Wednesday 26 January 2011

Bitten

Yesterday wasn't the best of days, to put it mildly. It hadn't been the best of weeks really. Adrian went up to London on Monday for the Telegraph party then headed straight off for Wales leaving me, the boy, the dogs and the roofer. There was a leak in the breakfast room but it seemed like a pretty standard job. Except...


‘Look up there,’ said Gary, pointing up at the exposed innards of the bay. I peered; couldn’t see a thing.
‘The wood’s all rotten.’
‘Oh.’

So the quick job turned into the major job, necessitating carpenters and builders and scaffolding. And the dogs were going ballistic and any thought of trying to get on with the total rewrite of my book went out the window.
Then Gary knocked at the back door and I backed out of my study, trying to keep the dogs inside and Asbo went mental and bit me – hard – on the knee.

I ignored it, dealt with Gary, made the guys a cup of tea but it hurt like hell and when I took a look I felt a bit sick. It was a pretty deep bite with blood seeping all over. I bunged some tea tree oil and a plaster on it and shook pretty dramatically for a bit. Then wondered if I ought to get it looked at. Asked on Twitter (source of all knowledge) and was inundated with people yelling at me.

‘Can you come in right away?’ asked the receptionist at the surgery. So I did. Seems they take dog bites pretty seriously.
‘I can’t stitch it,’ said the nurse. ‘In case of infection. But I’ll tape the wound closed. Oh, and the doctor says you need a week’s course of antibiotics.’
‘Really?’
‘Afraid so.’

Having spent the last week fending off a throat infection with chakra toning and oregano oil, it seemed pretty ironic that I was getting the darn things anyhow. Karma bites again. Payback for all the snarling on Monday.

‘They’re pretty strong, so you might get thrush,’ she carried on, jauntily.
‘Oh great.’
‘Just take lots of live yoghurt.’
‘I eat that anyway.’
She frowned. ‘I didn’t mean eat it.’ She gave a downwards glance.
‘Oh.’
‘Yup.’
‘Right. So maybe not the cherry variety then?’

She shook her head patiently.  So hey ho, there we go.

Oh, almost forgot. We now have a new addition to the canine crew. Meet Jakey. Jakey is a liver and white fluffy coated springer spaniel cross. He’s seven years old and loves rolling in mud. At this point I can imagine you are all (especially Milla) clasping hands to foreheads in total despair. Let me explain.

A while back we were sent the Cats and Dogs movies on DVD. As an extra little gift, Ellie Graham, the lovely PR from THINKJAM asked if we’d like her to sponsor a dog on our behalf with the Dogs Trust. James was well up for this and Jakey is the result. If you’ve got children (but can’t have a dog) this is such a great idea. We received a little dossier on Jakey (and apparently we’ll hear from him three times a year). You also get a year’s worth of WAG! Magazine (no, not football nonsense, the Dog’s Trust’s organ), a fridge magnet and a window sticker.

The Dog’s Trust look after 16,000 dogs a year.  If you are thinking of getting a dog, maybe think about rehoming one, rather than buying a puppy?

‘Can we visit Jakey,’ asked James, with a glint in his eye.
‘Nope. Afraid not.’

Sensible, sensible Dog’s Trust!

For more info check out www.sponsoradog.org.uk

16 comments:

Tattieweasle said...

Ah yes live yoghut...lovely! Oh that mad me laugh wiping the way tears now as I type...he he he

Anonymous said...

Uh-oh, sorry about your bite. I was recently bitten by our little rat terrier who was out of his mind in pain (because we'd accidentally just ran him over with the jeep). But it was in a handy place, on my thumb, and I could soak it in very hot salt water and then I used oregano oil on it, too.

I would have likely gone the antibiotic route if it were somewhere like my knee, though.

Anonymous said...

Uh-oh, sorry about your bite. I was recently bitten by our little rat terrier who was out of his mind in pain (because we'd accidentally just ran him over with the jeep). But it was in a handy place, on my thumb, and I could soak it in very hot salt water and then I used oregano oil on it, too.

I would have likely gone the antibiotic route if it were somewhere like my knee, though.

Anonymous said...

oh, I forgot to mention that the dog came through just fine in the end. And I don't know how I ended up with two repeat comments... sorry!

Exmoorjane said...

Tattie: thought that might make you laugh...have just eaten a cherry yoghurt btw....yes, yes, EATEN it. :)

Madison: I'm usually pretty cavalier about such stuff but nearly had to have a finger amputated when I was young cos of a dog bite. I was damn lucky actually...and glad it was me and not James... eek to your terrier though - poor soul... Oregano is incredible. I take it in capsule form.

Milla said...

Only way to have a fog. How well you know me. Long distance and in an envelope. Onto more interesting things, your roof. Costing a fortune?? Never bloody ends. And anyway what IS a chakra?? I don't want to know, do I?

Elizabeth Musgrave said...

Now you see you are clearly a dog lover and I am only a pretend one. My first thought on reading this was to get rid of the damn dog. No way I would have a dog who had bitten me. What got into him?

Dragonfly Dreams said...

What a week it has been for you! So sorry to hear of your injury (and what about a dog's bark being worse than its bite anyway???) Heal quickly!

Exmoorjane said...

Milla: thought you'd approve.. I am in total denial about roof. He started trying to tell me and I just shushed him up and said to send the bill and I'd think about it then...Manana...

EM: he's going blind and getting crotchety. Freaked out at guy at door. But it is a worry...

DD: thank you! Hoping so. Somehow I managed to do limp around the squash court this evening, so not too bad. :)

Wally B said...

101 things to do with live yoghurt- 102 if you eat it.
We've just sold our son to the gypsies to help pay for our roof replacement. I need a few more things to sell to complete the job.

Miss Sadie said...

Oh, my! Up above, the roof almost falling in. Down below, Jack taking offence at the intrusion upon his domain, and then taking in out on you (of all people, because you were closest, I suppose). Poor Jane; fit to be tied and chewed up.

I think, in addition to the antibiotics, you should have gotten a sedative for Jack. Poor fellow. (No wonder he's ASBO! So high strung and all.)

I trust you and Jack will both survive.

As for Jakey, I can understand James disappointment. What good is a dog with whom you cannot play? If I were Jakey, I'd object, too.

D L Dzioba said...

Ouch, sorry about the bite and the...everything going wrong. I hope it all starts looking up for you soon.

On the bright side Jakey looks adorable and I love that you're in support of rescuing animals.

Alison Cross said...

Goodness sakes! ASBO Jack has excelled himself this time - biting the knee that feeds him!

Dog bits can get very nasty, on account of the fact that they 'do' quite a lot with their mouths that involve their body parts 'for live yoghurt'.

Hope you're feeling better now! I can well imagine your hubby's expression when he came home. I can also imagine his vocabulary, but we shall gloss over that....

Ali x (((hug)))

fairyhedgehog said...

That's awful! I'm glad you got the antibiotics.

I'd be in a dilemma now what to do about Asbo. I wonder if the vet can give him something to calm him down like Miss Sadie said.

Michelloui | The American Resident said...

I had my lovely docile 17 year old cat freak out on me when he saw that I was hiding a kitten in the den and he bit my finger, rupturing a tendon sheath causing my finger to swell up like a sausage. And yes, I had the same conversation at my Dr's. It works though!!! ;) Hope your knew is improving.

family Affairs said...

Poor you, Hope all back to normal now Lx