Bye Bye Rufus

It's just after 2am Tuesday morning after Labor Day   I normally work Sundays for the extra pay   Sundays are normally quiet days just a lot of driving to a bunch of Central Offices doing what I call "dumb stuff".  but for the last several Sundays there has been critical issues to deal with making it a bit more interesting. So for working Sundays I get Fridays off which is kinda nice   Anything that has to be done on a weekday gets scheduled on Friday.  Mostly doctor appointments   Sue and I are getting old so we go to the doctors a lot.

But for this years Labor day weekend I worked 4 hours on Saturday OVERTIME, my normal Sunday and Monday, the Labor Day Holiday for the big bucks.  The extra pay is nice but you sorta feel outta place with everyone else.  Sunday had to change out a grid board in a 5 ess switch.  I never did that before not being #5 switch trained.  With help I was able to do it without causing more trouble and I learned a lot.  Today I traveled to about 9 Central Offices two of them was there twice so I did a lot of driving which was great in that the traffic was light due to the holiday, the weather was warm and with the season change real close I realized I best enjoy the last weekend of summer... So I did!  Saturday was a short day starting at noon.  Had a DS3 trouble first thing in  central Office I'm not familiar with.  Also my forte is not in toll but I can get buy.  Fortunately the ticket was cancelled as I was trying to find all the elements in the office.  The rest of the day went fast doing "dumb stuff".   Now today I was able to keep a customer in service when an unneeded temp cord was placed.  Sometimes I can make a difference.

So working a holiday weekend where everyone else is off sorta sets the tone.

Rufus came to us in November 1997.   He was a Lab-Retriever mix boy who followed Adam home from school.  Adam's Mom would not let him keep him so I brought him home.   Until this time Sue and I were just cat owners, total of six.  I had forgotten that dogs require more attention than cats.  They BARK!  Should be walked.   Rufus was about 9 months old still a puppy.  Puppies can have separation-anxiety issues.  We don't like cages so you never know what you'll find when you get home.  But Rufus was a pleasant pup and we didn't mind his imperfections.  He kept Sue company when she was on disability in 2001.  During that time he got into this habit where any time Sue's van left the house he wanted to be in it.  so if it wasn't too hot he was with us.  But in recent years he lost his interest in bye bye car.   We think it became too difficult to jump up into Sue's vehicle.  For the last year and a half Rufus had been plagued with fatty tumors growing in his butt.  In May 2011 our vet tried to remove them.   By November they were back.  In January this year the vet didn't feel another operation would help and might even cause more problems. There is a great veterinary clinic on the west side that probably would have tried for several thousand dollars.  They helped Rufus 3 years ago removing removing his spleen so we know what they charge.   So with Rufus being 15 we decided to go with our vet and let things run their course.  Sparing the messy details Rufus got sick Sunday morning.  Mostly massive diarrhea.  He has had this before and bounces back in a day or less.  We think he gets to a point where he cant pass stool.   The vet was closed for the holiday so our first opportunity is today.   If he will eat something we'll give him more time   If not off to the vets.   My fear is they will not have may options for us.  

This has me so bummed out I can't sleep.  But I have fretted about this for about 6 months so it's probably best for all if we let him go!