I'm washing dog bed covers this evening to continue the work toward freshening the house after a week of a dog with stitches, a cone, bandages, and now, super cold weather. I've tried to protect Pepper's tummy with a t-shirt (she uses a back leg while standing and scratches her tummy so the shirt is a barrier), but the t-shirt she had on this morning was stuck to a stitch - that elicited a yelp when I realized it. And it's so cold, I think someone piddled on the dog bed, so the shirt was pretty awful. I got my sharpest shears to literally cut it down the middle of the back quickly to get it off of her (gravity pulled the shirt off of that stitch) and toss it. It's weeks like this that give the rest of the year a perspective of normalcy.

I'm going to request that they sedate Pepper before the stitches are removed; another struggle like the one over the drain and this dog will never trust me again. That's next week on Tuesday.

We've just returned from a group bedtime expedition into the yard; I in my heavy gear and a handful of dog treats get them all outside to take care of business. I stand around out there for a while so they poke around and finally finish. My old dog Poppy taught me this skill: she was deaf and slept so soundly that sometimes she was incontinent during the night. When we made these bedtime trips, me included, she took the time to take care of business and was able to get through the night. (When they're let out by themselves and come back very quickly you don't know what they did.) #JoysOfDogOwnership