Arnold Update

OK, since everyone from my friends to my colleagues to my boss (way over in the US) has asked after the little man, I think it's time for an update.

He was very very sick. In fact, Arnold was so sick that I thought I would have to bury him in JB. Yes, I took him back with me for my holiday. During that time his cough grew worse and I stayed up at nights, listening to that hollow hacking, and patting his belly, willing him to go to sleep again.

I put his bed upstairs (a no-no in the JB house) so I could watch over him as he slept. And he was very very weak. He refused most of his food, he slept most of the day, woke up to stagger about for a bit, before collapsing into a heap in a corner, and then, off to sleep.

He was too weak to negotiate the stairs alone, so this meant I had to carry him up and down. He's not exactly light.

Anyway, on my second day there, I closed the large gate outside and let Elliot run free. Arnold was there, and he flopped onto the grass while Elliot ran up and down like an antelope. He was so happy to run. Arnold watched him moist-eyed and whimpered when Elliot poked him playfully, wondering why this silly dog did not come running with him.

Then Arnold staggered home, tired out from simply watching Elliot.

I forgot to say, I packed a whole bag for Arnold before I left and guess what? I left that bag in KL (including his medication). That meant, Monday morning, having spent a night listening to my dog cough like a TB patient, I was frantic. I would need to get to an open vet so I could get a fresh set of pills for him.

See here's the thing. Monday was a combination of festivals - Thaipusam, Chap Go Meh and the Prophet's birthday. What this meant was that Chinese, Indian and Malay vets were all closed. I finally managed to call one office that answered. It was in the middle of the boondocks, far, far away...but what the heck. I found my way there (after one wrong turn and detour), waited for the vet to come from the temple (where he had been celebrating Thaipusam), got a whole heap of pills and came home.

Arnold was sleeping next to Mum who was watching her Bollywood drama serials. I forced some pills down his throat and cleaned his wounds, rubbing the antibiotic cream on them.

He cried a little, tried to bite me a little, hacked a little and then went back to sleep.

But surprisingly, over the week, he got a little better and then a little more. He started eating his food (rather than leaving it there for me to give Elliot later), getting hungry earlier and looking for food...and by the end, when I let Elliot go (after the Chingay procession at past midnight), there was Arnold, running after him uphill.

It was a transformation. On the ride back, I noticed that he sat up and took interest once we were in familiar territory. I opened the door to let him out of the car before coming him and he ran around the neighbourhood, antagonised all the dogs and was happy to be back. He was also happy to see Maggot (although Elliot had been unfailingly gentle and patient with him).

And he's now all better. He wakes up in the morning and wants to go for his walkies. He jumps on me when I get back from work to take him out on the lead. He even picked a fight with that schnauzer he hates last night. (Well, he tried to pick a fight. I pulled him on the lead and when he resisted, smacked his royal bottom).

In short, Arnold's all better now.

Thanks for asking.