February 24, 2008

Today was another day in paradise, after a shitty tear filled night. Yesterday Molly got really sick. First off, we found evidence of several vomit sessions on the deck from the night before, we were not sure who the culprit was, but we suspected Tucker who seems to have a more sensitive stomach. Having 2 dogs makes it harder to point the finger. Then Molly refused dinner (which she never does) and when I took her to shore in the evening I put her on the beach, she walked ten feet and just stood there. Tucker ran about and did his business and she just stood there. When he was done I put him back in the dink and then called her. She turned around to face me and just stood there. All of a sudden she just started to vomit, but it was not your usual doggie upchuck. No heaving, gagging or retching she just opened her mouth and bile just drained out.

I took her back to the boat and all she could do was lay there. She couldn’t even raise her head and her body was cold to the touch. No pee, no poop, she was refusing water and food, so we were thinking that her kidneys had shut down. She’s been showing signs of her age lately (she will be 12 yrs old on 2/26), she has definitely slowed down, so we were both pretty sure that it might be her last night. After several hours of avoiding the subject we agreed that she might be dying. Christy laid with her in the cockpit for several hours trying to keep her warm. When Christy finally went to bed, I stayed up for a few more hours to keep Molly company.

In the wee hours of the morning, after a long sleepless night full of tears, we checked on Molly and found that she was more alert and could raise her head. We offered her some of last nights dinner, which she wolfed down. Then a little water and we were off to shore. Everything worked like it was supposed too so it seems she is going to be fine. By the end of the day she was back to being herself. Thank God. After the tears I saw when we thought Molly was on her deathbed, Christy better be damned upset when I die.

This morning Freedom and Alisios left the anchorage and headed north to Water Cay. Our alone time only lasted a few hours until some more of our friends showed up and anchored nearby, but we were happy to welcome Passport, Scandia, and Pea Soup to the anchorage.

We spent the day in the water, again! We snorkeled some new spots and then moved on to some of our favorites. We saw eels, several stingrays, many barracuda and tons of beautiful reef fish. We found one conch after another and gave them all away since we already have a refrigerator full. I was also able to spear a Tiger Grouper which closely resembles the Nassau Grouper.
It’s just that the Nassau Grouper season doesn’t open for 4 more days so it had to be a Tiger Grouper.

After we got back to the boat I cleaned the fish and tossed the remnants overboard. Thirty minutes later we were being circled by 2 VERY large sharks and an 8ft wide stingray. It was quite the sight and they stayed with us for quite a while, so no swimming in the anchorage!.