A Fantastic Day!

When we had arrived at the dog hospital, the rate of wags-per-minute by my tail suddenly diminished. I had thought my days were over at the place, but seemingly I was very wrong.

What was I doing there? 

Was I there for yet another check-up?

Was I having another operation? 

I had started to panic and refused to budge from the comforts of my crate. There was no WAY I was going back into the hospital! But then the humans started laughing at me. "He doesn't know what he's got in store for him," they cackled. At that point, I had had enough and finally allowed the humans to lift me out of my beloved room in the boot of the car. Surely, they weren't going to put me through another miserable ordeal. 

And I was right. I was going to experience my first session of the wonder that is hydrotherapy!

That half-an-hour session in the pool was possibly one the greatest moments of my life. Firstly, they had put a life-jacket on me and tried to get me to walk slowly down a ramp into the water. Of course, my idea of walking slowly is quite different to any human's but I got in the water all the same.

Then, the two ladies who were in the water with me gave me a massage to ease my stiff shoulder joint by rocking me slowly back and forth. To say I thought this was weird would be an understatement! I continually gave the humans 'the look' as they sat at the side of the pool. Once again, they laughed at me...

Following the massage was my favourite part of the session: I went for a swim! With one of my humans walking around the edge of the pool, the two water-humans held me as I surged as quickly as I could through the pool, trying to keep up with my human outside. I tried to make as big a splash as I possibly could as I did a circuit round the pool; I managed to get my previously-dry human wet which was a bonus! Did you know that one minute of swimming for a dog is the equivalent of a mile of running for a human?! No wonder us doggies seem to have stamina only a human could dream of having!

For the rest of session, I was massaged and then swam a lap of the pool, massaged and then swam a lap of the pool again. After the second massage, the water-humans gave me a brand-new, dazzling-green tennis ball to chase and hold which I was THRILLED about. After over 2 months of not being allowed a tennis ball, I had began feeling a bit deprived so this was definitely a highlight of the session! 

In conclusion, my first hydrotherapy lesson was a very positive experience and I CANNOT wait until the next time I am allowed back into that pool of loveliness. 

Talk soon, 

Jasper x

On the Road to Recovery...

After spending two at the hospital, the humans came to pick me up. They'd had an awful weekend, sitting in the same spot for what seemed like hours, staring down at their lukewarm tea. I, on the other hand, although in pain, was doing fine, unbeknown to my humans. In my hospital 'bedroom', I was being attended to regularly, and even had my own TV to watch... I was basically having a weekend away! However, I did have to slight issue of having a pretty useless leg...

When the humans came to pick me up, I think they must've been expecting the worst: a drowsy, whimpering Jasper. Well, they were completely wrong. Stood anxiously in the waiting room, they suddenly heard the sound of scraping doggie paws. Turning around, they saw my little head poking out around the door. Man, I was pulling on my lead in true Jasper style! To be honest, I think they're still in disbelief that they found me tugging away with a broken leg. "How is that even possible?!" They kept saying. They definitely underestimated Spaniel abilities.

A week later and I'm making rapid improvements. Although it truly does suck being unable to move as easily as I'd like to, the humans are just pleased to have me home (and I'm happy to be with them!). I'm being monitored by the humans very regularly (no parties for them!) and have to be carried to go outside. On Thursday, I'm having my staples removed and that means the cone of shame is removed- woooohoo! No more public embarrassment for me! Unfortunately, I still have at least six weeks until I can start going on walks again so, for now, I'm just going to have to stay shuffling my towel around in my crate every. Other. Minute.

Hope you're all enjoying the sun! Talk soon, Jasper x