Fostering Chester

Poor Quinby. The vet warned us that because of Q’s injury, she may not be able to tell when she has to go to the bathroom. Scott and I still haven’t decided whether she knows or not. True, she often hops over to us and whines right before she goes, but that may be because she’s hopping over to us ALL THE TIME. — to be petted, to be fed a treat, to be given a toy.

So, to prevent cleaning up after Q’s “accidents,” we’ve been putting her in doggie diapers. To start with, we were paying $15 for a pack of 15. Yes. Doggie diapers are $1.00 apiece. Then, I figured out that Jack and Quinby wear EXACTLY the same size in diapers, so they’ve since been sharing, and I’ve been cutting out the hole for Q’s tail myself.

Q is not impressed.

She’s decided that she prefers to use the toilet. Scott and I watched a youtube video in which the owner of a handicapped dachshund enthusiastically described how she takes her handicapped dachshund “to potty.” Basically, she holds her over the toilet, pokes her in the bladder, and the dog goes in the toilet. “It’s easier than when she wasn’t handicapped, and I had to walk her and pooper-scoop!” she gushed.

So, we decided to try it. I held Q over the toilet, poked her where I imagined her bladder would be, and she went. Hooray for Q!

To celebrate, we went outside to enjoy the Fall day, but we had to snap this photo before going outside. See, below, Uncle Edisto and the pups, enjoying a Sunday afternoon nap:

Once outside, Q was all smiles:

Gertie ran up to greet us:

And, then, we were all mobbed by the pups:

Yes. In the photo, below, Bradley appears to be winking.

Of all the pups, B is the most fascinated with Aunt Q’s wheels and is always begging her for a ride . . .

. . . whereas Elloree, normally the go-getter of the group, hung back on the kids’ swing, unsure. Unsure, but awfully cute.

And Hilda, the smart one, decided to stay out of trouble and hang with Arina instead. — which may not be that smart, since trouble seems to find A. whether she’s at home or at school.

Finally, Arina decided to rescue Quinby by cuddling Bradley . . .

. . . and then cuddling Hilda, who needed it, because I had just washed her face, after noticing it was dirty in the photo, above.

Quinby, pup free at last! To celebrate, she strikes her most impressive pose. I’m sure she’s pretending she saw a squirrel. She’s pretending, because if she really saw a squirrel, she’d be using her wheels to run him over.

Seriously. We pup-sat for my parents this weekend. Joe and Harley were standing at one end of the hallway, Q at the other. She growled once before taking off. They scattered like bowling pins. Things were dicey, until they realized that they could get away from her by climbing the stairs.

Q’s next goal is to learn how to climb stairs. She can come down them in her chair but hasn’t quite mastered how to climb them. She already knows how to use a toilet, though, so I’m sure it’s only a matter of time.