Sparrowmaticus And Sickly Liz Thoughts...

About 2 weeks ago, Sparrow stepped in a thorn on one of our rambles around the country park. We removed the thorn, he hobbled for a bit but then seemed to be all right. We didnt' give it any thought but then a week and a bit ago, we noticed him limping quite badly. FG examined the little paws and we found this odd kind of growth between his claws. It looked raw and inflamed. We poked and prodded and cleaned it out, thinking that a piece of the thorn had stayed behind. It didn't heal so I took him to vet - what trauma, on the train, two stops down the line and after a cursory exmamination we were given some antibiotics.

We fed him the antiobiotics for seven days, twice a day, but no luck. The little wrinkled raisin-like inflamed thinghie just sat there. So we took again on Friday afternoon and he got booked into the vet for surgery today. In fact, he is probably going through the surgery now, to remove the piece of growth/inflamed sack of stuff.

It is so weird, sitting here, at home, without the hot little breath next to me. I unlocked the door after dropping him with the vet, expecting a fuss to be made of my return, but then I remembered I just left him with a strange man with sharp tools and was racked with guilt. Poor pup.

He will have to wear a doggy shoe to prevent the bandage from getting wet and from him worrying at it. I am to ring at around half two to find out what time I can collect him from the vet. I am a bit worried about the bill too, but am relieved that the insurance does cover it and we will be paid back.

Gosh. I know it's for his own good but you just end up feeling so helpless.

What's made matters worse is that I picked up a stinker of a cold before (literally, that Saturday) Christmas. I was rotten with it on the day, and this whole week past. I've now had it for more than a week already and feel utterly drained and awful. My voice has changed, I have a smokers' racking cough and my face is constantly swollen from sinusses. I'm breathing through an open mouth but that is becoming worse because I have a raw-red and sore throat. There is no party for us tonight, purely because - as FG puts it: "You are still unclean" - and I agree. I fade in and out of conversations. Doing anything takes absolute ages. Making tea takes about ten minutes, then I forget to drink it.

So, it's been crap. Feel sorry for us - poor FG trapped in a house with sickly wife, pawly pup and crappy tv. Knowing him he'll probably celebrate by killing things online. Bring on 2008.