Recall a while back when China was having troubles getting up the stairs? Through genius deduction, we concluded that the hardwood stairs were too slippery for her. Well, she/we just sort of dealt with it in our minds, because she would eventually make it up.
Recently, though, with all this stormy weather we've had, her troubles have been troubling her more than usual. She's understandably not a fan of lightning and thunder, so when they are present, she prefers to seek the lowest ground. From there, we have seven carpeted steps to get to our entryway/foyer/ hall-where-everyone-throws-their-shoes-and-muddy-bicyles... followed by a set of seven more hardwood steps to get to the main floor. The carpeted steps are no problem, thus our genius deduction.
Today, she'd stranded herself once again. This is what a guilt trip looks like when it's on stairs
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| Oh sheesh, they even have reflectors... |
Anyway, they worked. As I installed the ghastly strips, China was hanging out with me there down on the entryway/foyer/ hall-where-everyone-throws-their-shoes-and-muddy-bicyles, and she seemed to know what I was doing and why. When I was finished, she gave them a sniff and headed on up without much hesitation.
In fact, if you look closely in the pic, that black blob in the bed at the top of the stairs is hers truly.
I plan to get nicer looking stair treads, so note that this is a temporary ugly fix. I feel half like I'm climbing out of a pool as I go up the stairs now.
In other pet news, Snake Reese is still at large! We have had some shuffling of boxes and crap as Chaco's in residence transition, but there's still a lot of junk to hide in. Still no sign of Reese. I've told Chaco to be on the lookout as he unpacks boxes, but he's convinced Reese isn't in any of them.
In the meantime, we've set out this inviting portal. Heat lamp, water, cozy hollow rock... Geez, whatta we gotta do to catch a snake around here??
So yeah, ugly stairs, boxes and bins of dorm crap, and a snake on the loose "somewhere". Anyone up for a visit?
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9 comments:
Aww.. poor China. Chancie went through the same struggles, but luckily we didn't have all the stairs in our itty bitty new house. We did, however, have an ugly carpeted ramp leading up to the house from the back patio. Oh, the things we'll do for our beloveds.
And I can't believe Reese hasn't been tempted by the heat lamp and cozy rock. Or perhaps he goes there when you're sleeping, and scurries away again before you wake. He's living the good life now.
Either way, none of those would keep me from visiting should we ever get back for a visit. After dragging Amp down to Florida, he deserves a trip back to Colorado.
I KNOW all about stairs and older dogs. While looking for the perfect house to move back to in Indiana this week, I told the agent: NO STAIRS just because of our furchild. To some people that's stupid. To those people, I say "THE DOG LIVES HERE, YOU DON'T".
When I was looking for stair treads online, dog-on-hardwood-stairs seems to be a pretty widespread problem!
And our door's always open, just don't let the snake out... if you see him!
Good answer! And also, I know if she could, she'd do the same for me in a heartbeat.
The stairs are OK!
Custard, our Labrador, always finds stairs a challenge. He has to charge up them. Going down, he tends to end up crashing at the bottom.
Still no snake? Better warn the neighbours? :-)
Poor China! But she's so lucky to be a member of your family. You do what's best for her needs and comfort. A true animal lover.
I understand that feeling though ... being conflicted between keeping things functional for a pet, and wanting the house to look good. I experience it every time I look at the big, ugly brown quilt we keep on the love seat. Because my dog thinks it's HER furniture.
Still no Reese, huh? What could he be doing?
The worst is crashing in the middle - China's had a few of those! It only gets worse from there.
The stairs are so ugly, but functional. I need to fix them properly before I just get used to the way they look, although I really don't think that will happen soon. I guess since Lucy's all about the love, it makes sense she would deem the love seat hers!
As for Reese, God only knows!
I should come visit you, because then your snake would miraculously appear in my bed. I just know it.
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