A bump in the road

While Stanley is keeping a list of “rivers I have swim in”, it seems Juddy’s also compiling a list of “vets I have visited”. The count so far is four: Roma (torn dew claw); Longreach (annoying growth between toes); Atherton (sprained cruciate); and now Townsville (troublesome cruciate revisited).

Our enthusiasm for arriving in Townsville over the weekend was somewhat diminished when poor Juddy was in a fair bit of pain, leading me to think the worst had happened and she’d ruptured her cruciate ligament. For those who’ve not been through this with a four-legged friend, it’s a very big deal. Treatment involves major (expensive) surgery, two to three weeks of complete rest, and months of rehabilitation. Not something that’s easy to do when you’re travelling and living in a small caravan.

The logistics of managing something like this did my head in a little bit and the stress meter hit "extreme". Where would we stay? How would I keep Juddy confined? Could I stop Stanley bouncing on her? Would I be able to lift her in and out of the van? How would I get groceries? Who would walk Stanley? Where would I get the money? Aaargh!

But, as often happens at times like these, the kindness of friends and complete strangers helped the three of us find our happy place again. Here’s what happened:

• A Facebook community comprising a whole bunch of people I’ve never met came up with all sorts of helpful suggestions. Some offered space on their farms (unfortunately incompatible with Stanny’s love of chickens); others reached out to their own networks to try and find us somewhere to stay. People recommended vets and others offered to lend us things like dog crates and ramps.

• The managers of a campground usually reserved for people visiting town for medical treatment and family emergencies offered us space for as long as we needed.

• A lovely pair of fellow campers (besotted with black Labs) insisted on looking after Stanley while I took Juddy to the vet. And then provided home-made scones for afternoon tea.

• The receptionist at the vet practice gave me a big hug, just because.

• A good friend offered to lend me whatever money I needed.

All of this just goes to show that a small amount of kindness is easy and can make a very big difference to a fellow human in need.

The good news is that Juddy seems much happier and back to her rambunctious self. And although she definitely has a cruciate injury, the wonderful vet who treated her felt that it’s not bad enough to justify immediate surgery, particularly given the difficulty of providing the right kind of post-surgery care, and can be managed with medication and gentle on-lead exercise. So a great outcome for all three of us. Except for the "gentle exercise" part, which is annoying both Labs.

We’re very grateful to all those out there who enabled us to roll over this bump in the road and enjoy our visit to Townsville. Juddy has been instructed to stop making lists.

We acknowledge the Bindal and Wulgurukaba people who are the traditional custodians of the land and water in this region.