A SICK LITTLE DOGGIE

When the animals in this household become ill, I become distraught. I can’t sleep, I can’t eat and I am overwhelmed with a sense of nausea. If they are hurt, my own body hurts with them. When their illnesses start and they are only just beginning to ail, again my body warns me. Obviously this is not usual and I wonder about the nature of the bond which I have with them.

This evening Toffee didn’t look comfortable. To an average onlooker, however, nothing seemed amiss. But I could tell, by the subtle nuances in his posture, that he wasn’t happy, that something was ailing and he was afraid.

After a few hours, things didn’t look any better. Again, to an outsider, whatever was troubling TOFFEE, was concealed. I could feel my insides turning – a clear indication to me too that something was definitely wrong. And when Max, my 9yr old Golden Retriever, and leader of his pack, started ‘talking’ to me whilst shifting closer and closer to my side, I finally got the message.

I bundled up Toffee. We climbed into the car to make the late night visit to the emergency Vet. Whilst driving there, I wondered what I would say – there weren’t too many obvious symptoms, but Toffee was clearly not himself and I just knew this was indeed an emergency. I searched for the words, to explain to the Vet, what was seemingly the problem.

All I could come up with was that TOFFEE wasn’t himself and that even though his temperature was measured to be normal, his little body was burning up next to me. He was shivering and his tail was tucked in. He was not the energetic Toffee I know. Usually he is clambering to jump on my lap, or to challenge all the other dogs and strutt his stuff.

After a lengthy examination, the Vet pointed out to me the swelling under his tail. To cut a long story short…Toffee had a large abscess in one of his anal glands. This was most certainly not visible when I bathed and groomed him yesterday morning and I had not noticed it during my examination of him in the hours preceding the trip to the Vet. She explained to me that he needed immediate surgery - to lance the abscess and flush out the infection. It most certainly would have burst during the night had I not taken him in to the Animal hospital.

Well, it just goes to show, that my instinct is still with me. I must trust that inner voice that alerts me to these things. Doubt is a social construction that seeks to wither away this gift which I clearly have.

Get better soon, dear Toffee!!!