I should know better

The last few weeks have been a struggle.   Ella has been quite ill, with a mysterious infection in her nose which spread to her tear ducts, made her whole face swell up,  and brought her very low. 

There were many visits to the vet, and many antibiotics were tried.  Poor Ella, oozing unmentionable stuff from eyes and nose, was poked and prodded, had the unmentionable thermometer inserted (at which her eyes bug out), and when she tried her best growl (described once as the sound of a very wet angry wasp) she blew bubbles instead.  

Her appetite went.   I kept her going on Complan, administered  by syringe - an unspeakably messy process.  As the vet commented, "Complan + saliva = instant glue. "   At least they now make it in chicken flavour....I just remembered the one original flavour, Yuck.

I tried her on everything.   I invited Shelby to show her how tasty these offerings were, and he responded nobly to the task.  I think he may look back on these weeks as some of the best in his life.

I had some success with ice cream.   As I brought in the carton, every bitch who has ever had a litter converged on it quickly.   I always give ice cream during a whelping, reckoning that something cool and delicious involving liquid, calcium and a whopping big sugar rush is no bad thing when you are working hard to push out puppies.   They had never forgotten.

I gave some to Allegra, who looked very thoughtful and could imagine her thinking;  "Wait a minute!  Ice cream and I`m not having contractions!  I don`t even remember getting pregnant!  Has my short term memory gone?"

At last the vet tried a new antibiotic, and it did the trick.   She had the injection on Monday, and the improvement since has been remarkable.  She is still not eating much, but is back to her old cheerful self, and her nose and eyes are clear..

I hope the worst is over.