Progress!

Ray’s walks being limited by Carol’s current ability has been a concern although, given our high temps/high humidity recent weather, I don’t think that Ray is particularly bothered. Given the choice between going for walk in a fur coat at around 35C and 70% humidity, or napping in front of an air vent with continuous cool air coming out of it….. yes I think that I can understand his position!

We have received a number of suggestions about getting Carol a little more mobile, but they have all fallen down because of her desire (and need) to work her muscles in order to re-establish the connections between her brain and limbs which were damaged by her illness.

Carol did however come up with a feasible compromise. With her bike seat lowered, she could ride her bike, but have easy access to the ground if necessary. She could either ride it conventionally which would not only work her legs and upper body, but would also be working her “balance”, or she could sit and scooter it along (pushing forward from the ground).

Her mountain bike was quickly adjusted and off we went. Ray was happy leading the way and glancing back periodically, while Carol pedaled and scooted! I let him pick the route and, not too surprisingly, it soon became clear that we were going downtown.

Our downtown at the moment is hosting a jazz festival so the question was, is he going to listen to the music, or does he have Lululemon in mind? The answer soon became rather obvious as he worked his way through the people on the sidewalk and totally ignored any jazz bands. He was on a mission!

We did stop and give him a drink, but I think he saw that as not much more than an inconvenience to his mission. We duly arrived at Lululemon and they had put their biscuit bowl outside. Ray went straight up to it; sat down and looked at me! I gave him some pieces  of their biscuits. One of the staff saw him and brought out a bowl of water, but he was not too interested (after all, he can get fresh water anytime he likes at home!).

After Lululemon’s store, we circled around and were generally heading for home, when we bumped into two sisters that we used to bike ride with and who we had not seen for a long time. They were sitting outside a cafe and so we chatted while Ray, seemingly very happy with his adventure, just lay down near their table and chilled! Gotta luv him!

Overall it was very successful and Ray was soon snoring away in his favorite chair!

2016 08 05

41 thoughts on “Progress!”

  8. Oh what a long and arduous day for Ray! Lol. I’m sure he was very thankful to get you two back to a safe environment so he could rest in comfort.

    Dogs are amazing creatures. My dog is a 5 poun 2.29kg to be exact, multipoon (half Maltese and half toy poole). He love to go for car rides, walks are a little disturbing because he is so small and cars are so big, and fast. They can stress him out. Lol. But his favorite place to go is a coffee shop that has biscuits he likes (due to tummy issues from Parvo he can only eat what won’t make him throw up). He knows the name and gets very excited for a road trip if he hears it. Lol

    But like Ray he is very protective and road trips can wear him out because of his having to be on the look out. In my arms, so he can see out. And he must see out. We get home and he’s out for a long nap. Lol

    Great read, I hope Carol continues to on this road to regaining her health.

    -Wendy

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Yeah! Glad to hear it worked out. I bet Carol was sacked out too, when she got back. Your writing is so uplifting today, I can feel the excitement in your household.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Well we worry about Ray. Although he has made huge progress over the 3 years he’s been here, he still has some issues which we are trying to work on and having him potentially frustrated would not help! While Carol’s issues were (perhaps still are) potentially more serious, she can express herself really well! Ray does his best, but then we have to speculate the rest! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.