While I was away in Melbourne with my sister, Nolan developed a sore and swollen eye. Kevin had to muster all his resources and take him to the vet. The vet wasn’t completely sure what the problem was, but gave him a course of antibiotics and some eye ointment. The vet assistant told me she thought Kevin wasn’t too sure what was going on, the poor bloke, but he did his best for the dog, as would be normal for him. Anyway, when I got home the treatment had started to take effect, and a lot of the swelling had gone down and what turned out to be an abscess had come to a head and actually burst while he was rubbing his head on my leg! So I took over the treatment, and he was very happy to take his tablets….he would just take them out of my hand…but the eye ointment was a different matter. That was a case of running away, hiding his head, whatever it took to avoid the situation…but I was perseverant, and I got the ointment in his eye, and normally all over me too…..
Anyway, I took him back to the vet yesterday for a check up and further instructions. When we arrived there, there was a yappy dog waiting at the counter while his mother paid the bill, and another one in the waiting room. So we ran the gauntlet and managed to get in without either of us being bitten, or Nolan biting or squashing the other dogs. Then the yappy dog left, and the noise level fell considerably, leaving the other little dog and Nolan. They were consigned to their respective corners until the other little one went in. While the vet was checking him out, the assistant decided we should weigh Nolan. I took him over to the scales, which was big enough provided we could get him to sit there quietly. However Nolan would put his front legs on but not the back legs. We would urge him forward, and then he would put his front legs on the floor and his back legs on the scale. Eventually with a lot of pushing and pulling, we managed to get him to get all his legs on there at once……..and sit! And the assistant read the scales quickly (they were digital, so a bit easier)…he weighed 41 kg (I think that’s around 90 pounds), which is not his heaviest weight, but that’s still a fair amount of dog….
Then it was Nolan’s turn, and as usual, he headed straight for the way out. I managed to get him into the consulting room eventually, and the vet checked him out, and was pleased with his progress. We only have to continue with the eye ointment (my favourite…) and watch how things develop. Should things deteriorate, he has to go straight back. There is still the possibility there is something untoward going on there, with the abscess being a secondary infection. Nolan was his normal bright self, becoming even more co-operative when the assistant gave him a little doggy treat, which disappeared very quickly. We were allowed to escape…but….there was a dog outside the door. A very lively and lovely kelpie. These are probably the bounciest dogs in the world, and she wanted to play. So did Nolan….and I had to get him past her to get to the car. Now you can imagine 41 kilos of dog wanting to go in one direction and me wanting to go in another would be rather hard to control…..and yes, he shot out of the door, with me in hot pursuit, and not at all in control! I grabbed hold of the doorway as I staggered out, and it held me up, and of course stopped my forward impetus…and Nolan’s….just short of the bouncing kelpie. Both looked extremely disappointed, but I was able to change his direction down the steps towards the car. I must admit my arm and shoulder felt the strain for a short time….
Having got him safely into the car, I took him home before anything else happened, where he could play with Gypsy quite safely, without harm to any of us….and I could have a cuppa….before I had to give him his next dose of eye ointment….
Mamaroo's Diary 