Approaching Normal

The Saga of Bingley's toe has been ongoing since just after Thanksgiving. He continues to improve, use his left front paw more and more. We have taken two complete walks, and although he clearly tires before we get home, he really, really wants to climb the hill. Today I thought I'd give it a rest, and he was very reluctant to turn around and come home early. He's still in an e-collar and a very unhappy camper, indeed. But he will not leave the last sore alone, and when he works on it, he postpones his ultimate freedom. I know there is a life lesson in that for all of us, but I won't delve into it. Anyway, he looks at me sorrowfully when I replace the collar, and I earnestly explain that if he wants to be free of it, he must leave that sore alone. Unhappily, there is a failure to communicate despite our mutual earnestness. We are also on our last bottle of Keflex. But long days of pill delivery have taken their toll on Bingley's willingness to swallow pills wrapped in dog food. He has always been so good, so trusting. But yesterday morning, he refused to take his pills. So now we are left with "pilling", a process neither he nor I like: prying open his jaws, sticking the pill at the back of this throat, and holding his mouth closed until he swallows. Life could get more complicated, even after Keflex is a memory, because Bingley requires Soloxine every morning and evening to treat his thyroid deficiency. Perhaps when faced with only a tiny pill in a lump of dog food, he will change his mind? One hopes.