Nervous Nelly Gets Sick

It's been a busy start of the year for us. Between the holidays and work I have not had much time to sit and think about a blog concerning my quirky poodle, Gypsy.(aka Smiley) Things are getting back to whatever normal is and hopefully I will have things to share with you.

Last weekend I made a trip down to North Carolina to visit my daughters and grandkids. Sometimes I take Gypsy with me when I make a road trip like this. Gypsy likes to ride and she is always well behaved. Then I thought about taking Rim with me. Only one of my daughters has met Rim and I thought it would be a good thing for him to be around little kids. In the end, I went to Raleigh solo, leaving both pooches at home with Sandi. The weekend was great, seeing all the kids and grandkids is always special. We visited, played, and had a nice time cooking and just hanging out. I was able to get in a nice walk along one of the many greenway trails Raleigh has put in. There are miles and miles of trails all over the area now. I met a few nice dogs along the way and wished Gypsy was with me.
I hear they have Red Neck Squirrels in Raleigh!
While I was off playing and having a good time, Gypsy was home worrying about where I was. Sandi said Gyp became a "Nervous Nelly" pacing and being on edge while I was gone. She didn't eat the whole time I was gone. Perhaps a cup or two was it. She is very thin to begin with but when I got home she was a bag of bones. Rim tried his best to get her mind off my absence by playing with her but Gypsy did not want any part of the little guy. I've talked before about how Gypsy does not do well when we board her or when we leave her with someone and Sandi and I both leave. I have a week long out of town meeting to attend coming up soon, Maybe I should get Gypsy some anti-depressants or something? She did get a big smile on her face when I returned home and she was back to her normal self. The first thing she did was to go to her food bowl and eat a cup. A few days after my return, Sandi noticed Gypsy was standing at an odd angle. Kind of twisted to one side.

Gypsy has had a few ear infections in past. Poodles are prone to them with their long floppy ears. When she gets one, I feel like a bad pet owner . When she gets a bad one she lowers her head in pain and stands all twisted and only walks to the left. Very sad to watch. First time she did this I thought she had a stroke. We had some pain meds left over from a cat so we gave her a few of those.
Hey, how bout some Grateful Dead?
She slept for a few days and is now back to normal. Thank goodness.
I will try to be more diligent about the ear maintenance.