Man it’s been a long time since I wrote anything about the Trixter. Let me look back and see when I last wrote about her. Oh god! I mentioned her in passing last week, but it’s been almost a month since she got a full post! Good lord! The sad thing is some of these things have been in my head since that time and I just hadn’t written them down. So off we go.
You’ll be happy to know that Trixie’s tail is all better, and got better pretty quickly. Within a couple of days, she had a moderate wag, and within a week, she was bak to her morning flop and snort routine. In those first few days, it was sad to watch her try and wag, and figure out exactly how much she could wag without pain. She would get going really furiously, and then you could tell she overdid it, and all waggling would stop. Poor thing.
I also learned that Trixie went to the Babs school of pill-spitting. For a while, because of a small skin infection she developed, she had to take antibiotics. for the first couple of days, she would swallow the pill pretty quickly and that would be that. But after a while, she decided that she didn’t want these pills after all, and she was going to refuse to take them. She wouldn’t take them if I hid them in her food, she wouldn’t take them with a treat, nothing was going to work. She would even wait a few seconds, long enough for the pill to start dissolving, I would walk away, and then I would hear a familiar tui! And there would be the pill on the floor, the little rat. but the Trixter didn’t know that I also learned a lot about this little trick, so I didn’t go far, picked up the pill again, and oh boy did I stay long the next time! I won’t be stupid and find pills under tables days later, like in the Babs days. It especially sucked when I found pills after they had taken Babs back. All I could think was, well I guess she missed a few doses then. I felt so negligent, but what could I do?
She has a good memory for people I know. I love it. She’ll let me know if someone I know is nearby. One day, the rental agent for the building was in the parking lot. After we’d done what we wanted and were coming back in, she started walking the direction we always do, and then stopped beside the rental agent as if to say, “Did you want to speak to her?” She also remembers cars we’ve ridden in, and I think she’s starting to recognize the colours of the cabs we always take when we have to take cabs. Plus, here’s something fluky. I think she’s figured out which numbers on the caller ID mean someone is buzzing us! I could be full of crap, but every time that number comes over the talking caller ID, she starts pacing and pointing her head at the door, even if I don’t make any definite movements towards it. I know that seems weird, but it happens, so what amI supposed to think?
Trixie is hillarious. Hmmm, have I ever said that before? Every time I pull something out of my bag, or my drawer, or my cupboard, or anywhere, she thinks it’s a toy for her! She is especially fond of my bank card, or my credit card, or things coming out of shipping boxes, or anything small and electronic. No amount of convincing seems to work to tell her no matter how much she sniffs my memory stick, it still won’t become hers.
She’s had her first bath. Now that was an interesting experience! Getting her into the tub was a challenge. She stared at it as if to say, “Nope! You can forget it! You want me to go in there? No no no no! You can stuff that idea right quick….unless…treats! Mmm!” and then she was in. How easy it is to bribe the Trixter. She was pretty good in there, but I got very wet trying to get her washed. Of course, at the end, she played her good old attack the towel game for a long time as I tried to dry her off. I was so happy she didn’t sprain her tail again! I must have done something right, she smells much better again! So there’s another milestone I never got with Babs. Trixie got her first bath.
Also, the toy I bought a month ago is still very much alive. There are marks, but it isn’t caving in yet. A few bones have died, but we still have some left.
Trixie’s even gotten me un-lost a couple of times. Once, I was out playing with her on the big lawn, and don’t ask me how, but I ended up out at a sidewalk. I put the harness on her, and told her to find home. She didn’t find home exactly, I think because home was behind us, but she made a couple of turns and got us back out on the main sidewalk so I knew where I was. Now that’s cool!
I notice more and more that I like taking her on brand new adventures. I’ll go somewhere I’ve never been with someone, and it doesn’t stress me out that I’m just following their directions to go where we’re going. I know Trixie will work like a little trooper. She’ll have her moments, of course, but every day, she gets more and more awesome!
I’m such a loser. I still count the weeks I’ve had her home. We’re up to 21 of ’em now. It won’t be long until I’ve had her for half a year! Can anyone believe that? I sure can’t.