Stop the madness!

I know, I know. I've been gone a while. I have been busy trying to spring clean my house, inventory and pack the camper, pack the ten year old for camp, and prepare for overnight houseguests. Too much, you say? Duh!

How do I get myself into these scrapes?



Meanwhile, I am trying some new things with Zaccheus. He has reached the magical age of getting off soft food. I am still soaking his hard food in water to soften it, but we're getting there. But why, oh, why will he not drink water? I am still having to administer it through the tube. I told myself that I was going to wean him from the finger and only give him water with the tube down his throat, but now he fights it so hard it can't be good. He still seems to need to "nurse" for a bit to calm down. I did find a website that had a ton of information about how to raise a cleft puppy. And also a site about a cleft Yorkie named Joker. It seems that, although I have been stumbling through this journey blindly, and it has all been trial and error, I have basically done everything they said to do. It was nice to get confirmation for my efforts. Not sure why I waited until Zaccheus is nearly eight weeks old to search the web for answers. I guess I thought I was on my own in this adventure. One thing I learned is that they drink better from a water bottle, (which Z still won't do) but should learn to use a bowl as well, because if they get lost and someone tries to give them water, the humans won't know the dog has a special need. I think I'm going to have his collar tag specify that he has a cleft palate. Which means he will always have to wear it.