Poorly Ralph!

Evening all...What a crazy couple of weeks, since I've not been in work I am struggling to understand how I actually had time to go to work in the first place!

Some things have been moving very slowly but other things have slotted into place and forced me to buck up and get on with it.

Unfortunately, my boy has been properly poorly, which has occupied most of my worrying so I haven't really had much worry left to worry about anything else!! Poor Ralph, produced a nasty poop with blood in it about ten days ago, I took him to the vet and she thought that he had impacted anal glands, she released them...which was bloody disgusting...once she had finished wiping down the table and the units in the examination room which was covered foul smelling bum juice she sent us home saying he should feel better. He was not impressed and having is bum felt and was in a mood for the rest of the day. 

Over the next couple of days his coat became wiry and his eyes were dull, he just wasn't right. 

The youngest daughter and I went off to Suffolk for a couple of days leaving eldest daughter at home in charge. Day two and I get a panicked, very upset daughter on the phone, saying that Ralph had bled all over my living room carpet, so we came home. He seemed lively enough and the following morning I took him on his favourite walk, but he just wasn't interested, he didn't even raise his head when the deer darted out as she always does when we walk that route. I was starting to get really worried when he started lagging behind, then he sat down and that was it! No amount of coaxing was going to make him walk home,  so there was nothing else for it, I picked him up and carried him home, by the time I had reached the train station steps I was sweating and needed to put him down as my back and arms were aching. As I put him on the floor I noticed my coat felt wet, I thought...bloody charming, the little sod has peed on me, but it wasn't pee, my coat was covered in blood and when I took a closer look, so was he, I tried to walk him up the platform steps but he was just too weak, so I wedged him under one arm and got my phone out to call the vets with the other. I got an appointment straight away, got home, shoved my blood covered coat in the washing machine and got him in the car. 

The vet was lovely, she gave him a good examination and concluded that he had a infestation of parasites, probably water parasites from being in the river in the summer, the normal wormer they give us doesn't cover this apparently. Ralph also has a filthy dirty habit of eating his own poop, so if it was parasites then the clever little bugger was recycling them too!!...we were given a prescription for some medicine that we had to syringe into him once a day for four days. For such a little dog it took three grown adults to hold him down and get the medicine into him!  Within a couple of days his coat had completely changed, its all soft and lighter in colour and his sparkly eyes are back. 

I tried to walk his favourite route again but he sat down and I had to carry him back again, the blood has got less and less, and we've had blood free poop's all weekend, so fingers crossed he is on the mend.

Poorly boy!

Feeling well enough to get his toys out!

He still doesn't want to walk very far, but at least he isn't expecting me to carry him!

Its funny, it was almost worse than having a poorly child, I can deal with sick children. But a dog is different, they don't cry and you feel so bloody helpless.

xx