“We actually have quite a bit in common,” I pondered on the way home from the vet in Coimbra, “all three of us are old, not so beautiful, with a good heart and we just keep on going.”

Back home from the third visit with the dog to the vet at the Hospital Veterinário Universitário de Coimbra

That’s a mouthful, isn’t it! In english it’s a quite a bit shorter: the uni-vet in Coimbra.

Let’s see if we can approach it the german way – german being the language of the famous longest words in the universe – the veterinariansuniversityhospital in Coimbra. (Well, that’s disappointing. We’re nowhere near catching up with the word with the most syllables.*)

Our sweetheart had to go to the vet. A few months ago “The Couple” came to me: “We need to talk …” The Couple (emphasis on The) is a Portuguese couple who have been coming here for a long time, and very often, to refuel for the weekend.

Especially Maria loves our dog, and the love is mutual

I already hear it when they arrive: “Awooowooowooowooo” howls Donkie, opera-like high, and Maria understands everything she says. I think it means: (“Wherewasyou Imissedyouso nooneispayingattentiontome!”) (That’s not true, by the way!)

Sometimes I feel a bit ashamed, because I mostly let the animal run free (animals like that) but now that she’s getting older, she needs a little more care. Maria sees things I don’t.

She used to manage just fine. Slept somewhere in the straw, was always with the donkeys, played in the field, went for a walk with one of the guests, let one of the children caress her, and had the best life imaginable.

“I’ll be a dog in my next life, for sure!” I regularly sighed, when I had to go on and on through the summer, and the dog, or dogs (we have taken care of quite a few in recent years) had draped themselves like a rag over the stairs in the sun, or came back from an adventure in the fields, till their neck covered in mud, full of joy and excitement.

Now she has too long nails, because she doesn’t walk that much anymore. They have to be cut. Fortunately that Maria makes me aware of this, that I can pass this task on to the vet. “They have special equipment, we don’t. We didn’t succeed, but they will”, she said. I agree. After all, they have learned to do it, and cutting animal nails is not my specialty. I also gladly left the donkeys to the farrier.

It’s great that Doutor Tiago arranged that. Glad she responds well to the treatment. She has parasites in her lungs, which is a risky and long-term treatment. She got a cardiography today, to check if those creeps are in her heart too. But her heart is good. She’s in good hands.

Yes, we are a bit alike, the three of us. The dog, the car and me.

All three a bit older, very fond of our freedom, a good heart, and we just keep on going!

* Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz