Picky Eater

My Roma has always been a robust eater. Now a dainty 43 pounds, she once weighed in at 60 lbs, back when I worked in an office and she free-fed all day. Lately, though, her appetite has faltered. About a month ago, she refused to eat hard kibble. Fair enough. It's easier to get the nine different pills (five different medications) down her throat when I can hide it in soft food. So we switched to expensive, stinky (tripe!) canned food. But then, she lost interest in it. She ate less and less of it and none of the bits that had pills hidden in them. Yesterday she did not eat for 24 hours, yet I knew she was hungry. I took her on brief walks to generate some appetite. She spent most of the time sussing out bits of trash. I morphed into my mother, actually saying out loud, on the sidewalk, "You eat garbage and turn your nose up at wet food I pay $3.00 a can for?" And she didn't just turn up her nose; she shivered and fled from the bowl.

At this point, nutrition is almost an afterthought. My goal is to get something in her stomach. If I can get at least one pain pill down, all the better. So I rummaged through the refrigerator to find some alternatives to dog food. We started with plain Dannon yogurt, always a favorite. It is a humbling moment in a woman's life when she is crawling around under the ironing board trying to ply her skinny old dog with a scoop of yogurt. But it worked. Hooray! Until I blew it by crushing up a pill in a later helping. Then she stopped eating it.

My next plan of attack was homemade bread, sliced thick and slathered with peanut butter. This, too, worked. She not only ate it with gusto, but I was also able to slip in one pill, wrapped in the gooey spread. If Roma noticed, she did not complain or reject it.

So now each meal is an adventure. This morning, I crossed my fingers and offered her a smorgasbord—a plate of tiny servings of the foods she has been willing to eat recently--yogurt, wet food, peanut butter sandwich. She snarfed down two plates, including medication. Woohoo! My goal now is to see if I can also get her to eat a wider range of foods—maybe some chicken and rice or eggs or banana. Now, am I being manipulated? If Roma were younger, I might say yes. She has always been a schemer. But when a hungry dog actually acts afraid of the food in her bowl, something else is afoot, or apaw. If any of you, dear readers, have any advice, I'd be happy to hear it. I can barely get it together to cook for myself, but for Roma, I will make a greater effort.

Thanks for reading. -z

Walkabout II: To the Library

As an underemployed person, I have plenty of time to walk to the local branch of the Austin Public Library. To make the trip more fun yesterday, I brought along Muzzy. Here's some of what we saw. Note: You can't take the #19 bus to the library; however, you can take it to the Dog Park, as long as you don't bring the dog.

Vintage sign in our neighborhood. Oops. I cut off the actual lantern. Sorry. Still, you get the idea: Faux nostalgia.

These two statues need to be seen side-by-side. Bare-footed golfer and his caddy are a bit bigger than life-size. Muzzy flipped out the first time she saw them.

The Texas State Cemetery is across the street.

These birds need sweaters.

Tell us how you really feel.

Bridge over Shoal Creek

See the litter behind the sign?

Two enormous lurking vultures. Check out the wingspan on the one in the foreground. Muzzy actually barked at them. Whenever I see vultures, I feel a little frisson of dread. I always have to remind myself that they are scavengers. They are not the kind of creature that will swoop down and pick up a little dog and her owner, like the monkeys in The Wizard of Oz. Still, they creep me out.  

Our local Kwikee Mart. It really is right around the corner!

No comment.

Look. The sign actually uses an apostrophe. Clayton's what, exactly?

Once a movie theater, the building is now the local library—the Yarborough branch. Yarborough is the third of the triad of Austin names I get always get mixed up. The other two are Scarborough's and Yarings, both once-grand downtown department stores. Put the two store names together, and you get Yarborough's—no wonder I'm confused.

Here's another warning that is not posted--NO DOGS ALLOWED! I had tied Muzzy to a post in front of the library and dashed in to collect a book. On my way to the checkout, one of the librarian's stopped me to ask if "that was my little dog waiting out front." I could see Muzzy sitting so patiently. Well, yes; yes, it was. There was some hemming and hawing, and then another librarian told me, sotto voce, "They don't like having dogs tied out front." News to me! I've parked my dogs out there a handful of times in the past. I apologized, grabbed my book, and ran out to Muzzy. Stupidly, I thought that the librarians were concerned for the dogs' well being, but the one who followed me out to pet Muzzy explained that people who are afraid of dogs have complained. It was not clear if the no-dog policy is official or not. The librarians were very sweet, however. They did not threaten to call Animal Control. But the news did ruin our walkabout. We were scofflaws again! Even when leashed!

So much signage; so many, many rules.

Thanks for coming along with us. -z

"What [bleepbleepbleep] Doesn't Like Dogs?"

Okay, okay. You all know that Animal Control has been visiting our little slice of paradise. Yesterday the City was out twice that I know of, in the morning around 8:30 and later in the afternoon, around 2:30-3:00, to troll for leashless dogs. Bring your leashes and be on the lookout for a white City of Austin vehicle that looks like a taco truck. Word on the trail is that tickets are costly, around $90 per unleashed dog. The fine is reduced if you take dog-ownership classes sponsored by the City. I know, I know. Of course you are good owners; you are outside on a freezing day letting your dog get exercise by running its brains out. But this is Texas. You can take a gun to church, but you can't let your dog run on unauthorized property. I hear you.

So the best part of The Simpsons 20th-anniversary special was a brief interview with Joe Mantegna, the actor who does the voice of Springfield's most lovable mobster, Fat Tony. He said something like this: "Who doesn't like The Simpsons? I'm suspicious of people like that, the way I'm suspicious of people who don't like dogs. What do you mean you don't like dogs? What [bleeeeeeeeeeeeeep] doesn't like dogs?" Wiser words were never spoken by an animated character actor. (Seriously, it was a really long bleep.)

Ta. -z