Taking Care of Panda
This page has been built to tell our "house-sitters" all about taking care of Panda. I've done it as a webpage because that's easiest for me, it won't get lost, and anyone can find it easily. I've tried to make it entertaining as well as informative in order to keep your attention. If you're reading this as a printed page, you'll just have to find things the old way. If you're online, click one of the following to read about the topic. First thing -- the address here is 877 North Highway A1A, #907, Indialantic, FL 32903; Phone 321-733-3304.
MOST IMPORTANT: Don't feed Panda any table scraps or anything other than her food described below -- anything else gives her bad diarrhea -- see "Runny Poop" below under Pills.
Panda's Pantry
The cupboard way around the corner right above the toaster oven (unless it gets moved) is Panda's Pantry. That's where you'll find her canned food and the baby food on the bottom shelf. On the second shelf, there are some pills that you probably won't need -- see Pills below.
Panda's Closet
The little linen closet in the hall between the master bedroom and bath is Panda's Closet. That's where you'll find the Panda Towels, the Panda Puppy Pads, and the Panda Pajamas. Although I'm sure we'll discuss this, but just in case -- the Pajamas are worn because she is allergic to a bunch of stuff and scratches all the time. The Pajamas keep here from hurting herself scratching. To change them, just lay her on her back, unsnap the old, put the legs on on the new, and snap them up -- snaps go on her back. Be sure and don't leave her "unpajama'd" or she'll scratch her stomach real badly.
Pills
Unless something unexpected happens, the only pill you need to worry about is Atarax -- it's like Benadryl for her itching. You give her a half pill in the morning and a half at night. Best way to give them is in a pinch of bread. There's a little bit of a loaf of Italian bread in the refrigerator. Just take a little pinch, put the half-pill on it, then squish it into a little ball to hide the pill. She seems to love that bread, so pill-taking is easy. If bread ever fails, try a little piece of weiner or cheese.
The Unexpecteds: These things probably won't happen, but are here just in case. In general, Panda rarely makes a sound, so if she starts whimpering or crying, it's probably time for the doctor.
Ear Itching: Fairly often, Panda's ears get to itching her real badly. She'll rub them on the floor and appear to be really in bad shape. Nothing much you can do -- I sometimes pick her up and use my thumb to push on the inner ear and rub it a little, but she probably wouldn't let you that close to her ears. If it continues for more than an hour or so, probably ought to phone the vet.
Foot Chewing: Sometimes her itching gets real bad. Most of the day, she'll scratch for a little while and maybe chew/lick her feet some, then go to sleep. If she starts chewing her feet continuously, give her a half of a Prednisone. They are in her Pantry on the middle shelf. You can give it instead of Atarax or in addition to. It's has Cortisone in it, so it's not good to give them to her too much. We usually end up giving her one about once a week.
Tummy Ache: Unusual, but happens now and then. If she starts doing alot of stretching and can't settle down for more than a few seconds at a time, she has a tummy ache. It's from some internal problems that act up now and then. Give her a half of a Tombutrol (also on the middle Panda Pantry shelf) twice a day. If it continues 24 hours or if she starts whimpering, call Dr. Luther and take her in for checkup -- the pain happens for different reasons at different times, so the doctor is needed.
Runny Poop: Panda's poop gets kind of runny now and then, even a little bloody, but not to worry unless it gets really bad -- like for over a day and fairly continous. If it gets that bad, give her 1/4 of a Flagyl, then another 12 hours later. Again, if it continues for over 24 hours or she cries, call the doctor.
Food
Panda eats the Prescription Diet food, of which you'll find many cans in her Pantry. Recently, she had an illness where we had to coax her to eat. We did so by topping her food with Baby Food -- now she insists on having it all the time. She usually doesn't eat until later in the day or evening -- put her some food down after noon. If she eats it, put down a little more. If she stands in the kitchen and stares at you, that means she's hungry -- see "Communicating With Panda" below.
Fixing the food: Take a small plate from the cupboard -- she had a dogdish, but got so she couldn't get to the food because of her failing vision. Take a fork and scratch out about 1/3 of a can, then use a spoon to top it with some of the baby food. "Scratch out" is because she has few teeth, so we chop it up like ground meat. Mix the baby food in a little or she'll lick it off and leave the meat. I generally use about 1/3 of the big-jar baby food or 1/2 of the small jar food. Joyce uses a little more. Panda likes the small jar meat much better, so it doesn't take much. We usually use a plate a couple times, then throw it in the dishwasher and get a clean one -- they get pretty messed up from the baby food.
Puppy Pads
Panda never goes outside, except on the balcony now and then. She also likes to run down the hall when you take out the trash -- see "Around the House" below. She used to use her Panda Towels to pee and poop on, but lately we've trained her to use Puppy Pads. You'll find several packs of them in Panda's Closet -- don't think you could possibly run out, but just in case, you can buy more at Walmart.
We put about four of them in the hall between the master bedroom and bath. AND keep the other bedroom door and both bathroom doors closed (the bathroom rugs look like towels). If you decide to sleep in the 2nd bedroom, put about 4 on the floor in there and shut the master bedroom door.
Towels from Panda's Closet can be used if she has an accident "off-the-pads". Just use the towel to squeeze the pee from the carpet (just step on the folded towel). Then get the PetSpray and the little blue brush next to it from Panda's Closet. Spray it and rub with the brush and that will kill the smell. It's also very good for poop stains on the carpet if that happens. We wouldn't ask others to handle this, but it's easiest to clean up if caught immediately.
Balcony
Panda likes to go on the balcony now and then, but keep an eye on her. We discovered that if she pees, it runs off the edge and hits lower balconies -- bad idea. We usually put one of her towels just outside the door against the edge-rail and she'll pee there -- then just stick the towel in the dirty clothes basket in the master bedroom closet and we'll wash it later.
Bob's Truck
Marylin: I told you my truck would be around the back. Since then, I've started parking it by the front entrance to avoid some of the salt spray.
Restaurants
Well, there's alot of restaurants around here, but the following are some of our favorites. Across the street is Long Dogger's -- good place for burgers, hotdogs, and they're got a good Caesar salad. After 192 crosses A1A heading to the beach, there's a place called the Oceanview Diner -- simple, good food. Best seafood is about 10 miles North at this end of Cocoa -- Lobster Shanty -- where the road splits into two separate one-way streets (i.e., if you end up on a two-lane one-way street, you've gone too far). Best steak and ribs (Bob's opinion) are at the Texas Roadhouse on Eau Gallie Boulevard about a mile West of A1A. Also Red Lobster, etc. on 192 up near the Mall -- others up near the Mall also.
And here are some topics not about Panda, but maybe useful to the "sitters".
The Vet
The Aloha Vet (sticker on refrigerator) is on Eau Gallie Blvd across from Walmart just off of A1A (see map under "Around the House"). Their phone is 777-6444. We usually have Panda see Dr. Luther, since she knows Panda and that avoids getting bad advice (which has happened when we take her to a new vet). Dr. Luther will be on duty as follows: Sept 2nd (off), 3rd (off), 4th (2-8PM), 5th (2-6PM), 6th (10-2), 7th (10-6), 8th (9-6), 9th (off), 10th (off), 11th (2-8PM), 12th (2-6PM), 13th (10-2), 14th (10-6), 15th (9-6), 16th (off). When she's off, she said it's ok to phone her at home (951-2486).
Around the House
The map above is a very high-level, not-to-scale, Melbourne map. Note that you come off I-95 at Exit 71, then straight out 192 to A1A. You can pretty much find anything in Melbourne by asking where it is relative to one of these streets. NOTE: The nearest grocery store is Winn-Dixie in the Walmart center.
Not much to say about "around the house", except feel free to use whatever you find. Any food, drink, etc. Also feel free to answer the phone -- just say we're out of town and tell whoever to call back after the 16th. And feel free to use the computer -- If you're using AOL, click on the AOL icon and it'll dial the right phone number for you - use my AOL username or input your own if you like. If not AOL, click "Shortcut to Mindspring Default 2" -- it should be automatic, but if not, username is "hoffmanj@mindspring.com" and password is "zy757w83".
There's a Trash Room in the hall where you can throw little plastic bags of trash down the chute instead of carrying them down the elevator. Just go straight out the door and follow the hall -- door marked "Trash Room".
The big key fits all outside doors and the door from the pool to the beach. Little key fits the door to our "unit". Real little key fits the mailbox -- if you think of it, pick up the mail to keep the box from getting stuffed -- if not, no problem.
No diving in pool and no drinks allowed in the pool. Be sure to wear shoes/sandals and a top when you go to and from the pool or beach.
If you want a cooler, there's a small 6-pack size in the cabinet above the refrigerator and a larger (24-pack size) in the guest-bedroom closet.
If you have big stuff to bring in or take out, use one of the grocery baskets by the back door. Just go out the back door and walk toward the parking lot. That's also where Nancy's office is if you need to find it.
Check in with Nancy (phone 724-1880) when you get a chance to let her know you're here. She's real nice and helpful if you need to ask anything. Also the one to call if any problem you can't handle. Realtor is Margie at 723-4749 if you have problems with appliances, etc.
Vacuum: I'm not sure that anyone would be vacuuming while on vacation, but just in case there's an emergency or whatever -- ignore the stuff in the front hall closet. The good vacuum is in the back of the master bedroom closet.
Sleeping
Panda generally moves around alot at night. She usually starts by asking to get up on the bed (you'll feel her tapping the side of the bed). Panda can't climb up or get down by herself, so will ask for your help. After an hour or so, she usually stands on the edge of the bed (her signal she wants down). She'll move from one of her blankets to another during most of the night, so leave the bedroom door open to allow her to wander around. She also moves from blanket to blanket during the day. IMPORTANT: She can't hold herself very long, so if you fail to hear her "I want down" signal, she may have an accident on the bed. Same for the sofa during the day -- it's ok to let her up, but don't leave her there alone or she might have an accident. NEVER leave Panda on the bed asleep when you get up in the morning -- morning is when she usually does her thing(s) and if she awakens and can't get down, guess where she'll do it/them ... LOL.
Communicating With Panda
Panda doesn't generally bark or make any sound. She communicates by staring. If she's staring at you from the kitchen, she's hungry. If she's by the sliding-glass door, she wants to go out on the balcony. If she's in the bedroom, she's ready for bed -- incidentally, she expects you to go to be when she's ready ... haha. You'll just have to handle that as best you can -- DON'T PUT HER IN THE BED ALONE -- chances are she'll decide she has to pee and you won't be there to put her on the floor. If you're sitting on the sofa and she stands in front of you staring, she wants to sit with/on you -- this is a great honor ... she usually won't do this for anyone except daddy.
Even though Panda is totally deaf and can't see real well, she generally understands if you talk to her and use your hands. If she's chewing her feet alot, you can say no and move your hand sideways like you're scolding. If you want her to go somewhere (to bed, on the balcony, etc.), just point that way and tell her to come-on .. she's slow, but will usually go along .. or she'll wait to be carried. Carrying is her preferred mode of transportation.
