arthritis, cartrophen and Bowen therapy

Penny travelled to Yarra Glen today to have another session of Bowen Therapy with Deb.

After we arrived, I went back to the car to get something, and when I returned I found Penny inside the lovely little therapy cottage, happily waiting for Deb. This is not Penny's usual behaviour with anyone else - normally she'd be at the door, looking out to see where I had gone.

Watching Penny in the session is a great way to see how she reacts to the therapy. I sit on a chair nearby and don't interact. In an hour of treatment, she barely glances at me, which is unusual in any other situation, because she's normally keeping an eye on me to see what I'm up to. However, she loves the therapy so much that she's focused on Deb.

After about ten minutes or so, Penny moved away, and Deb waited for her to come back. Soon, Penny stood up, and returned to ask for more. It was plain that she loves it. I find it interesting when Deb tells me the places where Penny is sore, because I can see, once it's pointed out to me, that Deb is correct, by Penny's reaction to therapy in those spots.


We're not depending only on natural therapies to deal with Penny's arthritis. We're also having another series of four cartrophen injections at our vet.

And I was intrigued to discover that one of the vets at our local practice does acupuncture. We'll enquire about that.

Am I mean-spirited to laugh at Fenton's antics?

When a friend showed me the famous Fenton deer-herding incident on her iPad, I hurried home to watch it full-screen on my desktop computer. I laughed. And laughed. And shared it with family.



But when I read this article, I wondered if I was mean-spirited to enjoy another dog-owner's humiliation.

So I had another look at the clip, and I still thought it was funny.

I asked myself why I didn't feel guilty about laughing.

I think it's because of the joy I see in Fenton the dog, doing what all our dogs wish they could. Running free, hunting, top predator. And I'm laughing with the owner, not at him, because I know how it is when a relaxed, home-loving canine suddenly shows us she's descended from wolves. I won't forget the moment when Penny, as a puppy, emerged from the bushes with a glorious, colourful bird limp in  her mouth. I managed to convince myself that she'd luckily stumbled across the warm, already-dead body of a rosella, but I made sure to never give her the chance again to 'play' with birds.

One of my favourite cartoons is pinned on the wall above my computer. It's a Non Sequitur cartoon, by Wiley Miller.

a new place to rest when walking with Penny

There's a great new children's playground in Warringal Parklands, and we are careful to stay away from it, because it says, 'NO DOGS'. Fair enough. I agree that parents should have a place where their children can play, secure in the knowledge there won't be doggie poo on the ground or dogs running around, even on leash.

However...we've made the astonishing discovery that dogs ARE allowed in one part of this area, and there is food to be had! Food for humans, that is. Penny can find food anywhere, of course - mouldy chips, old MacDonalds hamburgers, possum poo, discarded chop bones. For her, every walk is a delightful gourmet delight.

At Warringal, there is now human food. And dogs can go into the area with tables and chairs.

When we approached along the bicycle path, I was excited to see this sign:

And this menu:

The opening times are good:

And to top off the experience for the humans, there is a selection of training equipment for adults outside the fence that encloses the huge array of equipment for children from littlies to teenagers.

I had a try of this walking machine, but I wasn't too good at it. I'll be back to try it out again.

Penny and the bokashi compost

Winter, and time to enrich the soil in our garden...

I usually dig the bokashi compost into the front garden, where Penny does not go, but a couple of times I've put it in the ground out the back. I usually place heavy pavers over it, so Penny can't dig for the delicious rotted stuff, and sometimes I fence it off.

Penny thinks it tastes nice. But hopefully she's older and less energetic these days and won't try to push her way through the flimsy barrier.

I don't bury the bokashi deep, because I'm too lazy to dig down, and I'd prefer to let the worms and other 'garden helpers' carry the goodness into the earth without destroying the soil structure.

Here's hoping!