Pack Wars

We received a call on Wednesday to let us know that Indigo's remains were available for pick up at her vet's office. Her ashes still remain at the vet today and most likely will remain at her vet for a while longer. Although the events of the past week I think are a harsh reminder of just how deeply her absence is felt.

Indy and Paulie lounged around the house all day on Saturday. Never once did they ask to be fed or entertained. They laid in their various beds and blankets, lazing away the entire day. We were both surprised and shocked by their despondent behavior. Not so the next day though - a big change is in the works inside the house pack.

On Sunday evening, we were watching television and the dogs were playing around as usual. They seemed to be back to their normal selves - demanding in sharp, piercing barks to be played with and fed. Indy, as part of his anxious nature, likes to lay on his various beds and put as much of the corner of the bed in his mouth and suck on it like a pacifier. (Strange & gross, I know, but he's just generally very weird.) Paulie wanted Indy to play with him so he walked over to Indy, playfully barking and hopping around. The atmosphere changed as soon as Paulie was right next to Indy. Indy snapped at Paulie and grabbed a mouthful of fur. Paulie, probably shocked that Indy was so irrational, snapped back at Indy's neck And the war was on!!

I jumped up to grab Indy while hubby grabbed Paulie. In the ensuing chaos, Paulie latched onto hubby's arm. At that point, it was just me trying to separate them. Finally I pried them apart. Hubby was left with a menacing looking wound on his arm. It took about 15 minutes to calm them both down. It seemed my hubby was the only one with injuries to speak of. They've done this before - twice in the two years they've lived together. So this was not an extremely shocking event. Usually, Indy has a mouthful of Paulie's fur and Paulie has some flesh wound buried deep in his fur and then they forget about it quickly after.

Fast forward to three days later - they are at it again. This time they are fighting over the possession of a squeaky toy...of which there are two in front of them. After we pry them apart this time, Indy has a hole in his lip and a mouthful of Paulie's fur. We've been diligent about keeping them apart when possible and removing those items that instigate the fights but we're ready for the battle to be over. After twice in one week, it's time for one of them to submit and roll over.