Wimpy Hound

Lurcher No. 2 is a wimp. That is now official.

He was stretched out fast asleep on the sofa last night (we get the hard chairs - that's just how it is when you live with lurchers) and when he woke up he started whining with that "I hurt.....a lot" type of whine. Checked him over and apart from a few fresh scrapes (resulting from chasing bunnies through bushes in the dark) there appeared to be nothing wrong. Thinking he might have cramp, I rubbed and stretched his leg and he just lay there with his ears back shaking like a leaf.

He spent the rest of the evening shaking and whining and I had absolutely no idea what was wrong. His stomach felt fine, no wincing as I palpitated it and no other outward signs of a problem. So I got him up on the bed with me and spent a sleepless night continually checking he was OK and still breathing (don't ask, it's a phobia of mine).

This morning I gave him the once over again and found the cause of the problem. Another graze on the inside of his thigh. Barely noticeable and I only saw it this morning because it had started to bruise. It's obviously sore but I can't believe I spent a sleepless, panicky night over a bruise.

There are days when I really wish they could talk.