Above is a picture of Merlin when he was a puppy and we’d just brought him home. It had been a long ride and several days of strange places. Now, he was at another strange place.

That was over 11 years ago.

Merlin and I had a long night last night. He’s definitely not feeling well.

I went for “bike to breakfast” with my son, his girlfriend, and her siblings. We had a very long ride, but it was great fun. I enjoyed getting to know her siblings a bit better. I haven’t had a chance before other than the stories I hear from her and my son.

But, I was tired when I came home and the day was nice. I wrote outside with Merlin and Temmy in the yard with me and even dozed a bit in the sun. Then I came in and watched a movie. I berated myself all afternoon for not getting to writing or painting and just sitting on my behind and vegging.

Then I remembered that I was awake most of the night with Merlin and still had to clean up after him this morning. Yeah, it was a long night and not his fault that he was having issues. He tried and did what he could. Poor guy. So, I tried to remind myself not to be so hard on myself for being a bit lazy myself this afternoon. Taking care of a dog who’s sick is almost as bad as taking care of a sick toddler. Only difference is that I could leave Merlin alone while I left for a bit. I kept him in the house so he wouldn’t be out in his pen where he could aggravate whatever respiratory condition is making him sneeze and where he could sleep comfortably.

He’s currently sleeping on my bed with Coville nearby. Coville always sleeps there; it’s where he spends most of his days. It’s unusual for Merlin, especially at this time of night when he’s usually starting to convince me that it’s treat time. I have noticed that when Merlin isn’t feeling well, he hangs out with Coville, who will gladly clean Merlin’s ears. I watched that happen yesterday morning, including watching Merlin trying to tell Coville not to stop. Ordinarily this is an activity Merlin would not tolerate, but apparently Dr. Coville has a way to soothe him.

Now if I could just get Bella and Temmy to play well together.

Bella is pacing tonight. She crawled up into my lap while Temmy was sleeping, but still growled at Temmy, enough to wake Temmy up and stare sleepily at Bella. Now, Bella paced into my room, probably to find out what was happening with Merlin. I think she’s used to him running around in the evening too, so she’s probably wondering where he is so that she can edge her way outside before treat time. As I said, I have very scheduled pets. But, Temmy caught her as Bella was heading back to the other room, and the snarling and hissing started. If Bella would just knock it off and not start getting her back all up, Temmy would leave her alone. I don’t really think that Temmy cares until she starts wonder what Bella’s all upset about and that makes Temmy very curious. Then, Bella tries to get away and it becomes a game. They swat at each other, but I’ve never seen one of them land a hit. They don’t actually fight, just posture a lot. It’s been 10 months already and we’ve made some slow strides, but I await the day all this settles. And, I’m aware that it might never be any better than it is now. Like I stated, at least they aren’t actively fighting with each other and I can leave them alone in the house together.

Who would’ve thought that my pets would act more like siblings?

Cheers.