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Low turnout

We didn’t get as many trick-or-treaters as we did last year, so Rufus had an easier evening than I’d anticipated. He barked like a maniac everytime the doorbell rang, of course. I’d put his leash on him and open the door, at which point he’d invariably wag his tail and try to get all the kids to pet him or put their faces close enough for a good lick.

All in all, he had a better day than Jill Rappaport’s dog:

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Fatty elbow and the end of dog-days

I had a sad experience on Monday night. Rufus has a hygroma or fatty tumor on the “elbow” of his left foreleg. Never having finished (or, in fact, started) veterinary school, I decided to take him down to the vet to get it checked out. Also, I wanted to get him weighed, because I think he’s put on a bit of weight, but I can’t really tell. (To cut to the chase: the vet thinks the “elbow bump” is nothing serious, Roo is 81.4 lbs., up 3 from May, and the assistant found a tick behind his ear.)

So we drove down for our 7:45 appointment. Rufus got to meet a couple of dogs in the lobby, and also got to sniff at the cardboard Pet Taxi box that was holding a foul-tempered 13-lb. cat. When the cat hissed and jumped inside the box, Roo almost had a heart attack. The rest of us laughed.

The offices were pretty warm so, since we had to wait for a while, I took Rufus out to parking lot to walk around. He was happy that they had a fake fire hydrant in their doggie-area. Back in the lobby, he was pretty well-behaved, although I think he wants to get a day job in reception, since he kept trying to get behind the desk.

[You may find the rest of this post pretty sad or depressing, so feel free to punt on it. If you want to read on, just click “more”.] Continue reading “Fatty elbow and the end of dog-days”

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Because that’s the way God wants it?

I have an editorial advisory board at my day job. I hit the members up for article topics, send them “Ask the Board” questions and otherwise kibbitz about the direction of the magazine. It’s a non-paying gig, but it carries some sort of esteem, I guess.

Since we’re coming to the end of the year, I just e-mailed all 30 members and asked them to update their job titles and companies and confirm that they want to stay on the board. And that’s when I noticed something odd: There’s only one woman on my advisory board.

I’m no fan of political-correctness or quotas, but I have to admit that I’m a little embarrassed by this fact.