Zoomba part 2 (EN)

→ Nederlandse versie

Wake up, first morning in our new old house. First thought is with the dog: will she be alright?

The answer did not hide, there was a bag of HUNGER, tail wagging, at the door. WROF! No puppies in sight, though. Breakfast was followed by more sleep on the kitchen floor.

This was Saturday morning, we had to leave next Saturday afternoon. What to do with this cuddly dog... We were told we needed to wait till the puppies would come out of their hiding place, and then an adoption organisation would take care of them. But who? The estate agent who had said it said she had heard it from the owners. The now ex-owners said their son would take care. The brother of the ex-owner said he wanted no responsibility for any puppies (mate), but he'd talk to the neighbours who are dog people. No one came. And so we were left alone with this challenge.

Although we were not entirely alone. This is a glass with soapy water and lice we took off her, and drowned. This is about half the population. It's time to take her to a vet, and see how we can clear up this problem, as you cannot simply give a lactating dog a Spot-On treatment.

Well, you can in Spain. And the Spot-On is supposed to rub off on the pups a bit too, so they stay free of lice, too.

We took the opportunity to ask the vet if she could be tested for leishmania, worried as we were that she was so thin, and that besides feeding puppies she might be ill. They have a testing kit for that, that will tell in 5 minutes if she's been in contact with leishmania before, and two other nasty diseases that I happily forgot the names of. All clear! She's healthy, about two years old, and just needs a bit more food. That was a very happy message.

Dog back to the house, we off shopping. What do you feed a mother dog? We decided on chopped up chicken wings and rice, deliciously simmered, accompanied by dry dog food bits. It was much appreciated. WROF!

Another thing we took from the vet's, was a leaflet of an adoption organisation. "Yes, give them a call", the vet said. We did, and could speak to an English speaking person, tomorrow.

Meanwhile, this lovely dog was sleeping again next to the kitchen table, and we realised that one way or another, her life as it was, is over. And while she's blissfully unaware, it weighed heavily on our hearts.