Mondays Always Get My Goat, Or How Dudley Got His Own Goat

It's been a crazy few weeks here. And not just regular work crazy, but life and animal crazy.

There was a car incident - a major breakdown as my son started a road trip from CT to PA. It was a bit stressful while he figured out how to get everyone to where they needed to be and working out what to do with the car. He did get it all worked out (thank goodness!) but it turned out the head gasket needed to be replaced. So that had me a bit out of sorts.

But then the fun really started.

So, on Monday, I took my dad to pick up his rental car.  My parents were leaving the next day to travel to Nashville for the Women's College basketball Final Four (Go Huskies!).  He'd had a busy day, including the birth of the baby goats they'd been expecting.  Apparently it had been a bit of trouble and they had to call the vet to assist with the birthing.  But they eventually got everything to work out and had new baby goats: Esau (a boy) and Jackie (a girl).  Jackie was doing really well, but Esau had been the one in trouble during the birth.

My mom told me to keep an eye on him as she hadn't seen him nurse much.  I checked on him in the afternoon; he seemed okay and responded to my voice.  He'd walked around; I tried to get him to get under his momma (Georgie) to nurse, but he didn't seem to get it to work.  I checked a few hours later.  But this time, he wasn't so responsive.  I made a quick call to my mom; she told me to call the vet and see what they wanted to do.  I made the call and then I had to rush him up there.

They took a look at him and got right to work: Warmed him up with blankets and heated water bags.  Checked his suckling reflex.  Determined his weight and prepared some glucose shots.  At that point, he wasn't doing very well.  The vet said she'd tube feed him and see how he responded.  After a quick discussion, I left Esau in their care for the night, unsure what the outcome would be.

I got a call in the morning.  Esau made it through the night and was doing well.  He needed more of momma's milk, so I went to get him and see if he'd nurse.  If he wouldn't, then I'd have to bottle feed him.

Amazon does deliver anything!

Yeah, well that nursing thing didn't work out so well.  So, my life was now going to be bottle feeding a baby goat...every three to four hours.  Now, I haven't done that type of thing in more than twenty years, so I'm a bit out of practice! Plus, to keep an eye on him, I needed to check his temperature.  (And yes, that is as fun as it sounds.)

Now, I live behind my parents so it's not far.  But I wasn't too excited about visiting a barn every three or four hours, especially in the middle of the night.  So after consulting with my mom, I set up the dog crate (so graciously donated by Dudley) for Esau at nighttime.

Dudley has always been pretty fond of my parents' goats, and Esau was no exception.

So, every day I've been making goat formula, bottle feeding every three to four hours (although I did get to stop the temperature after it became clear he was making a full recovery), and juggling work in between other goat duties.  All while dealing with mommy brain from lack of sleep.

Esau is pretty cute and fun to watch.

But I'm still looking forward to when my parents get back, though. 

Dudley, on the other hand, might miss his own personal goat-friend.

We're hungry! Where's breakfast?

Doggie Dilemma

This is only very vaguely about editing, or rather my editing business. So if you are looking for some wordsmithing, this ain't that post.

Just over a year ago, Dudley joined the Atwater Group.

Dudley's the one in the purple collar. 

He's been doing a bang-up job of getting me away from my keyboard for walks, as well as successfully protecting the premises from squirrels.  (Hey, somebody has to do it!)  As a reward for all his hard work, I take him down to the local doggy daycare.  He gets to pal around with the guys and run free in the fenced-in yard (hmmm, I guess that's not technically "free," but whatever).

The moments leading up to the realization that 1) he's going for a car ride and 2) it's to a fun place (where he gets to sniff doggy butts and not where they do unspeakable things to his butt) are amusing and frustrating.

The first clue that he's headed for a car ride is the simple act of picking up his car harness.  I've decided, after several dogs and several instance of less than safe driving, that dog harnesses are the way to go. The harness sits on a little cart by the kitchen door.  Now, we don't actually take Dudley out the kitchen door, so I'm not sure why the harness lives there, but that's where it is.  And God forbid you accidentally touch it while reaching for something else on that cart.  Dudley is trained...attuned, if you will...to hear the soft clink of the snaps on that thing.

This morning, I picked up the harness, and as expected, Dudley appeared at the top of the steps in the office and looked at me.  The stubby tail went swoosh, swoosh, swoosh like a rapid-fire windshield wiper. At my nod, he shot down the stairs.  He preceded to run around in circles at my feet - the international sign of Yes! Yes! Yes!   I called him into the bedroom, had him get up on the bed so I could get the harness around his squirming body. This process takes a few minutes.  He cannot stand still - at all.  He wiggles; he jumps up to kiss my face; he jumps off the bed to head to the door - even if the harness isn't completely on him yet.

I finally get the harness hooked up and the leach on him.  I suppose I don't really have to put a leash on him for the purpose of getting him to the car.  He's so jacked up at this point, any vehicle will do.  In fact, he'll often try to run to ANY car in the driveway...kind of like the Price Is Right - which door will magically open and transport him to heaven on earth?  But, I err on the side of caution because he still doesn't respond all the time when we call his name.  He's improved over the last year, but he's inconsistent in his listening skills.

I open the front door.  This is the door I always take him out of, but when it's car ride time, he drags me down those two front steps and turns towards the parked cars instead of meandering down the path for our walk.  A new addition to our regular walking path is a bird feeder.  And you know what bird feeders mean, right?  Squirrels, of course!  Just as I had opened the door, a squirrel dropped down from the bird feeder and took off into the woods.

In his excitement, Dudley pulled and yanked and dragged me toward the scurvy coward.  In the two seconds it took to get halfway down the path, where we had to veer left to go to the car or right to continue the squirrel hunt, I said, "Dudley, we are going to DAYCARE."  I didn't shout.  I didn't yell.  But I let that last word hang in the air.

The forward momentum stopped.  His face contorted.  I could see the debate in his mind: Squirrel. Must protect against squirrel.  Must chase squirrel.  Daycare.  Must go in car.  Must play. 

Without loosing any enthusiasm, he veered left and ran to the car.

So I am working without my assistant today, but I know he'll be back on duty tomorrow.

New Staff Member at The Atwater Group

It is with great pleasure that I announce a new staff member at The Atwater Group.  After thinking and searching, I think I have found the perfect match for the job description.

1) Must be willing to be available all hours of day and night.
2) Must be willing to support management.
3) Must be willing to take direction.


Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Dudley, the new assistant:

His main duties are to make sure I take breaks (keep eye strain to a minimum), get exercise (those frequent walks to check the mail or the scent of a squirrel or a quick potty break are good for me!), and snuggle up when I am done for the day!

Dudley's been with us for a week now and is settling in fine from the shelter.  He's still not too thrilled with the noise the printer makes, but he's got a comfy pillow upstairs in the office to keep me on my toes:

Now, back to work!  I have some great manuscripts to get back to!