summer is here and it’s shedding season. caffrey is starting to shed like a wildebeast, and not just hair either. this is gross…so click on “more” if you want more…otherwise just know i am doing fine, and should surface this weekend from all the work i’ve been doing the last couple weeks. so it’s shedding season. yes, hair is starting to come off again all over the house, then it blows around on top of tables with the breezes and fans moving air around. but i found another meaning yesterday. in caff’s feces. yes. yuck. total and complete revulsion. she has TAPEWORMS and they shed their little wormy segments ALL OVER in her poop. I found it because I pick up her poop right away in little baggies. i came back a bit later to take the poo bag out to the trash and i saw all kinds of tiny straw-like things from a distance. i held the bag up close, peered in, and saw little wormies looking back at me. their little heads rearing and peering – looking to escape i guess? they weren’t in the nice warm intestines anymore. they were bummin’. i was disgusted. yes, i wanted to be a vet long ago (and still do) and I like gross things usually but I am WAY too busy for tapeworms right now.

i was on deadline, working very efficiently to keep sam and i fed, the plants alive, the laundry done, the hairs under control and then THIS. of course dave is working crazy hours and can’t help. and it was 5:45 pm. fortunately i found a vet open who confirmed my hunch it was likely tapeworms. i made an appointment for today and met the nice vet. he was an aerospace engineer then went to vet school at 43. very interesting. anyway – he also shared that the tapeworms get in the dog via a flea vector. the egg is in the flea then gets into the dog if she eats a flea.

you may recall that i had a very active flea remediation programme (spelling intentional) going on a few months ago. remember i managed to spray weed killer all over the carpet because the bottle looks almost identical to my flea killer? so somehow ONE flea managed to survive my assault, got into her stomach, and caused this nasty shedding. she got some pills, and i got new high-tech anti flea weapons. supposedly the $100 I spend for 6 months flea killer will eradicate not only the living buggers but takes care of the rest of the life cycle, too. so you may wonder what is the full range of weaponry one must employ to get rid of fleas? i will share it with you in case  you find yourself in paradise with a bunch of fleas: flea ointment (Sentinel is the expensive pill that takes care of the whole life cycle), Capstar (another pill that kills the ones right on her body in 40 minutes – hmmm…), dog dip (liquid that you put on them – I have to use a whole bottle because she’s so big), yard spray, and carpet spray. monthly cost is probably close to $30.

on the positive side – all our plants are thriving and we’ve been doing more landscaping despite both of our busy schedules. dave’s audit should be done tomorrow. it will be nice to have him say something more than “hey – it’s bedtime” when he gets home. i didn’t even see him come in last night it was so late. sam thinks it’s an underway since he doesn’t see daddy really at all. our gardenia had four blooms today. it’s so nice to smell their sweet scent float by on the tradewinds.

we went for a quick run tonight and met up with my friends at the farmer’s market. it was great to hang out with the girls for a bit. sam danced to some spanish music with a nice lady who knew some salsa moves. I asked her to help him dance because i’m just horrendous.

off to relax for a bit…then bed. yes, it’s bedtime. thanks for catching up with me in this long diatribe.