I should know better

We had travelled overnight to yet another show, and Fidget was quite chirpy, but when I lifted him there was blood underneath, and part of his penis appeared caught and unable to withdraw. Evidently he didn`t care, but I rushed to the vet on duty.

She had been stationed in a little dark hut, so we had to take him outdoors to see the damage. And damage there was. We had thought it was just a "free willy" scenario, but when it was freed, we could see that hair had been drawn into the sheath, and had wound round the shaft and cut deeply into it. It was a horrific sight. Grown men walking past were seen to turn green and cross their legs. The vet muttered about "reconstruction", and even "amputation". I was grateful that Fidget`s command of English is a bit limited.

So off to the Vet Centre, where he was received and taken in for immediate surgery, and back I went to the showground to worry.

But at 12.20 I got a call to say that the damage had not been vital, had been repaired, and he could be picked up. Vast relief.

Fidget, full of painkillers and antibiotic, was quite cheerful, but appalled to realise that he seemed to have fallen asleep and woken up with a revolting plastic contrivance on his head.

I was more worried about the bill. Free Willy had turned into Expensive Willy, and I had to fork out an unplanned large amount. Fidget, totally innocent of such worries, wagged his tail at everyone, and you could see that already he was rehearsing the tale of his adventure to impress the girls at home.

Well, due to the nature of his injury, that`s the only way he will be impressing them for some time to come.