Visiting hours at the D.I.C.U.

Most of you come over here to see what the animals of the 7MSN are up to every day. I try to keep it a drama-free zone, which is pretty easy because nothing much dramatic happens in our lives and we really like it that way. But there was a little drama this week. I thought about keeping it under wraps, but the cat would be out of the bag the minute you saw a picture of Deets workin' his part-poodle haircut.



Several weeks ago while Deets was sunbathing in front of the barn, Lyle came over to investigate and pawed at Deets. I only saw the end of the encounter and don't know who started what. Deets ran off to the hay barn and I ran off after him. He was frightened but moving just fine. I checked him all over and all I could see was a cut on the inside of his back leg. He stayed in the hay barn for a few days, then emerged as his typical self, though definitely more cautious around all the boys. Perhaps he's finally figured out he's smaller than them, I hoped.

This past Monday, I watched Deets walk by and thought something didn't look right. I picked him up and felt a great big lump under his flank. Off to the vet we went. The vet suspected the lump was a trauma-caused hernia; she said it was not uncommon but would require surgery to remove. So Deets had his operation on Tuesday and he's doing great. Really! You can stop worrying.

Not surprisingly, the vet and all the staff at the clinic fell madly in love with Deets during his stay. He was an excellent patient.

Here he is on the way home...



He has a 7" incision that runs almost the whole length of his belly. I'm supposed to restrict his activity for the next two weeks until the stitches are removed - no running, no jumping, no playing. So I've turned the feed room into the Deets I.C.U. How much trouble can he get into in 72 square feet?



There isn't much for Deets to do in the feed room unless a mouse shows up, so I go out to visit every few hours. Smooch loaned Deets her crate, which I've lined with blankets and pillows. I can close him inside when I'm busy feeding the boys so that he doesn't escape.



Visiting hours are from 2 to 4, and he's had a steady stream of friends stopping by to wish him a speedy recovery.







Deets is lapping up all the extra attention and doesn't seem to mind being confined...yet. He's smart enough to know his body needs a chance to heal. In nine more days, he'll go back to hunting and mousing and hanging out with his pals. I can only hope he's learned his lesson about taking on those who outweigh him by 1,000 pounds.