Learning again

August is that month when jobs are left half done, baskets of weeds lie abandoned by the path, fruit is parked in the freezer pending preserving inspiration. The seasons are set to change, but not quite yet. Autumn jobs can wait a bit and its too hot/stormy/wet (take your pick) for any serious effort. Walking the dog becomes the sole pillar of certainty around which the day revolves, because the walk must go on.

In the last week or so Lyra and I have roamed around the fields, through the woods and beside the river. We have stopped to admire the heron, sniff amiably at friendly collies and saluted the horses on a civic week rideout. On the home front, there has been a great deal of snoozing in the sun and much ice cream has been consumed. Towards the end of last week we began to notice odd quirks. Lyra would stop suddenly half way along a path and take no end of convincing to move. She passed her usual swimming spots by without a dabble. Finally, she began to knock into things and we knew, with a sinking heart, that the dreaded day had come and her remaining eye was failing. After that, everything happened very quickly. She was in pain and there was really no time to think or plan. We had hoped to take a little time to see how she would adjust first, but a decision had to be made. We reasoned that the vet’s diagnosis on Saturday had been that she was already blind and on the following days, although clearly not at her best, she seemed to be coping. On Tuesday her remaining eye was removed.

Tuesday was a rollercoaster. The surgery went well and initial signs were good. However, as the day wore on it became clear that she was disorientated and scared and had definitely lost some residual sight. Things fell apart somewhat. We pulled ourselves together and tried some little walks around the garden and our pup rallied a little.

A waggy tail made spirits soar, a whimper dashed them.

Ishbel joined us, bearing treats for Lyra and wine, chocolate and cheesy wotsits for the shell shocked. We spent the evening watching the silliest of rom coms and drank too much.

On Wednesday we decided to risk a short walk along a familiar route. Lyra was hesitant, but snuffled and sniffed her way along, pausing here and there to listen intently. She veered, zig zag style, across the track and occasionally plunged into clumps of nettles. However, about half way along she began to settle and positively strode down the hill and over the small stone bridge at the foot. We had planned to stop there but on Lyra trotted and we made it almost to the horse’s field before she began to hesitate. We turned there, deciding to bank the success and not overplay our hand. On the way back our fluffy friend picked up speed and sashayed out much more confidently (we presume picking up her own scent). Wednesday’s film was a deeply silly heist movie (there’s a theme emerging…).

Thursday brought rain. Lachlan and I decided to stick to the same route to consolidate Lyra’s mental map of smells, sounds and textures. Again, the initial hundred yards were slow going – much criss crossing of the road and splashing into puddles. The overnight wind had brought down a lot of branches and there was a large shredder going somewhere. Rather than being put off, Lyra seemed attracted by the sound of the shredder and began to speed up. We followed the same route but this time couldn’t get all the way as the road soon became impassable with fallen tree limbs. Again though, Lyra picked up pace and strode out more confidently on the return. That night we plumped for healthy living, Ovaltine and a rather lovely film about a giant telescope in Australia (The Dish) suggested by a friendly Velociraptor on Twitter. Lyra was in fine spirits until bed-time when she got very disoriented on her way out of the library, blundering around and cannoning off various walls and doors. We guided her to bed and proffered consolation chicken and were rewarded with some goodnight waggs.

Today, we think rattled by last night’s floundering, Lyra was very reluctant to get out of her bed. We let it go for an hour or so but in the end coaxed her out, popped on the lead and headed back to the woodland path. We ambled along with Lyra making slow, zig zaggy, progress. However, her confidence grew much more quickly this time and before long she was running ahead leading the way. As we went down the hill, she hesitated, then turned smartly to the left and took us along the meandering path through the trees. (This is our more usual route, but it is quite long and we had hesitated to start with that one yet). To our astonishment, she led us all the way around the woods, into the Hirsel grounds and past the cow field. We celebrated with coffee (and chicken sticks) at the cafe. Lachlan and I were so proud of her as she smartly led the way home! It is very clear now that when she zig zags she is feeling with her paws for where the grass/undergrowth meets the path. After a few passes she has worked out where the edges are and strides out more confidently in the middle of the path, stopping every now and then to check if the edge is still in the same place and pausing when she finds a fork. I noticed also that she managed to skirt a few puddles on the last stretch.

Back in the house now, her nerves have returned. After a brief spell on the sofa, she took herself back to the safety of her bed in the kitchen and declined to come out. We hope to coax her out after tea though, for a little TV and indoor confidence building (with added snacks). Tomorrow we aim to venture forth on an entirely different (old favourite) walk by the river. We want to try to reacquaint Lyra with the route before her memories of the familiar sounds and smells fade. Wish us luck!