Saturday, March 15, 2008

Day 76 POTD More animals & Doggy Dementia

It's too tough for poor Bonnie to bear the all burden of the whole week of being The Animal, so I headed off to the local pet shop for a bunny, a ferret in a hammock, and a guinea pig. But since it still is Animal Week (and by the way, my first day with my DH was going to see Animal House), I'll tell you about Bonnie's doggy dementia.

First the photos, all shot with my 18-135 mm lens, ISO 400, fluorescent wb; autofocus.




The way we figured out that Bonnie, 13 1/2, has doggy dementia is that at night, she started guarding us against hallucinations. All night long, she stand at the top of the steps, barking her little cute fool head off, at absolutely nothing! Apparently barking is dog-to-human communication, and boy did she ever communicate! She was killing us! We'd be woken up all night long, and in the morning when we'd head off to work, she headed off to her cozy little bed to sleep the day away.

The vet tried amytriptylene, but it didn't do much good. Finally, we decided we had to have her sleep in a bed in the laundry room, where she wouldn't hear outside sounds as much. I hope this doesn't offend anyone's faith beliefs, but we put a radio outside the laundry room, tuned it in to an all-night radio station that plays the rosary in a fairly monotonous, but soothing, set of voices, all night long. Problem solved! Bonnie is much less anxious, doesn't bark at night, we sleep. . . and she still sleeps all day while we're at work.

Oh, and someone asked about the background for the jungle animals yesterday. I happen to have a blanket that has jungley looking things in it, like toucans and tropical trees, and I thought it would work well to cover the couch in the background.

19 comments:

Sharon said...

Poor Bonnie. I'm glad the rosary helps (my dad says it as he drives instead of listening to the radio.)

Unknown said...

Your animal shots are so adorable... cute!

Margaret said...

Poor doggie! Hope her nights get better! I love that first shot of the rabbit. Too cute!

Michelle said...

love the ferret! how fun to go to the pet store. and what a nice break for bonnie. and i love your solution to the barking! lol!

Jess said...

Aww, poor Bonnie! I know she was just trying to help. :)

I love the ferret in the hammock! Too cute!

pat said...

Love the story about Bonnie. I'm glad that you found a solution to the problem, and that she has such a sensitive soul... Neat idea to go to a pet shop!

C said...

I love the first shot! Adorable and great composition too! All have such great color! TFS :)

Cindi Koceich said...

Now that is some creative doggy parenting!!! Hugs to Bonnie!!! You sound like good parents who love her very much!

Jaime said...

These are cute! I'm glad you found a way to soothe your dog! I have a cat who likes to wake me up.. it isn't fun!

Trisha D said...

LoL I love the ferret in the hammock!

Amy said...

How perfect you found a radio station that works on Bonnie's dementia! The bunny is soooo cute, love those ears! Great shots!

~*Steffie*~ said...

Love the bunny! I was tempted to head out the pet store to get some shots of the birds, but I seem to have my own little zoo here. :)

Unknown said...

Awww poor Bonnie! I just want to say Angela that all your photos are amazing! I think I need a day to go through your blog and digest all your information!
Actually better still, you should give us all photography lessons because you are fantastic!!!

Jeanne said...

Love your pet shop shots! That ferret in the hammock has the right idea, doesn't he?

Thanks for sharing about Bonnie. I'm so glad you found a solution to her barking so that you can all rest at night.

Love all your photos!

Angelica said...

poor doggie! glad to hear everyone is sleeping now. love the shot of the ferret sleeping in the hammock.

HeyLady said...

So I'm not the only one that takes my camera to the store! I really like the first shot.

Anonymous said...

I am so glad that the music helps Bonnie. Boy is that a smart idea. We actually did the same thing for Katie (only she is a baby and not a dog..hahaha) when she was really tiny. It did give us a few extra moments of sweet sleep. (We didn't put her in the laundry room though, just in case anyone was wondering) Haha.

Becky said...

LOL--you did faith healing on Bonnie! Poor dog. When my golden was really old she started panting loudly and incessantly, and the vet said it was anxiety because she was blind and deaf. After that I was a little more compassionate toward her about it, although it drove me crazy (maybe I should have started panting)!
Love your animal photos. I generally stay out of pet stores so I won't be tempted to take them home--I could easily resist that ferret though!

Ann said...

really fun. I have liked your last several post muchly.