Off to the Dentist!

Socialization as you know is really important for any puppy.  And since we are gone from home 2-3 days a week, I've been trying to find a day care for Todd during those times.  However I'm running into an unexpected problem in that while he has 'age appropriate vaccines' he is still missing a couple like rabies, which he is not yet old enough for, and bordetella.  The daycare that I really wanted to take him to  allowed puppies to come without their rabies and 4th distemper vaccine.  But 2 weeks ago they changed their requirements and now all dogs regardless of age must have ALL vaccines and must be immunized for canine influenza, which I won't give him--I learned from an 'insider' that they'd had a couple of dogs there that had it, so this was why it was added to their list.  (My vet doesn't give the CIV vaccine, and since I'm trying to limit the vaccines the puppy gets, he wouldn't have gotten it anyway.  Do you have any thoughts you'd like to share about this or any other vaccine, I'd be interested to hear).   


Finding another day care has been trickier than I thought it would be because of his age.  However I knew before we got Todd that this might become an issue.  So with a little bit of convincing, the doctor I work for agreed to my bringing Todd to the office.  However there are a few rules, one being that he must be kept in his crate in the break-room, and cannot be taken out (except by me and only to be taken outside) and is not allowed in other parts of the office--Of course I agreed, and I will be the model employee during those times--Wish us luck at the dentist!

Tod and Todd - What's In a Name?

A few of you have asked where we got the name 'Todd' for our newest, and youngest addition.  Today I thought I'd share with you where the name came from.

Carl and I got our first Golden Retriever in June of 1996.  Of course we wanted to pick out the perfect name for him.  I wanted to name him 'Fox' but Carl and the person we got him from, balked at that. Then I remembered a favorite Disney movie called 'The Fox and the Hound' which you may recall tells the story of two unlikely friends, a red fox named Tod and a hound dog named Copper--The name Tod means fox, so Tod it was!

Tod was as all Goldens are supposed to be, handsome, friendly, playful and easy going...Sadly though, he was diagnosed with lymphoma and died just before his 6th birthday.  

~Tod and our cat Drifter~

Being the sentimental person that I am, I thought of naming our first Scottish Terrier, Tod, after our first Golden Retriever, adding the second letter 'd' to the end, but I just wasn't sure.  Then when I was researching Scottish names, I came across a website that explained that Tod is a Scots word for fox. (In Scotland and the north of England a todhunter is a fox hunter.) While the doubling of the final letter is a 'corruption,' it's the more common spelling, and most of the 'Todd's' are Scots.  With that, I decided that Todd was to be the name of our new puppy!  

It has been a long time since I've called a dog named Tod.  And I  have to admit that at first its use brought back a lot of sadness because of its connection to a life that ended much too soon.  But now I'm finding that a name that was connected to heartbreak is changing with the antics of a little Scottish Terrier who shares the same name.

Life Goes On

A very quiet holiday weekend for us.  All we've done is spend time at  home with the dogs.  Rudi had been doing really well--Her appetite was good, and she felt well enough to go on walks with us.  But yesterday her abdomen again started to feel bloated, and the paleness of her gums returned.  With that brought a loss of most of her appetite and energy.  We'll take each day as it comes, enjoy them and let her decide the pace she wants to take.

On the flip-side we are of course enjoying the energy that only a puppy has!  Todd had his first vet appointment Friday, and our little growing boy weighed over 10 pounds!  There are also very brief moments when Charlie doesn't seem to mind Todd--Progress!!

Around us the fruit and vegetable stands are opening up for the season.    

And just as I decided that I liked the overgrown field next to us, it was cut for hay.  

Life, like Todd keeps moving on in our little corner of northern Virginia.  

I hope you're having a good weekend!

The DMV and a Lesson Learned??

I knew in May that I needed to renew my drivers license.  But I did what I always do, and I put off renewing it because I had plenty of time.  In Virginia you can do it online, so there just didn't seem to be any hurry.  But on the evening of the 29th I decided the time had come to renew it.  It didn't take long to realize I was unable to renew it because my license expired on my birthday and not at the end of the month like I thought it did.  That meant that for 19 days I was unknowingly driving around on an expired license.  The punishment by the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) for not renewing on time is that you have to go into one of their main offices to renew it and bring with you proof of 'legal presence' which as you may know means that I need to show that I'm a U.S. citizen and legally authorized to be in the United States....Thankfully Carl is organized and gave me my birth certificate and on an impulse gave me our marriage license too. 

 

Many of you may know that any trip to the DMV typically means long lines and endless waiting.  I came prepared with magazines, my camera and cell phone and I wondered why the Virginia flag was at half mast...Was that a sign?  I was about to find out as my odyssey began with standing in line waiting for a number. 

It was mid-morning and with the long line and people waiting I happened to notice there was practically no one at any of the counters.  Why was that? 

My turn in line to get a number to wait and I told the person at the counter that I was there to renew my expired drivers license.  She looked at my license and told me it was expired...Of course she mentioned that I had to be able to show that I was a US citizen.  I gave her my birth certificate which was met with some skepticism because it's not notarized.  I told her that it was the one given to my Mother; however it still needed a supervisors approval and I was asked to give proof of my married name.  Thank-you Carl for thinking that I might need that marriage license.  Both were approved and I had my number and was now going to get to wait...again.   

~Rudi~

Finally my number was called, and I repeated to the DMV employee my reason for being there.  She looked at my license and told me it was expired and I needed to show that I was a US citizen.  I gave it to her and mentioned that my birth certificate was an original but wasn't notarized but had been okayed by the other clerk and a supervisor and I gave her my marriage license.  She told me that she would have to get an approval from a supervisor because my birth certificate wasn't notarized...There was something that I really wanted to say to her, but I thought it best to just let it go. 

Finally after several more minutes everything was approved--I am now able to drive legally again!!  The punishment and fine, or rather the fee for coming into the DMV and not doing it online was increased by 5 dollars and my license will arrive in about 10 days. 

It'll be good for 8 years.  I wonder if I'll remember next time to renew early or wait until the last minute?