Posting days: Sunday and Wednesday and, sometimes, maybe, extra ‘news flashes’!

Wednesday  September 21st 2016

Isis continues to go to RSPCA Newbrook Farm once a month for her anal glands to be emptied. She now allows herself to be persuaded to walk rather than be driven to the animal hospital, but still trembles as she waits to be seen. We have the first appointment of the day – 8.15  a.m. (shudder) so that she has as short a wait as possible. She is used to popping onto the scales on the way to the consulting room and stands still to be weighed.

Although I still feel it’s judicious to suggest that she wears a muzzle, she’s usually very good. This time, though, the procedure hurts her. She hurls herself around within the nurse’s restraining arms, rearing and bucking. And she squeaks a little squeak of pain. This upsets me as she is a very, very stoical little dog and never cries.

As usual, she seems fine when the procedure is over and soon we are off to the park, racing around as though nothing has happened.

When she gets home, of course, she does not enjoy the after breakfast rear end shampoo, many rinses and careful drying off, but accepts a special treat.

But Isis remains on high alert. She is obviously tired, but won’t settle. She is irritable and grumpy, snatching at her back legs, growling and uttering little annoyed yaps. Eventually, she falls asleep, heaven be praised. She is fine on her afternoon walk but again, in the evening, restless and grumpy. I breathe a sigh of relief when she takes herself off to bed.

At one o’clock in the morning, she drops off the bed and begins circling, increasingly frantically, little claws rattling on the bedroom floor.

Uncharacteristically nowadays, she growls when I scoop her up to take her downstairs. She’s desperate to get outside.

Once the deed is done, we both return upstairs to bed and she settles quickly.

At five o’clock she gets up again, walks out onto the landing and utters an urgent “Woof!”

I take her outside again. She has explosive diarrhoea. I begin to worry. A few weeks ago several of the park dogs developed severe sickness and diarrhoea and had to be admitted to veterinary hospitals to be put on drips. One dog almost died.

I stay downstairs with Isis until seven when I can’t stand her complaints about sharing the futon any longer.

All is quiet for the next two hours and when I get up and go downstairs she wags her tail happily in greeting and expects a walk. Since she seems fine, off we go. She enjoys her walk as usual and returns home for breakfast, appetite undiminished.

I can’t believe it but she is completely back to normal.

I don’t think that she had eaten anything she shouldn’t. As she is always on the lead when out and about, I am able to monitor what she is doing. Besides, although I’m sure she wouldn’t turn her nose up at a tasty steak, now that she has reached her optimum weight, she no longer scavenges for food.

It seems very unlikely that she had an infection as she is so completely O.K. now. One can only surmise that the problems were occasioned by having her glands manipulated and/or by the stressful morning she had.

Poor little Isis.

Isis came from the Aeza cat and dog rescue and adoption centre in Aljezur, Portugal. For information about adopting an animal from the centre, contact kerry@aeza.org or  www.dogwatchuk.co.uk