Hi,
Instead of entering a second P.P.S. to the previous blog, I decided to start a new one. It was a hard decision, because this past week has been much the same as the ones before. We are still dealing with Opal’s infection, but we seem to be coming out of the woods. She is much better, thankfully. We still keep an eye on her and give her meds and cleanings, but they seem to be doing the trick.
This wasn’t easy, of course. When I last spoke about Opal’s gland on the mend, that was June 28th. That did get better, but a few days later (after all the antibiotics and anti-inflammatory meds had run their course), Opal’s other anal sac gland got infected. So, we called our vet and she prescribed another round of drugs. Opal’s vet was very kind and did a video consult, saving us from the long drive up to Vila do Conde. We received an email with the prescriptions and went to a local pharmacy to fill it. Unfortunately, our local farmaçia couldn’t fill the prescription so we had to drive into Coimbra to get the medicine. Not such a big deal. Coimbra is 30 minutes away, not 2 hours. Plus, on the way back, we stopped at a roadside park to let the dogs get out and explore.
The park is in São João do Campo and is located next to the creek, Rio Velho (velho means old), which meanders and feeds into the Mondego River (the large river that is in Coimbra and ends up in Figueira da Foz). It’s a beautifully shaded park next to a stream with ducks, and the dogs enjoyed exploring. There are no benches or tables or water fountains, it is simply a green area next to the river. But it does have a monument in it, dedicated to a motorcycle club called ‘Milhafres do Campone’, a.k.a. the ‘Buzzards of the Countryside’, or something to that effect.
I don’t know the name of the park as it doesn’t show up on Google Maps as a ‘site’, but here are its coordinates: 40°13’58.4″N 8°30’33.6″W
The park was a nice end to our frantic search for medicine for Opal. It was also a lovely spot to unwind and appreciate that eleven years of marriage have shown us amazing things, and I am looking forward to seeing what the next eleven years bring.
Nola
P.S. – Chris made a short video (about 2-1/2 minutes in length) that starts on the road from town and heads towards the park itself. The dogs and I are not in these videos (well, we are in the car at the end), but it should give you a quick view of the park and its surroundings.