This week has kind of passed by in a blur. I was hoping to be able to explore the City a tad more but my canine responsibilities have been keeping me a little more home bound. Cue coughing Dachshund.
Despite having her first set of vaccines, and assurance from the breeder that Mila can explore the outside world, we think she managed to contract Kennel Cough: Bordetella Bronchoseptica. Although the name sounds a lot more scary than the condition actually is, a 10 week old, 1.5kg puppy coughing and sneezing, still managed to worry the pants off me. Whilst kennel cough - essentially a throat irritation that leads to inflammation of the upper respiratory tract and can lead to pneumonia - can come from various sources, it most likely came from Puppy Socialisation. Dogs contract it like we do colds through airborne transmission, which means someone else's puppy was sick too. However, as awful as I felt about Mila's illness, she didn't seem to feel bad at all and took it all in her stride. Here she is completing her usual household duties such as cleaning the floor:
and rearranging the furniture:
All whilst looking so cute! Damn - wish I looked this good sick!
After a trip to the vet and a $100 bill later, we were given the all clear to take Mila to the park, just not to let her interact with other dogs. An interesting observation is how offended people get when I pick Mila up so that she can't say hello to their dogs. I contemplated saying, "she has a highly contagious airborne virus which could lead to complications such as pneumonia and even death, so perhaps you don't want them to smell each others behinds", but having watched Outbreak, and more recently, Contagion, I didn't think that would go over so well. In addition, we can assume that most people have vaccinated their dogs and most dogs are adults with stronger immune systems than puppies, so the chances of them contracting something from Mila is very unlikely. Instead I have to kindly explain that the vet has given specific instructions for her not to interact with other dogs just yet. What a palava! But you gotta do, what you gotta do. Here is Mila truffling on a glorious autumn day.
For those of you who do not know what "truffling" or "to truffle" is, or who have perhaps never owned a Dachshund (although I'm sure other dogs do this), in the Grobbelaar and now Fernandes household, the act of truffling is when, typically, a sausage dog, already low to the ground goes on a sniffing expedition, perhaps looking for badgers, I don't know, but usually "truffling" type sounds emerge and the upright tail wag appears. Mila is still defining her interpretation of the truffle.
Here she is looking for badgers in her bed:
Not sure if she'll find any under the dishwasher.
Mila in badger-training school:
Exhibit A: attacking the badger:
Exhibit B: relocating the badger to her lair:
Bye everyone - it's been an exhausting week!
