The Rains Have Returned

We're back in rainy season again. The Northeast Monsoon has set in completely. The weather is about three degrees cooler, and a breeze stirs more often. As much as I welcome the respite from the relentless heat, I dread the thunderstorms. 

For now, the rains come in the afternoon and evening, leaving the mornings and nights clear. Choya still gets her toileting done. What's not ideal is the thunder that rumbles and sends her into sheer panic, and the flight and flee mode. This is why I don't travel during this period anymore. The dog needs me around. 

Choya's storm anxiety is real and she can't be left alone while the thunder rolls. Gabapentin comes out full force this season. I limit dosing her with it. I don't like medicating her unless it's absolutely necessary, like to balance out her cortisol levels. Constantly elevated cortisol levels are just bad news in the long run. I try to dose her with NHV's Matricalm and LessStress.

It's ridiculously hard for people to solo-pawrent or have a dog if they live alone and have little help with their floofs. If one has a partner to do this pawrenting journey, then it's a little easier. The man and I have lucked out so far with dinners and gigs on nights when the storms take a break or the rain continued but the thunder stopped by 6pm, leaving us clear to pop out for human-only activities in the evenings. 

To that, I'm deeply appreciative to friends who welcome Choya to our gatherings, and who accommodate her by being willing to sit outdoors. That's not to say I'm not going to lunches/dinners without Choya. It simply means I'm judicious and selective about which human-only lunches/dinners I attend. The company needs to be important enough to me to ditch my dog for the evening. It's easier if the man takes on the caregiving duty. But if we're both out at a social together or separately, then that social must be significant enough to us to leave the dog alone at home in the rain and justify a dose of Gabapentin. 

The weather patterns will shift. I'm not looking forward to those pre-dawn rains and midnight storms. Right now, I'll take whatever breather the weather gods deign to dishing out. I can still sleep in the nights. I'll take it!