Physiotherapy in Viikki

Well hello! This is me, lady O'Hara, on my way to physiotherapy. (I've just embarrassed my humans by doing my business in someone else's front yard!  If you follow the leash there's one of my humans cleaning up. I decided to crop him out of the picture as he looked too serious and was spoiling my story!) 

I visit Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Viikki once a month to have my old joints and muscles stretched. This time it's only been about three weeks since my last visit. I've been stiff and a little unenthusiastic, so my humans emailed my physiotherapist and they decided to advance my appointment. 

When we leave home we first walk about 800 meters to a bus stop. Summertime we need to reserve plenty of time for the walk, and usually I rest my paws before the bus arrives (there's a nice small grassy hill to the right of the bus stop). Now the weather is better for us old hounds, and I surprised my humans by trotting to the bus stop quickly. We had to wait for the bus for a while. 

22nd of September was car-free day and we only paid €1 for our ride. Well, I didn't pay anything, and the female human had a valid season ticket. But the male human paid €1 and saved €1!

(Maybe he'll put it towards a car of his own. We used to have one, but you can't trust my humans with anything valuable. Now we're one of those "one less car" families and both humans own at least three bicycles, probably more! I refuse to wear a bicycle helmet, it ruins my hairdo. )

My humans have had a short holiday this week. That's why we could visit the physiotherapist before noon. It made travelling easier, as the bus wasn't full and there was less traffic. Less traffic = smoother ride. My male human held me to make sure my hind end stays put: old age has made me stiffer and slow to adjust to movement with my hind legs. I still managed to greet other passengers and watch the scenery as well. This time, I didn't try to jump off the bus every time it stopped.

We arrived to Viikki and had some time before my appointment. Viikki is a nice, green suburb with plenty of parks. All the dogs visiting the teaching hospital leave their messages in the bushes. I sniffed and marked and managed to expand my realm considerably.

My humans usually take me inside as late as possible. I like physiotherapy, but I've visited the same building before on other business: they cut my paw open to removes stones, and I had to eat awful antibiotics that messed up my stomach. When sniffing the trees I saw something that made me feel even more mistrustful: Labradors. They treat Labradors in the same building!!! I hope they use disinfectant before and after. Plenty of disinfectant.

(You probably don't see the dogs, but there's one black and one yellow Labrador. They look happy and content, as they usually do. That's highly suspicious. Maybe they've stolen drugs from the clinic.)

We had to wait for a few minutes. The male human registered me, and as usual we checked my weight (29,3 kg, or 64,6 pounds). I leaned against the female human to get some cuddles. The yellow Ortlieb bag contains my blanket in case the appointment is late. I refuse to lie down on the slippery stone floor and if we have to wait for a long time, a blanket allows me to nap instead of standing and whining. This time we didn't need the blanket but I was called in pretty quickly. I started to wag my tail when I saw my physiotherapist. I really like her, and the cat kibble she has in her pocket.

This is me enjoying. Muscles on my right side were tense, especially the hind leg. That explains why I've felt sore and unwell. I tried to tell off the physiotherapist when she stretched and treated the muscles, but she didn't care a bit, no matter how much I pushed her with my nose. I suppose her own dogs have taught her how to deal with uncooperative patients. 

After the treatment I jumped off the bed and was petted by everyone. I got some cat kibble and we made a new appointment for next month. I trotted out of the room and didn't mind at all the empty examination rooms and personnel we passed on our way out. Happy, happy, jolly girl!

We took the same bus back home. This time, I stood next to a year-old girl on a pram. She kindly petted my bottom for the duration of the journey and was very interested in my plans for the afternoon ("snack" and "nap"). 

Our path home takes us through a park and I did have some appetizers straight from the vegetable garden (ie the lovely grassy side of a stream). 

It took us a while to get home, but I had light paws and good company. No complaints! Instead, I enjoyed the park and the fact that a month from now, we'll do this same trip again.