A few weeks ago, I brought Red to see Dr. Suzanne Fariello, our vet and friend from the Cambridge Veterinary Service. She has seen us through the sickness and death of Rose, Izzy, Frieda and Lenore, we have learned to trust her and her staff and feel close to all of them.

I brought Red to see her because I see in increased stiffness and lack of mobility in his rear legs, not while working, but afterwards. He is slow to get up and is resting for longer periods after work. Red is nine years old, an age when border collies who have worked every day of their lives – he is from Northern Ireland – start to get arthritis and other joint and limb issues. I told Dr. Fariello that I felt sometimes that Red and I were walking just alike, so I know there is some stiffness and pain there.

Fate, a small nuclear working machine, has livened things up and gotten Red to do even more moving and running around, even some playing.

Was there anything we could do?, I asked, to prolong his work life, make him more comfortable, figure out what might be happening. Dr. Fariello generously agreed to come by the farm, she wanted to see him run and move there. She believes he has arthritis, especially in the left rear hip, he holds that leg differently.

Watching him work this morning, she said there was some stiffness in the way he held his rear legs, she suggested we explore it further. She gave us a bunch of options – including some new laser therapy, if needed. Vets have had a lot of success with that treatment, she said.  We agreed that the first step was to have him X-rayed so she can have a clearer picture of what might be happening.

Red’s legs have worked hard and taken a pounding all of his life, so some arthritis and stiffness would be natural, almost inevitable, just as it is for me. Border collies take a beating. We’ll go ahead with step one and see what the X-rays show. There are many options to explore after that, Dr. Fariello is high on the laser therapy and that intrigues me.

There is no sign of any difficulty in Red’s work now, but border collies are notoriously stoic and will absorb almost any kind of pain to work. Still, he is getting stiffer, I think there is some pain.  I want to make sure I’m on top of Red’s condition and do nothing to worsen it, and if possible, take some moderate steps to make it easier for him. I want him to work for many more years. I appreciate Suzanne’s coming out to the farm, Red is in good hands.