The Adventures Of Sid Continued………………………..

Hi Sid here again,

I never cease to be amazed by the advances in technology that go on at the surgery. The latest gizmo that they are using now is a pet activity tracker and the idea behind it is to measure how much us dogs and cats move around. This enables the vets to see how effective various treatments are, such as arthritis or heart medications, or even just to show the benefits of losing weight. They do this by measuring the levels of activity before and after.
So, being the natural athlete that I am, I volunteered to be a Guinea Pig and try one of these things out. There is just a little black thing that is clipped on my collar and then sends a signal to my dad’s computer telling him how active I have been each day. Seemed like a good idea in the first place, but I’m not sure mine is working properly; at the end of the first day it said that I had been 16% active and 84% lazy. See what I mean, it can’t be working properly! Anyway, the second day Sam decided to take me running to improve my activity levels but I got bored after a few minutes and ran home. I’m not really designed for long distances. The good news was that as well as still being 84% lazy I was now only 11% active and 4% DYNAMIC! In hindsight, I’m not sure these trackers are such a good idea, it seems more like big brother is keeping an eye on us poor dogs and cats who are just minding their own business and saving their energy in case of emergencies.
Last week my dad and I took Sam off to Yorkshire for a couple of days of walking.
We went for a walk at Bolton Abbey, a beautiful place. Sam decided to go across some stepping stones that cross the river, Dad decided they were too scary for him but I followed bravely. After a couple of slips I soon got the hang of tiptoeing across, but the stones were very uneven and a long way apart, We safely made it to the other side and after a short celebration we set off back with Sam leading the way, and then I lost my footing and although I was swimming desperately into the current my slim little legs were making very little progress and I was barely able to keep my head above water. Sam ran back as quickly as he could and soon explained to me that if I headed sideways, I could climb back out onto the next stone, which explains why the picture does not show a drowned rat walking carefully across the stepping stones, but yours truly.
Anyway I lived to tell the tale but unfortunately smelled so bad that I wasn’t allowed in the hotel and had to spend the night in the car. Yorkshire is not my favorite place.
Here are some dates for your diary. Our dog shows are coming up May 4th on Vines Park. June 27th at Webbs, July 19th at the Jinney Ring and September 13th on Vines Park. I do hope to see you all there.