Bad Dog, Gag Reflex, & Oh, sh--!

Someone up there is testing me.

I walked into the neighbor's house at 6 AM and noticed an odor. House has been shut up too many days, I thought. It's starting to smell like pets. I busied myself with the tasks of the morning. Right from the start, things didn't go well.

First, the cat still isn't eating. Hadn't touched her food from last night. I fed her first this morning and she nibbled at some moist food, but really didn't eat much of anything. I put the 1/2 can of wet food out for the dog and he wouldn't touch it. Wouldn't budge. (The kitten, however, raced toward his wet food and started eating.) The dog had also not eaten his dry food from last night. I set out the kitten's food and he at least takes a few bites before wandering away.

Fine, no one's hungry. Perhaps then a walk. I'd noticed the dog hunched in the yard to go the bathroom and nothing much was happening, so I thought a walk might loosen the bowels. He seemed happy to go and we did a quick 1/2 mile loop around the block. He again tried to go the bathroom and I noticed a very small trickle of blood. Uh-oh. Constipated?

We go back in the house and as I'm walking through the back room to get to the rear litter box for cleaning I see it. Two huge piles of s--- in the middle of the floor. For those of you with weak stomachs, stop reading. It only gets worse from here.

I have an overly strong gag reflex and am very sensitive to smells. Seriously. Even a minor offensive odor can make me hack and my eyes water. And this was a doozie. One pile of fairly solid waste and another pile of what looked like the runs. God help me.

I rummaged around for some plastic bags, grabbed some paper towels, and set to work. Ugh. Even the memory of that smell fills my nostrils and makes me gag. I barely made it through the process without throwing up. The fact that the kitten took great interest in the clean-up and I had to keep pushing her out of the way didn't help.

I finally got the solids cleaned up, then walked home for an old towel to bring back and scrub the carpet with. The towel went into the trash and bye-bye after it had done its duty. I Lysoled the hell out of the place, found some pet odor killer to squirt on the carpet, put the dog out back and beat a hasty retreat home where I immediately stripped and showered. When I got out, I doused myself with my heaviest, headiest perfume. And I still feel dirty.

I'm not mad at the dog so much as I am worried. I don't think going inside the house is normal for him. It could be any number of factors though - misses his parents, sick, angry, ate something that didn't agree with him and just couldn't hold it in until morning, etc.

I put him out about 7:15. I'll walk back over about 9 and see if he's eaten any of the food I left out for him. It's supposed to be another 95 degree day so I'll also bring him in around noon although frankly, I'm anxious about putting him in the house again. I may not make it if I have to clean up something like what greeted me this morning. I think there's a good chance I'll have nightmares tonight.