The value of a Pozega
dog.
As some of you know I have Jenny in my
care and even now I am still unsure which one of us is in charge. I had only
been out of hospital three days when I collected her from Kent. I was unfit,
over weight and unsure whether I was doing the right thing by her. Could I give
her the exercise she needed? With a greater question could she be trained to
stay with me, because at 68 years old. I was too old to start chasing about the
countryside looking for a missing dog if she decided to run off when let off
the leash for the first time.
Due to the fact I was not used to the
ICD implant, and because my heart was still hitting 95 beats per minute I was
finding breathing difficult. I started to walk a quarter of a mile per day with
Jenny, and I knew this was not really good enough for her or me because I had
to stop a few times and rest even in that short distance. I did this same walk
every day in the hope things would change for the better, but apart from
getting tired very fast nothing changed.
Well that is not strictly true because
without thinking I walked out the door for our morning walk, and it was not
until I was well into the walk when I realised she was not on the leash and
well in front of me. I don’t do panic or stress and said in a calm voice “Stop
Jenny, come here,” the shock was she did just that.
It was a strange moment because I had
drafted a letter to Wendy earlier that morning about finding Jenny a home where
she could get more exercise. It was then I decided to hold the letter back
until I had reassessed the situation, but it was no different a week later.
After a bad night of breathing problems during that time I made a phone call to
my cardiac nurse. A tablet was changed to a higher strength, and a week later
my life improved and I found it easier to walk. My heart beat had returned to
normal and it improved my quality of life.
That was three weeks ago and yesterday I
did the unthinkable by walking up this track I threatened walk up the first day
after hospital. I put Jenny in the passenger seat in the van and drove to my
destination at the bottom of the hill 6 miles away. On getting through the
small gate to the track I stopped and looked at what I was about to test my
fitness on.
It was at this point Jenny and I stopped to look at my goal.
I looked at the trail ahead and said in a confident voice, "It looks harder than it actually is, Jenny."
Dog with no faith in human determination.
She looked up the track and then at me before looking the other way. she was probably thinking, 'You have not got heart or breathing problems, you are brain dead.' Now take into consideration that up to this moment in time I had only walked a quarter of a mile on flat ground in the past three years, Jenny had a very good point.
I looked up at the daunting task I had set myself and took a step forward into the unknown. This was the first time in many months where I kept the leash on Jenny throughout the entire walk. The reason was there were still a lot of people walking the trail with small children and other dogs. The secondary reason was that if I was flagging she could give me a tow. The third and most important reason was i did not want her getting ahead and showing me up [ yes I know, very selfish]. However, The towing never took place because I have found out that she is very loyal, and if I collapse in a shaking lump of tired jelly she sits down with me.
Ten minutes of walking and the first bend was in sight
I said out loud, "The first bend is in sight, Jenny. Another two minutes and we will rest on the bend."
Again she looked at me as if to ask, "Really, two minutes?"
I looked down the hill at where i had walked and questioned my own statements it looked as if I had not gone very far. To make myself feel better I told Jenny, "It is the angle of the hill that made it look only a short distance walked."
Jenny refused to look at me, and I don't think she was convinced my statement was true. I also believe that Jenny was tormented between Loyalty to me and the real truth.
We reached the bend in record time [think about that]and I had my first real rest just after the bend. I noticed as I turned about there was a old couple the other side of the bend walking up behind me and had better stop longer in case they needed help.
Well it was when they walked past me I could see it was the couple that had passed me on their way down. This couple that were in their late seventies were lapping me, and to add insult to injury the man said, "Are you all right, old man?" I am not sure what I looked like but it must have been bad because a few seconds after they shot off up the hill like greyhounds my mobile rang.
"Hello"
"Is that Ian Johnstone?"
"The very man speaking."
"Your daughters said you had gone for a walk. I am one of your cardiac nurses. Is this a bad time to talk?" It was at that moment I looked up to see if the hospital had sent out a spotter plane from Shoreham Airport, but the sky was clear.
"I am phoning to tell you that your is appointment has been re-booked for the new year and a letter is in the post. How is your walk?"
I had to think about the answer. The arthritis in my ankles, knees and hips was giving me pain to the point of almost bringing tears to my eyes. However, my chest was not hurting and I was not out of breath, so I told her what I believed to be true before I said goodbye. "I am a picture of health." Now depending on what medical records of me she had in front of her would give this nurses imagination a trying time.
I had only walked another twenty-five meters when I knew I had been cheated by an optical illusion, the hill turned into forty-five degrees with a false ridge.
It was at this point I looked down the hill to the start to see the idiot that had said,"It looks harder than it actually is, Jenny," but he had vanished.
It was a good thing too, because he obviously never had any idea what he was talking about. Here in front of me was another false ridge that after successfully using an ice-ax cleared the ridge to work my way over I looked back at what I had achieved.
It was not until I had turned about did I see the end of this nightmare. I fell to my knees and thanked the lord, it was the gates of heaven.
All that I had to do now was get back down. I did get some nice pictures of the south downs though.
You might be asking yourself what has this got to do with Pozega dogs? The fact is I knew that I would need a companion to help me walk once more and keep me company. It was pure luck that it was not until I had already set things in motion when I was sent into hospital with cardiac problems. it was even greater luck that I was released from hospital three days before I picked Jenny up from Kent. Without Jenny's help I would never attempted what I achieved the day I walked the trail to the top of the hill. this is just the start of many trails i need to walk.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/HelpPozegaDogs/
Be well Ian
Well it was when they walked past me I could see it was the couple that had passed me on their way down. This couple that were in their late seventies were lapping me, and to add insult to injury the man said, "Are you all right, old man?" I am not sure what I looked like but it must have been bad because a few seconds after they shot off up the hill like greyhounds my mobile rang.
"Hello"
"Is that Ian Johnstone?"
"The very man speaking."
"Your daughters said you had gone for a walk. I am one of your cardiac nurses. Is this a bad time to talk?" It was at that moment I looked up to see if the hospital had sent out a spotter plane from Shoreham Airport, but the sky was clear.
"I am phoning to tell you that your is appointment has been re-booked for the new year and a letter is in the post. How is your walk?"
I had to think about the answer. The arthritis in my ankles, knees and hips was giving me pain to the point of almost bringing tears to my eyes. However, my chest was not hurting and I was not out of breath, so I told her what I believed to be true before I said goodbye. "I am a picture of health." Now depending on what medical records of me she had in front of her would give this nurses imagination a trying time.
I had only walked another twenty-five meters when I knew I had been cheated by an optical illusion, the hill turned into forty-five degrees with a false ridge.
It was at this point I looked down the hill to the start to see the idiot that had said,"It looks harder than it actually is, Jenny," but he had vanished.
It was a good thing too, because he obviously never had any idea what he was talking about. Here in front of me was another false ridge that after successfully using an ice-ax cleared the ridge to work my way over I looked back at what I had achieved.
It was not until I had turned about did I see the end of this nightmare. I fell to my knees and thanked the lord, it was the gates of heaven.
All that I had to do now was get back down. I did get some nice pictures of the south downs though.
You might be asking yourself what has this got to do with Pozega dogs? The fact is I knew that I would need a companion to help me walk once more and keep me company. It was pure luck that it was not until I had already set things in motion when I was sent into hospital with cardiac problems. it was even greater luck that I was released from hospital three days before I picked Jenny up from Kent. Without Jenny's help I would never attempted what I achieved the day I walked the trail to the top of the hill. this is just the start of many trails i need to walk.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/HelpPozegaDogs/
Be well Ian
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