WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

[Stanley]

HNe's got down now and gone behind the chair. Making funny noises....

[Stanley]

At about noon he decided he wanted to do what we usually do at about that time, go to bed. He went upstairs and jumped on the bed unaided and is still there. He has had two hours quiet sleep up to now. I'll see if he comes down by himself.....
This nursing is wearing.......

[Stanley]

I was worried because although Jack has had two bowel movements he hadn't peed for over 24 hours. Last night on a small trot out to the front street he had an enormous pee, clear, no blood in it so that's a big worry off my mind. He hasn't drunk any water yet but that will come. We both had a good sleep last night, normal routine, he had a couple of hours on the sofa and then came upstairs to sleep next to my head. He has no difficulty jumping up on to the bed or coming downstairs. We see the Barlick vet at 09:20 this morning.
He's doing as well as can be expected and improving slowly. If he doesn't have a set back in the next two days I think he is going to survive. I am improving with him..... but this 24X7 nursing is wearing! By the way, I've eaten hardly anything but enough!

[Stanley]

Update.... We've just been out for a short trot on the Green, he wanted to go, his routine kicking in! He moved well had several pees and one small firm bowel movement! I know I'm besotted but that's made my day!

[Marilyn]

He just needs to drink. He may be avoiding it because his neck is sore. Mention it to the vet. They may want to give him a quick squirt of IV fluids. He needs fluids to flush his antibiotics through.
Glad to hear he is coming good though.
Any news of the other dog?

[Stanley]

Maz, he had his first drink this morning before we went out and several little pees. His fluids are OK I think and water is moving through him and not diluting his stool any more. All his functions are normal now and I feel a lot better about him.
The last that was seen of the other dog is when it was removed from the street after the attack. The dog warden and the police are on the case and will be making a visit and then informing me of what's happening
They were asking what measures I was considering in respect of getting the owner to pay. I told them that at the moment my attitude is to keep as far away from the family as possible and I shall pay myself. For one thing this keeps everything simple. I've been a customer of the practice for over 60 years and we have decided to wait until treatment is over and bill on one invoice. At the moment the total bill is £73.10 which I think is very reasonable and I can cope with it. Can you imagine the hassle of trying to get blood out of a stone? As I say, at the moment I don't find that attractive.

[Marilyn]

If you want to take care of the bill that's fine, but perhaps it could be strongly suggested to the dog owner that he may very much like to make an ( affordable) donation to the vet's practice? He shouldn't get off entirely Scot free...and I'm sure the vet could put a £20/£30 donation to some use...even if it's just to help pay the leccy bill for keeping sick pets warm!

[Stanley]

Maz, you don't know the family. They are the neighbours from hell and would no more 'donate' money than respond to an invoice. It's a can of worms I am not prepared to open, instead I am working with the police and the Dog Warden to make life thoroughly uncomfortable for them by getting the council to do whatever is in their power. There are times in this life when keeping stumm is the best policy......
By the way, son in law Mick, who is formidable, has told me that if I get any trouble from them all I have to do is let him know...... That's a considerable threat, he is a big strong lad and very well trained! Nothing like having your own personal minder if the need arises.

[Marilyn]

Mmmmmm...I wouldn't go down THAT road either!
But if he just came and knocked on your door to say Sorry and check on Jack's health, it would likely go a long way to healing on both sides I reckon. Maybe it's just an Aussie thing, but gestures like that speak volumes here.

[Marilyn]

I was taking my son's Labrador for a walk when she was staying with us for a fortnight. ( you know what Labradors are like...just fat happy humans in a fur coat. Abby doesn't have an aggressive cell in her body). I was walking in the street, and saw this aggressive looking dog with its hackles up...looked like a jackal, salivating, with a fixed look, and fixed on Abby. I called out to the owner, who was distracted putting rubbish in his bin. I manoeuvred myself to get between Abby and the rabid dog just in case. Luckily the owner yelled at his dog, the dog's demeanour changed instantly and he put his tail between his legs and scuttled to the rear of the house. But he was going to have Abby. No doubt in my mind. But he wasn't going to get past me to my beloved fur-grandchild. Abby wouldn't have understood the aggression. Like I said, she is just a happy-go-lucky Labrador. She doesn't even bark.

[Stanley]

That's the problem Maz..... (I'd hate to see you if the red mist descended!)
We've seen Ginny the vet and she is very pleased with Jack, she reckons I doing all the right things. Susan visited and minded me at the vets, she's gone now so Jack and I are off to bed for a sleep. I broke a house rule and fed him a sausage...... I had a steak pudding....

[Marilyn]

Oh...the red mist has descended on occasion in life...worry not! It has indeed happened. But I really have to have my buttons pushed hard and repeatedly. Some things I will not yield to...and I reach the point where enough is enough. I'm a totally different personality to my husband, who was once a flaming redhead ( with Scottish ancestry) and he can still fly off the handle though he now has silver hair ( and yes...the carpet now matches the curtains in case you were wondering!).

[Wendyf]

Relieved to hear that both you and Jack are recovering from your ordeal , a few good sleeps and you will be back on form.
I once attempted to wring a hen's neck in the heat of the moment.....she had developed a taste for blood and had opened up a wound for herself on my cockerel' s neck. He would stand there and let her do it so I put her in a run by herself to allow him to heal but blow me down if I didn't find him pressed up against the netting offering his neck up to the bloodthirsty hen! I saw red and attempted murder, but didn't have the knack, luckily an elderly neighbour came to our rescue.

[PanBiker]

Came across your truobles last night but battery failed on the tablet so couldn't reply. What a horrible thing to happen but glad Jack and yourself are oñ the mend. Continue to look after yourselves,

[Stanley]

Thanks to all of you. I am very worried this morning because he's blowing small bubbles out of the open wound on his neck in time with his breathing. This signals to me that the wound in his trachea is still open. I think we are on a knife edge. Not panicking but he's very uneasy and I am watching him. Physically in terms of his movement he's good but this hole is the key I think. Very worried about him...... We are nowhere near out of the wood yet!

[Stanley]

Update. We have had a short walk onto the Green. Jack is moving well and peed and had one small crap. firm stool. I have just given him his ABs and washed the wound in his neck with Dettol and warm water. I gave him a morning treat of a sliced savage and he wolfed it.
By the way, Lisette, the daughter of Lucille over the road who rang the police nabbed Susan as she was crossing the Pioneer car park on her way home. She asked after Jack and told Susan that the big dog has been disappeared and the small dog is to go shortly. I have passed this on to Neill Wallin.

[Marilyn]

Hubby isn't well, thanks to a chest infection, left behind by last weekend's visitors. Poor fellow has been coughing his lungs up for days. I seem to have evaded the plague, but the way he is coughing, I could be living in a fool's paradise! Time will tell.
Today he thought he felt well enough to drive about an hour to a bigger choice of shops. We needed a few things that were proving difficult to get locally. After coughing all the way there, I thought he needed a sit down and a coffee, backed up by a Ham and Cheese Croissant. No sooner was our money snapped into the til, the fire alarm sounded in the shopping centre, followed by the whooping "evacuate" siren. We all piled out to the street while the fire brigade arrived. It's not as if we could go anywhere! Our car was trapped in the evacuated undercroft park! Hubby started looking even more "peaky" whilst in the muster area. Eventually we were allowed back inside and went to claim our lunch...which was horrible...I think they had left the croissants in the warmer the entire time. They were dry and almost inedible! We went home after that and hubby is now curled up on the couch. He managed a couple of slices of toast for tea ( with thinly sliced cheese and HP sauce).
Hope he feels better tomorrow.

[Stanley]

Give him my best Maz. Make sure you keep his bowels and bladder working.....

[Marilyn]

Oh...I think that goes above and beyond the call, Stanley. I can hand him a glass of water and make sure he drinks it, but I'm not sure he will appreciate scrutiny of his bladder and bowel when he has a chest infection and just feels like zoning out on the couch due to coughing for days and lack of sleep.
And if I end up getting the plague, I won't answer any bladder or bowel questions either!
I've made him a Hot Toddy, with Whisky, Lemon, Hot Water and 2 Disprin. He seems to be enjoying it. He can get himself a drop of Cough Mixture before bed. He will survive.

[Moh]

Update. Looking on the bright side and expecting to bring Jack home today I have scrubbed the harness I used in the early days when he was pulling on the lead. I think it will be better than a neck collar putting pressure on the wound. Fingers crossed!!

All dogs should be walked on a harness instead of a collar - no chance of damaging the throat., we were told this by the vet.
Sorry to hear about Jack - hope he goes on OK.

[Stanley]

Thanks Moh.
Update.... So far so good. We have had our sleep and now we go forward again.....

[Cathy]

Good to hear positive reports about Jack.
How is Your wound Stanley??

[Stanley]

Thanks for asking Cathy. Nothing to report, looks a bit angry but it's not festering. No pain, I should say it's healing nicely...... He missed the bone so that's good. Just taking Jack out for a little walk then tea for him......

[Stanley]

We both have had a good night, slept right though. Jack has had a pee and I tricked him with a sausage with his AB buried in it. Throat not bubbling, wound appears to have closed. I am not messing with it, I shall just wash it with Dettol and warm water later. His neck doesn't appear to be as swollen with air, but again I'm not messing with it. I'm hoping the hole in his trachea as closing..... we shall see. On the whole, progress I think.Watch, wait, pray and lots of TLC.
Kitchen looks like an Emergency Ward, Dettol, pills cotton wool balls...... Duvet cover has bloodstains on it from the last few days, it might be worth washing it today....... (His breathing isn't as noisy this morning)
Later at 06:00.... Later.... We've had a Nice leisurely walk on the Green. Jack has done his pees and a crap. His crap over the last two days is black, I think it's the antibiotics. When we got back I gave him a sliced sausage and washed his wound with Dettol and hot water, a big black scab detached itself and the wound appears to be closed. This isn't bothering me because the air swelling on his neck has not enlarged. In addition I have two duvet covers in the washer on a hot wash. Standards are being maintained!
Remember my complaints about the cats crapping in the loose patch in the back street outside my back gate? I trod in some yesterday, horrible! This morning there were two fresh deliveries! If you can't beat them, join them, so I have bagged it and put it in the bin and I will go out now and give it a dose of Jeyes and hot water....

[Stanley]

I've just had a lovely experience.... I was hanging the duvet covers out in the back yard and a worried face popped up over the back wall. It was a young Asian man and he asked me if I knew of a shop that was open, they had had an accident and spilt what milk they had. I told him he was on a sticky wicket in Barlick on a Sunday Morning, I couldn't think of anywhere (Come to think One Stop might be open). Anyway I told him to hang on a minute and got a 4 pint bottle of milk out of my fridge, unopened and gave it to him telling him not to pay me but replace it when it was convenient. I'm not telling you this to boost myself but to let you know what his reaction was. I have just posted on public service cuts that we shouldn't forget people who are in trouble....
His face lit up. He took the bottle and shook my hand and said he wished there were more like me. I told him about Jack and the help I have had over the last four days and that he should ignore the people who treat him badly and recognise that the good guys far outweighed them, all he had to do was find them. He said he was called Charlie and asked me what my name was and shook my hand again. I told him he ought to be an Ahmed or something like that and we had a good laugh. He went back home to Bank Street in a far better state than he arrived and I was so glad I had been there as he was passing. A bit of good will and thought passed on, Just think of what a difference that could make to him and his family in so many ways.
It's done me good as well, I have been able to put a bit back in.....