It's no secret that I find the place where I currently live quite hostile. As a Londoner who's lived in Paris I hi one story feel that this is the unfriendliest place I've ever lived and that often gets me down.
I wanted to share something that happened on Monday that lit up the place with a shower of sunbeams.
Oscar is unable to walk more than a few hundred metres at a time before his paws give up. We think that his GOLLP (Geriatric Onset Laryngeal Paralysis Polyneuropathy) prevents oxygen flow to his rear end, and this can cause him to collapse in the street. He finds it almost impossible to pull himself up to standing on his own and cries for help to get up and change position a couple of times a night. He wears a his keep-you-up harness all the time and without it we would not be able to life his interest weight but it also gives him confidence when he knows that we're holding his harness to support him if he should stumble when he walks. His life is no longer one of relaxation and ease but his spirit is still there with him. He enjoys his food - as long as it's human rather than dog food - and he still loves going out for a change of science.
A new pet shop The dOg's Garden, part of a small HK chain, has opened in a prime sport next to Fusuon and the Dog Parking Zone in the newly-revamped part of the plaza building. It's quite expensive but stocks an array of good quality treats and toys. On Monday I decided to take Oscar for a look but it was an unusually cold and dingy day so I wrapped him in his very tattered blanket and, embarrassed, decided to buy a new one that actually performed its function of keeping him warm.
I wheeled Oscar into the shop and immediately the buggy was surrounded with the young staff memebers asking all about him. I don't think it;s particularly rare to see elderly dogs in DB, but its unusual to see a dog of Oscar's size and great age being wheeled about in a large buggy. Everyone looks at us as we pass.
So I explained about the GOLLP and answered their questions about other illnesses, including the MAST tumour on his shoulder and the small, sinister growth in his spleen. I was touched that one of the young assistants was overcome with emotion at seeing Oscar lying there. Oscar kissed away his tears.
I explained that I needed a new blanket and the lovely young peopl,e brought the largest one in the store and wrapped it around my boy, fussing him with treats. They were only too happy to look after Ho I'm for me as I needed to pop into Fision for five minutes. When I went to I pay for the blanket, unit had already been settled. I was taken aback by the love and compassion and respect in the heartys of these lovely young people, in a land where pampered pooches sit at restaurant tables but where puppies are left to be killed by speeding cars on the highway.
My heart was warmed by my visit, and it struck me that people aren't so different from each other, after all.
Member comments