WACKY WEATHER

Well, once again we've gone from spring into summer, with clouds and rain in-between. As you probably know, pugs don't do well in direct sun, especially black pugs. Today the numbers didn't look all that bad--like 82 or something says Guardian, but we just walked half-way around our circle road, and I was pant, pant, panting. Gus was too busy listening to the lawn mowers and keeping his eyes on the mail truck.  He likes trucks. One day Guardian went to get the mail and next thing she knew, Gus had jumped into the truck, landing on the mail carrier's lap!  He's been wanting to do that again ever since.  But the mail carrier wants no repeat jumping events like that!

Something about the bright sun and no clouds just makes everything hotter.
 It was cool just to slum in the shade.

Gus was just so happy slumming that he wanted his back to enjoy the cool grass, too.

So the next day we figured it would be the same...but whenever Guardian won't let us on the deck to chew on the bully sticks, we know the weather is wacky.  She showed us the temperature number dial.  Guess you can see why we weren't allowed out on the deck or on the grass that day.

We hoped we go out on the deck the next day.  Well, here's the dial again---no sun, some rain, lots of wind and a lower number:

Too cool and wet.  No deck---again! 

What's wrong with that dial, anyway?

 Guardian went on the big Source of Info on the Internet and found about something she said was called "Arctic Amplification." 

Jazz:  Wha?!
Guardian:   Well the ice in the top of the world that pushes hot sun rays back into space has melted.  Then there's more ocean that can't send those rays back, so it heats up.  That messes with the West to East river of winds that create weather changes.  That river of wind looks like a big roller coaster.

 

This windy roller coaster now goes slower, but the high parts are higher and low parts lower and wider.  That's why we get stuck in days and days of all too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry weather. Then, all of a sudden it changes to something totally the opposite.

Jazz: I have no idea what you just said.  Can we go back on the deck now?

Jazz: Weather seems just fine, Guardian.

WHAC-A-MOLE WELLNESS

Gus has Stephen King eyes (no pupils, just weird, scary dark eyes ) gets 3 different eye meds, eats special food without rice or fish or beets, and gets shots because he's allergic to about every grass, fungus, tree and plant there is. Then he got all this white stuff that started to show up all over his back and haunches.  Like someone had taken a sea salt shaker and sprinkled it on him.
But what got Guardian really upset was that Gus started to lose patches of his fur. Then he got some bald spots and his once shiny black coat got all dull and ugly. 

Now, therapy dogs just can't have that problem, so off to the vet he went.
Gus told me that it took Guardian and the other lady who works with the vet to put wrestling holds on him to keep him from jumping off that slippery table. He escaped a couple of times, then Guardian pulled out the big guns....uh....smelly treats.  Gus has to be really, really sick not to eat, and when that stuff waved in front of his nose, well, next thing he knew, he was out of the wrestling hold and done with the vet.  Guardian said the vet scraped Gus's skin and sent it off somewhere.

Jazz: ALL his skin?
GUARDIAN: No, silly, just a tiny bit of it.

When it came back, it was not good. Some kind of bug that usually attacks human throats was now attacking Gus, but far from his throat. What's a bug that attacks human throats doing on a pug's skin???!! Has some infected human been sucking on your skin,Gus? 

And it meant that it needed special medication AGAIN. 

And new shampoo.

Guardian: Figuring out how to keep Gus healthy is like playing Whac-A-Mole.

Jazz: Whack a WHAT?
Guardian: Oh some kind of game...hard to explain. But we just get one Gus ailment fixed and another pops up. We don't know his background, 'cuz he was adopted.  But he sure is a walking ad AGAINST puppy mill breeding, since that's where he probably came from.



Then she changed some of his food again....he gets real rabbit patties instead of canned food. (She sometimes sneaks a piece of the bunny to me! YUM!)  Then she gave us both some white glop to eat for our fur.

But, you know what? Gus is better! No more bare patches. His fur is shiny again thanks to all that special care. Much less sea salt sprinkles. He told me he feels a LOT better now, too.

So moles BE WARNED!!!! That whacker is ready to knock you down if you ever show your ugly mug again!