Recovery chez Dante

Falling sick, being ill and recovering from illness when there's a pet/dog/cat (or multiple ones, as the case may be here) in the equation can be a boon or nuisance, or both at the same time, depending on one's perspective.

Thanks to those of you who sent "get well soon" wishes -- I'm happy to report that although still unable to ingest more than a tea biscuit and copious amounts of warm sweet tea, The Fred is (literally) back on his feet and feeling much better today. He thought he'd share his thoughts on being on the mend in the last 24 hours:

Recuperating, ah yes, that most elusive of decadent pursuits, as known by anyone with pets agile or tall enough to reach the bed -- is a contact sport. In this house we're happily home to two cats (one with enough attitude for three) and of course Dante.

Lying in bed sick is therefore a clockwork scehdule of fending off a wet nose and licks from a concerned Dante every five to ten minutes, making sure one is still capable of scratching his ears and looking like recovering enough to go for a walk soon. Contributing to Dante's nursing efforts are being bounced on by Pixie during the day and Tinsel at night (they have the luxury of tag teaming through numbers) so that the trio can check that the patient remains alive enough for their needs (i.e. petting and treats). One can only assume that this is some kind of genetically programmed test that animals have as part of their sixth sense, kind of a survival of the fittest since it surely doesn't aid in catching up on any sleep!

That said, I have to make a special mention and express appreciation to Dante who forewent his comfy bed upstairs to join me downstairs at weird times of the night when I was making too much ruckus for his Mum to sleep.

Dante is a much happier boy today as well. As forecasted, the temperatures vaulted above zero today and he got not one but TWO brisk walks throughout the day. The Fred's much better so Dante had his wrestling partner back. Furthermore, Dante was greatly cheered up by The Fred and his Mum surprising him with a couple of goodies to usher in the New Year ... details to follow soon in upcoming posts!