Girl and Dog

My mood has improved considerably since the last post.  I now have a live trap in my kitchen courtesy of a jolly little old man who came this afternoon to check out the situation.  In addition to leaving the trap, he explained to me how he was going to show the maintenance man where the building needed to be repaired to prevent more squirrels from moving in and left me with his business card and cell phone number.   He also showed me how to reset the trap which turned out to be a useful lesson since Georgia bumped it closed as soon as I let her into the room.   It’s only a matter of time before this whole fiasco is behind me!

The trap is baited with a dixie cup containing a marshmallow and chocolate frosting, so I guess the squirrel will get a nice sugar buzz after he’s caught.   The man told me that he would be attracted by the sweet smell.  I’m sure he knows what he’s talking about.  I can’t help but feel sorry for the poor squirrel even though he wreaked havoc on my house.  I’m such a bleeding heart.  I heard that many squirrels who are released into a new location are unable to establish a new territory and just get driven away to die.  I didn’t ask what he would do with the squirrel after he caught it, but I am going to tell myself that he will release it somewhere.  I did ask him if he would take it far away so that it wouldn’t come back, and he assured me that he would.   I’ll just assume that this squirrel will be lucky enough to live his days happily in a new woods because let’s face it… he’s just not welcome here.

I was unable to craft a suitable response to my apartment manager, so I haven’t written her at all.  I could only think of biting and sarcastic things, and I knew that would not help the situation.  Once the squirrel is caught, I’ll address the issue of getting my carpets and upholstery cleaned.  Maybe I’ll just bring the squirrel down and set it on her desk to prove that my suspicions regarding the cause of the damages were correct.  Okay, not really, but it’s fun to imagine.  It’s also fun to imagine releasing the squirrel into her office…  Whoops, did I just say that out loud?

I just checked out the website of the pest control company, and they said the following under their FAQs:

If you live-trap an animal on your property you have only two legal choices: euthanize the animal right there or let it go.  It is a misdemeanor to transport any wild animal without a license or to release an animal on a property without permission from the land owner.  This includes state and public parks.  Home owners also open themselves to risk of injury or disease if they mishandle the wild animal.  Again, we do not just trap animals, we solve problems and strive to offer permanent solutions.  A lot of our work involves animal proofing and prevention such as installing chimney caps, vent guards, fences, and repairing animal made entrances.

Since I don’t suppose he will euthanize the animal on the spot, I can only assume he will let it go somewhere.  That makes me feel better.   Now I just get to look forward to finding my fuzzy little friend in his new wire mesh condo and giving him a one-way ticket outta here.

I could try to develop this into a very dramatic and humorous incident, but truth be told, I’m just too frustrated to do so right now. I’m feeling so upset about the whole situation that I’m hoping maybe writing it down will calm my mind. I am not generally an angry person, so I just don’t know what to do with all this negative energy.

At the beginning of last week, I started hearing noises in my wall. On Thursday, I returned from running with Georgia to find a squirrel perched on top of my curtain rod. It ran into the bathroom when I came in. I didn’t know what to do, so I opened the sliding door to my balcony and went over to the apartment office. I explained the situation, and a member of the maintenance staff came back to my apartment with me. The squirrel was gone when we returned. He told me that an exterminator visits every Friday and that they would come the following day to see about the squirrel. Fair enough. Friday came and went, and no one ever arrived. I left on Friday evening to go up north for Memorial Day weekend.

When I returned Monday evening, I thought something had died in my apartment as soon as I opened the door. The smell was appalling. Apparently an animal (I’m assuming the squirrel) took it upon himself to destroy my apartment over the weekend. I’m sort of embarrassed to even reveal how bad it was because it makes me feel dirty just thinking about it, but here goes. There was feces and urine on the floor and rugs in every room, on every piece of upholstered furniture, on the windowsills, and on my bed. Whatever it was had dug up the dirt of all my houseplants. Dirt was thick on the floor and all over the bed. Two Christmas cacti that I had raised from little cuttings given as gifts at a friend’s wedding were gnawed down to threads. My vertical blinds were gnawed all along the top. My alarm clock was knocked off my nightstand and broken. A large houseplant was broken off and knocked over. And did I mention the smell? I nearly cried. The whole place was in shambles. We put in several calls to the maintenance number, but they blew us off completely, refusing to call back or send anyone to assist. I cleaned up the whole place, but the smell is not gone. Ugh.

I thought it seemed perfectly reasonable (and maybe I’m wrong) to ask the management to steam clean my carpet and upholstery and pay to dry clean my comforter. After all, it’s their fault for not keeping the building maintained and allowing pests to get in. Also, they didn’t address the problem when I reported it which led to all the damage. I wrote a letter explaining the situation and making those requests and put it in the night depository box since I had to leave for class before the office opened. As soon as I got home from class today, I went to the office to try to talk to the manager. She was in a meeting, so I talked to another member of the staff.

I received the following response via email from the manager this afternoon:

I received your letter and *Staff name* updated me on your conversation earlier. I have contacted an animal removal company. The issue I have is that we don’t know what did this as no one witnessed it. Based on your description I contacted the only company in Lansing to deal with wildlife. They will be on the property tomorrow which is the earliest available.

Our maintenance staff can look at your blinds to see if they require repairs or replacement. Beyond that, as per your lease agreement, we do not cover damages inside the apartment. We carry insurance for our property as we recommended that all residents carry renters insurance. I can not schedule any cleaning at this time. If you believe there is a pest in your apartment that caused damage we will look at any damages and have pest removal scheduled for tomorrow.

I do take all resident issues seriously and will give you my utmost attention and prompt response.

First of all, I do not consider waiting six days for an exterminator to come a “prompt response.” Furthermore, I do not understand her “issue” with what caused the damage. It almost sounds like she doesn’t believe me. Maybe I’m reading my own negative emotions into her response, but I don’t understand why not actually watching the squirrel dig up my plants is an issue. If it wasn’t a squirrel, it must have been a rat or some other vermin. Maybe I have a problem with lots of rodents in my apartment. Obviously something caused the damage. Why does it matter what animal it was? I witnessed a squirrel in my apartment last week, and I witnessed an extreme amount of damage done to my apartment yesterday. “If you believe there is a pest in your apartment that caused the damage…”? What part of that belief did I not make clear?? Oh, did I mention that when I got home from class, my hallway was full of feces AGAIN. Clearly the animal is still frequenting my home. I did mention that to the person with whom I spoke at the office.

Maybe it’s stupid of me to be this upset about the whole incident, but I just find it so incredibly frustrating that the management does not consider this to be a problem requiring any urgency. How would they feel if a dirty animal destroyed their home? I think what really bothers me is that I have no remedy for this situation. I am at their mercy. Sure, I could call in a private pest control person and hire my own cleaning service, but I can’t afford that. There is nothing I can realistically do except wait. I know, there are people dealing with war and disaster all over the world, and I shouldn’t be so upset about something petty, but I can’t seem to help it.

A couple months ago I suddenly could not stand looking at my blank white apartment walls any longer. For whatever reason, I have never acquired any art for my walls. I guess other things just took precedence. One day it hit me that I was going to go insane if I had to continue to stare at the blankness, so I decided that spending $14 for the sake of my wellbeing was not being too frivolous.

I found this print, titled “Daydreaming,” from cutiepiecompany and fell in love with it immediately. I framed it in a cheap white frame and mat from Target, and it looks so good on my wall. It makes me smile and feel more relaxed every time I glance at it. Isn’t that how being at home is supposed to make you feel? The artist is doing a series of girls with their dogs in all the different seasons, so I might have to finish the set at some point. It will be four times the pleasure.

I just read this article and found it inspiring. I think that we as a society are far too apt to just dispose of something that no longer functions perfectly. Throw it out and get a new one. Euthanize the pet who no longer enjoys perfect health. I know there are many people out there who might think that a wheelchair for a dog is either absurd or somehow cruel, but I would like to adamantly disagree. People in wheelchairs can absolutely enjoy a remarkable quality of life. Take Josh George for instance. Why not dogs too?

Side note: This dog’s name is Monsieur Fantastico. Totally awesome. Image from msnbc.com courtesy of Leslie DeGraff-Grinnell.

Why on earth should we choose to end a pet’s life rather than accommodating its disability? (Here I am assuming that the dog is not in pain or that the pain can be managed effectively. Of course there are circumstances when euthanasia is the kindest option.) When we adopt an animal, we are making a commitment to see that its needs are met for the rest of its life. If a human family member lost use of her legs, you wouldn’t consider that the end. You would accommodate her new means of locomotion and carry on. Why shouldn’t it be so for dogs?

Check out Eddie’s Wheels if you’d like to see more. His product line is impressive. He even makes a cross country ski kit for use in the snow! Something I discovered after exploring the site is that many dogs are able to regain use of their paralyzed limbs after some time using a cart for rehabilitation. Even more reason not to give up on your pet.

Yesterday I survived a 21 mile run. Actually, owing to an unplanned construction detour, it was almost 22. The best news is that I was still able to walk when I finished! I’ve decided that running a marathon really is ridiculous. I’m sick of giving up every weekend to prepare for, complete, and recover from long runs. I can’t ever go out at night because I know I have to run in the morning. Twenty-one miles is an absurd distance to run for “fun.” My mom used to do marathons too, and once she told a co-worker that she had run 20 miles over the weekend. His response: “On purpose?!”

It’s going to be so cool to cross that finish line though. I need to do it at least once in my life. I hope that it won’t be so great that I forget how awful the training was and decide I need to do another one. Nope, once will be enough. I will not even come close to qualifying for Boston, so fortunately I don’t need to worry about nearly qualifying and then feeling the need to try again.

Strangely, 21 went far better than 19 did. I completely hit the wall when I did 19, and I barely finished. Yesterday, I felt pretty decent the entire way. Don’t get me wrong, I was in pain, but it wasn’t so unbearable that I couldn’t keep going. I was really worried after the 19-miler that I wasn’t going to be able to do 26.2, but now it seems possible again.

I took Georgia to the vet last week for her yearly checkup and vaccinations. Last year, I was told that Georgia was overweight, and the vet was not very kind about it. I love my dog like a child, so I felt like a horrible dog parent when she got upset with me. The weight just crept on after Georgia was spayed. I wasn’t giving her table scraps, and we got plenty of exercise. My mistake was in not cutting back her kibble amount after her spay surgery. I hadn’t really realized it, but she had put on about 10 pounds. She should weigh about 75, and she was pushing 85. It seemed like she’d put on 100 pounds the way the vet reacted. It also didn’t help when she told me that it would be very difficult to get that weight off, especially since dogs’ metabolisms drop drastically after they are spayed.

I left in tears and vowed that she would get back to fighting weight before next year’s exam. Mission accomplished. I switched her to “low fat” food and started gradually cutting back on the amount right after the appointment until she was only eating 3 1/2 cups a day. (Prior to being spayed, I fed her as much as she wanted, generally 5-6 cups, and she stayed slim as could be. She also bounced off the walls all day long…) It was heart wrenching when Georgia kept licking her bowl and looking at me with her pitiful, hungry eyes, but I stuck to my guns. Vet’s orders. She didn’t really start slimming down until we took up running again at the beginning of the year though. That did the trick.

This year the vet told me that everything looked good. Healthy weight. Clean teeth. I was one proud dog mama.

From time to time, I am going to talk about a product that works for me and/or Georgia or maybe even something we haven’t tried yet that looks fabulous. Then you can tell me if you’ve tried it and what you think. First up: The Comfy Cone. Georgia hasn’t had the need for a cone in a while (knock on wood), but if she does, this looks like a MUCH better solution than the traditional plastic model. This is one of those “why didn’t I think of that?” type products. Such a great idea.

Besides the obvious benefit that the dog can lay down comfortably, the product’s website says that it eliminates the dog bashing the cone against everything in its path. Also it is flexible, so the dog can more easily eat and drink with the cone on, or you can just fold it back while she eats. Beautiful!

Georgia has had some experience with the traditional plastic cone. She is not a fan.

Doesn’t this dog look so much happier?

Image from allfourpaws.com

This is obviously just what every guy wants. Snatch it up before it disappears from store shelves forever.

People keep asking me lately if I’ve lost weight.  The answer is no, but please, by all means, feel free to keep asking.  Is there anything a woman would rather hear?  Well, maybe, “Why don’t you go lie down and eat some brownies, and I’ll do that for you?”

Once upon a time, I used to attempt to leave Georgia out of her crate when I went away. One time I left her with a great new toy and was sure that it would keep her occupied. Oh, it did. I came home to discover that she had thrown herself quite the party.

Note: These pictures were taken shortly after I moved in to my last apartment, so please excuse the disarray and lack of furniture. My place now is neat, cozy, and fully furnished.

She used to chew up anything and everything if she was left unattended. I tried filling kongs with peanut butter and kibble, tried hiding toys and treats around for her to find. She still found other ways to occupy herself. For a while, I would leave her out of her crate but closed in my bedroom when I left. I quickly discovered that I needed to first remove all the pillows from the room and make sure the closet doors were closed (losses: several pairs of underwear, shoes, and two sham pillowcases). That method seemed to work until she decided to pee ON MY BED. The first time it happened, I thought it was a fluke. (I’m a slow learner). The second time, it was no more freedom for Miss G. Back into the crate whenever I left. That had continued until today, because I just didn’t dare to leave her and risk something nice getting destroyed. If I was running down to switch my laundry or take out the garbage, she was fine, but I hadn’t dared to try leaving her out for an extended period.

Today I was going to be gone for about an hour to run an errand, and I decided to give it another shot. I snuck out the door quickly without making a big deal about the fact that I was leaving. I was nervous the whole time and kept wanting to turn around, imagining the destruction that might await my return. I got home, opened the door, and didn’t see anything amiss. I also didn’t see Georgia. My apartment isn’t very big, so I walked into the bedroom, and there she was, on the bed curled up against my pillow. Nothing was chewed. There were no puddles. I have renewed hope for my dog! I don’t know that I would leave her alone for several hours just yet, but this was a big step. She’s GETTING THERE!