Saturday 20 August 2011

Home alone with five dogs and a cat . . .


Bathing is one of Frodo's delights
Barry has been away this week, sailing with Gillian and two of her children. His leg is much better – he was bowled over by the very solid Gus when we were in Somerset which resulted in him having two wonky legs rather than just the usual one! Hours spent in A&E when we got home – after he insisted on driving, saying it was just weight-bearing that hurt! – proved that there was no lasting damage, and diclofenac and ibuprofen relieved the pain.

Meanwhile, I have been writing – or trying to – and looking after Gillian’s dogs as well as our own. They all sleep in our room, most of them on our bed, which is fine when Barry’s away as they occupy his half. Winston usually comes and curls up next to me as well, so I am never lonely. Tia and Foxy, Gillian’s dogs, think it is their duty to guard the house and bark at . . . nothing, apparently! Tia also grumbles constantly at Frodo. She is slightly older than him so perhaps she’s asserting her right to be top dog. He takes little notice.
Frodo has had four grand mal seizures this week. I hope that will be the end of the cluster this time round. With luck it will be several weeks before he is afflicted again. I’m accustomed to dealing with him when he’s seizing, talking to him and supporting his head so that it doesn’t bang against furniture or floor. He can’t hear me, of course – he’s unconscious - but perhaps it’s comforting to him in some way, particularly when he regains consciousness but is still disorientated.
Jenna takes no notice when he has a fit and Tia keeps away. Gus thinks he’s playing and wants to respond but Foxy looks more as though she might attack. She’s a very mild-mannered creature but even the quietest of dogs can misinterpret the odd signals given by a seizing animal as aggression and react accordingly. Thus, at 1:00 am on Thursday, I was keeping her away and simultaneously trying to cushion Frodo’s head when my right hand came within his champing jaws. The result was that he bit my thumb and index finger. It was quite painful.
The black Labradors seek the Kong. Frodo and Foxy don't!
Later, on Thursday evening, he had another fit. Foxy was very excited and trying to reach him and as I pushed her away my left arm was bitten. Isn’t fresh blood bright, like a swiftly blooming crimson flower?

So now I have a sore, bruised thumb which is much better than it was, and bruises and a plaster over the puncture wound on my arm which aches a bit but is otherwise fine. Worse things happen at sea! Poor Frodo is the gentlest dog and would be mortified if he knew! It is nearly seven years since he was diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy and I’ve managed to keep bits of me away from the dangerous bits of him for all that time – until this week!

Ah me! Next week, the bites will come from tiny sharp puppy’s teeth.J 

14 comments:

  1. Oh gosh, what a week!
    I suppose being a dog lover makes being bitten a 'little' more bearable?
    One of my Mum's dog has epilepsy and if she's having a fit, the other one barks to let my Mum know, the darling.
    Bedtime actually sound quite lovely :o)
    Hope your wounds heal up quickly x

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  2. Oh, poor Frodo, don't tell him what he did when he wasn't really there to know about it, poor sweetie.
    I was once bathing Lindy's bleed wound with a wash prescribed by the veterinarian, and I guess it really hurt her because she actually growled and snapped at me, but I know she would never want to hurt either of us, because she stopped as soon as she realized I was the one she growled at.
    I can just imagine you with five dogs and a cat on your bed. What a giggle. Lindy can't get up onto our bed unless we place the two-step stool beside the bed, and we only do that when there's a thunderstorm and she is frightened. As soon as the storm is over, she goes back to her own bed a few feet away (but still in our room).

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  3. I've never heard of dogs 'seizing' before. Benno has pancreatitis frequently but he doesn't bite anyone, he's just in bad pain himself.

    We do love our dogs, don't we.

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  4. Five dogs and a cat! Oh I'd love to live like that -- just for a little bit, to see what it's like. Poor Frodo. We used to have a cat who had seizures. In the end he was having so many a day we had to have him put to sleep. Which was a shame because he was sweet cat. I can't get Scruffy to sleep on the bed with me when Barry is away. I move around too much.

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  5. What a caring 'mom' you are to your animals. Poor Frodo. He is lucky he has you who understands / cares for him so well. One of my 'little ones' has a neurological disorder. If I pick her up the wrong way, she might snap at me. She doesn't mean to, I know. She just HURTS. I bear no grudge, and really she knows I didn't mean it. I can picture that bed. You are lucky you have any room at all!

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  6. Alone and yet not alone :) Lovely photo!

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  7. Oh dear, poor Frodo and poor you. Hope he's ok now. Love the picture of the three black labs being industrious and the other two not :O)

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  8. Oh my goodness, you have had quite the week. I'm sorry to hear Frodo is having seizures, hopefully by now they have stopped for awhile. Sorry too that you have been wounded while taking care of him. Take care of yourself.

    Puppy teeth? I hope they are not as sharp as kitten teeth, ouch!

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  9. Glad to hear that you were not lonely but sorry to read about poor Frodo. He looks a beautiful dog. Hope he doesn't get another seizure for a good long time. A x

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  10. Five dogs is a dog pound. Hope you heal soon. You are good dog mom.

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  11. Poor Frodo, and poor you!You needed an extra pair of hands at a time like that.I hope your wounds are much better now, and that Frodo is the right way up again.Hoping Barry and his 'crew' had an enjoyable few days too.
    Best wishes to you all,and hugs,
    Sylvia, John and Our Jack xx

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  12. What a busy life with all these dogs but I can't say that you had a dog life ! How sad for Frodo, but fortunately you handle it perfectly. To be bitten can happen in these circumstances. Your bed must be crowded compared to mine with my little cats !
    I still have Claudie and Melissa here and was very busy to show them Brussels, we did a lot and now we are all tired ! One week sightseeing ! Tomorrow they return to the Côte d'Azur. Unfortunately we had heavy thunderstorms and also rain.

    If you want to see the Balliol college again it's here

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  13. Just popping by again to thank you for wishing me well after our trembler yesterday :)

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  14. Need I tell you?--What a week, my friend!
    Love the last photo of the doggie confab. Hope things have smoothing out a bit now.
    Missing you. Take.good.care.

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