Last Goodbye

With all the trauma from that vicious attack on Patch by my neighbour’s pack of Jack Russells, the prognoses from the vets at Lammermoor Veterinary Clinic was not good as there was no blood circulation in the back leg which would mean damaged arteries and blood clotting. Because of Patch’s advanced age and the amount of trauma, the vets did not think that Patch would survive a full amputation so they suggested that the best course of action was to say goodbye.

After a lot of heart wrenching deliberation tearing through my mind and listening to many other advice, I thought it best to go see him this afternoon and somehow Patch would let me know what would be the best course of action knowing that in the back of my mind it could be our last goodbye. Trying to finish my work before setting out to Patch, I received a phone call just after 1pm from Alex, one of the vets looking after Patch and he told me that Patch had decided to cross over that rainbow bridge himself. My emotions already very shaky, didn’t hold out as my voice broke and I choked on any words I could say. Patch must have known that this was a hard decision for me to make so he must have made it himself. And I never got to say goodbye, and that how sorry I am for not protecting him enough.

We were already booked to see the Majozi and Monark concert in Pretoria this evening, I was not sure if I should go but I thought it was best for me to go to get my mind back to the living and away from my wildly swinging emotions of heart brokenness and my new hated of Jack Russells but one of Majozi’s songs, Last Goodbye brought all my sadness back to the fore. You can see some of my memories of Patch here RIP Patch 1999 - 2016

Okay I am not sure of exactly how Majozi's lyrics go but I changed it a bit from a father saying goodbye to his daughter on his deathbed to Patch whispering his last goodbye to me even though I didn’t make it to him on time.

Don’t let your love go to waste ‘cause I’ve gone to a different place. But if your heart, if your heart breaks just know that there are always higher stakes.

You are my moonlight oh in the rain and when I am gone I hope you will feel the same. Oh my provider, don’t you cry, this is our last time, our last goodbye.

Come close to me, I want to see your eyes before I leave and say I love you and I can’t believe you chose me. You are the tastiest treat of my eye, I give my life for you I die. Oh my protector don’t you cry, this is our last time, our last goodbye. Our last goodbye.

And as death is anchored on my shore, your light is tethered to my soul. For now I have to let you know this is the last time, our last goodbye.

And when I see Jesus Christ, I know he will greet me with arms stretched wide and he will say he is proud of you and one day we all will be by his side.

And heaven’s gates will take your soul but for now my guardian you must be bold. And heaven’s gates will take your soul but for now my caregiver you must be bold.

Oh my guardian don’t you cry, this aren’t our last time, our last goodbye.

Patchy Prayers Needed

It is not looking good but we will wait till the results from the kidney tests come in before making a decision on what to do. We want to give Patch a fighting chance but at the same time we don't want him to suffer.

Because Patch is 17 years old which makes him about 90 in human terms, the vet says that in most cases their kidneys would be so overwhelmed and won’t be able to cope and will shut down in a few days. So we are running some tests to monitor Patch’s kidneys and if it starts to shut down then I am so afraid, sorry I am battling to write this, that we have to make the decision and say goodbye to Patchy.

But for now although it looks bad we will give all the support Patch needs as he has this powerful will to live. When I found him arriving home on Friday, he in all likelihood should have been dead but he was so relieved to see me and tried to get up to welcome me home. You don’t understand how much I hate Jack Russells right now. Sorry but I know I shouldn’t but they just must not come near me.

Thank you all for you kind words of support and your prayers.

Reality Hits Hard

It is not looking good for Patch after he was viciously attacked by a pack of Jack Russels in his own back yard. Covered in bite marks from head to toe, you can see he is trying to put on a brave face as he lifted his head and put it into my hand which was stroking the only part not covered in bandages.

Please pray for Patch, as some hard decisions may need to be made as after the shock starts wearing off, reality of the situation starts hitting us hard.

Worst Nightmare

My worst nightmare happened as I feared. As I arrived home this afternoon, I saw Patch my oldest Italian Greyhound who is about 90 years old in human terms, lay by the back door, he lifted his head and tried to get up but failed. Something was wrong so I jumped out of my pickup and rushed over to him.

I found him in a pool of blood and covered in dog bite marks everywhere. After gently carrying him to the pickup, I drove like a mad man to the vet and at the same time screaming about that raddy pack of Jack Russels next door. I don’t think anyone witnessed the incident but in my mind that evil pack are the only culprits after killing two of our cats a few weeks back.

Lynda by that time arrived home and told me that one of the Jack Russels had blood on his muzzle and neck. The owner flatly denies that it was his pack dogs and blamed the other neighbour’s dogs because his maid saw them in our yard but he ignored that blood was seen on one of his dogs.

Branches Out of the Way

For the last three weeks our DSTV Catch Up has not being working. Last weekend I cut down a branch that has being growing in front of the dish but it did not improved the reception. After more tests over the week it turns out that I need a bigger dish but I also noticed that some branches even higher were also in the way.

It just bad timing as after the Christmas break who has any money and with our landlord thinking about moving making matters worse.

So after work today I set up the ladder, armed with a saw, I climbed to the top most rung to the branch that I cut the week before, then I had to set up rigging and safety gear, start climbing a couple of more metres higher.

Only when I was safely down, did my Italian Greyhounds and one Jack Russell/Pug cross came out to explore what all the fuss was all about. With the branches cut away, the reception improved greatly. Now to wait and see if the catch up is working again.

Octogenarian Patch

Patch my oldest Italian Greyhound is 16 years old. In July this year, Patch made his 80th year that is in human years. Truly a senior citizen.

As an Octogenarian, Patch is still active and very very naughty, jumping up onto the table and steeling the cat’s food. “But dad, kats fud is yummy!” sulks the old man. In winter Patch suffers from a bit of arteritis on his joints and starts limping. He has lumps and bumps all over, his eye sight has deteriorated and he doesn’t listen very well, I suppose deafness is allowed at his age. Wait don’t all men have selective hearing?

As a precaution, we stopped taking him on long walks now, but he gets very distressed when we leave him behind. Therefore we have to sneak out on our walks so that both Patch and our cat Minky don’t see us leave as they would follow us on our walks into the veld.

Dogs Crossing

 

Forget the Beatles and the famous Abbey Road zebra crossing, we have a new crossing, this time a rickety wooden bridge across water to an island at Walkhaven. Below is Matthew with the dogs Patch, Jade, Podge and Maxy, all crossing over the bridge.

It is a beautiful day, and a perfect morning to take the dogs for a walk and a bit of socialising.

Rain, Loadshedding, and Walks

The heavens opened up this morning which left us wondering when would this torrential rain would come to an end. While the rain just continued, we started looking out for any tell tell signs of animals collecting in pairs or some bearded man building a large boat.

Somehow the rain did come to an end, the skies turned blue and the sun started drying up the saturated land. But Eishkom, our only electricity producer thought it a perfect time to continue with load shedding. To make the best of a bad situation we decided that a walk will do us good.

So walk we did along this dirt road and into the country side. Here is Lynda and Matthew with Patch, Maxy, Podge, and Jade, during our walk. Toto this aren’t no yellow brick road. Happily we can report back that we found no animals walking two by two, nor any crazy man building an ark, nor the Emerald Palace but I nice walk was had by all.

Missing Jade and Minky

After arriving to a huge welcome from all my pets and settling down for the weekend, I took a walk in the garden with some doggy treats. Jade, my smallest Italian Greyhound, along with Minky our cat, where playing hide and seek and with the doggy treats in my hand, I could only entice Podge, Maxy, and Patch to me. Here in today’s photo I was asking them “Where’s Jade? Where’s Minky?”

Podge, the Jack Russell, was only interested in the treat and couldn’t keep his eyes off, whereas the Italian Greyhounds where alert, looking for Jade and Minky but also not straying too far from the treats. What must have been going through their minds was “Don’t worry about them two, they are somewhere in the garden.”

Old Man Patch

I thought this might be the last winter for my grand old Italian Greyhound, Patch is one of the first out of bed his warm bed on cold winters mornings but the cold has been hard for him as his joints just won’t function as it used to when he was younger. Although at 15 years old Patch may be grey and long in the tooth but this wise dog is still young at heart and as my grandmother used to say, another clean shirt will do you.

Iggy Pack

And the rest of the family waited patiently for us to return from our weekend away. They had Robynne feeding them while we have been away but it is not the same when the pack is not whole.

Since we came home late last night, we didn’t get to spend quality time with the Iggy Pack who stayed watch while we played, so when I returned home from work today, the pack they were waiting at the gate. Maxy the lead Italian Greyhound took up his usual position in the front, with Podge the Jack Russel, and the rest of the iggies, Patch and Jade in the rear.

Old Man Patch

News this week came in the Patch’s younger sister Venus who happens to also be Maxy’s mother passed away. Yes Patch is getting on in years, over 15 human years that is. Although he suffers a little during winter of arthritis and doesn't like getting out of bed until the sun has warmed up the yard he is back to his bouncy self.

We spent the afternoon at the World of Dogs and Cats looking for something new for our Italian Greyhounds and the rescue cats. At the Greyhound Rescue Group South Africa we bought Patch this lovely blue winter jacket which he is now modelling. Now Patch has no excuse to get out of bed in the mornings. Oh well this winter has been cold and Patch is an old man so he can stay in bed as long as he likes.

Nespresso Birthday

Well it is that time of year again were I turn another year older and hopefully wiser too. Spending the day with Lynda, Matthew, my iggies, and Minky is all I need for my birthday. But Lynda went one further knowing my taste for Nespresso, went and purchased a Nespresso Inissia automatic espresso machine along with a with a milk frother, uhmm, now I have no more complaints. Happy birthday to me, happy birthday Mr President.

Gap in the Rain

It has been raining on and off this weekend. It is great for the veggie patch but not for riding Vespas and for walking the dogs. So today we waited for a large gap in the rain, then went out to the park below Lonehill Koppie.

Here is Matthew testing his new camera by taking a photograph of Patch and I.

Famous Five’s Big Wash

It is a hot Sunday, a perfect day to wash the pets and the Famous Five get their big wash. Jade, the smallest of my Italian Greyhounds, was first go as she is the scardy cat, followed by Podge, the Jack Russell, then was handsome Maxy, my beautiful Italian Greyhound, then Patch, my old Italian Greyhound, and finally but not least, Minky, my sexy kitty cat. Yes four dogs and a cat got washed this afternoon.

Not All What It Seems

My remaining pack of 3 Italian Greyhounds and a rescue Jack Russell, were way overdue for their walk but I am now so scared going out of our haven, in case one of my dogs pick up something. But I was torn between my grief from my loss of Skye and the ignoring the rest of my pack. Time to wake up and smell the roses, it time to walk my pack again and get a life.

Arriving at the Kingfisher Park in Fourways, I found the park in a bad state with grass so long that it I could not dare allow my pack walk there. It was getting late in the afternoon and I wasn’t in the mood to drive to Delta or Emmerentia so I eventually ended up at the Lonehill Park. I haven't been there for over 5 years because it wasn't friendly to Italian Greyhounds due to no fencing at the roads at either end and Maxy loved to just run and run. But this time I am very confident with my pack will stay close to me and listen.

I was pleasantly surprise how beautiful it was there. My pack behaved and stayed close. One side of the lake at Lonehill Park was covered in these green hyacinth that it looked like a beautiful flat lawn to race on, so did my pack think. Each one of my pack tried to run on the water only to find themselves swimming. Here is Podge and Patch finding that the grass is not all what it seems.

Contagious Yawn

Last night Skye developed a fever and had refused to eat. He has just been weaned off the immune system suppression medicine so it is not a good time for him to catch anything. Here is Patch yawning in sympathy with Skye as both walk around in the garden first thing in the morning. Excuse me; this yawning is contagious, huuuuuuuuuuuuuoooouuuaaaaaaahaaa!!! This is too early for any sensible dog to be up and about, let alone a sick one.

Anyway, our only option was to go straight to the vet. Skye's temperature was 39.4˚C, which is too high, and early signs of inter-cellular bacteria were found in his blood. The vet is not sure if possible Ehrlichiosis is causing it or if his Immune Mediated Haemolytic Anaemia, IMHA, is returning now that he has been weaned off his medicine. Bottom line, Skye's immune system is way down, so he could have picked up any bug.

They say, smooth water comes before the waterfall, but it seems like I have only gotten my head above the water when I find myself back in the rapids. Here we go once again.

Waste of a Weekend

Here I was in my bed for the whole weekend including Friday, no not that type of fun bed but the sick bed as I have full blown man-flu. It is Day Seven since I handed my cellphone over to Cell C for repairs and now that is far in the back of my mind as I now have to contend with a congested sinus, headaches and coughing as cabin fever was starting to set in.

It was warm outside and I had to get some fresh air, even for a short while. So I took my dogs for a slow shuffle around Emmarentia with lots of stops. I took this photograph while recuperating under a tree next to the spring in upper Emmarentia. While Podge was exploring the stream, Jade was forever trying to get onto my lap, Maxy and Patch keep watch as usual, and Skye wanted to play with everyone.

Girl's Best Friend

Who says diamonds are a girl's best friend when there is a camera around Jade wants all the attention. Hey move aside Patch, you're hogging the star of the show's spot.

Somewhere

Yes, that cat was somewhere here, I can smell them. Here are three of my scallywags, Patch, Skye and Maxy smelling something tasty, if it is not a cat, it could be some kat fud.