From the Old Quay in the Rain

7.1C with some bright spells and some showers. Wind W/WSW to 23 mph with gusts to 34 mph.

Maeve the Deerhound was up at about 5.30am. I thought we had another of those mornings when she was holding her back right leg off the floor and would be fine after her walk. Well, not today. This was a very bad morning. Without exaggerating it was a nightmare. Normally the paw is touching down once we have walked to our front door, but today it was still held high.

Somehow we struggled down the stairs and made it out to the street where she managed to squat to pee rather than fall over. Then we went round our usual morning route. Very slowly. Very awkwardly. I was glad it was quiet and still half dark and she didn't become a public spectacle. Maeve was sometimes on three legs, sometimes walking rather crab like, sometimes dabbing down the fourth leg. Sometimes almost collapsing and panting with effort. She managed a poo while turning in circles which was really weird and scary. On the walk back along Longrow she developed a distinct drift to the left and had to be guided away from the walls of the building every few yards. When we finally made it back along to our building I just picked her up and carried her up the two flights of stairs. I helped her along to the living room and she settled quickly on her mat. I sat with her rather than going back to bed and she went to sleep. I kept checking on her through the morning and she seemed relaxed enough.

After lunch I was rather apprehensive about trying another walk, but dogs have to do what dogs have to do. To my surprise and much delight Maeve managed to get up and all four legs were touching down. She was wobbly along to the front door but we made it downstairs and round the usual route without incident. Her walking got easier as we went. When we got back we went into the kitchen and I broke a couple of our oaties biscuits in her bowl of dog food and she ate and had some water then went back to her mat in the living room.

Even though it was by then raining I went for my walk with a spring in my step !

I went round to the harbour, had a wander round the old quay, then went along past the ferry terminal to the park. Hardly any fishing boats in today. The pile of wood on the new quay is still there despite the ship being in yesterday. I walked out as far as the cemetery. I came back along the street side of the park and came home through town passing the town hall and the bookshop (open).

My photo is rubbish too, but I care not a jot.

Podcasts of BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs on the Clip (as I walked):
Miranda Hart. Actress and comedian.
Clare Balding. Broadcaster, journalist and author.

Afternoon music ... Dire Straits, Brothers In Arms. Fleetwood Mac, Tango In The Night. Stevie Nicks, In Your Dreams.

There is another Maeve walk before dinner ...

DMC-LX7 f/2.8 1/800 sec. ISO-80 7mm (35mm focal length 35mm)