Yesterday was Martok's second time going to the therapy pool to learn how to swim, and he was a very tired little boy when we came home! Of course, flyball practice in the morning followed by an hour of wrestling, chase, and bitey-face with his brother Sirius helped in that regard as well. I took the tack that I used to teach Curzon how to swim, and had a whole bowl of cut-up cheese weiners as my ammunition to bribe Martok into coming into the water. I did have to pull him into the water with me the first few times, then had him follow me around swimming to get more weiner bits. He still didn't want to come in on his own, until I started taunting him with a flyball "reeeeadddddyyyyy?" call and a couple of toys, and after a bit of whining and shrieking he launched himself right into the pool! After that first leap, he was good to go - fetched toys to me then turned around and swam away to get another, got out of the pool by himself and jumped in again, it was great! Apparently he likes jumping into the pool more than going in by the stairs - perhaps a secret Curzon told him in their short time together?
Martok's had a few challenges in his short time with us so far, including his first ER visit two weeks ago after a friend's dog (who hates puppies for some reason) snuck up behind the gate and eeled through it as it was opened to go after him. Martok had a nice puncture wound on the bridge of his nose and a few other abrasions, so off we went to the ER for three stitches and antibiotics and painkillers. He did very well, including being smart enough to run away after the other dog was pulled off him, and was very good at being treated for his wounds both at the vet and at home. He did so well that his stitches were popping out early and we had them removed...only for him to kick the incision open again the next day. Crazy puppy! A little superglue fixed that right up, and it's all healed up now and we'll just have to see if his fur comes back to hide it.
Sleepy puppy from Friday, twelve days after the bite - you can hardly tell! Once the superglue and scab bits came off, there's not much left to see and it looks great. Martok spent a few days being sensitive about other dogs not his sisters or brother, but he's doing fine now and even wanted to play with the brother of his attacker on Sunday (who looks very similar) so we're pretty sure he's going to pull through with no lasting damage of any kind. Of course, we'd prefer it had never happened, but it was an accident and he's doing just fine, so we're moving right along as if nothing had happened. And hey, all Klingons have to have battle scars, right?
The new crate tag that I ordered is complete and we'll pick it up at the tournament this coming weekend. I'm planning to put it on the door below Curzon's nametag and leave them both in place, at least for a while and possibly permanently. I still have a bit of a hard time sometimes putting Martok to bed in Curzon's crate, especially when the oval bed was in place - looking into the crate, all I could see was my boyo. Martok doesn't like the oval bed very much right now and kept trying to sleep next to it, so I pulled it out this weekend and set it aside for the time being, and that is helping us both.
Martok is a champion traveler so far, with two tournaments under his belt involving trips up to Canada and a third scheduled for this weekend. He is behaving very nicely with the girls in the back of the truck, usually curling right up for a nap and snoozing with Ezri while Jadzia does her anxious dog thing over by the window. He did figure out he could jump the baby gate in the RV, which is where he had to stay because he hadn't had his shots yet, so we'll have to work on showing him how that's unacceptable. He got his first puppy shot last week (at 14 weeks and 17.2lbs), so he may be coming into the facility with us this weekend to get exposure to the tournament atmosphere. Or we'll bring a crate, one of the two.
And to wrap up the post, Ezri's new custom collar came in the mail last week - it is from Ella's Lead and is the "Dragon McStolly" design with three dragon settings and purple rhinestones, all set on a thick deep maroon leather with a bright purple suede lining. It's a beautiful collar and is perfect for my princess, even if her fur hides some of the pretty factor - when he's full grown, assuming he stays smooth coated Martok will have a collar from the same maker and show it off to even better effect!
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Chris had to work an overnight manager shift on Saturday, and for the first time I didn't have my boyo there to sleep with me and guard me in the night. Ezri took care of that job for me, and I love her but it just wasn't the same - Curzon would wait for me to settle, then lay down and snuggle up against me, but Ezri doesn't do that. I miss him so much, and I'm still getting stabbed by this deep need to have him back, and this tiny belief that he isn't really gone and that I will have him back again some day. I don't know if that's right, or if that's the desperation in my brain talking, it's all so confusing and upsetting in general. I've been wearing my locket every day and that helps some, but it's not the same...even holding his collar or touching the box of his ashes isn't enough and it never will be. It's all I have now, however, so I will just have to continue to learn how to deal with this as best as I can.
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