Worms, I Hate worms.

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This morning on our walk we ran into a little husky mix who was wearing a backpack and walking with his mom. He and Leia said hi and while his hi energy intimidated her a little she didn't growl but did kinda hide behind my legs.  We had a great chat and the lady thought Leia was just lovely and asked if maybe she had some husky in her. Sure why not! Lab Husky something something we really don't know.  It was a good meeting and we continued our walk.

Leia made a pit-stop at the halfway point of our walk and I went to clean it up and about died... worms... little white worms... Oh God... she has worms... are they tapeworms? Hookworms? Some worm I don't even know about? How sick is she? How did I not know!? I was panicking and walked home crying. I called the vet first thing and just from my description they are guessing it's tapeworm. She probably ate one of the fleas she had when she first got home and here we are, with tapeworm.

We'll pick up dewormer  in a little bit... I called mom right after the vet and cried again. I felt like a bad mommy for not knowing, or for letting her eat a flea, or whatever I could find a way to make me feel guilty for. I'm just glad this is treatable, and hopefully with minimal side effects.

On a slightly happier note, Leia slept without her blankie last night and I think, when she is warm/hot she prefers her crate that way. It's a nice cool slick surface for her to lay on.

We made our way to the vet and picked up her meds. Should be one big dose tonight and then she should be ok in a few days. At the vet she did pretty well since it was just a walk in and pickup kind of thing. She encountered a few dogs and did growl and one little pup which I corrected and then she stopped. In this case yet again she was fine sniffing the pup but when the pup went to sniff her rear she growled. Another lady was just asking me how I corrected her for growling when she growled at the pup. I guess showing is the best way to teach but still frustrated that Leia growled. She'll have to get over it. Dog's sniff.

Went grocery shopping and she did pretty well but was a little upset when I had to leave not 5 minutes after coming home cause a jelly jar shattered... (Gr!). When I came back we went for a quick walk and bumped in to a man with a cane (I believe he is the on who owns the pug pup). He (as well as one other man) said  she was beautiful and mentioned that he sees me walking her all the time and that he though it looked like I was training her too. I confirmed that I was working on training with her. It's always nice to have others appreciate the work your doing or notice it without reason.

Leia didn't mind having "two" dinners (really  it was 2 bowls of only a 1/2 portion) and especially liked having dessert between. Although, dessert was actually her 5 pills covered in a small amount of peanut butter. She's been resting in her crate (by her own choice) all afternoon minus our walks.

She also had a few big new experiences today. We had our first visitor to the door, a young man trying to sell newspapers for college (I felt bad to have to say no). Leia was in her crate when I heard the knock so I calmly waited a moment, then stood, walked to her crate and locked the door, then walked to the door and answered it. She barked a little but took correction fairly well. She'd pause a while and then you'd hear another woof. We'll work on it.

Leia also, FINALLY experienced her first thunder storm. It was a little one but there were a few good rumbles. Leia was a bit more active than normal and about 20 minutes before it started she was crying a little but after it began she calmed and road it out really well. Leia also had her first skype chat tonight. I was talking to Alex and his mom and she came over and hopped in screen. Then she heard their voices and got a little concerned. She backed away for a bit but with coaxing she came back and hung out. She continues to amaze me in so many ways. Tomorrow will be another "first" as she will be experiencing a ton of fireworks. She's heard one or two but tomorrow should be full blown.  We'll be fine in the long run, just have to ensure it is as easy as possible.

All in all, today was full of big ups and downs. Walks, worms, crate training successes, growling set backs, double dinners, medical desserts, first visitor, first storm, and Leia's first actual appearance on skype. Even though it began painfully with the discovery of her sickness, all in all it was a good day. Now we'll settle down for an evening of TV and relaxation, and maybe a cookie or two for the girl.

Read our next chapter together! – Happy 4th of July!