Tag Archives: worms

Snuggle bug

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11

Where’d Mom go? I guess I’ll keep her side of the bed warm.

I woke up this morning shivering. The bed sheets were gone. I felt around in the dark for a blanket, and discovered a small nest in the middle of the bed. Right on top, I found a snoring pile of fur.

“Charlie! Get off,” Matt barked.

Charlie lifted his head, sleepiliy looked around the room, then promptly fell back asleep.

The general rule is that Lex and Charlie sleep in their dog beds. Charlie’s bed is on Matt’s side, and Lexie’s is on mine. This worked out until we recently rearranged the room. Matt was a little snot and demanded to have the side of the bed closest to the window, so we swapped sides. This caused confusion because Matt still wanted Charlie to sleep on his side.

Lex would rather snooze on the couch.

The first night, I brought Lex up to check out the new arrangement. She sniffed the beds, scanned the room then walked downstairs to sleep on the couch instead.

It took some convincing with Charlie. Matt got him to the new bed location, but by the middle of the night I saw he switched to my side.

“Chaaaarlieeeeee! Come heeeeere!!” Matt begged. Charlie sighed, then buried his head deep in his bed.

By morning, Charlie had relocated between us. It would have been cute (and of course it was!) if he wasn’t such a bed hog. It’s hard to imagine how such a small pup could commandeer an entire queen-sized quilt, and build it into a small fortress. I pulled at the edges of the quilt, and they wouldn’t  budge. Somehow he had Superglued them in place. I wiggled my fingers under Charlie and tried to move him, but suddenly he weighed as much as a full-grown rottweiler.

I grabbed the rumpled bed sheet off the floor, and covered up the best I could. I snuggled in close to Charlie and Matt, shivered, then fell asleep.


The first several days we had Charlie, he happily slept between Matt and me in our bed. He would wiggle between us, roll onto his back and pass out. Waking up to puppy kisses is one of the most divine things in the world.

This continued for close to a week. Until Charlie got worms. Then he was relegated to the dog bed on the floor. He recovered from his ailment almost immediately, but the floor bed orders remained in place. Over time he would sneak up until we saw him, then sulk as he slid off the bed.

Charlie sleeps best in bed. Our bed.

It’s said that dogs sleep anywhere from 12-18 hours a day. As a growing puppy, Charlie has evolved into an expert napper. From the top of the couch, to laying in a sunbeam out in the yard, Charlie catches his share of ZZZZs.

But his favorite spot remains in bed with us. Preferably in the middle, paws outstretched, belly exposed. Soft puppy snores, paw twitches.

Sleep tight, Charlie. Don’t let the bedbugs bite.

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Veterinary adventures

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18

I’ve got worms in my where?!?

Charlie has taken to pooping in the spare bedroom.

The lil’ stinker manages to hold his pee for outside. But on more than one occasion we have discovered presents waiting for us in our back room. So this morning, when he disappeared for exactly 60 seconds, then casually trotted back into the front room, something told me to go check things out.

I looked under the dressing table (he’s scouted that spot before) and all was clear. However, my nose told me otherwise. I scannned the floor, then looked up on the bed. Oh. No.

Not the bed.

Right where the cat usually spreads out in the sun, Charlie had left us a couple of his finest specimens. A friend had told me the best way to deal with this was to grab the dog and the poo, then take them outside to show the dog where to properly make a deposit. So I grabbed Charlie, plopped him up on the bed and prepared to pick up the tootsies to take outside.

Until, the poop moved.

I blinked real hard. Yes. It was definitely moving. I screamed.

Matt ran into the room asking what was wrong. I pointed at the pile of poop, and screamed again.

“Worms!!”

I thought about the massive puppy makeout sessions I had with Charlie, and wondered if his kisses would give me worms, too. I immediately bagged the offending poo in a ziplock and called the vet. After securing a visit, I demanded to know if I could get worms, too. I mean, I had let Charlie lick my face after, ummm, I presume he licked his bum. I know, I know! Why would I do that?!? I had always heard that dog’s mouths are cleaner than humans. I believed the hype, until I got a dog with worms.

After getting a vague answer about my condition (because clearly it was all about me, at this point) I called my personal physician and asked the same question. At first they referred me to a vet, then acquiesced to my pleas and dug up an answer. The succintly told me that I would probably be OK as long as I didn’t eat the poop. Phew. For once, a problem I don’t have.

So Charlie went to the vet. And the bottom line is this:

Worms are no big deal. Really.

I guess it’s common for puppies to get these squiggly white things in their poop. I had no idea. And honestly, I can’t remember the last time I had a puppy. Lex was 1 when I adopted her. The same for Lili. Still, my friends and the vet assured me this is a normal complication. We even received a concerned text from his foster mom, Gail!

The vet checked his vaccination history, and while Charlie had been dewormed once, it was time for another treatment. While we were there, we got his next round of puppy shots.

And we had the vet settle a bet.

When we first saw Charlie’s profile, it said he is a border collie/brittany spaniel mix. I can totally see it. Matt is convinced that Charlie is border collie, but mixed with beagle. And for some reason (mostly I think because of his coloring and his size) a lot of people who meet him instantly ask if he’s a beagle.

So without any hints, or looking at our chart, we asked the vet to give us her opinion. Right away, she said border collie, then she paused. She then offered brittany spaniel or German shorthaired pointer.

Matt and I looked at each other and laughed.

“Definitely, a Heinz 57,” she decided.