Well, so far May has not been a great month. Last year this was the month I got a new home. This year....well this year it's been...

EARTHQUAKES AND BROKEN BONES

We're up on the fourth floor and Mike was saying that the building was gonna fall over. That scared me a little bit...I was in my cage and if the building fell over, I wouldn't be able to help Mike and Mom get all the other animals out. Then Mike saw the computer shaking and went over to hold it still. I guess if the building fell over, he was gonna save the computer. Smart thinking cause I sure wouldn't wanna lose my web page.

Well, after everything stopped shaking, and everyone started to breathe again...(I wasn't scared at all!!!), Mom of course just had to call somebody and tell 'em about what happened, but the phones were out of order. I don't know which Mom loves more... me or the telephone. The whole thing was really tough on her because to top it all off, all the TV stations had put on earthquake news and Mom had to miss her favorite show (well the only one that is still on), ER.

The newspeople on TV kept telling everybody not to use their phones except for an emergency call so the lines would stay open. But then they'd say, "Okay, we'll take another call from West Seattle. Hi, you're on the air...Did you feel anything?" I had to chuckle. There really wasn't a lot of damage for all the shaking we had. You had to give those TV people credit...they were gonna find someone who had damage if they had to stay on TV all night.

And...somebody was videotaping an orchestra that was playing here in Seattle when the earthquake hit. They kept showing it over and over on TV. Those people in the orchestra stopped playing their instruments and were screaming "earthquake!!" One silly guy held his sheet music over his head. I guess he thought those pieces of paper would protect him if the ceiling fell down on top of him. Oh well. Silly humans. Throughout the whole thing, I was the only cool one. But then again, somebody has got to set an example for the rest of them. Might as well be a prairie dog.

Ahhhh, excuse me. I'm getting sleepy. Won't be long now til I have visions of yogart drops dancing in my head. While I take a nap, why don't you read about how dumb I can be.....

Broken Bones

Of course, just like clockwork, she was there saying hi to me. As soon as she saw me she panicked. I'm impressed with my Mom ...just one glance and she knew something was wrong. She scooped me up in her arms and told me I'd be okay. She said it looked like I had scratched my eye, because it was all red and swollen. It was already close to 5pm and since I haven't been sick or hurt before this, Mom didn't know who to call.

Well, Mom called a couple of places not too far from us and asked if they took care of prairie dogs. The whole time she was on the phone she held me and told me not to worry, that I would be ok. Finally she found someone who said they took care of prairie dogs. Off we went. Mike drove us to the doctor and Mom had her fingers in my cage for me to rub against the whole way. Mike had hardly stopped the car and Mom had me in the office. I got a little worried and I think Mom did too, when the peoplewho worked at the vets office saw me and said, "Oh Wow! That's what a prairie dog looks like." These people treat us and don't even know what we look like? Yeah, right. I felt a chill in the air, as Mom tried to decide whether she should stay or leave. She was really worried about me, so we stayed, in hopes that the vet had a little more experience than the people she employed to run her office. Now, I'm not gonna tell you the name of that vet, because it wouldn't be right.... but I will tell you, she sure didn't have much knowledge when it came time to taking care of me. They tried to put a towel around me, but said I didn't have a neck. I do so have a neck!!!! How rude of them to say that. Finally she gave me some funny smelling stuff and took some pictures of my face. I turns out that I broke a bone...it's the bone that would be comparable to a humans cheekbone. That vet told Mom just to take me home, that there was nothing to be done, and that I would heal in time....though I might be deformed. OH MY GOSH....DEFORMED. ME????

When we got home, Mom put me to bed and tucked me in. I could tell that she was pretty annoyed at the way I had been handled. I don't think that vet knew much about prairie dogs at all...it's not like we are real common. I don't think Mom will ever take me back there again, and I am glad of that. I usually like just about everyone, but I didn't like her at all.

The next day, Mom came home from work early and we all went for a long drive. Mom talked to lots of people during the day and located a doctor that handled exotics that was about an hour away from us. When we went in to this office, the girls at the desk were sooooo nice. I remember a girl named Kerri saying how cute I was. Even though I hurt, I had to smile at her. After a short wait, I got to meet Dr. Kraft. He was such a nice man. Mom realized he really did know what he was doing when he came in with big leather gloves. I wouldn't bite him on purpose, but at least he knew what could happen and was prepared. Dr. Kraft was very kind to me and handled me very gently. I got a little scared when he shined a bright light in my eye, but he let Mom hold me and I felt safe. He was very nice the whole time, and I could tell Mom liked him too. He told us he sees lots of prairie dogs and other exotic pets. I could tell Mom felt a lot calmer after seeing him. In fact the following day, she took my x-rays to work and asked everyone if they wanted to see my most recent portrait. Of course everyone wanted to see it. Mom's can be so goofy.

I forgot to tell you...I broke the bone in three places. Hey, if you are gonna do something stupid, do it right!!! Guess I'm just living up to my name. SERIOUSLY!!!! If you have a prairie dog, or if you are thinking of getting a prairie dog - PLEASE be careful and keep your eye on them at ALL times. I am living proof that we can do dumb things when no one is looking.

Anyway, Dr. Kraft said it would take a couple of weeks for me to heal, but he was concerned about my eye. He gave Mom all kinds of medicine that she has to give me. Drops for my eye - it makes my eye feel funny everytime she puts them in; antibiotics - some pink gooey stuff that I try to spit out; and something called Calcium - a sticky liquid that tastes pretty good. I try to make a fuss when Mom gives me the medicines, but it really isn't too bad and I do enjoy chewing on the syringes when she gives me the liquids. At first I had a little trouble eating, but now I am managing to eat okay. I have lots of fresh hay and a few rodent blocks. I've also been getting extra monkey chow ("cookies") too.

Needless to say, I am feeling a lot better than I was last week. Mom won't let me out of my cage very much. I don't think she trusts me at all anymore. I guess I can't blame her. I will keep you informed of the progress of my recovery. I get to go back and see that nice Dr. Kraft again in a few weeks. He said after my face is all healed, I get to be neutered....whatever that is.

UPDATE: I got to go back to see Dr. Kraft this week. He looked at me and said I was doing fine. He turned off the office light and shined that bright light into my eye again. But I wasn't bothered at all by it this time. He weighed me and said I was just the right weight. Kerri was there again. I really like her. I can't wait to go back again.

AND ONE MORE THING....Everyone has been sending me such nice notes and telling me to get well and feel better soon. I really thank all of you for that. It really helps to know you care about me!!!!