Daniel Oakley

Jet was having one of his good days when John the vet came today. Jet has demolished a pack of ham, a chicken breast, several custard creams and strange looking orange fairy cake. He has even been catching the ball and walking around outside. He is still the weight and size of a beer barrel. Fighting the cancer but not looking too comfortable.

Pip has had further strokes and is not moving much. John has suggested we have a few days and see how it goes. I don’t think we’ll see much progress over the weekend.

Quality of life is so subjective. Jet wants so much to enjoy life, but it is becoming difficult for him and us.

Well almost. Both Pip and Jet are getting rather spoilt at the present, so we have nowhere to sit. Karen has been cooking them beef and potatoes, egg and pasta, to try to get them eat. Jet is only interested in custard creams – at 30p a packet, I wonder why we have been spending a fortume on dog food all these years.

We’re currently nursing both Pip and Jet, who are on their last legs. Pip goes back to John, the vet, on Friday to test her kidney function. If she is unable to maintain some function, we don’t expect her to live much longer. She also had a “stroke” of some sort and is very unsteady on her feet.

Jet continues to swell, and is now struggling to walk, as he is carrying around a gallon of extra fluid now. So he is quite heavy to lift on and off. He is quite happy but starting to struggle and not eating much. Despite his bloated body, there is not much else on him.

We’ll contimue to do what we can, but don’t expect them to be around much longer.

Pip is off her food, and drinking loads, so I took her into see John, our vet. Pip shivered with fear, cowering in the corner – she really hates going to the vets, any vet. I lifted her onto the bench and she did a wee, which was just as well as we needed a sample for John to test.
Unfortunately the bad news is that she has chronic kidney failure. The good news is that if we can get her eating a low protien low phosphorus diet we will be able to prolong her life. Trouble is she doesnt like the specialist renal diet food we have tried her on.
If I say I am really at the end of my tether with all of this, those of you who have followed our journey this year will know what I mean. First losing Roly, then Joan, Paul’s Mum, then Jet on his last legs, going any day soon and now Pip. I feel so sad so much of the time. I know they are only dogs and the loss is not so awful when compared to losing Joan, but their symptoms and everything are just reminders of her illness and that awful last week she spent in hospital.

No more dogs this year. You have read it here on the blog, now someone please remind me when the next soppy, hairy face looks up at me!

A cute photo of Pip….

Jet still enjoying the sunshine, but his 6 pack has turned into a beer barrel and he much slower in getting about. He enjoys helping with the gardening during the daytime, but in the evening wants to cuddle up for lots of fuss.

Here he is getting close to Paul

OK for a bit but Paul found the drooling over his face a bit too much. So Jet was persuaded to use Paul’s shoulder instead on which to rest his head.

Pip is getting a bit quiet and has gone off her food. I wonder if she is a bit depressed with all of this, after losing Roly? I know I am.

Sunday 12 th Oct was nice and sunny for Paul’s birthday. We did jobs in the morning then our friends Barry and Julie called in with a birthday cake for Paul.

Eating cake

People in the arm joined us for a cuppa and a slice of cake.

Vi made Patch work for his bit of cake.

Barry and Julie are off to the USA for 6 months to join their son Ben and his wife Laura near Miami. They have sold their old boat “Crosby”, but because of the “credit crunch” decided not to leave the cash in a bank and instead have bought a new boat called Arogorn (Lord of the Rings connection here I guess?)

Back at the mooring, and the weather has been fantastic.

Paul has made a “box” for the generator to keep it dry in the winter rain and has even lined it with foam to keep the noise level down. He has drilled some ventilation holes which will also aid air circulation and cooling the engine. Jet has supervised the work, making sure Paul gets the measurements right.

The results of the biopsy came in while we were in Greece and I am very sad to say that Jet has abdominal and liver cancer and there is nothing that can be done. Our thanks to Sarah and Stuart for looking after Jet and Pip while we were away, as if they couldnt have had them Paul might not have been able to go.
Here are some recent pictures of Jet.

Hi, we have just got back from our trip to Thessaloniki in Greece. I went to a “COST 866 Green care in agriculture” workshop with Liz Ormerod as representatives for the Society for Companion Animal Studies. I had a really fantastic time, though it was hard work and I came back exhausted. Paul came too and with Liz and her husband Edward, we stayed at the 5 star Elektra Palace Hotel with views over the square to the beach and over the bay to Mount Olympus.

Paul worked in the daytime, then he and Edward joined us for dinner in the evening.

The delegates all worked hard and it was impossible to miss a session as they were very interactive and we had to contribute. But on Wednesday after a trip to the Cassandra Farm Prison to see Green Care in action (absolutely inspiring example of rehabilitation rather than inhuman punishment), the workshop delegates were taken to the beach for a paddle and a last meal together. The beach and the views were wonderful.

There are lots of street dogs in Thessaloniki and they hung around the restaurants to be fed by the tourists. This one sat under the hedge next to our table keeping out of the sun.

While we were in Greece, Jet and Pip went to stay with their Uncle Stuart and Aunty Sarah in Oxford. Sarah and Stuart were very brave as Jet has been diagnosed with peritinitis (inflamation of the abdomen) and is on antibiotics and anti-inflamitories, and so they had to give out the pills etc. Jet had also just come out of investigatory surgery, and had stitches in his tummy, which had to be inspected each day to check they werent coming undone.

Thanks to Sarah and Stuart, Paul and I had a lovely time, and though we would have liked to have had more time together we enjoyed seeing the sun again.