Barley's New Best Friend

As those of you who are friends with Taylor and I on a regular basis may know, we have a dog named Barley and a cat named Moe. We got Barley last year and he is probably the nicest dog in the whole world. Everyone is Barley's friend and he wants to give everyone hugs and kisses and play with them until they collapse. Barley is the freakin' energizer bunny, he can wear out anyone or any animal. Over the past couple of months, we had noticed that Barley's behavior had started to become more mischievous. He started eating things he shouldn't, like a whole bag of Tostitos or Taylor's box of Triscuits (although actually he only ate a couple because he couldn't get them out of the box, he was so kind as to stomp on the rest of them for Taylor, so sweet!). He also ripped open the trash bag while we were gone a couple of times to get out treats for himself, like my leftover chicken teriyaki and tempura and our chicken dinner leftovers. Most of these things were done when we were out of the house because we usually leave Barley in the house if we are only going to be gone for an hour or so. One day, he even dumped out my pizza box which had half a sausage pizza left in it (that I was going to save) when Taylor and I went out of the living room for a few minutes.

We talked about Barley's behavior and we decided that most of his behavior was due to the fact that he was bored. He would never cause trouble if we were taking him somewhere fun or if he was hanging out at my in-laws house (they have two dogs). Unfortunately, we were only really able to do things with Barley on the weekends because we are usually drained at the end of the workday. So we decided that Barley needed a friend.

Two weeks ago, we got Hopps. We found him at the Austin Humane Society and his name was originally Boo. He had been at Austin Humane Society since September after transferring from Town Lake Animal Shelter, where he had been for 3 months. He is a lab/pit bull mix and he is dark brown with a white chest scruff and white tips of his paws. He is 9 months old and just a sweetie. He had been the favorite at both Austin Humane Society and Town Lake but no one had been a match for him. Taylor thinks it is because most families shy away from pit bull mixes and most people looking for a pit bull don't want one who is super friendly and wants to just lick your face. Taylor and I met with Hopps in one of the meeting rooms and he immediately jumped on us and started wagging his tail and licking us (just like Barley had done when we met him). We played with him for a while, then he got tired so he just layed down. We decided that we would see if he and Barley were a good match the next day. If you have a dog already, Austin Humane Society schedules a meeting with the two dogs to see if they are compatible.

So, on Sunday afternoon, we packed Barley up and took him to the shelter to meet Hopps. They had two trainers who would be doing the meeting and telling us if they thought that Barley and Hopps were a match. At first, we were not supposed to interact. The trainers walked Barley and Hopps around on their leashes. However, they were both so excited that they ended up getting tangled together and to the trainers. It was cute! So they took Barley off the leash and let him sniff on Hopps. That went well so they let Hopps off the leash and they started to play together. Then toys were added to the mix and then finally, Taylor and I were allowed to give attention to Hopps to see if Barley had jealousy issues. The trainers told us that they thought we had a great match and they seemed to really like each other. So, we took Hopps home, then and there.

Barley and Hopps rode in the back of our Dodge Caliber like good buddies. We took them home and let them hang out for a while. Then, we all went to Petsmart for some things for Hopps and a huge water bowl because they are both big drinkers. Hopps fell asleep on the floor of Petsmart. We took the dogs home and we went to dinner. We were supposed to leave Hopps in our kennel and put Barley outside but we decided to chance it because they seemed to be so happy with each other. When we got back, they were just sitting out back, happy as clams! Taylor also tried to put Hopps in the kennel at night but he and Barley didn't understand why Barley was not in the kennel but Hopps was. Taylor eventually let Hopps out and he just curled up on the floor next to Barley and didn't make a peep until morning.

So two weeks in and we are still doing great. Barley and Hopps are totally inseparable and play and have fun all day long. Barley's bad behavior has pretty much stopped completely and except for eating Moe's favorite toy, Hopps has been pretty good too. Sometimes, I just look at them and that "Let me tell you something about my best friend..." song comes in my head and I see them in a little movie montage.

Anyway, so that is Hopps, the newest member of our family. I haven't taken a pic of him yet but I did find one online from Austin Humane Society. Hopps was a fashion model in the Rags to Wags fundraiser.

I guess Hopps was a boxer with a big scary looking women walking him. I will post more pics when I have them.

You Know You're a Nurse When....

I got this email from a nurse pal the other day and thought I would share it along with some thoughts of my own.

1) The front of your scrubs reads 'Nurses... here to save your ass, not kiss it!' I think this might go for social workers and physical therapists to.
2) You occasionally park in the space with the 'physicians only' sign... and knock it over. I did actually do this when I owned the BMW. Who would know? And I didn't knock the sign over.
3) You believe some patients are alive only because it's illegal to kill them. This is my best friend's mantra.
4) You recognize that you can't cure stupid. Sad, but true.
5) You own at least three pens with the names of prescription medications on them. I like Actonel pens the best, they write really well.
6) You believe there's a special place in hell for the inventor of the call light.
7) You believe that saying 'it can't get any worse' causes it to get worse just to show you it can. I have seen this happen too many times to count.
8) You wash your hands BEFORE you go to the bathroom.
9) You believe that any job where you can drive to work in your pajamas is a cool one.
10) You consider a tongue depressor an eating utensil. I haven't done this but I have eaten out of an emesis basin before.
11) Eating microwave popcorn out of a clean bedpan is perfectly natural. The nurses in Minnesota used to do this all the time.
12) You've been exposed to so many x-rays that you consider it a form of birth control.
13) You've ever heard a patient with a nose ring, a brow ring, and twelve earrings say 'I'm afraid of shots.' And, boy, is it annoying!
14) You've ever placed a bet on someone's blood alcohol level.
15) You've told a confused patient that your name is that of a coworker and to call if they need help.
16) Your bladder can expand to the size of a Winnebago's water tank. It's a special talent.
17) You have seen more penises than any prostitute could dream of. Mine would probably be more vaginas than any man can ever dream of seeing.
18) You believe that not all patients are annoying... some are unconscious. Another of my best friend's mantras.
19) Your family and friends refuse to watch medical sitcoms with you because you spend the whole time correcting everyone and pointing out upside down x-rays. Spoiler alert: You do not use the defibrillator on someone who is flat lining, or at least not to defibrillate them like you see on TV. Sorry.
20) You don't get excited about blood, unless it's your own. Very true, and if the blood is mine I might pass out.
21) You've sworn to have 'do not resuscitate' tattooed on your chest. Soon.
22) Discussing dismemberment over a gourmet meal is perfectly normal to you. I actually get in trouble for doing this all the time. I don't really have a filter for when people are eating.
23) Your idea of fine dining is anywhere you can sit down to eat.
24) Your idea of a good time is a cardiac arrest at shift change. Change that to delivery at shift change. I don't like cardiac arrests at any time. Period.
25) You believe in the aerial spraying of Prozac. If only...
26) You believe that 'shallow gene pool' should be a recognized diagnosis.
27) You believe that the government should require permits to reproduce. Please, please, please.
28) You believe that unspeakable evils will be fall anyone who utters the phrase 'Wow, it's really quiet, isn't it? I think a couple of people have actually been beaten by nurses for saying that. You never use the Q word at work, it would be like erasing the last name on the patient board. It would just itch to be totally full in an hour.
29) You have ever wanted to write a book entitled 'Suicide: getting it right the first time.'
30) You have ever had a patient look you straight in the eye and say 'I have no idea how that got stuck in there.'
31) You've had to leave a patient's room before you begin to laugh uncontrollably. Yep, when the stripper started counting out her $1 and when the hippie mom almost killed her husband and could have made a sailor blush with her cursing.

Hope you enjoyed those. Nurses are weird people, aren't we?