Sunday, October 2, 2011

No Poison, Please

Dear Diary,
Now that the emergency is over, I feel I can talk about this without getting too embarrassed.  For the past few months I've been showing signs of bugs fleas.  Oh, it wasn't all that bad.. really.  But Ms. no dog that has bugs crawling over it's sleeping in my bed Mom insists I get a check morning, noon, and night to make sure I'm flea-less.  One flea can send her into an hour long search for more.  She comes at me with a flashlight protruding from her forehead and a cup of Dawn dishwashing liquid soaked q-tips.   'Let me see your belly, Gracie,' she says.  I stop, drop, and roll and let her have her way with me.  Otherwise, it's ugly.





She's passionate about this mission of hers to keep me flea free without what she calls 'poison'.  
Up until last year, she would put something called Frontline  on my back and it would burn like fire. (just my interpretation)  I'd try to rub it off, but it was in a place that I just couldn't get to.  She said it kept fleas and ticks off of me and that it was the best thing for me.  But toward the end of summer last year I had fleas all over me and the peeps at the vet's office said something call Vectra would take care of them 'safely'.   I'm not sure if it would have killed the fleas or not..  but it almost killed me.  I started to vomit in the middle of the night and Mom jumped out of bed and tossed me in a tub of soapy Dawn water and tried to scrub all that Vectra stuff away.    She was crying and saying stuff like 'I can't believe I poisoned my baby' and well.. you get the picture.  Hey, I can't believe she poisoned me either...  but it is what it is.
Any-hoo...  No more poison for me.  Just a bug-detective Mom filling up a cup with fleas she picks off of me with her q-tip cocktail.   Crazy stuff, I'm tellin' ya. 



She took me last week and had me groomed again, so she can 'see' the bugs better.  
Now there's good news and there's bad news.  The bad news first.  Mom insists that I pick up the bugs during our evening neighborhood walk.  So icks-nay on the alks-way.  Grrrr
The good news - Mom and Dad have been taking me to the tennis courts and there I get to run and play ball. 
Mom says I'm bug free for now and she wants to keep it that way.  Gracie.


14 comments:

  1. Oh Gracie
    I was worried for a minute that a crisis was going on - RIGHT NOW.
    Thank good ness there is not any,, and thank goodness you have wonderful mommy who watches out for you.
    Gee,, I did not know that fleas stuff burns. But I do know that Dawn liquid is good for birdies,, so it must be good for you tooo, and not the fleas
    love
    tweedles

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  2. Your mom is one smart cookie. Humor her!!!

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  3. Fleas are evil, but chemicals are more evil. We have flea check a couple times a day and now they are gone.

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  4. Hi Gracie and Bobbi too, So glad your mom is able to get those pesky bugs off of you. That is one thing I don't miss about California-we had fleas there but we don't have them here in Colorado-guess it is too cold. I like not having to use the chemicals to keep them off. Your mom sure loves you Gracie, you're one lucky girl.
    Hugs, Noreen & Reggie-dog

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  5. The one thing my Mom said about the Dawn liquid, Don't lick it or you will be blowing bubbles!!!! No fleas here.......yet! Lovies, Miss Mindy

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  6. Gracie, Your mom sure takes good care of you!

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  7. Oh Gracie, Your Mom loves you JUST THAT much to care about your getting FLEA FREE:) Hang in there, enjoy the tennis courts and give your Mom a ginormous lick on the face for all of that work! HUGS!

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  8. Da Momma don't want to be "weenie-free" so her won't use poisons on us eee-der! We been luckee dis year. Da Bug Man comes every 3 months and sprays around da outside of our yard so da pesky flee-bees runs da odder way witout stopping at our yard for lunch and dey runs right to da neighbor's house. {insert evil laugh}

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  9. Our bug man does an excellent outside job, too. We quit the Frontline 2 or 3 months ago for the same reason - - - - still had fleas - - -plus it drove one of our cats crazy. She absolutely hated it. It seemed to hurt her eyes. Then she had a rash where we applied it. Since the cats have straight hair, we can use a flea comb on them.

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  10. You sure have a smart mom! Hang in there, Gracie.

    Your pal, Pip

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  11. That is terrible, Gracie, you had such a reaction to Frontline and Vectra. I can see why your mom would want to treat you "natural". If I remember correctly, some people would get brewer's yeast and put it in their dogs' food and that was supposed to keep fleas away. Not sure if it was an old wife's tale though. Glad you can go to the tennis court to get some exercise!

    betty

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  12. Thanks for your tips on this (literally Q tips - lol). We are having this problem right now and it's driving me crazy! Giving baths every other night. And now doing the q tip thing and also the flea comb. Among everything else. Are your babies fleas all gone now? Hope so.

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  13. We have Sophie on Frontline and I hate putting it on her too! I didn`t last month and have been checking her....so far so good. I hope to keep her free from all this stuff....meds.
    Thanks for tip on Q tips and Dawn detergent.

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  14. So glad that you are flea free! I am so afraid that my little kitties will get them. We spend very little time outdoors but still you never know. So far they've been good. Tigger is allergic to frontline. It caused him to wheeze and we had to throw him in the bathtub as well.

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