Late last night our oldest granddaughter called us in a panic. Her much loved dog has recently had treatment at the vet and her stitches has burst. We were not her first port of call but she had not been able to contact her mother, who was away overnight. We talked her through contacting the emergency vet and fortunately a neighbour was willing to drive her and the hound up the hill to the surgery.
The dog is now fine but my granddaughter’s nerves are somewhat frayed, not to mention mine. This morning she told me that the emergency vet would not do anything by way of treatment until they had received payment up front of around £200. Fortunately we were able to send the granddaughter a bank transfer to cover her costs - even if she can claim it back on her pet insurance the money needed paying first! So much for vets being dedicated animal lovers!
When she got back home, leaving her dog at the vet’s she called me to let me know she was home and that all was as well as could be expected. Then she went into another major panic, almost as bad as the first one, this time because she was confronted by a huge spider. Talk about going from the sublime to the ridiculous. If she had not been in such a state of anxiety it would have been comical, as she tried to splat the arachnid with the sweeping brush.
This morning she was refusing to go into her living room but was sticking to her kitchen and bedroom as she was uncertain that she managed to rid the house of the spider. There is not talking her down.
Now, I know spiders are creepy crawlies and that the idea of them scuttling over you in your sleep is unpleasant. But in the end we are much larger than they are and we don’t have any venomous ones in the UK to my knowledge. Personally, I grew up with an almost paranoid fear of moths, and of birds in enclosed spaces, things that flap in general. It’s my grandmother’s fault, or so we have always said in the family, because she used to let her budgerigar, Sweetie Pye, fly around the house, causing little me great distress.
As an adult I took a decision to stop the nonsense of panic reactions. After all I did not want to pass on the panic to my offspring. I was largely successful but birds falling down the chimney into our fireplace still freak me out. Also I find the bat cave at Chester Zoo a most uncomfortable place to visit. I have never even considered going to a butterfly farm.
As for spiders, I have become an expert at the glass and piece of card method of catching them. I always release them as far from the house as possible to discourage return.
Today I have been scuttling round making sure all is prepared for the visit of the southern branch of the family. Our son and family are visiting for the first time since the pandemic began. He texted me this morning to say their departure had been delayed by an animal emergency of their own. One of their recently acquired kittens did what he called “an inappropriate pee”. And then both kittens decided to raid the ham sandwiches they (my son and his wife, not the kittens) had prepared for the journey up north.
These sorts of things are why I have always resisted having pets! Children I can cope with. Animal emergencies are a different matter altogether!
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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