dogs and cats and mostly Roy Bean

Usually when I come home from a trip, the pets go crazy when I get home. This time, either they know I'm leaving again today (their clues: the suitcase is still out, I've been on the phone/email, no walks...) or they just love the housesitter so much they don't care. She's like the cool babysitter you have when you're a kid. She lets them eat junk food and lots of cookies, let's them go a bit crazy and stay up late, and the cats get to come inside. It's party time.

I am just back from the vet though. The housesitter is a bettter dog petter than I am and she found a fatty lump on Jdg. Roy Bean's side belly. The vet asked, "Is it new?" I nodded, it's new to me, afterall. "He had a full bath recently". The vet: "Last week?" Me: "no...July", but you know. We both nodded and looked back at Roy who was really happy to be the center of attention.

So, the vet, who I bonded with last year after my cat Tux had an abcess and then when I saw him after the he'd run the marathon, did a little needle biopsy and 20 minutes later, the lump was determined to be a fatty benign bulge that we can watch unless it gets too big and gets in his way or anything.

Roy has also gained a bit of weight. He's at 72lbs now, so 12lbs or so more than he should weigh, but still less than the 90lbs he was when I brought him home from the shelter. He's been counter surfing, I think while the sitter's here, or eating lots of cookies and junk food and paper and staying up late watching cable.

But as my friend Dave said so well, I shouldn't judge Roy Bean.