A dog's worst nightmare

We took Jasper to the vet on Friday for his annual vaccinations and to have his claws cut. I waited outside as I can't stand the look of sheer terror on his face while his claws are being done. It turned out that he had an infection in both ears and conjunctivitis as well... which made me feel very guilty for not noticing.

Now the poor dog has to have ear wash squirted in, with anti-biotic ear drops half an hour later and also drops in each eye, none of which he's terribly keen on even though he's well-rewarded with treats. We started off by holding him tightly while administering the medicines, but I hate man-handling him like that and as he's as stubborn as his owners it wasn't a nice experience for any of us. So this morning I went for a different approach, which took longer but resulted in him agreeing to sit quietly while I dosed him. What a good boy!

Today we've had to move back to the village house until the weather is warm enough for us not to need a fire at the Mas. The wood burner has been on it's last legs for a while and had to be welded last year after it cracked, but last night smoke was seeping into the room from all sorts of little gaps, both around the door and all the way up the chimney. We had to let the fire go out before we went to bed so that we were still alive this morning! It's not worth replacing the chimney or the door seal, the money would be better spent replacing it totally. It's been a cracking good little stove, as we've had it for seven years, and in the winter it's kept in 24/7!