Love Is Thicker Than Blood

So Callie (our youngest and largest dog) has a staph infection.  She’d been biting at the base of her tail for a little over a week and we’d been trying to keep it clean and with some first aid cream on it, but I noticed yesterday at lunch that it had spread, so off to the vet she went.  The vet said it started with a hot spot (heat rash) which is really common here–particularly since it’s been over 100 for a month up until the last week–and that it probably would have been okay if she hadn’t broken the skin.  But she did and it spread.  Doc said it’s usually a LOOOOOT worse by the time she sees it.  Most people don’t notice so soon. We only did because she’s white and we could see the blood in her fur.  We still felt like HORRIBLE pet parents once they shaved the fur off to get to the problem and clean it.  We just couldn’t see how bad it had gotten because her fur is so THICK.  So she got sent home with antibiotics, pain meds, some kind of wash, and a cream.  After she had a steroid shot.  And she was put in The Cone.  I actually think hubs was more upset about the cone than Callie was.  Both were better once I engineered an alternative out of a roll of towels and duct tape and ribbon.  Yes, ribbon.  How ELSE was I going to tie it to her collar so she couldn’t push it off?

Last night we watched Prince of Persia.  I can’t get over that that used to be Bubble Boy.  I really enjoyed the movie, and hubs was probably rolling his eyes as I picked out the major points of story structure.  “Of course it was the uncle!  That’s the midpoint flip that sends him into warrior mode for Act 3!”  I really dug the whole relationship dynamic between Dastan and his brothers.  Who were not his brothers by blood.  That’s always a big thing for me, and you’ll see it in a lot of my work.  The whole notion that family is more than just blood.  It plays out in Forsaken By Shadow in the backstory when Embry’s father takes Gage from his abusive father after the death of his mother and raises him as his own.  It’s playing out in Devil’s Eye because Mick creates his own pack/family.  And it will come up again, I’m sure, in the future.  It’s a trope I love.  Making your own family.  Maybe because my own family is so small (I have no cousins, no siblings, and though my parents were each one of two, neither of their siblings married or had children–I’m IT.).  It’s one of the things I tend to love about Nora Roberts books.  She does that really well.

Well, in the theme of love being thicker than blood (thank you Garth), there’s a really special event coming up on Monday that I want everybody to be aware of and take part in.  I’m talking about Skip A Starbucks Day. Fellow author and all around awesome chick, C.J. Redwine and her family are rescuing an orphaned girl from China and making her a part of their family (ah ha, see there’s the theme).  But the ransom adoption fees are heinous and they need to raise $8,000 to bring her home.  So here’s how it works: I’m asking each of you to give up a small personal indulgence, like that cup of designer coffee at Starbucks, for one day and donate that money for the rescue. Everybody who donates will receive an entry into the huge grand prize giveaway on C.J.’s blog (which includes the boxed set of Harry Potter books, signed books from various authors, ARCS, baskets of homemade soap, jewelry, the Twilight Saga etc).  Qualifying donations must be made between August 23-August 26th.  Every dollar is appreciated (the suggested minimum is $5).  I know how generous y’all have been in the past, so I hope you’ll extend your big hearts to help C.J. and her family out to bring their baby girl home.

Oh, and for you coffee lovers out there, you can buy Java for Johanna from Just Love Coffee to also donate $5 toward the cause (though I believe this is outside the contest)[be sure to use that link so that it goes toward their fund].