Sunday 28th October

We are all starting to show signs of nervous wreck behaviour. Dark circles under eyes, twitchy limbs, snappy words, staring eyes. Brody carries on regardless, feeding in delight off our exhaustion. He is getting more confident in the house and with us. I urge Steve and Megan to go out for a swim to regain the strength to continue, and to take on normal behaviour. I continue coughing and wandering robot-like between the settee (now Brody’s home), the kitchen for meals, and outside for toilet breaks. Attempts at ball throwing outside with encouraging calls of “Fetch!” now met with looks of boredom and disdain. He does however now like to play hide and seek in the garden. Indoors, another favourite game is to put food in ‘kongs’ and then hide them for Brody to find. Well, I say that Brody finds them – I lead  him directly to the kong and he tries to get the treat out.

I knew that eating the contents of the garden would eventually take its toll. Steve and I sit down like clockwork at 9pm to watch the brilliant ‘Homeland’. Steve starts to record it, for he has a feeling our pleasurable viewing will be interrupted. He was quite right. At about 9.15, Brody is at his usual post on the settee, half on my lap, half on the cushion, when I notice his breathing has become rather rapid, and not just due to a vigorous racing dream. When he wakes up, his rapid breathing remains. I must look rather alarmed as Steve tries to qualm my fears. That is, until Brody starts to wretch quite violently, whereupon Steve turns from calm mode to into-action-before-vomit mode, and grabs Brody and runs outside. All that happens outside is a wee – a normal happy night-time jaunt for Brody, but yet another moment of anxiety for us.