A perfectly horrible day

 My Polly is a big 'ol hairy bird. Her coat is dense, soft and gloriously wavy. Thankfully, despite all the fluff and fidgeting whenever I brush her, I noticed a lump deep down on her chest about four weeks ago. It didn't seem to bother her when I tentatively felt around it, so I left it for a couple of weeks hoping it might disappear on its own. But it didn't. It didn't grow, but it didn't go away either.

Polly

The day arrived a couple of weeks later, when I finally scraped together enough courage to make an appointment to see our vet. He too felt the lump, checked Polly over thoroughly while she waited politely and then pronounced that said lump, probably a benign fatty lump, must be removed and examined... just in case. 

Back home after her op, sleeping off the anaesthetic, with Betty by her side.

So yesterday was lump removal day. Before we set off in the car, we did what my dogs like to do in the morning. We played. We rolled around together on the living room rug, playing tug, bitey face and scratchy bum and we had heaps of daft fun. Hopefully enough fun to last us until Polly's lump-less chest recovers from surgery and we can play 'dog' again...

Coronavirus connundrums make veterinary practices uncomfortable places to visit in pandemic times. On arrival yesterday morning, it was pouring hard with rain, so hidden behind my soggy face mask, we waited on the Vet's doorstep until he opened the door and invited us to step inside to a designated waiting area. It was clear to me Polly was anxious as she kept giving me her paw to hold while we dutifully waited ... I'm really not sure who was comforting who! To help with Polly's anxiety in the waiting room, I decided not to take the traditional option of sitting and waiting politely, instead I put Poll through her doggy paces ... sit, stand, down, sit, give paw, other paw, walk to heel etc etc... keeping her busy to take her mind off all things worrying, until the vet came back with the pre-med injection. Thankfully it seemed to work and she obliged me with a rather neat routine.

Once Polly had been given the pre-med to relax her and I had signed the inevitable disclaimer, I was then relieved of a hefty deposit and sent on my way with my girl's eyes boring a hole in the back of my head from a wire cage as I was ushered out through the front door. For me, this was the most agonising moment. After building Polly's trust for seven and a half years, it was the moment we both knew I had broken that trust. I sat outside in my car and promptly burst into tears as I drove away. 

Never underestimate the emotional impact of these moments in your life as a dog owner... believe me, they hurt like hell.

Dad is home from work and despite her pain and confusion, 

Polly is delighted to see him.

Back home I was greeted by a waggy tailed Betty who didn't seem to mind that Polly hadn't come home with me, she just wanted a walk. It was still pouring hard but a deal is a deal when it comes to dog ownership, so out into the rain we went. It was a good call, Betty's exhuberance cheered me up and the rain meant no one else had been silly enough to go out, so we had the park to ourselves and didn't have to explain to any other of our regular dog walking pals, where our poor Polly was.

The vet called at 1pm to tell me Polly was in recovery after her surgery and could be collected. Relief swept over me as I raced to grab my car keys. A glassy-eyed Polly gave a hesitant wag with the tip of her tail when she heard me enter the recovery room. Through my joy at finding her sitting up and looking for me, I didn't absorb much of what the vet said to me except that he thought the lump was probably 'just a fatty lump' but we would need to wait 12 days for the histology findings to confirm this. He thrust a bottle of pills and a printed A4 sheet containg post operative care instructions into my hand (and just as well, because when I read it at home I realised how little information I had actually absorbed in the surgery!) made an appointment for a check-up,  handed me Polly's lead and let us wobble our way back to the car.

I was worried I might struggle to help Polly onto the backseat of my car, but even through the fog of anaesthetic, she knew what she needed to do and with my hand against her backside to prevent any slipping, she launched herself onto the seat. 

The journey home only took five minutes, but it was enough to exhaust poor Polly. She was confused and scared when we went into the house and she clumsily rushed to the back door, so I let her out onto the lawn but she just sat staring into space. It was a shock to see her so disorientated and once again, I burst into tears. After a sob and a cuddle, I managed to encourage Polly back inside onto the bed I had left in the lounge for her and that is where she slept the rest of the afternoon away... well, most of it. I hadn't considered the doorbell! It rang and penetrated her deep sleep, so she suddenly lept to her feet, ran to the window and instinctively jumped up to see who was outside! I was horrified and flew across the room to gather her into my arms, praying she hadn't done herself any further damage. For anyone going through post op care with their dog, I would highly recommend keeping them close to you on a collar and lead indoors when they first come home.  Lesson learned the hard way, I clipped Polly's lead on and led her back to bed where she settled back into a very deep sleep. Later that evening, she heard my husband come home, managed to sit up and absolutely beam at him, despite her perfectly horrible day!

24 hours later and Polly is on the mend. 

That was yesterday.  Today the anaesthetic fog seems to be lifting gradually and although Polly is far from her usual cheeky self, she is noticeably improved. She has eaten and had a drink and a wee but I think she is still quite confused, or maybe reluctant to respond to instructions, which is fair enough. If she wants to just sit and watch between naps, that's fine by me. I'm sure she'll let me know what she wants, when she is ready to tell me but I miss her bossy nose nudges and her tail wags. I do hope they come back soon.

As for the histology report and what comes next, well, I think I'll simply take a dog's eye view of this and live life in the moment, rather than doing what we human's usually do... worrying about what's to come. 

Right now my beautiful girl Polly is here with me, her lump is gone, the rain has stopped and the sun is shining.

:-)

References: 

https://www.thesprucepets.com/lipomas-fatty-tumors-3384301

https://www.dogslife.com.au/dog-news/dog-health/lump-and-bumps-on-dogs

Fresh air, family, friendship ... and freedom.

 I haven't posted for a few months as it has been the strangest of times. This Spring, we found ourselves living through a global pandemic. Our lives were forced into Lockdown, which essentially put the world on hold. Family and work life was severely restricted and no-one truly understood the full impact this situation would have. Within a few short weeks the UK economy was shaken to the core, families were torn apart, worldwide fear was rampant...

The only freedom legally available to us during Lockdown, was a single walk each day, from our homes ... and so we walked. And each day we were so grateful for that walk. Polly and Betty never failed to keep us smiling, reminding us to enjoy all that was still beautiful around us.

We walked many miles during Lockdown and were blessed with wide open spaces, sunshine most days and of course, the odd muddy puddle here and there.

Polly and Betty never failed to lift my spirits at a time when the private pain of being forced apart from my children and grandchildren was a daily struggle.

We kept walking through Spring into Summer. We saw bluebells, pear blossom, dandelions and clover. We walked and we walked, until at last our family was returned to us by the Government. 

In July, we could hardly believe our good fortune, when the Government announced family holidays were to be made available again. Without a moment's hesitation, we headed to the property we had previously booked in Norfolk, to reunite with my son, his family and my daughter. Polly and Betty were delighted to see bags being loaded into the car and eagerly hopped into the backseat to begin their adventure.

They spent the next week having the time of their lives on the beautiful Norfolk beaches, with their most favourite people in the whole wide world.

They splashed and they crashed, they swam and they ran...

And after all the anxieties and strain of Lockdown, I spent the entire week, grinning from ear to ear, eating ice-cream, playing with my grandchildren, chatting with my adult family and simply being so grateful for every single moment we were able to spend together.

2020 has been a year no-one will ever forget and few will remember with pleasure I am certain. I will always be grateful to my amazing golden girls for keeping our life together focused on fresh air, family, friendship and freedom... because that is what truly matters in life. 

I am so grateful to you for always being by my side girls. 

Never more so than throughout this year.

 xxx

Spring 2020 has Sprung!

At last, it has arrived ...

SPRING HAS SPRUNG!

A very joyful Betty!

Here's to sunshine, blossom and hopefully, a little less mud!!!

Seven

It seems only a moment ago I was introducing a gorgeous chunky Golden Retriever puppy and here I am today, wishing my big, bossy, barky girl, a very Happy 7th Birthday! 

Throughout our seven years together, Polly has been the most fabulous friend ... clever, funny, loyal, cheeky and of course, always by my side. As anyone who has read this blog from the beginning will know, Missy Pollychops led me a merry dance as a youngster, always the first to race across a field to introduce herself, bark at a passing horse, or abandon a training class in favour of sniffing an important sniff but she has also worked incredibly hard to be a good girl for me over the years and those earlier misdemeanours are now nothing but a dusty memory ... well, most of them!

Polly may be a bit bossy and is barky without a doubt, but I am so very happy this amazing golden girl is mine and I pray we have the good fortune to be granted many more years of fun and love together. 

I am immensely proud of my beautiful big girl.

Wishing you the Happiest of Birthdays today Poll. 

With loads of love always, 
Mum xxx ❤

Capturing the moment..

It has been a while since we did any agility classes, but we always keep our eyes open for agility fun on walks because Polly, now almost 7 years old and Betty, almost 5, still both really enjoy it. Last weekend this orchard fence offered a perfect opportunity for a little synchronised 'over' between sisters ... 

 ... and by some miracle, I managed to capture it in focus, on my camera! 

Whoo hoo!

:-)

Bouncing into 2020!

It has been a while since I last posted, so I thought I would share a few recent photographs of Polly and Betty today...

Unfortunately, Polly received an injury to her foot (a bite by a very grumpy German Shepherd, who took us by surprise when he stuck his head under a gate and by some fluke, succeeded in sinking his gnashers into poor Poll's paw, resulting in general anaesthetic, deep sutres and a huge hole in our bank account right before Christmas. The owner has duly been asked to secure her boundary so this can't happen again!) Poor Polly was out of action for about three weeks over the Christmas hols, but I am happy to report, is now back up to full steam, running around in the mud, like the proverbial puppy again.  

Note to self: always expect the unexpected!

I don't mind admitting, my energy levels are not at their best during the dark days of January, but it's not possible to hibernate with two eager goldens to entertain, so we make the most of our walks every day and by the time our walk is over and I am back home with a cuppa in my hand, I am always grateful for that walk, even on the days I think I might have preferred to stay on the couch.

Months of rain has been tiresome, but my girls never minded it. I tried to keep them clean by putting them in their raincoats now and again, but they only rolled in the mud even more when they wore them. Incidentally, in the pic above I think they were a bit confused by the fallen tree after the Storm Brendan had swept through!

We have enjoyed a rare sunshine walk and my goodness, what a boost to the energy levels the sunshine is, in fact, all three of us had a decided spring in our step on the day above.

One of our favourite walks at this time of year, is on a huge area of scrubland. Here the girls can bounce their way across tussocks of grass and brambles, stick their noses down rabbit holes and generally indulge in a jolly good blast together!

It's a great area for recall practice - both Polly and Betty love a good game or chasing back for sausage as soon as Mum blows her whistle. That said, my husband took them out here this morning and reported that the surprise distraction of a cat at the far end of the field had them racing in the opposite direction for a moment ... tut tut girls!!!

It has been a joy to see my big girl Polly back up to full speed after her miserable Christmas nursing that poorly paw. The vet did a great job and even though she is now almost seven, it seems no-one has mentioned this to Polly yet ... she really couldn't care less and was just delighted to be declared fit enough to bounce on this field again!

Recently we were walking on this field and I lost my mobile phone here. I heard a dog barking frantically on the other side of a railway track, so went hacking through brambles to see what the trouble was. I eventually spotted the little dog and it was clear he needed assistance, but sadly, I couldn't help as I was on the wrong side of the tracks ... somehow, in the process, I lost track of my phone and despite several walks in the area, failed to find it among the brambles, bracken and long grass... it really was a needle in a haystack situation! As for the little dog, after making local enquiries, I had to assume he was part of a group that live on the traveller's site beyond the railway track and he had probably escaped, then made his way back to them again. I do hope he's okay.

I hope you have enjoyed these photographs, they are a few of my recent favourites of the girls, taken on my new mobile phone camera (a Samsung Galaxy S10+). I am very pleased with the results so far and am taking great care to remember to zip this one safely into my coat pocket on walks!!!

I notice there are tiny hints of Spring now beginning to show on our walks. Snowdrops, little buds and occasional bursts of warmer sunshine are hinting of better days to come, so my fingers are well and truly crossed that the worst of the wet Winter weather is at last nearing an end. We are so looking forward to brighter days and drier walks in 2020!

:-)