Today’s Small Memory
A darling elderly terrier with a soft bristly golden beard called Pippa had collapsed on her backlegs. Her devastated owners realised that this was the end for her and their sadness was intensified as they held her in their arms and told me to please not place her in any bag as they couldn’t bear that thought – they wanted her wrapped in her own blanket and kept at the practice over the long weekend as they planned to take her for a private cremation when the crematorium opened after the Bank Holiday.
I felt all their pain – the euthanasia was so very poignant as Pippa licked her owner’s nose as she was being told how much they loved her while I gave the injection. The owner was so overcome with grief that I gently took Pippa’s limp body and placed it on the consulting room table. When they had said their goodbyes, I felt drained from the sheer emotion of sharing in a family’s grief and trying to explain that all the tears and pain they felt was normal, but the loss of a family pet is as overwhelming as the loss of a closest family member and no words I could say could provide any consolation.
They left and I had to abide with their wishes and I gently picked up little Pippa off the table to wrap her in ‘puppy pads’ instead of a plastic bag as we normally would use (for very practical reasons). Little Pippa had been unable to stand that morning and had not had a wee all night, so when I lifted her off the table, her bladder opened like a flood all over my legs and shoes. I quietly got on with ensuring she was placed in her own little soft blanket and as I had no change of clothes, I returned to consult with a huge wet stain all down my legs (sprayed with an odour neutraliser that thankfully worked perfectly!)
This is what I have eaten today – a day at work with a long busy and emotional consulting Sunday session that ended with a very easy Sainsbury vegan pizza as I did predict that I’d be too tired to cook:
Breakfast after 2km plogging run and 5 length swim –
- Cup of Tic Toc redbush tea with soya milk
- Bowl of oatmilk with Pukka chocolate powder and dark 100% chocolate
- 2 petit pains au chocolat Jus Rol
- ½ grapefruit
- 1 hrt tablet
- 2 Algae Omega 3 capsules
Lunch at work:
- Salad of lettuce, lamb’s lettuce, cherry tomatoes, sesame seeds, olive oil and malt vinegar
- 2 slices rye bread with Flora spread and almond spread (from Lidl)
- 1 apple
- 1 apricot
- Blueberries and raspberries
Eaten in car on drive home:
- Handful almonds and small box raisins
Eaten as soon as home – exhausted and very hungry but overdid it!
- Remaining petit pain au chocolat
- 3 Jacob’s pepper crackers
- 2 bowls salted Tesco popcorn
- Cup of Tic Toc redbush tea with oatmilk Barista
- 1 apricot
Dinner
- ½ vegan pizza as shown in the photo – not good at all – won’t buy it again
- Coconut yoghurt with 1 passion fruit mixed in
- 2 squares Lindt 85% dark chocolate
- Cup mint tea and laugh watching Ranganatian with my daughter – it had an eco vegan plogging lady on it – she was a lot younger than me, but so happy to have someone else think like me!
