Diaper dog & moving

As some of you know, Molly isn't doing so hot. She has apparently herniated a disk in her back and walking is very difficult for her. She has been on steroids for nearly two weeks and there hasn't been much improvement. Fortunately, she does not seem to be in pain anymore and she is able to pee and poo on her own - although she has to be carried outside. The steroids are making her absurdly incontinent, which lends her a constant aroma of urine. This is on top of her already stinky state.

While Molly looks to be permanently disabled, I don't think we will have to take drastic measures (whew!). It looks like she will just be a bit slower and clumsier than before - so it's manageable. True to form, Molly is causing some difficulties during her illness. As I mentioned, she is incontinent so we have resorted to diapering her. I picked up some cheap diapers at the Dollar General and cut a whole for her tail and wrapped her up. This doesn't do much for the catastrophic accidents, but it does contain the frequent "leakage." Thank goodness the incontinence should abate as her steroid dose goes down - this dog is a raging mess when she wants to be.

At first I thought she would be humiliated by her diaper but, as Joshua puts it, a diaper is a modern convenience for Molly. It really frees up her time and allows her to conserve even more precious energy!

Molly also won't be able to fly with us to Germany. She will never pass German customs and no respectable vet would certify her to fly. So, for the near future, she is moving to Morgantown, WV - home of the Moutaineers and Pittsnogle! Neither the Mountaineers nor Pittsnogle are going to care for Molly, though. For this we are thankfully relying on Joshua and Carmen. Then, once Molly is able to fly, she will be escorted by her U.S. entourage to Hamburg. Is anyone surprised that Molly is doing this on her terms?

On a tangentially related note, the moving guy came this week and estimated our shipment at 2000 lbs. I think he's mad, but whatever. We are charged for the actual weight and volume and I guess it's better to over estimate than to totally low ball us. So, we are going ahead with this mover and they are scheduled to pick up our shipment on the 23rd of May.

On the 25th of May, we are meeting my brother is St. Louis. Roger is flying in with Marcia to pick up our old VW Beetle and tow it back to AZ with our truck for safekeeping. Then, the plan is to sell our truck in AZ. I don't think it will fetch a better price in the West, but everyone is happy and the Bug is going to someone who can appreciate its history. And we don't have to try to sell our truck at the very last minute before we move. This does leave us without a car for a week, but the bus system around here rocks and gas is so bloody expensive we've been avoiding driving anyway.

So, we've got a month left in the U.S. and we are defending our dissertation in 3 days (ack!). The countdown is on - standby for shit to get stupid.