Doctors, Hyenas & Aging

It’s so good to be back in touch with my readers again. I know a number of you are wondering why I had been silent for so long. I wasn’t really. You just couldn’t hear me barking from there. BOL

It was the end of Gardening Season last year. Elizabeth had pushed herself to the limit trying to get everything harvested and stashed away for the winter. She was sore and tired. That’s nothing unusual for that time of the year.

We had a visitor come to stay with us. Elizabeth and Kay drove her back up to Winnipeg when she had to go home. Elizabeth drove most of the way, and with already being stiff and sore, well, by the time we got back home, she put me in mind of machinery that was in desperate need of an oiling! As she put me in my run for the night, she slipped and fell off the ramp.

The next week was full of trips into town to see the Chiropractor and the two-legger vet, Dr. Buzz.

The Chiropractor tried to fix the problem by twisting and pulling and otherwise manipulating Elizabeth’s spine. But it wouldn’t move.

The Doctor left me feeling a bit… concerned. He took one look at Elizabeth, who could barely walk, and then only by using a set of Nordic poles. “You poor s..t,” he told her. Then he told her it was a disc in her spine. He said a Hyena ate it.

Even more concerning was the fact that Elizabeth believed him. He gave her lots of pills and added some exercises to those the Chiropractor had given her. She took it all in hobble.

When we got home, I did a serious recce, a double patrol, scouring the area for any sign of Hyenas. I’ve only seen them on the TV. Kay and Elizabeth often relax by watching nature shows, so I know what a Hyena looks and sounds like. I’ve never smelled one, though. Still, I could find no unusual scent that would indicate that a Hyena might have been in our area. I think that Dr. Buzz was telling stories!

It took Elizabeth a very long time to get better. She still needs to be very careful. When she works too hard for too long, I tell her it’s time she took a cuddle break with me. Now that the snow and ice is all gone, I make sure she comes for a walk with me every day. And every day I put a little more pressure on the leash for added resistance training. I’ve heard that’s very good for two-leggers trying to recover strength. And I give her tummy massages while she does her core strengthening exercises. We can’t have her front muscles seizing up, too!

Frequent breaks are important. Here I am taking a little time out with Elizabeth’s sister-in-law after working in the garden.

I’m trying very hard to get Elizabeth back into line as a scribe. She had a lot of other catching up to do when she was able to go back to work. And because she needs to take work in short spurts with lots of little rests in between, work seems to take a lot longer to get done. She’s doing pretty well, though. The older you get the longer it seems to take to bounce back – and this is not the first injury a Hyena (if you listen to doctors) has inflicted on her back. But this time there was some other stuff that went wrong. So, I really need to keep an eye on her. She always seems to think that she can do more than she should….

Truth be told, I’m slowing down a bit, too. True, it is the ‘dog days of summer’ now. I find that when I get up I feel a bit stiff, and I feel a little more tired after my patrols. Nothing a good stretchy-stretchy and a long snooze can’t put to rights. Elizabeth says it’s because I’m getting older, too. Still got a ways to go before I catch up to her, though!

I still haven’t found any sign of Hyenas in the neighbourhood.

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Security Snafu = Job Change

So. You’ve all heard how my Accident turned out to be more serious than Elizabeth originally thought. Dr. Celia told her that I must take 10 days at least away from my normal duties as Head of Security on the Campbell Estate. Not only that, but she discarded the T-shirt you all thought looked so cute on me and has given me yet another “look”: Dog Grunge, complete with head gear and a zipper and pipes where the T-shirt was. And I’ve been shaved. Again.

I don’t know. It just isn’t me. I don’t want to hurt Dr. Celia’s feelings. I’m sure she did an excellent job. But the new look leaves me feeling a bit… inadequate. A bit… depressed.

Winter is coming, and my wool takes a long time to grow, so I’m also worried that I might have trouble when the temperature drops to the -30C I usually thrive in.

Most of all, though, I want to be out on patrol. It’s my favourite job. But Elizabeth says no way. We had a bit of a discussion about it this morning. I was so un-up-to taking my usual I’m Alpha Dog stance, that I grudgingly had to admit she was right.

“Why don’t you come and help me in the Kitchen, Stella? I really should have a supervisor. I think you should do that while you’re off duty for a while!”

Well… I’m good at eating.

I decided to give it a go. I usually sleep While Elizabeth is cooking, but today… Well, we did a photo doc for you!

First, you need to get ready to cook. How do you like my new look, BTW? The head gear also doubles as a sneeze guard in the Kitchen, where observing proper hygiene is very important.

Elizabeth went out into the garden to get some tomatoes, then she chopped and sliced and thawed and so on until everything was ready for cooking.

 

Here’s the veggie sauce well underway. OH! She’s forgotten to put the best part in – the cheese. Excuse me while I go and tell her…

 

Halfway through the cooking time, you need to take the yam chips out of the oven and turn them. Yam chips are really good, although the ones I eat are usually dried rather than baked. But these smell pretty yummy!

 

The boring bit is waiting for everything to cook.

 

Oh, I almost forgot to remind Elizabeth when to put the eggs on to poach. Good thing she remembered to get them ready!

 

Now, folks. This is the reeeeally important bit. Presentation is everything so, get it right!

 

Ta Da! Hey… wait a minute! Where’s mine?

 

Cooking two-legger food is a lot more work than I realised. Time for a rest!

Am I a Dog, or a Dork?

My string of vet-free days has grown too long.

Last night, I had another. . . Accident. I don’t think it’s really bad, but I need stitches. And it hurts.

I spent the night in the two-legger house, not just with Elizabeth, but also wearing her T-Shirt under Dr. Celia’s orders. It’s my first time wearing this much human fur. I’m not sure I like it.

Me sporting Elizabeth’s Louis L’Amour T-shirt. She thinks it’s most in keeping with my Bookshop Dog role in life.

I was able to have my bedtime chicken and cookie, and I got a little watered down goat’s milk, too. But I couldn’t eat or drink anything before going to the vets’ this morning.

I’m almost never too sick for a cookie. Hey, who’d have guessed Elizabeth and I wear the same size clothing!

Kay tried to make me feel a bit better by saying I looked better in Elizabeth’s T-Shirt that she does.

By the time you are all reading this, I’ll be sleeping at the vets’ while Dr. Celia sews me back up again. She’s done that before, but she hasn’t had to make me go to sleep before. I’m a bit nervous, but I know they are all working to make me better.

Wish me luck!