Tuesday 11 October 2022

ball dog


Jack's going to be 10 in December, which I think is 70 in "dog years", although to be fair, I don't think the calculation is that linear in reality. Sure, he's a little slower these days, but he's still really just a big kid at heart.

On which note, he has a few more weeks of taking his heart pills twice a day then it'll be back to the vet's for another check-up. 

I'm pretty certain there will be no change though. The key will be whether or not he's lost any more weight; it was a 5kg drop since his last visit that made Tania, his vet, particularly vigilant when checking him over and so led to her spotting the arrhythmia. 

But he doesn't look skinny to me, and he's still fit, well and happy in himself. If it is just a heart murmur, previously undiagnosed as I suspect, then he's not the only one in the family with one, and mine's never really slowed me down either. Or rather, it hasn't yet.

Had a conversation with the veterinary nurse when we collected him back from the surgery last week after they'd run their tests. There's always uncertainty when you not only don't know what the problem is, but whether or not there is actually a problem. Just because you don't find something doesn't mean there's not something there. I guess it's the nature of these tests that they only ever deliver bad news, if they deliver anything at all.

So I asked what we should do about his exercise over the next few weeks. After all, Jack's main joy and passion is chasing a ball around the park with me.

Julie's known our family and our dogs for many, many years, and her advice was very succinct and to the point. Let him carry on doing what he loves.

So that's what we do.

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