LOLA-JOY
Debi-Jo Milner
Water Meadows, Brook Hill
45 x 70 cm
Lockdown tails
I worked throughout the pandemic alone in my house for a local authority dealing with children’s safeguarding. I have worked in this field for a great many years but during lockdown, living in isolation and without interaction from friends, family or colleagues, I found that a job that I had previously been good at and one where I was making a real difference became completely overwhelming. The challenges I once thrived at in overcoming became increasingly impossible and I felt both frustrated with myself and completely and utterly useless.
I realised that I was finding living and working on my own a bad combination, especially when dealing with other people’s problems day in and day out. So, I decided that a four-legged furry companion would be my best way forward and I started to look for Labradors online.
When Lola arrived, I fell in love immediately! She was absolutely gorgeous and made an instantaneous difference to my wellbeing and daily life. Here was a little creature relying on me, and my heart burst at seeing her little face each day. It was such a positive start to the day, no matter how difficult my work became.
However, as time went on, I realised that Lola was limping and the many visits to the vets began. After a great deal of investigative tests, it was clear that she had elbow dysplasia in both her front legs. This condition is not too rare but to have both legs affected is extremely unusual and very serious. This condition would most likely have been picked up at the initial vet’s appointment when she went through the procedure as a handover to the new owner. So, I tried to contact the breeder but he had gone to ground. The documents I had for Lola were found not to be relating to her and it turned out that I had been a victim of a scam! This meant that my pet’s insurance was invalid and there was no money to cover her vet costs.
So, I had a real choice to make. Should I pay for Lola to have major surgery, without any assurances that she would fully recover, or should I have her put to sleep? I chose the surgery and Lola began the long process of operations and then a very long recovery. During this time, I think Lola became something of a celebrity in Woodstock and I was a daily sight for sore eyes pushing a buggy with her in it around the town and through the grounds of Blenheim!
She was unable to walk at all to begin with but gradually began to take small steps. During this whole 15-month period, Lola used her ‘Lola Stroller’ to get out and about and we became an unusual but familiar sight in Woodstock.
Six weeks ago, Lola had her final assessment with the vet. She will need to make ‘old bones’ as she has already developed arthritis but her recovery for such a severe case of elbow dysplasia has been remarkable. We will have to monitor Lola playing with other energetic dogs and limit her walking a little to avoid pain, but she can now play, run and explore.
I am loving having Lola with me and am loving life as a happy dog owner, especially as I recently retired from a lifetime of children’s social care and am happily running a guest house in my beloved Woodstock. I still walk around Blenheim and am so very grateful to have had this on my doorstep during lockdown. I am today loving the fields, towpaths and wooded areas as I watch Lola run and play and… be a dog!
Debi-Jo Milner