The Unhappy Camper

  Poor old Ms. Ez has not been doing so well this week.  Somehow the old Bayou Dog has injured her front paw and has to hobble about whenever she wishes to walk.  This is hard on a dog that is so accustomed to bouncing wherever she goes.  Now it is a painful experience to go down the steps and out to do her business.  She normally races down the hill to the far side of the yard every morning but this morning she stared at me with those big brown eyes almost begging not to go.  I relented and let her have access to the rose garden. There she would not have to roam several hundred feet just to find the perfect spot.  I figure that a shovel would take care of anything she left behind and the shorter distance might help her a bit.  

  The source of her injury is still a big question.  I can see no lesions on her paw just a good bit of swelling and a lot of redness.  It is possible that she stepped on a yellow jacket and received a nasty sting.  Ms. Put, the Bayou Cat Queen, suffered a similar fate just two weeks ago. Hers was a sting on the cheek which made it difficult to eat.  Several days later, she was fine.  Another possibility with Ms. Ez, is a spider bite. She has a tendency to bound right through tall grass and underbrush so any critter lurking within might have defended itself by clamping down on her foot.  A spider bite might be a bit more troublesome than the bee sting but that, too, will heal.  

  The paw will be watched and treated with antibiotic ointment for another day.  If no improvement is seen, a visit to the veterinary office shall be in order.  Ms. Ez is not one bit happy being confined to her bed. She longs to be out chasing squirrels and following me about the hillside.  Why!  Even our treks to the pier have been put on hold because of this injury.  She is not a happy camper...not at all.