A tendency to topple

I do resent being laughed at for something that is not my fault. Wouldn't you?

Lately, what with rain one minute and sub-zero temperatures the next, the path through the park has been covered in a slippery sheet of ice. 

So slippery, that when I try to turn corners at speed, I sometimes lose my pawing (that is 'dog' for footing isn't it?) and I topple over on my side.

For some reason Gail finds this hysterically funny. And rather than coming over to give me a cuddle and nurse my bruised body and ego, she just stands there giggling and saying, "Oh Bertie, you do crack me up, Hamish never used to fall over like that, it really does look comical, you need to learn to take more care, people will think you're tipsy, chortle chortle...."

I think it is time for a physics lesson.

A body is liable to topple over if the vertical line between the body's centre of gravity and the ground lies outside of the area of that body's contact with the ground. 

So you see that my predecessor Hamish the Westie, with his short legs and broad chest, was a highly stable configuration, even when his body was tilted to one side, as happens when one takes a sudden left or right.

Whereas I, with my long legs in relation to my narrow frame, am somewhat liable to topple. 

And it's got absolutely nothing to do with me being careless and reckless and not looking where I'm going. 

So there. 

PS Don't forget to vote for me in the Mango Minster Adventure Animals category on Monday!