Some Days are just...

Yesterday was one of those days...Sherlock has been the star of the blog for a while, relaxing in all his beauty, but a couple of days ago he seemed a little off color and wasn't eating. I didn't think much of it, it's been such damp miserable weather and walkies are short and limited so you don't really work up an appetite, and I was kind of distracted by the mammoth task of getting my courses online and now finally writing the final exams, answer-sheets and instructions...so what should happen, but Sherlock refuses food and walkies for the second day running, and then fell off the sofa and couldn't walk, shivering and peeing in a panic...and so naturally I got quite worried and decided to take him to the vet on Wednesday morning, although the exams were in the early afternoon to evening.
Just as I'm getting the car organized, the growth on his chest burst open leaking blood and fluids, and he can't walk...so I have to carry him to the car, the wee fat thing, heavy beyond description, having spread pottie pads everywhere. Nobu refused to join us, which in some ways was a good thing, so he stayed home to watch the house.
Turns out Sherlock was running a high fever...my beloved vet helped carry him in and worked to massage out a lot of the gunk, and then they asked me to please wait in the car (COVID procedures) while they took Xrays and whatnot and gave him fluids and a shot of steroids and antibiotics and more whatnot. The poor wee pup is in the final stages of a metastatized cancer, we knew it was coming, but he is so cheerful and jubilant, spreading love and sunshine and happy smiles every day, he just never let you feel it until now. I'm not into all the life-prolonging stuff, right now my priority is to get a load of used soft cotton t-shirts and keep changing them when they get soiled, and helping him enjoy the best tidbits, and massages, and family space. i have a battery of meds to support the process, steroids and antibiotics, painkillers, and fortunately some delicious tins of wet cat food have tempted him to eat today. He's able to pop off and pee in the garden at will, so life is kind of back to normal, only of course his regimen of morning walkies has ground to a halt under the circumstances. Every day is special, some days are just...full of tears and sadness, i guess.

Happy Setter

Photo by Lelantos

Mother's Day Pupdate

Nobu had his annual summer trimming session at the inimitable Inuya. The gifted owner trained in the US so he knows his stuff with regard to setters, and is such a dog lover he's very reasonable. Nobu loves the jacuzzi! 
Meanwhile life goes on in lockdown with masks and avoiding everything along with some hospital stuff inbetween. Fortunately we are blessed, if things seem fragile, precarious and transient. Yea though I walk in death's dark vale...

By the time the parks open and we're allowed to go to the beaches it may be too hot...today is already summer temperatures. This is a wee jaunt in our local park, which the friendly neighborhood seniors keep abundant with flowers throughout the year. Take care everyone, stay safe and stay well.

Photos by Lelantos

After the rain

 We've had a couple of days of freezing weather and continuous rain, so today i'll be busy washing towels and the pile up of clothes, but i definitely want to pop out to the park cherry blossoms with the dogs today. Sherlock hates the rain, hates getting his feet wet, hardly wants to go out to pee, so he has to be coaxed with treats and lavished with praise. He prefers to wait it out, only of course that's impossible when it rains all day, funny wee guy. At any rate neither pup wants to go walkies, you can tell the mood from the morning, it's like, what? walkies are off, of course, don't make me, mum. I'm fast asleep, look at me resigned to sleeping on the sofa all day...

Sherlock's wearing my new mosaic scarf designed by Arella Seaton, an Estonian knitwear designer now in the UK. It's a testknit, so the pattern should be coming soon. It's called Loojangulinnud, and there are lovely birds in the pattern. The gorgeous colors are courtesy of Chappy Yarn : she's a wonderful Japanese indie dyer living in Hongkong, and these are her new 2020 semisolid colorways. Huntsman, Kawasemi, Meteor Shower, Ink blue, among others...
Now to fry up some cabbage and chicken for a doggie breakfast, they need something gentle on the stomach with all this damp cold weather. Be aware that some rescued setters have delicate stomachs and intestines...with two dogs that means wake you four times in the night as each in turn feels the need to pee...and again...and you get ready for breakfast by washing out the vomit on the blanket in one of the cages and wiping down the surfaces, before you can change the water, and make up a breakfast dish...and then pop into the garden to scoop up goopie poop in the wet grass...part and parcel, as it were, not that in any way this diminishes the love, and the joy of having the furbabies in your life. Setters rule supreme in my book.

tulips

Stay home, stay safe

Mummy likes to read when she stays home, and fortunately there's a great new book out by a fellow dog and companion animal blogger, Dr. Zazie Todd. I have been enjoying her blog, Companion Animal Psychology for many years now, because it helps you keep up to date on the latest scientifically researched understandings of dogs and helps me think how it applies to my own experience with rescued setters. I'm glad I got Wag to enjoy during the covid pandemic, as the university classes have been bumped another two weeks. 
She has chapters separated by topics related to the whole spectrum of a dog's life, each time offering clear facts and relevant data to help you understand what science tells us about what dogs need, experience and want. Food for thought and a font of wisdom, so refreshing in these times. Way to go, Zazie!
With my beloved Nobunaga an ageing boy,  I'm particularly interested in the chapter "Seniors and dog with special needs".

Aging affects all of the dog's systems. Some of the changes are visible to us: a coat that's less bright than it used to be, less muscle, some changes to sleep patterns, and changes in how often they come to interact with us....It's important to help elderly dogs remain part of the family and continue to have the kinds of experiences they enjoy..." (pp.216-17)

For sure Nobu doesn't go on such long walks because he stumbles and his bones ache, and he knows if he goes too far afield I can't carry him home, so in his wisdom he makes loops around the house, doing a longer loop or a couple of shorter loops if he has the stamina, or just one short loop if he doesn't feel up to it. 

 And he still likes to play, with a shorter attention span and less bumptious enthusiasm...but a wee chew on some cherry twigs is a great game, Mum, thanks. Staying home is just right for Nobunaga and us as a family, with Sherlock getting an extra walkies in the morning just for himself. Stay at home, knit, read, cook (ooh yes mum, more of those chicken cartilage and cabbage stir-fries) and play with your setter babies, all will be well. Blessings be.

Social Distancing

 Thank you all for the kind donations to CACI! The debts are paid, but please remember, while crowdfunding makes a bang, they take almost 20% of the funds for themselves. Please donate directly in future for a 100% in CACI hands! And rescuing setters carries on apace, so please consider making a regular monthly donation, either at Sanbansenoinutachikikin, Yuucho Ginko Japan Post 10540-85757001, or Mitsui Sumitomo Bank 254-2050095, details in Japanese below. 

<<ゆうちょ銀行>>

口座名:三番瀬の犬達基金

記号:10540/番号:85757001

<<三井住友銀行>>

口座名:三番瀬の犬達基金

支店名:亀戸支店(店番:254)

普通預金口座番号:2050095

Meanwhile if you"re anxious with Covid-19 and since we're exercising social distance, it's a great time to knit my free birddog hunting mitts knitting pattern. Join Ravelry, it's free, and download the pattern in Japanese or English! Happy knitting and happy social distancing.