My doctor has Perdy’s name on my records as my ‘assistant health manager.’ We all know the benefits of dog walking, so I won’t bother you with the obvious. He did not mention the ‘side effects.’ He did not tell me that dog walking is fraught with danger!
In one of my previous blogs I described how I was ‘grounded by an exuberant friend of Perdy’s. Yes between them they managed to knock me to the ground. I cannot be angry at them for their antics as I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Hell, they even tried to help me once I was flattened. It’s amazing the damage an encounter with a dog chasing a ball can do. Five months later, all traces of the injury had faded into a distant memory.
I became complacent, thinking that lightening would not strike twice. Oh was I wrong. I had taken some precautions; for example, when more than four dogs were present, I tended to keep an eye on the whereabouts of the fogs, especially the younger ones.
On Wednesday I was walking and there were four dogs, two of them mature and two, well, shall we say---younger. I was walking slightly ahead of the bunch when I heard a shout. Unfortunately that was accompanied by a crash as one of the bigger dogs slammed into me from behind. I uttered the ‘F’ word and then felt the pain. The knee that had been injured last time was the target of the dog. I’m not sure how it happened, but I suspect that Perdy was deeply involved; probably stole the ball from one of them.
I hobbled back to the car and headed home. At least this time it wasn’t the ankle as well. Luckily for me, the injury responded to a few pills and the pain receded. I don’t think it will need Physio this time.
Do I make changes about when and where I walk? No. I can’t think what life would be like without that daily walk and chat down at the lagoon. The side effects are way outweighed by the benefits, both for me and for Perdy. I shall just have to grow some eyes in the back of my head or wear a bubble insulation suit, or maybe get a motion detector!
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