joys of parenting

well we had a fine wake-up this morning. our fuzzy cat eliot apparently eliminated some particularly unpleasant stool during the night, and because of his excessive fuzziness a large percentage of the poo remained fixed to his nether parts. so he did a bit of wiping, all over the house. streaks of feces on the floorboards, and the resultant odor, greeted us when we rose from bed.

i am taking him to get shaved today. shaved and washed. i was going to wait until it got warmer - we are in the midst of a cold snap at present - but we'll just keep indoors for a while. i just hope i can get an appointment today. the place we like isn't open yet - i called at a little after 6, then a little after 7 - maybe they open at 8.

and if that weren't enough, sagan attacked max this morning. she hasn't done anything like that for months. it was over food; it's almost always over food. kara had just left for work (but not before cleaning much of eliot's shit from the floor - thanks, hon) and i let the dogs outside to do their business, and then in again. i did what i usually do when giving them treats - i beckoned sagan to one side and had her lie down, and i put her treats on the floor. then, on my other side, i put treats on the floor for max.

the last 30-odd times i've done this there were no problems. but this morning i turned my back and suddenly sagan was on max. apparently she'd gobbled her treats and wanted his. her jaws clenched on his ear. i don't know why she always goes for his ear, but she does. perhaps it could be worse - she could go for his jugular. she's growling and won't let go, max is whimpering in pain. remember, max is quite the old man, on the infirm side. i shout at sagan in my big-angry-man voice (i don't get to use it that often) to let go of him, but she is intent. i grabbed her and pulled her jaws apart. then i crated her and yelled some more.

i tended to max, who was quite shaken but didn't seem to be bleeding. i loved him up a little, and he was more receptive to me than usual. i think he realized i'd helped him. i gave him some more treats that he could enjoy in peace. he seems okay.

i have some good scratches on my fingers and a painful bruise on the back of my hand for my own efforts. plus i'm hoarse.

i don't know what we're going to do with this sagan bitch. she is a bad dog.