COUGH, PLEASE.....

This is the reception area at Newnham Court Veterinary Centre where Henry, our Golden Retriever, gets all the attention he could wish for from ace vet Dave Cocker.

Now, here in my Kentish village, there are about eight or ten Golden Retrievers who meet most mornings and take their owners for walks through the local fields and woods. Some of these canine friends are class acts - they do agility training and go to shows and things. One of them was in a formation team at Crufts last year. But most of them - like Henry - are just good friends who go through life without the need to `perform.`

(The early morning meeting - click to enlarge)

However, one of the happy breed has been responsible for an outbreak of kennel cough (coffus kennelius) which has, one by one, swept through the rest of the gang. We really had thought that Henry might have escaped infection, being the oldest and slowest, but a couple of nights ago, he started coughing his head off and he feels very sorry for himself, viz:-.

So, yesterday saw yet another visit to ace vet Dave, who prescribed a cocktail of pills and advised rest and no contact with other dogs for some days - go back and see Dave in a week`s time. Rest isn`t a problem for Henry - he `does` rest very well, but he`ll miss seeing his friends each day and I`m sure they`ll miss seeing him.

(cough, please...)

Of course it means that Mrs. Snopper and I will also miss our daily walks, so I`ll have to find some other form of exercise to maintain my sylph-like persona. I`ve a nasty feeling it might be shopping.