take off the dog's collar when at home

Penny gave us an almightily fright this morning.

She had been doing her usual yoga routine - a few downward facing dog poses, the extended puppy pose, perhaps the sphinx pose and maybe even a cat pose. I walked past her and into the kitchen.

Next minute she hobbled past me with a seemingly broken leg. Totally broken, bent up near her ear. Even imperturbable Human Number Three agreed with my cry of 'Omigod, better rush her to the vet emergency hospital!'

How could such a terrible injury happen in one minute flat, in the lounge room of our home?

Well, I'll tell you how...

She had caught her toe in the metal ring on her collar. Can you visualise her, hopping along on three legs, with the right one bent above her head?

Poor Penny! It was quickly remedied, because the collar had a quick-release buckle and I don't think there is any lasting harm done. But she won't be wearing her collar in the house again. (We usually take it off when we arrive home from a walk.)

I do remember reading years ago about the danger of collars when dogs are at home, and just now I've visited another site with a horror story of a near-death experience that was worsened by the fact that the collar did not have a quick-release catch.

Penny has a lump

It's a bad, bad moment when you're grooming your dog and you feel a lump. You say to yourself, 'No, I just imagined that.'

You call Human Number Two and she feels the spot and looks at you and says, 'Yes. I can feel it."

Just when you've had this scare, the grandmother of all thunderstorms rolls across the city.

I wouldn't have had a good night's sleep anyway, but the thought of Penny with a lump and the sight of her sitting frightened in the doorway of the bedroom led to her first night ever sleeping on the bed. In the past, she has occasionally been allowed to jump on the bed around dawn, but this was her first all-night sleepover.

First thing in the morning, we rang our vet (Saturday), but had to wait until today for an appointment.

What a worry!

He first tried to get some fluid out of the lump, with the thought that it would be a lipoma. When that did not work, we discussed the situation and he said we could simply wait a while and see what the lump did. But there's the drawback that it might grow quickly, which would be dangerous if it is a 'bad' lump. (Notice I'm a bit scared of writing the 'C' word.)

So tomorrow Penny won't have any breakfast and the vet will take off her lump. It's not the first lump our vet has removed from Penny's chest. I

I hope she will have a quick and full recovery and the lump will turn out to be something that is just a natural part of aging.