Ollie’s mini-break

~ beetleypete

I got back at 4:30 today. I had been on a visit to see my cousin and her family, around a two hour drive south of here, in Essex.

It was quite an eventful weekend, especially for Ollie, and in a special way for me too. We arrived to find out that my cousin had recently acquired another dog to keep Dennis, her King Charles Spaniel dog company. She is an 8 year-old Red King Charles, rescued from a puppy-breeding farm. She was very friendly, and took an immediate liking to Ollie. Fortunately, she had been neutered after years of producing pups, so her flirtations with my dog were unlikely to come to anything. Besides, Libby is only a quarter of his size.

After catching up since my last visit in December 2018, I was delighted when my cousin’s daughter brought baby Violet to see me, and to collect the gifts I had brought for her. Some of you may recall that she was named after my late mother, something that touched me greatly. At just five months, little Violet is alert, has great skills beyond her age, and is developing into a really happy and delightful baby. I had a good long hold of her, and couldn’t help but reflect how much my Mum would have been overjoyed to know she bears her name. Ollie was not troubled with jealousy where she was concerned, as he had his hands full dealing with Libby, and trying to impress a very lethargic Dennis.

After Violet was taken home, we relaxed to enjoy an evening meal in the company of my cousin’s son and his girlfriend, who both live in the house. Ollie was still ‘dancing’ with Libby, and hardly had any rest at all, despite us taking the dogs for a long walk before dinner. Once dinner was over, we chatted and listened to music, and I became sleepy, after a long day. When it was time for bed, Ollie was excited to follow me upstairs, even though his bed had been set up in the living room. As I started to walk up the staircase, he ignored his instructions to stay on his bed downstairs, and decided he would rush up the stairs ahead of me, with no warning.

The first thing I knew was that my dog was between my legs as I lifted my foot onto the next stair. The next thing I was aware of was lying on my back like an upturned turtle, on the hard flooring in the hallway. I had fallen down three stairs into the hallway, landing heavily on my back, unlucky not to get a rebound injury to my skull. Ollie was barking loudly, apparently upset by my fall, so both the Spaniels joined in. Then my cousin came to see what the fuss was about , and her son appeared from the kitchen to help. I was eventually assisted back upstairs, with Ollie in some disgrace, ordered to his bed in the living room. I remember thinking that my back hurt a little bit, and my right hand was painful. Then I went to sleep.

I woke in the early hours, in great pain and discomfort. My back was in agony, and my right hand throbbing as if trapped in a vice. It took me almost fifteen minutes to get out of bed, to be able to use the toilet.  By the time I should have been getting up, I was in agony with my back, and spent a very long time getting ready to be able to go downstairs. There was a large visible wound on my hand too, where I had tried to grab the bannisters, and scuffed my hand on the woodwork instead. After creeping downstairs very gingerly, I was just about able to sit on a hard chair to drink some tea, and eat breakfast.

I felt so sorry for my cousin, as she had planned a day of various activities for us on Saturday, involving the dogs. As well as the inclement weather, my fall had ruled that out. I was just about able to accompany her on a local dog-walk, shuffling behind like a 95 year-old man! The evening was quiet, with me stuck in an armchair, watching as Ollie and Libby continued their fruitless courtship. We had a Chinese take-away meal, and watched a film on TV. I was able to get a few hours sleep, making sure Ollie stayed in the living room, as I walked slowly upstairs. Violet was brought to see me again this morning, which was a delight, and I managed a better walk with the dogs, before leaving Essex for home. My back still hurts, but is manageable, and the drive home was very easy, which was fortunate.

Ollie is back with his familiar surroundings, and favourite toys. No Libby to play with, nor Dennis to impress, but he settled back into his routine as expected.

And of course he has no idea that his desire to beat me upstairs might well have killed me.

87 thoughts on “Ollie’s mini-break”

  1. Oh, dear, Pete – as you can see, I am reading your posts in reverse order. I hope your back gets better. It is somewhat disconcerting to realise how easily our best friends can hurt us. When our older dog was a puppy, we were out on a walk and he was dashing around. I heard him hurtling up behind me and stepped to one side… you guessed it, he went the same way so that one minute I was walking and the next I was flat on my back with the wind knocked out of me. I know many women of a certain age who have had legs broken by their dogs barrelling into them. Recover quickly. Cheers E

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  2. It sounds like a bad fall, Pete, but, as you say, it could have been much worse. I hope you are feeling better now. Too much excitement for Ollie, I guess. Take lots of care. ♥

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  4. Sorry for your mishaps, Pete. Sounds like you might could have used an ambulance. Then again you had a paramedic on the premises so you were in good hands.
    Glad Ollie had a good time of it. Apparently he was Okay with just being friends with Libby.
    And Violet is a lovely name. Congrats to a proud uncle.

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    1. Thanks, Pam. I am still suffering with my back this week, but I thought a trip to hospital at the time was excessive. Besides, my family down there just told me to keep moving around, and get on with it. They were never going to call 999. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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      1. Ha! That makes me laugh. It reminds me of my mom. She would only give you so much sympathy–excessive sympathy for a relatively short period of time–then it was get on with it. Ha!
        Hope bed rest will take care of it. You know, it’s a slippery slope. Bed rest is essential for back healing–but too much bed rest is detrimental. Go to the doctor if you need to.

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  8. This story had everything, pathos with Violet, unrequited love with the dogs, action with the stairs, exotic locales and inspiration with with your true grit. I hope you heal up quick and best wishes Stuntman Pete.

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  10. Steady on Pete! Typical that its stairs that catch you out after moving to a bungalow 🙂
    A friend of ours was out of action for over three months after breaking her ankle on the stairs, her sleeping cat set the trap!
    Hope you wake up feeling a bit more flexible this morning.

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        1. The bruising is coming out now, so I believe it is probably torn muscle(s). Not too much can be done for that of course, but if it doesn’t get better soon, I will see my doctor.
          Best wishes, Pete.

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  13. Sorry to hear of your troubles Pete. Glad you weren’t more seriously injured. I am very careful on stairs these days. I rarely have to use any since I live in a one level home, so when I encounter them I go up and down really slowly! Feel better. Besties.

    Ge

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    1. Yes, I have had 19 years without stairs now, so I am wary. I hadn’t spotted Ollie and he was too quick for me. He is going to get some slow and short walks for a while, and will no doubt wonder what’s going on. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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    1. What will they say? Rest, pain-killers, the usual. If it doesn’t get any better in a week, I will have to go and see. But at the moment, lying down is the main problem. Standing and walking about is bearable.
      If I was 20 years younger, I would have shrugged it off. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  18. As always, I caution on dogs who have recently taken out large insurance policies on their “masters”. This seems like something I’ve recently puzzled out on the latest edition of the board game Clue: Ollie on the staircase with a tripwire. Anyway, try not to expire too quickly as then I’ll be forced to exercise my brand of sarcasm over a Ouija board and that would be extremely inconvenient.

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  20. What a visit you had!! Well, as I told you, I’d be out of town myself as well. And with all my looking forward to it – things went awry, I’m beginning to think that I can just stay home and read your blog to find out how MY day will be – we follow the same road way too many times, my friend! It really is getting spooky!!

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  31. Oh, dear! Naughty Ollie! I hope you are feeling better soon. Back pain is awfully debilitating. I am still suffering from Sciatica almost 6 weeks after ‘twinging’ my back!

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