People often tell me that they cannot believe that Holly is almost 12. Quite often I cannot believe it either, I have no idea what happened to the last 12 years. However I do know that it involved a lot of mud!
More than a few times over the past 12 to 18 months I have said I think that I don't have much longer left with Holly. But she is still here and still going, I don't know if it is her stubborn streak or what that is keeping her around, but there are a few signs visible to others as well as me that she is getting old and that the canine degenerative myelopathy is progressing.
Holly now sleeps the sleep of the old dog.
The deep sleep that even sound doesn't penetrate (except possibly the sound of a can opener).
That deep, dreamless sleep that causes owners to panic, even the owners who have had old dogs before. The one where the breathing is very shallow and slow, the heartbeat slows right down and you wonder if they are still alive.
She still dreams when not in a deep sleep, but the back legs no longer kick.
Sometime in the Autumn I started to notice her occasionally stumble and loose footing on her front legs. Sometimes it was when she was in her wheeled cart and sometimes when she was being supported with the scarf-sling, but it wasn't very often and as she never fell over there was only me that noticed it. As with everything it has gradually got worse with time, now she is stumbling more frequently and occasionally falling over. It is more noticeable when she is tired or the terrain is not Holly friendly and it's now happening enough that other people have noticed it. Fortunately all our walking friends know that the best thing to do is to help her back to her feet, say something along the lines of "Come on Old Girl, lets keep going" and not make a fuss.
When people have said in the past that the wheels must have drastically altered our walks I have told them that it hasn't. The only two changes are that we no longer walk along a couple of paths down by the river where the path is narrower than the wheels, and when we go out and about in the countryside we go with someone else to help lift her over styles. But over the past few months we have slowly being changing our walks. We check out the terrain before and try to avoid walks that are too hilly or will involve a lot of uneven paths.
Its sad that she can no longer race up and down hills and needs a bit of a push or a pull to get there. But she still tries and still wants to go, so we still go up and down the hills. The humans provide assistance to help her up the hill, once up there she explores and sniffs. Then in true Holly style races down the hill at great speed sending everyone else leaping out of the way before standing at the bottom of the next hill looking at us waiting for us to assist her up. Spoilt? Probably but right now I think it's important for her to enjoy her walks and if that means a bit of a push and a pull to get her to the top of the hill and sniff the breeze, then that's what she gets.
We have good days and bad days, the number of bad days is increasing but there are still significantly more good days. I could do with a little more sunshine and a little less rain to enjoy them in, Holly of course doesn't care and still doesn't think a downpour should delay our walks for any longer than it takes me to don waterproofs!
Friday 28 February 2014
Wednesday 26 February 2014
Thursday 20 February 2014
Milestones 2014
To think that at the start of 2013 I was convinced Holly was not going to be with me for more than a few more weeks I think her being here in 2014 is a fairly major milestone.
She continues to be her normal self, demanding walkies and treats and more walkies. And just when I am convinced she is tired and will spend a while snoozing on the sofa, she decides its playtime and squeaks her toys at crucial points in TV dialogue. Ive taken to recording everything just so I can rewind and catch the bit of plotline that were drowned out by "squeak, squeak, squeak".
Her control of the internal plumbing is slowly reducing and her willingness to move on her own is decreasing as well. I am not sure if this is due to her finding it difficult to move independantly when not in her wheels or that she has worked out that it's easier to wait for me and the scarf-sling. When I return after being out she is never in the same place that I left her so I suspect that her ladyship is enjoying being spoiled with the assistance.
Even with the decreasing control the number of accidents she is having in the house is still fairly minimal and generally only because I have forgotten that she had a big drink of water or have not looked at a clock and realised how long it has been since she last went out. I have started to make use of the timer on the too-smart-for-its-own-good phone so that I don't have to keep an eye on the clock, the phone will 'ding' to remind me to take Holly round the garden at regular intervals.
I was checking the calendar this morning to check the date of an event happening in April and noticed that it is only 3 weeks to her 12th birthday. I think this is certainly worthy of being a milestone to be celebrated with a new toy (squeaky) and a bag of tripe sticks (for Holly & the cats, not me!)
She continues to be her normal self, demanding walkies and treats and more walkies. And just when I am convinced she is tired and will spend a while snoozing on the sofa, she decides its playtime and squeaks her toys at crucial points in TV dialogue. Ive taken to recording everything just so I can rewind and catch the bit of plotline that were drowned out by "squeak, squeak, squeak".
Her control of the internal plumbing is slowly reducing and her willingness to move on her own is decreasing as well. I am not sure if this is due to her finding it difficult to move independantly when not in her wheels or that she has worked out that it's easier to wait for me and the scarf-sling. When I return after being out she is never in the same place that I left her so I suspect that her ladyship is enjoying being spoiled with the assistance.
Even with the decreasing control the number of accidents she is having in the house is still fairly minimal and generally only because I have forgotten that she had a big drink of water or have not looked at a clock and realised how long it has been since she last went out. I have started to make use of the timer on the too-smart-for-its-own-good phone so that I don't have to keep an eye on the clock, the phone will 'ding' to remind me to take Holly round the garden at regular intervals.
I was checking the calendar this morning to check the date of an event happening in April and noticed that it is only 3 weeks to her 12th birthday. I think this is certainly worthy of being a milestone to be celebrated with a new toy (squeaky) and a bag of tripe sticks (for Holly & the cats, not me!)
Monday 17 February 2014
Fluffy Fireworks
Many years ago I had a holiday on the Isle of Man and Holly came too. I worried about her being in the car on the catamaran, so I measured the inside of it and bought a crate with slightly smaller dimensions.
You may have spotted the error in the plan already, I had measured the inside of the car but not the size of the boot opening, the crate would have fitted in the car if I could have got it in there. I tried putting it in flat but there was not enough space to put it up inside the car. So in the end Holly travelled loose in the back of the car and was fine on the journey.
So I now had a nice big crate, but what to do with it?
Over the years it has been used to contain a kitten (Linus) and as a safe place for a confused cat (Olaf) and as somewhere to confine various critters (mostly cats) to when they were ill.
Holly did sometimes use it, usually in and around the 5th November every year. I would put the crate up and fill it with duvets and blankets and drape the outside in towels and sheets to make a cosy cave. When the first firework went off she would go and bury herself in the duvets and blankets and stay there until they stopped.
Then one year she wouldn't stay in there. Every time a firework went off she went to the crate and, if I encouraged her, she would get in. But she would not stay in there. It took me a couple of hours to work out what was wrong, she was all alone. In previous years Fluffy had joined her in the crate and stayed with her until everything was quiet. Fluffy was not bothered by the Fireworks but it had never occurred to me that she knew that Holly was frightened and needed some company. The year Holly wouldn't stay in was the first Bonfire night without Fluffy. Linus and Olaf would go in with her but would not stay.
My plans for that evening, and every subsequent night that fireworks go off, were scrapped. I transferred all the duvets and blankets onto the sofa, wrapped Holly up in them making sure I had an arm or a leg under too so she had some physical contact with me, and spent the evening watching t.v. or listening to music and reading a good book.
You may have spotted the error in the plan already, I had measured the inside of the car but not the size of the boot opening, the crate would have fitted in the car if I could have got it in there. I tried putting it in flat but there was not enough space to put it up inside the car. So in the end Holly travelled loose in the back of the car and was fine on the journey.
So I now had a nice big crate, but what to do with it?
Over the years it has been used to contain a kitten (Linus) and as a safe place for a confused cat (Olaf) and as somewhere to confine various critters (mostly cats) to when they were ill.
Holly did sometimes use it, usually in and around the 5th November every year. I would put the crate up and fill it with duvets and blankets and drape the outside in towels and sheets to make a cosy cave. When the first firework went off she would go and bury herself in the duvets and blankets and stay there until they stopped.
Then one year she wouldn't stay in there. Every time a firework went off she went to the crate and, if I encouraged her, she would get in. But she would not stay in there. It took me a couple of hours to work out what was wrong, she was all alone. In previous years Fluffy had joined her in the crate and stayed with her until everything was quiet. Fluffy was not bothered by the Fireworks but it had never occurred to me that she knew that Holly was frightened and needed some company. The year Holly wouldn't stay in was the first Bonfire night without Fluffy. Linus and Olaf would go in with her but would not stay.
My plans for that evening, and every subsequent night that fireworks go off, were scrapped. I transferred all the duvets and blankets onto the sofa, wrapped Holly up in them making sure I had an arm or a leg under too so she had some physical contact with me, and spent the evening watching t.v. or listening to music and reading a good book.
Wednesday 12 February 2014
Bleargh!
The radio station I listen to has a feature on the weekend breakfast show called 1 word weather forecast. The idea is you email, text, tweet etc. a one word description of the weather where you are.
Tonight's one word weather forecast for where I live is "Bleargh!"
Fortunately Holly has declined an evening walk, which is just as well because the gusts of wine are almost blowing me over never mind a wobbly dog in a wheeled cart. A trip round the garden was quite enough for both of us, so this evening we are going to snuggle up on the sofa and hope the TV drowns out the 60 to 80 mph winds they have predicted for us.
I am also hoping that if we get a power cut it is after I have finished cooking my dinner.
Tonight's one word weather forecast for where I live is "Bleargh!"
Fortunately Holly has declined an evening walk, which is just as well because the gusts of wine are almost blowing me over never mind a wobbly dog in a wheeled cart. A trip round the garden was quite enough for both of us, so this evening we are going to snuggle up on the sofa and hope the TV drowns out the 60 to 80 mph winds they have predicted for us.
I am also hoping that if we get a power cut it is after I have finished cooking my dinner.
Wednesday 5 February 2014
Photo Favourites II
A few more photos from the archives
The inflated ego does mean that he can wear an empty salad box with dignity and pride
Linus demonstrates the art of elegance - feline style
Mono spent a lot of her time on her back waiting for you to rub her tummy
If Fluffy didn't want her photo taking she simply shut her eyes
Linus suffers from an inflated ego, this is him in his "worship me" phase
The inflated ego does mean that he can wear an empty salad box with dignity and pride
Holly does impressions, this is her take on the Turner and Hooch drool scene
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