Dew Claws and the Art of Trimming Nails

Just as I selected “publish” on my blog yesterday (or sometime shortly thereafter), I noticed Zoe was plugging and licking her left front paw. Being the ever vigilant nurse, I rushed over to see if I could be of service. In case I haven’t already told you, if Dad (or Mom – but it is usually Dad) starts bleeding from some cut or self-inflicted wound, they just yell my name and ask for help…(“Help, Tempi!”)…I sprint from wherever in the house I am, and attend to his (or her) wound. Thus, I have a nickname Nurse Tempi. In this case, given it was Zoe who appeared hurt, I was told by my parents to resist from applying my nursing skills – which I have to admit was probably a good decision.

Instead, my parents approached her on the double decker Big Barker bed, and spotted that her dew claw was at a weird angle. However, she was not interested in any help from even them. In a few moments, they heard a tiny click, and some nail chewing. Mom quickly ran over and pulled the now detached nail from Zoe’s mouth.

With her nail off, Zoe did a little licking from time to time but overall didn’t seem too upset about her current condition and fortunately there was no blood what so ever.

Today the nail area still seemed clean and not infected, but of course we will keep an eye on it. We have no idea what the goofy girl did!

As for me, I take care of my own nail trimming, and don’t even think of approaching me with any of those clipper things!

The Tempest

The Games People Play

Sorry it has been so long since I’ve had an opportunity to update you on my life in the pack. Dad says he’s been in a creative funk but how much creativity does it take to type what I tell him?

Anyhow, he has found time to play his daily word games which recently expanded with the addition of Wordle – which then expanded to Quordle and Octordle when the subject of word games came up at his new place of work.

I have secretly been in contact with the creators of some of these games in an effort to stimulate his interest in my blog by sneaking my name as answers in a number of these puzzles (NY Times crossword, NY Times Spelling Bee, and Wordscapes) – but without any success.

Luckily, this evening he seems to have emerge from his slump and helped me with this short entry. Is this a temporary change or the start of a new streak? Since a lot has happened over the course of the last few days, weeks, months (?) – and no doubt more will accumulate just about every day, I hope I’ll have a chance to tell you about our adventures (old and new) over the next few weeks!

Best,

The Tempest