Is It Tuesday Yet?

In this entry, I will solve a mystery, seek medical attention and work on my killer abs.

I spent the last three days lying on the couch succumbing to some strange illness. In three days I blew my way through 3 boxes of Kleenex (that sounds slightly naughty...). I did manage to stumble to the front porch for a few snapshots of the lovely weather we've been having. I feel much better today; even though I can still only breath out of one nostril.

I decided to take my friend, Kristin's advice. She said, "If you're sick from the neck up, its okay to work out. If you are sick from the neck down, take a day off. Go get you some gortex and get out there!" So today I decided to get back to the gym.

Now for the mystery...

Now, Monkey and I were going to go to the Y this morning, but as I was packing my gym bag, I noticed the dogs acting peculiar out in the yard. I called them inside and saw that Biscuit, the wonder dog, was bleeding on her back leg. Closer inspection revealed a bite on her hock. I couldn't figure out how she got a bite in that particular location. I went outside to investigate and noticed a big ol' possum sitting in my compost bin down by the garden. I thought, "Hmm, a clue..."

I decided to head down there to check things out, followed closely by Ace, the German Shepherd (who is not my dog, but that's a whole other story). The possum wisely decided to play dead. What was a possum doing in broad daylight raiding my compost bin? Piecing together the details, I decided that it was probably the possum that bit Biscuit. I somewhat irrationally thought about capturing the possum and taking him to the vet with me. He was out during the day; maybe he was rabid. I was going to have to take Biscuit to the vet, so why not bring the possum along as well? I can only think that I was suffering from the mind-bending effects of the over-the-counter cold medications I had been dousing myself with the entire weekend. I picked up a stick and poked the possum a couple of times, grumbling, "Get up you lazy bastard. I know you're not dead, you giant tree rat..." Through the Nyquil fog that surrounded my brain, I started to think that harassing a potentially rabid wild animal wasn't a good thing. And if it wasn't rabid, it was probably cruel to call it any more names. So, I went back up to the house to call the vet.

Medical attention - it's the law...

I came back down into the yard to check on the possum and it was gone. My vet informed me that according to North Carolina law (I learn something new everyday!) If a pet is bitten by a wild animal, it must recieve a rabies booster within three days. How they enforce this law, I don't know. We spent an hour at the vet and Biscuit got a rabies shot and antibiotics. I have no idea where the damn possum went. That was $75 I wasn't planning on spending this week. Needless to say, I didn't get to the gym this morning.

And on to my killer abs...

We met Big Daddy at the Y this afternoon and I finally got some exercise. I ran several laps around the track and thought my lungs were going to explode. But after about an hour of lifting weights, I felt much better and forced myself to walk for another half an hour. So Kristin was right. Thanks!

It was a slightly rotten day. But, my dog is o.k. I feel better than I have in days. Maybe it wasn't so bad after all.