IMG source - TessleyMoorGunDogs - Looks just like Bear
Tom isn't doing as well as I'd hoped. I tried to go visit him yesterday but he had emergency surgery when the tube draining fluid off his brain clogged, and he wouldn't have known I was there.
When we speak on the phone it's difficult to understand him, since he kinda mumbles now, and I'm a bit hard of hearing from my days in a heavy metal band and doing a lot of shooting without ear protection. It's becoming clear Tom is not coming home anytime soon, if at all.
A local vet tech has offered to place Bear with some folks that have a spread where he can get some exercise, and they can properly train him. He's a highly active dog, and needs more than the hour I can let him run up in the woods. He will really love being trained to hunt birds, and I can't in my condition.
Video source - Field Bred English Springer Spaniels - This is what Bear really wants to do
I'm thinking I should do it, if the folks are nice when I meet them. I can see Bear running a pattern when I let him run in the woods, bred to sniff out birds in cover, though with no training. Even when, and if, Tom does become able to live independently, Bear will be harder for him to handle than he is for me. It's for the best, I reckon.
I've had a side effect to one of my meds that has been causing me some issues, and I'm not 100%. Imma hafta take some time off work, unfortunately. It's pretty discouraging, but I saw a cardiologist yesterday and my GP today, and they are adamant that I not push myself as has been my common practice. One of the things I like about my work is the physical challenge. Gonna hafta play nice to my heart, they say, no more busting my hump.
So, I need Bear to be in good hands in case something happens to me, and I'm glad there's a chance for that to happen in time. That's what Tom would want for Bear, if he could tell me, I'm sure.
I'll miss him snoring on the floor at the foot of my bed.
Peace.
