Liylah to the rescue; NOT
Our first full day of country life was memorable. My walks down the road with Liylah brought neighbours out who I haven’t seen since our family drama began. A few such people were totally unaware of Gilly's situation. Bringing them up to speed was heart wrenching for all parties concerned. Others are ‘country friends’ who we bump into in Birch Point only; first meetings are awkward, because the subject of Gilly’s illness has to come up, and it’s hard to get past it.
Gilly slept well, and awoke feeling slightly better than the day before. He has trouble navigating on the bumpy, unpredictable terrain, but he managed to get to and from the dock twice; once after breakfast, and then again later in the afternoon.
Gilly continues to have an easier time early on in the day (which is a rather short window of opportunity, since he gets up between 10:00 and 11:00 a.m..) By about 2:30 this afternoon he went upstairs to rest, and confided in me that he wasn’t feeling himself. I was worried (partially because that’s my nature). He does not usually use this descriptor. But he made it through the rest of the day and evening without anything significant occurring. I suppose that’s a good sign. I’m especially on guard, because today is the second day on half the dose of steroids. Dr. Kavan had mentioned that if he seems sleepy, I should revert to the higher dose. The total change of location and routine came into play at exactly the same time as the reduced dose, so I have to rely on good old intuition when it comes to knowing which complaints are more serious than others.
As Gilly soaked up the sun, he watched Liylah with amusement from his place on the dock; she spent hours trying to catch the waves with her teeth as they crashed to shore. It was almost as if she was protecting us from some sort of enemy. She saw no connection between the boats and Sea Doo’s passing by and the resultant waves. It was too funny, watching her run sideways with one ear standing up, back and forth along the beach. I’ll have to bring up the video camera next time we come, because seeing it in action is priceless.
I tried to go for my first lake swim of the season, but it was cut short due to Liylah’s near fatal heroics. As soon as I started out on my swim she started to cry, seemingly worried about me (perhaps thinking I was in some kind of trouble). As she whimpered, she followed me along the shore. She swam out a bit now and again, but turned back each time as it got too deep. I was trying to make my way towards the Boretsky’s (my usual destination; about an hour’s swim there and back at a relaxed pace). By the time I reached the Freder’s (less than halfway) she got distracted and started mingling with my friends who had come outside to greet me, She made herself at home (I know why too; Lenny admitted to feeding her some bagels earlier); I noticed her moving in the direction of the opened kitchen door, so I called out to her by name. The last thing I want is for my dog to become a nuisance to friends and neighbours.
In response, she came charging down the hill towards me and literally flew off the dock into the water, seemingly attempting to save me from harm. I think she believed I was calling for help (perhaps the Dalmatian in her kicked into high gear). It was very deep. She swam towards me, and then turned around to climb back on the dock in sheer desperation. She made repeated failed attempts to pull herself up, but kept slipping. She went under water a few times.
She can swim, but is either afraid of deep water, or just unfamiliar with it. Maybe her dive into the lake yesterday was her first introduction to water??? We really don’t know.
Needless to say, I ended up rescuing her by holding her collar and escorting her towards shore. She made one more attempt at climbing onto the dock, so I grasped her collar again and brought her right to the water’s edge. I made the decision to turn back, so off we went, with Liylah continually crying and swimming out to me, yet not quite willing (or able) to reach her target. I suppose we may have to keep her in the house next time I plan to take a long swim.
Gilly had a few Birch Point visitors as he sat out on the dock. Later on Sharon and Marvin joined us for some late afternoon sunshine. I’d say Gilly’s day was social and certainly different out of what has become the ‘ordinary.’
I hope Gilly appreciates the change as much as I do. It’s hard to ask, because as soon as Marvin and Sharon walked out the door, he and Liylah fell fast asleep. They are both plum tuckered out. Liylah has never had this much exercise in her life, that’s for certain. I can just imagine what she’ll dream about tonight. My cheeks are red (my father used to love to see us kissed by the sun), the sunset is magnificent, I hear fireworks in the distance; a nice way to end a most magnificent summer’s day.
Gilly slept well, and awoke feeling slightly better than the day before. He has trouble navigating on the bumpy, unpredictable terrain, but he managed to get to and from the dock twice; once after breakfast, and then again later in the afternoon.
Gilly continues to have an easier time early on in the day (which is a rather short window of opportunity, since he gets up between 10:00 and 11:00 a.m..) By about 2:30 this afternoon he went upstairs to rest, and confided in me that he wasn’t feeling himself. I was worried (partially because that’s my nature). He does not usually use this descriptor. But he made it through the rest of the day and evening without anything significant occurring. I suppose that’s a good sign. I’m especially on guard, because today is the second day on half the dose of steroids. Dr. Kavan had mentioned that if he seems sleepy, I should revert to the higher dose. The total change of location and routine came into play at exactly the same time as the reduced dose, so I have to rely on good old intuition when it comes to knowing which complaints are more serious than others.
As Gilly soaked up the sun, he watched Liylah with amusement from his place on the dock; she spent hours trying to catch the waves with her teeth as they crashed to shore. It was almost as if she was protecting us from some sort of enemy. She saw no connection between the boats and Sea Doo’s passing by and the resultant waves. It was too funny, watching her run sideways with one ear standing up, back and forth along the beach. I’ll have to bring up the video camera next time we come, because seeing it in action is priceless.
I tried to go for my first lake swim of the season, but it was cut short due to Liylah’s near fatal heroics. As soon as I started out on my swim she started to cry, seemingly worried about me (perhaps thinking I was in some kind of trouble). As she whimpered, she followed me along the shore. She swam out a bit now and again, but turned back each time as it got too deep. I was trying to make my way towards the Boretsky’s (my usual destination; about an hour’s swim there and back at a relaxed pace). By the time I reached the Freder’s (less than halfway) she got distracted and started mingling with my friends who had come outside to greet me, She made herself at home (I know why too; Lenny admitted to feeding her some bagels earlier); I noticed her moving in the direction of the opened kitchen door, so I called out to her by name. The last thing I want is for my dog to become a nuisance to friends and neighbours.
In response, she came charging down the hill towards me and literally flew off the dock into the water, seemingly attempting to save me from harm. I think she believed I was calling for help (perhaps the Dalmatian in her kicked into high gear). It was very deep. She swam towards me, and then turned around to climb back on the dock in sheer desperation. She made repeated failed attempts to pull herself up, but kept slipping. She went under water a few times.
She can swim, but is either afraid of deep water, or just unfamiliar with it. Maybe her dive into the lake yesterday was her first introduction to water??? We really don’t know.
Needless to say, I ended up rescuing her by holding her collar and escorting her towards shore. She made one more attempt at climbing onto the dock, so I grasped her collar again and brought her right to the water’s edge. I made the decision to turn back, so off we went, with Liylah continually crying and swimming out to me, yet not quite willing (or able) to reach her target. I suppose we may have to keep her in the house next time I plan to take a long swim.
Gilly had a few Birch Point visitors as he sat out on the dock. Later on Sharon and Marvin joined us for some late afternoon sunshine. I’d say Gilly’s day was social and certainly different out of what has become the ‘ordinary.’
I hope Gilly appreciates the change as much as I do. It’s hard to ask, because as soon as Marvin and Sharon walked out the door, he and Liylah fell fast asleep. They are both plum tuckered out. Liylah has never had this much exercise in her life, that’s for certain. I can just imagine what she’ll dream about tonight. My cheeks are red (my father used to love to see us kissed by the sun), the sunset is magnificent, I hear fireworks in the distance; a nice way to end a most magnificent summer’s day.
posted by Gilly at 9:05 PM
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