Not what the doctor ordered!

Monday 11^th October; Coven Heath to Penkridge

The doctor? rather, the vet.

A jolly cold morning it was to start with, so it was on with the lined trousers and multiple layers on our top halves.  We took turns steering north into the northerly wind.  Then Meg, who was lying cosily on the bed looking out at us, suddenly threw up.  Unusual, and as I went to clear up (we always put covers on the bed against muddy feet, and now sick, thankfully) I saw she was also shivering violently.  She soon warmed up with the aid of a blanket, but suddenly was panting and overheating – classic signs of a fever.  Maybe the slight scratch she got when she missed her footing on Saturday had got infected?  Out in the sticks as we were, all we could do was monitor her condition until we got somewhere we could access a vet.    At least she was drinking water when offered, and gradually her fever eased but she was clearly not well.  As we approached Gailey she seemed a little better and we thought we could easily get to Penkridge, where we were likely to find a vet reasonably close to the canal, by mid-afternoon at the latest.  The sun had come out by the time we got to Gailey.

The toll house at Gailey, beside the A5

It can be difficult getting a taxi from an isolated spot, and even harder to find one which will take dogs, so we didn't plan to stop here.  The A5 bridge at Gailey has been widened over the years and the bottom lock beams have to be angled, as the bridge is in the way of a standard balance beam.  They are easy enough to open in spite of this.

Gailey lock bottom gates

We moored briefly for Meg to have a wee (thankfully that department is still working properly) then cracked on.  The towpath hedge below Brick Kiln lock was alive with bees and other creatures on the strongly perfumed ivy flowers.

Buzz buzz

Brick Kiln and Boggs locks have sturdy new shelters for stop planks, though Brick Kiln’s is empty as yet.  Our extra layers were now redundant in the warm sunshine.

A passing dog walker had given us details of the nearest vet to the canal – less than half a mile from Penkridge Bridge – and not only did I manage to get an appointment that afternoon, we bagged the spot closest to the bridge too.  She walked to the vet without needing to be carried, though rather slowly.  Covid procedures are still in operation - we waited in a huge open-sided marquee with fairy lights and widely spaced benches, with dogs, cats and a tortoise all waiting their turn.  Most owners and all the staff were using masks.  Owners are not allowed inside (except to pay their bills of course) so the animals are taken in on their own, are returned with a diagnosis, then you give your permission for the treatment (in this case an anti-emetic injection, antibiotics and capsules to settle her stomach), the vet goes back in and returns to give the shot. Eventually you get the tablets and can go in to pay.  The diagnosis was a touch of pancreatitis – this can affect older dogs who have had too fatty a diet (not Meg) but a bout can also, as Dave discovered later, result from a blow to the chest wall.  As she had crashed into the iron towpath edge when she slipped while jumping off the stern on Saturday that seems the likely cause.  It will probably take her a few days to recover with a light diet, so we will need to cook rice, potatoes, scrambled eggs or chicken for her. 

So we won’t be going to Tixall Wide after all.  We’ll turn round at Acton Trussell tomorrow, and stick around Penkridge till we are sure she is improving.   She did enjoy the fire this evening, which is a start!

8 and a half miles, 7 locks