I had a little accident yesterday. I slipped and fell awkwardly and really hurt my bad leg. I couldn’t stand on it afterwards. Mum gave me some more painkillers and it’s a lot better now, although it still hurts if I stand on it. Unfortunately she also noticed that I’d managed to break her table in the process, although she didn’t tell me off for it.
And on Tuesday I was a poorly little dog. In the morning I kept being sick. Mum kept following m round with kitchen roll trying to wipe the drool off my mouth, which I didn’t think much of. Eventually I stopped being sick, and after a little sleep I felt much better.
I had a really good day Sunday though. Eric and Pat came to lunch. I hadn’t seen them since before I had my operation, so I was really, really excited. And Eric spent a lot of time making a big fuss of me.
Otherwise my walks are starting to get a bit more interesting. I’ve been to the Country Park a few times. It makes a really nice change to just going for walks round here. There are lots more interesting smells there, and lots of dogs and people and squirrels and peacocks! I saw a rabbit last week as well. We’ve been there today (Mum took be out to the boardwalk for the first time in months!), so now I’m pleasantly tired out.
That reminds me. I spend a lot of time chasing the birds out of my garden – filippin’ cheek! I usually ignore the little ones, but definitely make a point of shooing the big ones, like pigeons, off. But one day last week there was this HUGE bird in the garden. I worked myself up into a right state over it. It was a one of these…
Dad says it was a heron. Well, it had the sense to get out pretty quick once it saw me, I can tell you!
Lastly, Mum has spoken to my vet/surgeon today. He says that she and Dad can gradually take me out for longer walks. So that will be really good. But I’ve got to go back to see him in a couple of weeks, so I’m not really looking forward to that. I’ve got to have more XRays, which means another anaesthetic.
I’m getting told off for not having updated my blog for a long time – people keep contacting Mum & Dad to find out how I am. So, here’s an update for you. I can’t even remember when I last wrote.
Anyway my leg STILL hurts and I can’t use it properly. It’s a lot better than it was though. And Mum says part of the reason is that I’m not taking as many painkillers as I have been for the past few months. But the good news was that vet let me start going out for short walks at New Year, so I didn’t have to wait the full 3 weeks like I’d been told. I started off on 10 minute walks, but now I’m allowed to go for three 15 minute walks a day. Sometimes I only have two walks though, and today I haven’t had any as its horrible and wet out. Apparently Mum has to speak to the vet again later this week.
So, what’s been happening? Well, not a lot as I’ve been indoors most of the time recuperating. We did have Christmas though and although I wasn’t allowed to have all of my presents I did have quite a few, as you can see from this video of me from Christmas morning. (If you get this update via email, you will have to go to my actual blog to see the video).
Mum too some photos of me too.
I particularly like my octopus – he’s rather fine, and all of his legs squeak.
And that blue thing is good, cos when I knock it over I get treats out of it!
Then after Christmas came New Year. I didn’t think much of that. There were lots of those horrible firework things, and I had to spend the whole time on high alert. I nearly went hoarse with all the barking (the barking was so that Mum & Dad knew they had to be on alert too, just in case).
The big news is that I’ve got a Facebook page now, where I can keep all of my friends updated on my progress and post photos and things. And I’ve got a lot of friends from all around the world. They keep sending me hugs and things. But if any of you are reading this, much as I appreciate the hug, food is what I really like! These were some photos of me that Mum took for Facebook.
And this was me trying to get a bit of sleep.
Although it’s raining today it’s been very, very cold here. Every time I went to get a drink from somewhere, either in the garden or on walk, it was all frozen, and I had to be careful that my tongue didn’t stick to it. It also seemed to make my leg hurt a lot more. But one day Mum let me have a little go at skating on the ice as the big ponds had all frozen over.
Well I don’t think that there’s much more to tell you. So I’m going to leave you with my horoscope for the coming year. It looks like I’m going to get a lot better and have a really good time.
VIRGO (AUG. 24 – SEPT. 23)
SYMBOL: The Virgin
Like the Lion, 2009 is all about you, Virgo. But the next 12 months are about keeping your body and spirit in sync. And it's the year that you get it together solo with the assistance of your devoted guardians. Yes, you critters can behave like you're cool and calm but deep inside your nerves can be frazzled. You've got to learn how to cope better without letting life's stressors get to you from head to paw, claw or fin.
SEASONS AND YOUR SUN SIGN:
Winter: That big, bright Full Moon in January or February may be just what your vet ordered to keep you healthy and happy during any changes in your body. You may get a job if you're a dog, cat or bird and that means no more boring days and nights. Or, you may hook up with a pet pal that will keep you on your paws or claws. Stay aware because the change is most likely a positive one.
Spring: Pre-springtime is a time for you to get closer to a pet or person. This may be a turning point for 2009 so look for cues. When you get a sign-don't be reserved like you can be. Let go and reap the rewards of a good for you relationship.
Summer: A New Moon this summer-not sure which month it will be-will bring you welcome surprises. Keep your intuitive instincts in working order and you will discover something new and it will make your summertime go by fast and be unforgettable.
Fall: Ah, the New Moon at the year's end is going to give you even more novelty. Yes, changes on the home front or workplace-if you have a job with your humans-may be in the works. Even your own space could be expanded or improved. Enjoy the change.
PLANETS AND PETS:
Thank heavens you are the relaxed personality at home because everyone else has been climbing the walls, tearing their hair out and upset with everything during 2008. Somehow you know the tensions will ease gradually during the first six months of 2009. You may look like you're not interested but you have the sixth sense like all Virgos so you know this New Year will prove to be a good one for you and your humans, right?
I’m being tortured here – hasn’t anyone told them? Between Mum & Dad and various vets I’ve been subjected to pain and misery!
On Friday Mum drove be back to see the orthopaedic specialist in Devizes. We had a nice journey – I had my duvet in the back of the car and it was nice and sunny. It was even good when we got there as I met a very nice dog with his two owners who made a big fuss of me. Then Mum handed me over to the nurse and left.
They said I had a very big operation on my leg. It certainly hurts enough! I’ve got a bigger scar than ever now. And it turns out that the vet has cut through my thigh bone and taken a chunk out. And the bone is now held together with metal plates and bolts. This is supposed to be a good thing. Ha! The vet should try having it done to him. It’s really painful, I can tell you. AND they’ve shaved my leg yet again – just as the fur was starting to grow back nicely. And as if that’s not bad enough they’ve shaved away a rectangular patch of fur on my back. So now I look like some weird sort of punk dog. Mum took a photo of me before I had my dressing and morphine patch removed so you can see what I mean.
It was really not nice after my operation. I had to stay at the vet’s overnight and although the nurses were nice and very kind to me, they weren’t my Mum and I just wanted to go home. But Mum & Dad came and got me on Saturday afternoon. I hadn’t wanted to eat anything the nurses gave me, but Mum had bought me a bowl of chicken & pasta which I ate before we left to go home. When we got home all I wanted to do was sleep as I really didn’t feel very well at all.
I’m gradually feeling better, and am almost back to normal today, other than my leg still hurting. I am doing my best to use it though. And I heard the nurse tell Mum I had to stretch it, so I try and do that too. And the good news is that I’ve finished my antibiotics, as they were upsetting my tummy.
BUT – I’m not allowed out for 3 whole weeks! And if I go out in the garden I can only go out on a lead. Which means Mum or Dad have to come with me so I can’t really stay out very long and can’t have a good sniff around. And today Mum has even put paper up over the patio doors so that I can’t see out.
So, first they inflict lots of pain on me (for the THIRD time) and then they keep my under house arrest and don’t even let me see out of the window. And that sounds pretty much like torture to me. Mum’s even saying I can’t have all of my Christmas presents! It’s not fair! What have I done to deserve all of this?
Well, anyway, I hope you have a nice Christmas, even if I’m going to be deprived!
I’m really grateful to Gypsy for teaching me that phrase. It’s a really useful phrase. And this is an Oh Poo Week. Monday I got carted off to see this specialist vet – it was miles and miles away. I seemed to be in the car forever! Talking of which, I’m refusing to get in that car now – I’ve worked out that every time I do end up at the vet being pulled about.
So, we get to the vet and waited around to see him. There was a nice black lab in there, but he didn’t seem to want to say hello to me, so I kept persuading Dad to take me outside for a sniff around while we waited. The vet was very nice – we were with him ages while he talked to Mum & Dad and looked at the photos of the bones in my leg (people take photos of the strangest things, if you ask me – I mean, who would want a photo of the bone in my leg?). Then Mum put me up on his examining table and he pulled me around again. And it really, really hurt, I can tell you.
After that Mum & Dad left and the vet (who’s called Ian) took me through to their hospital, where I and to wait around all day as I was the last dog he saw. Anyway, not content with the photos he already has of the bones in my leg, he took some more!!! Which involved yet another anaesthetic. Hey! Hasn’t anyone ever heard that too many anaesthetics can be bad for a little dog?
Well, I thought I was going to have an operation, but when I woke up I was just the same. Turns out that agreed with Mum & Dad that they would take me back on Friday. Apparently my operation might turn out to be bigger than he thought.
So tomorrow, I’ve got to go through it all again!!! I don’t suppose I’ll write anything for a little while now while I get better, but I’ll try and let you know how I get on before Christmas.
Otherwise Mum took me over the Heath for a walk yesterday. I haven’t been there for months. It was so good, and it was nice and warm and sunny too. And I met a really nice young dog that I was allowed to have a bit of a play with. I was pretty tired and my leg hurt when I got home though. Still, it was worth it.
I had a present today – it came all the way from America, especially for me! It was a really, really tasty dog biscuit in the shape of a bone. Mum opened the parcel, and as soon as I smelt it I went over and pestered her (oh, well, alright then – jumped all over her) until Dad took it off her and let me have it. Mum had wanted to wait until Christmas until she gave it to me!!!
Anyway, it was an extra special yummy biscuit, as you can see.
And even the packet it came in was really tasty…
So thank you very much Audrey. Plus there was a really nice picture of a horse in with it from Mari (cos I really like horses – I nearly got to see the ones on the Heath the other day, but I couldn’t quite get to them, and they wouldn’t come over to see me).
The other big news today is that Mum says she’s had something through the post from this specialist that I’m going to see. The vet had phoned her yesterday to say we had an appointment on Monday. But Mum says she has to leave me with the specialist all day, and that they might operate! I wasn’t expecting that. I thought I’d have to go back later. This afternoon Mum took me with her when she went to the vet to pick up my Xrays, and they confirmed that the specialist normally operates the same day. I’m not looking forward to that again. But it would be nice to get my knee fixed. It’s been hurting more a lot recently, especially as Mum is now giving me less meds at night. And it would be really, really nice to go for a proper walk again and to be able to run around and play with other dogs.
I’ve got a new place to sit! (although I’d better not be for sale)
It’s great – I can lie in the sun there and look out the window. Which means that I can see what those pesky cats next door are up to. Usually it involves them strolling around the drive like they own the place. Sometimes they stop and take a drink from a puddle just to wind me up! I tell you, one of these days I’m going to find a way to get out there – then they’ll know it!
Anyway, back to my window. It’s always been there, of course, but I’ve never been able to get up there. But Mum has let me back up on the sofa’s this week (she’s made me a step so that I can get onto the sofa in her sitting room easily). From there I go onto the arm of the sofa, and then onto the top of my crate (which kept bending down, so Mum has put a board over the top of it for me, and then onto the window sill. You can see what I mean in this photo.
And not only that, but I've been allowed to sleep on the sofas at night too. How good is that?
This last week I’ve had a whole week where I haven’t had to go and see the vet. My leg hurts quite a lot sometimes though – Mum thinks it might be the cold weather. Then at other times it doesn’t seem too bad. But the good news is that Mum & Dad have taken me for a few short walks. I’ve mainly been to the Country Park, and once we went to the heath (where a very rude spaniel bit me on the nose!). We don’t walk anywhere near as far as we used to, but I get to see somewhere different and there are lots of good places to sniff where we go. It tires me out though, so I tend to sleep quite a bit afterwards. I think that’s why Mum takes me.
I still don’t know when I’m going to see the specialist. My new vet had to wait for my Xrays, and the old vet never sent them. In the end Mum went and collected them herself then took them to the new vet. I don’t expect I’ll get my leg fixed until after Christmas now. If I get it fixed at all that is. Mum has seen a new picture that she wants, and Dad said it was that or getting my leg fixed. When he asked me what I thought I voted to get my leg fixed.
Talking of Christmas, Eric and Pat came for an early Christmas lunch yesterday – I was soooo excited. Although I wasn’t quite so excited when I found out that Eric had forgotten my Christmas present. Mum says I’m the little dog Santa Claus forgot! And after I gave him a present too!
And hasn’t it been cold? It was all frosty here over the week-end (we didn’t have any snow). I didn’t think it was very funny when I found that my big drinking bowl in the garden was frozen. Every time I tried to lick it my tongue stuck to it! Dad took the ice off it for me, then the next thing I knew it was frozen over again.
Well that’s about it. I had a walk earlier so I need to get back and have a snooze now, especially as Mum has put the heating back on.
I know I only wrote yesterday, but in the afternoon I got even more new toys, so I just had to let you see them. I had lots of fun with them yesterday. But first, Mum took a photo of Hedgie posing in my bed…
Then this is Doggie…
And here’s me and Doggie…
He’s not supposed to be for little dogs to play with, but Mum says he’s good as I can’t run round the room which him as he’s so big. Instead I have to drag him around, which is tiring, I can tell you! Last night his back came undone and I had great fun pulling all of the stuffing out of him. Mum & Dad took him (and the stuffing) off me then, but this morning Mum has mended him and he’s as good as new. You can see him here in this photo taken with my other new toy, Giraffe…
As you can tell, Mum’s not very original when it comes to naming my toys: Hedgie, Doggie, Giraffe – to go with Lion and Kitty and Tigs. Thank goodness she didn’t name me! I might have had to go through life with a name like Puppy!!!
Just a couple more photos from this morning of me having a bit of a stretch.
Dad says it’s just not fair – you try and get up in the morning and have a quiet stretch, and next thing you know there are the paparazzi shoving their cameras in your face, giving you no peace at all!
Unfortunately my new toys weren’t the only things Mum bought me yesterday…
As you can see, I wasn’t very happy about that! Can’t a little dog have any dignity?
