BARNEY AND THE NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY

Tomorrow is going to be a difficult day for Barney and for us. When we got him as a puppy, we signed all the papers prepared by the breeder, amongst which was an agreement that we would not ourselves allow Barney to be used for breeding. In the last few weeks, he has been showing a healthy intetest in the attractions of other retrievers and has also been trying out his technique on various household items.

When ace vet Dave Cocker gave Barney his first check up, he suggested that we should bring him in after about six months to have a `minor operation` which will mean that we will comply with the non-proliferation treaty we signed along with curbing Barney`s current `tendencies.`. So tomorrow`s the day. I have to get him to the Veterinary Centre by no later than 8.00am which means that Barney will have to have his walk very early. But the real problem for him is that, from early this evening, he`s not supposed to have anything to eat in advance of the operation. He simply won`t understand. He`ll probably think he`s being punished for something and he`ll probably think that even more so when he comes round from the operation and discovers what`s happened to him.

I feel a bit mean about the whole thing, but an agreement is an agreement. I`m not too sure Barney would think so though.