Busy!

Yesterday turned out to be a busy day!  Not in the sense that I was particularly busy myself but I had to take Leroy, my daughters dog, to the vet and it was very busy.   Dogs, like people, still need the attention of the vet during lockdown.  Obviously we don't go for minor things, but Leroy's ear had been bothering him for over a week.  He kept shaking his head and my daughter bought some ointment and cleaned his ear most days, however I began to suspect he had an infection.  It wasn't clearing on its own and I know how painful earache is so I phoned and they gave me an appointment that afternoon.  

The car park was almost full but you have to leave the dog in the car and go to the door to check in.  They have an outside desk and a receptionist takes your name and car reg. and goes off to tell a vet you're there.  You then wait in the car and the vet finds you and comes to take the dog away.  Leroy has spent a lot of time in the vet over the years, he had very severe allergies as a puppy and as a result his digestive system was a bit damaged and he had to go in a few times on a drip, so he's not fond of the vet!  He struggled to try and stay with me but the vet lifted him and off they went.  Turns out he does indeed have an infection and has been given some gel in his ear to clear it up.  The vet brings the dog to you and you put him in the car and join the queue to pay.  £59, just like that!

We took both dogs with us so that we could take Leroy to the park for a walk to cheer him up after the vet.  There is a park near us which a lot of joggers and families with young children use.  There is a cafe there and it's very popular when it's open.  We thought it might be quieter as it was 5pm.  The park is basically a flat path which follows the contours of the large lake, it's also exactly 1 mile round so a lot of people use it to get their steps up.  It's very pretty and the photo suggests its very serene, however had I turned my camera to the right or left of this view you would have had a very different impression!  We came in through the back entrance which is always much quieter however once we got out of the car we realised it was actually very busy.  There were loads of people.  There seemed to be crowds of people and children and although the path is fairly wide, it felt too narrow.  Hubby was unhappy and I was unhappy but as there are no other parks we could get to before it got dark and the dogs would be very unhappy if they didn't get a walk we walked round it.  Mostly we marched!  We couldn't get round it fast enough much to the dogs dismay!   It's quite awful to feel that bad about being among people.   I do hope that as the vaccine takes effect and we see the numbers dropping dramatically we feel able to get out and about among people again.