photo taken August 2019

Hi Everyone ~ For those who missed the Twitters: I noticed Chloe was keeping her left eye closed on Thursday night, and upon investigation, saw her eye was entirely fogged. I took her to the vet Friday morning and the vet mentioned it could very likely be cataracts, but he was not sure due to her young age and the sudden and drastic onset. There was no trauma to her eye, so it wasn’t from her running headlong into a stick. The vet prescribed drops to keep her eye dialated and a steroid/antibiotic ointment to facilitate healing in the event it was not a cataract.

Today we went back to the vet and he is baffled. There is still a chance it is cataracts, but also a chance her eye is glaucomic, which means her eye would balloon and…. So, I have to take her to see a specialist, an “eye wizard” out of Longmont, CO. This doctor makes periodic loops up through Wyoming and Montana. I will continue to give Chloe the drops and ointment in the meantime, then will take her to see this specialist later in the month at his closest stop to us (which is still practically half the state away). I’ll keep everyone updated, but for now it is just a matter of waiting.

I will, of course, be keeping a close watch on her eye for any developments, and while I care for her, I will allow her to treat my anxiety and tension with her hula-hips that wiggle impossibly fast as she wags her tail, and take as an example her serene yet feisty attitude toward everything life brings her way.

Charlie cannot take his eyes off Chloe. She is absolutely fearless and has the personality of a nineteen-year-old surfer chick. “Living with a coyote? Yeah, I’m game. And a cat who thinks he’s king? If that’s his trip, I’ll play along.” Charlie is smitten. She’s got him wrapped around her tiny paw.

For the first few days, Charlie was a bit perplexed by the whole thing; he was never aggressive or afraid, just perplexed. Though immediately curious and eager to sniff and lick her, he got nervous when she advanced toward him and he would scooch away. But within two days, he was letting her climb all over him and chew on his tail and now they tussle and romp and play and then curl up to nap. Charlie’s incredibly gentle with her and unusually patient. He comes in from outside to check on her if he hears her whimpering and brings her food – in fact, he will not eat until after she has eaten.

Eli is unfazed by having a puppy in the house – I think he’s relieved Charlie has a playmate and he can reign from his various perches in peace. From the beginning, Eli allowed Chloe to crawl over him and even lay on him, but if she gets too playful, he swats her across the face with no remorse whatsoever and she gives him the puppy eyes but they have no effect.

The one very funny quirk is that Charlie is having a difficult time sharing his toys. If Chloe starts playing with a stuffed animal, Charlie creeps in beside her, slowly and a little insecure, with a look that says, “um…. I don’t want to bother you, I know you’re new here and all, but, um, that’s my toy… um, here, let me just……” and he very gently takes a corner of the toy and slowly slides it away from Chloe and takes it to the other side of the room. Chloe doesn’t care, she’s moved on to a bone by the time Charlie turns around again, and the same look comes over Charlie’s face, “Wait, no… um, Chloe… um, that’s actually mine, too……” Eventually he gives up and gives in to her, and I’ll catch them lying on the floor side by side, chewing on opposite ends of a toy or antler.