Milton and a call from a vet...

Travelling today was HOT! With a forecast of 25°C we slathered the suncream on Leo and ourselves and Vicky used an umbrella to shade the dogs as we cruised. She needed to lower it for every bridge and for some of the steeper bends after Will's vision was obscured, causing him to scrape Rainboat against the bank 🙈

It wasn't long after leaving the built up outskirts of Stoke that we were surrounded by a hundred different shades of green with speckles of white from apple and cherry blossom, cow parsley and cuckoo flowers.

Just as we were mooring out in the middle of nowhere, Vicky got a phone call. The engine was loud and the reception poor so she didn't get what the caller was on about until she heard them say "Whiskers"! Grasping that it was a vet calling to say Whiskers had been brought into them fit and well, Vicky began babbling with excitement.

Over lunch we checked where the vet was (42 miles away on the outskirts of Lichfield) and what public transport was available (5 different buses/trains over the course of 3 hours). It was also a long way to walk to any road from where we were so we moved Rainboat to the village of Milton and Vicky called a taxi to pick her up at Millrace, the nearby pub.

It was an hour's drive to Pool House Veterinary Hospital but the taxi mercifully had aircon so it was comfortable. Vicky gave her name, address and showed a photo of Whiskers to confirm that she was the owner registered on his microchip. She waited with anxious excitement while they fetched him and melted with relief when she saw his familiar face scowling out from inside the carrier 😍

The journey back took 90 minutes because of traffic and the whole trip cost £134 but Mr Whiskers was HOME! He waltzed out as if he'd never been away and began tucking in to his kibble and dreamies. For about a day Rainboat felt a bit crowded. May 1st was the hottest day of the year so the furries were a bit cranky and Whiskers took to laying on the floor blocking the passageway. After this we all settled in well. We were both so happy to have the little toerag back. We'll keep him inside or on his harness and lead for a few weeks to build up his connection to the boat before letting him out again with his tracker.

We stayed a couple more days and visited the Millrace for a drink. The pregnant bartender perched on a stool at the bar and began to vape while her toddler sat on her lap so we didn't stay for another.Read more