If the vacuum cleaner's been left out without the cord wound up (it avoids 'hilarious' trips, falls and other accidents that way) for so long that she hasn't noticed the dog chewing on it, I'm willing to bet that there are patches of the carpets that are absolutely soaked through from the puppy. And that would mean having to use a broom and carpet shampoo to scrub the patches to get rid of the stink from baked in dog piss, which must have got pretty intense with her being away so much.
On the shoulder bullshit, real disabled people (context: who aren't completely unable to bend or lift one foot more than a couple of inches off the floor) tend to use cylinder vacs like her Henry (she made a point of mentioning the brand when Haroldfæder, Haroldsmodor and Haroldbroþor came to tea and he strangely wanted to start cleaning the place) because they are far easier on the shoulders and back than uprights, because you just move the tube and head, kicking the motor unit along on its wheels where it can't be pulled easily, rather than lifting, holding and pushing the entire bleeping thing as you do for an upright. And they're all easier than bleeping brooms.