It’s one of those days again.

Last night I had a little less than four hours sleep for various reasons so I’m not in the best of moods. The fact that I’m on a diet of very large and very strong antibiotics which is always a bit of a downer and you can begin to understand the state of me. A bit of a mess, in other words. And I have to get the head together to bring Penny to the vet shortly.

Poor old Penny has her own problems. The arthritis means she finds walking painful so there is little point in bringing her anywhere as she won’t walk more than a few yards. As a result she is suffering from muscle wastage which in turn means she keeps falling down. Or rather she lies down and then hasn’t the strength to get up again. It means I have to rush over and lift her hind end and then support her until she reaches a less slippery surface. Wood floors have their drawbacks.

We were warned by the vet that the next stage may well be dementia and she is beginning to show signs of that. She had developed some strange little habits which in their own way are a little amusing to watch. One is that she has taken to getting a bit lost here in the kitchen/sitting room. She’ll pace for a little while and if she doesn’t fall down she’ll stop and look around obviously trying to find her bearings. She has also developed a fascination with the door to the garage for some strange reason and will stand and stare at it for long periods. Another habit is that she’ll stand and stare into the distance, and will then do a full anti-clockwise turn so she ends up staring at the same scene. Maybe she thinks it’s a different view, but she’ll do it several times before lying down and going to sleep. And it’s always anti-clockwise.

She used to get very excited at the prospect of a visit to the village. Now sadly she refuses to get into the car, partly because she hasn’t the strength and partly because she knows it means a trip to the vet. Much to her disgust I usually end up by physically throwing her into the car and lifting her out at the far end. She hates that and she usually sulks for a day or so after a visit.

We’re a happy crew of wrecks in this house…..