CHA-CHING! Got my tax refund in record time this year and have wasted no time in restimulating America’s economy.  Of course, $3000 of it went to the vet for Malai’s surgery.  But this refund enabled me to finally buy some of the things that I never had money for before.  Not necessities like food, but things like replacing the chair that Yaz ate when she first moved in with us, and a bed frame (which I have never owned! Can you believe it?).  I also paid off several longstanding medical bills and bought new shoes, clothes, and a few very frivolous things.

It was a tremendous feeling to spend some of that money, but after a week of it, I awoke this morning with a “spending hangover.”  Of course it all balances out.  I had some other medical tests that were required and which cost an additional $3000.  This West Nile aftermath sure is expensive!  But it’s nice to be able to buy a few things outside of paying bills.

SWOOP! The pups and me got swooped by an enormous owl this morning.  We were on the moonlit trail that runs near the creek at about 4 a.m. when this thing skimmed Ozzie’s back and turned to land in a nearby tree.  Ozzie jumped and yelped, it startled him so.  Which of course startled me.  I shined my LED flashlight on the eerie face of a barn owl — perhaps the same that used to follow us on our early morning jaunts in our old neighborhood.  I can’t imagine that the owl mistook Ozzie for its dinner, as he’s nearly 100 pounds, though this bird easily had a wingspan of 4 1/2-5 feet across.  At least it seemed so in the moonlight with my heart pounding to beat the band.  When the owl realized we were not dinner, it flew off, silhouetted for one breathtaking moment across the half moon and a starlit sky.

Awesome.

Ozzie recovered quickly, and though Yaz did try to jump into the tree at first to catch it, we went on our way without further incident.  However, I’m still amazed at how such a large beast can move without a sound.  Nary a feather rustled to give it away.

Malai enjoying the couch post-surgery

MORE RECOVERY NEWS – Malai is recovering very quickly, though I’m still extremely cautious about letting her get too out of hand.  She’s already climbing on her own onto the couch and the bed, and can get in and out of the car fairly easily.  She puts gentle weight on her injured and reconstructed leg.

The vet said she might be in less pain after the surgery than she was before…but like many Labs, she masks her pain pretty well, so I really have to watch her to know for sure when she’s not feeling well.  She seems in good spirits, though, even when she has to sit out our morning walks or stay in the car at the dog park.

JUST STOP IT – Not surprisingly, members of the GOP have stated that Obama is off to a bad start in his barely a month-old presidency.  I would state with unequivocal certainty that trying to undo eight years of bad judgment on the part of the GOP will take some time.  Obama is NOT Mary Poppins, now is he?  So I say: just stop throwing around negative sound bites just because there’s a decent man in the Oval Office trying to do good for his country.  I certainly don’t see any members of the GOP doing anything other than trying to tear down the good deeds of others.  If an entire country isn’t tired of such juvenile antics by now, perhaps we really should just switch to a Dictatorship and save us all the hassle of fighting back or standing up for someone who believes in us, eh?

RANDOM DOGGIE PICS –

Yaz makes use of the new comfy chair.

Ozzie the Snowdog

Yaz knocking at the neighbor's door, wondering if her friends can come out and play.

Malai and her shaved leg.

Always handsome Ozzie.