Pets

Meet Senna. (The dog, not the child).

Senna is 4 1/2 years old. She was born the night the US invaded Iraq, the runt of the litter of about 10. She has always been and is still kind of a submissive dog... In a "so submissive she might freak out and bite a stranger she feels threatened by" kind of way.

I have a love/hate relationship with this dog. She's such a sweety to me and the fam. She recognizes my Alpha Bitch status. But she sheds like a mofo, which I've mentioned before. She frightens most who come to the door. She pretty much needs to stay in her crate for most visitors - especially if they happen to be over 5'2" or male. Our priest flat out overwhelms her.

Senna is the first dog we've had since having children. Before that, we had a dog, Jaz (but pronounced Yaz. Ah the 80s), that I got when I was a junior in high school. She lived to a ripe old age of 14 and had to be put to sleep when I was 4 months pregnant with Twinkle. The vet was great throughout the whole thing, but I digress.

I'm realizing that dogs post kids are very different from dogs pre-kids. She is just at the very bottom of the totem pole. Our adding another child in May just pushed her down another level. I just don't feel the bond with her that I did with our previous dog.

The past couple of days, Senna has not been eating. She's been a bit mopey, even for her, and she's not an active dog. She hasn't even been cleaning up the food Sparkle so sweetly drops on the ground for her. So, this morning when she [pardon me] regurgitated something foul smelling, I decided that I probably should do something. Long story short, Senna is spending the night at the vet with an IV to rehydrate her while they try to figure out if she has Addison's Disease or kidney problems.

I, of course, feel bad for her low station on the totem pole around here. That's just the way it is right now. I'm anxious to find out what exactly is wrong with her, and where we go from here.