It’s nice to have some good news about Red. And it was neat to do some of my own communicating with him.

There were some marked improvements this afternoon.

Red ate most of his food for the first time in a couple of days, he got up to get it and also  to walk inside the house once or twice, just a few steps to find me. He went outside with me in the yard and seemed to walk more easily, if not easily.

So far, Dr. Fariello’s plan seems to be working.

Full rest, no work, anti-inflammatories, some alternative medicine. If Red does, in fact, have a fractured spine, it can heal over the next few days or weeks.

We need to give Red some time to heal, especially if his extreme suffering diminishes.

If Red is suffering from a neurological disorder, we’ll know it soon enough. But this will all take some time to resolve itself. He will  get that time.

In addition to the medication Dr. Fariello gave us, she is also beginning acupuncture treatments next week.

There may be other steps she wants to take, she believes in science and alternative medicines all mixed together. I like that, we have been down some long roads together.

Her instructions: Red is to get absolute rest. No running, long walks, no therapy work, no sheep herding for at least a week, if ever.

He won’t be coming with me to my radio show tomorrow on WBTN, he won’t be coming to the Mansion inauguration of our Karaoke Machine in the afternoon.

He wont’ be coming to the dentist with me, or riding around town with me.

He won’t, in fact, be seeing his friends at the Mansion at least until early next week. They will miss him, I owe them an explanation of where he is and why.

Having described the good news, there is also some bad news.

Red is far from being himself, he barely moves all day, and it is a struggle for him to stand up or lie down. Watching him try to navigate a single step is painful.

He is hurting.

I will be awhile getting over him struggle desperately to herd the sheep using only his two front legs. That was a heart ripper.

But he is no longer whimpering in pain, and I have the sense I need to get him to walk around a bit to ease his stiffness.

This was a day that started out poorly and ended up well. If he gets a bit better every day, that would be wonderful. I took a treat out for Fate and Bud and Red came pretty quickly up to my chair a few minutes ago to get his.

That was good to see.

I want to thank all of the good people who sent Red and us those wonderful messages of support and good wishes. They do help, they do matter, I do read them when I can,  I am grateful for them.

I will continue updating Red at least twice a day, this is good for me as  well, it is how I stay grounded. I don’t know what I think until I write it. Ghosts of Dyslexia.

I do have to mention those many people who insisted on diagnosing Red and offering me cures that they insisted I try.  The advice-givers are fanatics, they are puckish spirits that cannot be eliminated by any conventional means.

I understand this plague of unwanted advice will always be present, I accept the reality of it and bow to it. It’s just something people to seem to need to do.

The most troubling messages for me were from advice-givers, they were from people asking me to raise money for Red’s health care, since I have often questioned the morality of spending thousands of dollars on medical care for dogs.

They assume I just don’t have the money, and will therefore kill Red to save a few dollars.

Discernment is personal, it is a search for a moral structure,  you have the right to yours, I have the right to mine.

One woman –  actually several people – suggested I ask the Army Of Good to raise money for Red’s care. This is unacceptable and offensive to me. For one thing, it would be grossly unethical for me to use any Army Of Good money for my personal use.

This idea comes under the category of the road to Hell being paved with good intentions.

The AOG was not created for my dog’s health care,  or to pay vet bills. It will never be used for that, it is not needed for that.  I’m sorry some people don’t grasp the awful ethics of that idea.

If I choose to spend thousands of dollars on Red’s care, I could certainly find enough money to do it. It is not a matter of saving money or needing money, it is a matter of morality  and perspective. Have we completely lost track of that old and precious  idea: doing something because it is right, not doing something because it is wrong?

This is not about how much money I have in the bank, it’s about how much feeling I  have in my heart.

I have strong reservations about subjecting helpless animals to extensive and expensive human medical technology and surgeries. I believe this causes animal like dogs far more suffering than abuse, even though it is much the same thing.

I worry that this is mostly done for the benefit of humans, not animals.

The vets will tell you that this kind of abuse is almost always committed by well-meaning people, including those who don’t understand animals well enough to know it is cruel beyond measure to confine dogs to crates for years in the name of being humane.

Or subject them to painful and frightening surgeries they can’t understand or refuse. If that were done to us, we would think of it as a horror. When it is done to animals, we think of it as a virtue.

Some things are worse than death, or just as bad.

Dogs suffer greatly at our often unthinking hands, and the veterinary profession, like the human health care system, is increasingly corrupted by new technologies and money.

We only have one compass to follow, our own, nobody else’s. Mine is clear.  I don’t care to prolong dogs’s lives beyond reason, any more than I care to prolong mine.

At the moment, there is absolutely no reason or evidence to suggest that we  should pursue other technologies or advice other than what we already have regarding Red.

We need more advice on the Internet about as much as we need another ice storm tomorrow.

Red needs time to heal and lots of good and thoughtful care and love. If he can’t  heal, that’s another story, one for later.

My vet is blessedly ethical in this regard, and that fits with my own sense of morality. We alway try a number of different things.

Nobody who suggests raising money for Red from the outside is his friend or our friend.

I sat down with Red outside today in the drizzle and fog, and we talked a bit. He seemed tired to me, weary of the pain he was in, frightened by his inability to move the way he always had, to control his sheep with his eyes and body. He just seemed beat, and almost ashamed, because he can’t work. I wonder if dogs have pride?

I sensed confusion in him, something I had never sensed before. Red was a dog with a mission – me, sometimes the sheep – and he never lost track of it. I was getting more vulnerability and uncertainty than before from him today. But isn’t that also true of me?

Was he ready to leave the world behind? I don’t know, I didn’t ask and he didn’t volunteer. That is something that will make itself clear in its own time. I didn’t sense resignation, I did not feel the fatigue I felt from Rose, she was so clearly ready to leave me and rest.

I did not feel the awful pain that was in Lenore, she could not bear to move. Or the utter exhaustion in Frieda and her spent body.

Red is a remarkable dog who is entitled to some  restful time, more peaceful years. I hope he gets that, I think that is what he wants.

Even as he tires around the sheep, he is ever energized around his therapy work.

He loves  it, and approaches it with great enthusiasm and focus.

That is what I see for  him, but I don’t know if it comes from him, or is just what I want. That’s the trick about animal communication, isn’t it?

We’ll know soon enough, and I can wait for the answer.

I feel good about today. I had the most wonderful support from literally hundreds of people. Sometimes, that gives one ground to stand on.

I’m ready for tomorrow, the updates will continue as long as necessary.

(Check out my radio show, one-hour tomorrow, one to two: WBTNAM 1370. Call -in: 866 406-9286)

Next update: tomorrow morning.

Audio: Thanks For Helping Red