The nerves are a bit on the twitchy side today.

I have an appointment with the vet this afternoon, supposedly for Penny’s monthly arthritis injection. She was due it a week ago but I wanted to see the vet himself and if I had gone when due, the nurse would have dealt with us.

I went down to the village yesterday. Penny was a little apprehensive about jumping into the car but eventually took a flying leap. She is finding it increasingly difficult to make that maneuver. She trotted happily on our little walk which ended – you’ve guessed it – at the coffee shop.

My pal Dave joined us for a smoke, a chat and a mug of coffee. Penny had her chicken and all was right with the world.

But then I noticed Penny’s leg.

She has had this sore on her leg for a while and I had been putting on ointment and I thought it was getting better. However Penny is very clever at hiding that leg. She either lies on it of covers it with her tail. As she stood in the coffee shop I saw the sore and it looked a lot worse. Bugger!

The walk back to the car was a few hundred yards. We set off happily enough and Penny trotted along, getting slower and slower. We stopped fo a brief chat with a local and that’s when the trouble started. Penny had glued herself to the spot and refused to go any further. I gently pulled from the front. I gently pushed from the rear. Nothing would shift her. She just stared into the distance and refused to budge.

This was a bit of a problem. How the fuck was I supposed to get her home when the car was still some distance away? I decided to sit on the pavement beside her to give her a breather.

Eventually she agreed to walk back to the car, very slowly. Then when we got to the car she flatly refused to jump in. In the end I picked her up and lifted her in. This was quite a remarkable event as it’s the first time she ever let me pick her up. When we got home she again refused to jump out of the car. Once again she let me lift her down. At this stage she was limping. Something is seriously wrong.

We don’t know how old Penny is as she’s a rescue dog with no previous history. We know she’s getting on a bit now and is showing signs which are increasing by the week. I’m now used to mopping up puddles in the house and chucking turds into the garden. I know she has arthritis which makes her walk like John Wayne, but the limping and the refusal to walk any distance and the refusal to jump in or out of the car are new. Obviously she hurting but is trying to hide it. The growth on her leg suddenly looks quite ugly too.

I am not looking forward to the visit this afternoon. It could be something serious bit equally could be something trivial.

I’m fearing the worst but hoping for the best.