Teacher's Pet

This was Ruffin's night to remember, but first an update on Bessie.

I have been very concerned for the last few days about Bessie not eating. I went to a new pet store here on Sunday and bought a few cans of outrageously expensive Merrick brand gourmet dog food and believe me, the beef stew looked just like people food you would make at home. In spite of this Bess was reluctant to eat it until I coaxed her for several minutes. So first thing this morning I took Bessie to see our Veterinarian. As expected she has lost 2 pounds from not eating but it was good to hear after a barium x-ray there was no sign of any blockage or intestinal damage. The Vet also took a blood sample for a full panel blood workup but we won't know the results for a day or so. The x-rays showed some signs of gas pockets and the Vet prescribed two different drugs for her. I gave her the first dose when we got home.

I decided not to take Bessie to school tonight because of the medicine I gave her and not wanting to go there by myself, I called ahead and asked if it was OK to bring Ruff. Angie More, the lady who runs the Amore Obedience Training class has already met Ruff so she said it was fine with her. And it turned out to be one of Ruff's most enjoyable evenings.

The classroom was in a large room with chairs set up in a large circle. We sat in the class next to where Angie had laid out her training materials and was speaking. It was pretty obvious that Ruff had made a new friend. Ruff was very interested in listening to Angie's voice and he kept staring at her while she talked. So much so that he managed to grab her attention and distracted her on several occasions and she kept glancing down at him and breaking into big smiles. That is the way Ruff gets most people to react. He has that "hug me" look that really grabs people.

When it came time for the class to take a short break, Angie took out her cell phone and asked me to take some pictures of her giving Ruff a hug. I sent her an email and told her I already had a title for this blog post, Teacher's Pet, and asked her to send me the pictures. She said that calling Ruff a Teacher's Pet was an understatement. "If I could take him home I would in a heartbeat! He is probably one of the sweetest dogs with the best temperament I have ever met."

Now for some good news. When we got home from class I made Bessie a big dinner of dog kibble and oatmeal and she gobbled it all down. So I think the medicine was already starting to work. I hope the bloodwork comes back normal.