The Walk-In Clinic is Fantastic!

I haven't blogged anything for a while, with good reason - we've both been sick with a nasty cold that just won't go away. We tried about 5 different over-the-counter medicines and hoped we wouldn't be listed as criminals for buying so much pseudoephedrine. After 3 weeks of being sick without improvement, we finally went to see a doctor on Thursday.

But, it's not all that easy to see a doctor when you're new in town. Since I've moved so much, I'm very familiar with the protocol - first you check with your insurance company (if you're even insured yet) to find a doctor who accepts your insurance and then make an appointment with them. Easy enough. Well, not so easy. Many doctors aren't taking new patients, and those who are have special appointments for new patients, scheduled 2 weeks to several months in advance. Bummer. So what to do when you're sick and need some sort of non-emergency medical care?

Urgent care is an option, but our insurance doesn't cover it until we've met our high deductible. But, it does cover office visits with just a co-pay. So, I searched around and found a local walk-in clinic, called them and found out that they bill walk-in visits as normal office visits! Score!

The clinic was brand new and super clean. And we saw a doctor right away with no appointment. So now we've got some antibiotics and finally get to sleep through the night due to some prescription cough suppressant. And the doctor assured us we don't have swine flu or pneumonia. Whew! If only it was always so easy to deal with medical treatment!

Teething Begins

Given that Rewley is a puppy, he's wanted to chew on EVERYTHING from the beginning, and we've been working very hard to make sure he knows what he can and cannot chew on. We thought there would be a clear signal when the teething process began, like incessant chewing on furniture, but today while playing with him, I noticed he had 3 missing teeth already!

In some ways, I'm hoping he has a time with very few teeth, because I'm always having to pull things out of his mouth like bark, leaves, cigarette butts, and whatever other garbage people have left on the ground. I've even pulled out used chewing tobacco pouches from his mouth! (I had no idea what they were, and when Paul told me, I was none to happy to have something in my hand that had been in both a person's and a dog's mouth. Gross!) The worst had to be the toad he tried to eat, but he spit that out on his own.

It's so cute to look back at our first pictures of him, but I am definitely looking forward to having a grown dog who chills out a little more and doesn't feel the need to chew on everything he sees!

Rewley's Graduation

Tonight was Rewley's graduation from puppy kindergarten. Here we all are, diploma in hand.

From Rewley

Here's what he had to do. Walking on a loose leash (in the store - so distracting!).

From Rewley

Sit & Stay (here with the trainer's dog)

From Rewley

Down stay:

From Rewley

And a few other commands, like "watch me" and "leave it".

For his special trick, we had him learn "take a bow". We say "take a bow" every time he stretches after sleeping, so he'll eventually associate it with the command. So far it's working most of the time.

We're so glad we did the training, and I'm impressed with the quality of the training we got at Petco. There was another puppy in the class for a couple weeks, an Italian Greyhound named Lady, but she dropped out. What that means is that we pretty much got private lessons for most of it. Not bad!

All done with puppy shots!

On Monday, Rewley got his final puppy shots, including his rabies shot. He was, and has always been, so good about getting his shots. This time, he barely seemed to notice them. Yay no more shots! (at least until next year's rabies shot) Here he is doing a nice attentive "sit-stay" while showing off his new rabies tag.

From Rewley

We had another great session with Rewley's puppy kindergarten on Tuesday. He is getting better and better at "heel", and we upped the ante with "stay" by having him stand and stay. So far he seems to get it about 80% of the time at home. Next week is our last week of puppy kindergarten, and Rewley's graduation! We're so glad we've been doing the training because he's only getting more and more obedient, which will make him a happier pet.

For homework, we have to teach Rewley a new trick. Not sure what we're going to do yet, but hopefully we'll think of something good! Any puppy owners got suggestions?

Crackdown on Puppy Mills

As a new owner of a fantastic puppy who we got from a responsible breeder, it makes me really sad to see puppies in pet shops. It's pretty much guaranteed that if you buy a puppy from a pet shop, it has come from a puppy mill. A few weeks ago, we peeked into the pet shop at the local mall here in Bloomington and saw a golden retriever boy a few days older than Rewley. We were back there today, and he was still there, his sad little eyes looking up at us from his droopy, scrawny body. I had to leave before I started to cry. I don't know why we went there; I guess just to remind ourselves that even though we got our puppy from a breeder who clearly loved and cared attentively for our pup, a lot of dogs don't have that kind of life.

In talking to some of the people working at local shelters, we heard that there's a huge number of dogs in puppy mills in Indiana. But there's good news - a new law that goes into effect on July 1 will seriously crack down on puppy mills. An interesting editorial about one recent puppy mill closure is here. The AKC is actually against the new law because it may punish responsible breeders, and because shelters are exempt from the standard of living clause. Read more here if you're interested.

Overall, I'm glad there's some progress being made to stop this deplorable treatment of animals. Sometimes I think how if the pet shop puppies look so sad and unhealthy, it's probably a heck of a lot better than the conditions the puppy's mother is living in. And if it means responsible breeders have to charge more to make up for the new taxes, I'd be happy to pay that extra fee if it means an end to puppy mills.

All of this means Rewley gets extra hugs today, even if he doesn't know why.

Cheap Entertainment

With an empty milk jug and a puppy, we've got lots and lots of entertainment around here. It just cracks me up to watch him chase it, roll around with it and pounce it. I guess we're recycling this way!

Zucchini and the New Abe Penny

Have you seen the new penny? Crazy! (pardon the blurry close-up) I guess showing the Lincoln memorial was too morbid, so they went with the good ol' image of Honest Abe reading while taking a break from chopping wood. It must have been a needed break after walking for miles to return that penny.

Oh, and zucchini is in season and makes for fantastic chocolate zucchini bread