Got 'im

The grandparents were around tonight and after Nathan had had his bath, he returned in his England rugby shirt. I was understandably excited because of their visit and decided that Nathan was far too easy a target as he showed off his new skill (sitting still!). I'm not sure if he still likes getting a big lick from his dog.

Lazin' around

For a springer, I'm pretty laid back really! I mean... how many dogs like me do you know that would just lie down in the middle of a room and catch a few extra winks of sleep?

Walkies

We had a rather muddy meander through the woods today. The action shot's didn't come out.... you know the kind of thing... jumping, running, swimming. Anyway, I thought I'd stay still for long enough to get a portrait (only just long enough).

Chilling out surfing

You just can't beat it! Cuddled up to Mum, surfing the web - I just love it. Doesn't really happen until the wee'yun gets to bed though.


Still, I can live with that.

While Dad's away

Well, Dad's away and its all a bit strange! I'm not saying that I don't enjoy the company of Mum and the wee fella, but its a bit odd having a little less discipline around the house.

I got to do all sort of things that wouldn't usually be allowed - including the obligatory "sit-on-the-knee". To be honest, Auntie Nic, isn't all that good at saying NO to cuddles!

My holiday

Mum and Dad took Nathan off to see some of their friends in Northern Ireland, so I had my own special holiday. I went to Granny and Grandad's for some special treatment and just to put the icing on the cake, Nic came round every day and took me for a walk in the Hermitage.

In fact, on Thursday, we walked all the way from one side of the Hermitage to the other, up the hill and then all the way back. Must admit that I was ready for collapsing when I got back.

The holiday was over nearly as quickly as it began - I'm back to normal sized meal portions and slightly less attention.

The Almondell

We all went on a lovely walk to the Almondell this afternoon. It's the first time I've been there in ages! We had to go on a modified route because of Nathan's buggy, which meant we were by the water most of the time. I got so excited that I spent most of my time running in the water where it was too shallow to swim.

We stopped at our usual spot and Dad through lots of sticks for me to swim and catch. I was getting really good at it and by the end I had 3 sticks in my mouth! Mum then took me to the other side of the river so I could swim across it. I just love swimming :o)


They forgot to take the camera out of the car so there are no action photos of me, just one when we got home with me looking a bit wet and bedraggled - I can't wait to go back there.

Cuddles with Laura

Laura came round last night... I think she really came to see Nathan, but I don't mind. With all the extra visitors we get these days, I usually get some attention.


There was however some misunderstanding... she tapped her leg and called my name - I obliged by jumping on her lap.


I don't think that she was expecting my spring-like tendencies and collapsed back into the sofa.


In retrospect, I was lucky to get away with it! Everybody laughed and Nathan's giggling took the heat from the situation.

Sunday walks

It lived up to expecation!

We spent a very exciting afternoon playing in the Hermitage of Braid in the middle of Edinburgh. There was me and Cara, Mum and Dad who brought Nathan, and Ali and Jamie who came with Cara.


We had great fun running after anything that moved and playing in the water. Dad and Jamie seemed very keen to throw sticks for us both to chase and wanted to make us do as much running as possible. They also seemed very keen on getting photos; which means I can post them here.


Then it was back to the Grandparents for some chasing around in the garden.


All in all, a pretty perfect Sunday.

The fairer sex

Word is that we'll be heading out for a "walk" (which is never anything like walking) tomorrw with my favorite dog-pal - Cara. She's the same age as me and we pretty much spend our time play-fighting... but running after each other all around the Hermitage of Braid will be a cool way to spend a Sunday afternoon.


No doubt, we'll be heading back to the Grandparents afterwards which means endless fun in the garden.

Back home

Wow! What a week,

One minute, I was running around without a care in the world and the next, I couldn't breathe and had a horrible pain in my chest - worst thing was, I couldn't let anyone know!

I tried to make it obvious that I wan't well by walking to heel and not running and it seems to work. I ended up at the vets and I don't remember much after that.

When I woke up I was in the car with Dad (who was driving pretty fast) and then we met some more people who took me away and put me in a funny box which made my breathing better.


They did all kinds of things to try and work out why I wasn't well - they eventually found the stick lodged in my airway: I'd been trying to make it as obvious as possible, but nobody was taking the bait.

Once they took out the stick, I felt much better and now I'm back at home although I'm only allowed out for the toilet - I might be allowed out for a small walk next week.

The stick and my vet

I still don't quite understand how they removed this from my lung, but it was there and I have quite a few witnesses to prove it.


Eulanda (my vet) was pretty excited - and all the vet students kept coming to see me. I'm a bit of celeb: wonder if Hello! want the pictures.

Jake set free

We went to collect Jake today. He was quieter and slower than his normal, but is definitely showing improvement. He looks odd with rectangles of spotty skin where his brown and white coat should be; and he looks odd with his blue string vest in place to stop him scratching his wounds.


It was amazing to again see the stick that caused all the problems and also take a peek at the radiographs that chart his recovery. There seems to have been almost complete radiological resolution on both pa and lateral films which is very encouraging. The antibiotics will need to continue for a further 6 weeks and we will return for an outpatient appointment next week and a repeat bronchoscopy at some point.

And, the thankfully unimportant part - cost... his 6 days in hospital cost £2700! This is in addition to the £500 vets fee, a repeat prescription, the outpatient appointment and the repeat bronch. Thank goodness for pet insurance.

Bronchoscopic first

I'm not long off the phone to a very surprised vet. Eulanda, our Spannish born vet from the cardiopulmonary team performed Jake's bronchoscopy this morning. She seems pretty astonished at her findings and I'm struggling to visualise how she managed to extract a 25cm long stick from Jake's trachea.

Aparently, it was lying mid-trachea and extending down the right main bronchus and presumably entered the pleural cavity at some point in the lower lobe (causing his persistent air leak).

It looks like as well as his two pneumothoracies and surgical emphysema, he also has pneumomediastinum. He is going to be on some pretty hard core antibiotics to reduce the risk of infection and while they have found the cause of the problem, she remains prognostically cautious.

A chest drain in a dog!

I can't quite believe how interventional vets are! Jake has been in the vet hospital for less than 24 hours - he's in ICU (in an oxygen kennel), has a chest drain in situ, iv fluids and antibiotics running and they are talking about cardiopulmonary referal on Monday.

We are still none the wiser about the cause of his injuries, but he did have a collision with another dog yesterday. It seems crazy that running into another dog could cause the injuries that he's sustained, but in the absence of any other obvious cause, it seems the only reasonable conclusion.

The vets are very good at phoning on a regular basis, so we should find out more soon.

The spring's gone from our springer

It's now one week from Nathan's birth and I've not long returned from the Dick Vet hospital for small animals, Edinburgh.

We were on a walk with Jake when he just stopped running. He wouldn't do anything apart from walk next to us. When we got him home, he just stood in the kitchen and wouldn't even take treats - there was definitely something wrong.

Being 9pm, I needed to speak to the out of hours vet who agreed that he needed to be seen. Some radiographs and an anaesthetic later, we knew that he had bilateral pneumothoracies, sub cutaneous emphysema and aerophagia. The right pneumothorax didn't re-expand and hence the rather speedy trip to Roslin and the vet hospital. (I'm glad for a fast and safe car - and no cars on the road at midnight).

He's been admitted to the ICU (I can't quite believe that they have such amazing facilities for animals and very glad that we are insured). I've signed the consent for chest aspiration, chest drain and/or thoracotomy!

We'll wait for news tomorrow.

The new thing...

Well, she came back... looking different and sporting an addition they referred to as the bay-be. It didn't do much apart from make a significant amount of noise and demand a lot of attention... I hope it doesn't stay for long.

Mental note: I may have to think of ways to get more attention

The wanderer returns

Well, one of them is back... that's a start.

He returned at some ungodly hour looking a mixture of tired, overjoyed and scared. We sat around for a while and he shot upstairs to bed mumbling something about a brother.

The next three days were very odd. He'd be here one minute and then gone the next and wouldn't come back for hours. We'd go for 2 walks a day which is cool, but it's kind of odd not having Mum around... I wonder where she is.

Where've they gone?

I'm pretty confused really. They both went out this morning and haven't come back. Well, Dad came back for a quick walk at about 4pm, but then rushed off as if his life depended on it.

Still, I'm not too fussed, I've got the run of the place and have done the things I know they love... taking paper from the recycling bin and tearing it up before distributing it about the study...

No doubt they will return soon.

Things that go bump in the night

It has been very strange tonight!

Mum and Dad have been up most of the night and have been doing very odd things... Dad was hoovering at 3am, which it has to be said is not normal for the middle of the night.

Something must be going on, but I don't know what it is. To be honest, I wish they'd just go to bed and be quiet; that way, I might get some sleep.

First foot first

Being a dog, my typing skills are up to much; but I have stories that would make your hail curl and I'm sure you'll like to see pictures of me and find out what I get up to! <lick>