Dog Treats & Medicine

Day 313: Dog Treats & Medicine

Chide me, castigate me, scold me. I'm a bad pet owner. Harpo's Heartgard has gone the way of my daily vitamin regime, which is to say, the medication has passed its expiration date but is still taking up room in the cupboard. So has the other canine medicine, the one that starts with "I" and prevents an illness I can't remember. I've stopped training him (thus the accumulation of training treats), and he's a month overdue for his rabies vaccine. (I need to take care of that before the next grooming.)

I don't take him for as many walks in the winter - it's just too cold and dark when I get home from work - and so he spends a lot more time chasing rodents in the backyard. To make matters worse, a section of fence blew down during the last major wind storm, and, bored as he is, he's gotten onto it and is constantly attempting to escape through the breech. We can't get it fixed because the ground is frozen. The day before yesterday, I caught him in Peg and Steve's back yard, barking at the collie on their other side, which means we've become a nuisance for multiple neighbors.

I love the little guy, but I could definitely do better. Tonight, I'm stringing up chicken wire over the hole in the fence. Tomorrow, I'm taking him for a walk. Next week, the rabies shot.