Unexpectedly Dogsitting (Patreon)

There has been a delay in production, at least until Sunday. So the pages will go up a little later than I was hoping (but you'll get 4 new pages, at least).

Last night my brother-in-law called and asked us if we could feed their dog while they were gone. I thought they meant for a night, but they meant for three nights! His family were going out of town and they waited until 2 hours before they left to get their dog taken care of. Furthermore, they planned to keep her in a cage (as they, frankly, always do) and just wanted us to feed her. (This will likely become a rant, so if you don't want to hear it, feel free to skip the rest and just know the page has been delayed)

This dog has been neglected so much so that I can't go over to their house without crying. Ever since they had kids (demon spawn, I should say) they have chosen to lock her in a cage. First they cited the kids' allergies as the "problem". Then they said  it was actually for her sake because as mentioned before, these are demon spawn (my sis-in-law's away message on her text app is her apologizing about her children... not even joking) and they will hit the dog. We stayed with them for a little bit once with our dog Bus, a black Italian greyhound, and their oldest immediately chased after him with toy guns, tried to hit him, etc. So their dog just stays locked up all day, with cheap and fatty dog food and treats and no exercise. She is overweight, old (my husband thinks she might be 13-15), has cherry eye (a treatable eye bulge), and a massive stomach knot that I think is actually a hernia (common with older female dogs, particularly dachshunds). 

So I offered to have her come here, and at first they refused my offer saying she doesn't have control of her bladder anymore. But I said it wouldn't be a problem, and they promptly dropped her off without any directions. They gave us a bag of cheap grocery store kibble (not sure it will last the weekend), two bags of treats I would never dare feed my dog, and a bunch of potty sheets, and that's it. No bed, no food or water dish, no toys. Unbelievable. I also noticed my bro-in-law had this look like we were putting a strain on his schedule, since they were running late for the ferry.

Well, as soon as they leave, I notice a HUGE bulge on her lower belly. It's soft, not hard, so I think it's a hernia (I used to own a dachshund and it is common with the breed). I think I have cried 8 times since she's been here. Her "uncontrollable bladder" we were warned of is a non-existing bladder-- she has not gone to the bathroom once since she's been here. She was nervous last night, but this morning after she ate she started running around, frolicking, trying to get me to play with her. Poor thing. She's so overweight and has this hernia and cherry eye, and her dental health is pretty sad, and she's just so happy to be out of her cage and going for walks and being petted. She started showing signs that she USED to be a spoiled little thing (and she was... she was their little princess before kids entered the picture). Started whining and begging for attention and treats (that shit doesn't fly in this house, though). I can't communicate with her very well (that sounds silly, but my dog has a pretty impressive vocabulary and he is very well behaved and responds to commands like a champ) and it just frustrates me to no ends. 

If you do not want the responsibilities that come with having a dog, do not become a dog owner. I just can't stress this enough. The thought of my dog ever being treated the way she is makes me tear up. Since I'll be taking her to the vet today to look at this possible hernia, I don't expect to get much work done today on the pages, but it's an opportunity to work on the script for the bonus chapter, at least. The dogs will both take naps if I work in the living room, but I'm not risking getting pages chewed on or peed on, since I don't think this pooch has been trained very well. But my husband is off work tomorrow and can look after the dogs for a bit, so I might get some work done tomorrow, we'll see.

But seriously... this poor old dog. Breaks my heart.