Honestly, Macc is going to be the death of us! The day started ordinarily enough with a walk, and we went up across the fields towards Beeston Castle.
I actually thought he’d been pretty good; I’d kept him on the lead when there were cows about, and he had a run around in the field between the canal and the railway line. We had breakfast and then as we had only a very short distance to go, we made no rush to set off. Macc had been a bit subdued, and then as we started to get ready to go he was very sick, bringing up what looked like cowpat. He was also staggering about a bit and seemed a bit disorientated. He sat with Adrian while I got the boat ready to move; normally he’d want to help with all of this, but today he just sat still. Then he went into his bed for a sleep. We set off in murky conditions.
Adrian noticed that when Macc sat up he was swaying from side to side. We decided we’d call the marina to see if we could come in a day early, which they said was fine, and then called the local vet, who said they could see him at 11.30. Adrian then phoned the marina again to see if there was a taxi firm to take us to the vet — and Ollie the manager said he would take us, or find another moorers to give us a lift, which was very kind of him. We got to the marina before 11 and as we knew which berth we were having, made our way round to it.
We got the boat secure on our pontoon and then Macc came bounding out of his bed, seemingly back to normal. A nearby moorer came by with a five month old Border who looks just like a smaller version of Macc, and the two of them were very excited to see each other. So we stood down the vet and the lift, went to find Ollie, and had a quick tour of the facilities in the marina clubhouse. But when we got back to the boat it was clear that Macc wasn’t well. He sat down and swayed, and just wasn’t himself — so we called the vet again and Gill from the next set of pontoons, who’d offered to drive us. It’s about a ten minute drive to the vet, but would be quite a long walk.
We saw a very nice vet who examined Macc and checked for neurological damage. She said there were no signs of any damage, but could also see that when he walked his back half looked a bit disconnected, and when he relaxed he was swaying and unsteady. She agreed with what we’d suspected after a bit of research: he could have Ivermectin poisoning. Ivermectin is a worming drug given to cattle, and if it’s been recently administered it could be in their cowpats — and then dogs come along, eat the cowpats, and get too big a dose. She said he needed an infusion of Intralipid, and that it would probably work in about two hours. The practice is actually supposed to close at 12.30 on a Saturday, but she said they had another emergency dog in so they’d be staying around anyway. So Macc went off out the back to be treated, we let Gill know we were going to be a while and she shouldn’t wait, and we walked into Tattenhall village to have lunch, which seemed like a good way of killing the time. Tattenhall is a really attractive village with plenty of pubs and cafes, and lots of very attractive houses.
We had toasted sandwiches at Alison’s, which was very busy. Then we walked back up to the vet to see how Macc was getting on. The place looked closed, which it kind of was, but the vet saw us and said the infusion was nearly done and Macc would then be assessed again. We went inside to wait, and then saw him being walked around with a cone round his neck and a bandage on his leg. The conclusion was that he was much better — no longer staggering or swaying. He came trotting out, pleased to see us. We now needed to get back to the marina but Gill wasn’t answering her phone, so George, the practice manager who also turns out to be one of the owners, said he’d give us a lift as it was on his way home. We were very impressed by Tattenhall Veterinary Practice, and as it’s so convenient we’re planning to make it Macc’s home vet. We have already talked to them about a procedure we know Macc needs, and about the complexities of getting his monthly flea tablets while we’re on the move. Meanwhile, Macc is supposed to be resting and staying calm — which was fine right up until we met other dogs on the short walk back to the boat. Once on board, he has been happy to settle down and have a snooze.
3 miles, 0 locks. (350 miles, 227 locks)