Dear cherished reader
It is good to be back again. In the interim two things have happened which I would like to share with you.
Firstly, and most importantly, Silvie went up to Lisbon at the end of January for her operation. The surgeon, who appears in the following clip, is a miracle worker and provided Silvie with a titanium pin permanently inserted into her “shin” bone onto which a removable carbon fibre blade is attached by three Allen screws. The film of Silvie’s first ever walk on the new prosthesis was taken by the hospital.
The difference is remarkable. Whereas previously she lolloped around with a pendulous dead weight of thigh hanging off one corner, now she stands four square and walks with only a trace of a limp (because there is no articulated joint at the “ankle”). We went up to Lisbon three weeks ago to collect her at last and brought her home. Since then she has made excellent progress and is now running (literally) free off the lead. She is as happy as a box of very happy things and would eat like a horse if we let her. At only four years old she should have a long, quiet and happy life in The Cave. Having been rescued, re-homed, vaccinated, sterilised, chipped and re-legged we think she has earned it and will keep you updated as to her continuing progress.
Secondly, the NSW bought me an early birthday present, a Toshiba Chromebook which uses a Google OS with no Microsoft input whatsoever. It is completely different in every respect and takes some getting used to. For example, the keyboard is marked in lower case letters and I have no idea (yet) where the square brackets to go around the above link are. Everything is done on the Google Chrome browser where you open a new tab instead of a new window. I had initial problems whereby I could read cherished comments, but not reply to them. In desperation I emailed Bearsy with a last gasp effort from the old Acer and he came up with an inspired solution which worked immediately and perfectly. Cheers, Bearsy. The Chromebook is a work in progress as it is like you have never used a computer before. I was never a wizz at computing and never will be, so a complete change of OS is no big problem.
Still confused.
OZ
Boadicea's Chariot 
Howzit OZ
Quite remarkable, well done!
Does she try and scratch herself with the new foot? we all know how dogs enjoy a good scratch, I assume her left side has been ‘unscratched’ for some time now.
Animals are amazing. In the 50s we had a cat whose leg was broken by a car. She had a plaster cast for weeks which she finally chewed off!
Thanks for the update on Silvie, OZ. She is a very lucky dog to have such devoted owners.
Interesting about the Chromebook, I think I would feel equally at sea,and very frustrated, having used Microsoft for more more years than I care to remember. It’s a sort of devil you know thing, I’m not actually impressed by Windows.
Brilliant! the boy was offered one of these but never took them up not being an athlete. He was a swimmer and just took his leg off. Interesting to see the flex of the blade in transit when she walks. Much more effective than a jointed ‘paw’. Did they customise the thickness of the carbon fibre to match her gait, do you know? In human prosthetic legs they are very careful to match the weight to the one you have left so to speak, otherwise you are very unstable. I suppose already having a tripod helps!
Your new computer sounds quite dreadful! I’d have given up and gone back to a quill pen! Well done Bearsy!
I think soutie has a point re scratching especially in your heat (as in beastly jungle!) Perhaps a good grooming every few days might be in order with one of those multipronged combs?
Last but not least, very good to see you back! I do hope you jumper is hermetically sealed in plastic against the ravages and depredations of Mediterranean bugs! Otherwise you’ll be wearing a doily!
Glad things are looking back for the pooch, and it is good to see you vulpine self back in circulation.
Stick with the Chromebook. They are really very useful for many things. It is the only computer I take away with me, as long is there some WiFi at the other end.
Great news, great video clip; an amazing first outing for Silvie. Lucky girl!
Good to see you, Oz, and glad your Chromebook thingy (as though I really know what that is!) is sorted.
Thanks for all your good wishes. Answering as many questions as possible:-
Silvie still comes over to me or the NSW for scratches. However she runs in her sleep with the blade on and presumably catches the rabbit at long last. Oddly enough, those in the know reckon that the technology in veterinary science is just as good if not better than that available to bipeds. Being the biggest shedder of hair in canine history, she already gets a good grooming every two or three days.
The pully was sealed on delivery in one of those blanket storage cases – thick plastic with a zip – and buried in a wardrobe. Should be safe enough until needed.
The Chromebook becomes easier with use. It’s just a different way of doing things and as long as you understand everything is geared to t’Interweb and cloud rather than a physical hard drive then you can relax a bit. It is still a little buttock-clenching to spend an hour writing the equivalent of a Word document and then close it having seen that your text has been automatically saved somewhere. It is also the first laptop I have ever had with a decent battery life, in this case about nine active hours, and as The Bar has WiFi recently installed, well………….
OZ
Good, maybe she;ll catch one in real life!
Ours are in the doghouse, they have had two of the neighbour’s chickens in as many weeks. Unfortunately they came over our fence and thus within the canine hegemony, took all of 30 seconds, oops.
May Sylvie do likewise! They are always so pleased with themselves having done the dirty deed. We don’t tell them off because of the eagles which they would need to fight to survive.
Mornin’ Chriistina. Silvie has never shown a killer instinct and anyway the nearest chicken is more than a kilometre away on the other side of the valley. Having said that the owner of said chooks was surprised last month when a buzzard swooped down in front of her and zapped her best layer. Having shooed the raptor away, and being of a stoical and practical persuasion, she collected the bloodied carcass and put it in the freezer to cook later for the dogs.
OZ