Walking the young dog on her own is odd. I only have to look forward, I don't need to watch the horizon for danger. We move quickly up the path and I return to the house smiling and relaxed. The highlight of the last few weeks' forays occurred when I managed to entangle her toy in the same tree as last year. We look forward to playing with it again in six months or so.

Yesterday afternoon after 16 rather savage years I was finally forced to have my old dog put down. A few days ago he had a bleed in his left eye. It became infected and he declined quickly. The nurse held him while the vet administered the injection, a clear liquid with a black cloud at its centre. I held his head and true to character he tried to bite us all. Then he relaxed and I stroked him for a while slightly embarrassed at the amount of hair he had shed over the consulting room.

Tozer

First Ice