The dog is unwell. I fear it may be pancreatitis. He has been in quite a bit of pain, sick, not eating etc. etc. I took him to the vet's on Monday, the day it all started out of the blue. They gave him some painkiller and anti-nausea medication and told me to pop back in the morning. He was really zonked out from the painkiller, but picked up a bit on Wednesday. They told me to pop back if he didn't improve.
He was eating on Thursday, but then worse on Friday, so I popped back in. He now has two to three doses of painkiller to have each day by liquid, to be put on his gums !!!, two painkilling tablets to be popped into his mouth and two doses of anti-nausea medication, also to be popped into his mouth.
He is not at all keen on any of this popping stuff in. The middle boy and I are in charge of application. It takes ten minutes of quite vigorous wrestling and we're all a bit sweaty and stressed by the end of it all. Only another 18 tablets to go.
I shall probably end up popping back into the vet's next week. A vast amount of money has already popped out of my bank account. When the nice woman behind the desk told me how much it was on Friday (examination fee, blood tests, injections, tablets, liquids, tins of special food) she did it in the voice of someone expecting hysteria on the part of the customer. I manned up and just shoved my card in the machine, although my knees did buckle slightly as I put in the PIN. Happily I do have insurance, although of course the premium will be shocking. I am trying not to think about it.
In the meantime, I am rather missing my dog walks. It always feels like a really good start to the day, but somehow without a dog it wouldn't be the same. Fingers crossed he's on the mend soon.
I've been enjoying all the early signs of spring about the place. I bought a ridiculous little plastic pot of crocuses from the garden centre a while back because I felt sorry for them. They'd all sort of fallen over one side of the pot and I just felt that no-one else would want them. Anyway, one of them is in flower and it's made me very happy. I have also been cruising Ebay looking for a nice snowdrop.
I bought a load of bare root strawberries as well, which turned out to be a bit of a mistake as I was very short of time and they were delivered really quickly. I have just plopped them into pots for now.
The birds are singing like mad out there, and getting through pounds of sunflower hearts. The frogs are on the move, although sadly I had to scoop a dead one out of the pond on Monday (it was quite a day). And there are green buds everywhere. It's been a bit of a tricky start to the year here, but I'm ploughing on regardless and taking the time to enjoy these little things. Hope all is well at your end. CJ xx
I am so sorry to hear about your dog, and everything else that comes with ailing pets, including vet bills, forcing meds, and general worry and concern. I'll be thinking of you, and him. Thank goodness for flowers, and signs of spring... I think many of us are depending on blossoms for encouragement.
ReplyDeleteOh no, poor darling Bertie! I hope that he recovers quickly - not least because of the effect on your bank balance. Vet bills are extortionate! That's a lot of medication to pop in a dog's mouth; shame someone can't develop a sausage-flavoured analgesic.
ReplyDeleteI'm guilty of buying plants from the 'sad corner' at the garden centre too. You can get a real bargain if they manage to pull through.
Great excitement here this morning when a fawn managed to get itself stuck behind our log store. We had to empty it all out so we could pull it forwards and release the poor thing. The rest of the day was a bit of an anticlimax after that! Happy pill popping! xx
oh cj, my thoughts of comfort (if possible) are with you.
ReplyDeleteSending positive wellness thoughts to Bertie and encouraging ones to you. All the bad stuff happens together doesn’t it. At least the garden is creaking back to life and Bertie hopefully will be back on his walking schedule soon. Meanwhile cyber hugs to you all. B x
ReplyDeleteGood to see you posting again but sorry to read that Bertie is unwell, and I hope that he gets better soon.
ReplyDeleteThe strawberries should be okay until you get round to planting them out.
I'm okay thanks, and hope that your tricky start to the year will improve.
Take care. xx
Oh no, poor Bertie. I hope he gets better quickly and makes a full recovery. Such a shame dogs are not very good with understanding the subtleties of human language because if they did, administering medicine would not be so difficult. I sympathise with the bravery that is required to input that pin code at the vets. I haven't added up our recent vet bills but I estimate >£1000 in the last two weeks... I am also glad to have insurance. I love all those subtle signs of spring, bird singing and all. I am currently in a war of attrition with our two resident squirrels - keeping them out of my tulip container is no mean feat. I might be losing but I'll try to distract them with a full container of peanuts. Give Bertie a cuddle from me xx
ReplyDeleteI hope Bertie gets well soon, it's awful to see them unwell, especially if they're in pain. Tablets wrapped in a little bit of corned beef, or smushed into a small cube of cheese works well, ask how I know, haha. Yes, insurance is all well and good but you pay for it when it comes to renewal. We're now paying just shy of £2k per year for Archie's insurance, an eye watering amount.
ReplyDeleteI do hope Bertie gets well soon, it’s a worry when they are sick. Insurance companies use the trick of luring you in and trapping you and then rocketing premiums. So far the one we have now is more reasonable. When we had Tivvy they went up so much that we swapped despite the not insuring existing complaints clause. Ruby treats any tablets as treats but Tivyy used to hide tablets in her mouth and spit them out later. You remind me of my sister she feels sorry for ailing plants,
ReplyDeleteOh dear...poor Bertie. I hope he recovers soon...pancreatitis is no laughing matter. I feel you on the vet bill...we joke that ours will be breaking ground on the Emma-dog Wing this spring. Vet insurance here is pretty much a scam -- I know this from working in a vet's office and being told by the company rep that their primary purpose is to never pay out on a claim. Shocking.
ReplyDeleteLots of love to you all...and tell Bertie he needs to be brave and take his medicine. xo
Poor boy, it breaks your heart seeing them so poorly. Healing wishes being sent his way x
ReplyDeletePoor Bertie, hope he bounces back soon. Vet fees are eye watering, I worked in that field for some years and hated it when it was my stint on reception having to say what the bill had totted up to
ReplyDeleteeeek😬
Oh lovey, poor Bertie. And poor you. It's horrible when our pets are ill, so worrying. I hope he makes a swift and full recovery.
ReplyDeleteThose little signs of green and spring are very heartening at a time when you need it most. I hope everything gets better. Txx
Hoping the woofer is on the mend. Xx
ReplyDeleteoh no poor dog. Just read Christina's blog post about her cat and then came over here! I have been at the vets with Beano this week too. He has an abscess on his paw from a couple of grass seeds I removed last week. If only our pets could tell us what the bother is, it might save us a few test costs eh? We are wrapping antibiotic tablets in cheese! Hope he picks up a bit. Jo xx
ReplyDeleteAh, it's awful when our pets are unwell, isn't it? We like all of our family members to stay fit and healthy, and I know exactly what you mean about the dog walks. School holidays upset my dog walking routine and the days don't feel quite the same. Beautiful photos of the sky! xx
ReplyDeleteAw poor dog. He looks so poorly. I have been grappling with vet visits too this week. Sending you good vibes for Bertie. Jo x
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