“Remoted – Hybrid” – Day 730 (Wednesday) – snow trails

The King in his living room bed.

It began snowing in the early afternoon, and was falling steadily when I left the office at 3:00. When I arrived home to collect Winston, he seemed to know something was different about today. 

Instead of the food bowl fill that usually happens after I get home, he was being put into a harness and coaxed out the door.  He didn’t want to leave the house and in the end, was carried to the car. Usually Win is enthusiastic for a road trip and spends the journey trying to sneak into the front seat, but today he stayed in his bed on the backseat floor and didn't utter a sound. 

The ride to the vet, 25 miles away in Fitchburg, was slow going in the snow. On 495, which has a speed limit of 65 and most of the drivers regularly do 80, three lanes of traffic limped along at 40 mph. The snow coated the trees and the furthest edges of the road and made for a pretty view, but the asphalt was mostly clear.  It was impossible to know if there was a hazard or impediment up ahead or if the drivers were suddenly collectively cautious.

The trip can often be accomplished in 45 minutes, and even less on a quiet Saturday morning, and we usually arrive early enough that I have a few minutes to relax in the car before we go inside. Today, with the steady snow and the slow crawling traffic, it took over an hour, which still wasn’t that bad and could have been much worse. The main pressure was racing the clock to arrive on time, but that didn’t happen and there was no parking lot relaxing. When we arrived at our destination, Winston wasn’t keen to get out of the car, and didn’t especially care to go into the vet office, either. Thankfully, the office wasn’t busy, and our tardiness didn’t cause a disruption.

Winston was due for his annual shots, but the main reason we were there was related to his diabetes. Despite an insulin increase after wearing the glucose monitor for two weeks, he is still drinking lots of water and back to urinating an ocean each day. Thank goodness for the initial stretch of remote work and now being able to work remotely two days each week, or I wouldn’t have been aware of his daily habits and his condition might be much worse.

At the vet office, he was nervous, even though he’s been there several times a year in each of the past nine years, but only a few times since losing his sight. He yelped when the team touched his feet while drawing blood from his leg, but didn’t react at all from the shots in his hind quarters. His sugar was high this afternoon, and the dosage is increased again, as of supper tonight. Here’s hoping it helps.

Blazing new snow trails.

After having his supper, Win curled up in his bed for a couple hours, until he needed to go out. I hadn’t looked outside since we arrived home at 6:00 and I cleared an inch or so off the back steps and deck, and the front steps were surprisingly deep with snow and it was still falling. I cleared the steps and a patch of space of the asphalt in front of them, but brave little Winston, 16.7 pounds of spunk and pluck, charged forth into the yard, up to his knees in snow, to get to his preferred potty spot. Such a little trooper, blazing trails every day.