Gail here:
So the year I didn't expect Bertie to see began with the two of us enjoying a brisk six mile walk in 'exhilarating' conditions along the southern shores of Loch Torridon.
Not far shy of his twelfth birthday, deaf as a post, and a year and a half after he first showed signs of bladder cancer (for which he's still on palliative medication), you might imagine my dear little dog would have been happy to curl up in front of the log fire and doze contentedly listening to the stormy weather outside the Torridon cottage this weekend.
Not a bit of it! I'm not going to deny that inside the house Bertie does spend most of his time at rest, preferably lying across my lap on the sofa. But when offered the opportunity for an outing in our glorious Highland landscape, he grabs it with both paws, undeterred by mud, rain and gale force winds.
I have no idea how long Bertie will retain his zest for life. I do know that, after a bad patch with 'bladder control issues' last August, I had a serious discussion with his vet about euthanasia. Then things settled down, and I learned better how to manage the problem. These past couple of months Bertie's condition has been stable and over Christmas we both had fun with our wee poodle guest Ella before she went home and we came across to Torridon for New Year.
And I've given up making predictions about my tough little terrier!
PS Our New Year's Day walk was the 10 km 'Balgy Trail', the red line on the map below:
