Ghyll update

I haven't written much lately about Ghyll, the dog who's been living in our house for the past two years or so. He continues to be full of beans, but as he approaches his second birthday, his beans are being directed in somewhat of a more deliberate direction.

Since having most of his tail amputated at the end of the year (and the long recovery process that entailed), he hasn't had any other health trouble. He's eaten some really awful stuff out on walks, but it hasn't had any ill effects on him, either in the short- or long-term.

He's made a fast friend in a golden retriever, Bailey, from down the street, and they hang out a couple times per week and tire each other out. It's very sweet to see how he's made a friend—Bailey clearly likes him as well, and pulls towards our house when his owner walks by our street. Dog friendship is funny.

It's not all just socialisation, either: we can leave him at home for a few hours in the evening, provided he's had enough exercise during the day and we leave sufficiently late that he can plausibly conk out for the night. But we have fewer and fewer reasons to leave him at home in the evening, because he's slowly becoming a well-behaved pub dog. He doesn't truly relax unless he's been out for a nice long run, but he does stay generally out of the way and accepts passing pats from pubgoers with equanimity (i.e.: he doesn't try to chew their sleeves).

I enjoy watching him mature, and I enjoy the extra peace that it brings: Ghyll is slowly changing from a responsibility to a companion. I don't think that I foresaw this coming, but I can tell you that I'm very pleased that it's (and he's!) here.