Noisy Barker

Yep that's me. I have lots to say so hear goes (that's one of my better puns in case you thought I made a spelling error in my haste to get it all down)
So firstly, I'm a LOT better since my operation on my foot. It's a little cold, because Dr Scott shaved off all the hair and She said it looked like a turkey foot! She shouldn't talk though, She's got funny feet Herself.

The only problem is, I can't climb up and down stairs anymore without freaking out and performing my best act - Noisy Barker. So She put in an emergency call to Meg at Training with Love and now we have made some modifications to the stairs. Much to Her chagrin, there is Miracle Grip taped to the stairs to give me more confidence. She did it very neatly but She grumbles and says it looks tacky. Anyway twice a day She makes me play a game called stair climbing and we go up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and I get lots of treats if I do it. So I'm getting better, but I still won't go up and down by myself. The next step is to fill in the risers with cardboard, but She's holding out from doing that because She said She's not modifying the whole house for a dog that has been going up and down the stairs for nearly 3 years already! So I'm trying hard and the treats are worth it for sure!

Then, my best mates Eric and Elsie were having their Adventure Playgrounds installed and so to stop them from helping too much, they came to play at my house quite a lot. It was great! Sometimes they tease me by leaving me out of their games, but I make so much noise about it, they've got no choice but to play with me too.



Elsie got hold of Onslow, so we just picked on him for a while...








But I've saved the best for last! Today I was out hunting and I brought home a Big Prize - not a Larry, but a Lola Lorakeet. I carried it with pride all the way up the path and into my yard. She came running outside shrieking Oh My G-d and then a frantic "leave it" which made me drop it at Her feet in surprise, feathers flying everywhere! I didn't understand exactly why my contribution was not being appreciated. She picked me up and took me inside and called Dr Chris immediately. Next thing, Lola was being scooped up into a Poo Bag and dumped unceremoniously into the Bin. I didn't have to have my mouth washed out, Thank Goodness, but She picked off the feathers that were tickling my nose. Unfortunately, She was so freaked out that She didn't didn't let me near the camera, so this was one prize catch that got away - you know the "It-Was-This...-Big..."

Getting Well Soon

Things didn't go according to plan after all. My foot was still swollen and I still wasn't quite myself after a few days, so They made me miss my breakfast and I got hauled off to see Dr Scott again. He confirmed what we already knew - my foot had an abscess and I had to have an operation.



It was very successful and Dr Scott found a Foreign Body buried in my foot. It came from being an Explorer looking for Larry Lizards in the clumps of native grass in my Adventure Playground. He took it out, cleaned up my foot good and proper and bandaged it all up. He saved the Foreign Body in a Specimen Bottle to show us, but I didn't want to keep it.

Things got better after that and the bandage is off now. Dr Scott said my foot had to heal by itself, but luckily I get to finish the antibiotics 'cos they taste good! I was threatened with That Collar again if I licked at my foot, but after a couple of hours with It on, I learned my lesson and haven't touched my foot since. She is contemplating pulling up all the grasses so the same thing doesn't happen again. What with the water feature subsiding and being out of action for over 3 months and now this Whole Business with the grasses, my Adventure Playground is rapidly becoming rather boring... Although I did catch a Larry a couple of nights ago, bandage on and all!

Here's a word of advice to Warrior Westies - make sure your Pack has Pet Insurance, it can become dangerous and expensive hunting in the wild! Dr Scott says he wishes more Packs had Pet Insurance, then he could give all his patients Top Notch care.

Woeful Westie

Somehow I hurt my foot. It all swelled up and I licked it lots and it got all red and angry and He almost fainted and She rushed me off to see Dr Scott late in the evening and I was hungry and miserable and I just wanted my dinner! She wouldn't give it to me because She said what if I need an operation to fix it and I didn't care, I just wanted my dinner.

Dr Scott was busy and we waited a long time. He shaved my foot to have a good look and it didn't hurt too much and he couldn't see any Foreign Bodies, so he gave me some antibiotics which I wolfed down because I was so hungry I ate everything that came my way including all the liver bits they all kept feeding me because I was being so good. It pays to be good 'cos generally it means I get treats.

So my old Elizabethan Collar didn't fit anymore, thank goodness - I had to wear it when I was 6 months old and got desexed so I wouldn't lick my wound. So Aunt Amanda (Eric and Elsie's Pack Leader) has lent me a shoe so I won't lick my foot. I'm getting better with the shoe too! I didn't like it at first, but now I can go up and down the stairs and of course, it doesn't hold me back when I dash off and go bark at Ruckus next door.


They took me to see Dr Chris to have my foot checked today and he says its OK, its a little gland between my toes that secretes wax to waterproof my feet which probably got blocked and swelled up and infected from me licking it. Whew, no operation then and I won't have to miss any meals. So I have 2 weeks of antibiotics. I get about 3 foot spas a day in warm salty water and then it gets padded dry and put back in the shoe. I get lots of cuddles and the more mournful I look, the more They fuss over me and the more treats I get. Things could be worse...