I don't know why, but 2016 has been quite difficult so far - things around the house have broken down, my dog is very sick, and there have been all kinds of paperwork and meetings to deal with. Consequently, there has not been either the time or the inclination to paint or make much. Last week I really wanted to paint something, anything, because painting gives me a few hours respite from the trials & tribulations of reality! I didn't plan to paint a detailed leopard, I wanted to do something much splashier & loose, but this is what came out instead. It's a small watercolour, detailed in parts, looser in others. It kept me sane this week.
This week's turbulence was caused by this chap - I've had difficulty getting him to eat over the past couple of weeks, but he has done so each day eventually and other than that has been OK, enjoying his walks albeit at a slower pace. A couple of mornings ago he was gently cantering up a field and suddenly came up short and couldn't put any weight on his front leg. Not sure if he slipped, twisted it, or what, but he was in a bad way. We slowly got him home, but for the rest of the day he was barely able to walk and obviously in a lot of pain. He also barely ate - which carried on until yesterday, with him refusing to eat anything so I couldn't get his heart pills down his throat either. Seeing him incapacitated like that was scary and upsetting and made me think that perhaps this was finally the end and I made an appointment with the vet. To cut a long story short, after trying almost the whole contents of the fridge & food cupboards, I discovered he would at least eat a few Swedish meatballs - so I whizzed to the shops to get some more, and he ate half a pack. The vet prescribed Metacam (painkiller) and was not as pessimistic as I was - I'm not good when those I love are very ill. By the afternoon Clovis was able to walk round the block and ate a plate of tuna & pasta. This morning he positively ran in from the garden, has eaten his pills and another plate of meatballs, veg & pasta. So a reprieve for now, thank goodness.
In the meantime, I knitted him a coat - his doggy raincoat flaps about and slips off half the time, so this seemed a good idea. After the past couple of days, putting a skull & crossbones on it seemed a bit macabre, but I always wanted him to have a coat like this as he is a bit of a pirate!
It fits well, doesn't slip off, and got a compliment on it's first outing at the vet's.
We'll give it a proper trial this morning on our walk - and no, he's not coming off the lead today!!
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