Pet

Sunday Musings About Ollie

~ beetleypete ~ 83 Comments

For anyone who doesn’t already know, we had to have Ollie put to sleep early on Tuesday morning. This post explains it.

Ollie’s Last Car Ride

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Because of that, my musings are only about my beloved dog this week.
He died just eight days after his twelfth birthday, a birthday he really enjoyed.

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I would first like to thank everyone who left me a comment or sent me an email about Ollie’s death. It was greatly appreciated, and the outpouring of love for Ollie from this community was incredible. We also received condolence cards and gifts from family, friends, and neighbours. A metal tub of roses to plant in the garden to remember him by. A statue of an angel holding a dog, and lovely personalised cards with Ollie’s name or his photos on them. One of Julie’s friends drew a portrait of him from a photo image, and she is framing it and sending it in the post from Cornwall.

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On Monday, we are returning to the Animal Hospital in Fakenham to collect his paw prints and nose print, which were taken by the Veterinary Nurse after we left him on Tuesday morning. Then in a couple of weeks, we will be back to Fakenham to collect his ashes in a small casket.

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Although we have been expecting this since the diagnosis in December, I cannot even begin to tell you how hard it has hit both of us. We have been in a daze, and feel lost without him. For my part, I physically feel that I have aged five years in less than one week.

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Both my step-daughters have dogs, so on Saturday Julie took over all of his uneaten treats and dog biscuits, as well as his brushes, blankets, and other items to be shared equally between the two dogs, Loki and Luma. I think Ollie would approve that his things were put to good use.

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On this Sunday, if you have a dog, cat, or any pets, give them an extra hug from me. And treasure the fact that they are still with you.

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11 Today!

~ beetleypete ~ 66 Comments

Our beloved dog Ollie is 11 years old today. He will be getting fresh-cooked chicken for dinner later, and some extra treats. He has a present of a soft toy birthday cake too, which he loves!

Julie has also bought him a ‘canine-edible birthday card’. (The things you can find online these days!) It smells of bacon, but he won’t eat it. He definitely does not associate rice paper with food.

Baby Ollie. His first photo.

Big strong Ollie. The most recent photo.

Ollie Update

~ beetleypete ~ 41 Comments

I know many of you like to be informed about what is happening with Ollie. Well, something new has happened. As if our poor dog hasn’t suffered enough in his almost 11 years.

With us both living with full-blown Covid, Julie elected to take Ollie for his walk today. That saved me going out in the freezing rain when I was feeling like death warmed up. On her return, she was concerned. Ollie had tried to poo as usual, but he had trouble passing it, and eventually just started to bleed copiously from his rear end. It didn’t seem to upset him unduly, but naturally worried us and we didn’t want to be faced with an emergency over the Christmas shutdown period.

So Julie rang the Vet and arranged that they would see Ollie under Covid rules, with her wearing a mask. She got an appointment for 4pm. The Vet did the usual examinations, and had an immediate diagnosis. Colitis. Ollie has an inflammation of the colon, caused by the interior version of the frequent exterior skin infections he gets every year.

She managed to put Julie’s mind at rest. It is very common, and easily treated. A prescription of antibiotics, and feed to be changed to small amounts several times a day, instead of one big meal.

Now everyone in this small house has something. Even our beloved pet.

An Alphabet Of My Life: O

~ beetleypete ~ 56 Comments

O=Ollie

Ollie has only been in my life for just under 11 years, but has already become such a significant part of my whole life so far. Everyone knows how much I love my dog, my constant companion. He is the heart and soul of my blog, and has become a firm favourite of many readers around the world.

He features in this A-Z because he has given me so much, and asked for nothing in return. As I type this, he is three feet away from me, and sleeping soundly. He is happy to just be next to me, and to follow me wherever I go.

Without Ollie, I would never have really got to know Beetley. Never met the many dog-walkers who have become friends since I moved here from London. He has provided me with much-needed exercise, something I am sure extended my life expectancy in retirement. He has also given me his devotion, and his undying affection.

Having Ollie to care for made me whole, and a better person in so many ways.

Birthday Boy! Eight Years Old!

~ beetleypete ~ 101 Comments

On the 12th of February, 2012, Ollie was born late at night, in the house next door.

Three months later, he came to live with us, and has been my constant companion ever since. Hardly a moment of any day goes by when he is not close enough to me to touch, and the only time he is ever on his own is when he settles down on his bed at night.

He has mellowed my moods, given me reason to exercise and explore, and through him, I have met most of the people I know in Beetley.

Despite all his numerous surgical procedures and other medical problems, he has stuck with me loyally, and remained my best friend for those eight years.

Happy Birthday for yesterday, to the best dog anyone could ever hope to own.

Ollie At The Vet Again

~ beetleypete ~ 87 Comments

Just over a week ago, we noticed that Ollie’s fur had still not grown back completely, after his last skin infection during the hot spell.
I took a photo of it, when we were out on his walk. You can make out the circle of bare skin, and the mark where a scab had formed.

Then over the weekend, his back got a lot worse. Hair was falling out in more circular patterns, and it was soon looking like this, with more scabs appearing.
(Notice his tail is uncurled, a sure sign he was unhappy at being photographed close up.)

On Monday evening, we noticed this awful sore had appeared on his neck, just above his right leg.

I rang the Vet on Tuesday morning, and managed to get an appointment for today.

Now we are back, with a diagnosis of a yeast infection of the skin, an ear infection in the right ear, and a sample sent away for laboratory testing in case it is Ringworm. Ollie has a week-long course of antibiotics and steroids, ear drops for the right ear, and the sore at the bottom of his neck has to be washed twice-daily with salt water.

I may have to bathe my wallet too, so it can recover from the amount taken out of it…

He was very well-behaved, and allowed the lady Vet to scrape, prod, and poke. For his good behavior, he was rewarded with some delicious cooked chicken pieces once we got home.

Let’s hope that it clears up soon, and he gets no more infections for the remainder of 2019.

Summer Moon

~ beetleypete ~ 51 Comments

10 pm, last night. The rain had stopped for three hours, and we finally saw a full moon over Beetley. I went outside with my camera, but this was the best I could get, at 200 mm full zoom.
It is a poor photo of the Moon, but the point was that this was the first time it had been visible for over a week, due to the low black clouds finally disappearing. And it was still light, even at that late hour.

Next door’s cat spotted me, and came for a stroke. Alfie knows me well, as I feed him when they are away, and he likes to play with Ollie too. I call him ‘Alfredo Cat’, and he recognises his name. But he wasn’t exactly in the mood to pose for me, once he realised I had no food. So the photo is not in focus, as he kept moving.

After almost a week of rain, the simple pleasure of stepping outside with the camera is something to relish.

Ollie and the dentist

~ beetleypete ~ 62 Comments

Ollie has lived for well over five years without any dental problems. His teeth have always been in excellent condition, even the Vet said so.

On Tuesday, he suddenly stopped eating his dinner, and sat down. He looked at me plaintively, so I checked his mouth, to see if something was stuck in his teeth. I was alarmed to discover that one of his top molars was loose. On further investigation, I could see that the large tooth was actually split in two, with the outer section easily moved by my finger. He wasn’t complaining though, and finished his dinner soon after.

The next day, I phoned the Vet. They made an appointment for Thursday, to check the tooth. Sure enough, it had broken in half, just held on by being secure in Ollie’s gums. The best guess was that he had chewed too hard on his plastic bone, ironically intended to promote dental heath. The Vet advised tooth removal, and booked Ollie in for an extraction on Friday morning. I took him in at 08:30, and he reluctantly walked off with the nurse, oblivious to what awaited, but undoubtedly suspicious.

I phoned at 1 pm, and was told it was all over, and he was doing well. I could collect him before 4.
When I arrived, he was dopey, and fed up. Not interested in pats or cuddles, he marched off to the car, eager to get in, and get home. Along with the enormous bill, (£300) the Vet gave me the tooth. It was a huge double molar, otherwise very healthy, save for the large split.

Ollie was not his old self at all. He took to his bed, and looked sideways at me, no doubt upset at his treatment, and being abandoned. Despite pain relief, he cried intermittently, and refused to wag his curly tail. I gave him his favourite meal, chicken and pasta, but he took almost two hours to eat any of it. He is now sitting grumpily beside me, in a half-doze. In ten days time, he has to go back for a check-up.

He’s not going to like that.