Monday 30 November 2009

A bit of a Panic and a Nocturnal Visitor

Yesterday Bobby went for his early morning walk as usual and seemed fine. Later in the morning he was having real problems with his back legs which kept giving way. I was more than a bit worried so I phoned the vet's emergency number. That goes to a paging centre where you explain what the problem is and they page the vet on duty and he then phones me. This he did within ten minutes. Fortunately Mike, the vet, was at the surgery so I was able to take Bobby straight there. On examination it turned out that he has arthritis in one hip joint which had flared up. After a quick injection, some tablets and an empty wallet we were on our way home. It took a while for the injection to work. Bobby could walk OK but was obviously uncomfortable though he does seem to have had a good nights rest. This morning he is a lot better. We see the vet again in about ten days time to see how the old fellow is progressing.

Bobby

Zipping through the overnight recording from the video camera I was pleased and surprised that it had at last captured a visit from one of the animals I had been hoping to see. A little mouse was helping itself to the seeds under the bird ground feeder. All the action occurs near the bottom of the screen where the recorder puts its information. I think I will have to lower the view a bit more.



Now I know why the cats visit that area at night.

14 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness! That gave me a fright, I really feel I know Bobby but how very frightening for you. We had something very similar happen with Louis a couple of years ago and had to contact the vet in exactly the same way you did. We had similar scares when we had the Cavaliers too and once had to call the vet out in the night, it is so scary. I really do hope dear Bobby will improve soon, of course this time of year won't help with arthritis but I'm sure the treatment will work wonders.

    Great piece of video of the mouse and at least it didn't involve you standing out in the garden in the pitch black with a torch and a camera....hmmm!

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  2. Hello Jan. I gave me a bit of a fright as well. If you could have seen him bound across the cricket field just now, like me, you would have wondered what all the fuss was about :)
    I had to call the vet out a few years ago when my last dog suddenly developed pancreatitis. The poor old vet turned out at 3 a.m. and was due to fly out on holiday a few hours later that morning. One advantage, though the surgery is about 10 miles away, he lives about 200 yards away from me.

    Much more civilised when the video is captured automatically, especially with the rain, hail and cold winds about these days.

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  3. Glad he is sorted, perhaps I should see the vet. Hope he continues to make good progress. Horrible when animals are in pain, One feels so helpless.
    Another good video, thanks.

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  4. Hello Adrian. Bobby seems to be much better, still a few aches I think but that is to be expected with an older dog. It is awful when animals have something wrong with them. As they can't say what is wrong you just have to observe and guess.

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  5. Glad to hear that Bobby is recovering. Unfortunately the same is happening with my daughter's dog - she's now 11. The little mouse is a lovely visitor to have though. I haven't seen one for a while now; but there's a new hunting cat visiting the garden :(

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  6. Poor old Bobby. Hope he makes a full recovery John.
    Love that little mouse video. :)

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  7. Just popped back to see if there was any news of Bobby and I'm so glad he has improved and was able to go out. Louis used to love running after a ball and leaping up to catch it but when he had the problem they told us not to let him do that any more which seemed such a shame but he seems to have adjusted to being a little more sedate. I forgot to say earlier that the photo of Bobby is really lovely he looks so contented. I hope he continues to improve.

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  8. Thank you Keith. Bobby seems to be coming on well.

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  9. Hello Tricia. Similar age to Bobby. He is 11 or 12. Being a rescue dog I can't be absolutely sure. I think such problems are comon with Lurchers, etc. as they do so much hurtling around. Also there are signs of old injuries so he has been 'in the wars' at some time before he came to me.

    It was great to see the little mouse pulling the small seeds through the mesh.

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  10. Hello again Jan. Bobby sends a sloppy kiss for your concern :) He has instructions to stay calm - some hopes - and isn't allowed long walks.
    Coming back from this afternoon's walk he was moving better than he has for some time so I think the tablets should help a lot. The vet said they were a fairly new one with a good record. I did ask if I could have some to ease my thumb which plays up from time to time. ;)

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  11. Hi there John, sorry to hear about Bobby too. Fingers crossed the tablets and treatment will help him enjoy getting out and about again. I can see how this would have given you a scare.

    When I read your title I was also scared you had a hog out feeding. Its cold here tonight and I'd be worriedd if any were out and about at this time. Phew... it was a mouse! Great capture... yep, the cats do give away the location of mice. We've had the same visits with cats pond watching for mice coming out the caves there.

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  12. Growing older, whether human or animal, is not for the faint of heart, is it? Hope Bobby continues to do well.

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  13. Hello Shirl. So far so good. The tablets seem to be working well and Bobby is getting about just fine.

    I am pleased to say, at this time of year anyway, I haven't seen a hog for ages.

    Certainly cold this morning 0.5C and plenty of frost and ice on the pavements.

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  14. Very true Wilma. There are times when I hate growing older. Bobby says he is feeling a lot better this morning despite the freezing conditions.

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Thank you for visiting. Hope you enjoyed the pictures. Any comment, or correction to any information or identification I get wrong, is most welcome. John

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