It was with more than just a touch of trepidation that we awoke today and rang the vets for an appointment for our two babies. Having been mostly worried about Bethany all weekend, Alvin decided to join the party too last night, spending a good deal of the later periods of the evening vomiting and regurgitating his dinner. Now, we had two sick puppies on our hands and twice the worry.

Thankfully, the nearby veterinarian hospital was able to squeeze us into an early morning consultation slot, so we hurriedly dressed and rushed out the door, dogs in tow. The staff at the vets were fantastic, while the vet herself seemed to be very thorough in her examination of both Alvin and Bethany. She poked and prodded at both of them, waved her stethoscope over them knowingly and checked things that don’t even bear discussing in an open forum. Her final prognosis was that Bethany was crook, but definitely on the improve, while Alvin was still pretty sick. This was most likely caused by a bug or a virus that they have picked up somewhere, somehow. Pills were dolled out for both of them and we walked out feeling a sense of relief. Both in our minds and our wallet, not that cost was an issue. I might scrimp and save when it comes to buying the odd bottle of cheap plonk, but when it comes to these two, money really is no object.

As well as the medical diagnosis, there came a short term dietary requirement, that they both be feed a bland diet of boiled chicken and rice for a week or so. This would not be their first choice for dinner, but they are going to have to accept what they are given.

The other suggestion we were to be given was to hang around in Carnarvon for an extra day at least, to see how they recover. This was a suggestion we could see the benefit of as there are no vet services in Denham, our next port of call. I would hate to think that either of them requires any further treatment when we are hundreds of kilometres away from the nearest vet.

On the way back to the van, we stopped in at a couple of hardware stores, both of which lacked the bits I have decided are necessary to attempt a repair to the plumbing. Looking at the itinerary for the next couple of weeks, I think we are going to have to make a few changes so as to give us some time in a larger town to affect the repairs, or go without the washing machine. I know which solution Bec would prefer, so we will have to hit the books again before long.

Two separate supermarkets were also delved into, after the first one had no chicken in stock. Can you imagine a supermarket that doesn’t even stock chicken fillets. That meant a trip all the way into town to the second grocery store, a detour of at least 5 minutes. You gotta love these small towns. With dinner supplies for all four of us, we headed back to the van, for another very quiet afternoon.

We still weren’t too confident about leaving the pooches on their own, so any sightseeing we had planned for today was cast aside to look after them. While we spent the day lying in bed watching tele, Bethany curled up between us, happy for the chance of a cuddle. Alvin on the other hand, took himself off to his own bed, where we stayed for the entire day, sleeping and hardly even raising an eyebrow for the occasional pat on the head. This was quite out of character for him, as he is usually rolling about, scratching and chewing at his paws. For him to lie, prostate, unmoving for several hours was a good indication of how unwell he was feeling.

On his sick bed with the canine equivalent of the dreaded ‘man flu’.

He did at least perk up a little when a walk was offered, as we took them both outdoors for a wander about the park. Thankfully, there was no repeats of the weekends flaccid bodily functions and we ended up sitting outside to enjoy the final rays of sunshine streaming obliquely across the grounds. It was a lovely end to an otherwise imperfect day.

They were both up for a little walk which was promising.

Just ’cause I’m not well…

Putting on the sad face.

All that was left to do was to boil up a giant pot of rice for the four of us for dinner. At least we got to enjoy the addition of some apricot flavoured chicken, while the dogs had to make do with the bland, tasteless and rather revolting looking plain boiled fillets. Alvin having dispensed much of last nights dinner at various locations about the park, was so hungry, I don’t think it would have mattered what we put down in front of him. At least his appetite is back to normal, and touch wood, but there has not been any further vomiting since.

Having paid up for an extra nights accommodation here earlier in the day, we are hoping that tomorrow when can venture out again in an effort to see a few more of the Carnarvon sights. It would be a shame if we weren’t able to see many of the well respected sights around town, but time will tell.

Until next time, stay safe, have fun and don’t forget to write.