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Mornings are evil
Aug. 6th, 2014 03:51 pmGreat weather, till I remember it's supposed to be winter! Sun, warmth, t-shirt. Why am I watering my seedlings in August?
Day off, which usually means catch up on sleep, but this morning I wanted to take young Fergus to the vet for a check. I've been worried that he's falling behind his brother; not putting on weight, not crazy enough for an almost-four-month-old rat. If I wanted to catch Greg the vet before he took off for the Dogs Home midmorning, that meant hauling out of bed even earlier than for work, with both Fergus and his brother River, along as moral support and also a control against whom the vet could compare Fergus.
That succeeded but the news isn't good. Greg could see, as I can, that Fergus isn't as bouncy and filled out as River, but he doesn't know just what is wrong, only that it is probably a congenital defect, given condition and family history. Only four out of their litter survived (forget the full number but it would have been eight or 10). Their mother was a too-young rescued rat.
Since a rat is too small for the sort of checks a human or larger animal would get, including blood tests, all Greg could do was give him anabolic and cortico steroid shots to spice his appetite, help with any inflammation and rule him out for the Olympics. It would be, Greg said, an interesting urine test were Fergus to compete.... So all I can do is try to make sure he eats well and has a good life, which will most likely be shorter than I'd hoped.
And yes, I caught up on some sleep when I got home. Work is getting to me a bit at the moment and my blood sugar level probably not the greatest either. They're requiring us to apply for end-of-year leave now, following a clamp-down on leave later this year. I won't be taking a tentatively planned holiday away in late September. Truth be told; I can't afford to do so. There are things I want the money for later and that has to take precedence.
So; did the watering, some food shopping and sorting of personal documents, because I'm going to try to make it to the Tax Office before work tomorrow morning and formally notify them of the name change so that I can access their blasted online tax program. More early stuff. I'm gonna die.....
Day off, which usually means catch up on sleep, but this morning I wanted to take young Fergus to the vet for a check. I've been worried that he's falling behind his brother; not putting on weight, not crazy enough for an almost-four-month-old rat. If I wanted to catch Greg the vet before he took off for the Dogs Home midmorning, that meant hauling out of bed even earlier than for work, with both Fergus and his brother River, along as moral support and also a control against whom the vet could compare Fergus.
That succeeded but the news isn't good. Greg could see, as I can, that Fergus isn't as bouncy and filled out as River, but he doesn't know just what is wrong, only that it is probably a congenital defect, given condition and family history. Only four out of their litter survived (forget the full number but it would have been eight or 10). Their mother was a too-young rescued rat.
Since a rat is too small for the sort of checks a human or larger animal would get, including blood tests, all Greg could do was give him anabolic and cortico steroid shots to spice his appetite, help with any inflammation and rule him out for the Olympics. It would be, Greg said, an interesting urine test were Fergus to compete.... So all I can do is try to make sure he eats well and has a good life, which will most likely be shorter than I'd hoped.
And yes, I caught up on some sleep when I got home. Work is getting to me a bit at the moment and my blood sugar level probably not the greatest either. They're requiring us to apply for end-of-year leave now, following a clamp-down on leave later this year. I won't be taking a tentatively planned holiday away in late September. Truth be told; I can't afford to do so. There are things I want the money for later and that has to take precedence.
So; did the watering, some food shopping and sorting of personal documents, because I'm going to try to make it to the Tax Office before work tomorrow morning and formally notify them of the name change so that I can access their blasted online tax program. More early stuff. I'm gonna die.....