For six months I have been helping one of our dogs regain strength in his left hind leg. This involves slow walks, special diet, bone and ligament supplements, and massages, which he loves. He follows me around and sighs loudly in the evening when it gets to be bedtime, until I finally relent and sit on the floor near his bed by the front door and rub his back and legs until he relaxes and falls asleep.

He was injured one morning when I opened the screen door and he and our girl dog went charging, like they always do, except she slammed her hard sleek body against him while he was mid-air so he landed funny, and injured him.

A bitch is someone who will cripple you so she can get out the door first.