Dog Health

Bailey is nearly recovered from his surgeries. The swelling of his manly jewels has come done and he can now walk without looking like he's been in a saddle for 4 months. The incision on his stomach had the stitches removed yesterday afternoon. There are still some stitches on the inside but I d believe he is well on his way to recovery. He didn't get any infections and the hair on his chest will grown back.

What you ask does all this mean and why should I care?

This dog is a spaz. He is a 10 month old golden Labrador and is taken for at least 2 walks/day for at least 2 miles/each. He also swims daily in the river. He then is tolerable in the evenings.

During his infirm, he could not be exercised to the desired degree of exhaustion and we nearly all had a nervous breakdown. He actually knocked Abigail over on 3 different occasions.

Yesterday afternoon and last night was a different story. Marc took him to work with him (to different client's offices-the ones who don't care) and then ran him ragged. He laid down about 6:30 pm in his bed and didn't move a muscle.

To be fair, that's what we all did!

Post Op Bailey

Bailey succesffuly underwent the scapel yesterday. He had is gonads removed and a lmp on his tummy. The vet is not entirely certain about what the lump was. They believe it might be "scar tissue". But how a healthy 10 month old puppy got scar tissue on his tummy is a big mystery. We'll be sending that off to the lab for tests.

He is miserable. He hates the collar. He can't run. He can't pick up his chew toys. He keeps bumping into everything. He is whining and crying. He can't run and play. He is feeling quite sorry for himself.

We took the collar off of him for about 15 minutes last night and he immediately starting licking and caused some bleeding to one of his wounds so the collar went straight back on.

Poor little guy.

No More Balls

Today our dog, Bailey has an operation. THE operation. Snip! Snip! Off they come, hi ho hi ho hi ho! I'm hoping he will set an example of courage for Marc.

We take Bailey into the vet between 8-8:30 this morning and pick him up this evening after 5:30.

Now allegedly I will get back a calmer more manageable dog. I can only hope for a miracle.

This is a routine op. Like humans, however, even routine ops carry a degree of risk. So, say a wee prayer to Bailey. Balls, no more!

Random Act of Kindness

HUGE THANKS to Clare & Michael Workman for the wonderful care package which arrived in the post today. It came at just the right moment!

I picked up Seb and Hetta, one of his school mates, at school. I dropped Hetta off at her home and picked up Abigail. We went home to pack our swimming kit for Seb's swim lesson. We walked in the door to discover that Bailey had diarrhea all over his cage and the floor just outside the cage. He had obviously worked very hard to avoid soiling his own bed but didn't seem to care one little bit about my pristine kitchen floor.

As I was cleaning the mess up, our neighbour, Simon, popped round with the package. He dropped it on the counter and left obviously disgusted with the smell!

I finished disinfecting the kitchen and got our swimming gear packed. Whilst I waited for Marc to arrive home I opened up this box to find Mac & Cheese, Goldfish crackers, instant iced tea and the creme de la creme - Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. I sang for joy! I can't even begin to tell you how delightful this was.

Clare & Michael - You are simply the best! Can hardly wait for your visit in September!

May Photo Album

A Girl and Her Dog

Pictures of Damage

More wind damage in the Queen's Home Park (near Windsor Castle). Marc came across this fallen tree whilst taking Bailey for a walk. That's Bailey surveying the damage.

Good news is the crew from the sinking ship have all been safely rescued and returned to shore.

More pictures of the weather chaos.....BBC Pictures