August Ramblings 2010 . . . . . . . . . . .

August kicked off with the Hound show, a very wet day!! I think that due to the soft crate the dogs were drier than Mum and I!! I made the fatal mistake of standing up during the middle of the downpour which then meant that my seat was rendered useless and completely filled up with water.

By direct contrast 3 days later I then attended the Vale Show which was like a heat wave, I took Reef and a rucksack and we spent half the day trying to hide from the sun under the shade of the boot of a car. Jan and Stuart brought Storm (Matahari Monsoon) just for a visit, although they have been in touch the whole time it was the first time I have seen Storm in the flesh since they took him home and it was lovely to see the huge cuddly bear he has grown into. Gaynor (Carr) and I went back and fore to Dogs Trust and another dog rescue tent as there were 2 rescue Deerhounds (one needing rehoming) there – so sad.

The next weekend I went for my annual dive in this country (urghh, usually done just to check kit/maintain skills/remind myself why diving abroad is so much more enjoyable!) It rained again so after getting wet we then changed into dry clothes – and promptly got wet again!!! Good to get together with Twinkly witch and Twisty Witch for a pub lunch afterwards – with lots of strong coffee to warm up!

Then the day after we drove down to the New Forest to stay overnight before spending the day in New Park for Bournemouth CS – another scorcher, we successfully ended up with a “tented camp” as the sun was so strong.

The next weekend was going to be the first full weekend that I had spent at home for 6 weeks – I was really looking forward to it although I had a busy itinerary . . . . . . . well all good plans!!! After a busy Saturday morning I made a bad decision to take my youngster out for a ride – he had had an altercation with an escapee stallion the evening before and was feeling sorry for himself. I thought I would take him out for a 20min walk to see if he was stiff etc........ He was unusually quiet and ploddy so we just pootled “around the block” me daydreaming and then being nosy and stretching to get an “over the hedge” view of a property that had just been put on the market whilst holding only the rein buckle in one hand when – boom....... Beetle spooked sideways and I hit the road! I knew that at the very least I was severely winded and luckily was able to get my mobile phone out of my pocket and ring my friend Lisa, After 5 minutes when I still couldn’t move I realised that I may have done some more damage. Lisa arrived fairly quickly after dropping her husband off to catch Beetle and take him home (he had moved up to the nearest patch of grass and was munching) and she called an ambulance – what an experience – by now I was in quite a lot of pain and had difficulty breathing but they were more concerned with any spinal damage I might have had and so strapped me to a back slab – this made for a very uncomfortable journey. In A+E I was told that fortunately I did not sustain any spinal/neck injuries however I had torn my rotator cuff, broken 3 ribs, one of which had punctured my lung and so now had a pneumothorax – cue a chest drain (the worst thing I have ever had to endure). I was then admitted to hospital. My Mum and friends took care of everything..... beetle was turned out in a new field (further away from the stallion) and the dogs went into a kennels since it was unsure how long it would be before I was back on my feet.

Then more bad news, my poor mum had to come to the hospital in the morning and explain to me (an already horrible patient) that my beloved Mac had passed away in the night. Mac hadn’t been himself for a few weeks, everything was stressing him out more than usual and he had been particularly restless, I am not sure that he ever fully recovered from his gastric torsion op and it appears that he just went to sleep and didn’t wake up. Mum took his body to my vets but he didn’t seem to have been stressed at all and she said he looked very peaceful – for that I must be grateful.

It has been a long month and I am now forced to have a rest whilst I recover. I would really like to thank all of my family and friends for both their practical and emotional support at this difficult time, I consider myself to be a very rich person to have such wonderful people in my life.

Ramblings May 2010

I really haven't got my skates on and organised myself with show entries this year.  I kept missing them by a day or two, however I managed to attend the Deerhound Fun day in Newbury.. . . .and fun it was, everyone had a great time and still the weather was kind.  However my dogs with a killer instinct at home - even towards plastic bags - showed no inclination of being interested in learning to lure course.  Even though they were jumping up and down with excitement watching the others as soon as they got their opportunity all they wanted to do was play and rough house each other .. . . ah well!!

At the end of May we went to Bath Ch show.  Indi was left home as she is in season and so Mum, Pat and I took the boys.  We had a lovely time and although Mac only came 4th in Open dog it was his first time back in the ring since he bloated and he loved every minute.  He was a joy to show and was so excited all day.  Quite an emotional day, I went home a very proud Mum and with a huge smile on my face!!
 

Ramblings April 2010

Mac continued to improve and very gradually I re-introduced him back to his usual diet.  He had lost an alarming amount of weight but due to the nature of his problem I knew that putting it back on would be a slow process.  We went to the Deerhound Club Show and had a great time, it was good to see friends and the weather was fabulous.  The young hooligans were quite overwhelmed with it all but made sure they really enjoyed themselves!

Beetle continued to make good progress but the winter has been a very long one and the whole of April was spent with fingers crossed that grass would at last come through.  The last week of April he lost a shoe and I then decided to have the rest taken off and turn him out for a well earned break.