Lily is a Yorkshire Terrier x Apricot Poodle. This is a continuation of the story of how she has changed our lives.
We are loading the car for a long weekend in Cornwall, where is Lily. We get her bed and paraphernalia ready first and put it by the front door so she doesn't get anxious about being left behind. The car is packed almost to the roof. With the front gate open and us busy packing up the car we discover that Lily is nowhere to be seen. I rush out of the open gate, down to the road, up and down, run down to Jacky's to see if she has gone for a visit, Lily has vanished. She has found her way home before so we mustn't panic too soon so we put a few more things in the bulging at the seams Jeep. That's when we spot her, perched atop the highest pile in the car, peeping out only just under the roof and cosy in a bag of clothing is Lily, wondering what the fuss is about and patiently waiting for the off. We double over with relief, our darling Lily making us laugh every day.
Of course Lily wont stay in the back of the car for the journey, as soon as I get into my seat she bounces down onto my lap where she fidgets for four hours, are we there yet style, every slowing down, indicator ticking, bend, she is up and looking out to see where we are. As we drive down into the village at our Cornwall end she starts whining in anticipation of the seaside walks we are about to enjoy. As soon as we get out of the car we head off to the quay to take in the restorative salty smell of the estuary.
In the pub Lily is welcomed like a local. She isn't allowed biscuits, I explain, because of the knee problem she mustn't get overweight or she will be in agony. As soon as we bring in the no biscuits rule she turns into a biscuit monster! Luckily we have a very understanding chef in the pub who happily gives carrot treats instead of biscuits, although we have pointed out that a carrot suitable for a cart horse is probably more than even Lily can manage. I start carrying my pen knife and 9/10ths of the carrot is smuggled home for future treat giving. Lily loves carrots, thank goodness we have found a substitute for the biscuits. A pity we can't do the same for ourselves, we laugh as Lily crunches away on the carrot sticks.
We have decided that we would like another cottage in Cornwall and we take a week long holiday in Mousehole near Penzance in a converted net loft. We learn what makes our holiday let so successful, this place is a disgrace! We wash two mugs which we will use for the week and scrub the grease from the worktop and kettle and decide that we wont be doing any home cooking. Even before the cup of tea we discuss whether or not to just leave, we have paid a deposit of £50 but the cash balance is still in our bag and really the place is vile. We are too honourable to leave though and we hand over a further £450 and prepare to stay the week. We advertise our cottage on the same site we found this place on, they are really letting the side down. We wont use that site any more, we don't want to be associated with this! It is so bad we keep discovering things that just make us laugh. The sofa has one leg missing and this has been replaced by a pile of novels. I discovered this as I sit down and the books slide away. Dogs are allowed but not on the furniture!!! Lily is looking at the furniture with distain, her dog bed is so much nicer and cleaner! The three windows have one and a half pairs of curtains to share. Each single curtain has been chopped in half and serves one window as a pair. The hems have been unpicked to make the curtains as long as possible but they look hilarious. We can't believe it! We check the other bedrooms out for the curtain which makes up the second pair and yes it is in one of the bedrooms, chopped in two and serving as a pair. It is time for bed and luckily the loft/flat sleeps four or six. The double mattress is so terrible we can feel the springs in our back. We try all the single beds and only one mattress is marginally better. We put the single mattress on top of the double one. Lily is watching us from her lovely soft bed, her radar ear and raised eyebrow signalling that she is taking it all in.
We take a really good look around the area as we want to spend as little time as possible in the holiday let. Our day in Sennen is baking sunshine, hiking along the downs to the part of the beach that allows dogs and then down onto the sand. Lily is so happy. Only one other dog and a beautiful day. We set up camp by a rivulet coming onto the beach so Lily can have a drink whenever she likes. What a fabulous day we have had and we walk back up the steep path towards the car. Lily has unusually got left behind. We turn around and head back. She is halfway up the cliff and has just sat down. It has been a hot day on the beach and she hasn't stopped running around so we are not surprised she is worn out. We take it in turns to carry her back to the car and I have the pleasure of cuddling her all the way back to Mousehole. When I climb out of the car Lily cries out. She is in pain and I massage her body until she stops screaming. It is terrifying. It seems one of her paws is painful and she holds her foot off the ground to walk. I massage her leg and it improves slightly.
Back in Gloucestershire her leg has improved and we think she is better. An after work walk down to the cricket pitch for a game of footy with Lily is a good way to wear off some of the energy she always has. Paul chases her about and they duck and dive with each other, Lily always out of reach and teasing enjoying the fun. A scream, she collapses, unable to walk and we carry her home rubbing her leg. This time it means a trip to the vet. An X-Ray confirms what the vet suspects, she has torn her cruciate ligament. One major operation and a couple of hundred pounds later we have her home tied to the knob of the Knowle settee recuperating. As soon as she is properly awake she is able to potter around the garden for a piddle but no proper walks for a couple of weeks. It seems like a miracle that after only a few days we take her up the footpath and she is not phased by one of her best friends Gipsy leaping over her head back and forth from verge to verge. She tells her off with only slightly less gusto than her normal little sparky self.
Read previous two episodes here
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