Last Friday, as discussed in my previous blog post we travelled down to a quiet part of Carmarthenshire and picked up Callie and Mick.  To us, she is always Murgatroyd, or Murgy so that's how I'll write about her.  We took Andy and Sara with us to allow for introductions.  I was very pleased that Andy simply sniffed bottoms and seemed quite relaxed and Sara was very happy to make some new greyhound friends.  

One thing that greatly concerned us though was Murgy's condition.  She had lost weight and her mouth was stinking - a vile stench of rotting and decay.  Her teeth were mostly black - it was clear she was in desperately urgent need of a veterinary appointment.  In the car going back up the M4, the traffic was awful (Bank Holiday weekend) and we had several cloudbursts that reduced visibility, but we phoned the vet and were able to get a 6.30 pm appointment.  I rushed her in, and sure enough, it was not good news.  Not only did she have severe tooth decay and an infected mouth, this had in turn given her a sore throat and greatly enlarged lymph nodes in her neck as her poor system desperately tried to fight the infection.  She was booked in for a dental on the following Wednesday and given antibiotics to start work on the infection.  Apparently her vaccination was overdue, (the kennel had mislaid her paperwork) so we arranged for her to have that plus wormer and flea/tick treatment.  

Over the weekend, we made sure she was given plenty of soft food and she was eating like a horse - she had been unable to eat the hard food in the boarding kennel.  On the Saturday we took her to the greyhound field and it was lovely to see all four hounds running around and having such a lovely time.  Afterwards we went over to Bristol to the fabric shop then came home.  

On the Bank Holiday Monday, we went over to Rogerstone for the Village Festival and Dog Show, organised by Greyhound Welfare.  We particularly wanted to take Sara, as I knew her previous foster mum, Sian would be in attendance and was dying to know how she was getting on.  We also decided to take Mick and leave Callie and Andy at home.  It was dry as we travelled, but very grey and it began raining shortly after we arrived, with the weather steadily worsening through the afternoon.  Sadly, this affected the attendance, which was quite low for the dog show.  The ground was a slippery quagmire of mud.  Sian was thrilled to see Sara and it was lovely to see Sara snuggling up to her for a cuddle. We took them in a couple of classes, and we were delighted when Mick came home with a 2nd rosette for Best Veteran, and Sara came home with three rosettes from her classes, a 2nd, a 3rd and a 4th.  It was also great to see all the people from Greyhound Welfare and we had a nice chat/catch up.  Then home, to get dry and enjoy a gin.  

On the Tuesday, we travelled down with Murgy and Mick to see Rhian in hospital.  The ward allowed us to take the dogs through the ward foyer and out into the hospital garden - a quiet spot where we could sit and chat.  I was amazed by the reactions to the dogs, both by staff and other patients.  They brought so many people over for a chat, a cuddle and made so many smile - it was astonishing and wonderful.  Rhian was thrilled to see them.  We sat and chatted and the time flew by, then it was time to come home.  We made sure Mick was wearing his rosette when we arrived, and Rhian has kept it near her bed, to help encourage thoughts of recovery and good times ahead.  

We had a quiet evening at home and Andrew had a lovely long bath in a sea of lavender bubbles.  On Wednesday, he was back on the road, back down to Brighton and it was Murgatroyd's big day.  I took her in and felt quite bereft as she was led away from me by the nurse, even though I knew she needed the operation.  I also took Mick in for a check up and for his vaccinations, wormer etc.  As expected the vet was very happy with him, and said he seems fit and healthy.  The day passed and I phoned during the afternoon to check on progress.  Eventually I picked her up around 6.30 and she came out, looking very woozy still.  The vet had had to remove virtually all of her teeth - all that was left were the canines at the front.  I was given more antibiotics, painkillers for her and then took her home.  

Not surprisingly, she spent a quiet night, very sleepy and woozy, then to my amazement, the following day, she seemed as bright as a button.  I kept her at home, and made sure she had her tablets.  She devoured soft food, woofing down pilchards and minced rabbit. Yesterday, she was also very perky and today again she's been amazingly bouncy.  We took them this morning to the greyhound field and she was sprinting round like greased lightning - a joy to see.  She's had no bleeding in the mouth, and best of all, the vile, horrible stench has now gone. 

She is making such an excellent recovery that we are seriously considering taking her tomorrow to the Animal Lifeline Wales charity dog show at Pembrey Country Park.  I've been involved in helping a bit with this, (my friend Penny is chair of the charity), and have done things like organising the printing of the schedules, getting the rosettes etc.  Confession time here - we get the rosettes from Celebration Rosettes in Port Talbot - run by a lovely lady called Heather, herself a keen dog owner with two gorgeous beagles.  I get the most terrific buzz from ordering and picking up the rosettes - it probably dates back to my childhood/teenage years of Pony Club gymkhanas, when coming home with a rosette was a huge and special achievement.  Heather makes the most wonderful creations, and it's fun to look at the different options for ribbons, points, frills, metallics, colour etc.  We've got some gorgeous ones for the various classes and awards and I'm also thrilled that we've got plenty of "Well Done" ones - these help to ensure children don't go home empty handed and are great where there are lots of deserving entrants (like Best Rescue).  

I'll conclude by adding a few pics of the new arrivals taken at the greyhound field.