These darn corgis are overall so healthy that when one of them is under the weather, you don't quite know what to make of it.

Ruby the (former) Corgi Pup is ailing. Barfed once yesterday but not in any alarming way. Then in the evening experienced an Embarrassing Urgency to get outside right.this.minute.

Hmmm... Still, the Hapless Human didn't make much of it. She had been eating exuberantly (as usual) all day and she seemed bright and cheerful enough.

Around 9:30 p.m. we go to bed. Half-an-hour, maybe 40 minutes later, Ruby announces another Embarrassing Urgency. Lifted off the bed and set on the floor, she flies to the door like a rocket. Before long, she returns, looking more or less normal.

Understand, it was 120 degrees out in Ruby's Backyard yesterday. By 9:30, the weather had chilled to a crisp 108. But neither dog is ever left out in the heat. and Cassie evinces no sign of distress. I think it is not Doggy Heat Stroke.

Back in The Nest, the HH falls asleep. A few hours later, it is awakened by another demand to go out. Elevate the Princess off the bed, set her on the floor, run after her to the back door, release, wait, retrieve, return her Highness to the Royal Sack.

Along about 4:30 a.m., she barfed all over the bed.

Deliver both dogs to the floor on the Royal Elevator, strip the bed, put bedding to soak in detergent in the washer. Set to work on the daily outside chores; get done around 6 or 6:30. Fix coffee & breakfast.

This always entails a few doggy treats: some squares of bland cheese, maybe a small piece of carrot, and liberal numbers of small kibble bites.

Yes, their Highnesses ARE spoiled. Even, one might say if one dwelt in polite society, ruined.

Ruby refuses to scarf up even ONE doggy treat. This is an ominous sign.

She won't eat at all. Her dish of dog food is in the fridge, awaiting happier times. Whaaa?

This dog is so radiantly healthy that going off her feed is cause for real human alarm. Yes: I do know that dogs get bugs and they (intelligently enough) are likely to refuse food for a day or so, but...yipe?

Ruby goes back to her nest under the toilet in the back bathroom. I clean up the backyard and discover that one of her mounds of diarrhea is strangely colored. It's pink. This coloring does not appear to be blood. It's like she ate...I don't know...a beet or something that changed the color of her...uhm...product.

I look this up on the Hypochondriac's Treasure Chest (i.e., the Internet) and become seriously worried. She may be acting like she's about to croak over at any moment because she is about to croak over at any moment.

Call the vet's office; get a receptionist. Arrange to bring the dog in at 3:15 p.m. Am reassured that yes, all her vaccines are up to date. It's probably not parvo or some such horror. Although there is a horror that it could be.

Dog is lethargic and unhappy.

To get to the vet, I have to buy gas -- hoped to hold off till the end of the month, but ooohhh no! Not a chance. As long as I'm forced to drive to Costco, go inside and pick up some of the stuff that has accrued on the Refrigerator List of Costco Items. Eighty bucks lighter, return to the Funny Farm.

Ruby is still living. She's still under the weather, but she certainly is no worse. Her nose is cool, her feet are cool, she doesn't appear to be sweating through her paws. She's just resting. Or possibly trying to die.

Open the front door to perform some rescue work on the fricaseeing front porch plants. Hear claws on tile:

Ruby shoots out of the back and into the courtyard. Frolics around examining every corner.

Possibly not at Death's door, after all?

Finally I decide that if she is at Death's door, they're not letting her in. Call vet; discuss. We decide it's safe to let this ride a day or so. If she's not better tomorrow, then I'm to call and arrange a new appointment. Otherwise: next week, for an annual exam and checkup on the current condition.

 She seems so stunned! This is a dog that, except for the puppy UTI episode that some of you probably recall, has never, EVER been sick or injured. She may not be as sick as she acts: it may just be that she's never felt bad before and so doesn't know what it is.

Is your corgi a drama queen when she or he comes down with a minor ailment?