October 25, 2011

It’s odd, the things that can impact your life. Honey, our wonderful, crazy, irrepressible Cocker Spaniel, had to have an operation earlier this month. An abscess had developed just below her right ear; a rock-hard lump that swelled dramatically until it was encroaching beneath her throat, and it was making her life a misery. The operation was straight forward enough but, of course, there’s always a risk with such procedures, particularly when a general anaesthetic is used. Suddenly there was the very real possibility, however slim, that she might not survive. Contemplating that prospect made me realise how devastating her loss would be, and what a hole it would leave in our lives if she wasn’t there.

Thankfully, Honey did survive, and Helen and I have enjoyed the added comedic value of seeing her negotiate house and garden for the following nine days sporting a plastic funnel many sizes too large for her. The thing must have been intended for an Alsatian. Poor Honey’s head disappeared completely within. Last night is the first we’ve let her sleep without the funnel attached to her collar, which feels like a corner successfully turned.