Home Again Home Again Jiggity Jig

Mosby is home! I got a call from the vet this morning saying he was doing well, had eaten overnight, and seemed perky, and another call mid-afternoon saying he was still doing well, had eaten again, and was cleared to leave. No visit to the oncologist needed. So I left work early (my bosses and coworkers have been soooo understanding, bless them all), picked him up and took him home. And was he READY go to home. He took a moment to look around his yard (see below), had a nice long pee, and then marched up the steps to the door and waited for me to let him in.

He ate a can of food for dinner (I got some cans of what the vet gave him, although I think he’ll be ready for something else soon), picked up a bone to play with, and has generally been bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. How do you know your dog is feeling better? When you are sitting at the dinner table (ok, I was working) and your husband makes the traditional “finishing up dinner” noises with his plates, and THIS comes sniffing around.

Confession: Sometimes we call Mosby the “pre-wash” cycle on the dish washer. But if you are reading this, you are a dog person, so I assume you understand that there is absolutely nothing wrong with letting your pup help tidy the dishes.

We had a mostly stress-free pill session (three pills coated in peanut butter, down the throat in one move). And have been basically letting him do his thing tonight. Tomorrow I’ll be working from home to keep him company. We are going to try to get him to daycare at least a few days next week (they love him and will be super careful with him), which is his normal routine, and the more he can do that, the better. Now, whether mom can be stress-free is another question. He hasn’t had a drink since he got home, so I am busy trying to turn off the “worry” signals … after all, he had 24 hours of fluids it’s ok that he’s not thirsty, right? But I’ll monitor it and make sure he has lots of easy access to water.

As noted, today is Mosby’s 9 year adopt-aversary. I brought him home from a shelter 9 years ago today, after stopping at Tractor Supply for a crate and some food. I lived in a tiny apartment and was in law school and working a part time job, so it was a terrible time to get a dog. But he was the Right Dog, and I knew it. Even though the entire time we lived in that apartment he refused to use the bathroom within 200′ of the building and forced me to take him to the walking trail, even in snowstorms. Luckily, he and I bought our first home – with a YARD – not too many months later.

Now, Mosby was not always named Mosby. It’s a unique name and follows a naming tradition in my family. No, when I saw Mosby on Petfinder, and then met him at the shelter the first time, and then came back after buying a crate and food, his name was BOOTS. Boots. Which, no offense to cats, is a CAT name. It did not last. As soon as I put him in my car, he was Mosby, and still is, to this day.

We are so happy to have him home.