A poisoning beside The Shady, Tiverton

We'd planned to do a long cruise but Vicky wasn't well so she stayed inside with the furries and we just did a couple of hours, stopping at The Shady pub before we needed to do any locks. We're fond of The Shady so it was no hardship!

That evening Mr Whiskers returned from exploring, sat on Will's lap for a while and was then violently sick. Luckily Will had time to put him on the floor before he vomited up three mice and some small colourless beads. Rat poison 😢 We locked him in to keep an eye on him and thankfully he didn't suffer any more obvious ill effects. His body obviously sensed something was wrong and was able to get rid of the toxins quickly enough for them not to do any serious harm. Thank goodness! We are aware we take a risk with the cats' safety by allowing them outdoors but we don't think Whiskers is the type to be happy as an indoors cat so we choose to take that risk for his mental health and physical fitness.

That night Storm Chandra made herself known, lashing rain and gusting wind. It was rocky and noisy on board and not the most restful of sleeps but happily the worst had passed by morning and we were able to get out for a dog walk by mid day, even if Vicky did need to carry Leo in her coat because of the cold, muddy towpath!

It was a treat to revisit The Shady for lunch. The food is pretty expensive but good quality and they have Vicky's favourite nonalcoholic cider: Smashed 😋Read more