Doggy woes

Jess really knows how to be poorly. She puts herself to bed and looks woebegone, occasionally emitting small groans and whimpers.

On Tuesday she suffered a Terrible Accident as she dashed after her ball in the woods behind the house. She must have run into a sharp stick because she suddenly yowled and came limping back to me in great distress. When I'd checked that the stick hadn't gone into her mouth or pierced her heart, but had made a nasty cut on her chest which was bleeding profusely, I carried her down the hill and prepared to administer first aid.

Unlike Jonny, who refuses to let anyone near any injuries he sustains, preferring to tough it out in stoical fashion, Jess stretched out on her back on my lap and allowed me to clean the wound, then took herself off to bed where she remained for the rest of the day, only rising for a morsel of dinner. Jonny was attentive, sniffing and giving comforting licks. By evening, the wound had begun to heal, closing up amazingly. By the next day, she was still being careful in the morning but by evening was back to normal, even chasing her ball again.

When we passed the Accident Site, both dogs spent a lot of time sniffing and Jonny followed the scent to the offending stick which I removed. It brought home to me the incredible healing powers of dogs. Often they're up and about and ready to go only hours after an operation. Isn't Nature wonderful?