A Carolina mantis

On the screen porch wire.   I saw this fat looking mantis on the back porch when we were taking the dog to the vet so I hurriedly snapped a photo with my phone because I knew it may not be there when we got back home.  I was too high up for a photo from the other side.  It has some long appendages for the mono Monday challenge.

Anyway this mantis is not green as normally I see mantises are.  It is brown which I found out is a Carolina mantis (and probably a female since it looks so fat).   

Good news and bad at the vet on my dog.  The doc thinks Gypsy has chronic osteoarthritis in her hips and back legs. Since last Friday Gypsy is unable to get herself up on all four legs without help from me or Jerry.  She walks very stiff legged and wobbly and falls a good bit.  Cannot get up or down the steps without support.     The vet said sometimes when a dog get diabetic it has some of  these same symptoms but she said she did not think it was that after she did a quick check of a urine sample.  Blood and urine to the lab at the main office and she will call tomorrow on those results.   Gypsy now has three medications to take, an anti-inflammatory/pain med, gabapentin for possibly neuropathy and a muscle relaxer.    We are several hundred dollars poorer.    We got the meds in her when we got home (she likes cheese!) and she has been sleeping for hours.   Tomorrow I will probably space them out so she won't have them all at once so maybe she won't sleep so much.  She already was sleeping more than normal before the meds.    

I could use a full night's sleep as I have been sleeping downstairs on the sofa and it is not the best sleeping.  Plus she wakes me up during the night..usually between 1 and 3 am when she has to go out to potty.  I have to go out with her as she can't go by herself down the steps or back up.  Then when we get back in..I can't fall back asleep for an hour or more.   I did get a nap today.

Hoping we will see a little improvement tomorrow and more as the week goes on.  The vet said if we don't see any improvement to get her back to the office and she will investigate further whatever that may be.  

It will be a long week but I got this!   

The tiny Tuesday prompt for this week is Ready for Fall/fall colors.  Any little thing that is popping up that feels or looks like fall.   The tag is TT381.