Carbón's Big Adventure (aka Labratour Part IV)

Glad to hear you have landed Emily.
Remember making time for R&R.
And food. Sauerkraut and Bratwurst if that floats your boat

 

I hope you and Carbon are now just chilling out in Regensberg after all your travels. He’s probably wondering why he’s not in the Tardis!

 

How is Carbon now that he has let Paul behind and the other doggie friends he made in England ?

 

My best friend is currently going through the hell of chemo. She has zero self confidence and the only part of herself that she liked was her hair. She had gorgeous long, thick straight hair and is terrified of what will grow back. But she is being very brave and upbeat (unlike me who cries every time I hang up the phone after talking to her)

 

Fine ("Feen-ah") is indeed a regal sort. She rarely gets carried as such treatment is beneath her, but there were so many people at the flea market and her person was afraid she'd get trampled. I suspect that she secretly appreciates the Cleopatra treatment.

He lost an amazing amount of weight. I bought him neckwear in Padstow and a week and half later, it no longer fit...so at least 3" lost just around his neck. He looks like a proper working gundog now! What he will look like after a summer of slow walks and bratwurst here in Bavaria, I can't tell you, but Kate and the @Beanwood crew certainly whipped him into shape.

My father raised me to think that everyone was always out to get me, plus I have PTSD...the combo is often results in me being crazy cautious. However, the plus side is that I travel nearly 100% by myself and have had no serious incidents. A few irritating incidents, but I've been so lucky in that I've never really been hurt. I put that down to the positive side of PTSD - the hyper-awareness can really serve you well in certain circumstances.

Thank you @selina27 and Cassie! I'm going to try Carbon out in the Danube this week and I'm sure the other dogs will be suitable impressed by his swimming style. I'll just tell any bystanders, "That's the way all the real gun dogs in the Bristol area are swimming these days, don't you know?"

 

Still jobless, so this summer is bascially me vs. my tax accountants and R&R with Carbon. That will definitely include some quality time in a few of Regenburg's lovely beer gardens. Not for the beer, since I don't drink, but for the decadent food. Schwein Häxe and Spatzle and mushroom creme sauce....mmmmm. Just not too much, as I've got to lose some of my travel chunk so that I can keep up with Carboncito!

Regensburg is mad in the summer, especially the weekends. There's usually at least one if not three or four events going on concurrently which makes it stuffed to the brim. Luckily I've just got my parking pass for the entire summer from my Russian buddy in the parking garage which means the Tardis is liberated and I can get Carbon into the countryside and some freedom. No beaches, of course, but plenty of rivers and small towns that will be more his speed than old town Regensburg. Usually I don't even move my car when I live here because it's so crowded on the weekends, but since I'm not working, that means I can get out during the week...yay!

We're both pretty down at the moment to be honest. I don't feel badly about Paul because he is happy in his new family and would have been miserable in my tiny studio flat with no garden. That is NO life for a Bodeguero. But it is quite the culture shock for both Carbon and myself. Right now Carbon is exhibiting stress behaviours that I'm very familiar with...they showed up with I first brought him home from the shelter, then again when Paul came home from the shelter, then the first couple days of travel, then again when Paul got adopted, and now upon our arrival in Regensburg. In the past, they've extinguished after a couple days, so we'll see what happens now. To help him (and me) I think that after a couple hours of flat organizing, I'll take him out to a nearby small town which has a lovely huge park along the river where he can go off leash and play in the water. Kate @Beanwood gave Carbon a great little dummy, so I suspect using something with the Beanwood scent plus playing in the water may help him relax.

 

Oh, I'm sorry for your friend. The hair thing was hands down the worst part of chemo for me. Before my train accident, I wasn't great shakes but thought I had pretty legs, hands and hair. The train accident destroyed my legs and hands (burned), but I still had my pretty hair after it grew back. Then chemo....ugh. It may seem to outsiders that hair is a weird thing to worry about when you are facing death, but my opinion was that while I couldn't process DEATH, I sure as heck could process the idea of being bald.

My hair grew back even thicker than before (it was already thick) but instead of blond and straight, it grew back grey and kinky/frizzy. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful it grew back, but I don't have a clue of what to do with it, and neither do hairdressers in three different countries. I really, really miss my old hair and resent the heck out of chemo - which depressingly only added about 7% odds of survival to my prognosis and brought with it a raft of secondary effects that have continued for four years now.

But you do what you have to and get through it. And not everyone gets permanent chemo curls...MOST people get them for 6-12 months and then their hair returns to whatever it was before treatment. Your friend has good odds that within 2 years, she won't even see a difference from the chemo. I hope the treatment goes well and she's nearing the end and can say 'goodbye' to chemo days!

 

You have certainly had your share (not sure it’s fair; it’s not!) of life-changing challenges. I wish only good things for you from now on.

 

Yes, you've certainly been through the mill. I hope the summer is mostly R&R with Carbon, rather than too much of a battle with your tax accountants!

Even if Carbon is a bit stressed at the moment, his life is now so much better than before and, best of all, he's had some really happy times with you. I hope he's feeling more settled again soon and you've had a lovely riverside walk with him by now.

 

Been thinking of you Emily , and Carbon too , and typical Mother Hen that I am, have been worrying about you and your walking ills . Please take care , we both hope to see you next time you`re in Pasty Land ! x

 

You have had a very hard time, the train accident sounds dreadful. My admiration for you is enormous. I am sure Carbon will settle, you both must be having a feeling of anti-climax after having done such an enormous journey, seeing friends, I am sure you both will feel more settled soon.

 

Of Emily I am sorry for all your troubles. Hope life gets better for you from now on and of course Carbon too.

 

Gosh Emily, you are so brave and upbeat which is amazing considering what you have been through. Thank you for your kind words about my friend; it helps me to help her.

 

@MF , @Granca , @Maxx's Mum , @Cath , @Stacia ...thanks for all the nice thoughts! And @kateincornwall , the walking is still a royal pain but you WILL see me again in Pasty Land and I'm making it my goal to be able to keep up with you and Nellie next time.

Carbon is still a bit in freak-out mode and I am as well if I'm being honest. Regensburg is a beautiful little city but I really don't want to be here this summer. But I'm taking steps to get 'my stuff' sorted and make some big decisions about which end will be up for me, so hopefully my newfound dislike of being here will have a 'sell by' date.

Yesterday Carbon and I did end up getting out of town and enjoyed a peaceful walk along the Danube further upstream where we didn't meet anyone and he could enjoy chasing after his special @Beanwood dummy in peace. He sure loves his Beanwood dummy and Beanwood stuffed bunny! The funny bit about the outing was that it was his first time in the car since I de-canted it (thanks for that new term, Kate), which means that he is now again riding on the floor of the car instead of on top of all of my stuff. The result is that he can't see out the windows nor can he rest his head on the centre arm rest and get pet from me while I'm driving. Poor Carbon! He was so grumbly... he wants his "Princess and the Pea" back seat bed back!

This morning we took a walk along the river here in town. It's where everyone who lives in the old town with a dog takes their dog, so LOTS of smells, but we went at a quiet time. It was a good choice, as Carbon was nearly on overload just from the smells alone, without any other dogs to compete with. I was going to let him off leash a little to play in the river, but he was just too amped up.

I do feel badly for him. His life in the UK, while short-lived this time around, was so much better than here. I'll do my best to continue to get him out of town on a daily basis so he can have a free run and non-city atmosphere, at least until he feels more settled.

On the bright side, he practically got pounced on by an American tourist off one of the cruise ships as we were headed back home. It was a young man from Alabama missing his dog and he asked me, "Can I pet your dog?" as Carbon and I walked by the cathedral. Of course I said yes and Carbon was in heaven. He was so funny, climbing into the guy's lap and going belly up right there on the pavement. The man was thrilled and said, "All the other dogs here seem so jaded, but you could tell this one was looking around for a friend." Truer words...

Finally a little throwback to Carbon and Paul's last romp in Calais before we crossed the Channel.







Paul may have been a pain in the posterior, but Carbon and I sure do miss him!

 

Emily, you would never know you have been and are going through so much as you always keep smiling. Please take it easy and schedule in rest for yourself. I'm so glad you have Carbon to keep you happy xx

 

Great update @Emily_BabbelHund - I' m sure Carbon will grow to love all those lovely city smells very soon - what dog could resist bratwurst ? (sorry sweeping generalisation of all things German there!)

 

A lovely read

 

Paul and Carbon obviously loved each other, could be the reason why Carbon is a bit flat at the moment as he misses Paul. When Drift died, Rourke went very quiet and low, but he appears to be ok now and I am sure Carbon will be fine soon.

 

I'm kind of a waterworks on many occasions...ask Kate @Beanwood how much of a bawler I am!

Nope, you're spot on about the bratwurst. All those things you think are German - bratwurst, lederhosen, sauerkraut - are pretty much adored around these parts. And yes, the rest of Germany thinks Bavarians are really weird with their fondness for leather pants and wool felt hats with feathers in them.

Oh, and coming back from our walk today, someone had dropped a whole PACKET of nuremburger sausages (essentially skinny versions of bratwurst) right outside my neighbor's front door. Carbon must be low on Labrador mojo, because I steered him away before he got to it. I think I would have rather lost that battle, because a Labrador missing a pack of sausages just seems so sad.

Yes, I think it's all just a bit too much. There's definitely still mourning of Paul going on and even though it was for a short time, I think Carbon really misses all his new Labrador friends as well, especially the Beanwood gang as he spent the most time with them. When we see another Labrador, he goes all wonky and thinks we need to greet them NOW.

Today we were in the main square and a black Lab was on the other side and Carbon just started barking! "Hey, hey, over here, hey!!!!!" Carbon is NOT a barker, so I couldn't figure this out. Well, the other Lab dragged her human over to us and both dogs greeted each other with unbridled joy. Too bad they were both also on leash, so that joy didn't have much space to get expressed in. That was definitely a first from Carbon, however, 'asking' (or demanding ) to go meet another dog.

I've got to figure out a way to get him hooked up with some good role model dogs his own size and a safe place to play off leash. Ugh - no easy task!

 

Easy - come back here!