Mamaroo's Diary

Actually I just called it for him, on his behalf, on veterinary advice.  It’s time for him to take off his “companion dog” hat, and put on his “retiree” one.

 

Nolan has just turned 11, which is quite long in the tooth for a labrador retriever, and has been working for the ADA (Aged and Disability Association) Retirement Cottages in Rylstone, then in Kandos, since he graduated from companion dog school, after failing at guide dog school, at the age of around 18 months.  He has given them wonderful service, and touched the hearts of all the residents, visitors, and staff, even those who didn’t like dogs.

 

He took his work very seriously.  When he arrived at work, after scoffing the left over porridge, he would put on his “work” mind set.  He realised how responsible his position was, and carried out his job to the utmost of his ability, whether it be licking someone’s hand, sitting next to their chair, guarding anyone who was ill, or assisting the residents out of the building in a fire drill.  He would also earnestly assist the residents eating their morning tea, or any other food matter that happened to be laying about, such as chocolate bars.  Obviously Nolan’s attitude to food often caused medical emergencies!  He was also abetted in this by some of the residents….some of them didn’t understand, and some of them just didn’t remember, that sausage rolls, fatty food, scones and cream, sweet biscuits were not the normal food of a dog.  Of course Nolan tried very hard to convince them otherwise, always taking the stance that he REALLY was starving, and how could they resist those pleading eyes?  After many bouts of tummy problems, including pancreatitis, the staff used to confine Nolan to a separate part of the building, when the residents were eating, and give him an appropriate snack, so he didn’t feel left out.  This of course didn’t stop the residents feeding him in their rooms, or him ferreting anything out that they didn’t put away carefully, so the staff had to be on their toes at all times.

 

As Nolan has got older, he has gone from “full time” 9 to 5 work to part time, to semi retired, in several stages.  He is becoming increasingly tired, and unable to cope so well with the demands of his job.  Everyone involved with Nolan has been aware that the day of his retirement would come, but because he loves his “oldies” so much, and they love him, everyone was trying to put it off as long as possible.  But that day has arrived, and I am waiting to hear from the management of ADA Cottage exactly how we manage the handover of ownership, cross the t’s and dot the i’s so to speak.

I am hoping that I will still be able to take him into the Cottage for short visits, and also enter into a similar arrangement at the local nursing home, attached to the hospital.  This of course will depend on the management, and how his health holds up.  He will also be available for any guest modelling at fashion parades or the like….

 

I have discovered a newly opened “leash free” dog walking area down near the river, where I have started taking him and Gypsy.  Because Nolan objects to walking up the hill on the way home from a walk, I was looking for a fairly flat area where I could drive to, so I could still get them out for walks.  Both the dogs think it’s a pretty good place, as there are plenty of things to sniff, and explore.  Then after about half an hour, they are happy to come home and have a nap.

 

Nolan is entering a new chapter in his life:  the last chapter, but hopefully not a short one.  He will be accompanied in this by his companion Gypsy, who seems to be making a career out of being a companion to elderly gentleman dogs:  she was companion to my beloved Albert, who died at the ripe old age of 17.  So she is quite used to the quirks of older dogs….  Of course, there is also Max, who is prepared to put up with both of them, as long as he gets the best place in front of the heater, and the best chair to sit on.

 

Now that Nolan is entering a new phase of his life, and has to settle into a new routine, it looks as though I will have to as well…but then, that’s what mothers do, isn’t it?….go with the flow….

Towards the end of the last school holidays, my next door neighbour had a visit from his twin granddaughters.  Of course, when they heard about Clancy of the Overflow, they gave their poor grandfather no peace till they saw him.  He rang and arranged a time to come and visit, and they all turned up, Pa with video camera in hand.  They had to fight their way past the dogs, who were overjoyed to see them.  The girls helped me feed Clancy, and Pa managed to catch some of this on video….until the battery went flat.  So….I got out my camera, and took some photos with that, which I have since emailed to them.

 

While they were here, checking out Clancy, Nolan of course made it quite obvious that he wanted to play with them.  And play they did.  Eventually their Pa wanted to go home, so they all trooped out the door, and Nolan went with them.  I called him back, but the girls pleaded with their grandfather to let him come and play with them for a while, so off went Nolan with a huge grin on his face.  I could see their back yard from my place, and Nolan was kept busy the whole time he was there.  They found an old tennis ball, attached to a rope, so Nolan chased it, played tug of war with them, and generally ran the legs off himself.  Gypsy in the meantime stayed with me….she had no wish to get herself squashed by all these running feet….

 

After about an hour, they brought Nolan home.  He was puffing and panting, but was so happy.  We had a bit of difficulty explaining to him that he was meant to stay put….he wanted to go with the girls, and the ball….but he eventually took the hint, and went and got on his bed.  He sat there panting for a while, and then fell asleep.  He was completely exhausted, but he would have kept on going till he dropped I think….

 

While both dogs had a sleep, I went off for a walk.  When I came back both girls were waiting for me out in their front yard, and wanted to come home with me and play with Nolan again.  So home they came, and Nolan was off again.  This, probably mercifully, was a much shorter session, which Nolan was quite happy to end when it was his dinner time.  The girls had to go home for theirs too, and once he had finished, Nolan took himself off to bed.  He slept very deeply, and woke up with a start when he needed to go for a “wee” walk.  He was as stiff as all get out, and had a lot of difficulty getting up.  I had to help him….

 

Once I managed to get both the front and back halves operational, he walked to the top of the steps, and looked at the steps, then at me.  I thought oh no, I’m not going to carry him, I’m not that much a glutton for punishment!  I had to walk down the steps with him, and he then started walking round the yard looking for a suitable patch of grass to water.  I left him to it, and went back into the warm.  After a few minutes, I stuck my head out the door, and there was Nolan sitting at the bottom of the steps.  Down I went, and walked him back up the steps.  When he got inside, I put his rug on him, and went to find his arthritis pills.  Of course I was out of them, and made a mental note to myself not to let this happen again….make sure there’s always a few spare!

 

Nolan then went off to sleep till morning, and woke stiff.  He wasn’t quite as bad as before but he tried very hard to make me think he was.  He quite enjoyed all the fuss I made of him the day before when he was newly stiff.  However, I realised he wasn’t putting it ALL on, and made it my business to get those arthritis pills for him.

 

The girls have gone home, but I’m sure Nolan is looking forward to their return!

Nolan went off as usual on Monday to have his bath.  When I went to pick him up, the lady who bathes him was very concerned.  While bathing him she found blood on him, and couldn’t work out where it was coming from.  She eventually located the problem on his foot, to what appeared to be an abscess.  She then applied a bandaid, which didn’t stay on for long, but long enough to stop the bleeding.  We discussed it and decided the best bet was to observe it initially and see how it progressed.  If it didn’t improve, I would take him to the vet….urgently to Mudgee if necessary, otherwise to the vet in Rylstone on Wednesday, depending on how things progressed.

 

By the time we arrived home, a 5 minute trip in the car, the bandaid had parted company with Nolan’s foot altogether, and I encouraged him to lie quietly on his bed;  firstly I wanted him not to bump it, and also, it was still oozing at this stage, and I wanted him to only make a mess in one place. Eventually things calmed down, and it was obvious it was no longer bleeding.  I kept an eye on things, but by the end of Monday I had decided I would take him to the vets on Wednesday.  I didn’t think an urgent trip was necessary, but it definitely warranted further investigation;  this wasn’t behaving like any other abscess he’d had before.  To be honest it looked awful.

 

Wednesday came, and off we went, at the appointed time. We went through the usual carry on, with Nolan expecting attention and treats from the vet assistant;  and the usual kafuffle about him getting weighed.  We weighed his front half and his back half, we weighed his body but not his legs, they were hanging over, and eventually he got his act together and we weighed all of him!  I noticed this was a common problem with all the dogs there that day;  one dog refused to get on the scales altogether….she just lay down on her back, feet in the air, and had to be lifted on.  She was a fair size too, although thankfully not quite as large as Nolan….

 

Then it was his turn to go in, and he didn’t want to go….typical.  We got him in with a bit of encouragement, upon which he took off round the surgery smelling everything in sight.  Eventually he turned his attention to the vet, and then the vet was able to inspect his foot!  He agreed it was a nasty looking lesion….around the size of my thumb nail.  On closer inspection he found it was actually part of a pre-existing tumour (benign) on his foot.  We had known about this for a while, and were watching how it progressed.  Up till now it hadn’t caused a problem so we weren’t worried about it.  The vet said I think it might be time to remove this tumour….it’s become ulcerated.  It will be hard to get it to heal, and it will happen again.  If we remove all the tumour, it will be better for him in the long run.  He informed me because of the position of the ulcer and the tumour, he may have to remove part or all of the closest toe.  He won’t know for sure till he operates.  One good thing that would happen if part or all of the toe was removed is that it would provide extra skin for when he has to stitch things back together.There’s not a lot of spare skin on that part of his foot, and it would make things easier to close it all over.

 

He then gave Nolan a good going over to make sure he was still in good enough health to go through the operation.  He was pleased Nolan is fairly lean at the moment, because that would make things easier for all concerned. He assured me they would use a special anaesthetic appropriate for older dogs, to lessen the risk.  While this wouldn’t be considered an emergency, the vet felt it should be done as soon as possible….and I agreed.  So….after being bombarded with all this information, I went home to make the appointment!

 

I rang the Mudgee surgery, and made the appointment for the following Tuesday in Mudgee.  I had to have him up there between 9 and 9.30 am, and depending on how things go, he might be ready to pick up as early as lunch time, but quite likely not till 3 or 4 pm….so I will have to cool my heels for hours in Mudgee. Argh!  I’ll find a few things to do up there, and take a good book with me, and/or find a huge tv screen in a shop up there, hopefully with the paralympics on it!

 

I must admit though I’m not looking forward to the after care.  I have the feeling Nolan will be a less than ideal patient….he is very likely to try and remove his dressings/stitches, and I’m sure he’ll milk this situation for all he’s worth!  I’m hoping the vet will put an “elizabethan collar” on him….one of those things that will stop him reaching his foot and damaging his stitches.  I’m sure he won’t like it, but I don’t think he’d like to have to go back and have the vet repair any damage he inflicts on himself either! Rest assured….if he does wear one of those collars, there will be photos taken!

 

And I will keep you informed on his progress….

To update those who came in late….

 

This week Nolan had to have a tumour removed from his foot. It was a benign tumour, which had grown into one of the pads on his foot, and round the bones of one toe, and out the top, where it ulcerated.  The vet had to remove the affected toe.

 

I consider this to be a fairly major operation…I know if I had a toe amputated, I’d be a cot case, and carry on no end. Nolan on the other hand, once he’d recovered from his anaesthetic, came home, and acted as though he was wondering what all the fuss was about.  He didn’t even limp! As long as he still got his regular meals, and people were nice to him, he was happy….  I must admit, I think if I poked his foot he might have jumped a bit….

 

Of course once he had the dressing and bandages removed he got a bit enthusiastic about wanting to wash it, and as a preventative I put his elizabethan collar on.  This of course has caused its own set of problems, because it’s hard for him to get used to it;  but he carries on regardless. He finds it difficult to manoeuvre at times, and I have to insist on certain routes through the house and yard;  at times I actually have to push him back because he won’t fit with the collar on, so he can go a different way. He will walk up the hall, decide to turn round, and get stuck, so I have to get him to do a “three point turn” so he can go where he wanted to.  He keeps bumping into my legs with his collar, and I’m sure I’ll end up with endless bruises from it….but I’m counting down the days to when it can come off…

 

I’ve been touched by the number of people who have rung here or whom I have seen down the street, who have asked me how he is.  One lady actually came to the house to visit him!  He really is a loved dog.  One lady suggested I bring him to church with me today if I was worried about leaving him alone.  I didn’t have to….he’d got over his clinginess, and had settled back into his attitude of oh well Mum is going out, Mum will be back, I’ll just have a snooze.  I also knew he wouldn’t do anything to his stitches….the collar sees to that.

 

I am truly amazed at how well he has done, and continues to do.  There is always a risk with an anaesthetic, particularly to older animals….but Nolan has just bounced back.  He must have a fantastic constitution.  It will be another week or so before his stitches come out, but I am confident there will be no major glitches.

 

Around the same time that Nolan started having his adventures, I got an email from my elder daughter.  Where she lives, there are several dogs, and she has “inherited” the task of caring for them.  (I think it’s a case of like mother like daughter…)  One of the dogs she cares for is Daisy, Gypsy’s older half sister;  around the same size, but less like a toilet brush.  She also had a tumour, in fact this is the second one she’s had recently.  It also had to come out …it was benign but causing problems.  A big problem was that the vet had developed Parkinsons Disease, which made operating particularly difficult for him, so he would “save up” his surgical procedures, and get another vet to come and do it all for him.  So it happened poor Daisy had to wait almost to the end of the day before it was her turn in the operating theatre….and she hadn’t had anything to eat since the night before!  By the morning after the procedure she was ravenous!  The staff gave her some breakfast before she was picked up to come home, but that wasn’t enough;  when she arrived home she went through her starvation routine, and Julie gave her some breakfast.  Daisy is normally only fed once a day, but Julie felt very sorry for her, thinking she hadn’t had anything to eat for something like 36 hours. Daisy of course was delighted with two breakfasts…she was simply making up for lost time…

 

Like Nolan she has recovered well.  Julie said the only time there is a problem is if someone actually bumps her on the wound site….

 

I decided long ago that animals in general cope with medical problems much better than we humans…they have no hang ups, and just get on with getting better!

Shortly after my birthday, I noticed Nolan had some sort of tummy bug.  He had developed the trots, so I put him on bland food, and that seemed to help, but it didn’t quite get rid of it.  A few days later, the day before I was due to go to Sydney for my grandson’s birthday, Nolan got worse, and started vomiting.  I thought isn’t that typical?  I have to leave him with a babysitter when he’s not well!  Just like having babies again!  So I rang the vet and arranged to take him up to the vets in Mudgee.  It was a three quarter hour trip so I lined the back seat with towels, just in case, but Nolan got in the car quite happily and slept for the whole trip.  When we walked into the waiting room, Nolan seemed his usual happy self, and wagged his tail with enthusiasm.  He looked longingly at the assistant, hoping he might get a tidbit, but she apologised to him and said she’d better not in case he was sick again.  He looked disappointed, and looked hopefully at everyone that came into the waiting room.  The assistant then asked me to put him on the scales.  In true Nolan fashion, this turned out to be rather difficult, because he wanted to hang his front legs off the scales once he sat down…so the assistant had to be quick, noticing the weight!  I was rather horrified to notice he had lost about 5 kilos….11 pounds.

 

Then it was our turn to talk to the vet, so he licked his leg in way of greeting.  While I was talking to the vet he checked out the room, and found a place where many other dogs have relieved themselves, but we caught him just in time.  The vet clapped his hands, so Nolan decided maybe he shouldn’t add to the message list in that spot.  The vet checked him over and noticed his tummy was very sore, and prescribed him some tablets, and gave him an injection to counteract the vomiting.  He was also to eat nothing for 48 hours, to rest his tummy.  However, he was allowed to have a spoonful of porridge, or rice, to hide his tablets in.  We both knew he wouldn’t eat the tablets without disguising them.

 

I took him home, and wrote out detailed instructions for the baby sitter, and my mobile phone number in case of emergencies, and took him round to the babysitters, just before I was to leave for Sydney.  I had no phonecalls while I was away, so I hoped I was coming back to a dog that was at least no worse than when I left.  I went straight round to the babysitters when I got back, and found a very happy dog.  He was wagging his tail furiously and he was obviously better than when I left.

 

I kept him home from work the next day, just to be sure.  When he did return to work, it was with his usual enthusiasm and he greeted the residents with affection, after he’d made his usual detour to the food dish where he found some left over porridge.  But it was obvious that he still wasn’t quite right, even with him being back with his beloved “oldies”, and everyone taking extra care with what he ate.

 

Then over the weekend he was sick again, so I decided I should take him back to the vet.  Because the weather had turned hot, I decided seeing it didnt seem to be an emergency I would wait till the vet was down in Rylstone.  As usual he performed as though nothing was the matter with him, wagging his tail with such exuberance that he demolished a display from one of the shelves and licking the vet again when he met her.  Back on the scales, and the same routine….notice the weight before he hangs his feet over the edge!  His weight was still the same….so he hadn’t gained any.  Then into the vet!  When she attempted to feel his tummy he made it quite obvious he’d rather she didn’t.  He didn’t bite her, just tensed up so much she couldn’t feel anything.  So arrangements were made for me to take him to Mudgee on Friday.  He was to come on an empty tummy, because he would need to be sedated for the xrays and whatever else would need to be done, depending on what the xrays showed.  She was concerned that there may be an intestinal obstruction, and said that if one showed up on the xray, they would operate straight away and fix things up, and he would be able to go home after a few days convalescence and observation.  She mentioned that there was the possibility of cancer, but we wouldn’t decide on the options unless we really had to.

 

So Friday came, and I very carefully removed all the food and water so Nolan would go to the vets with an empty tummy.  Imagine my surprise after I’d had my shower and discovered he had found the cat’s dish (which still had a handful of cat bikkies).  I had thought it was completely out of his reach, but not so!  He had found it, put it on the floor, and demolished the bikkies…..argh!  So I rang the vet and told them (I got the impression this is not an unknown phenomenon) and they said bring him anyway.

 

I put Nolan in the car before he could eat anything else….like the cat’s kitty litter….and away we went.  He slept most of the way up and greeted the staff with his usual gusto.  Back on the scales….and he’d lost another kilo….two pounds.  I signed the appropriate paper work and left them my mobile number, so they could ring me when he was ready to be picked up, or the vet needed to talk to me. Around lunchtime, I got a call that he was ready, he had had his x rays, and the vet would talk to me when I picked Nolan up.  However, when I got there, they said, no he’s not ready, he needs to have blood tests, and then he will be ready, and the vet will talk to me.  The only definite thing I got out of them was he didn’t need any surgery.  I took that as a positive result, and went off to do more down the street.  By this time I had had enough of Mudgee.  Two hours is my limit with any sort of shopping, and it was over my two hours.  I was starting to unravel, so I went and got a chocolate muffin and an iced chocolate to drink.  That definitely helped, and recharged my batteries somewhat so I could do some window shopping.  I had done all the shopping I intended to do.  When I couldn’t find anything else I wanted to look at I went back to the vets, prepared to read a book till they were ready, but they brought Nolan out almost straight away.  He was very pleased to see me, but as wobbly as all get out, the poor bloke, so we retired to a corner of the room where he draped himself on the floor and went to sleep.  About ten minutes later, the vet came out and we discussed her findings.  She said nothing untoward had showed on the xrays, which meant there were no obstructions or tumours.  That was very positive, we both thought.  She had also taken blood, and hopefully the results for that would be back tomorrow, or failing that Monday.  She felt if nothing showed in those tests we would have to treat Nolan’s condition as the dog version of irritable bowel syndrome, which could be treated by diet and medication, so in the interim he should stay on his bland diet, and gradually increase the quantity and the different types of food over the next few days.

 

So….Nolan and I have to recover from the trip to Mudgee, and try to get some condition back on him, and get him well enough to return to work.  We also have to get through to the oldies….NO JUNK FOOD FOR NOLAN!!

I’m very pleased to be able to tell you that Nolan got a good result from his visit to the vet on Wednesday.  He has put on further weight, now approximately 5 pounds.  Although finding that out was a drama in itself;  it actually took four of us to organise it.  Left to himself, Nolan sat his back half on the scales, then got up, and put his front half on the scales.  I’m assuming he thought we could just add the two amounts together!  But no, we needed all of him to be on the scales at the one time!  The vet lifted him on, while one of the assistants and I made sure he put all his feet, tail etc on the scales, and didn’t hang anything over the edge.  The other assistant watched the display and told us what it ended up being.  We were all rather preoccupied…

 

Before this came to pass, I picked up the dog coat for him, that had been put aside.  I’ve already had to start putting a coat on him, and we haven’t had a frost yet!  So I thought I should get him another, and when the weather turns cold, he can wear both!  As it happens the coats were on special, and I got it half price!  We thought we should try it on him, just to be sure, and he got so excited when we were taking it out of the packet, he put his front paws up on the desk!  It’s been so long since he’s done anything like that….

 

We had our little fashion parade, and it was to my satisfaction.  Nolan couldn’t have cared less;  all he wanted was some treats.  However he had to wait, and he wasn’t too pleased about that.  First he had to be weighed….and then he had to have a blood test.  I had been given strict instructions by the vet that he was to have an early breakfast, so there would be a four hour break between his meal and the test.  So treats had to wait…

 

In we went to the consulting room, and the vet checked him over:  listened to his heart, and felt his tummy.  She asked me how he had been and smiled when I told her about the combat crawl incident.  Then we backed him into a corner and made him sit with no room to wag his tail, so she could take a small amount of blood to test his blood glucose level.  It’s rather hard trying to take blood from an animal whose tail is wagging the whole body…  She applied a drop of blood to the monitor, and the result soon showed in the display:  4.1.  We were hoping for 5 or 6, but 4.1 is fantastic compared to the last blood test result of 0.5!  Then we discussed changing his diet to include more protein and less carbohydrate.  This of course has to be done slowly and carefully, so to not strain his already sensitive tummy.  Nolan himself doesn’t care what he’s given, as long as it’s food!

 

So, consultation over and treats given, we came home with his new coat, after paying the bill (shudder), with instructions to have a weight check in a fortnight, and to see her again in a month…and I have to institute his new diet.  Since then he’s been pretty well, except for Saturday when he seemed a bit flat.  Today he has been good again, with a joy for life and the old sparkle in his eye….in between snoozes.

 

Just so I don’t forget I have a cat as well as Nolan, Max has been getting excited lately.  The other day he caught a mouse in the back yard.  Of course the mouse didn’t survive, and I saw Max dining on said mouse.  At least he didn’t make a present of it to me on the doorstep!  I told him he was a good boy for catching the mouse, and I think it’s gone to his head….

 

This morning I was just about to leave for church, and I noticed Max had got out of the house (I’d left the back door ajar in case of Nolan needing to make an emergency visit to the back yard) and was meandering up the front drive across the road to wreak havoc amongst the rabbits that live there.  I was just about to get out and bring him back, when I noticed a dog approaching him at a rate of knots.  This dog was a stranger to me, and obviously to Max.  Max just kept on going, and didn’t turn round till the dog was only a few feet away.  He then turned round, glared at the dog, fluffed himself right up (that long hair comes in handy), and spat.  The poor dog literally back pedalled!  He obviously thought….oh!  a cat!  I can chase him!…and didn’t realise this cat would stand up for himself….

 

So the dog, crestfallen, went home.  Max obviously thought better of his intended raid on the rabbits and came home too.  He wandered back across the road, glaring at all and sundry, walked across the front yard till he found his chosen means of entry, where there’s a little bit of fence a bit lower than the rest, and jumped into the back yard.  Just as he did, another dog appeared on the scene!  Good timing on Max’s part, I think.

 

Then….this afternoon…..he caught another mouse!  Max the mighty hunter and warrior!

While my sister was here, Nolan was beside himself with joy.  Here was an extra person to lean on, to lick, to receive pats from.  He could barely contain himself!  I might add though, that the three animals found life fairly confusing at times.  We humans kept disappearing!  This meant that the various animals kept having to be shipped off to baby sitters…to such an extent that the animals literally didn’t know whether they were coming or going!  They’d no sooner come home, than they would be back at the babysitters.  I got the distinct impression when I went to pick them up that they were asking, well yes, lovely to see you….but are you just visiting or are we REALLY going home?  So…when my sister went home, while they missed her…I got the distinct impression they were pleased to be home….and to be staying home!

 

We stayed put for a few days before I even went down the street to do shopping (I needed the rest too) and it was a week or so before we could say we were back in any sort of routine.  Then it was back to the normal routine of taking Nolan for a bath, visiting the oldies, shopping, and such normal pastimes.  Well that was the intention….Nolan went for his bath alright….but when I went to pick him up, the lady who did the bathing was in a bit of a tizz, because she had found a tick on Nolan’s neck!  I have lived in Rylstone nearly 40 years, and I had never heard of a pet in town getting a tick.  I had spent most of my school years on the coast, and there had been plenty of ticks, there….paralysis ticks…nasty little critters, and I had known dogs and cats die from them because the ticks’ presence hadn’t been found in time.  Fortunately, Nolan’s tick was a “bush, or cattle” tick.  I knew native animals wandering round in the bush got them…I had seen them on echidnas and wombats;  and I knew cattle got them, but this was the first one I had seen on a “domestic” animal in Rylstone.  First time for everything I suppose!  Well, the tick was removed, but I thought if he’s had one, he could get another….so….I went straight to the vet to get the appropriate preventative stuff before I went home.  I decided I would get the combined tick and flea applications for all three animals;  there wouldn’t be much point in just treating one animal.  Nolan of course was quite happy to be taken into the vets….he was going to talk to people!

 

I was quite surprised when I got there to discover the vet was actually there.  Normally it is staffed by a vet assistant, but she was having some time off.  There was a shortage of assistants to replace her, as they were all needed elsewhere (this vet has several branch surgeries), so this vet had come down from Mudgee to take the assistant’s place, temporarily.  She was on “light duties”, as she was recovering from an accident.  She was able to give me the medication I needed for the animals, and agreed with what I intended to do.  I also asked her to make me an appointment for Nolan next week, as he was due for his booster injections.  She said, oh we can do that now if you like, just bring Nolan through into the surgery.  Nolan suddenly lost interest in being at the vets, and headed for the exit door.  I insisted he go where he was supposed to, and he obeyed….grudgingly.  However, once in the surgery, he behaved impeccably as she gave him a thorough checkover, then his injection.  Then she gave him a treat.  Nolan suddenly had a new best friend!

 

We went back out into the waiting room to pay the account only to discover the computer was out.  So the vet wrote down each item that she would need to charge for and told me she’d get the vet assistant to send me the bill once she was back, and the computer was back on line.

 

So Nolan and I went back home;  I wanted my lunch, and Nolan wanted a nap.  I had almost finished my lunch when the phone rang.  It was the vet again;  because the computer was down and she hadn’t been able to check Nolan’s records, she hadn’t given him his heartworm treatment….so I organised to bring him back down later that afternoon when I would have some mail to post.  Nolan was pleased to go for another drive, although not so impressed when he had to go back into the surgery at the vets.  He was however a good boy while he had the injection, and of course wonderfully co-operative when the treats came out.  Seeing the computer was back on line , she was able to give me the bill….so I left there considerably poorer.  We went home again, and both Nolan and I needed naps by this!

 

The next day, I took Nolan to visit his oldies.  He was delighted to be back there….I hadn’t taken him while my sister was here, and the residents and staff were as pleased to see him as he was to see them.  He visited just about everyone there, and leant on them all, and nearly dried himself out the amount of licking he did.  He visited the court yard as well, and watered their grass for them….he had to make sure that the hostel grounds smelled right…. Then I took him home….he had had a fairly full couple of days, and he was exhausted.  In fact, apart from meals, he slept nearly the whole time for the next three days!

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….

A couple of weeks ago, I had been out for the evening, and returned home just after midnight.  I was tired, and got myself ready for bed quickly, and settled off into bed with a book for the few minutes necessary for me to drop off to sleep.  I suppose I had been asleep for 10 minutes, when a beeping noise awoke me.  I wasn’t sure what it was in my sleepiness, and started to drop off again, when there was another beep!  And then Nolan arrived at my bedside!  Even without his arrival I had come to the reluctant conclusion I would have to get out of bed and find out what on earth was making this noise, because I knew I wouldn’t sleep, and his rather large presence wasn’t about to help my grumpiness!  I’m never at my best in the middle of the night to say the least….

 

So I dragged myself out of the bed and ordered Nolan out of the room.  He didn’t want to go anywhere!  He wanted to stay with his mummy….but his mummy didn’t really need this rather large galoot as a shadow at (by this time) 1 in the morning, when my enfeebled brain was struggling to work out what was happening.  Accompanied by mumbling and interspersed with orders for Nolan to get out my road, I got my step ladder.  I had worked out, with some difficulty that the noise was coming from one of the smoke alarms.  I have two, and why on earth I need two I have no idea.  I suppose I should think myself lucky I haven’t got three…seeing I have three bedrooms!… All they ever seem to do is tell me I have burnt the toast….after I’ve eaten it!

 

Anyway, I managed to get the ladder under the offending smoke alarm, with great difficulty, because Nolan kept standing right where I wanted to be, or put the ladder.  I kept telling him to leave me alone, because then I could stop the noise quicker!  He wasn’t listening, however, so I just mumbled away, and got up the ladder.  My brain by this stage had kicked in enough for me to know I had to get the battery out, because I knew I didn’t have a replacement, but not enough to remember how to do it.  And of course once I got up there and looked at it carefully, I still couldn’t remember…argh!  So down I came, and moved the ladder to inspect the other one, and of course there was Nolan, my shadow…..

 

By this time I had given up counting to ten; I was well on my way to a hundred!  But by inspecting the other smoke alarm, and fiddling with it, I remembered how to undo it!  Eureka!  So I removed the battery in the second smoke alarm, just in case it decided it was time to let me know it was running out too, and went back to the first one.  Nolan was there again, but I was in a fractionally better frame of mind now, and didn’t tell him off quite so loudly this time…

 

At last, both batteries were out, I put the ladder away….and I was awake!  I knew there was no point going to bed, so I turned on the computer to check my emails.  Nolan was still not going to leave my side, so it was probably a good thing I was awake, and he came with me into the back room where the computer is.  He sat near me while I was “winding down”, and eventually went to sleep.  By this time, I also felt tired again, turned off the computer, and went back to bed.  A few minutes with my book and I finally drifted off to sleep.

 

I slept in the next day….

As Nolan has got older, and particularly since he was diagnosed with Addison’s Disease, he has had issues with slipping over, and the fact that his back legs no longer work as well as when he was a young dog.  One of the things he has trouble with is getting into the car.  He used to spring in, but these days it’s one leg at a time, with me pushing.  He always looks very pleased once he’s made it in.  On the odd occasion he has the energy to spring in, but the back legs let him down.  The front half make the leap successfully, but the back half does a belly flop on the seat, with the legs hanging out of the car.  Typical of Nolan, he just picks himself up, and wriggles his legs in, then sits on the back seat looking happy to be going somewhere.  Unfortunately it’s such an effort getting him into the car these days, it’s usually only to go to the vet, or to the doggie beauty salon for his bath….

 

He has also found difficulties keeping his footing under periods of stress.  The first time was when he decided one night, about 3 am, that he would inspect the kitty litter.  He prefers to do this after the cat has made a “deposit” or two.  I really wonder about his tastebuds….but I think it’s a doggie thing, the more disgusting the better.  I heard him heading across the floor to the laundry, where the kitty litter lives, and startled him when I roared at him from my bedroom to go back to bed.  He tried to go into reverse, but knocked some brooms over instead, and slipped over on the laundry tiles.  By the time I dragged myself out of bed to investigate the strange noises emanating from the laundry, he was doing a battle crawl across the laundry floor and looking rather stressed.  I helped him up, and he hightailed it straight to bed!

 

He had a similar “trip” a few days ago.  About a week ago, he had one of his regular mild tummy upsets, and I put him on a bland diet.  Even though he gets plenty to eat on this bland diet, it never lasts him quite as long as his normal diet, and he gets quite anxious approaching meal time.  This particular time, I prepared his meal and started to take it outside for him.  He had been eagerly awaiting it, and, as his wont, started to race for the back door.  However, when he did his usual pirouette to get himself facing in the right direction, he lost his footing, and went splat on the floor, with his four legs out to both sides.  This time he wasn’t anxious, except for his dinner, and he scrambled back up into a standing position and took off for the door again.  As he got up, he quickly shot a look at me, as if to say, “You didn’t see that did you??”  Of course I was having great difficulty keeping a straight face, and dissolved into laughter as I followed him to the back door.  I opened the door, still giggling, and he rushed out, and took up his “feeding position” and waited, drooling, as I put the bowl in front of him.  He didn’t care whether I was laughing or not as he wolfed it down.  I don’t think it hit the sides!

 

Then this evening, I was eating my pumpkin soup and rice crackers as I watched some tv.  Nolan of course was on “vulture” duty next to the chair, in the “drop” position, just in case I decided he could have some too.  I might add he didn’t share HIS dinner with me…. I got up to take my plate to the kitchen and get my next course of some fruit.  He decided it was imperative that he went with me.  I’m not sure what he thought was going to happen in that short distance to the next room…perhaps I was going to give him some food?  Again he had difficulty getting his footing, but at least this time he didn’t actually do anything too indecorous.  He just scrabbled around for a few minutes before he got to his feet, and padded out after me.  When he saw nothing exciting (as in food) was going to happen, he gave up and went to sleep, and that’s where he is now, snoring happily near the heater.

 

Nolan is the eternal optimist…the fact that various parts of his anatomy no longer work as well as they once did is of no consequence to him.  Life must go on, and he must get his food!  Shame we can’t all find life so simple….