“There is much work for love to do”……

Excuse me stealing a line from “Teatime for the Traditionally Built” but this is very apt today….

Alfie dog had to be taken back to the vet today, as an emergency visit. He’d only been there on Wed and the team, who love him, were thrilled with how well he was doing. By Thursday, I was worried about him but, as Tony tells me, I worry anyway so I just thought I was fussing unnecessarily…..Alfie goes everywhere with his tail wagging, his heart open and his ears, alert to anything from which he has to protect his people or his animal brothers and sisters.

Today, when we got in from work, I thought he’d had a stroke: his head was down on one side and he was looking at me trying to tell me something I couldn’t get – other than to know he was in pain. Checking his head and ears, we saw that something horrible was coming out of his ears and must have been there a while……….so to Dr Inna we went.

Treating him with her normal care and professionalism, Dr Inna noted too that he was fine on Wed and that this had happened quickly and that it is awful, whatever it is.

Now back on steroids, antibiotics, more stuff and cream Alfie is home, happily wagging his tail but looking tired and wanting to be on his own to sleep, which isn’t like him. He still checked that we were all fine, had eaten, Charlie was in and all was well before he went to lie down……….he is a star!

Why the line, “There is much work for love to do”? Well, I have been thinking for a few weeks that its about Tony and ~I needing to just love Alfie more through whatever this is and help him , then I realised today that it is really about Alfie, loving us all so much, he doesn’t want whatever it is to get him down: he is “in charge” which we always tell him before we go out anywhere – and taking this seriously, he wants to stay “in charge” and not let us down. Its actually him that loves us so much, he has work to do. That we love him so much too, he knows………….so I guess we’re all in this together, wherever its going to take us.

Loving someone or an animal is still love, however many feet, paws or scales they /it has: there are just times when love has to take over and logic has to step back, letting the journey continue, however difficult.

I wouldn’t change a moment or a day of the journey we’ve shared with Alfie: wherever this love is taking us, we’re all in it together .