Locks and Ticks

Nicole is on nights tonight, so I am blessed with the pleasure of her company today. This morning we went to Nudgee Beach and the dogs frolicked - actually Matilda frolicked and Tiny barked haughtily from a distance - and swam in the river chasing other dogs' sticks. Eloise became obsessed with the dog water stations to the point where she was putting her feet in the
trays, and soaked her shoes and socks completely. "A good time was had by all."

I had to call out a locksmith yesterday as for the last couple of days the front door has refused to open. It seems that the latch mechanism internal to the handle-catch arrangement had broken and needed replacement. Another ton leaves the premises.

We are slowing discovering the value of money, in the sense that what with unplanned expenses such as new specs, vet bills, nursing books, daily gourmet food shopping (by yours truly, naturally) etc, we are burning more money than we are bringing down! So adjustment is required, and adjustment will, I am sure, be made.

You're probably goggling at the vet bills if you give a damn about the dogs, but don't worry, they just had a check-up, a top-up vaccination for kennel cough and the shock realisation that Matilda is weighing in at a hefty 25kgs whilst Tiny is a little lean at 17kgs. I have been standing guard at mealtimes to make sure no dirty tricks are being perpetrated.

The other insteresting factette that came up in our vet consultation is that Kedron Brook, where we have been walking our dogs in the mornings of late due to its length and off-leashishness, is a hot bed for Paralysis Ticks which are in season at the moment. One in ten dogs who get these buggers end up dead! So to overcome that we have to Frontline the dogs every fortnight, and we will also be frisking them every so often for ticks just to be sure - not that it's reaqlly all that much of a risk... probably....

Oh how we laughed when the Vet talked about "Tick Toxin" and we thought "The mouse runs up the cloxin." How we laughed.