Barmy Blue's Bland Blog

Yuki's being pampered. She's such a good girl.

Mum took her in yesterday. There were no other animals. I'm told she wanted to chase the vet's cat. When it was time for her to go in mum had to drag her in. We've been wondering about her ears and mouth lately. She was worried Yui might have got grass seeds in her ear the night before and she's been rubbing her face on the carpet a lot lately. We can't see anything there but we think it's just some whiskers growing out.

The vet gave her an injection to calm her down but he didn't get a good angle and she yelped and she wanted to escape. He said he'd also check her ears and mouth too and this was the best kind of time to do it.

We hoovered (even though we did it on Sunday. Yui hates the hoover) washed her bedding and sewed up her favourite toy, a stuffed pheasant.

We called up the vet at about 3 to see if we could get her and then went. She was laying down under the table in the waiting room. She had a lead (provided by the vets) looped around the table leg but she wasn't up to walking round much anyway. She was pretty out of it but when we came in she looked up at us and wagged her tail. We sat down to stroke her a while the nurse dealt with some other things and told us what to do with her and what the charges were. Came to just under £200 including the ear inspection, ear drops they gave us for her ears and the teeth cleaning they did as well as the spaying.

I was pleased to see a little square of one of her legs was shaved. I'm guessing that means they had her on an IV at some point, so I didn't have to worry too much about dehydration. I expected the stitches to be on the side of her stomach because I remember seeing that after a neighbour's cat was spayed quite some time ago now. But the stitches were under her stomach where her fur is thinnest. That was pleasantly surprising. She has such lovely fur after all. It had been sprayed with a blue antiseptic spray.

Her eyes were watery and blurry and I wonder how much she was able to comprehend. The nurse said she'd be out of it until late afternoon today. She has to go back tomorrow for an injection of antibiotics. Normally it would be three days after spaying but because that's a Sunday and the vet's closed on Sundays she has to go in tomorrow.

Mum asked if she should get the car to drive her home but since we live nearby the nurse said she could walk. We got our own lead and gave theirs back. Yui needed a little pushing and lifting to get her up but she walked out of the door reasonably well enough. Pretty much as soon as we were out of the gate she stopped. Mum was pulling her and I got behind her and started pushing. She kept trying to sit down so I had to lift and push at the same time. Luckily for me she has quite a bony bum. This would've been much easier if we had her harness but we assumed she'd have one of those lampshade like collars to stop her biting the stitches.

Pushing and pulling wasn't working so we had to pick her up. Since I have the weaker arms it would've been wise for me to take the back but I wasn't confident I could be gentle enough with her stitches so I took the front and mum took the back. She was actually pretty good. We only had the extendable lead and not the shorter one. The handle of that one is big and heavy so when we first lifted her I put that between my knees but couldn't reach it once I was holding the dog so I had to waddle like a penguin, carrying half a heavy dog and trying not to laugh, because if I did I'd certainly have dropped her.

We had another go at it and this time I held onto the lead but she was so heavy. we couldn't carry her and we were worried about tearing her stitches. We put her down again and managed to get her round the corner where, defeated, I wondered if we should get the car. I stayed with her while mum went to get the car. She just lay down in the sun. I tried to shield her face but her body got hot. To make matters worse, this was gone 3 when school kids get out. Not long after mum left us a group of women rounded the corner, ignored me and the dog, though the children they had looked with bewilderment and a little fear perhaps. Right there, on the corner, these women decided to swap phone numbers, right next to us, blocking almost the entire pavement. People came by and had to squeeze passed and I thought, they could've moved a little further down. It's not like I can move.

I had people coming up to me asking if my dog was alright. One guy asked if it was a husky and he liked huskies. I explained she'd just been spayed and he understood. A dog person then. He asked where she'd been done and I pointed out the vets just round the corner. I'm guessing he doesn't use our vet since he was quite surprised. That was pretty okay. What I couldn't stand was people coming up to me and asking "is your dog alright?" I'd say yes, she's just been spayed and they said what? Spayed. Huh? I got pretty sick of it so the last time said it in short sharp sentences so as even idiots could understand. She's had an operation. She was drugged. She's fine.

There are gas works going on at that corner too and at one point a van driver had to stop to let some care pass and held a bottle of water out of the window asking if the dog needed a drink. Very nice. I explained she was fine, just drugged. Eventually mum turned up and had to park in that spot. There was some debate as to how to put her in the car. We don't have back doors. No need. I was all for sticking her in the boot but it might have been a bit too hot for her. Then I said we should put my seat down and she could sit on that and I'd walk. So we did that. once we stopped fussing around she got up and climbed in on her own, a little shaky but she managed. She likes the car.

It didn't take long to walk home and we got her in as quick as we could, since she was in the sun again. She wanted to lay down in the hallway but moved when I started trying to fan her with a towel. She went into her den, hit her head once or twice and eventually settled down.

We kept a close eye on her throughout the day. She spent most of the time sleeping. At one point I noticed a rather suspicious dark patch on her rear. I think she must have had an accident at some point before, during or after the operation. I had a go at it with a damp tissue but I didn't want to disturb her too much.

We put down some newspaper in case she had an accident at night and left the living room door open in case she wanted to sleep in here. She's been a little more awake today but she hasn't been out yet. We were worried because she hadn't eaten or drunk anything. In the afternoon mum was eating a digestive while I was out of the room and Yui showed interest so she gave her a little bit. I still object to that but I guess it's okay. When I heard this I went to find her something more appropriate. I considered ham but can't that be a bit salty. i went to chicken in the end and gave her tiny pieces.

Now she was eating we just had to make her drink. I wondered if we should fill up the spare bowl and leave it in here in case she got thirsty in here. I tried to show it to her but she wasn't interested. Sometimes I wonder if animals realise there's water in there, since it's hard to see and smell so I dipped my finger in it to show her. and held it out to her. She licked it so I cupped my hands and dipped them in the water and held it to her. She drank it so I kept repeating this process until she had enough.

For dinner we decided to give her some nice white fish. Mum had to go out to buy it. We cooked it and mashed it up with some peas and carrots. We put it on a plate for her so that it was easy to reach. She ate most of it and I gave her some water again until she's had enough.

Anyway. She's starting to wake up a little more now and she seems to be getting better steadily. I just hope she doesn't get too used to this pampering .