You Didn't Deserve This

I am still shaking with anger as I write this post as I have just come back dropping off the new born puppy at the Roodekruin Veterinary Clinic. Yes in this photo above, the puppy's lifeless body is in the plastic bag.

Last night someone tried to get into our yard from the veld and triggered off the alarm which got the armed reaction unit out. During the inspection we came across a small tightly closed plastic bag lying in the veld at the end of my cul de sac. There has been a number of dog poisonings in the surrounding neighbourhoods . Fearing that the poisoners might have moved into my area I used a rake to tear open the packet, and out fell a dead newly born rottweiler puppy. 

What kind of person would do such a thing? Now you can sense my anger, my utter frustration with this world. After some investigation we have our suspicion of who this person is that did this atrocious deed as their rottweiler recently had puppies. My greatest fear that the puppy might have been alive when put into the plastic bag, tied up, and dumped. Oh we have such sick people in this world. 

May the little puppy learn to run and chase butterflies with Patch and Skye at the otherside of that rainbow bridge.

Minky asks Why

At least before we forget, Minky still needed to go the vet for her annual check-up and injections. Now Minky has never been to the Silverfields vet up the road from us and was not a happy camper arriving at a veterinary clinic that she knew no-one. We took both River Song and Minky and as expected Minky was the best behaved of the two but she did pleaded "why" when she did not recognised the faces around her.

Putty Tat Paddy

So who is the ultra dog now Paddy poopkins. On Tuesday I was supposed to take Minky, Paddy, and Rosy, to the vet for their annual injections but both Minky and Paddy somehow got whiff of my intentions and did a duck. Although Paddy is only a year old, he is our biggest cat and yet he is the most afraid of travelling in the car to the vet for some unknown reason.

It took me 2 days to finally get Paddington to go to the vet, and like Rosy he didn’t go quietly. Shame Paddy was so stressed but Andrea was gentle with the big putty tat.

Ultra Dog

Ultra Dog? Is this a way to get past Gary’s anti cat posts? I suppose so as this post should have been called Ultra Cat not Dog, where is the dog? Anyways it was time to take Minky, Paddy, and Rosy to the vet for their routine checkups, vaccinations, rabies, and de-worming but somehow both Minky and Paddy got to hear about the planned trip to the vet and did a disappearing act. Fortunately kitten Rosy hasn’t been that often, this being her 2nd visit, and did not know what was in stall.

The vet Andrea is not as scary as the drive in the car. Wow what a sing song Rosy gave the whole 2km drive. Once there Rosy was back to her inquisitive self but moaning as soon as the car started for the drive back home.

Silverfields

Maxy my Italian Greyhound is still in pain from the growth near the inner ear. He is now off the alternative medicine as he now refuses to take it and since late last year we have just been managing the pain but bacteria growth in the affected ear has gotten out of control. About a month back, Andrea, the vet at Silverfields Veterinary Clinic, took a swab of the bacteria and sent it away to be cultured and tested.

The lab results didn’t come back very good as it showed that this bacterium was very resistant to all the medicine thrown at it except one which showed slight affect and that was Otomax. The problem with Otomax, it works better if it is close to the eardrum and Maxy’s ear was so clogged up but we started a process of every two days cleaning with Ococlean, antibiotics, and pain killers.

Andrea and her assistant Carin seeing to Maxy’s ear problem

In 2 weeks Maxy’s ear was much cleaner but the growth was still there and he was still in pain that he cries when he tries to eat, bark, or howl. Good news because we can now try the Otomax and Maxy did put on an extra half a kilogram of weight in the 2 weeks.

Flea in my Ear

Oh no, there is no fleas on me, I use Bravecto. My dad is just been silly by saying that there is a flea in my ear as I am suffering from a nasty ear infection. My ear ache first occurred 2 weeks ago and I’ve been on Surolan ear drops and antibiotics but this bacteria has been quite resistant.

Now Alex, the kind vet at Lammermoor Veterinary Clinic has to mix up some potent ear drops containing Baytril. Surely these pesky microbes have seen the last of me.

Last Goodbye

With all the trauma from that vicious attack on Patch by my neighbour’s pack of Jack Russells, the prognoses from the vets at Lammermoor Veterinary Clinic was not good as there was no blood circulation in the back leg which would mean damaged arteries and blood clotting. Because of Patch’s advanced age and the amount of trauma, the vets did not think that Patch would survive a full amputation so they suggested that the best course of action was to say goodbye.

After a lot of heart wrenching deliberation tearing through my mind and listening to many other advice, I thought it best to go see him this afternoon and somehow Patch would let me know what would be the best course of action knowing that in the back of my mind it could be our last goodbye. Trying to finish my work before setting out to Patch, I received a phone call just after 1pm from Alex, one of the vets looking after Patch and he told me that Patch had decided to cross over that rainbow bridge himself. My emotions already very shaky, didn’t hold out as my voice broke and I choked on any words I could say. Patch must have known that this was a hard decision for me to make so he must have made it himself. And I never got to say goodbye, and that how sorry I am for not protecting him enough.

We were already booked to see the Majozi and Monark concert in Pretoria this evening, I was not sure if I should go but I thought it was best for me to go to get my mind back to the living and away from my wildly swinging emotions of heart brokenness and my new hated of Jack Russells but one of Majozi’s songs, Last Goodbye brought all my sadness back to the fore. You can see some of my memories of Patch here RIP Patch 1999 - 2016

Okay I am not sure of exactly how Majozi's lyrics go but I changed it a bit from a father saying goodbye to his daughter on his deathbed to Patch whispering his last goodbye to me even though I didn’t make it to him on time.

Don’t let your love go to waste ‘cause I’ve gone to a different place. But if your heart, if your heart breaks just know that there are always higher stakes.

You are my moonlight oh in the rain and when I am gone I hope you will feel the same. Oh my provider, don’t you cry, this is our last time, our last goodbye.

Come close to me, I want to see your eyes before I leave and say I love you and I can’t believe you chose me. You are the tastiest treat of my eye, I give my life for you I die. Oh my protector don’t you cry, this is our last time, our last goodbye. Our last goodbye.

And as death is anchored on my shore, your light is tethered to my soul. For now I have to let you know this is the last time, our last goodbye.

And when I see Jesus Christ, I know he will greet me with arms stretched wide and he will say he is proud of you and one day we all will be by his side.

And heaven’s gates will take your soul but for now my guardian you must be bold. And heaven’s gates will take your soul but for now my caregiver you must be bold.

Oh my guardian don’t you cry, this aren’t our last time, our last goodbye.

Patchy Prayers Needed

It is not looking good but we will wait till the results from the kidney tests come in before making a decision on what to do. We want to give Patch a fighting chance but at the same time we don't want him to suffer.

Because Patch is 17 years old which makes him about 90 in human terms, the vet says that in most cases their kidneys would be so overwhelmed and won’t be able to cope and will shut down in a few days. So we are running some tests to monitor Patch’s kidneys and if it starts to shut down then I am so afraid, sorry I am battling to write this, that we have to make the decision and say goodbye to Patchy.

But for now although it looks bad we will give all the support Patch needs as he has this powerful will to live. When I found him arriving home on Friday, he in all likelihood should have been dead but he was so relieved to see me and tried to get up to welcome me home. You don’t understand how much I hate Jack Russells right now. Sorry but I know I shouldn’t but they just must not come near me.

Thank you all for you kind words of support and your prayers.

Reality Hits Hard

It is not looking good for Patch after he was viciously attacked by a pack of Jack Russels in his own back yard. Covered in bite marks from head to toe, you can see he is trying to put on a brave face as he lifted his head and put it into my hand which was stroking the only part not covered in bandages.

Please pray for Patch, as some hard decisions may need to be made as after the shock starts wearing off, reality of the situation starts hitting us hard.

Worst Nightmare

My worst nightmare happened as I feared. As I arrived home this afternoon, I saw Patch my oldest Italian Greyhound who is about 90 years old in human terms, lay by the back door, he lifted his head and tried to get up but failed. Something was wrong so I jumped out of my pickup and rushed over to him.

I found him in a pool of blood and covered in dog bite marks everywhere. After gently carrying him to the pickup, I drove like a mad man to the vet and at the same time screaming about that raddy pack of Jack Russels next door. I don’t think anyone witnessed the incident but in my mind that evil pack are the only culprits after killing two of our cats a few weeks back.

Lynda by that time arrived home and told me that one of the Jack Russels had blood on his muzzle and neck. The owner flatly denies that it was his pack dogs and blamed the other neighbour’s dogs because his maid saw them in our yard but he ignored that blood was seen on one of his dogs.

Lammermoor Vets

Once again I found myself at the Lammermoor Veterinary Clinic but this time it was for a good reason. Jade’s bandages were coming off although she was glad the cumbersome bandages where to be removed, this didn’t stop Jade running even after strict instructions by the vet, no jumping, no running. Ooooh noooo do you think Jade listens with those small ears of hers?

Jade like all Italian Greyhounds doesn’t know what slow is, she lives with only two speeds, flat out running and flat out asleep in her bed. You won’t say that she had broken her leg cleanly just over a week ago. Thanks to the expert hands of the vets at Lammermoor Veterinary Clinic, a special thanks to Alex who drove to Brits and did the operation to put the plate in, and not to forget the other vets Gareth, Pam, and Clare who also did their part.

I have been at the clinic so many times in the past weeks with both Jade and Maxy that hopefully the next time I am there is only to get their stitches removed.

When is this going to end?

When is this going to end? February from this day forth is to be known as the Month of the Vet Bills as once again, upon coming home from work, I find one of my dogs has been in the wars. I have exhausted my savings, flattened my Dish Washer Fund, and raided my holiday stash with this insurmountable vet costs.

With vet costs now in their double digits for the last few weeks alone, I didn’t need to find Maxy, my Italian Greyhound with a huge nasty gash on his chest. I had no choice but to rush to the vet. Don’t get me wrong the vets at Lammermoor Veterinary Clinic have been going out of their way to keep my costs down but my dogs have not been playing their part. Once again I am in the dark as to what happened to Maxy but I am starting to suspect the pack of nasty Jack Russel dogs from next door. How on earth am I going to keep my battled wary dogs in one piece and the battle costs down?

Banned from the Vet

Yes I have been banned from the vet, no not because I have cause any ruckus but because every time I visit, Jade hears my Vespa from far off and starts howling then when I leave she howls and whimpers for a long time afterwards. To keep Jade’s stress levels down, the vet suggested that I don’t visit till it is time for her to come home, which hopefully will be Saturday.

In the meanwhile Jade is recovering nicely after a plate was put into her leg to hold her broken bones, maybe from now on we should call her Bionic Dog.

Jade at Lammermoor Veterinary Clinic

Yesterday Jade, my smallest Italian Greyhound, broke her right front leg clean through. Although it still remains a mystery on how she managed to do it, she is in good hands at Lammermoor Veterinary Clinic. This morning I visited Jade in hospital. Oh she was so happy to see me, and just wanted me to take her home. She stood up and tried to hobble closer to me. I picked her up and held her close; she rested her head on my chest and closed her eyes.

Later the vet came in to give me update on Jade’s progress, and Jade visibly pulled back and wanted to bury herself under my arm. Oh dear this ordeal has been very traumatic for her. The vet had to use general anaesthetic so that they could reset the leg. They have put a splint in and wrapped it up good. If all goes well, hopefully she could come home tomorrow afternoon. Jade would need to come every week for a month to change the bandages and check up on progress.

The start of the long road of Jade’s healing has begun.