Well, I was a bit of a zombie yesterday, but I managed to keep myself moving and to stay awake. Dave did a pretty good job keeping up with things while I was gone, watering the plants and doing the laundry, but I still found plenty of jobs to tackle on my own.
I vacuumed and took care of some fading plants in the garden. I cut down the cosmos (almost dead) and some of the dahlias, which are yellowing and covered with powdery mildew. Soon they'll all go back in the shed for another winter. (That's assuming they'll fit -- I divided several of them when I repotted them in the spring, so we have even more now!)
One plant that isn't fading -- at least, not yet -- is the Brugmansia, which has exploded in another flush of flowers. These look a little paler, perhaps because the plant is getting less sun. But they're still impressive.
In the afternoon I walked the dog on Sumatra Road, and found that a new building has gone up in the gap where an old house collapsed several years ago. The site has been shrouded in scaffolding and tarps for a long time, so this is the first I've seen of the replacement. It seems to fit in well architecturally, but you can tell it's new.
We had some unfortunate excitement last night when I was talking to our upstairs neighbor on the front porch as she was preparing to take her dog, Wally, for a walk. Our door was open, and Bailey shot out of the house and jumped on Wally. There was a skirmish, with growling and yelping, and while no dogs were hurt, I was horribly embarrassed. I know better than to leave the door open and I know how Bailey reacts to other canines, so it was my fault. We really do need to get her some behavioral help. As Dave said, "She's damaged!" I think she believed Wally was on her territory and didn't like it.
The neighbor took Wally to the vet to make sure he was OK, and he is, thank goodness. They've been great about it. We offered to pay the vet bill but they said it was a small amount -- they even came down to say hello to Bailey afterwards, to make sure she and I were OK. Ironically I was the only injury -- my right hand got hurt as I separated the dogs, and this morning it's quite sore.
Bailey is going to be even more damaged after today, when I take her to be spayed. For the next ten days or so we'll be treating her with kid gloves.
It was so brave of Black Smudge to step into the fray. Poor Wally! It must have been quite a shock for him. Bailey's punishment - to never have puppies - that will teach her for attacking Wally and hurting Black Smudge's hand!
ReplyDeleteWell, Bailey has already had puppies -- possibly two litters, according to the rescue people. So motherhood is not alien to her.
DeletePerhaps spaying will calm Bailey down a bit. I have never had to spay a dog but I know cats that have been spayed definitely became a lot more calm post surgery. It was nice of your neighbors to exercise some grace, I'm sure due to your apologies. I wish my neighbors were as caring as yours are.
ReplyDeleteI get mixed opinions about whether spaying will calm her down or not. It can't hurt, that's for sure.
DeleteGood luck today for Bailey...
ReplyDeleteThanks, JayCee! As you'll see in the subsequent post, the surgery was postponed yet again. Bailey would probably consider that good luck indeed!
DeleteGood luck to Bailey this morning. She's probably going to be loopy from the anesthesia when you pick her up! I'm glad your neighbor was so understanding about the skirmish, and I'm glad no one got hurt (except for you!).
ReplyDeleteI could not have asked for a better response from the neighbors. I just have to remember to keep that door closed.
DeleteI'm sure all goes well with Bailey's spaying, and good job that the skirmish happened before and not right after the operation. Your neighbours seem to be sensible and kind.
ReplyDeleteBrugmansia are called "trumpet tree" here. I like the colour.
Always interesting to catch up with things like the newly built house on the spot of the old collapsed one. There are a few construction sites in my neighbourhood, and sometimes it looks like nothing at all is happening for months on end, until all of a sudden when I walk past there next time I hardly recognise the place anymore.
That's exactly how this was -- there was scaffolding and tarps for ages, and suddenly a new building was in place!
DeleteI am glad your neighbor was so understanding. The next week won't be easy trying to keep her calm after her surgery.
ReplyDeleteWell, as it turns out, it won't be this coming week -- but eventually we'll have to deal with that task.
DeleteTime, kindness and a good dog trainer might help. The terrified Chihuahua down the hall is doing much better, but it has taken a long time. The best they can figure is she was terribly abused as a very young dog. Welcome home,
ReplyDeleteWell, as I've said in other posts, she has shown improvement in some ways -- so there's no reason to believe that won't continue. Behavioral change is always a challenge, in both dogs and people!
DeleteNobody can embarrass a person like their kids and dogs! I'm glad your neighbor was understanding about it. Yes, after the surgery, a trainer might be a good idea. The notion of two families in one house might be hard for Bailey to grasp -- boundaries!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm sure she considers the upstairs "her" house. And certainly the front porch!
DeleteWell, I'm sorry for you! It's an act of courage to try and get a dog in a frenzy off of another dog. I'm sorry you got hurt.
ReplyDeleteSounds like after years and years of having upstairs neighbors who were not exactly ideal, you finally have some that are actually neighborly.
Yeah, they're great. I couldn't have asked for a better response to this awful situation.
DeleteI'm so glad there Wally wasn't hurt in the skirmish. Fighting dogs are frightening and unfortunately my Fred and Grady get into it with each other periodically. I'll spare you the details, but a recent incident became major.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking about Bailey today (and all of you) as she recovers. She's a sweet, energetic girlie who I have a feeling won't like being limited in activity.
Scratch that "there" in my first sentence. It doesn't belong. And I should have also said I'm sorry you were injured!
DeleteI'm glad to hear other people also deal with this kind of behavior. I mean, dogs are dogs and they're territorial, so it's going to happen, isn't it? We just have to do all we can to minimize the opportunity.
DeleteHope things go smoothly for Bailey today. I know you will give her lots of TLC as she recovers and then some training after that. Hope your hand feels better soon.
ReplyDeleteThe hand seems to be improving, thankfully!
DeleteYour brugmansia is definitely a different variety or hybrid than mine. On mine the flowers hang straight down and are longer. Mine gave me three flowers this past week. I thought I would get more but not so far.
ReplyDeleteHow embarrassing about Bailey. But how gracious of your new neighbors.
Interesting. I'll have to look at the tag and see what specific information it gives about this variety of Brugmansia.
DeleteI always find it amazing that houses can be demolished and new ones reconstructed in the gap between neighbouring properties. It must take some doing, and a lot of legal paperwork with 'party walls' etc. The new building does look good doesn't it.
ReplyDeleteI hope Bailey is okay after her trip to the vets today, and not too traumatised after yesterdays skirmish. How lovely were the neighbours about it all. It helps humans and animals when situations are dealt with like that.
People in the houses on either side must have been alarmed at the initial collapse. I'm sure they worried their homes would fall too!
DeleteCharlie is the same with other dogs. He has a lot of anxiety and attacks other dogs out of fear. Ironically Charlie is the one who ends up hurt and bleeding, not the other dog. Plus dogs fight and make terrible noises, usually without anyone getting hurt, but I would feel the same way.
ReplyDeleteYeah, dog fights often SOUND worse than they really are. I'm glad to hear there are other dog owners who deal with this sort of thing.
DeleteThat must have been very scary and unnerving. I'm glad your neighbors were so understanding. I hope all goes well with the vet today.
ReplyDeleteScary and unnerving indeed -- as I told the neighbor, it "freaked me out"!
DeleteI am going to hope that spaying Ms. Bailey will calm her down, however, I am also glad you are actually considering behavioral training! It's too bad you had to see her in action to realize that, yes, she needs to go to school! Of course, you need the training, as well!
ReplyDeleteWell, it's one thing to see her just snarl or bark at another dog -- but seeing her attack one is another kettle of fish entirely.
DeleteYour Brugmansia is beautiful and made a very nice welcome home greeting for you.
ReplyDeleteThe dog incident was disappointing but at least both dogs are okay, and your injury will hopefully resolve in a day or two.
Your new neighbors seem like wonderful very reasonable people.
Considering some dog training is a good idea.
Yeah, I'm not sure how we'll go about it but we'll see what we can do.
DeleteBailey will think the spaying is her punishment for her skirmish. Of course, then maybe it'll make her think twice???
ReplyDeleteI had the same thought -- but as you've probably seen in the subsequent post, the spaying was delayed again, so the link between that and the skirmish was sadly not established.
DeleteHope Bailey does well with the spaying; might that help her hatred of other dogs? I'm not sure how that works for females; we only had male dogs. Ouch on the hand injury! There is always so much to do when we have plants. I need to cut back my lily; the leaves are dead and it looks awful.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I hear conflicting things about whether the spaying will help her behavior. I'm not sure what to expect.
DeleteWow -- getting into fighting dogs takes some courage. Dave's right but it still makes it a huge problem, especially with a dog up above. Hope your hand will be ok, not bitten or infected, just sore. I hear you on coming home -- there's always a lot to do, even if you left with things in order. Good luck with Spay Day.
ReplyDeleteCourage or stupidity! It was just unthinking impulse on my part. To be honest, I'm not sure whether I was bitten or scratched during the fight, but something made me bleed.
DeleteThe Brugmansia is so pretty. Sorry to hear about the dog fight, and your injury. You are lucky to have kind neighbors.
ReplyDeleteWe are lucky. They could have made a right stink about this.
DeleteThat was an adventurous return home, and a busy one. Good luck with the surgery, which is probably over now.
ReplyDelete"Adventurous" -- that's a good word for it!
DeleteYour neighbor was very kind. I hope everything goes well with Bailey's recovery. After the stitches are gone, Bailey probably needs some extra training. I'm sure you'll take care of whatever needs doing.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
Yeah, she definitely needs training. We'll see what we can do.
DeleteWho said retirement wasn't a very busy time? But it's good time.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness I AM retired because this dog is going to take a lot of attention!
DeleteI am glad both dogs are okay and hope the spay and recovery are uneventful.
ReplyDeleteAs it turns out the spaying was delayed, but it will eventually happen -- so I'll bank your good wishes until then!
DeleteI am glad the skirmish was short lived, Bailey seems very protective of her people and territory. The spaying might help...
ReplyDeleteYes, she's very territorial and very dominant.
DeletePoor Wally. Glad everything is ok. Your new neighbors sound delightful.
ReplyDeleteThey seem very kind and their hearts are in the right place.
Delete