Poorly again.

Regular Baggees will undoubtedly have noticed by now, that it's a theme of Baggy's life that every single time that things for most of the gang are running along smoothly, something sneaks in to derail them. On this occasion it has been the doggy sickness virus that is spreading rapidly around the UK! Last weekend, as usual Furry Mama took Pepper Pooch to the beach. He was his usual happy, hurtling-about self, until he got home. Once home he put himself on the sofa, having ignored his food once again, and went to sleep. Nothing so unusual about that; until he got up and was sick all over the carpet. As he hadn't eaten for over 36-hours this was a slimy froth, so Furry Mama wondered whether it was just sea water. But an hour later he was sick again, and had drool hanging from his mouth. Having read about the  sickness bug on the internet, Clever Bird decided that she had better phone the vet. By now though it was 4.00pm, so naturally the vet was closed! Of course it was!

Four phone numbers later she got to the emergency vet, who told her to bring Pepper straight in. Fine, except that it is a forty-five-minute drive away. Furry Mama squashed herself onto the back seat of Fred Volvo so she could be next to the pooch as he lay in the back. The journey seemed to take forever, but there was no one else in the vets', so at least there was no queue. As soon as Pepper walked into reception he lay down on the floor, looking miserable.

Yep, he had the virus, so was given an anti-sickness injection. The drive home was marginally less stressful, as the vet was confident that he would make a quick recovery as he is such a fit dog. Unfortunately, on Sunday, the pooch refused to even get off Baggy's bed. He had slobber hanging from both sides of his mouth, and looked as pale, as it's possible for a black dog to look. Clever Bird phoned the vet again; her instructions were to get him walking around, and then see how he is. Furry Mama literally used the duvet to roll him off the bed - he was bad! As soon as he drank some water, he was sick - twice.

This second trip seemed to take forever, but it was the right decision, because as soon as he was in reception, Pepper was sick all over the floor. Another injection - then home again. By Monday, he seemed slightly brighter, but still hadn't eaten anything. So for the third time, Furry Mama took him to the vet - at least this time it was her local one, five minutes away. 

'Try not to worry. He seems fit and strong, so just let him rest, and see if you can persuade him to eat something.'

Easier said than done when the poor dog is allergic to everything tempting! But he did eat a little later that day, then a little more, and he wasn't sick. All good, except that he seemed to have a terrible rash under his armpits. Furry Mama put antibiotic cream under his armpits and gave him cold washes. By Wednesday, he seemed to want a walk, so for the first time, Furry Mama took him for a wander around the village. On Thursday he was brighter and Furry Mama was delighted to take him for two short walks. Then once again on Friday, he just wouldn't get off Baggy's bed!

Yep, Baggees, another visit to the vet. Conclusion, Pepper had had a serious allergic reaction to something. No idea what! Maybe the injections.

'I think we need to give him a course of steroids.'
'Okay. I think he's had them before,' said Furry Mama.
'Let's check.'
'I think it's probably an environmental allergy,' said Calum.
'Well that could well be,' said the vet, 'because it looks as though he had similar rashes last March, which was when we gave him steroids before.'

The poor sausage is now on his second day of steroids and the rash that Furry Mama had not even realised that he had in his ears, (until the vet pointed it out), has almost gone. His armpits are still red raw, but they are not as itchy as they were. Therefore the good news is that he does seem to be on the mend. So, as he is clearly getting very down, today, in spite of the storm, Calum and Furry Mama took him for a walk on the promenade at Southwold.

It was a short and not-so-sweet walk, as all three of them were sandblasted, but it was good to be getting somewhat back to normal.

Naturally, as Baggy has been effectively stuck in the house for most of the week, Hormonal Hannah dragged the black cloud out, and she's had a difficult couple of days, but thankfully, she seems to be back on track as the pooch has improved. Fingers crossed that Pepper and Hannah improve as the week proceeds...

Note to readers: For the avoidance of any doubt, every character in this blog is Baggy! No Baggy was harmed in its writing, although some of them get pretty confused!