It has been one week since I last wrote on my blog. I’m surprised that this time has passed so quickly with nary a thought to Dragonlane. Perhaps it’s the lethargy of winter. Perhaps I’m distracted.
Pickles began coughing quite a lot and so I took her to the vet, who confirmed that she is in the early stages of heart failure.
She is now on medication that I have to give her one hour before feeding time and this seems to confuse her greatly. She gets one small meatball of soft dog food (with hidden tablets inside) and that’s it. She doesn’t understand the delay and so looks at me with those pleading eyes after she’s gulped down her small meatball. Food is a great concern of Pickles. An hour later I have to wake her from a very deep sleep to give her the rest of her breakfast.
We spend half of our week at the studio and the other half at the house.
I work here and there.
While at the studio, we go out for a walk when I become too tired to work with the metal, or worse, when I become careless with the torch.
It’s very blowy by the water and I struggle to walk along the seafront, but not Pickles. She seems to revel in the wind and she holds her head up proudly while her spaniel ears fly back against her head. She squints her eyes and keeps a lookout for other dogs and light posts. Both have delightful smells. It’s often grey and rainy, yet the pier is generally full of walkers…parents with children and people with or without dogs.
We continue walking on, our faces into the wind.
Dragonlane Artisan Jewellery 
So sorry to hear about Pickles. I don’t know how old she is, but hopefully those pills in a meatball will give her a long and happy life. For sure, do not try to work when you are tired. That’s when you’ll burn the place down. I know, I’ve blown up a few computer systems working on only a couple of hours of sleep.
Thank you, Alan. This breed always has heart problems and so this wasn’t a surprise — but it is very sad.