Vet Visit Again + Happy New Year to All

Four a.m.. Back from the vets about 10 minutes ago. Bobby was having problems every time he fell asleep. He would wake with a mighty 'cough' for want of a better description. He was struggling to get his breath. This has happened occasionally in the past but tonight it was getting rapidly worse so I phoned the vet emergency line. Luckily the vet spends her evening call out times at the surgery so I was able to drive Bobby straight there. After another check up on his heart murmur, an injection and a tablet which looked big enough to give to a horse we came home with a bag full of tablets. He goes back on Tuesday for his heart X-ray. That will probably confirm that he has an enlarged heart which is making up for the faulty valve which causes the murmur. At the moment Bobby is sprawled out in front of the fire catching up on his beauty sleep.

I was going to put this short video up later in the day but I might as well do it now.

It is our very best wishes to all for 2012.



As with the Christmas one some of the graphics were free animated GIFs from the internet.
Soundtrack was produced using iSequence on the iPad.
This shows the app with the first quarter of the tune:



Now for that cup of tea brewing in the kitchen. 4.20 a.m..Not really worth going to bed now as I am normally up by 6.30 a.m.. Thank goodness for PumpkinFM UK Comedy internet radio channel to pass the time.

Update on Bobby

The vet took some blood from Bobby this morning and has just phoned with the results. Slight anaemia which is probably age related. Otherwise liver and kidney functions were OK. She wants to give him a chest X-ray and ECG in the new year as his heart murmur is worse than the last time it was checked - level 5 on a scale of 1 to 6 (6 being the worst). This is to check for any fluid around the heart and work out the best treatment.

This morning's incident was neurological in that his back legs gave way, not for the first time. Back leg and heart problems are 'normal' for older sighthounds (greyhounds, lurchers, etc.) and at 14 Bobby has reached a grand age for his breed.

 

Although stiff from being prodded about and somewhat tired B has eaten well and had a short, slow walk. I think his neck must have a cold spot where it was shaved to get at a vein.  For the moment we continue with his half tablet of Previcox (anti-inflammatory) daily plus occasional Tramadol for painful days.

I doubt there will be a Friday at the Flicks tomorrow but all being well there should be a Saturday at the Cinema.

Off to the Vets

Had to make a quick appointment to take Bobby to see the vet later on this morning. First thing today the poor old fellow had a fit of some sort - possibly a mild heart attack as he has had a heart murmur for a while. At 14 he is getting on a bit for a Lurcher so some old age health problems are to be expected.



Yesterday I had my own annual check up and was pleased, and relieved, to find that the results were all on the good side.

Wings on Wednesday

I had taken to scattering a few peanuts around the bottom of the garden for the Pheasant, which I haven't seen for a couple of days. I did think a Grey Squirrel might come in and bury some of them but I had forgotten something. It's not only squirrels which stash food away for harder times, so do Magpies.

Macro on Monday - Guess What

There was just one correct identification to last week's Guess What so congratulations and the    go to John for correctly identifying `Stinking` Iris seed head (Iris foetidissima).

 

 

In spite of its name I can't say I have ever noticed any particular odour though it is said that the crushed or bruised  leaves can have a beefy smell.

No new Guess What this week. All things being equal they will start again in the new year.

Makes a Change from a Christmas Robin

No apologies for yet another photo of the Pheasant who has become a daily visitor. He is gradually getting used to me being around though he still looks at me cautiously. Yesterday I was able to get within 12 feet (4m) of him for a closer shot as I had been aiming to get a reasonable portrait.



Bobby and I wish all our readers a happy, peaceful end to 2011.

Friday at the Flicks - Merry Christmas + A Pheasant Visits

Best wishes to all:



Background images found as public domain animated GIFs on the web;
Sound Track: Carol of the Bells by Mykola Leontovych arranged by William Wallace and produced using the app iSequence on the iPad. That was only my second attempt at creating music with iSequence.
Animated GIFs needed to be converted to AVI files. For this I found a very useful free open source utility VirtualDub which can be found HERE. Animated GIFs make very short AVI files so they need to be added many times to the time line in video editing software to build up a reasonable sequence length.

The site mp3skull has access to many different performances of Carol of the Bells.
This is one of my favourites (to listen click the play button)
01 - Carol Of The Bells

Powered by mp3skull.com



Earlier in the week a Cock Pheasant made one of its occasional early morning visits to my garden. In the second clip you can see how large a Pheasant is when a male Chaffinch can be seen feeding in the same area.



Have a great weekend observing the wildlife around you.