Penny's long car ride

The notorious pukey Penny hates cars with abandon. Or so we thought. Maggie took Penny and Thomas for a multi-state car ride from Indiana to her mom's house in Misery (oops, wait, Missouri). Penny never puked!!! Actually, she seemed to have a good time. Here she is on the ride back home, soft pointer gums flaring in the wind.

Penny - all "ticked" off

Penny
Originally uploaded by dhoopercu

We recently received a call from Lisa with IBR: Penny did not receive the proper bloodwork and needed to be screened for tick-borne diseases such as Lymes Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

Maggie had just taken her to the vet a day prior, so we made a return trip and awaited the results. And we waited, waited, and eventually forgot. I believe we posited that "no news is good news".

Wrong: the sample was never processed. Someone at the vet or testing lab dropped the ball (Vet's own words). So ... back to the vet for more blood work.

Penny was negative for Lymes Disease and exposure to E. cannis. However, she did have a positive titer for RMSF, at a very low level. Our vet suggested we monitor and resample in a month, IBR treats all positives with antibiotics. We are in the middle. Penny, well, she could care less. Last I knew, she was galloping around our house yipping at Thomas, trying (in vain) to get him to play with her. She did steal his ball, much to Thomas' chagrin, but he didn't chase her or do anything other than look/leer at her.

Thomas and Penny

Thomas and penny
Originally uploaded by dhoopercu

An early morning with Penny snuggling Thomas

A long hike and Penny in action

On Saturday, we went for an 8 mile hike up and down the Monon trail. We decided to see if Penny would like to work as a pack mule - earlier in the year we stopped at REI and bought a saddleback carrier for dogs. We thought it might give Penny and Thomas a sense of purpose when we go for long hikes or walks, plus we got tired of carrying their slimy bowls in our pockets.

At mile 6, Thomas and Penny saw the juciest, luscious, tastiest squirrel they have ever laid their eyes upon. They froze (on the trail, oblivious of the passing bikes and runners) and started to point. I was walking Thomas and he was at full attention. Maggie called for me to look at Penny, and I saw her at super-full point: