Tails from Quarantine: Episode Seven

Hello all!  Over the last few weeks, life has been crazy and I've neglected giving regular updates, mainly because I have been too exhausted at the end of the day and just don't have the energy.  Currently, we are still in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, although the Stay home orders have ended and the State and Country are slowly beginning to reopen.  I'm sure that we will continue to experience challenges and lots of changes over the next several months, but I don't expect much to change for me in the short-term.  I am still working from home and don't expect to return to the office any time soon. 

Working from home has been going well and I know that the girls have enjoyed having me home with them every day.  We have a good routine every day and, honestly, I have been working my regular schedule daily, walking the dogs regularly every day, and spending lots of time outside doing yard work so I haven't had a chance to get bored!  There has been a lot about this quarantine that I have really enjoyed. 

While having Piper in our home is not without challenges, she has continued to make improvements and, as I sit here writing, she is sound asleep beside me.  I'm beginning to understand her and her needs better, which makes life a lot easier.  Plus I feel like I have a good handle on her anxiety.  With a combination of anti-anxiety medications and lots of physical and mental stimulation, she has begun to really enjoy just being a dog.  She is a sweet girl with a cute personality who LOVES to be with her people.  I will definitely say that her added energy level has changed the dynamic in the house and I go to bed every night exhausted, mainly in a good way.  Of course we still have challenging days and sometimes no matter what I do she just won't relax, but she is slowly learning how to entertain herself and starting to understand that sometimes it's nice to just relax.

We haven't been going far from home for our adventures, but I have tried to change things up and find some new trails for walks occasionally because we all get bored walking the same route around the neighborhood. We've visited both some newly discovered trails as well as some old favorite locations and even made a day-trip to the beach to celebrate Maddie's 14th birthday.  That was a great day and we all enjoyed it tremendously!

We have been spending a lot of time outside because we've had some really nice weather.  This weekend has been especially nice with temperatures in the low 70s during the day and plenty of sunshine.  Peaches is especially loving that she can spend all day outside while I work from home.  I love how much she is enjoying her time outside and how well she can keep herself entertained. 

While I've spent lots of time weeding the landscaping, planting the garden, and a number of other fun yard tasks, I've also spent a lot of my outdoor time throwing the tennis ball for Piper.  She loves to run around the yard with the ball in her mouth, occasionally dropping the ball so that I can give it a good throw and she can chase it and begin to run around the yard again.  Once-in-a-while, this will lead to a good game of chase with Peaches, however, it appears that Peaches is starting to feel her age a bit...it's tough being 8 1/2 years old...and prefers to have shorter bursts of chase followed by sniffing around or watching for birds.  But thankfully, after some fresh air and exercise,  Piper will relax and just enjoy being in the great outdoors.  

Peaches' favorite activity lately has been watching the baby robins whose mom thought it was a great idea to put a nest in my backyard.  She would spend hours running around the yard watching for the parents to return to feed the babies and then would check regularly to make sure the babies were still there.  Thankfully, robin chicks grow up quickly and I was able to keep them safe from Peaches while they were here   Thursday the final of the four babies left the nest permanently and flew away.  Peaches has still checked multiple times per day to make sure that they haven't come back, but we are in the clear...or at least I thought we were until tonight when I discovered, or should I say Peaches discovered, another nest in our Willow tree.  We've had one causality from that nest, but I am calling that a success.  Hopefully those babies will be gone soon too and Peaches can get back to her days of chasing bees and butterflies in between naps.

Maddie has also been enjoying life a lot lately.  While she can't take long walks with us anymore, she is getting out for a short walk every day.  Some days, I take a nice leisurely stroll with her, just the two of us, and those are some of my favorite walks.  She loves to stop and sniff things along the way and really pays attention to everything going on around her.  Earlier this week I had to chuckle at the excitement of the little old lady as she watched a rabbit run away and got a little extra pep in her step.  She spends a lot of time sleeping, but she is having a great Spring because she has gotten to spend every day with me and I don't think anything could make her happier. 

With the reopening of businesses, our vet is now able to perform non-emergency surgeries again, so Piper will be going in for her spay surgery on Monday morning and will most likely be moving to a new home soon.  I have done everything I can do to get her ready for a new home at this point, and although she will need a family willing to continue training and working with her anxiety, I know that there is a great home out there for her that can give her all of the time and attention she needs. 

While we've been a good temporary home for her, it's definitely been a struggle. What I have learned at this point is that fostering a high energy, younger dog with Maddie is much more challenging now.   While it doesn't seem to bother her, it definitely makes my days more challenging.  Plus, I'm ready to get back to life with my girls and take a break from fostering for a bit so that I can focus on giving Peaches the time and attention she needs and on giving Maddie all the love and attention she deserves.  I'm looking forward to a quiet, relaxing, and enjoyable Summer with some small adventures and lots of fun!