Val, the Dog

Everyone in our household is stressed.  Ben is stressed about homework.  I'm stressed about the Big C, and the fact that Ben has so much homework.  Bill is stressed about many things, including the ones already mentioned.  What's interesting is that Val, our dog, who expresses her stress through her GI track, is also stressed.  She's not even wolfing her food down, as per usual; sometimes her food sits for hours before she eats.  But I had to use four bags on our walk today.  Tomorrow, she has an appointment with the groomer, because, as Ben said, she wreaks.  It's fascinating to me how she absorbs the stress level in the household.  I guess there is one being in the house who isn't stressed -- Smokey, the cat.  At least he's eating his normal voluminous quantities.  Ever the iconoclast!