I took Cobb to the vet first thing today. We had a free exam certificate at Banfield, the vet at all the Petsmarts, so I took him there. I had to wait a long time to be seen, and I had to wait a long time after I got Cobb to the examining room too. Honestly I was pretty annoyed about that, but the staff seemed knowledgeable and helpful.
I explained how Cobb (we suspect) has been peeing in a cushion lately, and even though it mostly started after we got a new cat, it happened well enough after that we don’t think the events are related. In light of that, I asked them for a urinalysis to see if there might be a urinary tract infection. During the free exam part they also discovered that Cobb’s right ear had a bunch of mess in it; like five or six cotton swabs of icky black mess. I discussed a sort of health insurance type of plan they have at Banfield for pets and went home to finally do some work.
Banfield called me back around 2:00. It turns out that Cobb does indeed have a urinary tract infection and an ear infection to boot. I went ahead and got on their plan and that saved us quite a bit of money right off the bat. One of the girls Amanda works with is on it too and she said it’s worked out really well for her. I guess we’ll be going to Banfield more now. I feel kind of bad because I really liked Dineen. This place is a lot closer to where we live now though.
While I was picking up Cobb there was a girl next to me who was picking up her sick kitten. She started talking to me and we talked for a bit while we were both waiting. I told Amanda she was hitting on me. I doubt that was the case, but it was fun to think.
In addition to all the money we had to spend on Cobb’s exams and medicine, I also had to buy some medicated food. Damn sick cat. He did really well today though. He got in the carrier pretty easily and didn’t complain too much on the ride to Petsmart. He’s usually very skittish around people he doesn’t know, but he did okay with the vet staff. After the exam was over he jumped off the table and hid in a cabinet where they keep the computer. The vet nurse said cats do that all the time.
After work Amanda and I worked on cleaning the house. Actually, she made brownies then helped. I vacuumed and swept up all the pine straw. Even though we (mostly Amanda) raked the yard just four days ago, there’s been enough wind and rain the last few days to make it look like it hadn’t been raked in weeks.
We had a nice small group meeting tonight. Of the three new couples we met last week, only one made it tonight; Elliot and Melissa Clark. They’re the couple I thought would best fit in with the existing group and I think I was right about that- they hit it off with everyone else pretty easily. Mandel and Tish Marshall told us last week they didn’t think they’d be able to make it this week, and with five kids I think they’ll have a hard time with any kind of schedule. Elisabeth of Robert and Elisabeth Weckermann fame sent me an e-mail today saying they didn’t think they’d be able to swing Thursday nights afterall. So, one out of three I’ve learned is a decent retention number for a small group.
We had a social night tonight so that Elliot and Melissa could get to know everyone. Rob Peterson and Kristen Barriner picked up a tray of nuggets from Chick-Fil-A along with some lemonade, Ben and Jessica Lambeth brought a veggie tray and Amanda and I made the brownies as well as providing some chips and salsa. Eliott and Melissa brought some drinks.
Eliott was born in Hillsboro, not far from Durham, and is a Duke fan. We both lamented the news of the Greg Paulus foot injury- a broken bone that will keep him out of play indefinitely. Not good news for such a young Duke team. Really disheartening. Very, very disheartening. Greg, we all wish you a speedy recovery. (As though Greg Paulus would ever reach this page. Hey, Greg, if you do happen to see this, drop a line.)
Michael’s not going fishing with us this weekend. He’s got a tough test on Monday and maintains that he won’t have time to study for it if he goes. He won’t be able to study in the car on the ride there or back and he won’t have enough time Sunday night. Ben and I gave him a little grief about it to no avail. Regardless, I’m looking forward to roughing it this weekend. I might even see if I can bring myself to eat some fresh fish. I hate fish.
UPDATE
I just read on http://duke.scout.com that Greg Paulus may be healed up in time for the season opener. Man I can’t wait for basketball season! Total side note, the Orlando Magic, JJ Redick’s team, beat the Atlanta Hawks, Shelden Williams’s team, tonight with a score of 109-88, but Atlanta beat Orlando 100-96 on Tuesday. Ben said he heard Shelden Williams had a double-double in that game.
Zach Dotsey