Compostable Kate

Once again, I had to contend with a lead-less dog in New Farm. But even better*, this was an unattended , lead-less dog, sitting just outside Coles. My assistance dog Dexter and I had to walk past it  to get to the shop, and it wasn't until it looked around, saw Dexter, got up and approached that we realised it wasn't on a bloody lead. It had a collar, but no tags of any description. A lady passing by at the same time was equally alarmed that the dog was off lead, and free to approach my dog; she wasn't game to approach the dog itself, though, and I don't really blame her. It was a male Golden Retriever, a breed that enjoys a reputation of being gentle and friendly, but that's no guarantee that it wouldn't be aggressive.... Fortunately, Dexter is super-cool about meeting strange dogs, even ones who stand over him like this one did. Dexter always responds by trying to play, and by running round like a lunatic. Not exactly appropriate when he's wearing hi...

Dexter, Assistance Dog Extraordinaire, spent the day at the vet, having an x-ray on his back and hips. This was more of a precaution than anything, as his sore back was most likely a result of too much rough play from Mack, but I was happy to have it done, just to be sure. Happily, other than a very small amount of wear on his hip joints (normal for his age), his hips and back are all fine. However, he has a couple of vertebrae in his neck that have a small overgrowth of bone. This is currently unrelated to his back injury, and is probably not causing him any discomfort, but I'm really glad I know about it. The vet thinks it might have been caused by repeated jerks on the neck, although he also said that it could also just be they way he's built. But just in case, I've decided to not put his lead on his collar anymore, just on his harness. So he's home again now, sleeping off the anaesthetic. I still have to rest him for a couple of weeks, and I have some paink...