While playing Frisbee with Olive less than two weeks ago on
Saturday I heard her yelp, then saw that there was bleeding around her dew
claw. The injury turned out to be more than something a groomer could correct
by clipping her nail, so I took her to the veterinarian. Fortunately the office
was still open and the vet was willing to take her on a moment’s notice. The
vet sedated Olive and took care of the claw while I waited nervously in the
waiting room.
After what seemed to me like a long time, though it was
probably less than fifteen minutes, I was told that Olive was coming to and
would be out shortly. A minute later she staggered out with a bandaged leg. I
paid the charges, then led Olive out to my car. She staggered in a daze,
managed to hop into the car, and promptly fell to sleep. When we got home she
staggered again into the house like someone who had too much to drink. The second
she hit the living room rug, she dropped to the floor and was sound asleep. An
hour later she was raring to go again, and it seemed that the bandage wasn’t
bothering her a bit. As per the vet’s instruction, I left the bandage on for
three days. When I took it off Olive was behaving as if nothing had happened.
So a happy ending there.
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| How humiliating! |
There was a bit more to the story, however. While Olive was
sedated the vet did a cursory check on her and noticed a growth in her mouth.
With my consent a biopsy was taken and sent to the lab. The following Wednesday
I finally got the results: the growth was benign, probably caused by a gum
irritation. The vet suggested I brush her teeth regularly to remove the source
of irritation. Easier said than done, I thought. As it happened, I had to leave
for a five day trip to England, so I asked the people at Candlewick kennels to
give her daily brushings while I was away.
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My cousin’s daughter, Lisa, attends Cambridge University in
England, about a two hour drive from London. Cambridge dates back to ancient
times and has a lot of history to it. Some buildings date back to the 1200s.
With a population in the neighborhood of 120,000 people it’s not huge like
London is; there is, however, quite a bit to see there including some first
rate museums and, of course, the university itself with its historic buildings.
A list of distinguished alumni reads like a who’s who of world history.
Lisa’s graduation ceremony took place in the historic 1730
senate house building, normally not open to the public. Family and friends like
myself had to present tickets to get in to see the commencement. The four of us
(Lisa’s parents, her aunt, and myself) were seated in a gallery above the hall
where the graduates were given their diplomas.
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| Lisa after the ceremony with her parents. |
The following day I took a walking tour of the university
area, then met up with the rest of the family for a punting tour down the
river. Punts are narrow flat bottom boats, similar to the gondolas of Venice
though a bit more stable without gondoliers singing “Oh Solo Mio” off key. Our
punter (as the boat operator was called) was knowledgeable and gave us a nice
tour as we sailed up and down the Cam River. Many of the most impressive
buildings are along the river.
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| On the punt; Lisa with her friend Chris and her dad. |
One photo I wish I had taken: while walking down a busy
street I spotted a border collie that looked similar to Olive. His owners and I
agreed that border collies are great dogs despite being a lot of work. When I
petted the dog he put his paw on my shoe as if to say he accepted me as a
friend. I guess Border Collie is an international language. I’m privileged to
have learned to speak it.
