Hansel's first walk post surgery

All six dogs joined Susan and me and her dog Allie for a river walk after school.  I always enjoy having Sadie and Minnie with me, as I know their days are numbered.  Sadie can still walk, but she is slow now, and can easily lose her balance if another dog runs into her.  I'm always watching her.  And Minnie's movements are stifled with arthritis.  Just like Sammy four years ago, she is always the last dog to the finish line, but we patiently wait for her.  I come down to the river always with her in mind.  No other dog love water like she does.

It was a sad walk, though, as Susan's 96-year-old mom had died peacefully in her sleep back in England yesterday.  She is still processing her loss. Susan couldn't fly back to England to see her one last time because of the covid outbreak in the UK.  Her brothers Phillip and Robert kept her up-to-date on her mother's condition since her birthday a month ago, sending Susan short videos of her mother.  She had been lucid up to the end, only showing weakness in her speech and movements but still sharp in mind.  Susan thanks her mother for her love for the German shepherd, always having several in the home outside of Birmingham.

The dogs were all oblivious to Susan's loss, though.  The pups frolicked in and out of the water while the older dogs cautiously drank from the river.  We were deep in thought when we saw Bob the Rancher and his three Golden Retrievers come up to us.  His female pup Daisy is now six months old and almost as big as the two older dogs, but she is still overwhelmed when my dogs approach her.  There's barking and jumping but eventually they all calm down.

The walk loosened the big scab over Hansel's scrotum.  He plucked on that scab at night, releasing puss that wouldn't stop oozing.  Perhaps all that puss is what created pressure there that was painful for Hansel.  Releasing the puss deflated his swollen testicles, but it sure didn't look normal.  Time to take him back to the vet office.

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