nobody bothers you. It's a fair tradeoff, I think.

The really funny part of this is that your owners spend $500 - for nuthin!- except to get some X-ray pictures for the photo album.

Heh heh heh...

A Trip to the Pet ER

This morning we made an unscheduled trip to the Pet ER. Yesterday Pearl wasn't feeling well but she was still walking. This morning when weren't woken up at 6:00 am for the unusual Saturday morning quickie walk, we went out to check on Pearl. Doug had put her blankey on the floor since she was unable to jump on the couch last night. She hadn't moved from last night. She was pretty much out of it. She couldn't walk. When Doug would stand her up she'd take a step and fall down. So we called our usual vet Dr. O'Connor. She never goes any where and is usually there on Saturdays. But as luck would have it, she was out of town today. So the vet tech. there suggested we take her to the Pet ER.

They did blood work first and didn't find anything wrong. Then they did x-rays. We believe that while walking on the beach with Doug on Thursday afternoon that she injured her shoulder. Doug said she turned around quickly to chase a dog, forgetting that she was still on her leash. She tripped on her leash and tumbled to the ground. She continued her walk so he didn't think much about it. Then he took her to Petco for a bath. After that she seemed to be feeling bad Thursday night. She is not eating much and won't drink.

The vet has put her on some pain medication and an anti-inflammatory. They gave her a shot to try to hydrate her. They wanted to keep her over night but we felt she would be more comfortable here. Besides at this point we have already spent $500 on her. They wanted another $500 to keep her 24 hours to do the same thing we are doing at home. On Monday we will take her to O'Connors.

So as of this moment she is lying on her blankey on the floor conked out. If we go outside she raises her head to watch us. We knew yesterday when we tried to take her to her favorite dog park, that something must be wrong. When Pearl doesn't want to run with the big dogs, there's something wrong.

The photo is one of Pearl's x-rays.

We'll keep everyone updated on the blog. The trip is still planned. The vet thinks she will recover on her own. She has had other injuries before and recovered. So say a little prayer for Pearl. God loves animals too.

Feeling kinda under the weather

Pearl has been mighty mopey today. Went for a walk in the early afternoon but didn't really get into the spirit of it. We got back to the trailer and she went inside for a drink, then came back out - instead of her usual bounding down the stairs lickety-split, she did one leg down, sigh, another leg down, sigh (etc.) until the got to the bottom.

Later we went to town to pick Terri up from work. On the way back, stopped at the dog park (one of Pearl's favorite places). Again, not a whole lot of response. Maybe she has a stomach ache (?) - hard to tell. We'll keep an eye on her...

A Little Explanation About Pearl

I guess before we start this trip, I need to explain to you a little bit about Pearl. That way when we talk about "Stinkey" you'll know what we are talking about.

Anyone who has been owned by a Boston Terrier, knows that they have multiple personality disorders. Every time we are in San Francisco we go by a house that has been converted into an office. The sign outside advertises for a Pet Psychologist. This person supposedly specializes in dogs, cats, birds, and some rodents. Of course Pearl is never with us when we are there, otherwise we would make an appointment for her to sit on the doctor's couch. I imagine her stories would revolve around hating her dog mother and how mistreated she is by her humans.

As Doug would say, "Pearl has issues." And her major issue revolves around a stuffed toy which we call 'Stinkey.' When we say to Pearl "go get Stinkey," she knows exactly what we are talking about. Pearl's obsession with Stinkey started on our move to California. She found an old stuffed hedge hog that belonged to Frieda at my in-laws house. So we had to find Pearl her own suitable companion. That search resulted in the purchase of her very first Stinkey. For a little background on this toy, you can go to this link from the Petsmart website - http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3207149. We purchased the brown version for her.

Her normal habit is to lay on top of Stinkey face to face with her paws dug into his cheeks. Then she begins sucking on his nose. Stinkey comes in three colors, brown, black and gray. Pearl prefers the brown one because the nose is bigger. She will tolerate the black one if she has to. Pearl doesn't go anywhere without Stinkey. And because her humans are prone to memory loss, we have to have a car Stinkey, a truck Stinkey and a trailer Stinkey.

When we come home from work and open the door, Pearl runs outside by herself first to make sure there is still an outside out there. Then you have to stay out of her way because she runs back inside to grab Stinkey. Stinkey is then carried to the rug outside where she proceeds to start her sucking routine. When Pearl moves from room to room, Stinkey is always with her. If Pearl is on the couch, Stinkey is on the couch. If Pearl is under my chair, Stinkey is under my chair. Sometimes Stinkey is just there besides her. So she is not always sucking on him.

Now you may ask, "why do we call it Stinkey?" Well, have you ever smelled a dog's stuffed toy after it's sucked on it for hours? It stinks. It smells like you've just opened a bleach bottle if you ask me. But Pearl is unconcerned by it's smell. In fact, when Doug decides it is to smelly and sticks in it the washer, Pearl is not phased by that at all.

We know it's time to buy a new Stinkey when we find Stinkey bleeding green blood (green stuffing). At this point she has gotten mad at Stinkey and ripped his nose and other body parts off. Yes we do have a stuffed toy on reserve. Doug has them hidden in the closet. I can't even count how many we have been through in the years since she been chewing on them.

Right now Pearl is packing her bags for the trip. She has several things she has to bring with her. Her list is:

• Stinkey (duh)
• Nylabone
• food
• blankey
• smelly towel that goes with smelly blankey
• treats jar

Keep checking before we leave and we'll keep you updated.

Pearl's Travel Plans

On Tuesday, June 30th, Pearl and her human parents will embark on a 2 month cross country journey in their RV. Since so many of Pearl's friends are curious about her trip, Pearl has asked to set up a blog so that she can keep all her fans updated on her trip.

Anyone who knows Pearl's humans knows that these trips are quite common. We have made trips in a trailer or an RV to 49 of the 50 states and most of the Canadian Providences. Our boys and our dogs have been dragged on so many trips over their lifetime. But for Pearl she hasn't traveled as much as the other dogs and kids. After all she's only 5 1/2 years old. She's been from Wisconsin to California and what's in between and that about it. So Pearl is very excited that she will go places she's never been and meet people she's never met before.

Here is Pearl's travel plans thus far:

June 30 & July 1 - Ventura, CA area
July 2, 3 & 4 - Menifee, CA to visit Pearl's human sister-in-law Ashley
July 5, 6 & 7 - Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, CA
July 8, 9 & 10 - Phoenix, AZ area to visit Pearl's human grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousins
July 11 & 12 - Tucson, AZ
July 13 - Las Cruces, NM
July 14, 15 & 16 - T or C, NM visiting Pearl's other human grandparents
July 17 & 18 - Ruidoso, NM
July 19 - Amarillo, TX
July 20, 21 & 22 - camping with Pearl's friends near Oklahoma City, OK
July 23, 24 & 25 - camping with Pearl's human aunt & cousins, bbq with Pearl's human aunt & uncle at Skiatook Lake in Oklahoma
July 26 & 27 - Branson, Missouri
July 28 & 29 - Great Smokey Mountain NP
July 30 - Richmond, VA
July 31, August 1, 2, 3, & 4 - Washington DC area visiting with Pearl's human brother Matthew. Pearl plans a side trip to NYC & Baltimore too.
August 5 - Columbus, OH
August 6 - Peoria, IL
August 7, 8 & 9 - La Crosse, WI - Pearl's former stomping/pooping grounds
August 10 & 11 - camping near MSP, MN
August 12 - Fargo, ND
August 13 & 14 - Roosevelt NP
August 15 & 16 - Bozeman, MT - visiting more of Pearl's relatives
August 17 & 18 - Yellowstone NP
August 19, 20, & 21 - Grand Teton NP
August 22 - Salt Lake City, UT area
August 23 - Elko, NV
August 24 & 25 - Reno, NV
August 26 & 27 - Lake Tahoe
August 28, 29 & 30 - Yosemite NP
August 31 - Fresno area
September 1 - back in Morro Bay

Right now Pearl and her human parents are preparing the RV for the trip, doing loads of laundry and finishing up work projects. Pearl will post more before we leave.