So far, all the tests on Red have come back negative (I see he has many fans out there). He does not have a urinary infection, his kidneys are normal, we haven’t found a cause yet for the sudden weight gain or for his gulping enormous amounts of water. We did a full blood screen – all negative. So we’ll wait and see, perhaps it’s related to the cold or some other behavioral issue we haven’t identified, Red has some strange quirks and ticks as many border collies do.

We’re going to New York and leaving him in the good care of Deb Foster, who has been briefed on the day’s happenings. Red has been working every day, but the work has been curtailed due to the bitter cold. I can’t quite imagine what’s going on, the weight gain bugs me more than anything, there must be some reason for the gulping of so much water. We’ll have to figure it out, I’m sure it will either get better or reveal itself. Going to New York in the morning, Maria will be blogging from the city, I’m leaving everything at home but the camera.