Our anxiety must be rolling over to the animals

Our animals have gone insane. I don't know what is up with them lately, but they have ALL gone bonkers. I mentioned already that Callaway has been escaping from the yard. Well, it hasn't stopped. He manages to get out of every obstacle we give him. We tried tying him to a stake all day. It worked for a day or two, but then he somehow figured out how to finagle the carabiner just right so that his collar becomes unattached from the leash.

The first time he got off the tether, it was immediately after I had hooked him up. I assumed I hadn't latched the carabiner properly. I hopped back out of the car and hooked Callaway back up. When I got home that evening, he was unhooked again. Travis switched the latch type, hoping that Pupdini wouldn't be able to figure that one out. He didn't get out of it the first day, wiggle his way out of his collar on Tuesday.

That evening, Aiden was playing on the back step and Callaway went out there with him. He was okay for about 5 minutes, but then he just freaked out. He started acting the way he does when I pull out the vacuum. He was crouched low to the ground, tail between his legs, ears and head down. I never figured out what scared him.

Tuesday we tightened Callaway's collar and Travis removed the lattice-work that hides the underside of our house. The dog started digging to get under in another spot. I don't know why he can't just use his original GAPING hole.

When I got home last night, Callaway had managed to knock all of the potted plants of the back step along one side. One planter was completely destroyed, in a million pieces, strewn for several feet. Two other pots had completely lost their contents and were located, again, several feet from their original location. He also managed to tear apart half of the sago palm that guards our back door. I replanted the roots of the plants, in hopes that they will grow back. I don't have high hopes, since they were severely trampled, with only a few leaves left.

We were unable to buy rebar this past weekend because Travis has been without a paycheck for almost three weeks now. We broke down and did a redneck fix with wooden stakes stuck into the fence. God I hope he doesn't find a way through that. We NEED this to work. If I have to spend 30 minutes cleaning up animal messes when I get home tonight I will just scream.

I was so mad at Callaway last night that I left him outside for an hour after we got home. I finally decided to let him in. First thing he did was chug a bunch of water and regurgitate it in the middle of the kitchen. Since Aiden and I were in the middle of eating our dinner, I ignored it. But then 5 minutes later he did it again under the dining room table. Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

We took Callaway to the vet this weekend. His skin allergies have gotten out of control again. I was kind of hoping Callaway's anxiety would calm down if he wasn't so worked up with itchy skin. His sores are still healing, but he barely scratches anymore. Sadly, his need to escape from our yard has not diminished at all. We also talked to the vet about putting him on the Prozac. The doctor said if it was only occasional anxiety, like in the case of a thunderstorm for example, then he would give him a mild sedative. But since Callaway has constant anxiety ALL THE TIME, Prozac is the drug for him. Although, at this point, I'm wondering if the Prozac is having the opposite effect on him.

We have not been giving the cats any Prozac. The pooping all over the place died down for a while. But then we caught our THIRD cat taking a dump on our bed. I don't want to medicate ALL our cats, ALL the time, so we haven't started up giving them Prozac again. But since then, the crapping has gotten out of control. I keep the litter box clean, and now we have two. That means if two of the cats aren't getting along, they can relieve themselves in separate boxes. It hasn't helped at all.

Just this week, the cats have been acting erratically as well. I have caught all of them perched in places they are not allowed to be. They could very well hang out in those spots ALL DAY LONG, but at least in the past they had the decency to jump down before I entered the room. Now they just sit there and stare at me lazily, defying me.

Phage now thinks it's okay to put his butt on the counter where I prepare food. NOT OK. He also thinks an excellent hang out is on top of our fridge, next to the bread. Also NOT OK. Oh and Monday when I was getting ready to wash my hands, he jumped right into the sink. Ugh, the nerve! The other day, Bella was laying on her back on our coffee table, hugging one of Aiden's teddy bears. NOT OK. Sagira has random fits where she runs all over the house with her hair standing up, yowling.

I noticed some flea poo on the sink, which means the cats probably have fleas. We have not been good with applying their flea medicine, due to lack of funding. We bought some at the vet this past weekend and finally applied it last night. Maybe that's why they're freaking out? Please?

I used to enjoy spending time with my pets. Now I'm thinking they're more trouble than they're worth.